Jessica Pegula, the No. 3 seed and sixth-ranked player on the WTA Tour, defended her Canadian Open singles title by defeating Amanda Anisimova 6-3, 2-6, 6-1 in the all-American final.

Pegula, from nearby Buffalo, New York, won the event in Montreal last year, improving her all-time championship record to 17-2 and earning the sixth tournament victory of her career.

Anisimova, who was ranked 132nd in the world at the start of the week and is now continuing her comeback after a mental break from tennis, defeated three top-20 players in Toronto, including No. 3 Aryna Sabalenka in the quarterfinals.

Monday’s showdown was only the second time that two Americans have been featured in the final of a WTA 1000 event – a category among the sport’s four Grand Slams – since the format was first introduced in 2009. The only other case occurred in 2016, when Serena Williams defeated Madison Keys in Rome.

Pegula, who improved her record against Anisimova to 3-0 after also beating her on clay earlier this season, defeated Russian Liudmila Samsonova in last year’s playoff.

The 30-year-old managed a break in the first game and was leading 5-3 when Anisimova made a double fault and lost a set.

Anisimova was 40-0 down in the second set, but then fought back and, after a long fight, was able to extend Pegula’s serve to 2-1 with a break.

The 22-year-old former French Open semi-finalist then took a 5-2 lead with another break when Pegula double-faulted before holding serve and handing Pegula her first lost set of the tournament.

On Monday, two Americans played for the Canadian national championship for the first time since Serena Williams defeated Jennifer Capriati in 2001.

Pegula also became the first player to record ten consecutive women’s singles victories at the Canadian Open since Serena Williams won 14 from 2011 to 2014.