Fourth seed Jessica Pegula’s greater experience proved telling as she beat rising fellow American Iva Jovic 4-6 6-3 6-1 to equal her best Wimbledon run by reaching the quarterfinals for the second time on Sunday.
Pegula dropped her first set of the tournament in a scrappy opener featuring seven service breaks but she raised her level after that against the 18-year-old.
Serving with more authority and cutting out the unforced errors, she won four games in a row after losing the first game of the second set and did not look back.
Jovic, the 16th seed, began to look dispirited in the third set as the 32-year-old Pegula moved quickly towards the finish.
“That was really tough,” Pegula, who has made at least the quarterfinal stage of all four Grand Slams, said on a sunny Court One.
“Iva’s a great player and brings lots of energy and intensity and I just couldn’t find my serve in the first set even though I wasn’t playing badly.
“Luckily I started to serve better.”
Pegula is one of five American women to reach the last 16 for the first time since 2002.
The fourth round continues on Monday, with Alexandra Eala looking to extend her fairytale run by taking on two-time Grand Slam finalist Jasmine Paolini, while Taylor Fritz faces Alexander Bublik.
Eala, who was already enjoying something of a breakout season with wins over Elena Rybakina and Coco Gauff, was thrust into the spotlight on Saturday when she sent defending champion Iga Swiatek crashing out of Wimbledon.
The 21-year-old Filipina now has 2024 Wimbledon finalist Paolini in the crosshairs, but she is taking nothing for granted despite having already beaten the Italian in straight sets in Dubai earlier this year.
“She is a great fighter. It was not an easy match in Dubai for me. It will not be an easy match here either,” Eala told reporters.
World number 17 Paolini, meanwhile, hailed her opponent’s quality, pointing to Eala’s semifinal run in Berlin last month, saying: “I think that the game of Eala’s fits very well to grass ... I think she’s a very dangerous player here.
“She’s playing great. She has a huge crowd with her. Now on the bridge they were screaming ‘Alex, Alex’. It’s so good for our sport, I think, to involve more people around the world.”
In the men’s draw, Fritz is looking to reach the quarterfinals of Wimbledon for a third straight year, but faces a tricky test in the shape of Kazakh Bublik.
Bublik, who beat Fritz’s compatriot Frances Tiafoe in five sets in the third round, is considered one of the great entertainers in tennis for his unorthodox style and use of trick shots.
“It’s going to be a great match against Taylor. I hope to be in form. I have to take care of my body and I hope to deliver a great performance,” Bublik said.
Fritz and Bublik have a perfectly level head-to-head record of 4-4, but the American has won both of their meetings on grass, including in the semifinals at Stuttgart last month.
- Follow The Herald WhatsApp channel today and stay connected to the stories shaping our world.
The Herald
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.