Jessica Pegula did it again.
The 26-year-old American who opened the Australian Open by eliminating 12th place and double champion Victoria Azarenka, won her fourth straight game in Melbourne on Monday. This time, she defeated seed No. 5 Elina Svitolina and advanced to the quarterfinals.
The daughter of the owners of Buffalo Bills and Sabers, Kim and Terry Pegula, has never advanced so far in a Grand Slam event. She showed the composure of a Grand Slam veteran against Svitolina, recovering from a defeat in the second set and recovering from a 30-0 handicap in the final game of the decisive third set to secure a 6-4, 3-6, 6 – 3 win.
The win earned Pegula some love from her hometown, Bills, after the match.
While Pegula had never advanced beyond the third round of a Grand Slam, she won on tour, securing the Citi Open championship in 2019.
Americans thriving in women’s draw
Pegula will face American and number 22 Jennifer Brady, who beat Croatian Donna Vekic 6-1 7-5 on Monday to advance to the quarterfinals. The pair join Serena Williams in eleventh place among the three Americans to advance to the quarterfinals, three victories away from taking the Australian Open title.
Another American, Shelby Rogers, will face Ashleigh Barty in first place on Monday, with the chance to make four Americans out of eight women advance to the quarterfinals.
“We are very similar – we all hit big, always looking for a forehand,” Pegula told reporters after his victory. …
“Last year or so, we really put pressure on each other. Maybe we didn’t say that to each other, but I think we can all feel it … It’s a big deal. It’s really cool.”
Russians rule on the side of men
On the male side, Russian champion Daniil Medvedev’s number 4 defeated American Mackenzie McDonald 6-4, 6-2 and 6-3 on Monday morning to establish a quarter-final clash with seventh champion Andrey Rublev .
Russian eliminated Aslan Karatsev advanced on Sunday to the quarterfinals, where he will face Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov, with eight heads of finals, giving the country three quarterfinals in Melbourne.
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