New York, September 2: Third-seeded Jessica Pegula showcased an impressive performance at the US Open on Wednesday, defeating fellow American Sofia Kenin to secure her place in the women’s singles third round. This marks the seventh consecutive year Pegula has reached this stage in New York.
In their seventh encounter, Pegula displayed her dominant form, winning in just 56 minutes with a score of 6-3, 6-1. With this victory, Pegula improved her season record to 47-12 and her head-to-head against Kenin to 5-2. Kenin had advanced to the second round after defeating veteran Venus Williams.
Previously, their first four matches between 2016 and 2021 had gone to three sets, but this match was the easiest for Pegula. Since then, she has achieved three consecutive set wins, and notably, this was the first time she lost fewer than eight games in a match.
Pegula, the runner-up in 2024, will face 2021 runner-up and 31st seed Leylah Fernandez next. Fernandez secured her spot in the third round by defeating Mananchaya Sawangkaew 6-4, 6-1, marking her first Grand Slam match victory in 2026.
In their head-to-head matchups, Pegula leads 3-1, with all encounters taking place on North American outdoor hard courts. The most recent match occurred earlier this year in Miami, where Pegula won 6-2, 6-2.
In her match against Kenin, Pegula demonstrated the strength of her serve, having lost only seven points on her serve in her first-round victory against Elena-Gabriela Ruse. She replicated this feat against Kenin, losing just seven points again and facing no break points. With five aces in this match, her total for the tournament rose to nine.
While Pegula’s serving statistics were impressive, her return game was equally strong. Kenin gave Pegula an early break opportunity with a double fault, which Pegula capitalized on, taking a 2-0 lead in the second set. She then used her best backhand return of the day to achieve a double break, extending her lead to 4-0.
Deependra Singh Chundawat is a Senior Sub-Editor at Udaipur Kiran, specializing in a wide range of technology topics including mobile phones, applications, gaming, PCs, and wearables. Along with covering the latest tech news, he also creates engaging web stories. Passionate about emerging technologies, he stays up to date with the newest trends and enjoys reading and writing about the latest mobile launches and digital innovations.