Jessica Pegula’s Dominant Performance
Jessica Pegula, the fourth seed in the US Open and a finalist from the previous year, demonstrated her prowess by defeating Anna Blinkova in a swift 6-1, 6-3 victory on Wednesday, which lasted a mere 64 minutes. This win marks Pegula’s sixth consecutive advancement to the third round at the prestigious Flushing Meadows tournament. Since 2021, she has tallied an impressive 32 match victories across hard-court Grand Slam events, positioning her third among female players, trailing only world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka and No. 2 Iga Swiatek.
Upcoming Challenge Against Victoria Azarenka
In her next challenge, Pegula will encounter the formidable Victoria Azarenka, a former world No. 1 and two-time Australian Open champion, who has entered the tournament unseeded. The 36-year-old Azarenka, who has reached the US Open finals three times, secured her 100th career win at a hard-court major by overcoming Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova with a score of 6-3, 6-3 earlier in the day. This achievement places her among an elite group, including the likes of Serena Williams, Venus Williams, Steffi Graf, and Lindsay Davenport, to have reached this milestone.
Other Notable Performances
Encouragingly for American tennis, 10th seed Emma Navarro also progressed to the third round with a dominant performance against fellow American Caty McNally, winning 6-2, 6-1. Meanwhile, Britain’s Emma Raducanu, who previously made headlines by winning the US Open in 2021, continued her strong showing by defeating Janice Tjen, 6-2, 6-1. This victory is notable as Tjen previously became the first Indonesian player to win a Grand Slam singles match in over two decades. Raducanu’s current tournament performance has seen her concede only six games, marking her best start through two rounds in any major.
Alexandra Eala’s Journey Ends
Sadly, Alexandra Eala, who recently became the first player from the Philippines to win a Grand Slam match during the Open era, saw her campaign conclude in the second round after being defeated by Spain’s Cristina Bucsa, 6-4, 6-3.
