Just like her doubles partner Gauff, Jessica Pegula opted to play at the Eastbourne International and she beat Qinwen Zheng in the opening round.
Similar to Gauff, Pegula racked up plenty of wins this year but there weren't many impressive wins. The win over Zheng was her 30th this year but she contested only one final this season losing to Iga Swiatek in two sets.
A lot of her events ended in the quarter-final and semi-final which is fair but people expected more out of Pegula. She has always been very consistent and this year has been very consistent but some expected her to take the next step, and throw her name into the mix for trophies after making bold statements.
Perhaps it will happen in Eastbourne this week as she made a really good start. There are more pleasant things than playing against Zheng on grass but the American proved rather comfortable. She took the opening set 6-3 surviving a close battle that featured both saving multiple break points.
The key to winning the set was playing the crucial rallies better. She couldn't do much on the first serve of Zheng winning only two points in the entire set but she won the overwhelming majority of the second serve points. She used two out of 9 break points to win the set saving all six break points she faced in that one.
Pegula will be looking to avoid the Roland Garros scenario from a few weeks so this event is crucial for her. She skipped all others meaning that these matches played here will be her only ones on grass. She's a fair player on grass but not a world beater so this could be huge for her confidence.
Despite struggling with her serve in the second set, Pegula controlled the match rather well. Zheng is a fabulous talent but needs more consistency to truly unlock her potential. The final score was 6-3 6-4 for the American who will face Camila Osorio in the next round. She's a few wins away from returning to the top 3.
0 Comments