Jessica Pegula is rediscovering her confidence as the American tennis star made light work of world No. 80 Anna Blinkova 6-1 6-3 to reach the US Open third round in just over an hour of play.
The American, seeded at No. 4, saved a break point in the second game to avoid going 0-2 down, before claiming three breaks in a row and winning six consecutive games to take the opener.
Blinkova bounced back a bit at the start of the second set, earning her first break of the match in the opening game of the set. Pegula responded with back-to-back breaks on her own to go 3-1 up, but got broken back in the following game. However, the 2024 US Open finalist remained unfazed and collected her sixth break of the match in the eighth game to open a 5-3 lead before sealing the deal on her serve in the following game.
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During the match, Pegula fired 30 winners. For a place in the second week at Flushing Meadows, the home star plays against Victoria Azarenka, who defeated Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova. The American and the Belarusian met six times in the past and split wins.
Pegula achieves a notable feat and her confidence is building
By beating Blinkova, the 31-year-old became the first American female tennis player to make six US Open third rounds in a row since Madison Keys, who achieved the feat between 2015 and 2020.
Before coming to New York, Pegula disappointingly exited Wimbledon in the first round and had been just 2-4 in her last six matches played. But after beating Mayar Sherif 6-0 6-4 and clinching another dominant win versus Blinkova, the American's game appears to be in a good place.
