NEW YORK (AP) — After not being able to get past the quarterfinals at a Grand Slam tournament for much of her career, Jessica Pegula broke through that wall again at the U.S. Open.
Pegula defeated Barbora Krejcikova 6-3, 6-3 on Tuesday to get to the semifinals of a major for just the second time. She failed to advance into the semis in her first 22 main draw appearances at a major before reaching the final at Flushing Meadows a year ago, when she lost to Aryna Sabalenka.
“My biggest accomplishment last year was just getting past the quarterfinals,” Pegula said. “Now I can say I’ve done it twice.”
This year, Pegula was eliminated in the fourth round at the Australian Open, the third round at the French Open and the first round at Wimbledon. Being back on hard courts at the U.S. Open has been a recipe for success, as she has not yet lost a set.
“I’ve been able to kind of go into those matches and really take care of business,” Pegula said. “I think that’s also what’s given me a lot of confidence is I’ve played good players but (gotten) convincing wins over those players.”
Sabalenka, now the top-ranked women's tennis player in the world, could be Pegula's next opponent if she beats Marketa Vondrousova in their match on Tuesday night. That's also at Arthur Ashe Stadium, where Pegula made quick work of Krejcikova.
“It’s crazy to look now and think that I’m really comfortable coming out here playing on big courts in big matches on the best court in the world with the craziest crowd against the best players,” Pegula said. “It’s pretty crazy, and it’s something 10 years ago I never thought I’d be good at this, but I guess I am.”
Pegula, 31, is seeded fourth at the U.S. Open and aiming for her first Grand Slam championship. She and No. 8 Amanda Anisimova are the only Americans left in the women's singles field.
Krejcikova knocked out one of them, Taylor Townsend, who failed to convert eight match points when they met in the quarterfinals on Sunday. Pegula was not perfect, but she played well enough to stay in control at all times and broke Krejcikova one final time to end the match in under 90 minutes — on her first match point attempt.
“It got really tight,” Pegula said. “She had a couple really good returns when I was serving at 4-1, and then we all saw what she did against Taylor, so I was happy that we’re done.”
Krejcikova, a two-time major champion, credited Pegula for placing shots in the middle of the court where she couldn't return the ball.
“She didn’t really miss that many, and she was playing quite good tennis,” Krejcikova said. “I wish I did better but just today wasn’t the day.”
Second-ranked Carls Alcaraz is facing Jiri Lehecka, and Venus Williams and Leylah Fernandez play in the women's doubles quarterfinals. Sabalenka's match is set for Tuesday night, followed by American Taylor Fritz against four-time U.S. Open champion Novak Djokovic
Felix Auger-Aliassime of Canada and Alex de Minaur of Australia kick things off on Ashe, followed by Anisimova against second-seeded Iga Swiatek. Naomi Osaka, fresh off beating Coco Gauff, faces Karolina Muchova to open the night session, followed by men's No. 1 seed Jannik Sinner against fellow Italian Lorenzo Musetti.
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This story has been corrected to show that Pegula failed to advance into the semifinals of her first 22 majors, not 23, dating to her trip to the 2024 U.S Open final.
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AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis
