Latest news with #JessicaPegula
Gulf Today
4 hours ago
- Sport
- Gulf Today
Sinner and Zverev reach French Open last 16, Pegula digs deep to beat Vondrousova
World number one Jannik Sinner powered into the French Open last 16 on Saturday alongside last year's runner-up Alexander Zverev as American Jessica Pegula and Russian teenager Mirra Andreeva ensured their campaigns continue into week two. Italian Sinner eased through 6-0, 6-1, 6-2 against outclassed world number 34 Jiri Lehecka hours before the kick-off between Inter Milan and Paris Saint-Germain for European club football's biggest prize. 'It was a very great match from my side,' said the top-seeded Italian. 'I think the start of each set, with early break he gave me, then the confidence to keep going, and I'm very happy about today's match. 'I don't think there's much I could improve.' Three-time Grand Slam winner Sinner next meets Russia's Andrey Rublev, the beneficiary of a walkover to the fourth round after France's Arthur Fils withdrew injured on Friday. 'Andrey is an incredible player,' said Sinner. 'I have to be focused. He's rested. So let's see what's coming.' Sinner has been finding his feet since his comeback from a three-month doping ban, reaching the Italian Open final where he lost to reigning Roland Garros champion Carlos Alcaraz. And the 23-year-old has continued his fine form on the clay of Roland Garros where he has not dropped a set, extending his winning streak at Grand Slam events to 17 matches after titles at the 2024 US Open and Australian Open this January. British fifth Jack Draper proved too strong for Brazilian teenage sensation Joao Fonseca, winning 6-2, 6-4, 6-2 to progress through to the fourth round, where he will meet Alexander Bublik. German third seed Zverev, who lost last year's final to Alcaraz, won 6-2, 7-6 (7/4), 6-1 on Court Philippe Chatrier against Hamburg champion Flavio Cobolli. 'This court is very special to me. I had some of the best memories of my life on this court, but I also had some of the worst memories on this court,' said Zverev, who picked up a bad ankle injury in the 2022 semi-finals against Rafael Nadal. 'It's a love story that hasn't got to the happy end yet, but I hope someday it will.' In the women's tournament, American third seed Jessica Pegula battled into the last 16 with a 3-6, 6-4, 6-2 win over Czech Marketa Vondrousova. Pegula, last year's US Open runner-up, next meets unheralded Lois Boisson, ranked 361, the last French player competing in Roland Garros. Boisson fought through the pain to see off 138th-ranked countrywoman Elsa Jacquemot 6-3, 0-6, 7-5. US Jessica Pegula plays a forehand return to Czech Republic's Marketa Vondrousova during their women's singles match on day 7 of the French Open tennis tournament on Court Philippe-Chatrier at the Roland-Garros Complex in Paris on Saturday. AFP 'Obviously.. going to have some crazy support,' said Pegula. 'I think it will be fun. It will be cool to be a part of that.' The 31-year-old, who missed the 2024 tournament due to injury, is hoping to better her previous best run in Paris which was a quarter-final appearance three years ago. Earlier, 18-year-old Andreeva eased into the last 16 with a 6-3, 6-1 win over Kazakh Yulia Putintseva. Sixth seed Andreeva took 78 minutes to dispatch Putinstseva to set up a showdown with Daria Kasatkina, ranked 17. Kasatkina, now playing for Australia after switching allegiance from her native Russia, got past Spanish 10th seed Paula Badosa 6-1, 7-5 in their third round match. Andreeva is competing in just her ninth Grand Slam event, but the teenager has now reached the second week in five of them. After a closely-contested first set, Andreeva took control winning nine of the last 10 games of the match. 'I felt a little nervous before the match, but overall, throughout I felt like I could do whatever I want on the court,' said Andreeva. 'Like, you know, I felt free. 'I'm happy that with every match I play, I feel better and better. I think that this is a good thing. Agence France-Presse
Yahoo
17 hours ago
- General
- Yahoo
'About time': American women have big day on Paris clay
Coco Gauff has led a parade of US women into the last-16 of the French Open -- and her teammate Jessica Pegula reckons it's about time. Second seed Gauff, who as the 2022 runner-up at Roland Garros, is the pick of the five Americans who've battled into the fourth round, found it harder than she may have hoped to subdue Czech Marie Bouzkova 6-1 7-6 (7-3) on Saturday. Gauff completed an excellent day for the US challenge after third seed Pegula came from a set down to knock out 2023 Wimbledon champion and 2019 Roland Garros runner-up Marketa Vondrousova 3-6 6-4 6-2. Seventh seed Madison Keys also progressed, winning the all-American clash with Sofia Kenin 4-6 6-3 7-5, while 16th seed Amanda Anisimova had also made it on Friday by defeating Danish 22nd seed Clara Tauson 7-6 (7-4) 6-4. That's set up Anisimova, the 23-year-old from New Jersey who was a teenage semi-finalist at Roland Garros six years ago, with a fourth-round pop at world No.1 Aryna Sabalenka, who has dropped just 10 games in three matches so far. "We're both some pretty big hitters, so I'm sure we're going to be going at it back and forth a bit," said Anisimova. Perhaps the surprise US fourth-rounder is world No.70 Hailey Baptiste, who had hitherto looked most uncomfortable on this surface but who surpassed herself by battling past Spaniard Jessica Bouzas Maneiro 7-6 (7-4) 6-1. "About time," smiled Pegula about the US surge. "It's exciting to see. Obviously, you want to see your fellow countrymen do well on the other side, and I'm always actually keeping up with them quite a lot." She's seeking to become the first American woman since Serena Williams a decade ago to take the title, while no US man has won for 26 years since Andre Agassi.
Yahoo
18 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Jessica Pegula rallies into 4th round at French Open, beating Wimbledon winner
BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — Jessica Pegula has reached the fourth round of the French Open for the second time in her career. Pegula, the No. 3 seed in the season's second Grand Slam tennis tournament, won her third match at Roland Garros on Saturday, coming back to defeat 2019 French Open finalist and 2023 Wimbledon champion Markéta Vondroušová from the Czech Republic in three sets (3-6, 6-4, 6-2). Advertisement The 31-year-old Buffalonian whose parent own the Bills and Sabres will face Lois Boisson from France on Monday for a spot in the quarterfinals. This is the furthest Pegula has advanced at the French Open since she was a quarterfinalist in 2022. She reached the third round in 2023 and withdrew from the tournament last year due to a neck injury. Pegula has won WTA events in Austin and Charleston this season, and reached the third round at the Australian Open. Last season she was a U.S. Open finalist, but lost in the second round of the other major tournaments she played in. Jessica Pegula wins Charleston Open, rising to No. 3 in world Advertisement *** Jonah Bronstein joined the WIVB squad in 2022 as a digital sports reporter. The Buffalonian has covered the Bills, Sabres, Bandits, Bisons, colleges, high schools and other notable sporting events in Western New York since 2005, for publications including The Associated Press, The Buffalo News, and Niagara Gazette. Read more of his work here. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to News 4 Buffalo.
Yahoo
18 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
French Open 2025: Jessica Pegula, Madison Keys each rally after losing 1st set; Jannik Sinner wins easily
Day 7 at the 2025 French Open began with No. 3 women's seed Jessica Pegula encountering some early difficulty against Marketa Vondrousova, losing the first set. But she recovered to win the next two sets and advance to the tournament's fourth round. After losing the first set 6-3, Pegula surged out to a 5-1 lead in the second set. But she couldn't get break point over Vondrousova, who battled her way back. Ultimately, however, Pegula tired Vondrousova out by getting her to move side-to-side constantly to catch up to her returns. The 2023 Wimbledon champion had little left for the third set, resulting in a 3-6, 6-4, 6-2 victory for Pegula. Advertisement Following the match, Pegula admitted she had trouble getting to Vondrousova's drop shots initially. "For the first hour I was just running up and back, sprints, it was like a fitness workout with her drop shots," Pegula said, via The Athletic. "She's so tricky. She does well here every year." "I know she hasn't been playing that much because she's been injured," she added, "but to be honest, I think that was a really good win against someone who is really a clay courter. To figure it out makes me really proud." Pegula will face a French opponent, either Elsa Jacquemot or Lois Boisson, in the next round and figures to have the crowd at Roland-Garros rooting against her as a result. Jannik Sinner faces no trouble versus Jiri Lehecka On the men's side, top seed Jannik Sinner cruised to the fourth round, easily defeating Jiri Lehecka in straight sets 6-0, 6-1, 6-2. Losing only three games, Sinner finished the match in one hour and 35 minutes. He was relentless from the start, winning 11 straight games to begin the match while getting 31 winners and committing only nine unforced errors. In his post-match interview, Sinner said that starting well was "very important for confidence." Clearly, that confidence didn't waver at all against Lehecka, ranked No. 34 in the world, on Saturday. Advertisement Up next for Sinner is Andrey Rublev, who automatically advanced with Arthur Fils having to withdraw due to a stress fracture in his lower back. Madison Keys overcomes early stumble Despite difficulties with her backhand returns, Madison Keys defeated Sofia Kenin to advance to the fourth round of the 2025 French Open. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus) (ASSOCIATED PRESS) No. 7 women's seed Madison Keys struggled initially against Sofia Kenin, losing the first set 4-6. Despite having trouble with her backhand returns and coming up short against Kenin's drop shots, Keys rallied to win the next two sets and finish off the match with a 4-6, 6-3, 7-5 victory. Kenin had a chance to win that third set, taking a 3-0 lead. However, Keys fought back to 5-4 and broke serve when Kenin's forehand return went wide. Ultimately, Kenin's unforced errors cost her the opportunity for an upset and move into the fourth round. Advertisement Keys will face fellow American Hailey Baptiste in the fourth round and try to advance to the French Open quarterfinals for the first time since 2019. Jack Draper advances to fourth round for first time No. 5 seed Jack Draper advanced past Joao Fonseca in straight sets, 6-2, 6-4, 6-2. He reaches the French Open fourth round for the first time in his career. Fonseca had little defense against Draper's serve, which he won continually during the match Ahead of a possible quarterfinal meeting with Sinner, the No. 1 seed praised Draper for persevering through hip tendonitis that hobbled him earlier in the year. "I'm good friends with him. I'm very happy to have him as a friend, but he's now there," Sinner said during his post-match press conference. "Things are a little bit different. Of course, you know, we are very good friends off the court, but, you know, we practice a little bit less together, because we might know that we can face each other in the later stages of tournaments hopefully." Advertisement However, Draper will have to defeat either Kazakh Alexander Bublik or Henrique Rocha in the fourth round to get there. Alexander Zverev wins in straight sets Alexander Zverev defeated Flavio Cobolli 6-2, 7-6 (4), 6-1 and looks like he could be on his way to another French Open final. (Zverev finished as the runner-up last year after losing to Carlos Alcaraz in five sets.) The No. 3 seed has only lost one set in his three matches thus far, dropping his first set to Jesper de Jong in their second-round meeting. Before falling to Zverev, Cobolli had won his previous seven matches. Zverev reaches the fourth round at Roland-Garros for the eighth consecutive year and will face Tallon Griekspoor, against whom he has a 7-2 career record, on Monday. A potential quarterfinals matchup with Novak Djokovic could be ahead as he pursues his first Grand Slam tournament title.
Reuters
19 hours ago
- General
- Reuters
America's magnificent eight match 40-year-old record at French Open
PARIS, May 31 (Reuters) - Eight American players -- five women and three men -- have reached the French Open round of 16 this year, matching the country's record from 1985. Saturday's victories for Australian Open champion Madison Keys and world number two Coco Gauff completed the five-player set of American women in the fourth round, where they join Jessica Pegula, Hailey Baptiste and Amanda Anisimova. In the men's draw, Tommy Paul, Frances Tiafoe and Ben Shelton are all still standing, to equal the record from 40 years ago, quite an achievement given that Americans are traditionally not natural claycourt players. The brick-coloured surface is far more common across Europe where the majority of the claycourt season takes place every year. In 1985, it was also five women and three men, led by tennis greats Martina Navratilova, Chris Evert, Jimmy Connors and John McEnroe, who reached the last 16. Bonnie Gadusek, Terry Phelps, Debbie Spence and Aaron Krickstein completed that year's American lineup in the fourth round. "About time," said third seed Pegula, who ousted Czech Marketa Vondrousova to reach the last 16. "It's exciting to see. Obviously, you want to see your fellow countrymen do well on the other side, and I'm always actually keeping up with them, you know, quite a lot." The last American women's champion in Paris was Serena Williams a decade ago while the most recent victory for an American came in 1999 for Andre Agassi.
