London [UK], July 3 : The No.4 seeded Jessica Pegula survived a severe scare from fellow American Lauren Davis in the first round of Wimbledon 2023 to advance to the second round on Monday.
Pegula came break down in the third set to win the clash against Davis 6-2, 6-7(8), 6-3 in a match that lasted for two hours and 19 minutes.
Pegula has not lost in the first round of a Slam tournament since losing to Aryna Sabalenka at Roland Garros 2020, and she was able to maintain her record despite wasting three match points in the second-set tiebreak. She has advanced only as far as Wimbledon's third round despite being a five-time major quarterfinalist.
The American had a strong opening set, conceding only three games off her serve and used Davis' 13 unforced errors to her advantage.
However, No. 46-ranked Davis, who won her second WTA Tour title in Hobart in January, recovered her rhythm in the second set and broke Pegula for a 5-3 lead with a great forehand pass.
Pegula experienced a string of fortunate breaks near the conclusion of the second set. As Davis served the final point of the set, one of Pegula's strokes slid off the baseline, sending Davis reeling from the unanticipated bounce. A net cord pushed Davis forward during the tiebreak at 5-5, giving Pegula a clear pass to earn her first match point. A Davis volley missed the top of the tape and landed on her side two points later, giving Pegula a second match point.
After winning the best point of the match, the 29-year-old quickly took the lead in the deciding by racing all over the court and striking a winning pass.
However, Pegula recovered in the following game and went back to the fundamentals with a solid third set. A high backhand volley winner on her fourth match chance helped her convert it after she dropped just four more points behind her serve. She then broke Davis for a 5-3 lead and served out without much of a fuss.
"It's tough to stabilize [in the third set]. I got broken. Had chances. She played a couple incredible points. It was very windy, so it was hard to really feel like you could get any momentum going because then you'd have the wind gusting. It would keep you off balance and unstable," Pegula was quoted as saying by WTA.com.
"I think what kind of snapped me out of it was that I was down 30-0, I challenged, and the ball looked like it was significantly out, where the umpire overruled it, it was in. I got kind of pissed. For me being pissed is not that bad, but it got me a little bit like, 'OK, I need to get it together right now. I just got broken. It's 30-0," she added.
"I was able to break that game, hold, take control of the match. I don't know, I was able to find a little moment there where I was able to get myself going a little bit just for the fact that I was a little annoyed with that point, that circumstance," Pegula said.
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