Jessica Pegula battles back to reach U.S. Open fourth round
NEW YORK – Jessica Pegula walked into Arthur Ashe Stadium looking like a contender. For a set, Leylah Fernandez made her look anything but.
The third seed was mauled in the opener, outpaced and out-thought, before she turned a ragged start into a rugged comeback, beating the Canadian 1-6 6-4 6-3 on Friday to reach the fourth round at Flushing Meadows and keep alive her hunt for a first Grand Slam title.
Fernandez flies out of the blocks
Back on the court where her own fairytale run ended in the 2021 final against Emma Raducanu, Fernandez came out as if rewinding that fortnight. She took the ball early, stepped inside the baseline, and immediately put Pegula under siege.
The 23-year-old’s left-handed aggression dictated everything. Heavy, deep groundstrokes pinned Pegula behind the baseline. Sharp changes of pace and angle dragged the American into uncomfortable positions. Pegula, a 2024 runner-up here, barely had time to breathe, let alone build points.
In 30 brisk minutes, the first set was gone. Fernandez had all the rhythm. Pegula had only questions.
Pegula steadies, then bites back
The match turned not with a spectacular winner, but with a simple break in the sixth game of the second set. Pegula finally dug in on return, extended rallies, and forced Fernandez to hit one more ball, then another. The errors came.
That break gave Pegula a 4-2 lead and, more importantly, a foothold. She followed it with a gritty hold, fending off a surge from Fernandez, who refused to go quietly and pressed hard to reel the set back in. The Canadian’s late push threatened to undo Pegula’s work, but the American held her nerve and closed out the set to drag the contest into a decider.
The composure that has made Pegula a quiet but constant threat at majors was back. So was her belief.
Veteran resolve in the decider
At 32, Pegula has seen enough matches slip away to know the danger of a fast-starting opponent. Early in the third set, she stared down breakpoints that could have swung the night back to Fernandez. She saved them, stone-faced, then turned immediately on the attack.
The pressure finally told at 2-1. Fernandez pushed a shot wide, and Pegula had the break for 3-1. From there, the American tightened the screws. Her serve grew more reliable, her patterns more precise. Fernandez still chased, still swung freely, but the initiative had changed hands.
Pegula rolled through the closing games with the assurance of a player who has spent the last few seasons living in the second week of majors. On match point, she moved forward, cut off the angle, and knifed a backhand volley winner to finish the job.
A shaky start, a bruising middle, a ruthless end.
Pegula now turns to a last-16 clash with Sorana Cirstea, knowing the level must rise again, and the slow starts must stop. The title bid survives, but the margin for error is shrinking fast.
