In her 10th US Open appearance, World No. 3 Jessica Pegula is through to the second round.<\/p>\n
Following a 6-3, 6-2 win over Romania’s Elena-Gabriela Ruse on Arthur Ashe Stadium, the 2024 finalist is primed for an all-American second-round match against either Sofia Kenin or two-time US Open champion Venus Williams.\u00a0<\/p>\n
US Open: Scores<\/a> | Order of Play<\/a> | Overview<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n From the start, Pegula blitzed Ruse on the return. It felt like a matter of time when Pegula would break Ruse’s serve. Pegula was flawless on her serve, facing just one break point, but solving Ruse’s serve proved to be a taller task.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Key moments After routine holds for both players, Pegula pressured early with a 15-40 double-break point opportunity. Ruse saved the first with an inside service ace, the first of what would become eight break point saves. Pegula didn’t struggle on the deuce points. The rallies were relatively short, but when the break-point opportunities kept coming, Pegula had several unforced errors.\u00a0<\/p>\n Ultimately, Ruse held after a 15-minute and 34-second game on her fourth game point, taking a 2-1 lead at the second changeover.\u00a0<\/p>\n “I think her first and second serve, she was serving really well,” Pegula said to press. “Sometimes off-speed serves can actually be more difficult than maybe first serves, because as a good returner, I know that it’s coming with pace, so then I’m able to use that pace, and sometimes when you hit a harder serve it comes back even faster. I think sometimes it can be almost harder to defend off that if someone is kind of sitting on certain serves.<\/p>\n “She did a great job of moving around her second serves, so even though I’m a pretty aggressive second-serve returner, she was doing a really good job of hitting it deep and kind of jamming me, and I didn’t really get a few double faults until later on in that second set. I think I still returned okay, but as an aggressive returner, sometimes when they are going with more speed at you, it kind of takes away that option a little bit.”<\/p>\n This game in particular was the most dicey game for both players and most entertaining for fans. On court, Pegula largely attributed that dramatic game to her first-round nerves. Before the match even started, she was text messaging GIFs to people of how she felt, but now she’ll have a couple days rest before her second-round meeting on Wednesday.<\/p>\n The US Open in some ways is Pegula’s home tournament. Though she resides in Florida and the Miami Open is the closest stop on the WTA Tour Driven by Mercedes-Benz to her home, she grew up in Buffalo, New York, and on Sunday had the privilege of opening play on Arthur Ashe Stadium as a past finalist.\u00a0<\/p>\n “A lot of nerves today,” Pegula said on court. “I feel there’s a ton of nerves. Everybody’s freaking out for the next three days, but I’m glad that it’s over with, it’s done with now.”<\/p>\n 10th time is a charm for Pegula<\/p>\n Pegula eventually notched the early break in Ruse’s next service game on her tenth total break point chance of the match. Ruse’s second serve proved to be difficult to handle for Pegula as the Romanian won 10-of-13 of her second-service points through her first three service games — Ruse wouldn’t let up on the speed of her second serve to throw Pegula off.\u00a0<\/p>\n “I would have liked to convert some of those break points early, but sometimes you got to credit the opponent,” Pegula’s coach Mark Knowles said after the first set. “I think she had to read the toss a little bit better. She’s returning exceptionally well on the first serve. She’s just getting a read on it and she just told me this last game that she’s really started to settle in.”<\/p>\n After a few holds, it was only fitting that Ruse saved a set point on her serve — she saved 12-of-14 in the opening set. However, Pegula capitalized on the second with a forehand cross-court winner, taking the first set in just over 50 minutes.\u00a0<\/p>\n Pegula wins second set in similar fashion<\/p>\n Ruse proved to be a valiant test for Pegula, but once the American notched the first break at 3-2 in the second set, the end was near. Pegula swept the final four games in the second set, closing the match in just over 80 minutes.\u00a0<\/p>\n By the match’s end, Pegula had solved the difficulties of Ruse’s second serve that were present in the first, winning 7-of-12 of Ruse’s second-serve points. Just like the first set, she won the second set by two breaks.<\/p>\n Up next<\/p>\n The only guarantee in Pegula’s next matchup is that it’s an all-American battle and that her opponent is a Grand Slam champion. The unknown is who she will be playing. She’s played Kenin, 2020 Australian Open winner, seven times on the WTA Tour and holds a 4-2 lead, most recently playing at 2025 Charleston. Their last hard court meeting came in the 2024 US Open second round, which Pegula won in straight sets en route to the final.<\/p>\n As for Williams, Pegula has never played the legend, though the matchup would be intriguing as Williams, a 2026 wild card, would be coming off her first singles win in over a year should she defeat Kenin Sunday night.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"In her 10th US Open appearance, World No. 3 Jessica Pegula is through to the second round. 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\n15 minutes later, Ruse escapes<\/p>\n