Jessica Pegula advanced to the semi-finals of the US Open on Thursday, defeating Barbora Krejcikova in straight sets. The American’s strong baseline play and Krejcikova’s persistent serving struggles proved decisive in the match.
Pegula’s victory continues her notable form at this year’s tournament, building on a foundation of solid tennis and strong starts.Krejcikova, coming off a notable win against Taylor Townsend, was unable to replicate that success against Pegula’s consistent pressure.
Pegula quickly established control, racing to a 3-0 lead and breaking Krejcikova to love in the second game.She dictated play with deep groundstrokes, pushing Krejcikova deep behind the baseline, and frequently moved forward to disrupt her opponent’s rhythm.
Even though Krejcikova battled back to 4-3, her serving woes continued to hamper her progress. A double fault at 40-30 provided Pegula with the possibility to break again in the eighth game, allowing her to close out the first set.
krejcikova’s second serve proved notably vulnerable, winning only 28% of points on it in the opener. This trend continued at the start of the second set, with two double faults gifting Pegula an early break.
Despite a momentary lapse in her own service game, where she relinquished a double break lead in the sixth game as Krejcikova threatened a comeback, Pegula regained her composure.
A seventh double fault from Krejcikova during the match brought up match point, which Pegula converted on her first attempt to secure the victory.
“I think I’ve been playing some realy good tennis. I’ve been playing really solid and having good starts,” Pegula said after the match.
“She had a couple of really good returns when I was serving at 4-1 and we all saw what she did against Taylor, so I’m happy that we’re done.”
