Jessica Pegula kept the butterflies back to win once more at the Australian Open Monday. The unseeded American had the fight of her tournament against fifth-seeded Elina Svitolina, who was trying to get back to the quarterfinals but blew her control in a 4-6, 6-3, 3-6 match at Rod Laver Arena at Melbourne Park.
As the second week was on the line for the American and Ukrainian, both were on a collision course to make it difficult for each other. Svitolina eyed a third trip to the last eight while Pegula ran a Cinderella run in her second appearance. The American took down the top stars in tennis from former world number one Victoria Azarenka to Aussie favorite Samantha Stosur.
Kristina Mladenovic was no chance for the unseeded American, earning just three wins in straight sets. The fifth had also yet to top a set, and with their one and only meeting coming at the start of the season in Abu Dhabi going her way, Svitolina hoped that she would finish with a similar result.
The players held well through four games with Svitolina driving her point across the court and Pegula with her strong ball striking. The fifth game was the first sign of real competition when Svitolina dropped a couple of points, forcing her to get to deuce. After two breaks, the Ukrainian got an ace that helped her hold. Pegula made her moment stick as she gained leverage on the fifth seed, holding her own in the sixth, and breaking Svitolina in the seventh.
Net front shots were coming up big for the American winning eight of the last nine attempts. On serve, Pegula comfortably took a 5-3 lead, ending the game with a smash. Svitolina knew that being behind the American was no good and tried inching back within reach. The Ukrainian notched her third ace down the T but forced deuce on a bad slice. Pegula opened the door, giving Svitolina an AD point where the fifth seed clutched up, scoring the win on a slicer that hit the sideline.
It meant that the American had to serve for the set and in the tenth, did so with two set points to defeat Svitolina in 38 minutes. The net points really came through for Pegula, winning 10 of 11. Knowing that something different had to occur, Svitolina opened the second set with a break of Pegula. The American broke back, responding with the notion that she was going to drive her opponent apart.
The third was an important point for Svitolina as she defended her end well on deuce, containing the AD points before holding it. Pegula dropped some of her form in the fourth where Svitolina gained break points before an error scored her a 3-1 lead. Another hold had the momentum well in the fifth seed’s hands, sitting two games from pushing to a deciding set. Pegula started a regroup on serve in the sixth, where she built up energy to hold off Svitolina for a time.
The Ukrainian served up a lot of errors for Pegula, who was affected by the mistakes, giving her a shot at the set in the eighth. Pegula denied the Ukrainian a break to end the second, making her earn it on serve herself. Svitolina battled with some trouble on serve in the ninth, giving up points before she reached the set point. It took her five shots to see that after 40 minutes, a window was open to win the match. Pegula had 18 errors in total, making it a huge shift away from her and to the fifth seed.
Hoping to make a difference in her quest, the American held firm in the final set with Svitolina following along. Pegula got back into the net-front shots, securing the third before giving Svitolina a bigger hole to dig out of. Responding well on the rallies, the American came through with a break to consolidate. Pegula earned breakpoints in the fifth until she ran Svitolina all over the court before redirecting the shot that made it 4-1.
Svitolina rallied back in the sixth with a serve to love in the sixth game, breaking the American to run the score. The fifth seed broke Pegula, who took some risky shots and double-faulted bringing her within one. Having won two games in a row, Svitolina knew that she couldn’t give anything to the unseeded star. Pegula gained three break points but was forced to make errors from the forehand. It was soon a saving point for the fifth seed, who got to deuce, but faced a drop shot that she couldn’t track down.
Pegula’s fourth break attempt came through on a long ball from Svitolina, setting up the American for a service for the match. The tension was high for New York native, who erred on two points but regained lost ground. A drop shot move worked out for her to bring up match point where Svitolina erred for the last time down under, ending her week in 1 hour and 55 minutes.
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