Wimbledon: Pegula cruises into fourth round with straight-sets win

London, July 3 (IANS) Jessica Pegula continued her impressive grass-court campaign with a commanding 6-1, 6-3 victory over Spain’s Jessica Bouzas Maneiro to reach the fourth round at Wimbledon without dropping a set.

The fourth seed needed just 53 minutes to defeat the world No. 52, showing a polished performance that improved her record on grass this season to 7-1.

Pegula took control from the start, jumping to a 4-0 lead before easily winning the opening set 6-1. Bouzas Maneiro had little chance to settle into the match.

The American faced her only real test early in the second set. After saving a break point in the first game, she lost her serve in the third and fell behind briefly. However, the 2024 US Open runner-up responded quickly. She broke back in consecutive return games and won four straight games to regain complete control before finishing with another straight-sets victory.

Aside from that brief moment of distraction, Pegula delivered an almost perfect performance, winning 79 percent of points on her first serve and hitting 12 winners.

The win continues her strong form on grass after Pegula finished as runner-up in Berlin before arriving at the All England Club.

Despite her success, Pegula recently shared that she has developed a different attitude about playing on grass. In the past, she often came to Wimbledon with high expectations but faced early exits. “I’ve kind of taken on this new mindset that I actually don’t think I like it as much as everyone tries to tell me I should,” Pegula said after her opening-round win over Darja Vidmanova.

The American explained that convincing herself she should do well on grass had become unhelpful. “The last few years, I’ve always thought, ‘Yeah, I should be good on grass,’ but I don’t necessarily love it.”

Although she acknowledged her run to the Berlin final, Pegula mentioned she is no longer putting extra pressure on herself to perform on this surface. “I made the final in Berlin, and I’m embracing that, but I’m not obsessed with it. That’s all I’m trying to say.”

She then lightened the mood with a bit of humour. “No, that’s what I’m saying. I’m just like, ‘Whatever. Actually, I’m terrible on grass. I don’t know what the problem is.'”

–IANS

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