Wimbledon: Pegula rallies past Jovic to reach second quarter-final

London, July 5 (IANS) Fourth seed Jessica Pegula recovered from a set down to defeat fellow American Iva Jovic 4-6, 6-3, 6-1 on Sunday, reaching the Wimbledon quarter-finals for the second time in her career and completing a clean sweep over the teenager across all three surfaces this season.

Pegula, who also made it to the quarter-finals at Wimbledon, has reached her second Grand Slam quarter-final of 2026. She will face either seventh seed Coco Gauff or 11th seed Belinda Bencic for a spot in the semi-finals.

This victory completed an impressive series for Pegula against Jovic this year. Before her win on Sunday, she had already beaten the rising American 6-4, 6-2 at the Dubai Tennis Championships and 6-4, 5-7, 6-3 at the Charleston Open, winning both tournaments.

The matchup was particularly interesting because Pegula had previously referred to Jovic as a “mini-me” due to their similar playing styles. Before the match, Jovic recognized the comparison and said, “Hopefully, I can play our game better.”

The opening set was messy for both players. Pegula managed just five winners but made 16 unforced errors, while Jovic had 12 errors. Jovic took advantage of Pegula’s serve, breaking her four times in the first set. Pegula won only six of her 17 first-service points. Although Pegula broke Jovic three times, Jovic quickly responded each time, handing Pegula her first set loss of the tournament.

However, Pegula changed the match completely in the second set. Her first-serve success rate climbed above 80 percent, and she tightened her groundstrokes. The frustration from the first set vanished, replaced by energetic celebrations as she broke Jovic twice, leveling the match.

That momentum continued into the deciding set. Pegula delivered one of the match’s key moments by coming back from 0-40 down on Jovic’s serve at the start of the third set. She won five straight points to secure an early break and a 3-0 lead. Although Jovic momentarily slowed her progress by holding serve to make it 3-1, Pegula finished strong, winning the last three games. She became the first player to secure a spot in this year’s Wimbledon quarter-finals.

–IANS

hs/