Pegula Joins Vondrousova in the Third Round of Roland-Garros

Jessica Pegula is holding her ground so far in this Roland-Garros tournament. While many seeded players have already fallen since the start of the fortnight, the American, ranked world No. 3, earned her spot in the second round with a win over Anca Todoni (6-2, 6-4).

Facing her compatriot Ann Li on Thursday, the 31-year-old started cautiously, getting broken right away. But Pegula quickly found her rhythm, winning six of the last seven games of the set to take the lead. The second set, however, was much tighter.

Neither player managed to break serve, forcing a tiebreak to decide the set. Showing greater composure, Pegula ultimately closed out the match in 1 hour and 43 minutes (6-3, 7-6) to advance to the third round.

For a spot in the round of 16, she will need to overcome Marketa Vondrousova. The Czech, a finalist in the 2019 edition but now ranked 96th in the WTA, earlier defeated Magdalena Frech (6-0, 4-6, 6-3). Pegula will look for revenge against Vondrousova, who beat her in the Wimbledon quarterfinals two years ago.