After a day of shocks and upsets at Wimbledon fourth seed Jessica Pegula managed to avoid the same fate, as she overcame a spirited challenge from Iva Jovic in three sets.
Second seed and 2022 champion Elena Rybakina was picked apart by 25th seed Elise Mertens in straight sets on Saturday, followed by defending champion Iga Swiatek also falling in straights to 21-year-old rising star Alexandra Eala, on a day which completely upended the bottom half of the draw.
It looked like Pegula - one of the few remaining favourites - might be the next to suffer an untimely exit as she lost a topsy-turvy first set to 16th seed Jovic on Sunday, but the former US Open finalist held her nerve and regrouped to win 4-6 6-3 6-1.
Recently runner-up on the grass in Berlin, Pegula has long been tipped for a result at Wimbledon but has never gone beyond the quarter-finals, which she reached in 2023 before surprise early exits in 2024 and last year.
She had not dropped a set so far this tournament until this fourth-round encounter and was pushed hard by the 18-year-old Jovic under the blazing sunshine on No 1 Court, ultimately outmuscling the youngster from the baseline as her greater experience and consistency at this level told.
There were seven breaks of serve as both players struggled to build momentum in the opening set, with Jovic taking advantage of uncharacteristically sloppy play from Pegula to break to love for a 5-3 lead and then successfully serving it out.
But the teenager’s woes on serve continued into the second while Pegula’s accuracy improved, and the 32-year-old broke and backed up her break to lead 3-1 in the second.
Pegula only won 35% of points on her first serve in the first set but improved to 82% in the second, compared to 47% for Jovic as the 16th seed began to fade. Her usually potent forehand became increasingly erratic, while Pegula began to dictate in the rallies, pushing Jovic deeper behind the baseline and playing patiently to draw the errors from her opponent.
Pegula continue to grow in confidence throughout the deciding set, venturing to the net more and dominating those exchanges, before sealing the match and a love hold with a fierce ace.
She will face the winner of 11th seed Belinda Bencic’s tussle with seventh seed Coco Gauff in the quarter-finals.
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