Earlier this week, in an interview with Mail Sport, Jessica Pegula described the “normality” of her life, despite being the daughter of a billionaire and one of the world’s top tennis players.
On Saturday, that trend continued with the most routine of victories under the bright lights of Arthur Ashe. Within 70 minutes, she had booked her place in the round of 16 of the US Open and was, presumably, heading straight for the subway back home.
In the past, Pegula’s game has been labelled – perhaps unfairly – as boring, but if boring is another straight-sets win at a Grand Slam, she’ll take it.
In Spanish opponent Jessica Bouzas Maneiro, Pegula was facing a 21-year-old in the biggest match of her career, having never before made it past qualifying at the US Open, let alone into the third round.
In her last match, Pegula defeated Britain’s Katie Boulter in a huge upset, but in reality it seemed a step too far. Pegula prevailed 6-3, 6-3 on Saturday lunchtime and, although Bouzas Maneiro will continue to climb the WTA rankings, this was the American’s day.
The first major turnaround came at 3-3 in the first, when Pegula squandered a break point but then unleashed a powerful crosscourt forehand to catch her opponent off guard and steal the game.
That was an ominous moment that foreshadowed what was to come, as Pegula won the next six straight games to take a set and a 3-0 lead.
The fact that a double fault 45 minutes into the match elicited gasps from the crowd is perhaps a testament to the rarity of Pegula’s errors.
However, there was another serve at 3-1 in the second set, when the No. 6 seed lost his serve and the Arthur Ashe crowd cheered Bouzas Maneiro. Finally, some competitive tennis to go with his $23 Honey Deuces.
Jessica Pegula hits back at her Spanish opponent Jessica Bouzas Maneiro
Just a few minutes later, the applause was even louder for Pegula, who exhausted her Spanish opponent and served at 40-0, then instantly broke her serve to go 5-3 up. Normality was restored.
One game later, it was over. Another love-lose, another dominant win secured, and her quickest yet at this year’s US Open.
The American will face tougher tests in her quest to a quarter-final showdown with world number one Iga Swiatek, but for now she has done everything asked of her.
Three matches, three straight-set wins. Boring? Maybe, but she won’t give a damn.
