No. 6 seed Jessica Pegula upset No. 1 seed Iga Swiatek in the quarterfinals of the US Open on Wednesday night, earning the fourth American woman’s spot in the tournament’s semifinals.
With the win, Pegula advances to the semifinals of a Grand Slam tournament for the first time in her career. There she will meet fellow Americans Emma Navarro, Frances Tiafoe and Taylor Fritz. She will face unseeded Karolína Muchová for a spot in the final.
Pegula took control of the first set in the first game and never let go. She won the first game on Swiatek’s serve, giving the world number one her first service break in 26 games. Swiatek had not been broken since her first-round win over Kamilla Rakhimova.
On Swiatek’s second serve, Pegula did it again. She earned her second break of the first set to take a 3-0 lead. She kept control of her serve and didn’t give up a break to win the set 6-2. The set lasted 36 minutes and Swiatek made 18 unforced errors. After the set was over, Pegula sat on her bench and threw a light punch.
Swiatek retreated to the locker room, where she took a long break between sets. When she returned to the court, she had changed from her colorful outfit to an all-white outfit.
Swiatek was the first to serve in the second set. This time, she held on. But Pegula broke her again on her second serve to take a 2-1 lead. Swiatek responded to level the score at 2-2 before Pegula regained control with a break to take a 4-3 lead. She forced three break points in the game and then received a standing ovation from her fans in the stands after forcing Swiatek to hit too far to secure the break.
Swiatek failed to come back into the game. With the match leading 5-4 on her serve, Pegula earned her third match point for the biggest win of her career.
Discover more from The Times Of Update
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.