Pegula Knocks Out Svitolina, Sabalenka Cruising At US Open; Gauff v Wozniacki Tomorrow

Jessica Pegula topped Elina Svitolina in three sets for the second time this summer, dispatching the Ukrainian star 6-4, 4-6, 6-2.

The 29-year-old Pegula pounded nice aces and smacked 31 winners to reach her second straight US Open fourth round.

Pegula will move on to meet countrywoman and former finalist Madison Keys who came from a set down to defeat 5-7, 6-2, 6-2. Keys won 12 of the last 16 games and never dropped serve in the last two sets.

It’s Key’s sixth US Open fourth round. She made the finals in 2017.

No. 2 seed Aryna Sabalenka continues to crack the ball. The Australian Open champion blew out Clara Burel in the third round for a second straight year, winning today 6-1, 6-1.

Sabalenka, who has won her last 10 matches in hard court Slams this year, will now face Daria Kasatkina who made her second US Open fourth round besting qualifier Greet Minnen 6-3, 6-4. The Belgian Minnen upset Venus Williams on Tuesday.

No. 23 seed Qinwen Zheng got by Lucia Bronzetti of Italy 6-3, 4-6, 6-4. American former NCAA champion Peyton Stearns eased past British No. 1 Katie Boulter 6-4, 6-3 to make her best Grand Slam. The 21-year-old Stearns hasn’t dropped a set or faced a set point.

In the evening, Ons Jabeur won a marathon over Marie Bouzkova 5-7, 7-6(5), 6-3 in wild one in just under three hours.

Bouzkova took it to Jabeur in the opener but down a break 4-3 she injured her groin. She left the court and after 10 minutes returned, but struggled to move. With Bouzkova injured, Jabeur would struggle but somehow got the set and then got the win in three as the Czech never quit.

“Man, it’s a very tough match,” said Jabeur on court. “Huge respect for her, for sure.

“At the end of the second set, I tried to make her move as much as I can,” she said. “I know that’s not nice.”

Wimbledon champ Marketa Vondrousova rolled Ekaterina Alexandrova 6-1, 6-2 in a match that ended at 12:30am on Armstrong.

On Sunday, the fourth round opens with a cross-generational battle between new queen Coco Gauff and the returning former No. 1 Caroline Wozniacki.

Iga Swiatek is back on Armstrong to face No. 20 Jelena Ostapenko. Ostapenko has won all three tour-level meetings with Swiatek winning most recently last year in Dubai.

No. 10 Karolina Muchova gets Xinyu Wang and former semifinalist Belinda Bencic squares off against No. 30 Sorana Cirstea.

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