NEW YORK – Jessica Pegra, the most effective seeded American remaining within the US Open Ladies’s Single Draw, beat Barbora Cresci Chikova 6-3, 6-3 on Tuesday to make her second semi-final in her profession within the Grand Slam event.
Pegra didn’t advance to the semifinals in her first 23 important draw appearances within the majors earlier than reaching the US Open Remaining a 12 months in the past, shedding to Alina Sabalenka a 12 months in the past, and was later eradicated within the fourth spherical on the Australian Open, the third spherical of the French Open and the primary spherical at Wimbledon.
Returning to the laborious court docket on the US Open was a profitable recipe. For the second 12 months in a row, Pegra made the Remaining 4 with Flushing Meadows with out dropping a set, and up to now has solely been pushed previous 5 in a single set.
Earlier than Pegra, the final girl to succeed in the US Open Semi-finals with out surrendering the set was Serena Williams, who went 4 occasions in a row since 2011-14.
On this event, Pegra misplaced 23 video games on the 2016 Australia Open, with American ladies on their technique to the key semifinals since Williams (22 video games misplaced earlier than the semifinals).
“I feel I’ve performed actually good tennis,” Pegra stated. “I am simply taking part in very strong. I’ve had an excellent fast begin and I actually needed to do it immediately, particularly with folks just like the very harmful (Krezikova).”
Sabalenka, the world’s high ladies’s tennis participant, might probably turn into Pegula’s subsequent opponent if she defeats Marita Vondrousova in a Tuesday evening match. Additionally it is the Arthur Ash Stadium the place Pegra did the fast work of Crezikova.
“I feel it is loopy to see now, I feel it is loopy, I feel it is actually snug coming right here and taking part in in an enormous sport with the craziest crowd in opposition to the most effective gamers and the most effective courts on the planet,” Pegra stated. “It is fairly loopy and that is one thing I did not suppose I used to be good at this ten years in the past, however I feel so.”
Pegra, 31, is aiming for her first Grand Slam Championship. She and quantity 8 Amanda Anishimova are the one Individuals remaining within the ladies’s singles discipline.
Krejcikova knocked out one in every of them, Taylor Townsend. Taylor Townsend was unable to transform eight match factors after they met within the sixteenth spherical on Sunday. Pegula wasn’t good, however she performed sufficient to maintain management always, and at last broke Krejcikova to complete the match in underneath 90 minutes on her first match level try.
“It actually received powerful,” Pegra stated. “Once I was serving 4-1, she had a extremely good return and all of us noticed what she did to Taylor.
ESPN analysis and Related Press contributed to this report.
