Second Seeded Jessica Pegula Secures Win In Beijing

Playing her first match since the US Open final, Jessica Pegula defeated Diane Parry 6-1, 7-6 (4) in the China Open second round. The No. 2 seed came from 3-1 down in the second set to claim victory over the Frenchwoman at the National Tennis Center. Pegula will play Russian Veronika Kudermetova in the third round.

Meanwhile, American top player Emma Navarro's time in China came to an end after being stunned by the home favorite Zhang Shuai. Navarro - the US Open semi-finalist - lost to the World No. 595. Shuai had ended her 24-match losing run after another American McCartney Kessler in her Beijing opener on Wednesday.

Photo byJosh CalabreseonUnsplash

Pegula Had a Good Start After Her Break

Jessica Pegula notched her 16th win in her last 18 matches. The only player to have defeated her since the Paris Olympic Games is Aryna Sabalenka, in both the Cincinnati and US Open finals. Pegula is back in action after her withdrawal from Seoul last week due to a rib injury. The World No. 3 illustrated the hard work she needed to overcome Parry. Pegula had to survive a difficult second set when Parry, whom she was facing for the first time, pushed her all the way. Ultimately, she was able to reel off the last five points of the match from 4-2 down in the tiebreak.

The American will next face No. 32 seed Veronika Kudermetova. The Russian came through a three-set thriller to win over Wang Xinyu 3-6, 6-4, 7-5. Pegula has yet to defeat Kudermetova in two previous meetings, both in 2023 -- in the Madrid quarterfinals and Tokyo final.

Some Losses From Top American Players

[caption id="attachment_126102" align="alignnone" width="300"]Sept 5 2024; Flushing, NY, USA; Emma Navarro (USA) reacts after losing to Aryna Sabalenka on day eleven of the 2024 U.S. Open tennis tournament at USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. Mandatory Credit: Robert Deutsch-Imagn Images[/caption]

While Pegula had a good start, some of her fellow Americans were knocked out of Beijing. Sixth-seeded Emma Navarro was upset by Chinese wild card Zhang Shuai 6-4, 6-2. It is shocking since Navarro just entered the top 10 ranking after her successful run at the US Open. Shuai also beat American McCartney Kessler in the first round 7-6 (5), 7-6 (1). The former Australian Open winner Sofia Kenin also lost to the 12th-seeded Diana Shnaider 6-2, 6-3.

But, there are some Americans still having their positive run. Katie Volynets will face four-time major winner Naomi Osaka in the third round. Volynets walked through the next round after a 7-5, 6-3 win over Marta Kostyuk. The unseeded Peyton Stearns, a 22-year-old from Cincinnati, took down the 20th-seed Leylah Fernandez in straight sets 7-5, 6-2.

Pegula Is On The Right Track

The shocking loss of Emma Navarro had brought Jessica Pegula to be the only American favorite to win the China Open. Despite the injury she had after the US Open, Pegula had a great hardcourt campaign after she won the 2024 Canadian Open by stunning another American Amanda Anisimova in the final.

Pegula later ended up as the runner-up at the Cincinnati Master and the US Open, losing to Sabalenka on both occasions. With her first Grand Slam finals, Pegula has surpassed Elena Rybakina, Jasmine Paolini, and Coco Gauff in the WTA rankings. As the second seed, she will have another possibility to meet her recent kryptonite Sabalenka in the final.

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Article originally written by Tania Rompas