ADELAIDE: Jessica Pegula rebounded from a sluggish start on Wednesday to defeat 69th-ranked Bernarda Pera and advance to the Adelaide International quarter-finals against Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova.
The second seed took two and a quarter hours to win the all-American match at Memorial Drive, 4-6, 6-2, 6-3. After sharing the first two games, Pegula broke to start the deciding set, but lost it in the sixth game before breaking again to take a 4-3 lead.
She dug hard to get through a seven-minute penultimate game, saving four break points for a 5-3 victory. “She was hitting well in the first set, there was not a lot more I could do,” Pegula remarked.
“I remained calm and tried not to become frustrated.” “I want to keep improving and maintain a positive attitude.”It’s a new year, and I want to regain my confidence in time for the Australian Open.”
Pegula has reached the Australian Open quarterfinals in each of the last three years. Pavlyuchenkova, who overcame Katerina Siniakova 2-6, 6-3, 6-2, will be her next opponent.
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Laura Siegemund, a member of Germany’s United Cup-winning team, defeated Romanian Ana Bogdan 6-4, 7-5, and will face either Anna Kalinskaya or Daria Kasatkina in the last eight.
In the men’s draw, Chilean second seed Nicolas Jarry defeated Italian Matteo Arnaldi 6-7 (5/7), 7-6 (9/7), 6-4, saving a match point in the second-set tiebreak.
Briton Jack Draper won the second marathon of the day, struggling for 3 hours and 39 minutes before defeating Serb Miomir Kecmanovic 5-7, 7-6 (11/9), 7-6 (9/7). Australian Christopher O’Connell, on the other hand, required only 60 minutes to defeat Russia’s Alexander Shevchenko 6-3, 6-1.
Top seed Elise Mertens advanced to the WTA Hobart International quarterfinals with a 6-2, 6-3 victory against Anna Karolina Schmiedlova of the Slovak Republic.
