Jessica Pegula has continued her superb run at the Australian Open by knocking out defending champion Madison Keys.
American duo Pegula and Keys met in the fourth round in Melbourne, where the former beat the latter 6-3, 6-4.
Pegula hasn’t dropped a set at this year’s Australian Open, having also beaten Anastasia Zakharova, McCartney Kessler and Oksana Selekhmeteva.
But the sixth seed now faces another huge challenge against Amanda Anisimova, who is the fourth seed at the Australian Open.
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Jessica Pegula breaks Serena Williams’ record with win over Madison Keys
Pegula will, however, have just gained a huge confidence boost after beating her close friend and WTA rival Keys.
And it is a hugely significant victory in more ways than one given that she has just surpassed legendary figure Serena Williams.
As per OptaAce, Pegula has become the oldest American in the Open Era to defeat a defending women’s singles champion at a Grand Slam tournament.
Aged 31 years and 328 days, she has surpassed Williams, who achieved the feat at the 2013 French Open aged 31 years and 243 days.
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Jessica Pegula praises ‘good sport’ Madison Keys after winning their match
Pegula’s latest match-up certainly wasn’t an easy one, with the American enjoying a close relationship with Keys, which even involves hosting a podcast together.
But they shared a fist bump and a talk in the gym after the match, of which Pegula told Tennis Channel: “Yeah we had a funny moment kind of right before when we walked right on the court, and so she was kind of talking about that. We actually didn’t really talk about the match at all.
“I mean, she’s such a good sport and I think we’re good friends, we do the podcast together, we practice a lot, we talk a lot, so I think for us it’s just… we’re used to kind of leaving it out on the court, doing the best we can, but off the court I think we’re pretty down to earth with that stuff.”
It’s certainly admirable that they were able to talk after such an important match, having undoubtedly put their friendship to one side during their time on the court.
But it typifies the current state of American women’s tennis, with Pegula, Keys, Anisimova and Coco Gauff all impressively in the WTA top 10 rankings.
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