Jessica Pegula was able to overcome her compatriot Iva Jovic to reach the quarterfinals of the Dubai Tennis Championships.
Pegula and Jovic withdrew from the Qatar Open last week, but have returned to competition in Dubai for their first tournament since the Australian Open.
Both players had breakthrough runs in Melbourne, with Jovic currently at her career-high ranking after reaching the Australian Open semifinals, while Pegula reached the semifinals.
However, Pegula and Jovic had never played each other before, with their first meeting taking place in Dubai.
Jessica Pegula has high hopes for Iva Jovic’s future
Pegula beat 18-year-old Jovic, 6-4 6-2, to win their first ever meeting and reach the quarterfinals in Dubai for the first time since 2023.
After winning the match, Pegula was asked about what it was like to play Jovic in her on-court interview.
This is where Pegula had a big prediction for Jovic, backing her compatriot to have an ‘amazing future’.
“Yeah, I mean first time playing Iva she’s had an amazing start to the year, incredible player, you know she’s going to have an amazing future,” said Pegula.
“It was definitely a challenge to play someone I haven’t played before and someone that has been really confident, but I just tried to get focussed on challenging myself to doing what I needed to do to win the match.”
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American women made history at the Australian Open this year, and Pegula was full of praise for the current state of tennis in her country after beating her compatriot.
“It’s awesome, I love representing my country,” said Pegula. “I love that all the American women and men are doing such a great job.
“I think that we are amazing at supporting each other on the road and I think that’s kind of created that really nice depth of players that we have in the country and all of them have been doing so well, so I’m always really proud of that and proud to be one of them.”
The conditions in Dubai are hot, with highs of 30 degrees Celsius (86 degrees Fahrenheit) during the day, but Pegula actually found it very manageable.
“I actually didn’t think it was that bad!” admitted Pegula. “When I walked out I was like ‘Ooh it’s a little toasty’, but I’m from Florida, from Miami, we have a lot of sun and I’m used to the heat so it wasn’t too bad for me”
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Jessica Pegula admits she does not know what to expect from Clara Tauson
Pegula had never played Jovic before facing her in Dubai, and that is also the case for her quarterfinal opponent Clara Tauson, who she has only played in doubles before.
When previewing her quarterfinal match against 2025 Dubai runner-up Tauson, Pegula admitted she was not sure what to expect from the Dane.
“Yeah, another girl that’s younger, a really good player, powerful player, has a great serve,” Pegula said about Tauson. “Also someone I’ve never played before, I think we may have played each other once in doubles a long time ago.
“So again it’s going to be interesting, it’s going to be a challenge, I’m not sure what to expect really, but I’m happy to be through and give myself another shot.”
Pegula and Tauson will play each other for the first time in Dubai on Thursday, February 19, with a place in the semifinals on the line.
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