Jessica Pegula has stormed into the third round of the US Open and is starting to look like a serious contender to progress deep into the second week.
This year’s tournament at Flushing Meadows is already starting to become a celebration of the resurgence that American tennis has undergone over the past 12 months.
While Coco Gauff captured the hearts of her country to claim last year’s title, Danielle Collins is enjoying the most successful year of her career after announcing that she is retiring at the end of 2024.
In-form Emma Navarro and Madison Keys round off the five women who find themselves inside the top 20 in the WTA rankings.
There are also five men now inside the world’s top 20 and there is promise that one can succeed at the US Open this year.
Is ATP or WTA more entertaining for Jessica Pegula?
There have been some blockbuster matches being served up on both the men’s and women’s side during week one of the US Open.
Sofia Kenin edged Emma Raducanu in a mouthwatering opening-round encounter between two former grand slam champions and, on Friday, Ben Shelton and Frances Tiafoe are to once again lock horns in an epic all-American rematch of last year’s quarter-final.
This begs the question: which side of the sport is more entertaining to watch?
“I definitely watch a lot of the men’s matches,” Pegula explained in a press conference. “I was watching Taylor [Fritz] and [Matteo] Berrettini, Frances and Ben is going to be a big match.
“I was hoping they all won and made it to the third round, as I saw they were going to play each other fairly early in a slam. That will be really exciting.
“I like watching men’s tennis [but] I still think women’s is more entertaining as they [the men] are so fast and their serves are so good that sometimes it can get repetitive but I love seeing the match-ups and how they play each other and even just trying to pick up on things they like to do, but it’s definitely a different game. I like watching and learning.”
Pegula in red-hot form to make deep run at US Open
After successfully defending her Canadian Open title and then reaching the final in Cincinnati, Jessica Pegula has announced herself as a serious contender for the US Open.
She has breezed through her opening two rounds and, while the attention is largely on Aryna Sabalenka and Gauff, Pegula will fancy her chances.
The 30-year-old has never progressed further than the quarter-final stage, but finds herself with the best opportunity to do so this year.
With a relatively clear route to the quarters, in which she is projected to face world number one Iga Swiatek, Pegula will be dialed in when the time comes.
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