No.1 seed Jessica Pegula and former champion Madison Keys cruised into the round of 16 on home soil at the Charleston Open on Wednesday.
The World No.3 Pegula outplayed 63rd-ranked Anna Blinkova to register a 6-2, 6-0 win in a match that lasted for just 64 minutes. “I used to train here for a couple years, I grew up in Hilton Head, so I know I lot of people came to watch me. This was kind of like my childhood and where I learned to really play tennis, so it’s really special,” WTA.com quoted Pegula saying, after her win.
“I think you just have a little bit more time to be creative [on the clay], and I’ve gotten a lot better at that throughout my career. Before, I would probably say I was better on hard court, but I think my game translates really well to clay. I’m getting better with my feel and my touch shots, I like a good drop shot,” she added.
In the first meeting, Pegula dominated with big returns, winning 70% of the points when she returned Blinkova’s second serve. Pegula won by converting six of her ten break points.
Pegula has reached the Round of 16 for the fourth time in her five career main-draw appearances, but she has yet to advance beyond this stage. Pegula’s next opponent will be No.15 seed Irina-Camelia Begu of Romania.
No. 9 seed Keys, who won the Charleston title in 2019 and was a finalist in 2015, joined Pegula in the Round of 16 with a 6-1, 6-2 victory over fellow American Hailey Baptiste.
On Day 3, three more Americans advanced to the Round of 16. Wildcard Caroline Dolehide defeated Czech teenager Linda Fruhvirtova 6-2, 5-7, 6-3, and Bernarda Pera defeated Cristina Bucsa 6-3, 6-4.
Finally, hometown hero Shelby Rogers pulled off a comeback win over fellow American Caty McNally in the night session to reach the Round of 16. McNally led 7-6, 5-3 before Charleston native Rogers reeled off 10 of the next 11 games to collect a 6-7(4), 7-5, 6-1 victory. (ANI)
