Jessica Pegula made it look easy on Sunday.
In her fourth-round match at Arthur Ashe Stadium, the world No. 4 American cruised to a 6-1, 6-2 win in just 54 minutes against fellow American Ann Li on a forehand winner down the line that came with a yell in victory.
The reigning U.S. Open women’s singles finalist is the first quarterfinalist of the 2025 U.S. Open where she will play either American Taylor Townsend or Czech Barbora Krejčíková on Tuesday.
“I felt really comfortable today,” Pegula said on the court after the match. “I felt like I was seeing the ball at the right times. It doesn’t always feel that good but I felt like today, I started off really well and I just wanted to keep executing that up until the very last game.”
The quarterfinals used to be a thorn in Pegula’s side.
Before breaking through to the finals a year ago, she was 0-6 in the quarterfinals at Grands Slams.
In the first set on Sunday that only last 25 minutes, Pegula only lost one point when returning Li’s second serve.
Li’s backhand slice into the net gave Pegula the early set break as “Let’s go Jessie!” chants broke out from fans.
Pegula moved well between the baseline and net.
She impressively won 12 of 15 net points and won 85 percent of the points on her first serves. She had two aces and 12 winners with 12 unforced errors against Lin’s 19.
The two Americans had previously played this season at Roland Garros in the second round. Pegula got the victory but Li tested her in the final tiebreak set, 6-3, 7-6 (3).
“When she is serving really well and she has a lot of confidence, she is really dangerous,” Pegula said. “I felt like maybe she came out a little slow or nervous or whatever it was and I just felt like I wanted to jump on top of that and not let her feel comfortable on this court for a second.”
Pegula is chasing another final berth in Flushing after she lost to No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka last year in a tight match but won Sabalenka won in straight sets, 7-5, 7-5.
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