The biggest breakthrough yet has arrived: No. 6 Jessica Pegula is into the first Grand Slam semifinal of her career via a shocking 6-2, 6-4 domination of world No. 1 Iga Swiatek. Pegula had never previously been past the quarterfinals in any slam in her career and hadn't made it past the second round in any major this year.
It's Pegula's fourth career win against the world's top-ranked player (three of them have come against Swiatek) but her first such win in a major.
Pegula had been so close yet so far -- this was her seventh career slam quarterfinal, all coming since 2021 -- and for her to win at her home country's open was a big deal. Pegula, a Buffalo, New York native, is the daughter of Bills owners Terry and Kim Pegula. Jessica thanked the crowd for helping carry her through.
"I know everyone keeps asking me about it, but I was like, 'I don't know what else to do. I just need to get there again and win the match,'" Pegula told ESPN after the match. "So thank God I was able to do it and finally, finally, I can say semifinalist."
Pegula began the match absolutely on fire while Swiatek couldn't have played much worse; the American took each of the first four games and eased to a straightforward set win from there. Swiatek racked up 19 unforced errors (compared to just three winners), double faulted twice and put just eight of 22 first serves in. Pegula took full advantage, using a steady serve and gliding around the court defensively.
After leaving the court between sets, Swiatek emerged in a new outfit and held easily, as did Pegula. Then Pegula earned a break and seemed to be staring down the finish line, needing only to hold serve the rest of the way to win. Unfortunately for her, Swiatek wasn't going to go quietly, breaking Pegula right back to get back on serve, capping the key bounce-back game with a forehand that caught the line.
If there was any momentum gained, it was short-lived. At 3-3, Pegula earned another break as Swiatek sent a forehand wide to be broken again. The Polish star hit the net with her racket as she headed to the changeover and appeared quite peeved with her coach. Pegula then held serve the rest of the way to clinch the win.
Pegula played wonderful defense, kept her composure (22 unforced errors compared to Swiatek's 41) and won 77% of her first-serve points.
"I knew I could do it," Pegula said. "I just had to go out and execute my game and not get frustrated. Luckily I was able to take advantage of some things she wasn't doing well very early and then was able to kind of ride that momentum throughout the match."
Pegula will face Karolina Muchova in the semifinal. Pegula won their only meeting 5-7, 6-4, 6-2 in Cincinnati last month.