Another Three-Setter: Pegula Keeps Title Defense on Track in Charleston

Defending champion Jessica Pegula is making a habit of going to the wire in the Lowcountry this week.

The American, who needed three hours and ten minutes to get past Yulia Putintseva on Wednesday at the Credit One Charleston Open, was at it again on Thursday, battling through a topsy-turvy match with Italy’s Elisabetta Cocciaretto, 1-6, 6-1, 7-6(1), to book her spot in the quarterfinals.

It took Pegula all match to finally get the upper hand. She was blown away in the first set before responding to turn the tables with a stellar middle set.

Pegula attributed her slow start to the fact that she’s still not quite comfortable playing on clay.

“It’s tough getting used to clay,” Pegula said. “There were a couple tough games where I felt like I could have won the game, and the next thing I know, the set just kind of flipped, and I just saw a stat that I had won like 25 percent on my first serve, and I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, that’s horrible.’ So I was just focused on making that stuff better. And then I started serving really well. And then I started getting into return games, putting pressure on her serve, and then finding some patterns that kind of work—just finding my footing.”

There was momentum on hand at the start of the third set, but it quickly was siphoned away by an aggressive Cocciaretto, who surged ahead, leading 3-0 and 4-1 before Pegula drilled down once again.

The Buffalo native battled through six of the final eight games to book a quarterfinal clash with Diana Shnaider. Just moments earlier, Shnaider hammered past Leylah Fernandez, 6-3, 6-0.

Pegula was able to solve the puzzle of a player who handed her a 6-2, 6-3 defeat in 58 minutes at Wimbledon last year by getting her serve on track and drilling down on the details.

“She crushed me at Wimbledon last year,” Pegula said. “I had that in my mind as well. I have just been winning so many matches, and winning at a high level. I know that I can always win the match, I always believe that I’m going to get my chance or my moment, and I just have to capitalize when I can.”

Pegula has spent 5 hours and 15 minutes on court through two rounds—she improved to 21-4 on the season with the win.

In other action, Belinda Bencic defeated Czechia’s Sara Bejlek, 7-6(4), 6-2, for her 300th career WTA win. The Swiss, a 2022 champion in Charleston, is one of 14 active WTA players to have reached that mark.