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    • Jessica Pegula reaches quarterfinals of US Open
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    Jessica Pegula reaches quarterfinals of US Open

    Bronwen Cerys Posted on

    Howard Fendrich
    | Associated Press

    new York — Jessica Pegula is back in the quarterfinals of the US Open after a 6-4, 6-2 win over Diana Shnaider on Monday, her seventh appearance in this round at a Grand Slam tournament. Now comes the hard part: Pegula is 0-6 in major quarterfinals in her career.

    The No. 6 seed Pegula, an American whose parents own the Buffalo Bills in the NFL and the Buffalo Sabres in the NHL, is currently on top form, winning 13 of her last 14 matches, all on hard courts, including her second consecutive title in Canada and an appearance in the final of the Cincinnati Open, where she lost to No. 2 seed Aryna Sabalenka.

    “I feel like the pressure was bigger this year because I started this tournament so well,” said the 30-year-old Pegula. “I want to keep working on myself and hopefully show my best tennis for the later rounds this time.”

    Also returning to the quarterfinals is Karolina Muchova, who won 6-3, 6-3 against No. 5 Jasmine Paolini, who was runner-up at the French Open and Wimbledon this season. Muchova made her breakthrough in 2023, reaching the final in Paris and the semifinals in New York before undergoing surgery on her right wrist in October that kept her out of action for 10 months.

    “That was my worst and most serious injury, I would say. But I love the sport, so I thought, ‘I’m going to do whatever I can to get healthy and try.’ And here I am today,” said Muchova, whose US Open a year ago ended in a loss to eventual champion Coco Gauff. “I’m just a really happy kid now.”

    Gauff was seeded number 3 this year and was eliminated on Sunday by number 13, Emma Navarro.

    In the men’s singles, Jack Draper became the first Briton to reach the quarter-finals in New York on Monday since the recently retired Andy Murray in 2016. Draper, who was knocked out in the fourth round last year, will play in his first Grand Slam quarter-final thanks to a 6-3, 6-1, 6-2 win over unseeded Tomas Machac.

    “Of course I miss Andy. Shout out to Andy. What an incredible career the guy had. Just an icon of the game. I miss him in the dressing rooms. I miss standing next to his smelly shoes and all his smelly clothes,” said Draper, who will face No. 10 Alex de Minaur or Jordan Thompson, two Australians scheduled to play each other on Monday. “Andy is a legend and if I can do half of his career then I’ll be a happy man.”

    No. 5 Daniil Medvedev, the 2021 champion who is the only former men’s winner still in contention, beat Nuno Borges 6-0, 6-1, 6-3. The win was postponed for six minutes – like all other matches in progress at the time – because there was a fire alarm in the building that houses the electronic line call system. Medvedev’s opponent in the quarterfinals will be No. 1 Jannik Sinner or No. 14 Tommy Paul.

    Pegula reached the quarterfinals at Flushing Meadows two years ago, losing to No. 1 Iga Swiatek, who went on to win one of her five major titles. Another clash with Swiatek could be on the cards: Pegula will next face the winner of Monday night’s match between Swiatek and No. 16 Liudmila Samsonova.

    Three of Pegula’s six quarterfinal exits at Grand Slam tournaments came against a number one player – twice Swiatek and once Ash Barty.

    “I just try to draw from those experiences and imagine how I felt before the next game, but it’s just so tough,” Pegula said. “I know you don’t want to hear a cliche answer, but it’s just one game at a time and every day feels kind of different. It depends on who you’re playing, what the conditions are like and when you’re playing. There are so many variables from day to day.”

    Everything went in her favor against 18th-seeded Shnaider. The 20-year-old Russian played college tennis for one season at North Carolina State University and won a silver medal in women’s doubles at the Olympic Games in Paris.

    Pegula hit 22 winners, six aces, saved 7 of 9 break points and won five of Shnaider’s service games.

    “My movement has really improved, which has helped me a lot to stay in a lot of those points and sets and games and be super consistent,” Pegula said. “I’ve been serving pretty well. Even when it’s not working out, I’ve kind of gotten myself out of service games by serving smart or serving well in key moments like today when she served back really well.”

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    Bronwen Cerys
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