London, July 5: Fourth seed Jessica Pegula recovered from a set down to defeat fellow American Iva Jovic 4-6, 6-3, 6-1 on Sunday, reaching the Wimbledon quarter-finals for the second time in her career and completing a clean sweep over the teenager across all three surfaces this season.
Pegula, who also made it to the quarter-finals at Wimbledon, has reached her second Grand Slam quarter-final of 2026. She will face either seventh seed Coco Gauff or 11th seed Belinda Bencic for a spot in the semi-finals.
This victory completed an impressive series for Pegula against Jovic this year. Before her win on Sunday, she had already beaten the rising American 6-4, 6-2 at the Dubai Tennis Championships and 6-4, 5-7, 6-3 at the Charleston Open, winning both tournaments.
The matchup was particularly interesting because Pegula had previously referred to Jovic as a “mini-me” due to their similar playing styles. Before the match, Jovic recognized the comparison and said, “Hopefully, I can play our game better.”
In the opening set, Pegula broke Jovic three times, Jovic quickly responded each time, handing Pegula her first set loss of the tournament.
However, Pegula changed the match completely in the second set as she broke Jovic twice, levelling the match. That momentum continued into the deciding set ensuring that she became the first player to secure a spot in this year’s quarter-finals. (IANS)
