Petra Kvitova vs Jessica Pegula: Peaking Pegula faces Kvitova's resistance

The US Open is hurtling towards its concluding stages and within a few days, we will witness the one who will lift the Single’s championship in the WTA scenario. Emma Raducanu, the defending champion has long been ousted and didn’t make much of an impression. But there are two players who have made a constant impression as Petra Kvitova takes on Jessica Pegula.

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Petra had to fight tooth-and-nail to reach the Round of 16 after Garbine Muguruza gave her a tough time in Third Round. She lost the first set 5-7 then came back fiercely to take the second 6-3 but the third set was as close as it gets. It went to a tiebreaker and Garbine kept striking back but Kvitova then prevailed 12-10 in what was one of the most exciting battles during this US Open. Petra had a 68% first serve, winning 76% on first serve while nailing 14 Aces.

And Aces has Petra nailed throughout her career. She has hit 19 in total thus far, and remember, the second round game against Anhelina Kalinina which was a walkover win. The two-times Wimbledon champion has never made it past the Quarter-Finals of the US Open. This has already been the best run for Kvitova this year who is using every ounce of her experience to get through. How will it be when the competition-level gets stiffer and trickier?

Jessica has a bit of trouble getting past Yue Yuan. As expected, she took the first set 6-2 but then Yue prevailed in the tiebreaker, winning 8-6. She finally took the last set 6-0 and proved that she wasn’t having much of Yue. The last set proved Jessica has got her game going and is one of the elite players. Pegula had a 63% first serve, winning an astonishing 90% on her first serve. She had a significant 44-10 receiving points advantage while winning service points 53-49.

Pegula has lost just one set in three games but outside of that, she has had smooth sailing. The competition level has surely been up now and this is a crucial period for the US stalwart who wants to make a deeper run. This has been the best year of her Grand Slam career, having reached the Quarter-Finals during French and Australian while making the Third Round of Wimbledon. Will she make her third Quarter-Finals this year?

This is the third time these two will meet and Kvitova has won both the previous meetings. Her last win came during Qatar Open in 2021. Kvitova is yet to drop a set against Jessica.

Although she hasn’t dropped a set against Pegula, Jessica is in a riveting touch this year and this can be a time for brewing something special and finally make a decisive run towards the title. The aggressive nature of Kvitova and the way she has been hitting Aces will make it tough for Jessica so her return game will need to be switched on all the time. I believe it will be switched on here and Pegula will at least take a set if not win the match. I see another three-set thriller for Kvitova.