Pegula defeats Jovic 4-6, 6-3, 6-1 to reach Wimbledon quarters

On the 4th of July weekend, in an all-American 4th-round match, the tour veteran schooled the student. Jessica Pegula, the 4th seed from Buffalo, New York, overcame a one-set deficit and a laundry list of errors to reach the final eight at the All England Club.

Iva Jovic, just eighteen, is ranked and seeded sixteenth at the Championships. The Torrance, California native, in just her second main draw appearance, dispatched three challenging opponents, including former world #10 and 18th seed Ekaterina Alexandrova, to reach the round of sixteen.

While neither is renowned for one extraordinary shot, their defense and agility are reliable and formidable weapons. This was their third tour-level meeting and their first on grass. Pegula won both matches this season – on hardcourt in Dubai and Hartru in Charleston. On Court 1 in warm, breezy conditions, Pegula won the toss and elected to receive.

AP Photo/Kin Cheung

Jovic held to 30 for 1-0 following three consecutive backhand errors from her opponent. Pegula missed 6/10 first serves, faced two deuce points, two break points, and dumped serve with a mishit backhand while Jovic donated four unforced errors, three off the forehand, to give back the break.

Pegula gifted five unforced errors, including a netted backhand, to drop serve while Jovic committed three unforced errors, including a netted forehand, to give back the break. Pegula opened the sixth with an ace up the tee and held at love for 3-3, while Jovic opened and closed with spectacular winners to lead 4-3.

Pegula, serving with new balls, committed four consecutive unforced errors to dump serve while Jovic, serving for the set, gifted three to give back the break. Pegula, serving to stay in the set, opened with a netted backhand and, with two additional errors, conceded it 4-6.

Jovic served first in the second set, and though she donated her first double fault, held easily to 15 with two consecutive winners while Pegula made 5/5 first serves and held to 15 to level. Jovic committed four unforced errors and dumped serve while Pegula, with well-placed serves, held to 30 to consolidate the break for 3-1.

While Jovic finds repeated success from the back of the court with her potent groundstrokes, she is eager to come forward to finish points. She missed 3/5 first serves, faced triple break point, and dropped serve with a netted backhand.

Pegula was frequently pulled from side to side as Jovic consistently found the corners. The thirty-two-year-old faced deuce, two break points, and dumped serve with another netted forehand. Jovic, serving with new balls, faced two deuce points and four break points yet battled to hold for 3-4 with a crisp cross-court forehand pass.

Pegula made 4/5 first serves and held easily to 15 with a remarkable inside-out forehand. Jovic struck her first ace but conceded the set following three winning forehands from her opponent and two errant forehands off her racquet.

Pegula served first in the decider and held to 30 while Jovic dropped serve following four unforced errors. Pegula opened the third with a stunning slice backhand drop shot and held to 30 to consolidate the break for 3-0.

Jovic opened the fourth with a brilliant backhand volley down the line and, though she faced deuce, got on the board when Pegula netted a volley. The world #4 faced 15-30 but managed to hold for 4-1 when the teenager lost three consecutive points with errant backhands.

Jovic opened the sixth with two consecutive backhand errors and dumped serve following two outstanding backhands – drop shot and volley – from her opponent. Pegula served for the match and a coveted spot in the final eight.

She made 4/4 first serves, including an ace out wide on match point. It was an incredible turnaround from the veteran as she navigated a challenging opponent and her lackluster start. Pegula was uncharacteristically off-balance and unsettled. She managed to rewrite the script, winning five consecutive games from the end of the second to midway through the deciding set.    

She finished with two aces, zero double faults, and won 64% of first and 41% of second serve points. She was more effective when returning, winning 50% of first and 58% of second serve return points. She saved 3/8 break points while converting just 8/17. She will need to serve with greater consistency and compete with more authority if she hopes to reach the penultimate round.

Standing in the way of her first Wimbledon semi-final is either 2-time grand slam champion and fellow American Coco Gauff or former world #4 and 2025 Wimbledon semifinalist Belinda Bencic.

Pegula leads Gauff 5-3 in the head-to-head, having split the two on grass. Bencic, from Switzerland, leads the head-to-head 4-1, including their lone match on grass in 2015 in the Netherlands.