Pegula, Jovic give American women a winning start at Wimbledon

The American contingent got off to a winning start at Wimbledon.

With seven seeded women in the draw hoping to become the first American champion since Serena Williams in 2016, No. 4 Jessica Pegula and No. 16 Iva Jovic both overcame first-set tests before advancing to the second round in straight sets on Day 1.

Pegula back into second round

Opening play on Court 2, Pegula, who lost in the first round 12 months ago, made a flying start by winning the first four games in just 10 minutes against world No. 92 Darja Vidmanova, who was making her Grand Slam main-draw debut. Vidmanova found her footing on the grass to reel off three consecutive games, but Pegula closed out the opening set 7-5.

After the pair exchanged early breaks in the second set, Pegula reasserted control with another break for a 4-2 lead before breaking again to complete a 7-5, 6-3 victory in 1 hour, 13 minutes.

Pegula reached the Wimbledon second round for the fifth time in seven main-draw appearances. "I definitely wanted to redeem myself a bit from last year's exit and then also the early exit at the French," she told the media after the win. "I did well in Australia, I've done well in US Open the last few years. Wasn't happy about that (first-round loss last year). Little extra nerves or pressure today, as well, just with that in mind but then also motivation at the same time."

The fourth seed will next face Spain's Sara Sorribes Tormo, who defeated Victoria Jimenez Kasintseva 6-2, 6-3 to equal her best Wimbledon result by reaching the second round for the fifth time in seven appearances. She has never advanced beyond the second round.

Sorribes Tormo leads the head-to-head 2-1, with both of her victories coming before the COVID-19 pandemic, in 2018 and 2019. Pegula won their most recent meeting in 2022 but this will be their first meeting on grass.

Jovic earns first Wimbledon main-draw win

At the same time Pegula began her campaign, 18-year-old Iva Jovic, the No. 16 seed, took on world No. 37 Jaqueline Cristian in search of her first Wimbledon main-draw victory.

Neither player managed a service break in the opening set, forcing a tiebreak. Jovic dominated the breaker 7-1 before reeling off six consecutive games to complete a 7-6 (1), 6-0 victory in 1 hour, 30 minutes.

The win means Jovic has now recorded a main-draw victory at all four Grand Slam tournaments. Her best result came at this year's Australian Open, where she reached the quarterfinals.

Jovic will next face the winner between former Wimbledon semifinalist Tatjana Maria, who finished runner-up at Eastbourne last week, and Yulia Putintseva. The young American has faced Pegula twice and lost both times but has left the fourth seed very impressed with her game and attitude.

"She's a great player, I think she's so good," Pegula said of Jovic on Monday. "You could just see the look in her face, like, she means business every time she steps out. I think that is something super rare. You don't always see that in someone so young."

"I feel like she had a great year last year, and then I think she has kind of asserted herself as for sure top-20 player. I think she can go even higher. She's gotten so much stronger physically and super fit and competes like an animal. I really respect that aspect of her. She doesn't seem to be fazed by whoever she's facing, which I think is something rare. I think she's going to have an amazing career for the next 10, 15, however long she decides to play."

Seventh-seeded Coco Gauff and No. 28 seed Ann Li are the other seeded American women in action later Monday. No. 6 seed Amanda Anisimova, No. 23 seed Emma Navarro and No. 26 seed Madison Keys, who won the Eastbourne title over the weekend, will begin their Wimbledon campaigns on Tuesday.