Pegula rallies in first-set tiebreak, wins last six games to reach Wimbledon third round

Jessica Pegula trailed 6-2 in the first-set tiebreak of her second-round match against Sara Sorribes Tormo but saved four set points and stole the opener before winning the last six games to close out a 7-6 (6), 6-1 victory in 1 hour, 29 minutes and reach the Wimbledon third round.

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It's Pegula's first trip to this stage at the All England Club since 2023, when she advanced to the quarterfinals. She also improved to 2-0 against Sorribes Tormo in WTA Tour Driven by Mercedes-Benz main-draw matches, though the Spaniard pushed her throughout Wednesday's contest.

"It was really back and forth. I felt like we were both returning really well," Pegula said in her on-court interview. "She was playing some really good points and good tennis, using her slice, her chip, her volley. I felt like for a while there every cat-and-mouse point, I don't think I was winning at all, so I was just trying to get back to more of my game.

"Then honestly, just a little bit of luck at the end to get out of that first set. And then, yeah, I was able to play much cleaner in the second set."

What made the difference?

After trading blows throughout the opener, Sorribes Tormo broke Pegula again to begin the second. The American No. 1 responded by shifting into cruise control, sweeping the final six games and wrapping up the set in roughly half an hour. Ultimately, a myriad of adjustments swung the match in her favor.

Pegula began winning more points behind her serve. After taking nearly as many points on return (20) as on serve (21) in the first set, she dropped just three points behind her first serve (10 of 13) in the second and won 55% of her second-serve points. She didn't face a break point over the final six games.

She also cleaned up the uncharacteristic mistakes that plagued her in the first set, improving from a near 1:1 winner-to-unforced-error ratio to better than 2:1 in the second. She finished with 13 winners to six unforced errors. The backhand was the star of the show, but her volleying and work at the net as a whole -- almost like she's a former doubles World No. 1 or something -- was equally critical in turning her match around.

Sorribes Tormo went 9 of 12 at the net in the first set, but Pegula controlled that space in the second. An angled backhand volley highlighted a love hold for 4-1 that she sealed with an ace down the T. She added another ace a couple of games later in what became a final love hold to end the match.

Pegula will face another Spaniard in the third round when she takes her place across the net from Jessica Bouzas Maneiro, who defeated Dayana Yastremska 6-3, 6-7 (1), 6-2 earlier Wednesday.

Pegula leads that head-to-head 1-0, winning in straight sets in the third round of the 2024 US Open en route to reaching the final. She'd surely welcome history repeating itself, perhaps with a different outcome in the championship match.

Jovic races past Maria to make third straight Grand Slam third round

Iva Jovic is through to the Wimbledon third round for the first time, earning a dominant 6-1, 6-2 victory over Tatjana Maria. Still only 18, Jovic needed just 68 minutes to dispatch one of the WTA Tour's top grass-court talents.

While this is her first time reaching this stage as a pro, the young American is no stranger to success at the All England Club, having won the Wimbledon girls' doubles title with Tyra Caterina Grant in 2024. When paired with her strong form so far this fortnight, plus her WTA 125 title in Ilkley last year, she's beginning to show real comfort on the grass at this early stage of her career.

Jovic is now through to her third straight Grand Slam third round, having reached this very stage at Roland Garros and making her breakthrough run at the Australian Open, where she made the quarterfinals. The No. 16 seed will face No. 18 seed Ekaterina Alexandrova in an all-seeded third-round matchup.

Alexandrova leads the head-to-head 1-0, defeating Jovic in the second round of the 2024 US Open in Jovic's Grand Slam debut.