Pegula, Jovic set all-American Wimbledon showdown

Wimbledon has been the least successful Grand Slam of American Jessica Pegula's career. Entering this year's tournament, the No. 4 seed had won just eight main-draw matches in six previous appearances, with half of those victories coming during her quarterfinal run in 2023.

On Friday, Pegula took another step toward changing that by advancing to the fourth round at the All England Club for just the second time with a convincing 6-1, 6-3 victory over Spain's Jessica Bouzas Maneiro on Court 2. It was the same court where she suffered a first-round exit 12 months ago.

Pegula broke serve in the opening game and raced to a 4-0 lead before Bouzas Maneiro got on the scoreboard. The American wrapped up the opening set 6-1 with another service break.

Bouzas Maneiro, ranked No. 52 in the world, briefly threatened after breaking for a 2-1 lead in the second set. But Pegula responded immediately, winning the next five games to take a 6-3 victory and seal the match in just 52 minutes.

"I thought it was really clean," Pegula said after the win. "Definitely the best match I've had since I've been in the tournament. So that's always nice. Really nice weather out today. Conditions felt good. I just kind of executed my game plan really well. Came out with good energy and was able to play a solid match."

The win improved Pegula's head-to-head record against Bouzas Maneiro to 2-0 on the WTA Tour Driven by Mercedes-Benz. She also improved to 13-1 this season against opponents ranked outside the Top 50.

It was Pegula's sixth win in seven grass-court matches this season after finishing runner-up in Berlin last week.

Jovic reaches Wimbledon fourth round for first time after 'tough battle'

Later Friday, Pegula's younger compatriot, No. 16 seed Iva Jovic, needed two hours, 30 minutes to defeat No. 18 seed Ekaterina Alexandrova 6-3, 3-6, 6-4 on Court 12. The victory sent the 18-year-old into the fourth round at the All England Club for the first time.

"I think it was a tough battle," Jovic said of her win. "I don't even know how I pulled through it in the end. Lots of ups and downs. But I think it was a high-quality match from both ends. Just happy with the level that was produced. My serve was deteriorating a little bit (in the third set), and I just hung tough in two service games. I saved breakpoints in both of those that I held. So that kept me in it. Because if you give someone a double-break lead, it's not good. Keeping it at 3-4 with only one break kind of let me hang in and get back into the match."

It also marks just the second time in eight Grand Slam main-draw appearances that she has reached the round of 16. The victory was Jovic's third over a Top 20 opponent and leveled her head-to-head record against Alexandrova at 1-1.

Pegula, 2-0 against Jovic, 'motivated' to play fellow American

The two Americans will face off on American Independence Day weekend. They have already met twice on tour, with Pegula winning both encounters in 2026. She earned a 6-4, 6-2 victory in the round of 16 in Dubai in February before claiming a hard-fought 6-4, 5-7, 6-3 semifinal win in Charleston on clay. 

"I'm always motivated to beat the other Americans in a way that's different," Pegula said looking ahead to the match. "Not, like, I don't like them or anything like that. It's more of just like I think we're really proud of our country and playing for our country. There's so many of us that there is always like this push-and-pull kind of battle in a fun way where you're always pushing yourself against someone else from the same country."

"I think she's solidified herself for sure as a top-20 player," she said of Jovic. "I think she can definitely go higher than that. Seems like she's just getting more and more confident as she plays more matches. She's tough. Really good competitor. Does everything really well. Excited again to challenge myself against someone who is much younger who is playing with nothing to lose and no fear. I know she's going to come after me hard. I'll use that as motivation and try to be ready for as much as I can."

The fourth-round match will be their first meeting on grass, a surface that Jovic enjoys playing on.

"I think definitely this is a surface that probably favors both of us," she said. "I like playing on the grass. Hopefully, this will be the one I get her. I'm 2-0 down, so I need to get a win on her here. I think I've improved as a player a lot since the first two times I played her. Hopefully I can show that and hang tough here."