ADELAIDE: In an all-American clash at the Adelaide International on Wednesday, No.2 seed Jessica Pegula fended off lucky loser Bernarda Pera 4-6, 6-2, 6-3 to enter the quarterfinals.
Pegula needed 2 hours and 12 minutes to battle back from a set down and triumph over 69th-ranked Pera in the second round of the WTA 500 event.
Following her first-round bye, Pegula builds her 2024 win-loss record to 2-1 in her second event of the season. As part of the defending champion American team at last week's United Cup, Pegula went 1-1, beating Ajla Tomljanovic but suffering an upset loss to Katie Boulter, WTA reports.
She will now face the winner of the all-qualifier affair between Katerina Siniakova and Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova on Thursday. Siniakova was the player who defeated Pera in the final round of qualifying.