Pegula Jumps On Li Nerves To Reach Us Open Quarters

US Open 2025

Venue: Flushing Meadows, New York Dates: 24 August-7 September

Coverage: Live power commentaries crossed 5 Live Sport and BBC Sounds, positive unrecorded matter commentaries connected nan BBC Sport website & app

American Jessica Pegula took advantage of compatriot Ann Li's early nerves arsenic she sailed into nan US Open quarter-finals pinch a comfortable victory.

Fourth seed Pegula needed conscionable 54 minutes to hit Li 6-1 6-2 and support live her hopes of winning a career-first Grand Slam.

By her ain admission, nan 31-year-old has not played her champion tennis this summertime since suffering a humbling first-round exit astatine Wimbledon.

However, Pegula - who enjoyed a superb tally to nan last astatine Flushing Meadows 12 months agone - looked overmuch person to her champion connected Sunday arsenic she collapsed Li six times connected her measurement to victory.

"I cognize erstwhile she's serving good and has assurance she's really dangerous," Pegula said of Li, who she hit successful a overmuch tighter lucifer astatine nan French Open backmost successful May.

"I felt for illustration she came retired a small slow and tense and I wanted to jump connected that and not fto her consciousness comfortable for a second, that was my information each match."

Li represented a perchance tricky force contempt her world ranking of 58, ranking 2nd for aces pinch 22 from her first 3 matches.

The 25-year-old appeared assured arsenic she chose to service first aft winning nan coin toss, only for Pegula to break immediately.

Li improved aft making 10 unforced errors and winning conscionable 8% of her 2nd serves during nan first set, but Pegula seemed to raise her ain crippled successful response.

As ever Pegula was beardown connected nan baseline but made a conscious effort to move to nan nett arsenic well. By contrast, Li tended to enactment heavy successful a fruitless effort to support up pinch Pegula's powerful strokes.

"I felt really comfortable moving successful coming and coming successful astatine nan correct times, it doesn't ever consciousness that good, but it started good and I wanted to support executing that until nan past game," said Pegula.

"It's a portion of my crippled I tin really usage arsenic a weapon. Sometimes I get stuck astatine nan backmost because I'm truthful bully there, but we've worked connected that a batch and my coaches are happy erstwhile I'm finishing overheads and volleys astatine nan net."

In nan quarter-finals Pegula will look either world number 62 Barbora Krejcikova aliases compatriot Taylor Townsend, nan second having eliminated erstwhile French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko and world number 5 Mirra Andreeva without dropping a set.