ADELAIDE, Australia (AP) — Second-seeded Jessica Pegula had a 4-6, 6-2, 6-3 win over fellow American Bernarda Pera on Wednesday to advance to the quarterfinals of the Adelaide Worldwide.
Pera earned a spot in the principle draw as a so-called fortunate loser from qualifying after which upset former No. 2-ranked Paula Badosa within the opening spherical.
Pegula went 1-for-10 on break factors within the first set as Pera’s highly effective left-handed sport led to the unseeded participant’s early benefit.
However Pegula discovered her rhythm within the second set, the place she hit 11 winners to 6 unforced errors.
Pegula will subsequent face Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, who beat fellow qualifier Katerina Siniakova 2-6., 6-3, 6-2.
Adelaide is among the many final tune-up occasions for the Australian Open, which begins Sunday in Melbourne.
High-seeded Elena Rybakina, final yr’s Australian Open finalist and winner of the Brisbane Worldwide on Sunday, was scheduled to play later Wednesday.
Tommy Paul, the top-seeded participant within the males’s attract Adelaide, was additionally set to play Australian qualifier Alex Bolt.
SINNER STAYS HOT AT KOOYONG
Jannik Sinner skipped official lead-in tournaments for the Australian Open and most popular to play on the Kooyong Traditional exhibition in Melbourne, which additionally options No. 8-ranked Holger Rune and Andy Murray.
Taking part in his first match of the season on Wednesday, Sinner beat Marc Polmans 6-4, 6-0.
The 22-year-old Sinner completed 2023 by beating No. 1-ranked Novak Djokovic within the round-robin stage of the ATP Finals in Turin and once more per week later as he led Italy to the Davis Cup title in Malaga.
He additionally received late-season titles in Beijing and Vienna which included wins over No. 2 Carlos Alcaraz and third-ranked Daniil Medvedev.
Sinner’s greatest end result on the Australian Open got here in 2022 with a quarterfinal look. His greatest Grand Slam singles to this point was a semifinal run final yr at Wimbledon.
“It was a superb finish of season final yr and I’m ranging from zero to attempt to get confidence from final yr once more,” Sinner stated. “It’s clearly powerful within the first match you play however I used to be pleased with immediately.”
MEHRTENS ADVANCES AT HOBART
High-seeded Elise Mehrtens has superior to the quarterfinals on the Hobart Worldwide after a 6-2, 6-3 win over Anna Karolina Schmiedlová.
Mehrtens is trying to win her third Hobart title. The Belgian participant, who received in Hobart in 2017 and 2018, will meet Dutch veteran Arantxa Rus for a spot within the semifinals.
“That will be superb (to win the event once more). However we’re solely within the quarterfinals — I have to win three extra,” Mertens stated.
