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US Open 2024: Jessica Pegula extends unbeaten record against fellow Americans as world No 6 keeps Grand Slam hopes alive against Sofia Kenin
All that was missing from Louis Armstrong Stadium on Thursday afternoon? Hospital beds and a heart-rate monitor.
For much of this day session, the 14,000 court doubled up as an Emergency Room. Fans saw nearly as much medical treatment as tennis.
First, Sebastian Korda called for the doctors as he battled an elbow injury en route to defeat by Czechia's Tomas Machac.
That match was done in a little more than two hours. The second game on Louis Armstrong lasted all of three points before Karolina Pliskova quit with a bad foot.
Jessica Pegula suffered no little discomfort in the session's final match. But she survived an All-American battle against Sofia Kenin and her bid for a first Grand Slam title remains in rude health.
World No 6 Jessica Pegula survived an All-American battle against Sofia Kenin on Thursday
Pegula was broken at the start of each set but twice she rallied to edge out Kenin 7-6 6-3
The world No 6 was broken at the start of each set but twice she rallied to edge out Kenin 7-6 6-3.
After victory over Shelby Rogers in round one, Pegula has now beaten two compatriots to reach round three. She is now 11-0 against fellow Americans this year.
'I just get juiced up to play Americans, I guess,' she said afterwards. Next up? Spain's Jessica Bouzas Maneiro.
Navigating these early rounds has rarely been the problem for Pegula. Her issue needs little diagnosis: the 30-year-old has reached six Grand Slam quarterfinals without winning one.
To break that skid, she will need to play better than this. The No 6 seed cut a frustrated figure for long periods and tossed her racquet after one too many errors in the first set.
Pegula overcame frustration and early breaks to reach the third round at Flushing Meadows
'I just get juiced up to play Americans, I guess,' the world No 6 said after sealing victory
Kenin is, of course, one of Pegula's fellow Americans who have found a route to Grand Slam glory. The 25-year-old won the Australian Open in 2020 and reached the French Open final that same year.
Twelve months ago, meanwhile, Coco Gauff was crowned queen of Queens. Pegula fell at the fourth round last year and, before this, had not gone beyond the second hurdle of a Slam in 2024.
The supporters inside Louis Armstrong were made to wait and wait to see more tennis following the injury to Pliskova. No wonder there was barely an empty seat once two Americans began slugging it out.
It was hardly a classic but Pegula did well to grind out victory and remain on course for yet another quarter final.