BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — Jessica Pegula took control early and beat Patricia Maria Tig 6-3, 6-1 in 72 minutes Thursday night at Arthur Ashe Stadium to advance to the third round at the U.S. Open in Queens.
Pegula, the highest-seeded American woman at No. 3, never trailed in her second-round match, breaking serve six times and winning 80% of her first-serve points against Tig, the world’s No. 700-ranked player from Romania.
“Every single match we play is just a really good battle,” Pegula said. “I feel like we play to each other’s games where we make each other play better and we always have really great matches.”
Next up for the Buffalonian and daughter of Bills and Sabres owners Terry and Kim Pegula is a third-round match with Elina Svitolina from Ukraine on Thursday.
Pegula’s second-round match followed reigning men’s champion Carlos Alcaraz on the main court at Flushing Meadows.
“I never thought that I would be getting used to Ashe, but somehow I am,” Pegula said. “But it’s hard to follow Carlos. It’s a tough act to follow, man.”
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Jonah Bronstein joined the WIVB squad in 2022 as a digital sports reporter. The Buffalonian has covered the Bills, Sabres, Bandits, Bisons, colleges, high schools and other notable sporting events in Western New York since 2005, for publications including The Associated Press, The Buffalo News, and Niagara Gazette. Read more of his work here.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
