2023 Wimbledon: Jessica Pegula beats Lauren Davis, reaches second round
Jessica Pegula beat her fellow American Lauren Davis in the women's singles first round at 2023 Wimbledon on July 3. The former claimed a 6-2, 6-7(8), 6-3 win after over two hours to sail into the second round. Pegula has reached the second round at Wimbledon for the third successive year. She had a third-round exit in The Championships last year.
A look at the match stats
Pegula won a total of 43 points and seven winners in the match. Both players struck more than one ace, while Davis recorded more double faults (5). Pegula had a win percentage of 71 and 62 in the first and second serves, respectively. She won 41% of the receiving points. Notably, Davis covered over 17.3 meters of distance per point.
Head-to-head: Pegula 4-2 Davis
Pegula now has a lead of 4-2 over Davis in the WTA head-to-head series. The two Americans last clashed in the quarter-finals in Washington DC, where Pegula prevailed 6-2, 7-6(2). Pegula also won in Newport Beach (2019) and Quebec City (2018). Notably, Davis won the first-ever WTA encounter between the two players, in 2012. She also won the Washington DC semi-final in 2016.
Pegula maintains her streak
It is worth noting that Pegula has not lost in the opening round of a Grand Slam since losing to Aryna Sabalenka at the 2020 French Open. In the second set against Davis, Pegula missed three match points before eventually winning the match.
Pegula set to face Cristina Bucsa
Pegula will next face Cristina Bucsa, who beat Kamilla Rakhimova 6-3, 4-6, 7-6(9) in the first round at Wimbledon. Busca saved four consecutive match points in the third-set match tiebreak to defeat Rakhimova.
