Elise Mertens obliterates Jessica Pegula 6-1 6-3 in the quarter in New York on Wednesday after playing a extraordinary match to deal with Naomi Osaka in the semifinal.
Score, report, and key facts
Mertens took off at the beginning of the set after breaking Pegula in the 1st game (1-0). The Belgian extended her lead after breaking Jessica in the 5th (4-1) and in the 7th (6-1) game before winning the set.
Pegula was completely knocked out in the last 4 games of the set when the score went from 2-1 to 6-1.
Mertens was on the money in converting all her break points in the 1st (0-0 30-40), the 5th (3-1 15-40) and the 7th game (5-1 15-40). On the other side, Elise didn’t concede a single break point during this set.
They played 34 points. Elise conquered the set after winning 14 points more than Jessica (24-10). Elise was extremely solid on serve to concede just 2 points (12-2). In addition, on the other side, Pegula conceded 12 points on serve (8-12).
Mertens started the set in the best possible way after breaking Pegula in the 2nd game (2-0). Nevertheless, the set was not over yet and there was more work to do for the Belgian to win the set because Pegula succeeded in breaking back in the 3rd (1-2) game. Elise maintained her cool to break the American in the 8th (5-3) game before conquering the set (6-3).
The American lost the 2nd game (2-0) when she was serving and leading 40-0.
Elise was spot on in converting all her break points in the 2nd (1-0 40-A) and the 8th game (4-3 40-A). On the other side, Pegula converted 33% of her break points (1/3). She had her opportunities in the 3rd game (0-2 0-40, 15-40 and 30-40).
They played 57 points. Elise was the one to win the set after conquering 5 points more than Pegula (31-26). Mertens conceded 12 points on serve (20-12). On the losing side, the American conceded 11 points on serve (14-11).
Elise will add to her prize money $ 32,000 after winning this match. She has won already $ 75,000 till now in the tournament. If she wins the next match, Elise will add $ 77,999 to her earnings to get in total $ 152,999.
Match Statistics
At the end of the match, Mertens scored 55 points vs. Pegula’s 36.
Mertens served very well to win 78% of the points (21/27) behind her first serve, and she won 58% points (11/19) on her second serve. Mertens was absolutely great in converting all the break points (5/5). On the other side, Jessica had a tough time converting her break points (only 33% – 1/3). That was one of the key issues for her loss.
After this encounter, the head to head between Mertens and Pegula is 1-0 for Elise.
Highlights Elise Mertens vs. Jessica Pegula Western & Southern Open – New York
Mertens’s Interview
Draw and next match H2H: Elise Mertens vs. Naomi Osaka – stats
Mertens will face Osaka in the semifinal.
This will be the 3rd time that Elise Mertens and Naomi Osaka play each other. The head to head is 1-1 for Mertens and Osaka (see full H2H stats),but they are 1-1 on hard.
The last time that they competed against each other, Osaka won 6-4 6-1 in the semifinal in Osaka back in 2019.
Tennis Scores in New York
- Naomi OsakaOsaka – Anett KontaveitKontaveit (4-6 6-2 7-5) – Stats and score progression
- Victoria AzarenkaAzarenka – Ons JabeurJabeur (7-69 6-2) – Stats and score progression
- Elise MertensMertens – Jessica PegulaPegula (6-1 6-3) – Stats and score progression
- Johanna KontaKonta – Maria SakkariSakkari (6-4 6-3) – Stats and score progression
Upcoming matches
- Elise MertensMertens – Naomi OsakaOsaka (1-1) – H2H details and stats
- Johanna KontaKonta – Victoria AzarenkaAzarenka (2-1) – H2H details and stats
