No.3 seed Jessica Pegula moved through to the third round of Roland Garros after Camila Giorgi retired from their match after one set played on Court Philippe-Chatrier on Wednesday.
Pegula was leading 6-2 when the Italian Giorgi retired after just 37 minutes on the court. Pegula won the first four games of the match and hit 12 winners in the eight games the pair played.
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The American is through to the third round at a Grand Slam for the ninth time in the past 10 major tournaments. The abridged win is Pegula's eighth in 10 career meetings against Giorgi and her fifth in a row.
Feel better soon, Camila Giorgi ❤️
— Roland-Garros (@rolandgarros) May 31, 2023
Jessica Pegula advances to the third round 6-2 ret.#RolandGarros pic.twitter.com/Y2E8YN6y1u
Pegula later hit the court for doubles with Coco Gauff, and went 2-0 on the day: The No.2 seeds beat Laura Siegemund and Vera Zvonareva 6-2, 6-2.
"It's always good to get two wins," Pegula said. "I thought today was going to be a very long day but actually ended up being a quicker day than I was expecting, which is always good, especially if you're winning."
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Pegula will next face No.28 seed Elise Mertens, who beat Colombian lucky loser Camila Osorio 6-3, 7-6(3). Mertens leads Pegula 2-0 in their head-to-head thus far, though they've only played on hard courts and haven't played in two years. Mertens was a 5-7, 7-5, 6-0 winner in the quarterfinals of Dubai two years ago.
"We haven't played in a little while," Pegula said. "We played doubles quite a few times but not singles. She's really tricky I think. A really smart player. Kind of a counterpuncher, but is very strategic as well.
"So I think it will be difficult. I don't know if we've ever played on clay before, but it will definitely be a match where, you know, I'm not going to be able to make a lot of errors, I'm not going to be able to -- can't really go for too much. I'm going to have to play smart, serve smart. She also competes very well.
"I know that, going in, it's going to be a tough match and a tricky matchup for me."
Tauson beats Fernandez in junior final rematch: In a redux of the 2019 Australian Open girl's final, Danish qualifier Clara Tauson defeated No.36 Leylah Fernandez 6-3, 5-7, 6-4 to advance to her first third round in Paris. Tauson will play Elina Avanesyan for a spot in her first fourth round at a Slam.
A former junior No.1, Tauson has slowly worked her way back up the rankings after injuries derailed her breakout 2022 season. After reaching a career-high ranking at No.33 last year, the 20-year-old Dane has seen her ranking slip to No.128 by season's end. After spending much of the 2023 season on the ITF level, Tauson earned her main-draw spot in Paris with a trio of wins over Katie Swan, Petra Marcinko, and Mirjam Bjorkland.
"I feel like I'm maybe more consistent and maybe less emotional," Tauson said. "I'm definitely more happy to just be on court and play tennis. It's what I love to do. Sometimes you take it for granted, and I don't anymore."
After losing just two games to Aliaksandra Sasnovich in the first round, Tauson fired 45 winners in her 2-hour and 27-minute win over Fernandez.
"I think it was a very tough match," Tauson said. "Even before we went on court, we knew each other so well. I'm just very happy to be through and being back playing good three-set matches."