Jessica Pegula, the American female tennis star, easily won her Round of 16 match to advance to the US Open quarterfinals on Monday afternoon.
The Labor Day match against Czehnian Petra Kvitová was temporarily delayed due to rain in the third game while tied at 1 game a piece, but resumed about 45 minutes later after the retractable roof closed at Arthur Ashe Stadium.
The US Tennis Association said in a statement that its “weather team” told US Open organizers there was no rain expected, but “Unfortunately, a pop-up sunshower occurred.”
Nevertheless, Pegula seemed unfazed by the stoppage.
The American, who is the 8th-ranked female player in the world, dominated the rest of the first set, winning 5 out of the next 7 games to take the set 6–3.
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Kvitová, the two-time Wimbledon champion, showed signs of life early in the next set, however, as she won the first 2 games. Pegula retook control of the match, though, and won the next 6 games straight to capture the final set 6–2.
She now advances to the quarterfinals, where she will play the winner of the 4th-round match between German Jule Niemeier and Polish player Iga Swiatek, the first-ranked player in the world.
Pegula is one of three American women remaining in the single’s tournament — along with Danielle Collins and Coco Gauff.
Pegula is a 28-year-old who was born in New York. Her parents own the NFL’s Buffalo Bills and NHL’s Buffalo Sabres.
She is 0-3 in Grand Slam quarterfinals so far, including losses at that stage at the Australian Open in January and the French Open in June. The loss in Paris came against Swiatek, who could be Pegula’s next opponent at Flushing Meadows.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
