Tennis News: Petra Kvitova Takes Out Jessica Pegula In Indian Wells Instant Classic

Jessica Pegula Petra Kvitova

The top-ranked American female tennis player, Jessica Pegula, is out at Indian Wells.

Pegula, the third-ranked player in the world lost to 15th-ranked Petra Kvitova in an epic match that had all of the drama fans love plus some.

Kvitova saved four match points to prevail in the third-set tiebreak.

The final score was 6-2, 3-6, 7-6 (11).

Kvitova Quickly Ran Out To 1 Set Lead

The first set took under 30 minutes.

Amid the windy conditions, Pegula struggled to get a read on Kvitova’s serves.

She saw plenty of them as Kvitova could not get the first serve in with consistency.

At this point, it appeared that Kvitova would run away with the match.

Pegula Found Her Game In The 2nd Set

Pegula started to settle in and read the ball better in the second set.

Though she has not played her best tennis in general at Indian Wells, she once again found ways to hang in and did exactly that against Kvitova.

All The Drama And Shot Making In The 3rd Set

The third set is where both players really fought to edge the other.

Kvitova brazenly saved four match points to win in a third-set tiebreak by the score of 13-11.

Pegula had her first match point at 5-4.

After 2 hours and 14 minutes of up-and-down play by each woman at different moments in the match, Kvitova finally gained the upper hand.

She has proven to be a tough opponent for Pegula who is 1-4 against her in her career.

There is a ton of respect between the two players as evidenced after the match.

Pegula, along with doubles partner Coco Gauff, is out of the doubles competition after a loss to the team of Miyu Kato and Aldila Sutjiadi.

She sets her sights on the second leg of the Sunshine Double, the Miami Open which begins on March 20, 2023.

For Kvitova, there is no rest for the weary as she faces Greek tennis star Maria Sakkari in the quarterfinals on March 15.

In the women’s draw, World No. 1 Iga Swiatek continues to win straight-set matches against former U.S. Open champions.

She defeated Bianca Andreescu and Emma Raducanu on consecutive nights to reach the quarterfinals.


Tennis Betting Guides 2024


 

Arrow to top