Jessica Pegula suffers Wimbledon heartbreak with crushing third set
Jessica Pegula has fallen short once again.
The 29-year-old American lost to Marketa Vondrousova in a three-set heartbreaker at Wimbledon on Tuesday, continuing her struggles at Grand Slam quarterfinals in the 6-4, 2-6, 6-4 loss.
Pegula, who is the highest-ranked American woman, has now made a quarterfinal at every Grand Slam tournament, but failed to advance once more against Vondrousova, a Czech player ranked No. 42 in the world.
This time, Pegula fought valiantly to even the match at one set apiece after dropping the first set, but floundered in the final set following a match delay to activate the roof to cover the court from rain.
The key point of the match came with Pegula leading 4-1 and having a break point to put a hammerlock on the match.
After she sailed a forehand long, Vondrousova stepped up her level to win the final five games of the match — including an epic battle in the ninth game where she secured the deciding break.
Vondrousova used a few timely returns, powerful groundstrokes and her signature drop shots to down Pegula, who still had her deepest Wimbledon run.
The Buffalo native has lost in the last four consecutive major quarterfinals she advanced to, falling to Victoria Azarenka at the Australian Open this year and eventual champion Iga Swiatek at the US Open last year.
Pegula, whose mother Kim is the president and owner of the Buffalo Bills and Buffalo Sabres, along with her father, Terry, has dealt with the declining health of her mother over the last year.
Last June, Kim went into cardiac arrest in her sleep, and her recovery has been a slow, arduous process for her entire family.
She is dealing with significant expressive aphasia and memory issues, Pegula wrote in a February Player’s Tribune article, and the family has spent weeks in the hospital with her.
In January of this year, Pegula relived her shock and sadness when she watched Bills safety Damar Hamlin collapse on the field due to cardiac arrest during a game against the Bengals, a moment she said hit particularly close, given the family’s relationship with the team and her mother’s health.
She wore a No. 3 patch on her outfit at January’s Australian Open to honor Hamlin, and fans rallied around her.
“It didn’t feel like it was just for him, it felt like it was for my mom as well,” Pegula wrote in the Player’s Tribune. “To see the attention it garnered in Australia, across the world, in a different country, just reminded me why I love sports and the beauty of coming together.”
“It has been a tough year but at the same time I feel lucky and blessed. I am thankful she is still with us when other families may not have been so lucky. That she even had a chance at recovery when the first week in the hospital seemed so dim.”
Now, Pegula will have to wait to earn another chance to compete for an appearance in a Grand Slam final.
