June 02, (THEWILL) – Elise Mertens caused a major upset in the women’s draw at the French Open, delivering a stunning defeat to third seed Jessica Pegula, with a dominant 6-1 6-3 victory in the third round.
Pegula was considered one of the favourites for the Grand Slam given her impressive performance in recent Opens, including last year’s Roland-Garros, but she was outmatched by Mertens on Court Philippe-Chatrier. Mertens started the match strongly, breaking Pegula’s serve in the opening game, followed by two solid holds. She continued her momentum by securing a double break, signalling a potential upset.
Although Pegula managed to avoid a bagel by getting on the scoreboard, she struggled to make any progress against Mertens’ serve. The first set concluded in just 29 minutes, with Mertens taking it comfortably. She showcased dominance on her serve, winning an impressive 91% of her first serve points, hitting nine winners, and limiting her unforced errors to four, compared to Pegula’s eight.
In the second set, Pegula sought an early hold to regain her composure but faltered by committing a tame backhand error on break point, allowing Mertens to seize the advantage. Despite breaking back immediately and keeping the set on serve until 3-3, Pegula’s hopes started to fade.
Mertens capitalised on two unforced errors from Pegula to earn two opportunities for a second break, converting the first chance with another error from the American. In a 14-minute game, Mertens showcased her resilience by saving three break points, ultimately holding to move within one step of victory.
With two match points on Pegula’s serve, Mertens needed just one as the world number three faltered, hitting a forehand into the net while on the run, ending her resistance and extinguishing her dreams of claiming a maiden Grand Slam title. The 28th-seed Belgian has now equalled her best-ever campaign in Paris by advancing to the fourth round, where she will face either Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova or Anastasia Potapova.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
