(Provided by Tennis World USA)
Third seed Jessica Pegula’s 2023 grass season got underway at the Rothesay International on Tuesday. The American defeated Qinwen Zheng 6-3, 6-4 after nearly an hour and 40 minutes to reach the round-of-16. Zheng won 94% of her first-serve points to Pegula’s 75%.
However, the latter fared better when it came to striking second-serve returns. Pegula won 75% points on return on the Chinese player’s second serve while winning 65% of her second-serve points. She also saved all eight break points she faced while converting two break points on her opponent’s serve.
Camila Osorio will be Pegula’s next opponent. Another American, Coco Gauff also made her way into the second round. The fifth seed needed just a minute past an hour to get the better of fellow countrywoman, Bernarda Pera, 6-3, 6-2.
Gauff won 80% of her first-serve points to Pera’s 57% and 68% of her second-serve points to the latter’s 42%. She didn’t face a single break point throughout the match and converted three of seven break points on Pera’s serve.
Following her win, Gauff said, “Bernarda is not an easy player, especially a lefty on grass. It was really windy today, so I…
