Jessica Pegula became the highest-seeded women’s player to lose at Wimbledon, as the No. 5-seeded American was defeated by Wang Xinyu 6-4, 6-7 (7), 6-1 in the second round Thursday.
Wang recorded 38 winners, which combined with 33 unforced errors from Pegula secured the victory and a third-round matchup against Harriet Dart, who beat fellow Briton Katie Boulter in a tense three-set thriller.
For Wang, world No. 42, the victory was her first over a top-10 player.
“Couple of days ago I was asking my coach when will this happen,” Wang said. “Jessica was really tough to play on grass. Her ball was super low, and I’m just really happy I won in the end.”
For Pegula, the loss ruined high hopes of improving on last year’s quarterfinal finish and reaching her first Grand Slam semifinal. She had won her first grass-court title in Berlin in the lead-up to Wimbledon but joined No. 3 Aryna Sabalenka, who pulled out before the first round because of a shoulder injury, on the sideline.
“I would love to say it was good because I won a tournament, but obviously losing second round here isn’t ideal,” Pegula said about the grass court events this year. “I definitely felt like I was playing better on the grass than I have in the past, but for some reason it didn’t really seem…
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