San Diego Open 2022: Jessica Pegula vs Madison Keys preview, head-to-head, prediction, odds and pick
Match Details
Fixture: (4) Jessica Pegula vs Madison Keys.
Date: October 14, 2022.
Tournament: San Diego Open 2022.
Round: Quarterfinal.
Venue: Barnes Tennis Center, San Diego, California, United States.
Category: WTA 500.
Surface: Hardcourt.
Prize money: $757,900.
Match timing: Not before 1 pm local time, 8 pm GMT, 4 pm ET and 1:30 am IST.
Live telecast: USA - Tennis Channel | UK – Amazon Prime Video.
Jessica Pegula vs Madison Keys preview
Americans Jessica Pegula and Madison Keys are set to clash in the quarterfinals of the 2022 San Diego Open on Friday.
After a first-round bye, Pegula took on compatriot Coco Vandeweghe in the second round. She lost their previous encounter at the Charleston Open in three sets earlier this year.
Vandeweghe broke her opponent's serve in the very first game of the match and with a hold of serve of her own, led by 2-0. Pegula stepped up her game immediately as she reeled off five straight games to put herself in a commanding position with a 5-2 lead. She wrapped up the set in the next few minutes by serving it out.
The second set was quite one-sided. Vandeweghe kicked things off with a hold of serve, following which Pegula claimed the next six games to win the match 6-3, 6-1. She has now reached her eighth quarterfinal of the season. The American is also competing in doubles here with Coco Gauff, and the duo have reached the semifinals.
A straight-sets win for Keys over Ellen Perez set up a second-round date with Daria Kasatkina in San Diego. The Russian got off to a flying start as she secured a couple of service breaks to lead 4-0.
Keys, however, managed to flip the script completely as she won the next six games to bag the first set. She jumped to a 4-1 lead in the second set, but Kasatkina put up a fight by winning the next couple of games to make it 4-3. The American secured another break of serve after this and then served out the match to win 6-4, 6-3.
Keys has now made it to the quarterfinals of a tournament for the fifth time this year. Out of the previous four, she has lost just one, while winning her most recent quarterfinal contest in Cincinnati.
Jessica Pegula vs Madison Keys head-to-head
This will be the first meeting between them, so the head-to-head stands at 0-0 for now.
Jessica Pegula vs Madison Keys odds
(All odds are sourced from BetMGM)
Jessica Pegula vs Madison Keys prediction
After a minor stumble early on, Pegula maintained an iron grip on the proceedings during her second-round contest against Vandeweghe. Keys got off to a terrible start against Kasatkina in the previous round, but flipped the switch, transforming into a different player within moments to come out on top.
Pegula is a more consistent player between the two. Unlike Keys, she plays within the margins and doesn't necessarily go for big winners. But this has also held her back. She makes it to the business end of tournaments quite often, but unless she takes a more proactive approach, she's not going to win them.
Keys, on the other hand, isn't afraid to go for her shots. She often overhits by a mile and then starts painting the lines the very next minute. Her serve will also give her an edge in this encounter. Even if she commits a ton of errors, if she manages to compensate with a healthy dose of winners, there's not much Pegula will be able to do to stop her.
Pick: Madison Keys to win in three sets.