US Open 2022: Jessica Pegula vs Yue Yuan preview, head-to-head, prediction, odds and pick
Match Details
Fixture: (8) Jessica Pegula vs Yue Yuan.
Date: September 3, 2022.
Tournament: US Open 2022.
Round: Third round (Round of 32).
Venue: New York, United States.
Category: Grand Slam.
Surface: Hard.
Prize money: $60,102,000.
Live telecast: USA - ESPN & ESPN2 | Canada - TSN | UK - Amazon Prime Video | India - Sony Liv, Sony Ten & Sony Six.
Jessica Pegula vs Yue Yuan preview
World No. 8 Jessica Pegula will aim to keep the American flag flying high when she meets Chinese qualifier Yue Yuan in the third round of the US Open 2022 on Saturday.
Pegula has been one of the most consistent players on the tour this season. She made the quarterfinals at the Australian Open and the French Open, establishing herself as a big-match player.
The 28-year-old's best performance on the tour came on clay in Madrid, where she finished as the runner-up to Ons Jabeur. Other than that, Pegula also reached the semifinals in Miami and Toronto as well as the quarterfinals in Cincinnati.
Her exploits catapulted her to a career-high No. 7 in the world rankings in July, making her the top-ranked American. She is seeded eighth at the ongoing US Open.
Yue Yuan, meanwhile, has made it to the third round of a Slam for the first time. Earlier this year, the 23-year-old made her Grand Slam debut at Wimbledon as a lucky loser.
The World No. 142 doesn't have much experience playing at the highest level of the sport. She mostly plies her trade on the ITF circuit and in the qualifying stages of tour-level events. Yuan has three ITF titles to her name, the latest of which came in January this season at the $60,000+H event in Traralgon, Australia.
The Chinese player has, however, put on quite a show this week.
She won all three of her qualifying rounds in straight sets, dispatching Katie Volynets, Mai Hontama and Maddison Inglis. Yuan then beat Jaimee Fourlis and Romanian veteran Irina-Camelia Begu to make the third round without conceding a set.
4 - Four Chinese female players (Qinwen Zheng, Yue Yuan, Xiyu Wang and Shuai Zhang) have reached the Round of 32 in a single Grand Slam tournament for first time in the Open Era. Group.
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Jessica Pegula vs Yue Yuan head-to-head
Pegula and Yuan have never crossed swords on the tour before, so their head-to-head is currently tied at 0-0.
Jessica Pegula vs Yue Yuan odds
(All odds sourced from Oddschecker)
Jessica Pegula vs Yue Yuan prediction
Yue Yuan has played excellent first-strike tennis at the US Open 2022 so far, winning more than 70% of her first-serve points in both her main-draw matches. This has been the foundation of her hassle-free wins at Flushing Meadows.
However, continuing the same against World No. 8 Jessica Pegula will surely be an uphill task. The American won a whopping 83% of her first serves in her 6-2, 6-2 win over Viktorija Golubic in the first round.
Her first-serve percentage dropped to 62% against Aliaksandra Sasnovich in the second round. However, she struck six aces and won 76% of her first-serve points to record a 6-4, 6-4 victory. Pegula was solid with her return game too, breaking her opponent's serve five times.
Clearly, the eighth seed will be coming into this contest with a lot of confidence and momentum. Her aggressive playing style with a low error count has paid her rich dividends so far and she will be keen to keep it going.
Pegula will also have crowd support on her side. Additionally, Yuan could be tired after having already played five matches in a row at the US Open.
Given her string of consistent results and experience, Pegula is expected to come through this clash without much of a workout.
Pick: Jessica Pegula to win in straight sets.
Also Checkout:- US Open 2022 Results