US Open 2023: Jessica Pegula vs Elina Svitolina preview, head-to-head, prediction, odds and pick
Match Details
Fixture: (3) Jessica Pegula vs (26) Elina Svitolina
Date: September 2, 2023
Tournament: US Open 2023
Round: Third round (Round of 32)
Venue: New York, United States
Category: Grand Slam
Surface: Hard
Prize money: $65,000,000
Live telecast: USA - ESPN | Canada - TSN | UK - Sky Sports | India - Sony Sports
Jessica Pegula vs Elina Svitolina preview
World No. 3 Jessica Pegula will lock horns with Elina Svitolina in the third round of the 2023 US Open on Saturday (September 2).
Pegula ousted Camila Giorgi to set up a second-round date with Patricia Maria Tig. The American led by a break twice in the first set, but squandered her lead on both occasions to allow her opponent back into the match.
Pegula broke Tig's serve for the third time to go 5-3 up, following which she served out the set. The second set was quite one-sided with the New York native dropping just one game in it to win the match 6-3, 6-1.
Svitolina, meanwhile, defeated Anna-Lena Friedsam in straight sets to reach the second round, where 2021 French Open finalist Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova awaited her. The two were quite solid during their service games for most of the first set.
With Svitolina serving at 6-5 to take the set into a tie-break, she fended off two break points. However, Pavlyuchenkova got the job done on her third break point to take the set.
Svitolina responded by nabbing the second set and raced to a 4-0 lead in the deciding set. Pavlyuchenkova tried to close the gap as she bagged the next three games to make it 4-3, but to no avail. The Ukrainian held on to the lead and went on to complete a 5-7, 6-4, 6-4 comeback win.
Jessica Pegula vs Elina Svitolina head-to-head
Pegula leads Svitolina 3-1 in the head-to-head. The American won their previous encounter at the 2023 Citi Open in three sets.
Jessica Pegula vs Elina Svitolina odds
(Odds are sourced from BetMGM)
Jessica Pegula vs Elina Svitolina prediction
Pegula's win looked quite easy on paper, but the first set was quite the battle. Meanwhile, Svitolina was pushed to the limits by Pavlyuchenkova, with the former having to quell the latter's last-minute surge to secure the win.
Svitolina's gameplay in the previous round was a bit too inconsistent. While she won points fairly easily when she got in a good first serve, she allowed her opponent too many chances to pick on her second serve. Pegula is a pretty decent returner, so she can't afford to do the same yet again.
Svitolina also didn't seem too confident on her forehand at times, but her backhand made up for it. She'll need all aspects of her game to click perfectly against Pegula, who has won three matches in a row against the Ukrainian.
Their most recent encounter took place in Washington a few weeks ago, with the American edging out her opponent in three sets. This could be another match that goes down to the wire, with Pegula being the favorite to come out on top.
Pick: Jessica Pegula to win in three sets.