Wimbledon 2023: Jessica Pegula vs Cristina Bucsa preview, head-to-head, prediction, odds and pick
Match Details
Fixture: (4) Jessica Pegula vs Cristina Bucsa
Tournament: Wimbledon 2023
Round: Second round (Round of 64)
Venue: London, United Kingdom
Category: Grand Slam
Surface: Grass
Prize money: £44,700,000
Live telecast: USA - Tennis Channel & ESPN | Canada - TSN & RDS | UK - BBC & Eurosport | India - Star Sports
Jessica Pegula vs Cristina Bucsa preview
Fourth seed Jessica Pegula will meet World No. 78 Cristina Bucsa in the second round of Wimbledon 2023 on Wednesday, July 5.
The World No. 4 came into the grasscourt Major on the back of a decent season. She reached the final in Doha and also made the semifinals in Dubai, Miami and Charleston as well as the quarterfinals at the Australian Open and Madrid.
Pegula, whose best performance at Wimbledon is a third-round showing in 2022, played a solitary grasscourt event at Eastbourne prior to the Slam. With a couple of wins under her belt, she reached the last eight there before being ousted by her younger compatriot Coco Gauff.
On Monday, however, the 29-year-old survived a mighty scare in the first round of the London Major. Jessica Pegula squandered three match points in the second-set tie-break before storming her way back from a break down in the decider to edge her countrywoman Lauren Davis 6-2, 6-7(8), 6-3.
Cristina Bucsa, a Moldova-born Spaniard, has been making rapid strides on the tennis circuit over the past few months. Bucsa qualified for the Australian Open 2023 and made the third round, with a scalp of former US Open winner Bianca Andreescu along the way. She also qualified and won a match at each of Indian Wells and Stuttgart.
Bucsa excelled in doubles this year as well. She won her maiden doubles title at Lyon alongside Bibiane Schoofs.
The Spaniard's exploits catapulted her to a career-high world ranking of No. 66 in singles and No. 61 in doubles earlier this season.
Cristina Bucsa played three Wimbledon warm-up events, winning just a couple of matches in the Birmingham qualifiers. On Monday, she showed tremendous fighting spirit and resilience to save four match points in the third-set match tiebreak to beat Kamilla Rakhimova 6-3, 4-6, 7-6[9] at SW19.
Jessica Pegula vs Cristina Bucsa head-to-head
Pegula and Bucsa have never squared off on the tour before. Hence, their head-to-head currently remains tied at a 0-0 deadlock.
Jessica Pegula vs Cristina Bucsa odds
(Odds will be updated once they are released)
Jessica Pegula vs Cristina Bucsa prediction
Although Pegula is the favorite to come through this clash by dint of her ranking and experience, she needs to be wary of Bucsa's skills. The World No. 78 likes to swing freely and could be dangerous on grass. The Spaniard has a huge forehand with which she inflicts damage on her opponents and a decent serve to go with it.
Against Rakhimova in the first round, Bucsa produced six aces and made frequent forays forward, winning a whopping 92 percent (22/24) of the net points.
With Pegula being predominantly a baseliner, Bucsa will look to continue the approach to put pressure on the American. The World No. 4 cannot afford another lapse like she had in the first round if she wants to avoid an early defeat.
That said, barring a tense few games, Pegula brilliantly converted defense into offense with superb passing shots that should come in handy against a forward-moving Bucsa in their upcoming showdown.
With Bucsa coming into this match with a lot of confidence, Pegula is likely not to have a straightforward match. But once she finds her rhythm and accuracy, she should be able to advance to the third round.
Pick: Jessica Pegula to win in three sets.