Jessica Pegula lost in the first round of Wimbledon a year ago, and on Monday, June 29, she won her first-round match against world no. 92 Darja Vidmanova.
Pegula won the first four games in just 10 minutes. It’s a great start for the World No. 4 after coming on the back of a first-round defeat in this year’s Roland Garros.
“So that definitely, as much as I try to ignore, it was a little bit in the back of my mind,” Pegula told ESPN reporter Coco Vandeweghe in her on-court interview.
Vidamanova is a second-year pro from Czechia and won NCAA championships in singles and doubles at Georgia.
“She made it really tricky,” Pegula said. “I’m glad I had to kind of fight through some adversity.”
Vidamanova seemed to find her rhythm on grass as she took three consecutive games, but Pegula won the opening set 7-5.
In the second set, after they both exchanged early breaks, Pegula took control of the game again with a 4-2 lead before breaking again to complete a 7-5, 6-3 victory in just one hour and 13 minutes.
“I definitely wanted to redeem myself a bit from last year’s exit and then also the early exit at the French,” she told the media after the win.
“I did well in Australia, I’ve done well in the US Open the last few years. Wasn’t happy about that (first-round loss last year). Little extra nerves or pressure today, as well, just with that in mind, but then also motivation at the same time.”
