Takeaways: Pegula handles Vondrousova, leads American charge at Roland Garros

Jessica Pegula outlasted No. 6 seed Marketa Vondrousova in three sets to reach the second week at Roland Garros, joining Amanda Anisimova and keeping pace with a strong American push in Paris.

Saturday at Roland Garros was moving day for Hologic WTA Tour players, with eight third-round matches from the bottom half of the draw. To the winners, the spoils: A berth in the French Open’s second week.

Five Americans -- No. 2 Coco Gauff, No. 3 Jessica Pegula, No. 7 Madison Keys, No. 31 Sofia Kenin and unseeded Hailey Baptiste -- headlined a busy day of play.

Pegula, after dropping the first set, got things going on Court Philippe Chatrier with a comeback victory over the clever and confounding Marketa Vondrousova to make the fourth round.

Jessica Pegula def. Marketa Vondrousova 3-6, 6-4, 6-2

Turning point: The changeover after the first set. Pegula’s mounting frustration was quite visible, and she came out on fire in the second. After failing to produce even a single break point in the opening set, Pegula broke Vondrousova three straight times. Ultimately, converting her sixth set point, Pegula sent the match to a deciding third set, where her superior conditioning prevailed.

Notable stat: Vondrousova held in all four of her service games in the first set, but was only 3-for-9 the rest of the way. A double fault gave Pegula an insurmountable 5-2 lead.

Takeaway: A strong showing from Pegula. As for Vondrousova, she remains a case study in survival in the difficult business of professional tennis. She reached the final here at the French Open in 2019. After two wrist surgeries, Vondrousova came back to win the singles title at Wimbledon, her first at a Grand Slam. In 2024, it was shoulder surgery after Wimbledon and she missed the second half of the season. Vondrousova came back this year, but after only seven matches, her shoulder wasn’t quite ready. After another three-month layoff, she arrived in Paris and played well, winning three matches.

Quotable: “Obviously had some chances in the first, but sometimes you can’t quite get the break," Pegula said afterward. "You’re so close, so close … I think when I finally broke her I kind of freed up a little bit. I thought I was playing her the right way the first set, I just needed to be a tad more aggressive. And then there were times in the third where maybe I was a little too aggressive, coming in on awkward shots. Playing her, that’s why’s it’s so hard -- it’s like a really fine line, especially on clay.”

What’s next: Pegula will play the winner of the later match between French wild cards Lois Boisson and Elsa Jacquemot in a fourth-round match on Monday.

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