Pegula comes from behind to beat Fernandez and stay alive at the US Open

[p][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/pegula-jessica/KdojxrAR/"]Pegula[/a] ‌faces [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/cirstea-sorana/fBPsm3Iq/"]Sorana Cirstea[/a] in the last 16 ‌and will need to iron out some of the flaws in her game after a ‌sluggish start against [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/fernandez-leylah-annie/8EI3pJOd/"]Fernandez[/a], but the ⁠American showed the ‌resilience and composure that have made her one ​of the title contenders.[/p][embed guid="aa032394-f44c-469b-b831-71368f9ac55b" url="https://x.com/usopen/status/2095934329339683153" social-type="twitter" /][p]Back at Arthur Ashe Stadium, where her dream run ​ended against [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/raducanu-emma/YmIZde1B/"]Emma Raducanu[/a] in the 2021 title clash, the 23-year-old Fernandez seized the ⁠initiative from the ​outset and rarely allowed Pegula to find any rhythm in the contest.[/p][p]The Canadian dominated play with her left-handed aggression as she pushed ‌2024 runner-up Pegula back with deep groundstrokes while mixing up the pace and angles to take the opening set in 30 minutes.[/p][p]Pegula responded strongly by breaking in the sixth game of the second set and then dug out a crucial hold in the following one before Fernandez mounted a ‌fightback, but the American recovered to force ​a decider.[/p][p]The 32-year-old saved breakpoints early in ‌the third set and pounced for a 3-1 lead when Fernandez sent her shot wide, before easing through the following games and sealing victory with a ⁠backhand volley winner ⁠on match point.[/p][p][b][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/tennis/fernandez-l-a-8EI3pJOd/pegula-j-KdojxrAR/?mid=dKWHKDzh"]Click here for more on the match[/a][/b][/p][infobox id="3dc51b3a-107f-482b-9173-a97d347ef1b3" /]