Pegula shakes off nerves to overcome Ruse in US Open first-round victory

[p][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/pegula-jessica/KdojxrAR/"]Pegula[/a] broke Romania's [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/ruse-elena-gabriela/ra7IoKGO/"]Ruse[/a] twice in each set on the way to a [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/tennis/pegula-j-KdojxrAR/ruse-g-ra7IoKGO/?mid=z3H34anA"]6-3, 6-2[/a] triumph, but it was less straightforward than the score indicated as the 32-year-old veteran felt the weight of playing first on the cavernous show court.[/p][p][b]"Oh yeah, I was so nervous today, always the first round of a slam,"[/b] said Pegula, the 32-year-old who is the highest ranked American either the men's or women's draw in the final Grand Slam of the year.[/p][p][b]"It's an amazing honour,"[/b] she said of being given the first match on Ashe. [b]"It's an honour to hold that title, walking out onto Ashe opening day, first match, it's amazing."[/b][/p][image alt="Key match stats" id="c499fdc7-2706-4dea-b172-3a402bc2b7a6" credit-line="Flashscore" guid="0b3d42ce-0ced-4b35-9dcf-051929161d4a" original-width="2160" original-height="2700" /][p]Pegula is chasing her first Grand Slam title. She came closest with a runner-up finish to [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/sabalenka-aryna/vyhksgUB/"]Aryna Sabalenka[/a] at the 2024 US Open, and she fell to the Belarusian in the semi-finals last year.[/p][p][b]Pegula saved the only break point she faced, but her nerves showed as she converted just two of her 14 break point chances in the opening set.[/b][/p][p]That was enough, and she was an efficient two-for-four on break opportunities in the second. She gave herself triple match point with a crisp forehand winner to the corner and after Ruse saved two with booming serves secured the win when the Romanian put a forehand into the net.[/p][embed guid="5864dfbb-446c-4d53-8eef-044db35e7fe3" url="https://x.com/WTA/status/2094120376036897197" social-type="twitter" /][p]With the first round now spread over three days, Pegula was looking forward to a couple of days off with a confidence-boosting win under her belt.[/p][p][b]"I get to sit around the site and watch everybody else freak out for the next two days,"[/b] she said.[/p][infobox id="3dc51b3a-107f-482b-9173-a97d347ef1b3" /]