All-American showdown confirmed: Madison Keys and Jessica Pegula power through to face off at Australian Open

The defending champion Madison Keys joins the fourth round of the Australian Open alongside compatriot Jessica Pegula – after convincing straight-set victories by both. After their wins, their paths will cross in the Round of 16, where they will face each other for a place in the quarterfinals.

Keys asserted herself against a tricky opponent in former world No. 1 Karolina Pliskova, who arrived hungry for a win in her return to the court after 17 months without competing. The American defeated her comfortably 6-3, 6-4, extending her positive streak in Melbourne to 10 consecutive victories.

On the other hand, world No. 6 Pegula faced one of the surprises of the tournament: 23-year-old Russian Oksana Selekhmeteva. The American showed her experience and claimed an easy victory 6-3, 6-2, marking her 60th Grand Slam win.

Pegula had previously reached the quarterfinals three consecutive times (2021–2023), but her last appearances ended in early eliminations in the second and third rounds. This time she surpassed the second-week barrier comfortably with a win over Selekhmeteva, who came in confident after eliminating Paula Badosa in the second round.

The American showed her class from the start, giving her opponent almost no opportunities with her service. Pegula won 84% of points on her first serve – far above her rival’s 54%. After an opening where Selekhmeteva struggled to hold serve, Pegula earned the first break in the fifth game. The 2024 US Open finalist had no doubts in maintaining her serve for the rest of the set and converted another break opportunity in the final moments to close the set 6-3, capitalizing on her opponent’s 17 unforced errors compared to only six from Pegula.

At the start of the second set, Pegula faced a couple of break points against her for the first time but remained composed, moving ahead of the difficult moment. It was the only time Selekhmeteva threatened the American, who remained fully in control. Once again, Pegula’s service was impeccable, taking her service games without complications.

By 2-2, Pegula began to shine in long rallies and frequently approached the net to close points. In the final stretch, she proved superior, securing two consecutive breaks and closing the match with her service 6-3, 6-2, securing her place in the fourth round.

Keys again put on a strong performance to take a 6-3, 6-3 victory against former world No. 1 Karolina Pliskova. The Czech made her return to the court after leaving good impressions with wins in early rounds against Sloane Stephens and Janice Tjen.

The defending champion asserted control in Melbourne from the start, taking advantage of her rival’s service issues and scoring two consecutive breaks early in the match. Pliskova pulled one game back to make it 4-0, even creating four break points of her own in a long game, but Keys maintained focus and closed the first set 6-3.

In the second set, Pliskova seemed more comfortable holding serve, but Keys’ consistency prevailed. Without long exchanges, both players relied on their service games, and a single break in the final minutes allowed Keys to close the match, taking the last three games in a row to win 6-3, 6-3.

Pegula and Keys will provide the first clash between top-10 players so far in the tournament, and one between two of America’s main stars. Pegula won their previous encounter at the 2022 San Diego Open, but Madison Keys took revenge in their next meetings at the 2023 US Open and the 2025 Adelaide International final.