Jessica Pegula takes down compatriot Coco Gauff in Dubai

A spectacular 1st round matchup happened today in Dubai and it saw Jessica Pegula takedown Coco Gauff in Dubai.

Coco Gauff was expected to come out strong in 2022 and take that next step yet the young American still has not shown a very good level this year. In Australia, she largely disappointed and it continued after a short break. Pegula is a very tough matchup in the first round as the American had a pretty good showing in Australia and generally does well in conditions like those in Dubai.

She started off this match much better taking an early 3-0 lead against Gauff who could not handle the pressure Pegula brought. Gauff was not helped by the fact that she could not hit her serve consistently. Pegula attacked every 2nd serve and it worked. Despite the slow start, Guaff battled back to make it 3-3 but Gauff took the break once more.

She finished off the first set with 6-3 winning 13 of 17 points on the 2nd serve of Gauff. Gauff generally played better in the 2nd set but simply could not win her service game. She was able to keep herself in the match by breaking Pegula twice after losing her own serve. Eventually, Pegula found her way to another break point and converted it for the 4-3 lead.

She extended it to a 5-3 lead and finished it off with 6-4. A huge win for Pegula who continues to play well while Gauff is still struggling.