Pegula cruises past Bucsa and equals her best result at Wimbledon

Jessica Pegula had no difficulties in defeating Cristina Bucsa in the second round of 2023 Wimbledon with a score of 6-3, 6-4.

The world No. 4 reached the second round after a three-set victory over her compatriot Lauren Davis. Throughout her career, Wimbledon has been the Grand Slam that has brought Pegula the least success, as she has only reached the third round once: in 2021, where she was eliminated by Croatian player Petra Martic.

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Awaiting her in the second round was world No. 78 Cristina Bucsa, a Spanish specialist on clay who had won her first-round match against Kamila Rakhimova in three sets, ending a streak of three consecutive first-round losses on grass.

The first set took only 23 minutes for the American player, who had a 63% first-serve accuracy, winning 73% of those points, and 78% of the points played on her second serve. Pegula was more effective in crucial points, as she converted both of the break points she had, and saved all three break points against her.

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In the second set, Pegula once again started strongly, securing early breaks in the second and fourth games, while also holding her own service games to take a 4-0 lead in a matter of minutes. However, Bucsa made a comeback and brought the set to 4-5, even saving two match points.

The favorite, Pegula, raised her consistency and successfully defended her final service game to close out the match against the Spanish player with a score of 6-3, 6-4. The American hit 14 winners and had 17 unforced errors, and she won only 50% of the points at the net.

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In the third round, Pegula will face Italian player Elisabetta Cocciaretto, who advanced through the first two rounds by defeating Camila Osorio and Rebeka Masarova, both in straight sets. A victory would surpass Pegula's previous best result of reaching the third round at the All England Club.