American Jessica Pegula, world No. 5, suffered a stunning defeat in the second round of Wimbledon, losing to world No. 42 Wang Xinyu 6-4, 6-7(7), 6-1.
This was Wang’s third main-draw appearance at Wimbledon and her first Top 10 win.
In her on-court interview, after the match, she said: “Couple of days ago I was asking my coach, ‘When will this happen?’
“Jessica was really tough to play on grass. Her ball was super low, and I’m just really happy I won in the end.”
In her press conference, Pegula said: “Not the greatest day. I’m glad we won doubles [with Coco Gauff], but obviously it was a tough singles loss.
Image: Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images)
The conditions were particularly, in singles and doubles, very, very tough. It was super windy, which, yeah, so I didn’t feel great today.”
When asked about her grass court season, Pegula said: “I mean, I would love to say it was good because I won a tournament [in Berlin], but obviously losing second round here isn’t ideal. I definitely felt like I was playing better on the grass than I have in the past, but for some reason it didn’t really seem to click.
“So, yeah, I’m not sure. It’s a little weird. It’s tricky to say. I’m glad I’m able to say that I had a title, my first grass court title. Obviously, the goal was here, and it didn’t really pan out, so that’s always disappointing.”
Pegula said that grass hasn’t always been the most comfortable for her. “I just think there can be tricky bounces. Like the condition today, the court was a little chewed up. It was faster. There can be a lot of variables.
“Again, it’s not like it’s a true bounce, so I think that can be tough. Or if someone is serving well or a lot of let cords, you know, little stuff like that. I think those things are always a little frustrating.
“I still do like it. I definitely don’t have a bad relationship with it. I think it just can be very tricky depending on the day.”
