Daughter of Bills, Sabres owners makes quarterfinals
Osaka advances to semifinals, could face Serena Williams
MELBOURNE, Australia — After Jessica Pegula earned her first trip to a Grand Slam quarterfinal, the daughter of the owners of Buffalo’s NFL and NHL franchises scribbled on the screen of an Australian Open courtside TV camera: “Hi Mom, Hi Dad. See u next rnd Jen B.”
In addition to a shoutout to her parents, that was a message for Jennifer Brady, a good pal of Pegula’s whose fourth-round match was up next in Rod Laver Arena on Monday.
And after Brady won, too, setting up an all-American matchup against Pegula with a berth in the final four at stake, she used a blue marker to respond in kind, writing: “Bring it Jess!”
“It’s an opportunity for both of us,” Pegula said, recalling that she and Brady became close after playing doubles together for the United States in the team competition now known as the Billie Jean King Cup. “I’m just happy I’m here; she’s been playing some good tennis, solidifying herself as a top player.”
The 61st-ranked Pegula beat No. 5 seed
Elina Svitolina of Ukraine 6-4, 3-6, 6-3, before the 22nd-seeded Brady, a Pennsylvanian who played college tennis at UCLA, had a 6-1, 7-5 victory over No. 28 Donna Vekic of Croatia.
Brady was one of the 72 players who had to go through a hard lockdown — two weeks stuck in a hotel room, not allowed to leave for any reason — after flying to Australia in January because someone on their flight tested positive for COVID-19 upon arrival.
“A lot of people were complaining, and I told myself I wasn’t going to complain,” Brady said. “I mean, there’s way worse things going on in the world than me being stuck in a hotel room for 14 days.”
Brady and Pegula gave the U.S. three women’s quarterfinalists at Melbourne Park, joining 23-time Grand Slam champion Serena Williams, who advanced a day earlier.
Top-ranked Ash Barty ensured a fourth American didn’t make it to the last eight, beating unseeded Shelby Rogers 6-3, 6-4 to set up a quarterfinal against No. 25 Karolina Muchova.
“I mean, it’s pretty awesome to see. I hope we can all push through,” Pegula said. “The last, I don’t know, year or so, we’ve really all pushed each other. Maybe we haven’t said it to each other, but I think we all can feel it.” She is on a breakthrough run. Pegula has won four matches at Melbourne Park over the past week — including victories over two-time Australian Open champion Victoria Azarenka and 2011 U.S. Open champion Sam Stosur — after entering the hard-court tournament with a total of three wins at majors for her career.
Also significant for Pegula, who works with Venus Williams’ former coach, David Witt: She came into the day with an 0-6 record against top 10 women.
Osaka to semifinals
For Naomi Osaka, the tournament buzz at the Australian Open spoiled the surprise: She might face Serena Williams next.
Osaka overpowered Hsieh Suwei 6-2, 6-2 Tuesday to reach the semifinals, and will meet the winner of the quarterfinal match between Williams and No. 2-seeded Simona Halep.
“Normally I never look at my draw,” Osaka said. “But everyone has told me about my draw here, so I kind of had no choice but to know who my next opponent is. It’s definitely going to be really fun.”
Seeded third, Osaka reached 122 mph (196 kph) on her serve against Hsieh. She hit seven aces, lost only two points on her first serve and was never broken en route to her 19th consecutive victory.
Osaka also played excellent defense, such as in the final game, when she raced forward to chase down a drop shot, flicking a backhand cross-court for a winner.
“I couldn’t afford to be lazy with my footwork,” Osaka said with a smile. “I didn’t want to play three sets.”
Men’s Draw
There will be a one-nation men’s quarterfinal, too, between Russians Daniil Medvedev and Andrey Rublev. Medvedev, the 2019 U.S. Open runner-up, eliminated 192nd-ranked American Mackenzie McDonald 6-4, 6-2, 6-3 in 1 1/2 hours, while Rublev moved on when No. 22 Casper Ruud stopped because of an injury after dropping the first two sets.
A third Russian man, 114thranked qualifier Aslan Karatsev, already had advanced, giving the country a trio of quarterfinalists at a major tournament for the only time in the professional era.
Also on that half of the draw, Rafael Nadal moved closer to a men’s-record 21st Grand Slam trophy by overwhelming No. 16 Fabio Fognini 6-3, 6-4, 6-2. Nadal’s next opponent will be No. 5 Stefanos Tsitsipas, whose fourthround match was canceled when No. 9 Matteo Berrettini withdrew because of an abdominal injury.