World No. 55 Olga Danilovic has just clinched one of the biggest wins of her career after upsetting seventh-seeded Jessica Pegula 7-6 (3) 6-1 to reach the Australian Open round-of-16 for the first time in her career.
Although the Serbian tennis player was coming off straight-set wins in her opening two rounds, the 2024 US Open runner-up was still widely regarded as the big favorite in their matchup.
But throughout the match, the 23-year-old played absolutely great, and in the most important moments of the match, she was the one who came up bigger and realized her chances.
During the match, Danilovic was clinical on her serve, firing five aces – winning 76 percent of her first serve points – and impressively saving 6-of-6 of break points she faced while converting two of her six break point chances.
Also, the Serb did a much better job of limiting her errors as she had 28 winners and 27 unforced errors, while the world No. 6 blasted 22 unforced errors and had just 12 winners.
In the next round, the world No. 55 faces Paula Badosa, who beat Marta Kostyuk earlier today.
How Danilovic overcame Pegula?
In the first set, the 23-year-old saved two break points in the second game but also failed to realize a break point in the 11th game as the opener had to be resolved in a tie-break.
In the tie-break, the American led 3-2 through the opening five points but then the Serbian impressively won the following five points to bag a tight first set.
Then at the start of the second set, Danilovic saved four break points in the third game before clinching back-to-back breaks in the fourth and sixth games for a comfortable 5-1 lead.
Up by a set and a double break, the world No. 55 remained unfazed and routinely served out for the match in the sixth game.
Tennis World USA