Jessica Pegula has advanced to the third round of AO 2026 after beating doubles partner McCartney Kessler 6-0 6-2 at Rod Laver Arena.
MORE: All the scores from AO 2026
The pair may be teammates, but there was no room for sentiment at Rod Laver Arena on Thursday morning.
No.6 seed Pegula won the first set with ease before Kessler took a medical time-out prior to the second. Pegula’s rhythm was briefly interrupted by the delay, but she recovered to dismiss her American compatriot in 58 minutes.
“It’s pretty long when you go off-court, so I just tried to stay loose, got off to a really good start, which I was proud of, but then lost it right back," Pegula said.
"She’s such a good competitor, so I knew at one point she was definitely going to find a way to start playing better and work her way into the match.”
“We have tried to hook up for doubles so many times and we were joking of course the time we actually are in the draw and ready to play, we play each other the next round in singles,” Pegula continued. “It’s always tough but she’s great, her team’s great, super cool family, so no worries.”
Pegula on Friday will face Oksana Selekhmeteva, who celebrated an upset win over No. 25 seed Paula Badosa.
Thursday was somewhat of an all-American affair in the women’s singles competition, with No.4 seed Amanda Anisimova also advancing after crushing a gritty fight back from Katerina Siniakova in the second set to win 6-1 6-4 at Margaret Court Arena.
Earlier, Madison Keys was too good for countrywoman Ashlyn Krueger, powering to a 6-1 7-5 triumph at John Cain Arena, as she adjusts to her newfound status as a defending Grand Slam champion.
“There were still moments through AO last year where things got really tricky and I think it’s easy to look back and romanticise it and think I played unbelievable tennis,” Keys said.
“But everyone likes to remind me that I’m the 'losingest' Grand Slam champion, where I lost more games than anyone in history while winning a Grand Slam, so obviously there’s some room for improvement there still.
“Things can happen at any moment as long as you just try and keep yourself in matches and do the best that you can every single day.”