Published: April 3, 2026 at 2:09 pm
Jessica Pegula’s title defense at the Credit One Charleston Open is still alive, though a straightforward match continued to elude the No. 1 seed in the third round on Thursday. Twenty-four hours after holding off Yulia Putintseva in a 3-hour, 10-minute marathon, Pegula needed to come from 4-1 down in the third set to escape No. 14 seed Elisabetta Cocciaretto 1-6, 6-1, 7-6(1) in 2 hours and 5 minutes.
The American was two points from defeat down 5-4 in the third set, but from 6-5 down reeled off 11 of the last 12 points of the match to advance to her 10th consecutive quarterfinal on the WTA Tour Driven by Mercedes-Benz. Pegula’s last loss before the last eight of a tournament was to Magda Linette in the Cincinnati third round last August.
Result bolsters Jessica’s third-set statistics
The result also bolstered Pegula’s ever-impressive third-set statistics even further. She’s now 8-1 in three-set matches in 2026, and 17-4 since the US Open.
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Pegula will next face No. 7 seed Diana Shnaider, who raced past No. 9 seed Leylah Fernandez 6-3, 6-0 in 1 hour and 25 minutes, a match that was tighter and higher-quality than the scoreline suggests, with all but one game in the second set going to at least 30-30. A phenomenal forehand on the run from Shnaider to break for 5-3 in the first set was one of the best shots of the tournament to date. Pegula holds a 2-0 head-to-head lead over Shnaider, having defeated her in the 2024 Toronto semifinals and US Open fourth round.
Jovic through to quarters
Iva Jovic is through to the quarterfinals at Charleston. The tournament debutant in the Lowcountry edged out American compatriot and 2025 finalist Sofia Kenin 7-5, 7-5 in two hours and seven minutes.
There are now four American players – Jovic, Pegula, Madison Keys and McCartney Kessler – in the last eight in Charleston. Jovic will face Anna Kalinskaya in the quarterfinals.
Despite the straight sets, it was a battle between both Americans as Kenin saved two match points a few games prior down 5-4 in the second set to extend the match. After Jovic held to take a 6-5 lead, noticeable pain in Kenin’s right shoulder seemed to affect her, requiring a medical timeout which the American was clearly wincing, but Jovic was unphased by the delay and she closed out the match with her fifth and final break.
“I think it was a tricky match throughout,” Jovic said. “A lot of lines hit from both sides of the court. She had two good serves match point down. I could have connected better with those returns, but it is what it is, and I think after you don’t get that game, it’s really important to hold serve and just keep yourself in there.”
Otherwise, the match felt routine for Jovic initially. She struck first with a break on Kenin’s first service game, amassing a three-game lead at 3-0 and 4-1 in the opening set, though that seemed to be a miniature turning point in the set as Kenin found her way to a 5-4 lead fueled by two breaks. Kenin had a chance to serve for the set, too, but Jovic got those breaks back to close out the set.
In the second, it was Kenin who converted the early break, but Jovic crucially got it back to level at 4-4, heading down to the wire. The 18-year-old Jovic broke Kenin at the most timely moments in the match, one that appeared to frustrate her as she doesn’t have the most experience on green clay compared to her fellow players on the tour.
Keys makes sixth quarterfinal appearance
In her 13th appearance in Charleston, Keys has secured her sixth appearance in the quarterfinals in the Lowcountry. The 2019 champion defeated Anna Bondar 6-2, 7-5, spearheaded by five breaks of the Hungarian’s serve.
Keys pressured immediately, forcing five break point opportunities in the first game alone, capitalizing on the final one that kickstarted a 3-0 lead in the set. The American wouldn’t relinquish in the first set, though Bondar settled into the match in a closely-contested second set.
After trading breaks midway through the second set, Keys’ fifth and final break in the penultimate game proved to be the difference maker as she served out the match, capped off with a cross-court forehand winner, one of Keys’ specialties, in the one hour and 46-minute match.
Keys landed nearly 70% of her first serves, and when she have a second serve, she won about 90% of those points. She’ll face 2022 Charleston champion Belinda Bencic with a spot in the semifinals on the line.
