This world number 55 stuns Jessica Pegula in Australian Open
What's the story
World No. 55 Olga Danilovic produced a stunning performance at the Australian Open, defeating seventh seed Jessica Pegula in the third round on Friday. The match, which lasted 1 hour and 30 minutes, ended with a 7-6(3), 6-1 scoreline in favor of Danilovic. This is the second time Danilovic has reached the second week of a Grand Slam, after last year's Roland Garros.
Information
Here are the match stats
Danilovic dished out 5 aces compared to Pegula's one. The former committed one double fault to that of Pegula's three. Danilovic clocked a 76% win on the 1st serve and a 63% win on the 2nd. She converted 2/6 break points.
Match details
Danilovic's impressive performance and Djokovic's support
Danilovic displayed her prowess by hitting 28 winners and saving all six break points she faced in the match. Her performance was observed by Serbian compatriot and 24-time ATP major champion Novak Djokovic, who had won his own third-round match earlier on the Rod Laver Arena. After sealing her victory with an unreturned serve on her third match point, Danilovic mirrored Djokovic's arms-aloft celebration backstage.
Career highlights
Danilovic's journey to Australian Open success
Danilovic is the first Serbian woman to make it to the second week at the Australian Open since former World No. 1s Jelena Jankovic and Ana Ivanovic both reached the 2014 fourth round. This win over Pegula is her third career Top 10 win, having previously beaten Julia Goerges in her WTA main-draw debut at the 2018 Moscow River Cup quarter-finals, and upset Danielle Collins at Roland Garros last year.
Upcoming matches
Danilovic's winning streak and future challenges
Danilovic has been on a roll, winning 13 of her last 14 matches. This includes back-to-back wins at the Cornella de Llobregat ITF W100 and her second Hologic WTA Tour title in Guangzhou last year. Although she lost her 2025 season-opener to Maya Joint in Hobart, she upset No.25 seed Liudmila Samsonova earlier this week. Danilovic will next face No. 11 seed Paula Badosa, both aiming for their first Australian Open quarter-final.
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24th defeat for Pegula at Grand Slams
With this defeat, Pegula owns a 49-24 win-loss record at Grand Slams. The 2024 US Open finalist, owns a 15-6 win-loss record at the Australian Open. Before this, she exited in the 2nd round of AO last year. Prior to that, she reached three successive quarter-finals here in Melbourne.