Pegula ends Keys’ title defense, sets up quarterfinal vs. Anisimova

Jessica Pegula brought Madison Keys’ title defense to a close Monday at the Australian Open, earning a 6-3, 6-4 win that sets up another all-American Top 10 meeting on the WTA Tour Driven by Mercedes-Benz against Amanda Anisimova in the quarterfinals. 

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Something had to give in the fourth head-to-head meeting between the two Billie Jean King Cup teammates, close friends and The Player’s Box podcast co-hosts. Keys, who won her first Grand Slam singles title in Melbourne last year, brought a 10-match winning streak into the contest after three victories this year, while Pegula entered the match 3-0 in Round of 16 appearances at the tournament.

In 1 hour, 18 minutes, the No. 6 seed advanced, improving to 8-2 in Grand Slam fourth-round matches. The 2024 US Open finalist broke Keys’ serve four times and neutralized the No. 9 seed’s primary weapons, returning more than 70% of her opponent’s serves and committing just 13 unforced errors against 14 winners. Keys finished with 28 unforced errors, as Pegula surged to a 6-3, 4-1 lead she never relinquished.

"I've been playing really well, seeing the ball really well, hitting the ball really well this whole tournament, and I wanted to stay true to that and lean on a couple of things that I felt like she would do," Pegula said afterwards in her on-court interview.

"I felt like I came out doing it pretty well and got a couple of quick points for her early on. When I had that lead, I tried to stick with that lead as much as I could ... and tried to focus on what I needed to do and the patterns to look out for."

The win continued Pegula’s strong track record at the Australian Open -- and against fellow Americans. Since a loss to Keys in the Round of 16 at the 2023 US Open, Pegula is 28-3 against her compatriots, including a 13-1 mark over the past 52 weeks.

That run will be tested again in the quarterfinals, where Pegula faces No. 4 seed Anisimova. She defeated China’s Wang Xinyu 7-6(4), 6-4 later Monday to reach the last eight, advancing to the quarterfinals or better at all four Grand Slams in her career. She enters the matchup 0-3 against Pegula.

Wang had earlier upset No. 24 seed Jelena Ostapenko and No. 13 seed Linda Noskova, but was unable to add a third seeded win against Anisimova. The first 12 games of the match went with serve before the two-time major finalist took control in the tiebreak, winning four of the final five points, including three winners.

Anisimova was broken only once in the 1-hour, 42-minute victory, coming in her opening service game of the second set after she had converted her fourth break point of the match. She broke again to move ahead 2-1 and was never threatened again, dropping just two points across her final four service games.

"I think the fact that I've been in the Round of 16 three time, and making that step further is pretty special," Anisimova said. "And yeah, I love playing in Australia. So just being here an extra day, an extra match, is exciting.

"I've been honestly enjoying every second out there. I feel like I'm handling, like, the pressure and expectation that I'm trying to not really think about, but I think that just means a lot more to me that I've been able to really handle that well this week."