Jessica Pegula defeated defending champion Madison Keys at the Australian Open on Monday, with the American sixth seed scoring a commanding 6-3, 6-4 victory to advance to her fourth quarter-final at Melbourne Park.
Pegula, who faced off against her close friend who hosts the podcast The Players Box along with fellow Americans Jennifer Brady and Desirae Klacik, got off to a strong start at Rod Laver Arena, only briefly faltering early in the match to remain on track for her first major title.
Pegula was further motivated by the fourth-round win, avoiding wearing a Kansas City Chiefs jersey.
The two sides agreed that the winner of the game could opt for a forfeit to the loser, and that if Keys had won, Pegula, whose parents are Buffalo Bills owners, would have had to wear a Travis Kelce/Taylor Swift Chiefs jersey.
“That was the worst,” Pegula said. “She was like, ‘I’ve got it worse.’ I was like, ‘What are you talking about?’ My family owns the Bills. This team owns us in the postseason. ”
“All she has to do is eat a piece of pie. What’s the big deal? I think that was really extra motivation because it was a tough moment for me.”
The pie in question is an apple pie topped with melted cheddar cheese, a Thanksgiving tradition in the Pegula family.
“A bet is a bet, so I’ll take it,” Keyes said. “I hope it’s not as bad as I think it is, but I think we’ll find out.”
Although Keys had comfortably won his only previous Grand Slam tournament, the 30-year-old was still searching for his best form since winning his first major title here 12 months ago, and Pegula got the better of him.
Neither player dropped a set in their opening three matches, with the aggressive Pegula jumping out to a 3-0 lead, breaking Keyes and taking the first frame in just 31 minutes.
Keys had a strong second set but was broken in the first game and Pegula, 31, gave up her serve at 4-1 but withstood the mounting pressure to clinch the victory.
Keyes made 28 unforced errors and six double faults in the match, but Pegula said the key to her victory was her own serve variations and a little luck.
Despite the disappointment, Keys looked back on the tournament positively, saying:
“I think I’m really proud of how we handled it, coming back as defending champions and dealing with the extra pressure and stress.
“On days when I feel like I’ve been beaten by Jess, in a way I can walk away with my head held high.”
Keys and her podcast staff will now support the 31-year-old Pegula as she reaches the quarter-finals for the fourth time in Melbourne and aims to go even further for the first time.
“I’m not going to say anything, because the last time we told Jess it was going to work out, she said it didn’t work out and Jess told us all that she was forbidden to say anything,” Keyes said.
“I don’t think she needs any encouragement from me. I think she’s very confident in her game and the way she’s playing. We’re just rooting for her.”
Pegula will face Anisimova next.
Amanda Anisimova, last year’s Wimbledon and US Open finalist, qualified for the quarter-finals for the first time at Melbourne Park
Although Pegula has yet to drop a set, he couldn’t be happier with his form, saying, “I’ve always been the type of player who gets frustrated when I feel like I’m not getting better.”
“I’ve already had a lot of really great results. Even at 31 years old, I still feel like I’m growing as a player. So that’s what excites me the most.”
Fourth seed Amanda Anisimova continued her Grand Slam momentum with a 7-6 (7-4), 6-4 victory over Chinese dark horse Wang Xinyu to reach her first Australian Open quarter-final, where she will face fellow American Pegula.
The hard-hitting 24-year-old has been in great form at Melbourne Park this year, not dropping a set as she looks to win her first major title after finishing runner-up at Wimbledon and the US Open in 2025.
“I feel great. It was a great fight,” Anisimova said.
Rybakina and Swiatek set up blockbuster quarterfinals
Iga Swiatek defeats Australian qualifier Madison Inglis for third loss
Fifth seed Elena Rybakina defeated Elise Mertens 6-1, 6-3 to reach her first Grand Slam quarterfinal since Wimbledon in 2024.
She will next face second seed Iga Swiatek, who ended Australia’s hopes in the women’s singles with a 6-0, 6-3 win over qualifier Madison Inglis.
Swiatek, who needed three sets to defeat Russia’s Anna Kalinskaya in her last round, put in a strong performance to defeat Inglis, hitting 22 winners.
“I was pretty confident from the beginning. I felt like the pace of the ball was quite different from the last round, so I had to adjust my feet and be really precise with my footwork,” said the Polish world number two.
Swiatek whitewashed Inglis in the first set, her strong baseline returns and movement proving too much for the Australian to handle.
Inglis successfully broke Swiatek’s serve in the first game of the second set, raising his arms in celebration to loud cheers from the Australian crowd at Rod Laver Arena.
But the joy was short-lived.
Swiatek increased his intensity and although Inglis was able to hold serve twice to add honor to the scoreline, the six-time Grand Slam champion sealed the win in 73 minutes.
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