Pegula makes quick work of Zakharova to reach second round in Melbourne

Jessica Pegula couldn’t have asked for a better start to her 2026 Australian Open, cruising past Anastasia Zakharova 6-2, 6-1 in 66 minutes to reach the second round in Melbourne.

After Monday’s opening match at John Cain Arena ended with the retirement of Canadian star Felix Auger-Aliassime, Pegula came to the rescue by treating the fans to a clinical performance in which she dropped just 11 points on serve for the match, including only two in the first set.

“That was a pretty ideal situation that just happened,” Pegula said in her on-court interview. “So that’s always good, you know. When those come around, you just take it, because I’ve seen a lot of really tough matches the last few days and I’m happy I’m not quite there yet. So yeah, when you get a good win and you play well, you just got to be happy about it, take it and move on.”

More to come…