Vondrousova Wins Final Five Games to Reach Wimbledon Semifinals by Beating Pegula

Czech Republic's Marketa Vondrousova speaks after beating US player Jessica Pegula during their women's singles quarter-finals tennis match on the ninth day of the 2023 Wimbledon Championships at The All England Tennis Club in Wimbledon, southwest London, on July 11, 2023. (AFP)
Czech Republic's Marketa Vondrousova speaks after beating US player Jessica Pegula during their women's singles quarter-finals tennis match on the ninth day of the 2023 Wimbledon Championships at The All England Tennis Club in Wimbledon, southwest London, on July 11, 2023. (AFP)
TT

Vondrousova Wins Final Five Games to Reach Wimbledon Semifinals by Beating Pegula

Czech Republic's Marketa Vondrousova speaks after beating US player Jessica Pegula during their women's singles quarter-finals tennis match on the ninth day of the 2023 Wimbledon Championships at The All England Tennis Club in Wimbledon, southwest London, on July 11, 2023. (AFP)
Czech Republic's Marketa Vondrousova speaks after beating US player Jessica Pegula during their women's singles quarter-finals tennis match on the ninth day of the 2023 Wimbledon Championships at The All England Tennis Club in Wimbledon, southwest London, on July 11, 2023. (AFP)

Marketa Vondrousova won five straight games in the final set to beat fourth-seeded Jessica Pegula 6-4, 2-6, 6-4 and reach the semifinals at Wimbledon on Tuesday.

Vondrousova, a left-handed Czech player who reached the French Open final in 2019, trailed 4-1 in the third set but didn't lose another game after that.

“I’m just trying to stay in every game. It can change pretty quickly,” Vondrousova said. “She got so much better in the second set. She was pushing me today.”

Pegula is now 0-6 in Grand Slam quarterfinals. The 29-year-old American was playing at this stage at Wimbledon for the first time.

Vondrousova had won only four matches on grass heading into the tournament at the All England Club. But she has won five in a row on the surface over the last eight days.

“My best result here was second round. It’s amazing. I’m just loving grass now,” Vondrousova said.

The victory for Vondrousova is her fourth over a seeded player at this year's Wimbledon tournament. She beat No. 12 Veronika Kudermetova in the second round, No. 20 Donna Vekic in the third round and No. 32 Marie Bouzkova in the fourth round.

Pegula was leading 3-1 in the third set when play was suspended so that the roof over No. 1 Court could be closed with rain approaching. Pegula then held serve in the next game to lead 4-1 before Vondrousova took over.

Top-seeded Iga Swiatek was playing Elina Svitolina on Centre Court in another quarterfinal match. The four-time major champion is playing in the Wimbledon quarterfinals for the first time.

The winner of that match will face Vondrousova in the semifinals.

Later Tuesday in the men's quarterfinals, seven-time Wimbledon champion Novak Djokovic will face Andrey Rublev on Centre Court and Jannik Sinner will play Roman Safiullin on No. 1 Court.



Dakar Rally Saudi Arabia 2025: Ibn Seaidan Takes 1st in 'Challenger' Class, Al-Rajhi Maintains 2nd in Overall Rankings

Competitors embarked on a journey from AlUla to Hail on Thursday. SPA
Competitors embarked on a journey from AlUla to Hail on Thursday. SPA
TT

Dakar Rally Saudi Arabia 2025: Ibn Seaidan Takes 1st in 'Challenger' Class, Al-Rajhi Maintains 2nd in Overall Rankings

Competitors embarked on a journey from AlUla to Hail on Thursday. SPA
Competitors embarked on a journey from AlUla to Hail on Thursday. SPA

The fifth stage of the sixth annual Dakar Rally Saudi Arabia launched on Thursday, with competitors embarking on a journey from AlUla to Hail, covering a total distance of 492 km, including 428 km of timed special stages.

In the car category, American Seth Quintero of the "Toyota Gazoo" team claimed first place, completing the distance in 4 hours, 32 minutes, and 53 seconds. He narrowly edged out five-time champion Qatari Nasser Al-Attiyah of the "Dacia Sandrider" team by just one second. Swedish driver Mattias Ekström of the "Ford Motorsport" team secured third place, only 8 seconds behind the leader.

South African Henk Lategan of "Toyota Gazoo" retained his lead in the overall car category standings, followed by Saudi Arabia's Yazeed Al-Rajhi of the "Overdrive" team, who held onto second place despite finishing fifth in this stage. Swedish driver Mattias Ekström maintained third place, while Al-Attiyah climbed to fourth.

In the motorcycle category, Uruguayan Luciano Benavides on the "Red Bull KTM" team excelled, finishing the stage in 4 hours and 53 minutes. He beat Frenchman Adrien Van Beveren of the "Monster Energy Honda HRC" team by 47 seconds, with Chilean rider José Ignacio Cornejo Florimo of "Hero Motorsports" finishing third, 1 minute and 31 seconds behind the leader.

In the lightweight "Challenger" vehicles category, Saudi driver Yasir ibn Seaidan of the "BBR" team secured first place in the fifth stage with a time of 4 hours, 51 minutes, and 27 seconds. "Rebellion & Spierings" Dutch driver Paul Spierings finished second, 8 minutes and 22 seconds behind, while Qatari driver Abdulaziz Al-Kuwari of the "Nasser Racing" team came third, 8 minutes and 52 seconds behind the leader.

In the "SSV" lightweight vehicles category, Chilean Francisco Lopez Contardo of the "Can-Am Factory" team claimed first place with a time of 5 hours, 2 minutes, and 26 seconds. American Brock Heger of the "Sebastien Loeb Racing" team finished second, 20 minutes and 48 seconds behind, followed closely by his teammate, Frenchman Xavier de Soultrait, 20 minutes and 51 seconds behind the leader.

In the truck category, Czech driver Martin Macík of the "MM Technology" team finished first with a time of 5 hours, 1 minute, and 53 seconds, followed by teammate Dutchman Kees Koolen, 18 minutes and 42 seconds behind, while Dutchman Mitchel van den Brink of the "Eurol Rally Sport" team claimed third place, 39 minutes and 37 seconds behind the leader.
The Dakar Rally Saudi Arabia will pause tomorrow for a rest day, allowing competitors to recover. The rally will resume on Saturday with the sixth stage, covering a route from Hail to Dawadmi, spanning 829 km, including 605 km of timed special stages.