- Jessica Pegula lost in straight sets as her Australian Open ended
- Pegula had made the quarters in Melbourne the last three years
- DailyMail.com provides all the latest international sports news
Jessica Pegula, the No. 5 women’s seed in the Australian Open, has crashed out of the tournament in the second round.
Pegula lost in straight sets to the French Clara Burel, falling 6-4, 6-2 in just an hour and 10 minutes.
The American was broken five times as Brunel hit 17 winners and took commanding control of the match.
‘I think I played a very solid performance today,’ Burel told reporters afterwards.
‘I was really focused. Yeah, I didn’t let her come into this match. Very solid, and I’m really happy about this match today.’
Jessica Pegula lost in straight sets to Clara Brunel at the Australian Open in just over an hour
And fellow American Danielle Collins (left) fell to No. 1 seed Iga Swiatek in a marathon
For Pegula, the loss represents her worst Australian Open performance since 2020 and extends her wait for a run to the last four at Grand Slam.
Pegula is 0-6 in Slam quarterfinals, with three of those matches coming in Melbourne.
Meanwhile, fellow American (and 2022 finalist) Danielle Collins lost 6-4, 3-6, 6-4 to No. 1 seed Iga Swiatek.
The match went a marathon three hours and 14 minutes, with Swiatek pushing through from a 4-4 deadlock in the last set.
‘I lost 6-4 in the third to one of the best players in the world,’ Collins said after the match.
‘And she played some great tennis. [I] left it all on the court.’
It was a rough Wednesday for other Americans as well, with Frances Tiafoe and Chris Eubanks exiting the tournament early.
