Jessica Pegula’s title defense at the Credit One Charleston Open is alive and well, though straight play continued to elude the No. 1 seed in the third round on Thursday. Twenty-four hours after holding off Yulia Putintseva in 3 hours, 10 minutes, Pegula needed to go from 4-1 to third place to escape No.
Charleston: Details | Ruins | Instruction to play
The American was two points from a 5-4 loss in the third set, but trailed 6-5 to drop from 11 of the last 12 match points to reach her 10th consecutive quarter-final on the WTA Tour Powered by Mercedes-Benz. Pegula’s last loss before the last eight of the tournament was to Magda Linette in the third round of Cincinnati last August.
The result also boosted Pegula’s impressive third-team stats. He is now 8-1 in three-way matches in 2026, and 17-4 since the US Open.
“It was a challenge, he played very well,” Pegula said in his interview on the court. “He beat me the last time we played, so there was a bit of a mental thing as well, but I was able to serve well, I think, in the end. Then I held my own…
“I got a few good moves – I was hitting my back really well, and I just wanted to stick with what felt good at the time. That was my back, I think I came up with some big ones at the end that kind of saved me.”
Pegula will face the No. 7 Diana Shnaider, who ran past the 9th seed Leylah Fernandez 6-3, 6-0 in 1 hour and 25 minutes – a match that was difficult and of higher quality than the points match, and all matches except the second match went at least 30-30. A stunning run from Shnaider to break 5-3 in the first half was one of the best shots of the tournament so far. Pegula holds a 2-0 head-to-head lead over Shnaider, having beaten him in the 2024 Toronto semifinals and US Open fourth round.
Set one: The free-scoring Cocciaretto is common
Ten months ago, Cocciaretto was ranked No. 122 after he spent 2024 recovering from mycoplasma virus pneumoniae. The Italian’s resurgence has since brought him back to No. 40 this week — and Pegula would have known his return to form, as Cocciaretto first upset him in the first round of Wimbledon last year.
Since then, Cocciaretto won her second WTA title in Hobart and made the quarterfinals of Doha with another Top 5 upset of Coco Gauff, and the 25-year-old brought that form to the first round. He strung together eight winners on just five unforced errors, won 70% of his forehands and saved four break points against himself.
Set two: Pegula gets his serve and volleys
Given his efforts the previous day, Pegula could have been forgiven for thinking of returning from a more than ordinary fight. But few players are as experienced at game-changing moments as the 32-year-old – and as in the second set of her win over Putintseva, they contributed to the lead. A multi-hit volley was Pegula’s first of the match, and her breakthrough came when Cocciaretto started to miss the target in the fourth game.
Pegula’s service also showed a marked improvement. After giving away only 50% of his first in the first set, he got 86% of them in the second.
Place three: Pegula holds the nerves while changing
Although Pegula maintained his high level of serving in the gap, landing 71% of his first serves, there was no truth to his game at first. The first goal gave Cocciaretto an immediate break, who built on it with a terrific combination of shots from 4-1.
“I think it helps me to think clearly when I’m in a difficult situation,” Pegula said to press. “And I felt like I had to tap into that today where I felt like sometimes I don’t like to think there, for whatever reason.
“I just had to call to like to get that feeling, to get that state of mind to solve the problem. And I think if you’re feeling really overwhelmed, like it’s hard to do that sometimes, at least for me.”
But while Pegula remained steady, Cocciaretto’s position changed dramatically towards the end of the match. A double fault and two cheap errors gifted a comeback in the seventh game. He was able to fight off two break points to hold 5-4, but once he was able to take a 0-30 lead to shut out Pegula. At 30-30, Cocciaretto had an open court to direct his passing shot, but he hit the front again.
Cocciaretto played her best match of the set — and arguably one of the best of the match — to avoid another break point and hold on for 6-5. But that was his last challenge. Pegula held to love and the next break saw Cocciaretto forehand wide, long and into the net, resulting in a nasty double fault in the match zone.
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