World number 55 Olga Danilovic upset number 7 Jessica Pegula 7-6 (7-3) 6-1 after 1 hour and 30 minutes on Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne to reach the fourth round at the Australian Open.
Danilovic fired 28 winners and saved all six break points she faced to reach the fourth round at a Grand Slam tournament for the second time in her career following last year’s Roland Garros.
Danilovic and Pegula each faced a break point in the first set (Danilovic in the second game and Pegula at 5-5) but they managed to save these chances. Danilovic won five consecutive points from 2-3 down by earning two mini-breaks with passing shots, a volley and a forehand to seal the tie-break 7-5.
Danilovic saved four break points to hold serve in the third game before breaking Pegula for the first time in the fourth game to open up a 3-1 lead. The Serbian player converted her third break point in the sixth game and served out the win on her third match point in the seventh game.
Danilovic has become the first Serbian player to reach the second round at the Australian Open since world former number 1s Jelena Jankovic and Ana Ivanovic both reached the fourth round at the 2014 Australian Open.
Danilovic has achieved the third top 10 win of her career following her victories over Julia Goerges in the quarter finals in the 2018 Moscow River Cup en route to the title as a 17-year-old and her upset win over Danielle Collins in the Roland Garros quarter final last year.
Danilovic has won 13 of her past 14 matches. The Serbian player has ended the 2024 season by winning the ITF 100 in Cornellà de Llobregat and her back-to-back title in Guangzhou.
Olga’s father Predrag Danilovic played basketball for Partizan Belgrade, Virtus Bologna and in the NBA for Dallas Mavericks and Miami Heat. “She is top of the world. She is such a great player. I knew I had to have my A plus game to beat Pegula. In the back of my mind, I really believed in myself”, said Danilovic.
