The 116th-ranked Italian Elisabetta Cocciaretto lost her first major match since 2020 on Tuesday as she beat American No. 3 seed Jessica Pegula 6-2, 6-3 in the Wimbledon opening round.
In Bad Homburg, Germany, the 31-year-old Pegula overcame former world No. 1 Iga Swiatek in the grass-court finals to win her tenth career title before Wimbledon.
“Her tennis skills were simply amazing. As the first Italian, male or female, to defeat a top-3 player at Wimbledon since the Open Era began in 1968, Pegula praised 24-year-old Cocciaretto. Is my performance the greatest match ever? No. However, I don’t believe I was acting badly. I wasn’t playing that poorly.
She just continued making massive second serves, rerouting the ball, serving big, serving a high percentage, and hitting her shots and going for it. I think that was just her day.
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A Historic Upset for Italian Tennis
Less than an hour passed during the match. In both the men’s and women’s singles, Pegula is the highest number to fall.
Since the 2015 US Open quarterfinals, when Flavia Pennetta defeated No. 2 Simona Halep and Roberta Vinci defeated No. 1 Serena Williams, Cocciaretto became the first Italian to upset a WTA top-3 rated player at a major.
“[I told my own to] be more aggressive and go for it,” Cocciaretto, whose ranking has dropped recently, added. “Don’t think about failing or winning the point.”
Pegula’s Struggles on Grass Court
In their lone prior encounter, at Wimbledon in 2023, Pegula had triumphed over Cocciaretto; however, she only managed five winners and committed 24 unforced errors as she lost badly. She also struggled on the second serve, winning only 42 percent of the points.
Pegula remarked, “It wasn’t (excellent); it was terrible,” about her serve. “It is awful when something you’ve been focusing on so much doesn’t arrive to help you when you want it to, particularly on grass.”
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Injury Not to Blame, Says Pegula
Pegula has never lost in the first round of a Grand Slam tournament since the French Open in 2020.
Pegula remarked, “It’s a bummer to lose. I’m disappointed that I couldn’t make things better. However, she did play quite nuts, in my opinion. Bravo to her.
Last year, Pegula taped up her wounded left knee. As a result, she skipped a match at the WTA Finals in November and the Brisbane International in January. Pegula, however, maintained on Tuesday that the knee was not an issue.
Pegula stated, “The knee feels good” after winning 17 straight major first-round contests since 2021. “I wasn’t very bothered by anything. I’m doing fairly well at handling it. I don’t think it’s preventing me from moving on. So I’m feeling terrific. That’s why I can’t continue it here, which is a little disappointing.”
Cocciaretto will play American Katie Volynets in the second round.
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