Is Jessica Pegula the hardest-working competitor at the 2023 US Open? She’s certainly the busiest, as Day 7 concluded with the American still alive in singles (as the No. 3 seed), women’s doubles (also the third seed, with Coco Gauff) and mixed doubles (as the top seed with Austin Krajicek).
As partners in their ninth mixed doubles event, Pegula and Krajicek knocked out two-time US Open mixed doubles champs Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Jamie Murray in Grandstand, 7-6 (5), 7-5.
“I’m just insane, really,” Pegula said after the match. “It’s really fun to be in all three events. Your chances of winning something are greater, which is what I tell myself.”
Krajicek joked that the key to success was selecting the right partner, adding that Pegula “carried me all day.”
“We had a great start as a team, getting to the semis at the 2021 US Open,” Krajicek said. “We’ve had a few tough matches, but it’s great to be back on the winning side here.”
In other mixed doubles results, No. 5 seeds Ellen Perez of Australia and Dutchman Jean-Julien Rojer handled Americans Robin Montgomery and Alex Michelsen, 6-4, 6-4, on Court 17. In the same location, No. 7 seeds Demi Schuurs of the Netherlands and Hugo Nys of Monaco made even quicker work of Giuliana Olmos of Mexico and Tin Puetz of Germany, 6-3, 6-1, in 53 minutes.
In the Grandstand, Ben Shelton—who earlier in the day advanced to his second Grand Slam singles quarterfinal—made Day 7 twice as nice by teaming with fellow American Taylor Townsend to rout Aldila Sutjiadi of Indonesia and Rohan Bopanna of India, 6-2, 7-5.
Men’s doubles
On Court 5, 43-year-old Bopanna—who edged Venus Williams by 105 days to earn the honor of the oldest player at the US Open—hit a forehand winner to clinch the three-set thriller with partner Matthew Ebden. The No. 6 seeds, hailing from India and Australia, respectively, overcame the British duo of Julian Cash and Henry Patten, 6-4, 6-7(5), 7-6(6), in a two-hour, 20-minute marathon.
Given his role in the longest-ever tennis match at Wimbledon in 2010 —which American John Isner clinched at a still incredible 11 hours, five minutes—it’s not surprising that Nicolas Mahut and his longtime partner, Pierre-Hugues Herbert, endured the longest match of Day 7. Their upset of No. 8 seeds Marcel Granollers of Spain and Horacio Zeballos of Argentina, 7-6(0), 4-6, 6-4, clocked in at the two-hour, 21-minute mark.
Though unseeded here, the pair became just the eighth men’s doubles team in history to complete a career Grand Slam, winning titles at the 2015 US Open, 2016 Wimbledon, 2018 Roland Garros, 2019 Australian Open and 2021 Roland Garros. In fact, Mahut has captured 20 of his 35 doubles titles with Herbert, including seven different ATP Masters 1000 titles.
In other men’s doubles results, the No. 5-seeded Argentinian team of Maximo Gonzalez and Andres Molteni squeaked by Dutchman Tallon Griekspoor and Thanasi Kokkinakis of Australia, 7-6(4), 6-7(2), 6-3.
Women’s doubles
No. 12 seeds Laura Siegemund and Vera Zvonareva, whose second-round doubles match was briefly delayed by a squirrel racing on court, enjoyed a routine dismissal of young Americans Robin Montgomery and Clervie Ngounoue, 6-4, 6-4, on Court 17.
On Court 5, No. 8 seeds Hsieh Su-Wei of Chinese Taipei (Taiwan) and Wang Xinyu of China triumphed over Elina Avanesyan and Kamilla Rakhimova, 6-0, 2-6, 6-2. At the same location, an all-unseeded affair featured American Jennifer Brady and Brazilian Luisa Stefani edging German Tatjana Maria and Dutchwoman Arantxa Rus, 6-3, 3-6, 6-3, in a one hour, 48-minute marathon.
In the Grandstand, No. 6 seeds Leylah Fernandez of Canada and American Taylor Townsend dodged two set points in the first set before rolling over the unseeded Czech team of Karolina Pliskova and Donna Vekic, 7-6(3), 6-1.
“You got me lit!” Townsend exclaimed in thanking the partisan crowd for their raucous support following the victory. “We look to get better every day. Leylah and I are alike in that way; we’re constantly trying to improve. I’m happy with the way we ended that match. I’m so pumped right now. Thank you, guys.”
