American third seed Jessica Pegula battled into the last 16 of the French Open 2025 on Saturday with a 3-6, 6-4, 6-2 win over Czech Marketa Vondrousova.
Pegula, last year’s US Open runner-up, next meets unheralded Lois Boisson, ranked 361, the last French player competing in Roland Garros.
Boisson fought through the pain to see off 138th-ranked countrywoman Elsa Jacquemot 6-3, 0-6, 7-5.
Pegula, who missed the 2024 tournament at Roland Garros due to injury, is hoping to better her previous best run in Paris, which was a quarterfinal appearance three years ago.
The 31-year-old has been boosted by her recent title win on clay in Charleston.
But she was pushed hard by former Wimbledon champion Vondrousova – a losing finalist in Roland Garros in 2019 – now ranked 96th in the world.
“Really tough today,” said Pegula.
“I know playing Marketa is always going to be a battle, especially since I know we haven’t played on clay before, but I know she’s had really good results here. It’s also super humid today. I felt like it was just a really tough match mentally and physically,” she added.
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After failing to create a single break point in the first set, Pegula powered back to break Vondrousova three straight times in the second, setting up a decider.
The American converted all three of her breaks in the third set with a Vondrousova double-fault, handing Pegula a 5-2 lead.
Andreeva feeling ‘better and better’
Earlier, 18-year-old Mirra Andreeva eased into the last 16 with a 6-3, 6-1 win over Kazakh Yulia Putintseva.
Sixth seed Andreeva took 78 minutes to dispatch Putinstseva to set up a showdown with Daria Kasatkina, ranked 17.
Kasatkina, now playing for Australia after switching allegiance from her native Russia, got past Spanish 10th seed Paula Badosa 6-1, 7-5 in their third round match.
Andreeva is competing in just her ninth Grand Slam event, but the teenager has now reached the second week in five of them.
After a closely-contested first set, Andreeva took control winning nine of the last 10 games of the match.
“I felt a little nervous before the match, but overall, throughout I felt like I could do whatever I want on the court,” said Andreeva.
“Like, you know, I felt free. I’m happy that with every match I play, I feel better and better. I think that this is a good thing,” she added.
