Pegula Cruises Past Kenin at US Open

Jessica Pegula beat Sofia Kenin 6-3, 6-1 in 56 minutes on Arthur Ashe on Wednesday to move into the US Open third round, per the Associated Press. The No. 3 seed wanted a clean afternoon under the roof, and she got one against the 2020 Australian Open champion who had just knocked out Venus Williams in Round 1.

Pegula is still chasing a first Grand Slam title and a path toward world No. 1. Matches that end before the hour mark are how you bank legs for the second week while rain keeps rewriting the outside-court queue and first-round leftovers sit in limbo.

Under an hour, then go

"To be out of there in under an hour, it doesn't always happen," Pegula said afterward, per AP. "So I think I'm just going to take that one and run, I guess, until the next round." Kenin never found the baseline rhythm that carried her past Venus. Pegula dictated with first-strike forehands, kept return games short, and refused to turn a favorable Ashe slot into a three-set grind just because the opponent had Slam hardware on her resume.

Ashe moved quickly from Pegula into Ben Shelton's four-setter against Hubert Hurkacz. The roof stayed shut while puddles collected on outer courts and suspended matches waited for a weather window. Pegula did not have to live in that limbo. On a fortnight where Paula Badosa talked about not knowing how to prepare for a rain-delayed finish, finishing in 56 minutes is its own strategy.

Third-round stakes

Kenin's early run still mattered. Beating Venus in New York is a headline, and a rematch of sorts with Pegula on Ashe was a real Round 2 test on paper. Pegula turned it into a statement instead of a scrap. She has spent years as America's steadiest top seed without the Slam hardware. Days like this are the boring foundation that title weeks are built on, especially when defending champions Aryna Sabalenka and Carlos Alcaraz were still queued for night sessions.

Elsewhere on the women's board, No. 7 Karolina Muchova blanked Katie Boulter 6-1, 6-0, and Marta Kostyuk got past 2017 champion Sloane Stephens, per AP. Pegula's lane stays American-loud and efficient. For other US Open winners already on Smacktok, see Alex Eala's straight-sets start and Musetti ending Arthur Fery's debut. Fifty-six minutes, two sets, third round. Pegula will take the quiet win and wait for whoever rain and the draw send next.