London, June 29 (IANS) Fourth seed Jessica Pegula put behind her last year’s first-round exit with a composed straight-sets victory over Czech qualifier Darja Vidmanova to reach the Ladies’ Singles second round of Wimbledon 2026, while teenage compatriot Iva Jovic celebrated her first-ever main-draw win at the All England Club on Monday.

Pegula, one of the seventh-seeded American women in this year’s tournament, overcame a brief dip in the first set to defeat world No. 92 Vidmanova 7-5, 6-3 in one hour and 13 minutes.

Opening on Court 2, Pegula quickly took the first four games in just 10 minutes. Vidmanova, making her Grand Slam main-draw debut, fought back by winning three consecutive games. The fourth seed regained control at the right moment to take the first set 7-5.

The second set had some early breaks before Pegula broke again for a 4-2 lead. She secured another break late in the match to finish the win. This marks the fifth time in seven Wimbledon main-draw appearances that Pegula has reached the second round.

Next, she will face Spain’s Sara Sorribes Tormo, who beat Victoria Jimenez Kasintseva 6-2, 6-3 to match her best Wimbledon performance by reaching the second round for the fifth time in seven appearances. Sorribes Tormo leads their head-to-head 2-1, with both wins coming in 2018 and 2019, while Pegula won their last encounter in 2022. Their match at Wimbledon will be their first on grass.

In another match, 18-year-old 16th seed Iva Jovic continued her rapid rise with her first Wimbledon main-draw victory, defeating world No. 37 Jaqueline Cristian 7-6(1), 6-0.

Neither player managed to break serve in the first set, but Jovic dominated the tiebreak 7-1. The American then won six straight games in the second set to wrap up the win in one hour and 30 minutes.

This victory means Jovic has now won a main-draw match at all four Grand Slam tournaments. Her best result so far was at the Australian Open earlier this year, where she reached the quarterfinals.

Jovic will next play the winner of the first-round match between former Wimbledon semifinalist Tatjana Maria, runner-up at Eastbourne last week, and Yulia Putintseva.

American interest in Wimbledon continues later on Monday with seventh seed Coco Gauff and 28th seed Ann Li starting their campaigns. Sixth seed Amanda Anisimova, 23rd seed Emma Navarro, and 26th seed Madison Keys, who recently won the Eastbourne title, are set to play their opening-round matches on Tuesday.

–IANS

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