Buffalo’s Pegula eyes 1st Slam semifinal at Australian Open

By HOWARD FENDRICH
AP Tennis Writer

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Jessica Pegula is headed to the quarterfinals of a Grand Slam tournament for the fifth time. It is her third consecutive trip to that stage of the Australian Open. The 28-year-old American has yet to make it to a semifinal. She will face 2012-13 Australian Open champion Victoria Azarenka on Tuesday. All three of Pegula’s major quarterfinals in 2022 came against the No. 1 player at the time who went on to win the trophy: Ash Barty at the Australian Open, and Iga Swiatek at the French Open and U.S. Open. But with Swiatek and No. 2 Ons Jabeur out of the draw at Melbourne Park, No. 3 Pegula is the highest-seeded woman remaining.