Kvitova was simply coming back — after dropping the first set, after being down 5-2 in the third and after being two points from a 6-5 deficit — to advance to the fourth round of the US Open. No. 21 Kvitova on Monday will face No. 8 Jessica Pegula, who defeated qualifier Yuan Yue 6-2, 6-7 (6), 6-0, for a place in the quarterfinals. Look how close this was: Kvitova won 109 total points, Muguruza 108.
1 Related It took the new final set tiebreak format to decide the winner. The four Grand Slam tournaments have agreed to adopt a single system this year, with women’s third sets and men’s fifth sets decided by a first-to-10, win-to-two formula. The US Open had the more traditional front-seven setup. Kvitova, a left-hander who won Wimbledon in 2011 and 2014, overcame 12 double faults with 14 aces and 50 total winners. She improved to 6-1 against No. 9 Muguruza, the 2016 French Open and 2017 Wimbledon champion.
