Jessica Pegula shakes off three match-point misses, and Lauren Davis, in three-set Wimbledon opener

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It helps to be low to the ground at Wimbledon, where the ball's bounce isn't what it nearly is everywhere else. In that sense, 5'2" Lauren Davis has a built-in advantage when competing at the All England Club. That has borne out in her results: in seven Wimbledon appearances, the 29-year-old has taken just one first-round loss, and she has reached the third round twice, despite never haven been ranked higher than 26th in the world.

But in any other sense, Davis—currently ranked No. 46—shouldn't be an issue for Jessica Pegula. The No. 4 seed at Wimbledon hadn't lost a first-round match at a major since the fall edition of Roland Garros in 2020, and she had reached the quarterfinals at four of her last six Grand Slam tournaments. (The only major at which she hasn't reached the elite eight: Wimbledon.) While still searching for a bonafide breakthrough, tennis' top-ranked American has plenty of big-match experience, and knows what it's like to have a target on her back.

Davis never made it easy on Pegula, using exceptional court coverage to keep rallies alive, and whipping her forehand from start to finish. Still, Pegula collected the first set in just 26 minutes, and earned three match points in a second-set tiebreak.

But when all three of those match points evaporated, like liquid from a Pimm's Cup, and Davis had impressively nabbed the 74-minute second set, Pegula had to be wondering about the possibility of a big-time stumble.

More concerning for Pegula was the first game of the third set. At deuce, after replying to some Davis underspin with an even better touch shot of her own, Pegula had an easy overhead look near the net—only to hit the ball right back to Davis. What followed was some Peak Davis, who eventually won the point with nimble shotmaking, and who broke serve in an eight-minute game. Frustration appeared to build in Pegula—a composed player, but one who doesn't keep all of her emotions internalized.

"I felt good going into the third [set], even though I had match points in the second," said Pegula. "I mean, she's a really tough player, she played some incredible points.

"I think she's a really good grass-court player as well. When she gets hot, it's really tough. Her ball skids really low through the court."

But to Pegula's credit, she terminated Davis' run of hot play right away, breaking right back, from 30-0 down. The third set was never easy, short of perhaps the final two games—a Pegula break at 15, and a Pegula hold at 15—but she got the job done.

"I just kept my focus, didn't get too frustrated, and was able to just pull it out," said Pegula after her 6-2, 6-7 (8), 6-3, victory.

This wasn't the first instance of Pegula's ability to reset—her bonkers win over Irina-Camelia Begu earlier this year in Charleston, in which she lost 10 consecutive games before winning the final six, comes to mind—nor will it be her last.

After that match, Pegula summed up her extraordinary rebound with a few simple words: "I'm just tough."

What did she chalk it up to today?

"I think what kind of snapped me out of it was, like, I was down [a break and] 30-Love, I challenged, and the ball looked like it was significantly out, where the umpire even overruled it and it was in and I got kind of pissed," Pegula said with a laugh. "And I don’t know, I think that kind of like 'kind of pissed'—I mean, for me, being pissed is not that bad. But it got me kind of like, 'Okay, I need to get it together right now.' I just got broken. It's 30-Love.

"I was able to break that game, hold, take control of the match. I don't know, I was able to find a little moment there where I was able to get myself going a little bit just for the fact that I was a little annoyed with that point, that circumstance."

I got kind of pissed...I mean, for me, being pissed is not that bad. Jessica Pegula, with a laugh

Pegula, who took a third-round loss at Roland Garros to eventual runner-up Karolina Muchova, played three singles matches on grass heading into Wimbledon (at Eastbourne) and five overall, counting her doubles victories with Coco Gauff. Her lack of success at SW19, and even her struggles today, are potential points of concern, but one thing is in her favor: the draw. Her seeding keeps her away from the game's top talents for some time, and many of the dangeous floaters find themselves swimming in other quarters of the bracket. Pegula's next opponent, Cristina Bucșa, just won her first-ever match at Wimbledon, in a third-set tiebreak no less.

But Pegula will also take none of this for granted, given her recent early exit at a Slam, and the opportunity she has, given her position in the game. It's unusual to see the fourth-ranked player in the world beginning the world's premier tournament away from the top courts, but the Buffalo native, as many do, took it in stride.

"I like being first on," Pegula said about her 11 a.m. start time on Court 2. "I like to know my fate, right away."

As a famous Englishman once said, "We are the masters of our fate." Will the task which has been set for Pegula be above her strength?