For the second round of the Master 1000 in Beijing, the player from Nice, Diane Parry, faced the No. 2 seed, Jessica Pegula. In this first encounter, Diane Parry displayed a high level of play.
Having not played against a top 10 player worldwide since her round of 16 match at the Olympics against Iga Swiatek, the Azuréenne Diane Parry had a challenging task. The world number 3, Jessica Pegula, a title contender in Beijing, stood before her. It was a comeback match for the American, who had not been seen on the circuit since her final at the US Open. Quite a challenge… To say the least, it did not take her long to find her rhythm. Yet Diane Parry made a strong start to the match. But against Jessica Pegula, the slightest mistake is costly. Not incisive enough on her second serve, the player from Nice got broken from the start and couldn’t retaliate. The American varied her play well and prevented Diane Parry from returning to the set. Towards the end of the set, the world number 53 let it go (6-1).
The second set was much more consistent. Jessica Pegula remained true to herself while Diane Parry became more aggressive. A bit like her previous match against En Shuo Liang. She even managed to break the service of the Buffalo, New York native. Remarkable in defense, one might even think a third set was possible. But the perfectly executed drop shots by Jessica Pegula helped her level the score.
The rest of the match was very uncertain and the level of play was intense. Pushed to a tiebreak, Diane Parry managed to take the lead at 3-2 but quickly was disillusioned. The opponent’s precision overcame the player from Nice, who bowed out with honors (6-1/7(7)-6(4)).
In the next round, Jessica Pegula will face Veronika Kudermetova.
