Jessica Pegula's Australian Open title defence ended abruptly in a 78-minute match, as the sixth seed defeated her close friend and defending champion Madison Keys 6-3 6-4. The American player won a bet involving apple pie with cheddar cheese on top after Keys hit 26 winners but was undone by 28 unforced errors.
The victory marked Pegula's first win over her friend, who had previously been her co-host on a popular tennis podcast. According to Pegula, the two had made a friendly wager before the tournament, in which Pegula would sample apple pie with cheddar cheese and Keys would wear a Kansas City Chiefs jersey if she won.
Despite Keys' strong performance, she struggled with unforced errors, while Pegula's more efficient game paid off. The American player will now face Amanda Anisimova in the quarter-finals after beating Xinyu Wang 7-6 (7-4) 6-4 earlier in the day.
The result marked a significant upset in the Australian Open, with Keys having been the heavy favourite to defend her title. Pegula's victory has sparked excitement among tennis fans and is expected to be remembered for years to come due to its unusual nature.
The victory marked Pegula's first win over her friend, who had previously been her co-host on a popular tennis podcast. According to Pegula, the two had made a friendly wager before the tournament, in which Pegula would sample apple pie with cheddar cheese and Keys would wear a Kansas City Chiefs jersey if she won.
Despite Keys' strong performance, she struggled with unforced errors, while Pegula's more efficient game paid off. The American player will now face Amanda Anisimova in the quarter-finals after beating Xinyu Wang 7-6 (7-4) 6-4 earlier in the day.
The result marked a significant upset in the Australian Open, with Keys having been the heavy favourite to defend her title. Pegula's victory has sparked excitement among tennis fans and is expected to be remembered for years to come due to its unusual nature.
her stats were insane but those unforced errors are just heartbreaking 
how do u think pegula celebrated tho? maybe she got that apple pie 
her reaction on the court looked so disappointed & frustrated... gotta feel bad for her, she was so close to defending that title 
but Congrats Jessica Pegula 
you played an amazing match 
and that bet with apple pie & cheddar cheese sounds like a fun wager 
can't wait to see how Keys recovers from this loss 
. I'm not surprised it happened though - Pegula has been on fire lately. Her game is so polished, she just doesn't let her opponent get the best of her 
. Keys' unforced errors were just too much for her to handle. Poor girl! 
she totally dominated Madison Keys in like 78 minutes?! I mean, Keys was playing so well but those unforced errors were just too many 
and now Pegula's on a roll, gotta keep an eye on her! 
. The part that got me was when they made a friendly wager before the match – I love how sports can bring people together in weird ways 
. And can we talk about Keys' unforced errors? 28 of them is just crazy 
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! The fact that Jessica Pegula won after a close friend like Madison Keys lost is so inspiring 
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so i'm still trying to wrap my head around this whole apple pie thing 
but at the same time, you gotta respect keys for taking on a fun challenge like wearing a kansas city chiefs jersey 
Jessica Pegula totally outplayed Madison Keys and I'm loving this underdog story! 
She played some of the most efficient tennis I've seen in ages, and her strategy really paid off. 
And can we talk about how Pegula's reaction after winning was just SO sweet? 
She seemed genuinely happy for her friend, which is really refreshing in sports.
And who knows, maybe we'll see some more surprises like this at the Australian Open! 
. The fact that they made a friendly bet about apple pie and the Chiefs jersey is just the icing on the cake 
But Pegula played some clutch tennis to take down her friend, and I gotta give it to her – that cheddar cheese on apple pie is a game-changer! 
and those unforced errors from keys were just devastating 
anyway pegula's game was super efficient and she played some really clutch shots to take the win