Jessica Pegula was forced to come through another three-set thriller to keep her Charleston Open title defence alive as she battled her way past Elisabetta Cocciaretto. 

Pegula, who required three hours and 10 minutes to down Yulia Putintseva in the previous round, came from a set down on Thursday to emerge a 1-6 6-1 7-6 7-1 victor. 

The top seed struggled to find her rhythm in the opening set as Cocciaretto reeled off the final five games to edge in front, though Pegula was able to respond emphatically. 

In just 28 minutes, Pegula swept through the second set to ensure the encounter went the distance, but the pair could not be separated as they traded blows throughout. 

However, the tie-break went in favour of the American, who sealed her progression to the quarter-finals with a fierce volley at the net that her opponent returned wide of the mark. 

"It was a challenge, she was playing really well," Pegula said. 

"She beat me the last time we played, so there was a bit of a mental thing too, but I was able to serve really well, I think, at the end. And then I just held my nerve. 

"I found a couple of good patterns – I was hitting my backhand pretty well, and I just wanted to stick with what felt good in the moment.

"That was my backhand down the line, I think I came up with some big ones at the end that kind of saved me."

Jpeg stepping up

A break down in the decider against Cocciaretto, but @JPegula dug deep to keep her hopes of defending the title alive. She's through to the quarterfinals! #CharlestonOpen pic.twitter.com/GWitOpQNd4

— wta (@WTA) April 2, 2026

Data Debrief: Pegula rises to the occasion 

Having recorded her longest victory on the WTA Tour last time out, Pegula was once again pushed all the way by Cocciaretto, but it is so often in these types of matches that bring the best out of her. 

Pegula advanced to her 10th consecutive quarter-final, with her last loss before reaching the last eight coming against Magda Linette in the third round at Cincinnati last August. 

The result also bolstered Pegula's ever-impressive third-set statistics. She's now 8-1 in three-set matches in 2026, and 17-4 since the US Open.