Takeaways: Anisimova, Keys, Pegula all reach third round at Australian Open

A trio of Americans moved into the third round of the Australian Open with little trouble on Thursday. Defending champion Madison Keys and No. 6 seed Jessica Pegula each cruised past compatriots in second-round play, dropping just eight games between them, while No. 4 seed Amanda Anisimova added a straight-sets win over Katerina Siniakova.

Australian Open: Scores | Draws | Order of play

After her 6-0, 6-2 win, Jessica Pegula acknowledged to former Top 10 player on the WTA Tour Driven by Mercedes-Benz Coco Vandeweghe that it “sucked” to face not just another American, but her doubles partner, World No. 37 McCartney Kessler. Pegula, who also defeated Kessler in last year’s WTA 250 final in Austin, Texas, raced through the rematch on Rod Laver Arena, winning the first eight games on her way to a 58-minute victory.

Meanwhile, Keys -- who came from a 4-0 first-set deficit and saved two set points in her opening 7-6(6), 6-1 win over Ukrainian Oleksandra Olyniykova -- didn't face the same kind of early trouble against World No. 62 Ashlyn Krueger, but did face a tough test in set two. She rallied from 5-2 behind, saved a set point in the ninth game, and came all the way back 6-1, 7-5 in 1 hour and 13 minutes.

Lastly, in the first meeting between Anisimova and Siniakova, Anisimova survived eight double faults and saved 12 of 13 break points to win 6-1, 6-4.

Here is more from their wins:

Pegula: Meeting with Kessler was almost written in the stars

Kessler and Pegula spent a lot of time together over the last 24-plus hours in Melbourne. A long-awaited doubles partnership finally came to fruition -- they lost in the first round on Wednesday to Gabriela Dabrowski and Luisa Stefani -- making their singles meeting feel like fate, Pegula said.

"We've tried to hook up for doubles so many times, and of course, the time that we are actually in the draw and ready to play, we play each other in the next round in singles," she said.

That familiarity meant that Pegula was more than ready for the challenge Kessler posed. She needed to lock-in further, she said, after Kessler took an off-court medical timeout in between sets, and found her footing.

"I just tried to stay loose -- got off to a really good start, which I was proud of, but then I lost it right back," Pegula said. "She's such a good competitor so I knew that at one point she was going to find a way to start playing better and work her way into the match. I think I got a little too passive at some point, but she started ripping and being a little more aggressive. I just had to adjust a little bit more, but I did a good job of not panicking and sticking to my game plan."

Keys' champion's mentality shines again

While Keys' playing level has wavered in her first two matches, one thing has stayed constant: the champion's mentality that's helped her adjust to the challenges posed by two very different opponents in her title defense so far.

"I think I started really well and I think Ashlyn started a little bit slow. I was fully expecting her to raise her level, which she did. It got away from me quickly, and I just really wanted to -- even if I lost the set -- try to get back in the set, try to figure out where my game went," she said. "Once I got that momentum, I tried to sink my teeth into the set, and do whatever I could to get back into it."

She honed that skill in her battle-tested title run a year ago, she says -- where she played three sets in five of her seven wins.

"You have moments in your career where things just start going right, and that's just kind of how it felt for a couple of weeks ... I think it's easy to look back and romanticize it and think I played unbelievable tennis, but everyone likes to remind me ... that I lost the most games in history in winning a Grand Slam.

"Having that remind that things can happen at any moment as long as you try to keep yourself in matches, and do the best that you can every single day."

Anisimova: Clutch when it mattered

Anisimova would've been wary of Siniakova entering their first-ever meeting, as the World No. 1 in doubles in the PIF WTA Rankings owns 10 career Top 10 wins on the singles court. And she needed to be sharp in the early going.

At 1-1, Anisimova saved four break points that would've put her in an early deficit. Instead, she parlayed that tight hold into a run of four straight games -- and regrouped quickly when a 6-1, 3-1 lead became a 4-3 second-set deficit. Stopping Siniakova's momentum in its tracks in the eighth game after failing to convert four break points at 3-3, she held from 0-30 down and only surrendered three points in the final two games.

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