Advertisement

Daughter of Bills, Sabres owner wins U.S. Open debut

NEW YORK, NY - AUGUST 31:  Jessica Pegula of the United States returns a shot against Alison Van Uytvanck of Belgium during their Women's First Round match on Day One of the 2015 US Open at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center on August 31, 2015 in the Flushing neighborhood of the Queens borough of New York City.  (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)

NEW YORK – The Pegula family owns the NFL's Buffalo Bills and NHL's Buffalo Sabres, but the family's biggest win of the year didn't come in Buffalo.

About 400 miles to the southeast, daugther Jessica Pegula earned that honor as she won her Grand Slam debut on Monday afternoon in New York City.

Pegula upset Roland Garros quarterfinalist Alison Van Uytvanck in straight sets, 7-5, 6-3.

The 21-year-old is ranked 260th in the world. She earned a spot in the main draw by advancing through the qualifying rounds, were she edged 2009 break-out star Melanie Oudin.

With Pegula making her way into the main draw, the tournament now has familial ties to the NHL, NFL, and NBA. The NBA connection comes from CoCo Vandeweghe, niece of Kiki Vandeweghe and granddaughter of former New York Knick Ernie Vandeweghe. She also won Monday, advancing to the second round for the third year in a row.

_____________

Danielle Elliot is a writer for Yahoo Sports. Find her on Twitter and Facebook.