Jessica Pegula has put perspective on a terrific fortnight at the US Open as she fell just short of a first Grand Slam title.
It was an incredible performance from the American as she came back from big deficits in both sets but was unable to get the job done.
After losing a thrilling US Open final 7-5, 7-5 to arguably the best hard-court player in the world, Pegula allowed herself to be satisfied with her performance, “Yeah, super-tough match today,” Pegula said in her press conference.
“I was happy that I was able to at least get my chances to win a set, considering I was down in the first and in the second. I was able to find some good tennis, but just wasn’t quite able to sustain it. I think [Sabalenka] played some big tennis in some big moments.
“I actually felt really good. I thought I handled the moment more or less pretty well, besides obviously not winning, I think I did a good job. My movement and my serve has gotten a little bit better. I think there are certain parts that maybe are a little bit more consistent than they used to be. I’m sure there’s other days where maybe I’ve served better. But I think as far as a baseline, it’s not as much up and down throughout the weeks and through matches.
“I would say the same for my movement. I think maybe that’s why it may seem like I’m playing my best tennis. But I really think it’s just more working on a couple of little things that maybe weren’t my strengths that have been a little bit better consistently.”
Despite the defeat there were lots of positives for Pegula to take into the rest of the season as she overcame matches against Karolina Muchova and Iga Swiatek in order to reach a first Grand Slam final.
Now Pegula is aiming for some well deserved time off, “It’s been kind of a crazy couple of days, so hopefully I’ll get some time after this to kind of just relax and just, you know, look back at what I’ve been able to do the last month.”
The home crowd gave their player tremendous support and were a significant reason she was able to turn the second set around. Hanging by a thread with the score at 0-3 and 30-40, a brilliant forehand down the line from behind the baseline forced an error from her opponent. The sixth seed completely flipped the match from that moment on as she won five games in a row to lead 5-3 and had a chance to serve for the set at 5-4 before being broken back.
“It was so loud when we walked out. I think with the roof being closed it felt even louder. It was a really cool atmosphere, really cool experience. I was trying to take it all in and at the same time try and focus on the match in front of me. There was definitely a couple of moments where I tried to not rush and kind of stop myself a little bit and be able to, appreciate that crowd noise, because it was definitely super, super loud.”
Pegula was also in awe of several celebrities which only added to the occasion and the American had a funny story to tell involving her husband and Steph Curry, “On the changeover I’m always looking up and I see the celebrities,” Pegula explained.
“It’s kind of hard not to because literally right in front of us. I was, like, wow, there’s definitely a lot of people here. I thought that was pretty cool and pretty amazing that I got to play in front of them.
“Being able to stalk to Steph, that was really cool. I met him kind of briefly at the Olympics during the opening ceremony and we traded pins. But yeah, it was cool for him to come out. I guess he really wants to kind of keep supporting women’s sports and get really into it. It was really fun to meet him and also his wife.
“If you connect to Bluetooth or send [my husband] something or AirDrop, it’s Steph Curry’s iPhone. I left early and later my husband texted me and he was so excited, he didn’t want to say anything. I said, ‘Please tell me you did not tell him about the iPhone thing’. But he said: ‘Oh, yeah, I did!’ I thought that was really cute and a cool moment for him because he’s a diehard Steph Curry fan, and I think I actually first watched him at a NCAA tournament in Buffalo.
Pegula, who also lost to Sabalenka earlier this summer in the Cincinatti final, was proud of her performance and was able to put her run into some context as she had a tough start to the year.
“I mean, looking back, I’ve lost again to a really good player. I lost to girls that pretty much won the tournament every time. I know my level was right there. And I think maybe I handled the moment a little bit better this year. I had a rough start to the year as my Slam record this year was not great and I didn’t really expect to be doing this well in the hard-court swing, and I was able to flip that script. I think maybe that perspective maybe helped me through that moment, and then I was able to obviously have a great match in the semi, come from behind there, and put myself in a chance to win a Grand Slam. I think for sure I will take a lot of confidence from this.
“I’ve taken confidence from winning a 250, from being able to win multiple 1000s now. Then to be able to be a Grand Slam finalist, I think that was kind of the last thing for me. I made a lot of quarterfinals but can I make a semi, can I be a contender to actually win a Grand Slam.
Pegula is widely known for her calm and quiet confidence both on and off the court, and after the final she was able to look back with pride. “What’s always helped me I think as I have gotten higher ranked and become a better player is just keeping that perspective. That’s helped me a lot to become a better player. Just having that awareness and perspective of what tennis is for me.”
