Jessica Pegula has pointed to longevity as being the key to success in tennis after reaching the third round at the Australian Open.
The seventh seed moved into the third round in Melbourne with a 6-4 6-2 win over Elise Mertens on Margaret Court Arena.
It was the battle between two in-form players with Pegula reaching the final in Adelaide while Mertens reached the final in Hobart.
However it was Pegula who eased to victory sealing a passage into the third round in Melbourne for the fourth time in her career.
After the match Pegula admitted she was satisfied with her performance, “Yes, really good match today. Played strategically perfect, really smart,” Pegula started her press conference by saying.
“Just kind of executed exactly what I wanted to do to beat a player like Elise. Really happy with today’s performance.”
Pegula has the taste for success after reaching the US Open final last year but the American’s success didn’t happen straight away.
It took until she was 30 to reach her first Grand Slam final which breaks the tradition of many players breaking through when they’re younger.
The American number two analysed the art of longevity and said that her being more patient has been the key to her success, “I mean, there’s still a few, I feel like. Every time I think they’re not that young, there’s always a 16-year-old that pops in and does something. You’re like, Oh, no, it’s still happening. I just think the sport, there’s a lot more longevity in the sport,” Pegula explained.
“Also just a lot more people playing, a lot more girls, more athletes playing. I think that it’s just creating the longevity of the sport to be longer. I think people are taking care of their bodies more. . It’s a big shift. But I do think maybe people, too, are a little bit more protective of how much girls are playing when they’re younger, as well, injuries and stuff like that.
“I think back in the day, there was probably less people to pick from, as well, as far as talent, because not as many people played tennis. Now there’s so much, so it’s probably harder to break through at a young age. Maybe a little bit, like I said, protection of girls not having to play massive events so young, and then also becoming huge stars so young. Whether it was the crop of players or the amount of tournaments they were playing, that kind of, I feel like, launched a lot of really young 15-, 16-year-olds into the best players in the world. It’s a lot of different things like that.
“I think I definitely peaked a little bit later. Didn’t really figure out how to win matches until everything kind of came a little bit later for me. But I think I knew, too, there wasn’t like a rush. I also don’t think I was good enough. Kind of when I started doing better, you did start seeing girls doing better a little bit later on, which I think was really comforting because from before, I mean, yeah, if you weren’t like 16 and No. 1 in the world, it wasn’t going to work.
“It definitely helps mentally knowing you don’t have to rush, especially when you’re a junior or teenager.”
Pegula will be hoping her patient approach can see her play the sport for many more years as she targets more success in the future.
As for the present Pegula will play Olga Danilovic for a place in the second week of the Australian Open on Friday.
