One of the coaches for Jessica Pegula, Mark Knowles, has praised the American’s US Open run that saw her reach the semi-finals.
After reaching the final the previous, Pegula had high expectations for her campaign this year and they did not fail to disappoint.
The American reached the semi-finals and despite losing four points on her serve in the third set, was defeated by world number one Aryna Sabalenka.
In a valiant effort Pegula just fell short of her Grand Slam dreams but one of her coaches believes she has a lot to be proud of as Mark Knowles spoke to the Tennis Channel, “It was a terrific U.S. Open and ended up just a little bit short for Jess, but I’m so proud of her effort,” Knowles was quoted by tennisuptodate.com as saying to The Tennis Channel.
“She played really well against the world number one, pushed her to the limit, and you could argue maybe a little unlucky not to get through. There’s a reason Sabalenka is number one in the world, and she continues to show it.
“She got it together, and it’s testament to the type of player and competitor she is. The minute she played the first point at the Open, it was a completely different Jess. I think the semifinal match might be the best I’ve ever seen her play.”
Although it was a positive campaign for Pegula, the American had a very rough rest of the season with highs and lows being produced.
It was looking so good for the American after winning the title in Bad Homburg but then came a string of shock defeats as she was preparing to lose a ton of points.
However, a strong performance in New York limited the damage done to Pegula’s ranking as she only fell down by three places to seven in the world.
Speaking on Pegula’s form before New York, Knowles admitted it was a challenging time for the American, “She had high expectations going into Wimbledon after winning Bad Homburg, her third title of the season. Unfortunately, she had a tough loss in the opening round,” Knowles said.
“The summer wasn’t what Jess expected, with many points to defend and a different schedule: Champion in Canada, Finals in Cincinnati, Finals at the Open. For Jess, it was about managing that and knowing what to expect. We were also working on a few things with Mark Merklin and the team to add to her game.”
Next up for Pegula is the Billie Jean King Cup Finals in China before beginning her surge to try and qualify for another appearance at the WTA Finals.
