"After the match with Iga Swiatek, I was even more nervous" - Jessica Pegula on 'strange' night leading up to maiden Slam final at US Open 2024
Jessica Pegula has cast her mind back to her 2024 US Open quarterfinal clash against World No. 1 Iga Swiatek. Pegula voiced her recollection of the match after she won her semifinal encounter at the hardcourt Major over Karolina Muchova on Thursday, September 5, to reach her maiden Grand Slam final.
Pegula, the World No. 6, went into her match against Swiatek as the underdog. The New York-born daughter of the owners of the NFL's Buffalo Bills and NHL's Buffalo Sabres had faced the Pole on nine occasions previously, losing six of them.
However, it turned out to be a memorable outing for Pegula. Swiatek's erratic display, consisting of 41 unforced errors, combined with the American's rock-solid performance, yielded a resounding 6-2, 6-4 win for the World No. 6. The victory marked Pegula's passage to her first-ever Major semifinal.
The American sealed another personal milestone by winning against crafty Czech Karolina Muchova in the pair's semifinal showdown. However, Muchova proved to be a tougher nut to crack than Swiatek. The Czech stormed to a 6-1 first-set win, but Pegula regrouped and soon started drawing errors from Muchova while finding winners consistently herself.
Ultimately, the World No. 6 prevailed, taking the second and third sets 6-4, 6-2 to reach a maiden Major final, and that too on home soil. At a press conference after the match, Pegula laid bare the anxiety she experienced after her win over Iga Swiatek in the quarterfinals.
"It was a strange night, after the match with Iga I was even more nervous, but tonight I went out on a super flat court. I thought it would be good to feel relaxed, but not that much. Every day you feel different, sometimes you go out and feel great and other times you feel super flat, but you have to deal with it," Jessica Pegula said.
"I'm sure playing on consecutive nights has also contributed to that, but I don't know, that's the challenge of playing a Grand Slam. The important thing is that I was able to adjust just in time to this new situation."
Pegula will face last year's runner-up, Aryna Sabalenka, in the 2024 US Open women's singles final. As was the case against Swiatek in the quarters, the 30-year-old is the underdog on paper going into the final against the Belarusian.
Jessica Pegula has only managed two wins against Aryna Sabalenka in seven WTA Tour-level matches
Jessica Pegula played her very first match against Aryna Sabalenka on the WTA Tour in the third round of the 2020 Cincinnati Open. On that occasion, the American came out on top, ousting the Belarusian from the WTA 1000 event with a 6-2, 2-6, 6-3 win.
However, the next four meetings went the two-time (and reigning) Australian Open champion's way. Pegula did, however, stun Sabalenka in the round-robin phase of the 2023 WTA Finals. The most recent meeting in the final of the 2024 Cincinnati Open, saw the Belarusian emerge triumphant with a 6-3, 7-5 victory.