"It was pretty comical" - Jessica Pegula on Frances Tiafoe's performance at the NBA All-Star Celebrity game
American tennis star Jessica Pegula recently commented on her compatriot Frances Tiafoe's performance in the NBA All-Star celebrity game.
Frances Tiafoe will always be loyal to the tennis court, but the American star had a blast on the basketball court at the NBA All-Star Celebrity Game on Friday, February 17, evening. Tiafoe, the World No. 15, scored twice to help NBA legend Dwyane Wade's team to victory.
In light of this, his compatriot Jessica Pegula commented on his performance during a press conference following her second-round victory over Viktoriya Tomova at the Dubai Duty-Free Tennis Championships.
Pegula revealed that the American United Cup team is still active in their group chat, where they were all "psyched" for Tiafoe. Unfortunately, she could not watch him play.
"We're still in the same United Cup group chat. We were all psyched for him. I unfortunately couldn't watch it. But I heard he only had like four shots (laughter)," Pegula said.
The American further disclosed that Frances Tiafoe worked hard for the match, practicing "probably more than he did on the tennis court" since he was so "excited." She added that the 25-year-old's performance was "pretty comical," as he only scored three (correction: four) points, but admitted that it was "better than none."
"We're like, You've been practicing so hard. He's had a shooting coach. He's been on the court practicing probably more than the tennis court, to be honest, the last few weeks. This was, like, his thing. He was so excited," Pegula said.
"I think he made three points. At least he made three. It's better than none. But it was pretty comical, yeah," she added.
"Just happy that I was able to kind of find my form; It was definitely a roller coaster kind of match" - Jessica Pegula
Jessica Pegula, who defeated Viktoriya Tomova in three sets (6-2, 5-7, 6-1), remarked on her victory, saying it was a "roller coaster" kind of match. The American added that her opponent wasn't initially playing very well, but things changed when she started putting balls back in the court and found her rhythm.
"Yeah, it was definitely a roller coaster kind of match. I thought I started off playing okay, but then I didn't think she was playing very well. When she started just putting balls in the court, it definitely switched the match. I thought she found her rhythm," Pegula said.
Pegula quickly added that she was happy to find her own form in the third set and win the match, making this her fourth win in five matches.
"Just happy that I was able to kind of find my form in the third from the beginning, just win the match," she said.
The World No. 3 will next lock horns with Ana Bogdan in the Round-of-16.