Jessica Pegula’s first victory over a Top 10 opponent earned the 25yearold American her first trip to the quarterfinals of a Grand Slam tournament.
MELBOURNE, Australia:Sanjhi Soch buero : Jessica Pegula’s first victory over a Top 10 opponent earned the 26-year-old American her first trip to the quarterfinals of a Grand Slam tournament.
And now she’ll face good pal Jennifer Brady in an all-U.S. matchup with a berth in the final four at stake.
Its an opportunity for both of us Pegula said, recalling that she and Brady became close after playing doubles together for the United States in the competition now known as the Billie Jean King Cup. Im just happy Im here. Shes been playing some good tennis, solidifying herself as a top player.
When the 61st-ranked Pegula, whose parents own Buffalo’s NFL and NHL franchises, finished beating No. 5 seed Elina Svitolina of Ukraine 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 in Rod Laver Arena on Monday (Sunday night EST), she scribbled a message on the screen of a courtside television camera: hi mom, hi dad, see you next rd Jen B.
And after the 22nd-seeded Brady, a 25-year-old from Pennsylvania who played college tennis at UCLA, got off to a perfect start by grabbing the initial five games en route to a 6-1, 7-5 victory over No. 28 Donna Vekic of Croatia, she used a blue marker to respond in kind, writing: Bring it Jess!
Pegula is on quite a breakthrough run.
And after the 22nd-seeded Brady, a 25-year-old from Pennsylvania who played college tennis at UCLA, got off to a perfect start by grabbing the initial five games en route to a 6-1, 7-5 victory over No. 28 Donna Vekic of Croatia, she used a blue marker to respond in kind, writing: Bring it Jess!
Pegula is on quite a breakthrough run.
Witt said Pegula’s rising confidence is a big part of her progress. She found a sort of kinship with her family’s football team, the Bills, who made the playoffs three of the past four seasons behind quarterback Josh Allen after going nearly two decades without a trip to the postseason.
Even last year, when he wasnt playing that well, I was like, I like this kid. I loved his competitive spirit. He was a gamer. He just wanted to win. Thats something you love to see, she said about Allen. Its definitely something I think I tried to take into my game a little bit, even watching the team getting that grit, that competitive attitude, having that mindset in tennis, its like 90%, sometimes, of the matches. I think its been really cool to watch them and kind of channel that energy into how Ive been doing.
