Posted by Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Saturday September 7, 2024
New York—For a long time, Jessica Pegula he had to wonder if he could stay with the best players in the game. Indeed, he was a six-time quarterfinalist, beating three World No.1-ranked players, as well as the highest ranking of No.3 in the world. But after failing so many times in the majors, he didn’t have that extra sense of faith in his game.
Despite his 7-5, 7-5 loss Aryna Sabalenka in the US Open final on Saturday, that changed – in a big way.
“If I can’t be confident this time, there must be something wrong,” Pegula told reporters a few hours after the final, in a post-match press conference.
“I think I gained confidence from winning 250, from winning 1000, from being able to win 1000. Many now. Then I can be a Grand Slam finalist, I think that was the last thing for me, of course, that I made many quarterfinals but I can make the semifinals, can I be a competitor to win the Grand Slam.”
Pegula felt she lost to the better player on Saturday in three-time champion Sabalenka, but she looked good in each set, and was very competitive against the strongest player in women’s tennis.
“I lost again to a top player. I lost to the girls who won the tournament all the time. I know that my quality was there,” said Pegula. “And I think that maybe I handled this time better this year, as I said before, by having a different perspective that I started the year badly and I didn’t expect to do well on this difficult court, and I was able to flip that script. “
Pegula said he gained insight from his difficult first half or season, where he was searching for a heart with his new coaching staff, and came back strong to win 15 of 17 games since his title debut in Toronto.
“I think when I came in here, there was almost a little bit of pressure in a way, because I was just happy to get into another quarterfinal,” he said. “My slam record this year was not great. So I think maybe that perspective helped me then, I was able to have a good match in the semis, coming from behind there, and I put myself in a position to win the Grand Slam.”
When it comes to the nuts and bolts of his game, Pegula says he’s still the same player. He has just been able to add wrinkles, like better movement and feeding, to make a difference.
“My movement and my performance are a little bit better,” the 30-year-old said. “So I think there are some parts that are probably less consistent than before. I’m sure there are other days when I may have served better. But I think basically, it didn’t go down too much in every week and every game. I can say the same about my movement.
“So I think those things have improved a little bit. So I don’t know if I can say that I play better. Football, do I see it as a watermelon every day? Not really, but I think about those other things, maybe that’s why it seems like I’m playing my best tennis. But I actually think it’s more effective at a few things that maybe weren’t my strengths that were a little better consistently. ”
