Pegula: "This is the tournament where I feel the most pressure"

Fernando Murciego | 31 Aug 2024 | 22.47

Jessica Pegula talks about her relationship with the US Open. Source: Getty

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The season of Jessica Pegula has reached its peak in the middle of summer, where the American was able to find shelter in her country's tournaments to achieve the best results of a 2024 marked by an injury that kept her off the courts throughout the spring. Now, already in the round of 16 of the 2024 US Open, the Buffalo native appears calm before the crucial rounds, where people truly expect to see her shine. This afternoon, she had to defeat Jessica Bouzas to face Diana Shnaider in the next match, although her last press conference took various directions thanks to some very interesting questions from the press.

Fresher than her rivals at this stage

"In my case, I think I have come a bit fresher to this stage of the season because I skipped the entire clay court swing; I wasn't at Roland Garros. I started on grass after two free months, also didn't go to the Middle East. In a strange way, I would say it was a positive to look back and be able to start this part of the year quite fresh. Despite all of this, it was quite chaotic going back and forth to the Olympics with the change in surfaces it involved. At the same time, I do think I was fresher than everyone else. I can't say that if I had played the whole start of the year, I would feel as fresh as I do now, but it definitely conditioned everything a bit. At least that's what I think."

Nice words for Paolini

"Every time I played against her, I felt like she had the tennis for a higher ranking. She strikes the ball very well, despite being small she moves quite well, hits good angles, and that's why she has been able to achieve such great things. I'm not surprised by her evolution; something clicked in her to become more mentally consistent, maybe she's playing more aggressively now. It seems like she has been able to gain that momentum to win those matches, she was already doing very well since the end of last year, she got some wins against important players. I think it's a good story that serves as an example for all young players to see that the immediate breakthrough doesn't always happen, I myself am one of those people that took some time."

Her relationship with the US Open

"It's been a great journey; this is the tournament where I feel the most pressure but, at the same time, when I was younger, I always had my best results here. I qualified for the main draw twice and was able to secure my first Grand Slam victory. I hold many positive aspects here despite the pressure, although I don't particularly love the conditions. I feel like I play just as well in the other Slams but for some reason, I couldn't use that American boost I have here to perform well. The crowd support and being at home always add something extra. I think having those good results here at the start of my career helped me improve gradually."

Advice for mental health care

"The best advice is to be emotionally well. If you want to scare yourself, break down, or cry, go ahead, it's okay. Once you let the emotions out, you can reset, whether on or off the court, but you can't be sad or upset: just let it out, allow yourself to be emotional to reset. I don't think it's good to hold things in, that's something I have also improved a lot, although in tennis, it's very difficult because then you have to play the next point, you can't leave the game or talk to your coach. There's nothing you're really going to change; you have 25 seconds to let things go, you just have to move on. It's definitely very healthy, don't pretend, you just have to feel whatever you need to feel and let it go until you reach the final situation."

Shnaider in the fourth round

"I saw her playing very well in Toronto, here we are in a different city, different conditions, and another situation. She will definitely know what to expect because that was the first time we faced each other. She comes from a season with many victories, an incredible year where she has shown she has the level to be among the top 20. I'm just going to try to use what I did well in my last match and hope it works, although I'll surely have to be prepared for her to adapt and maybe change some details from the last time we played."

This news is an automatic translation. You can read the original news, Pegula: “Este es el torneo donde siento más presión"

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