Jessica Pegula on the brink of breakthrough but will have to wait to learn opponent
Jessica Pegula advanced to the third WTA 1000 final of her career at the Canadian Open in Montreal on Saturday, defeating world No 1 Iga Swiatek 6-2, 6-7(4), 6-4.
It might yet prove a watershed win for Pegula, who has played consistently well over the last two seasons but has no big wins to show for her efforts.
Pegula came through a tense battle with the top player in the world and is now just one win away from the biggest title of her career to date.
“It was a great match,” Pegula said. “It was tough. Kind of a roller coaster. Really up and down, but I’m glad I was able to hold my nerve there at the end.”
Pegula rallied from 4-2 down in the third set to snap a losing streak in Canadian Open semi-finals.
She might have feared that her chance had gone after failing to serve out the match at 6-2, 5-4 in the second set, and leading 4-2 in the second set tiebreak.
Pegula has now turned the tide in her head-to-head rivarly with Swiatek, taking a 2-1 lead thanks to wins at the United Cup and now in Montreal.
In that second set tiebreaker there was an extraordinarily bizarre disruption to play as the stadium sound system began blaring ‘Cotton Eyed-Joe’ forcing the point to be replayed.
Although Swiatek went on to take the replayed point and the tiebreaker, Pegula appeared to be mildly amused by the interruption.
“I just thought it was funny,” Pegula said. “I’ve never had that happen, let alone with ‘Cotton-Eye Joe.’ I was, like, is this really happening right now? Of all the songs. It was just, like, what is going on?”
Pegula said that she didn’t panic at her failures to close out the match when she had chances feeling that she could still get back on top in the match.
“Even though I served for it at 5-4, I thought she played a great game,” Pegula said. “She hit two lines and just went for her shots, and sometimes that just happens.
“Then in the third, got down to break. I was getting frustrated that I wasn’t holding, but then at the same time I knew she was having trouble holding as well. It was whoever could kind of consolidate the break.”
Swiatek couldn’t account for the loss, saying she wasn’t sure where things went wrong for her.
“She really pushed me, so I needed to change something up,” Swiatek said. “It was working, but in the third, I don’t really know what happened when I was leading. I’ve got to watch the match and analyze it, because for sure she was fighting for every point and I did as well. It was a tricky match.”
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