"Can you win a match normal and not be theatrical?" - Pegula jokes about Tiafoe
ATP
Jessica Pegula spoke about her compatriot Frances Tiafoe after the quarter-final matches at the 2022 US Open.
The two American players were certainly in a different mood after their quarter-final matches. While Tiafoe won his match against Andrey Rublev 7-6(3), 7-6(0), 6-4, Pegula lost to Iga Swiatek 3-6, 6-7(4).
Tiafoe's win was a huge success for the US tennis, which is why Pegula was also asked about him during her post-match press conference. The experienced American joked that she always makes fun of Tiafoe because of his on-court antics.
"I'm always kind of got on him, Can you win a match, like, normal and not be like this whole theatrical event?' I always give him c**p."
On a more serious note, Pegula was really happy to see Tiafoe enjoy plenty of success in recent weeks. Apart from reaching the semi-finals at the US Open, he also played in the semi-finals in Atlanta and in the quarter-finals in Washington.
"It's amazing to see how he has played so much more focused even though he had a couple of tough matches in Montreal and Cincinnati and all this stuff. I was like, You're playing so much better. It's coming. It's just coming for that one match."
"It's really nice to see. He's so much fun to watch, so charismatic. Nothing but good things to say about him. I'm really proud of him for really focusing on these last couple weeks because he can be all over the place."
While Pegula is happy about Tiafoe's success, she would also want to see some of the female US players join him. Although in recent years, Americans had far more success on the WTA Tour, mostly thanks to the Williams sisters, Pegula doesn't want the era of US success to stop.
"The way he's taking care of business has been really, really impressive. Yeah, I know he's super hyped up and ecstatic, but such a good story on him. I just wish I could join him or Coco could join him or something like that."
