"It's so hard when you're out there" admits Jessica Pegula after reaching Madrid Open semifinals
WTA
Jessica Pegula overcame several scares to win her 2022 Madrid Open clash against a spirited Sara Sorribes Tormo - extending her winning streak in the WTA 1000 quarterfinals to six matches in the process.
Since the start of the 2021 season, no other player has matched or bettered Pegula's six-match winning run at the final eight stage of WTA tournaments. Moreover, to make her achievement even more impressive, the American has also notched two semi-final wins at the Canadian Open and Miami during her winning streak.
Pegula entered the 2022 Madrid Open ranked 14th in the official WTA standings as she aims to go above her previous career best of 13th place. Recent form may suggest that the 28-year-old can continue to progress and try to break into the top 10 as she has won 10 of her last 13 WTA matches.
However, there were times in this clash against Sorribes Tormo when Pegula didn't look entirely comfortable, and she fended off comeback attempts by the last remaining Spaniard in both sets.
Eventually, Pegula had to raise her game to hit 31 winners in the match, which was more than double Sorribes Tormo's 15. Despite the quality of her opponent, Pegula said she knew how she could win and secure passage into her sixth WTA 1000 semi-final in a row.
During her post-match interview, the 28-year-old explained how she stuck to her rigid game plan to get over the line.
"[Sorribes Tormo is] just so tough, and she makes you play ... that's what I was expecting,I'm not going to out-rally or out-grind her from the back, so it's such a fine line of moving in and coming forward, but picking the right times to do that."
"So that's what I did, and I did it well enough. I drop-shotted a lot and it worked really well, that's also something I wanted to do. I executed my game plan, it's just so hard when you're out there."
Although Pegula has an impressive recent record in WTA 1000 events, she has never won a competition of this caliber. In addition, the world number 14's most recent tournament victory was at the 2019 Citi Open in Washington (a WTA 500-level event), where she defeated Camila Giorgi in straight sets.
Since then, the American has only reached one more WTA-level final, the 2020 ASB Classic in Auckland, where she lost against her compatriot Serena Williams.
Latest Comments
- Kyrgios will do anything to stay in the news.shirley19-12-2024
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MrMustard18-12-2024 - All that is said , all that is done. Nick has 0 grand slams wins. Everything else is hot 🥵 air.MrMustard18-12-2024
- All that is said , all that isMrMustard18-12-2024
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Stella112-12-2024 - All players should be treated the same for taking banned substances, if your no 1 in the world or no 300 man or woman you should not be allowed to keep playing,,VPH108-12-2024
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