Jessica Pegula caused a shock by thrashing Iga Swiatek at the United Cup. The American described what made that result possible afterward.
2022 was the best season of Pegula's career. She and Swiatek were the only WTA players to reach three Grand Slam quarterfinals last season, showing how consistent the American was throughout the year.
However, Swiatek proved to be a consistent thorn in Pegula's side. The Pole defeated the 28-year-old in all four of their meetings in 2022, including in two of the three Grand Slam quarterfinals Pegula made.
Swiatek's quarterfinal victory at the US Open was particularly memorable because Pegula drank a can of Heineken beer in the press conference afterward, humorously saying she did this to pee for a doping test but that it also eased the pain.
Four losses in a row in 2022 created the possibility of Pegula developing a mental block against the world No. 1, but she ended those fears by hammering Swiatek 6-2, 6-2 at the United Cup with an outstanding performance.
Swiatek could not live with the level produced by her opponent, something that rarely happened last year. In an interview after the match, Pegula mentioned that the conditions helped her game more than the three-time Grand Slam champion's.
"[The] conditions are totally different than anywhere else I've played her. Obviously maybe I had a little bit of an advantage, they just flew in yesterday. Definitely the fastest conditions I have played here."
"Every other place I've played her has been pretty slow. I think that favored me a lot, and I was able to use that to my advantage and play a really super clean match. I think I just was able to execute my game plan probably better than I have previous times."
Although Swiatek is the best WTA player in the world, she does struggle more on faster surfaces. Pegula did a great job of exploiting that at the United Cup.