Jessica Pegula has revealed that she is learning to accept emotions and the pressure that comes with expectations at a home Grand Slam ahead of the second week at the US Open.
The American number two has continued her great form into the US Open as she is into the second week for a third consecutive year.
A 6-3 6-3 win over Jessica Bouzas Maneiro means that Pegula is into the last 16 and admitted after the match she was happy with the manner of the victory, “Yeah, I thought it was pretty straightforward today. I think I just played some solid tennis,” Pegula said in her press conference.
“Didn’t have to do too much or anything crazy out there. I felt like I was able to execute my strategy and figure things out and get it done pretty quickly.”
The win means Pegula is into the second week and now has her sights set on her Grand Slam dream.
A lot of pressure and expectation comes with being an American at a Grand Slam especially when you enter your home Grand Slam with form.
Winning the title in Toronto and a final in Cincinnati means Pegula enters the US Open with expectation and pressure.
That is something Pegula is still getting used to as she said in her press conference, “It’s been really cool. This is the one I feel like is the most pressure, but at the same time when I was younger always had better results at as well,” Pegula said when reflecting on previous results at the US Open.
“I qualified here twice, was able to get my first main draw win here of a slam. So I think there was a lot of positives even though with the pressure. It’s not like I exactly love the conditions here either. I feel like I play just as well at the other slams, but I think for some reason I’ve been able to kind of, I don’t know, use that momentum of being an American at the US Open and do pretty well.
“So maybe the crowd support or being in the U.S. kind of adds a little bit of something. But yeah, I’ve had some really good results here now. Maybe it kind of started at first slam being able to qualify at too was a big one for me. I think having those good memories definitely helps every year.”
Being a top favourite at a home Grand Slam comes with a lot of stress and pressure mentally with it being a strong test as to how mentally strong someone is.
Speaking on mental health tips Pegula said that controlling her emotions has been a useful thing to do when competing at the highest level, “The most useful one. I would say that it’s okay to be emotional. I would say if you want to freak out, if you want to snap, if you want to cry, it’s totally fine,” Pegula said.
“I think it’s just once you kind of let all those emotions out, I think resetting is — you have to kind of just reset. I would say if that’s either on court or off the court, I mean, let yourself be sad, let yourself be upset, let yourself be emotional and all those things, but at the same time I think once you get it out, you kind of have to just reset a little bit.
“So I don’t think it’s great to hold things in, but at the same time when you do let them out, you have to look at it as I’m getting it out now, but then the next day I’m snapping right back. I’m going to just do it and get it over with and snap right back. I think that’s something I’ve gotten a lot better at as well and something that tennis — it’s hard because you have to play the next point, and you can’t come out of the game.
“You can’t talk to your coach that much. There’s nothing that’s really going to change it. You have 25 seconds to kind of let things go. The same thing when you are playing week-to-week tournaments. You don’t have that much time to kind of dwell on your really bad practice or a really bad match that you played.
“I think have you to kind of keep going. So I think it’s healthy. You don’t have to fake it. You just have to let yourself feel whatever you need to feel and then kind of just let it go and move on to the present situation.”
Pegula will hope those tips and tools come in handy in the second week of the US Open as she searches for a maiden US Open title.
Next up for Pegula is 18th seed Diana Schnaider, a player who Pegula beat on her way to the Toronto title.
