QATAR TOTAL ENERGIES OPEN

February 18, 2023

Jessica Pegula

Press Conference

I. SWIATEK/J. Pegula

6-3, 6-0

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. Congratulations on a great week. Can you talk a little bit about the conditions and playing in these conditions, the wind especially? Do you think there is something players need to do, something they need to be armed with when you're playing these tactics? If you could talk a little bit about this.

JESSICA PEGULA: Yeah, the conditions were really tough today, but honestly I think yesterday was worse when I played Maria. Like the first set, set and a half, was probably the worst conditions I have ever played in (smiling). I thought it was actually a lot worse than today.

Today and also when I played my quarterfinal match, it was also, I think, very similar where it was just really tough.

I definitely think you have to be careful. I think it didn't seem to affect Iga that much today, maybe a little bit, but I think you just have to play into the wind, you have to serve the right way. I think taking the ball early and also having really good footwork can kind of eliminate some of those errors you can make when it's super windy conditions out.

I thought she was able to do that really well today. She always has great footwork and good movement. Yeah, I think maybe that's why it didn't seem like it affected her that much.

In general, I think those are some of the things you have to do. You have to play smart and look at which way the wind is blowing and kind of play into those strategically.

Q. I also wanted to ask you about the time you spent on the court, obviously singles and doubles. It's been a lot of time, whereas she barely I think totaled three hours on the court. How much of an effect does that have on the business end of a tournament?

JESSICA PEGULA: You know, I don't know. I felt pretty good today. I felt like none of my matches were super physical, even though I had a couple of three sets.

But, yeah, at the same time, obviously her getting a bye and then having Bencic withdraw I'm sure in a way can help, but at the same time, you never know because she hasn't played as many matches, maybe she doesn't feel as confident, et cetera, et cetera, but obviously with the two matches she did play and that she won, obviously she really dominated those matches.

Seemed like she was very confident. When you can do that, and then also not have that much time on court, I think it probably does favor going into a final, especially someone like her who plays pretty physical and moves really well.

It probably definitely helped her. But me, I felt fine, to be honest. Yeah.

Q. Now that the game is over, if you could go back, what change would you do to your strategy of the match?

JESSICA PEGULA: I wish I would have returned a little bit better. Again, I think the wind kind of took away some of that ability. You know, I wasn't able to be as aggressive as I like to be, just with the conditions, but at the same time, I thought she served really well, she served really smart. Seemed like she hit a lot of high first-serve percentage, as well.

I wish I probably would have served a little bit better, I think, maybe served a little bit smarter. I don't think I served horrible, but I think I could have maybe set myself up, you know, a little bit better than I did and, you know, maybe would have held serve maybe once at least more in the first set. I would have loved to see if I kept that first set a lot tighter what the outcome would have been.

Q. What do you think that has changed for your last match in Sydney against her?

JESSICA PEGULA: Just totally different conditions. Sydney, I was playing really well on that center court there. It was low, it was fast, it was slick. These courts are gritty, much slower. Yeah, and the windy conditions obviously today, seemed like it was favoring her a little bit more than me.

I don't really think I played bad at all. It was just two totally different sides of the world, dry, Sydney was a little more humid. I think it was just totally different conditions.

And then I think it was just kind of flipped, that Sydney I played really great, didn't make a lot of errors, played really aggressive. Today it was the opposite. It was just one of those days.

Q. Can you talk a bit about how does it feel to face her forehand? Seems with heavy topspin she can put, despite the wind, it wasn't playable at some point. Were you surprised the accuracy she can find?

JESSICA PEGULA: Yeah, actually I was. I thought maybe the wind would bother the fact that she hit so much spin, sometimes the wind can kind of take it. Seemed like she was playing with really good margins, and she was still taking the ball I think pretty early.

So I think that was taking away, you know, the possibility of the wind affecting her forehand specifically. So I thought she did a really good job with that. She was playing very aggressive.

I think that was her goal was to play super aggressive and kind of not let the wind become a factor, you know, keep her margins really big, which she was able to do.

Q. You played against her a couple of times already in the past 12 months. If you can tell us, please, where you felt she had the highest levels in those matches.

JESSICA PEGULA: Out of all the matches what her highest level was? Against me I would say -- I mean, today the second set was pretty high level. Like I actually thought I somewhat played better in the second set, but I just wasn't winning the points that I needed to, and she's a really great front runner.

I'm trying to think of other times I have played her (smiling). But I would say, yeah, I would say probably here was definitely, I feel like, the hardest I have probably, the second set specifically. Then maybe the French Open where I just felt like she's so comfortable on clay.

To me it seemed like probably today was the best she strung together, you know, like a full set of playing really flawlessly.