US OPEN

September 6, 2024

Jessica Pegula

Press Conference

J. PEGULA/K. Muchova

1-6, 6-4, 6-2

THE MODERATOR: Jess, if you would, your thoughts on the win.

JESSICA PEGULA: Yeah, that was quite the match. Obviously happy to be here sitting saying that I turned it around, but obviously it was looking a little rough there for a while. But somehow I found a way and was actually able to play some really good tennis and keep that momentum, you know, a lot through that third set and close it out.

Yeah, I thought in the third we had some really good tennis, end of the second and into the third. Just happy with the way I was able to compete.

THE MODERATOR: Questions.

Q. You said on the court after the match that you were kind of embarrassed after that first set. She made you look like a beginner out there. How were you able to mentally regroup for that second set to come out and do what you just did?

JESSICA PEGULA: I don't know. I mean, I still didn't really regroup after the first set. I went down 2-0 pretty quickly and down in that service game and was able to make that kind of really good get where she missed that volley, and seemed like that was a big momentum swing.

I was able to just hold on to my serve there and find a way. I think the crowd really helped me get some adrenaline into me. I think I was just very, very flat. I wasn't even nervous. I was just super flat, and she's really tough to play when you're flat. She's tricky, she doesn't give you a lot of rhythm, and then obviously like at the end of the first she was playing some extremely high level so I just had no rhythm.

So, I don't know, I think just that game, really holding that game I was able to just find some adrenaline and get my legs under me. You know, just try and chase down every single ball that I could.

After that, once I had some rhythm and started feeling more comfortable I was able to maybe play a little bit more aggressive, try and come in a little bit more, attack the serve, dictate with my forehand a little bit, and kind of find my game after that.

I think it was really just holding that game in the second.

Q. Yesterday probably felt a big emotional release to get over that hurdle. Curious if that contributed to why you felt flat to start the match and what was it like resetting after last night to prepare for today?

JESSICA PEGULA: Yeah, it was weird. I feel like before the match with Iga I was way more nervous, and today I was just, like, whatever. Maybe that was bad, because I clearly came out super flat. (Laughter.)

I was trying to think that maybe it was good that I felt really loose, but clearly I was a little too loose.

So I don't really know if what happened, I don't know, every day, again, you feel different. Some days you come out you feel great; some days you come out and you are super flat. You just have to deal with it.

I'm sure playing back-to-back matches, too, playing back-to-back nights maybe could have contributed as well. I don't really know. I guess we'll never really know. I think that's the challenge of playing at a slam. It's just every day you feel, you wake up different, everything can be different.

So it's how you adapt to that situation, and I think obviously I was able to adapt just in the nick of time tonight. But, yeah, I think that's just what happens sometimes.

Q. When you have faced Aryna before, what has been the key to the matches for you? What are your thoughts about playing her now for the championship, given all that she represents with her game on hard courts?

JESSICA PEGULA: Yeah. Well, obviously she's, you know, a really great hard court player, if not one of the best in the world, but I think I'm also a really good hard court player. Cincinnati, she served unbelievable, and I felt like I still had chances in that match.

So hopefully she doesn't serve that good Saturday. Maybe a little bit less would be nice (smiling).

But I think I know that I can have a game that can possibly frustrate her. I feel like in the past I just, you know, have to be aggressive, I have to get her moving, serve smart, and try and put some pressure on her serve.

You know, play my game. Which is kind of what I do already. I try to do those things. You know, play within myself, pick my spots, you know, I want to say, like, aggressive, but, you know, not overdo it. I don't know. Just how I kind of play. Hopefully I'm able to execute that, and if there's something in the match that maybe is working or not working, then I can figure those things out.

But, you know, I'm just going to try and play my game Saturday really.

Q. How meaningful is it for you to be going to the final?

JESSICA PEGULA: Yeah, I mean, it's amazing. It's a childhood dream. It's what I wanted when I was a kid. It's a lot of work, a lot of hard work put in. You couldn't even imagine how much goes into it.

It would mean the world to me obviously. I'm just happy to be in a final, but obviously I come here to want to win the title. You know, if you would have told me at the beginning of the year I'd be in the finals of the US Open, I would have laughed so hard, because that just was where my head was, was not thinking that I would be here.

So to be able to overcome all those challenges and say that I get a chance at the title Saturday is what we play for as players, let alone being able to do that in my home country here, in my home slam. It's perfect, really (smiling).

Q. Well played. Going off that, we spoke to you so much earlier in your career about your persistence, overcoming the early injuries that you had, and being really patient before you got these big wins. Making the final, even though you're obviously trying to win this thing, is that rewarding in any way?

JESSICA PEGULA: Oh, yeah. It's always rewarding. I mean, you play for two weeks, and you just want to get to that match knowing that you have a chance to win a slam, and, I mean, that's what we play for.

So it's still very rewarding, even though I know the job isn't finished. But yeah, I mean, all the years of hard work going into it, being, like you said, super resilient through a lot of different things is, yeah, I guess what I've been known for. So I guess it's nice to see that it's paid off, at least the last two weeks.

And like you said, of course I still want to win the tournament, but I think being able to break through so many different challenges and barriers the last couple of weeks or even the last month really for me personally is a massive win to me.

Q. We had a talk at the Greenbrier WTT 2020. At the time you told me --

JESSICA PEGULA: What a time (smiling).

Q. That was a lot of fun. You told me at the time this was one of your dreams, as you just mentioned. How do you explain the improvement, the level of play and confidence that you have in such a short time?

JESSICA PEGULA: Yeah.

Q. Especially now being one step away.

JESSICA PEGULA: I mean, it's crazy. I think, one, is I got a lot fitter. I got a lot better at moving, at knowing how to play my game, and staying healthy. I think all of that stuff kind of accumulated into me becoming a lot more confident in matches. I feel like my mental toughness just got so much better.

Once you start winning a lot of matches and you have this belief in yourself that you can win in tough moments and you can beat these girls and all this stuff, you know, I mean, it just gives you a lot of confidence going into these weeks and that I've been able to kind of build off of that and learning through different experiences, winning tournaments. You know, all that kind of stuff just adds up. You can always improve, you can always get better. I think I've always had a really good open mind of always wanting to get things better.

I'm very open to trying different things, to changing things, and not anything crazy, but to just opening up a different perspective on how to get certain things better and not being afraid of trying those things, whether it's a movement thing, it's a shot. There's a lot of things that I think I'm always working on. I'm not afraid to also kind of try that in matches, as well.

I think when you do that stuff and you try them and you're working on things and you're able to use them in tournaments that you get confident and you're, like, I can really get better, I can improve, and I can hit these shots in big moments. That just kind of builds, and it can build really quickly.

I think we saw that with Emma Navarro who has drastically improved an insane amount in the last year, and now she's just found the belief she can play at this level. It can happen quickly.

So I think it's nice, I hope I can be an inspiration to other players that maybe feel they are stuck or not getting better, that you can always find a way to get better and improve.

Q. A few minutes ago you talked about dreaming of this as a kid. Were there moments where along the way you thought, you know, it's just not going to happen for me?

JESSICA PEGULA: Um, I think, I don't know if I thought it's not going to happen, but there's definitely moments where either, like, I didn't want to play tennis, I didn't really know if I wanted to do it anymore. I mean, you definitely hit those types of low moments.

I have definitely had several of those, but I think in the end I always would kind of snap back and be, like, okay, what am I talking about? I would always kind of flip the script a little bit, and I have always been good at doing that. I think that's why I've always been able to come back from different challenges even better than before.

Honestly, I've always felt like, not that it was never going to happen, I almost think the opposite. I always felt like, you know what, you'll figure it out eventually. That's always something I've always told myself, I'll figure it out, like, one of these times (smiling).

I think that's just kind of maybe my quiet kind of confidence to myself that I feel like I always have.

Q. Obviously it will be your first major final. Have you thought about reaching out to people who have been in that position and asked them for tips, or are you just going to kind of see how it goes?

JESSICA PEGULA: Yeah, not really. I haven't gotten that far. We'll see who texts me tonight and tomorrow. Maybe if there is a good name that pops up, I can pick their brain a little bit.

But it was actually cool. James Blake came out, because one of my coaches used to work with him a lot, and so he actually came out to my practice for a long time before the tournament started and it was kind of nice talking to him, because I was a little nervous going in to play Shelby, knowing she might be retiring and all that. He was giving me some advice.

Other than that, I haven't really spoken to many people. I don't know. If I feel like it, like I said, if someone texts me that I feel like talking to, I might just kind of wing it. (Laughter.)

Q. The final push to win this thing what do you do the next couple of days, tomorrow in particular, preparation-wise, mentally, to lock in?

JESSICA PEGULA: Yeah, I mean, definitely get home, get some sleep, some rest. I will probably just try and practice super light around the same time that I'll play the final Saturday just to get my biological clock on the right time frame and probably just be pretty light, I think.

It depends on how I'm feeling in the morning, but obviously not going to overdo it and try and get ready for Saturday. But just kind of rest and a little active recovery. I don't know. I'll see if my trainer kind of wants me to do anything tomorrow, but just make sure the body and everything is feeling good.