US OPEN

September 2, 2024

Jessica Pegula

Press Conference

J. PEGULA/D. Shnaider

6-4, 6-2

THE MODERATOR: Jess, your thoughts on the win.

JESSICA PEGULA: Yeah, I thought I played really well today. She's a really tricky, tough lefty. Has had a really good year.

So I thought I would try to use the experience of when I played her in Toronto today. It was more or less the same, but definitely had to adapt to a few things she did differently. I'm happy that I was able to adapt and change the game plan a little bit and still get the win.

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. When you go and play against a lefty, do you really have to make any mental adjustments, or do you just file it away that she's going to be a lefty? What do you do to change your approach to how she's serving? Because you handled her serve really well.

JESSICA PEGULA: Yeah, it's definitely for me I think different. I got to hit with a left-handed hitter yesterday and warm up with one today, which always helps.

It's just hard because it's a different spin than you're used to seeing. Things kind of go the opposite direction. So it's definitely an adjustment.

I think whether she's kicking or slicing, it kind of depends on how I'm playing, but also where I'm hitting the ball. I think it's kind of weird. Like, if they go lefty on the deuce side, it's really tough to go forehand line. So you just kind of want to stay cross. If it's on the ad side, it's really tough to go inside-out because the ball is always coming into you.

Just making those decisions and knowing that maybe if it was a righty that had a kick serve or something, it kind of sits up, and you can change direction easier, but with a lefty it reverses all those things.

So I think definitely when I start the match, I try to play those percentages of which way the ball is kind of going, then maybe change it a little bit if I feel like I'm kind of onto it or I get a rhythm. But at least for me it's definitely a little bit different.

Q. Do you have to keep reminding yourself while you're in the flow of play?

JESSICA PEGULA: I do, yeah. Sometimes I think today in the second set I went for a couple of forehand inside-out returns on the ad side, and I gave her two free easy points. I was being like, okay, it's not working. Check back in. Just go hard middle until you feel like -- if I'm late, it will go inside-out. If I try to hit it early, it will go in.

I definitely do kind of have to check myself sometimes.

Q. I know when we ask you about reaching this stage of the Grand Slams you always say, I want to take it one match at a time and you kind of have to approach it like that. What do you take from your previous Grand Slam quarterfinals? How do you use that experience? Are you picking and choosing like not necessarily tennis stuff, but just how you feel reaching this stage, how do you feel after? How do you make that work to your advantage?

JESSICA PEGULA: I don't know. I don't really know the answer to that. I think I'll just try to draw from those experiences and kind of how I felt going into the next match, but it's just so tough.

I mean, I know you don't want the cliche answer, but it's just kind of one match at a time, and every day kind of feels different. It depends on who you are playing, how the conditions are, when you're playing. There are so many variables day-to-day.

I mean, I think I'll just try to draw on that experience and how maybe I've handled it in the past and kind of what I'm looking to try and do mentally different this time. It's really not that much different.

I think it helps. I've had a couple of deep runs in some big tournaments obviously leading up to here. I think maybe the only difference is I had kind of a tough start to the year, so I think I'm a little bit more maybe appreciative of being able to turn it around the last month like I have whereas maybe previous years it kind of came like quarterfinal, quarterfinal. I was making all of those good results one after another.

So I feel like this time, I don't know, maybe a little less pressure in a way. I think I'm just happy that I've been able to give myself another opportunity I guess.

Q. Just as an extension of that, we don't know your opponent just yet. Obviously Iga Swiatek is the top seed. Liudmila Samsonova is a very good player, but not the same ranking as Iga. Might it help in a way if you're facing somebody as good as Iga that, again, some of the pressure removes?

JESSICA PEGULA: I don't know. I think it would be probably harder to beat Iga, if I played Iga, but then at the same time if I played Samsonova it might feel harder because I'm expected to win that match. It could go both ways.

It sounds stupid, but it depends on the day how you're feeling, how you're playing, what happens once you get out there. I don't know how I'm going to feel until I'm literally first game playing.

To that, I mean, yeah, I could play super free, but then at the same time she's the No. 1 player in the world, so you know she's going to be able to handle those pressure moments probably with experience a little bit better than Samsonova. I can't tell you the answer to that.

Q. Jess, you had kind of a cool post of you on the subway a couple of days ago. I think on your Instagram. I read this story where someone reacted assuming that you would be coming here in a limousine and blah, blah, blah. Do you sometimes feel that there's some scrutiny placed upon you just because your dad owns a football team and obviously, you know, you could take a limousine if you wanted to?

JESSICA PEGULA: (Laughing.) I did some media thing the other day too. They were, like, What's the most annoying thing? It's that people think I have a butler, that I get chauffeured around. I have a private limo, that I fly private everywhere, that I -- like, yeah.

I'm definitely not like that. People can think what they want. I don't know. I think it's kind of funny.

A butler? Like, I read these comments, like, she probably has this and that and that. I'm, like, no, not at all. Maybe I should. I don't know at this point. Is that what you want me to do, do all these crazy things?

Yeah, no, yeah, it's a little annoying, but honestly I just think it's kind of funny because I don't really even know anyone that lives like that. It's outrageous, but...

Q. You talked about being appreciative of being able to turn your year around. Earlier in the year when you were struggling, how much were you questioning maybe some of the changes you made coming out of Australia? Were you concerned at all that you might not get back to the level you were previously?

JESSICA PEGULA: Yeah, I was definitely probably questioning everything at that point. I was questioning, like, whether I was, like, okay to keep playing, with injuries, with coaching changes, mentally, physically, all these things.

I think I was definitely unsure and kind of lost some confidence, but then at the same time I think there was a point where I just tend to just kind of snap out of it, and I don't dwell on it too long. I let myself kind of feel, like you said, uncertain and maybe a little lost. Then I kind of snap out of it, and I'm, like, I'll be fine, I'll just get through it, I'll find a way to improve, I'll find a way to get better.

I think in the past I have shown that every time that I got injured or I was out for a while or something happened, I was always able to bounce back really quickly and have faith and confidence in myself mentally, especially to go out there and still have good results and win matches.

I think I just kind of put all my eggs in that basket. I was able to really work on some things with the different coaching change and find a little bit of a balance there too. I think I knew coming into the hard courts that I'm very comfortable here and that I could definitely find my form again and was able to luckily do that.

I can't say I knew that was going to happen, but I would say that I believed in that process and believed that I could just work hard and get back to where I was. Yeah, here we are.

Looking back in those tough moments, I definitely don't know if I had quite that belief that I have right now, but I'm happy to look back to where I was and be very proud that I was able to get through some tough moments at the beginning of the year.

Q. Talking about that belief you have right now, this has been quite a stretch on the hard courts for you. What would you say is working best for you in this time, and is this as well as you've played?

JESSICA PEGULA: I don't know. I mean, I still feel like the one Australian Open I was playing unbelievable, so I always look back at that. I was, like, Man, I was playing well.

I think I'm moving a lot better the last month. I feel like my movement has really improved, which has really helped me stay into a lot of these points and these sets and these games and be super consistent.

I think I've been serving pretty well. Even if it's not working, I've been kind of getting myself out of service games by serving smart or serving well in big moments like today where she was returning really well.

So I would say those two things I feel like if I look back from previous years, I feel like I'm doing those better right now.

Q. What are your observations of Emma Navarro? Your thoughts about her personally and her rise?

JESSICA PEGULA: I love Emma so much (laughing). She's hilarious. I just saw her in the gym.

Yeah, I mean, obviously her and Coco had a tough match yesterday. Either way I think Emma has been playing some really good tennis, and I think she's really, really good.

She's a great athlete. She's mentally stable, and she's only going to get better.

I feel like she's going to be a threat for the next ten years or however long she plays to definitely be a slam contender. Obviously I know she's had an amazing year this year, and you'll see how hopefully she handles next year and the next couple of years to come well as being a top player, but I'm not really surprised.

I felt like once I saw her play at the beginning of the year and I felt like she just improved so much, I was, like, Wow, she's actually going to be like a serious threat. I think mentally she's shown that she's super tough and she doesn't let a lot of things bother her.

It's nice to see her in the quarters again. I'm not really that surprised. I feel like she's one of the hottest players on tour right now. So I don't think the moment is really phasing her too much.

Yeah, I've gotten to know her really well this year, and she's a riot (laughing). Don't let her fool you.