Jessica Pegula advanced too the U.S. Open semifinals Tuesday, defeating Barbora Krejcikova 6-3, 6-3 at Arthur Ashe Stadium. The victory marks the second time in her career she’s reached the semifinal stage of a Grand Slam tournament.
Prior to reaching the final at Flushing Meadows last year – where she lost to Aryna Sabalenka – Pegula had been eliminated before the semifinals in her first 23 main draw appearances at major championships. She has since been ousted in the fourth round of the Australian Open, the third round of the French Open, and the first round of wimbledon.
Pegula has yet to drop a set during this year’s U.S. Open, finding success on the hard courts.
“I think I’ve been playing some really good tennis,” pegula said. “I’ve just been playing very solid. I’ve been having very good quick starts, so I really wanted to do that today, especially against someone like (Krejcikova) who’s very dangerous.”
Top-ranked Sabalenka coudl be Pegula’s next opponent,pending the outcome of Sabalenka’s match against marketa Vondrousova on Tuesday night,also at Arthur ashe Stadium.
“It’s crazy to look now and think that I’m really comfortable coming out hear playing on big courts in big matches on the best court in the world with the craziest crowd against the best players,” Pegula, 31, said. “It’s pretty crazy, and it’s something 10 years ago I never thought I’d be good at this, but I guess I am.”
The fourth-seeded Pegula is pursuing her first Grand Slam championship. She and No. 8 seed Amanda Anisimova remain the only Americans in the women’s singles competition.
Krejcikova had previously defeated fellow American Taylor Townsend in the quarterfinals on Sunday, a match in which Townsend failed to convert eight match points. Pegula controlled the match against Krejcikova, breaking her one final time to secure the victory in under 90 minutes on her first match point.
“It got really tight,” Pegula said. “She had a couple really good returns when I was serving at 4-1, and then we all saw what she did against Taylor, so I was happy that we’re done.”
