Tennis-Perfectionist Pegula says she can beat anybody
Jessica Pegula is brimming with confidence at the Australian Open with the belief that she can beat anyone, but the third seeded USA says being a perfectionist means she will continue to put holes in her game after Friday’s landslide victory.
Pegula reached the fourth round with a 6-0 6-2 win over Marta Kostyuk after equally impressive straight-set wins over Aliaksandra Sasnovich and Jaqueline Cristian earlier in the week to stay on course to claim her first Grand Slam crown . She also dismantled Iga Swiatek, the first Grand Slam favorite of the year, and left the Pole in a flood of tears in the season-opening United Cup mixed team tournament which the Americans won.
“I definitely played very well against Iga,” Pegula told reporters. “I also played a lot of great matches this week. I sustained my level. I think I can beat anyone. But again, in the moment, under pressure, with nerves, on a stage different, depending on the conditions of the day or the way they play as well, it can always shift and change throughout a game.
“But, yeah, I’m very confident that my game is at a very, very high level right now.” A quarter-finalist for the past two years, Pegula said there were still some aspects of her game she needed to improve despite a convincing victory to set up a meeting with former French Open champion Barbora Krejcikova.
“I’m kind of a perfectionist,” she explained. “Even today I was bored. I didn’t think I served very well. I had this game to go up 5-1. I was ahead 30-0. I missed a few first serves. “I I don’t have a problem analyzing my game. Usually I try to do the opposite because I can over-analyze and be kind of a perfectionist that way.
“As far as the way I play, I’m definitely playing a lot better than I was last year here. I think I’ve improved in the offseason as well. We’ve worked on a few things.” , it’s hard to really say that because it’s such a short off-season, it’s like you could really improve. At the same time, I did pretty well last year.”
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