[ad_1]
Tennis – Australian Open – Melbourne Park, Melbourne, Australia – January 20, 2023 Jessica Pegula of the USA reacts during her third round match against Marta Kostyuk of Ukraine REUTERS/Sandra Sanders
MELBOURNE – Jessica Pegula went into the Australian Open confident she could beat anyone, but the American third seed said her perfectionism meant she would still pick holes in her game after Friday’s win.
Pegula cruised into the fourth round with a 6-0 6-2 win over Marta Kostyuk after similar straight-set victories over Aliaksandra Sasnovich and Jaqueline Cristian earlier in the week to stay on course to claim her first Grand Slam crown.
He also dismantled top-ranked Iga Swiatek – the favorite in the first Grand Slam of the year – and left the Pole in a flood of tears during the season-opening United Cup mixed team tournament which the Americans won.
“I definitely played very well against Iga,” Pegula told reporters. “I’ve played a lot of good matches this week too. I’ve backed up my level. I think I can beat anybody.
“But again, in the moment, under pressure, with nerves, on different stages, depending on the situation of the day or the way of playing as well, which can change and change during the match.
“But, yes, I am very confident that my game is at a very high level now.”
A quarter-finalist in the last two years, Pegula said there are still some aspects to his game that he needs to improve on despite his convincing win to set up a meeting with former French Open champion Barbora Krejcikova.
“I’m kind of a perfectionist,” she explains. “Even today, I was upset. I didn’t think I served well. I had a game to go up 5-1. I went up 30-0. I missed a couple of first serves.
“I don’t have a problem analyzing my game. Usually, I try to do the opposite because I can analyze and be a perfectionist that way.
“As far as how I’m playing, I’m definitely playing better than last year here. I think I just got better in the off-season as well. We worked on a couple of things.
“Sometimes it’s hard to say because it’s a short season, how can you improve. At the same time, I did well last year.
RELATED STORY
Get the hottest sports news straight to your inbox
Read Next
Subscribe to INQUIRER PLUS to get access to The Philippine Daily Inquirer & 70+ other titles, share up to 5 gadgets, listen to news, download from 4am & share articles on social media. Call 896 6000.
For suggestions, complaints, or questions, please contact us.
[ad_2]
Source link