Jessica Pegula has warned that she’s geared up for a tough battle against former world number one Victoria Azarenka
American number two Jessica Pegula has given her thoughts about Victoria Azarenka ahead of a tough third-round clash against the tennis veteran and former world No. 1.
The world No. 4 cruised into the second round on Monday with a dominant 6-0, 6-4 victory over Mayar Sherif before continuing her winning streak with another straight sets win over Russian Anna Blinkova.
Although the wins have come at a good time for the American, who needed a boost after coming off the back of a rocky summer that saw her win just four out of six matches in the time since Wimbledon. Pegula made her first major final appearance at Flushing Meadows last year, but lost out in a tough battle against world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka.
But for today’s third round match, Pegula still faces a tough battle, with her head-to-head against Azarenka sitting at three-three. In an interview ahead of the big match, she revealed a striking admission that she is gearing up for a particularly tough battle. Speaking to the press, she said: “Yeah, Vika is always really tough.
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“I know she hasn’t been playing that much and she’s been hurt and all these things, but at the same time, when she’s on, she’s probably one of the best baseliners we’ve ever had, especially in the women’s game that I can remember.”
Now 36, Azarenka is coming off some rough form, having her ranking slip out of the top 100 after a first-round loss at Wimbledon to qualifier Anastasia Zakharova.
But despite her 132 ranking, Pegula is still preparing for what could be a long grind of a game, she added: “I mean, she can go toe to toe with anybody when she’s playing really well. It’s always tough playing her. Our record has kind of been up and down, whether it’s who wins or loses. It’s going to be a tough match.
“I feel like I kind of know her pretty well, and I think we know each other’s games really well. We also practice quite a few times, more back home because we live close to each other.
“There’s definitely no secrets. I think a lot of it will just be doing our best to execute our strategy and what we think we have to do to win.”
On her way to the match, Azarenka has picked up her form, not yet dropping a set and convincingly beating the top-50-ranked Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova.
Asked if knowing each other’s game so well makes it easier or harder, Pegula added: “My ball, I know a lot of girls don’t like. It’s pretty low, it’s flat, it skips through the court.
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“So I always feel when I’m playing someone that doesn’t know how my ball is, if I’m playing well, I feel like I’m always motivated to come out really quickly and not let them get onto my ball or the way my ball comes off and get into a rhythm.
“I think with Vika, it’s kind of the opposite. She kind of likes my ball, and she handles it well. I’m, like, okay, now it’s like a battle. I think we kind of know that so well that we kind of know what’s gonna happen or how it’s gonna play out.
“I think in a way I almost would rather someone not know and vice versa, where I feel like I can kind of blitz them a little bit quickly before they have a chance.”
