Jessica Pegula Press Conference | 2024 US Open Round 3

hi um yeah thought it was pretty straightforward today I think I just played some solid tennis didn't have to do too much or anything crazy out there um felt like I was able to execute my strategy and figure things out um and get it done pretty quickly thank you name and affiliation one question if I can get back to a file up by Will Darcy Darcy from esp.com congratulations today we've seen a lot of players or at least some players kind of talk about the grind of the summer schedule and and the struggles that they've had but you especially with the Olympics but you haven't really seemed to have that issue um why do you think that is and and what's your secret well I think a little bit I think I've been a little bit maybe more fresh than other players because I skipped the entire clay season and wasn't able to play the French so I think when I started on grass I had a couple months off also didn't go to the Middle East so I think like in a weird way it was almost a good thing um looking back that I've been able to kind of start that part of the Year pretty fresh so um even though it was a lot going back and forth with the Olympics and the surface changes and all that uh at the same time I think I was more fresh than probably everybody else was um I can't say if I would have played the entire beginning of the year I would have you know feel as fresh as I do now but I think that may be played into it a little bit at least that's what I've been telling myself Chris Auto with us open we'll play today question about someone who's in your half of the draw and I I wonder if you've um just noticed the rise obviously you have Jasmine palini the way she's been able to kind of like flick that switch she was 4 and 16 at the slams before this year 18 and three this year you've beaten her five times won all 10 sets against her but I I wonder what you make of what she's how she's been able to transform herself maybe you see anything different about her what and and do you feel a little bit of similarities between you were sort of a late bloomer although your progression was steadier mhm no definitely I mean I think every time I played her I always felt like she was better than her ranking um she hits a really good Ball even though she's small I mean she gets pretty good pop on her ball it moves really well angles has good feel like I felt like she did a lot of really good things and so I'm not like that surprised to be honest I feel like she must have something obviously clicked with her with winning these matches and becoming more consistent mentally um it seems like maybe she's playing a little bit more aggressive too uh and sometimes when that you just get this feeling going in those matches where you know how to play the big points and you have a lot of momentum and it seems like she's been able to find that um but I I always I saw her doing well like at the end of last year she had some good wins against and playing tough players really tight and I was like she's she's dangerous like she's definitely I mean she's a good player obviously so I honestly am not that surprised um obviously two slam finals though is crazy and having I think the most slam wins this year is like an crazy stat but um I yeah I think mentally I assume she must have just been able to to figure a couple things out and um has been using that the whole year but it's I love seeing players do well you know later on in their career I think it's a nice story cuz we get so attached to all the young stories of everyone being so young and it's if you don't do well right away then you all of a sudden you become like a journey woman and you become the one that it never really worked out and all this like really kind of negative stuff but we've seen that kind of change a lot the last few years and um like you said I'm I'm kind of one of those people so I like to see those stories turn out everyone's got a A different kind of Challenge and and a journey ahead of them Cindy hi Jess um the other day Coco golf said that Ben Shelton made fun of her for her inability to wave as she went out on the court and waved to the crowd at the end of the match okay is there an art to that I don't know is she a bad waiver he said was I guess it is kind of awkward I always feel a little weird not really sure what to do if it looks normal if your hand look you see like a picture and your hands just kind of like there it's like awkward um maybe there is a little bit of an art to it it's like reminds me of what The Princess Diaries when she's like you have to like like this so maybe there's an art that we don't know about I just I want ask about Jasmine Pini W about her you played her five times and what do you make of what she's been able to do this year she's made second week and all four slams and kind of came out of nowhere were you here when he just asked me that question oh did you I'll read the thing sorry no no it's okay I can answer again but I'm pretty sure it was the I would say the exact same thing unless you want do you want to ask anything else while you're no cuz I just finished my interview with her so I came late and I apologized I didn't mean to be rude but I was like I'm pretty sure that was the same question it was the exact same okay Walker post just just bringing it back to you but third straight year onto the fourth round for you I believe how have you seen yourself evolve in this tournament in particular over the years it's been really cool I mean I this is the one I I feel like is the most pressure but at the same time when I was younger always had better results at as well I qualified here twice was able to get my first main draw Win here um as well of a slam so I think there was a lot of positives even though with the pressure and it's not like I exactly love the conditions here either I feel like I play just as well at the other slams but I think for some reason I've been able to to kind of I don't know use that momentum of being an American at the US Open and do pretty well so maybe the the crowd support or being in the US kind of adds a little bit something but yeah it's funny how it is um yeah I've had some really good results here now and I think maybe it kind of started first slam being able to qualify at two I think was a big one for me so um I think having those good memories definitely helps every year re will give you a do over then we'll go to David if if I had to ask you what was the number one tip for mental health that you've learned throughout all the work that you've done uh the Mind work that you've done what would it be the most useful one the most useful one um I would say that it's okay to be emotional I would say if you want to freak out if you want to snap if you want to cry um it's totally fine I think it's just once you kind of let all those emotions out I think resetting is like you have to kind of just reset so I would say if that's either on court or off the court I mean let yourself be sad let yourself be upset let yourself be emotional and and all those things um but at the same time I think once you get it out you kind of have to just reset a little bit so I think I don't think it's great to hold things in um but at the same time when you do let them out you have to look at it as a uh you know I'm getting it out now but then you know the next day I'm I'm snapping right back like I'm going to just do it and get it over with and snap right back and I think that's something that I've gotten a lot better at as well and something that tennis is it's hard because you have to play the next point and you can't come out of the game you can't talk to your coach that much like there's nothing that's really going to change it you have 25 seconds to kind of let things go um and the same thing when you're playing week to week tournaments I mean you don't have that much time to kind of dwell on your really bad practice or really bad match that you played I I think it you have to kind of keep going um and so I think it's healthy to just you don't have to fake it I think you just have to let yourself feel whatever you need to feel and then um kind of just let it go and and move on to the present situation last two David and then the young lady in the middle David David Kane tennis.com you weren't wearing it today but you're one of the players who represented wearing the outfit with the sleeves with the cutouts it's sort of a unique silhouette so I'm curious what you thought of when you saw it and if it had any performance elements that may have helped you on the yeah I wasn't the biggest fan to be honest when I first wore it like earlier this year in Indian Wells they showed it to me and I was like H tough I don't know but I it grew on me a lot and so I I thought it was really cool I mean I think it looked really good on I think it looks good on all the players obviously they were going for more of a statement with that but I know that I think the black was supposed to help it's super lightweight first of all so it wasn't very heavy at all and I think um they did color blocking to kind of help with the heat so I know that it's somehow helped with air flow and heat based on like the black and white on the sleeves and the shoulders and um it was nice I mean I guess as well I think to block the sun off your shoulders and people were like wouldn't that be more hot but it was actually super light so and super breathable so I thought it was pretty cool some players have more input than others on their outfits like for example Naomi earlier in the week is that something you would like to or thought of in the past that I think it would be cool but then at the same time I'm kind of just like just tell me what you want me to wear Les question Alice Brown US Open um what are you expecting out of Schneider in the next round obviously you beat her really recently just back in Toronto yeah I mean Toronto I felt like I I was playing really well um during that whole week so it's tough to compare I mean we're in a different city different conditions different situation I feel like she's definitely going to know more what to expect cuz that was our first time playing each other and she's been super match tough this year had a lot of good wins having an amazing year and kind of has proven herself to be you know a top 20 player for sure so um I'm just going to try and use you know what I did well the last match and hopefully it works but uh I think I'm going to have to be ready as well for her to kind of adapt and maybe change a few things from the last time we played all right thank you everyone thank you Jess