World No. 4 Jessica Pegula is going through a difficult spell of results after another early exit, this time in Cincinnati. The North American hard court swing has not been kind to the 31-year-old, as she suffered a first-round defeat in Washington, followed by back-to-back round two losses in Montreal and Cincinnati.
Bad Timing for Pegula
All of this is far from ideal preparation for her home Slam – the US Open – where she is a defending finalist. Pegula was edged out 5-7, 5-7 by then-World No.2 Aryna Sabalenka, as she aimed to become yet another female American Grand Slam champion.
Her impressive run to the final means she has 1300 points to defend this year, but her preparation has been far from ideal, and she will likely be low on confidence heading to New York. Since crashing out of Wimbledon in round one, Pegula has only won two matches and hasn’t won consecutive matches since before SW19.
How Important is Preparation?
Ironically, her preparation for the grass Major was rather impressive. She won a 500 event at Bad Homburg and even beat Iga Swiatek in the final, who would go on to win Wimbledon.
This might prove to be a saving grace for Pegula, as having a good warm-up tournament does not necessarily guarantee a good Slam. That said, her preparation for the US Open last year was rather impressive. She won her second consecutive National Bank Open in Toronto, and reached the final of Cincinnati before eventually finishing runner-up in her first-ever Slam final.
Who knows what version of Pegula will turn up at the US Open, but it certainly seems like she is going through a rough patch. Combine that with the pressure of defending a Slam final in her home country, and we may well see a repeat of her Wimbledon performance – unusually flat, and rather underwhelming.
American Hopefuls in New York
If Pegula doesn’t perform in New York, then American fans will certainly have potential winners elsewhere, as two of the three Slams this year have been won by an American.
Madison Keys conquered in Australia, and Coco Gauff reigned supreme on Parisian clay. The Wimbledon final also featured an American, although Amanda Anisinova was on the end of one of the most brutal beatdowns in Slam final history, as she didn’t win a game against Swiatek.
For the sake of her ranking, Pegula will be hoping she can put the last month in the past and produce another inspired couple of weeks on home soil, and get things back on track.
Main Photo Credit: Mike Frey – USA TODAY Sports
