Jessica Pegula booked her place in US Open final after a thrilling come-back win over Karolina Muchova, 1-6 6-4 6-2, on Thursday night in Arthur Ashe Stadium. I think the crowd really helped me get some adrenaline into me. I think, just that game, really holding that game, I was able to just find some adrenaline and get my legs under me. Just [tried] and chase down every single ball that I could.
After that, once I had some rhythm, and started feeling more comfortable, I was able to, maybe, play a little bit more aggressive, try and come in a little bit more, attack the serve, dictate with my forehand a little bit, and, kind of, find my game after that.” Jessica Pegula
“It’s a childhood dream,” Pegula said. “It’s what I wanted when I was a kid. It’s a lot of work, a lot of hard work put in. You couldn’t even imagine how much goes into it. So, to be able to overcome all those challenges, and say that I get a chance at the title Saturday is what we play for as players, let alone being able to do that in my home country here, in my home Slam. It’s perfect, really.
The 30-year-old from nearby Buffalo trailed 6-1, 2-0 before storming back to notch her 15th win in her last 16 matches.
Pegula is the oldest American woman in the Open Era to make a maiden Grand Slam final, and the third American woman aged 30 or over to make a US Open final, joining Serena Williams and Martina Navratilova.
Seeded 6th, she looked to be heading out when Muchova won 7 games in a row to lead by a set and a break in their semi-final, but she rallied in superb style to claim the win, keeping home hopes alive of a second successive American winner in New York after Coco Gauff, her former doubles partner, lifted the trophy here last year.
“It comes down to really small moments that flip momentum, I came out really flat, she was playing unbelievable, she made me look like a beginner,” Pegula said. “I wanted to burst into tears, it was embarrassing. She was destroying me. I was able to find a way, get some adrenaline and find my legs, and then I started to play how I wanted to play. It took a while, but, I don’t know how, I turned that around.
After an injury-addled start to her season, which forced her out of 4 WTA 1000 tournaments and the French Open, Pegula went into the summer hard court season ranked 20 on the PIF Race to the WTA Finals and can leave New York as high as No 3 on the Leaderboard. She has surged through the hard-court summer, capturing her 3rd WTA 1000 title in Toronto, finishing runner-up in Cincinnati, and booking a place in the US Open final.
Pegula came into her first major semi-final after toppling World No 1 Iga Swiatek to snap her 0-6 drought in Grand Slam quarter-finals.
“I feel, like, before the [quarter-final] match with Iga [Swiatek], I was way more nervous, and today I was just, like, whatever,” Pegula continued. “Maybe that was bad, because I clearly came out super flat. I was trying to think that maybe it was good that I felt really loose, but clearly I was a little too loose. I don’t really know what happened. Every day, you feel different. Some days you come out you feel great; some days you come out and you are super flat.
“You just have to deal with it. It’s how you adapt to that situation, and, I think, obviously, I was able to adapt just in the nick of time tonight.” Unseeded Karolina Muchova ran away with the first set but could not stop Jessica Pegula, the 6th seed, from outpacing her to take the match© Matthew Stockman/Getty Images
