Jessica Pegula admits her mental and physical well-being probably won't benefit from her playing seven consecutive three-set matches, but also adds she won't have anything against playing three-setters as long as she is finishing on the winning side.
On Friday, Pegula found herself trailing by a set to 62nd-ranked Karolina Siniakova before staging a 2-6 6-0 6-3 comeback to reach the Wuhan semifinal. In the previous two rounds, the No. 6 seed also edged out Hailey Baptiste and Katerina Siniakova in three sets. And before coming to Wuhan, the 31-year-old won three Beijing matches that went into a decider before Linda Noskova handed her a three-set semifinal loss.
Following her latest long battle, Pegula remarked that she was probably "in really good shape" and also noted that there was no need for her to do any practice sessions between matches since match-fitness is one thing she definitely isn't missing at the moment.
Pegula: If I win every match in three sets for the rest of my life, I'd be pretty happy
“I don’t know. I guess I’m in really good shape. I definitely don’t think I need to play anymore matches or work on any physical stuff because I’ve been able to battle through these matches and play really well. But yeah, I don’t know. I’m happy I’ve been able to figure things out. Obviously, I wish maybe it was more straightforward for my mental and physical sake, but if I win every match for the rest of my life in three sets, I think I’d be pretty happy," the 31-year-old said.
Pegula is set for a big challenge in her next Wuhan match as she is due to meet defending champion and No. 1 seed Aryna Sabalenka. Against Sabalenka, the American has only two wins in their 10 matches played.
Sabalenka owns a stunning 20-0 lifetime record in Wuhan, and it would be quite something if Pegula managed to end the Belarusian's streak.
