Jessica Pegula continues to face her American compatriots at the Australian Open this year.
Pegula beat her doubles partner McCartney Kessler in the second round of the Australian Open.
After defeating Russian Oksana Selekhmeteva, Pegula dethroned her friend Madison Keys, ending the defending champion’s run in Melbourne.
The American players keep coming in the draw for Pegula, who will now play Amanda Anisimova in the Australian Open quarterfinals.
Jessica Pegula reveals how she really feels about playing American players
Pegula will now be playing her third American player in five matches at the Australian Open this year, and she was asked about this in her post-match press conference following her victory over Keys.
Despite admitting that it can sometimes be a ‘weird feeling’, Pegula suggested that there is not much difference to competing against other nationalities, before praising the strength of American women’s tennis right now.
“Honestly, I don’t mind, like, the familiarity of it,” said Pegula. “I think sometimes it can be tough, because you almost know each other too well, that it almost is like a weird feeling beating them going to the next round, because they’re someone that you know well, that you see all the time, you practice with all the time, maybe you train with them, maybe you live near each other.
“But at the same time, we are also I think used to no matter where we’re from. We’re with each other pretty much every week, traveling a lot on the same flights, eating in the same dining, staying at the hotel a lot. We see each other so much that I think you kind of have that feeling with most of the girls.
“So it will be cool to see if we can have another all-American showdown. At least one of us will get through, and I think that’s great for American tennis. Yeah, it’s been pretty crazy how well the women have been doing and how many top-ranked girls there are. I’m just happy to be a part of that conversation.”
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Jessica Pegula suggests if the forfeit she had with Madison Keys motivated her
As well as being compatriots and friends, Pegula and Keys are also podcast co-hosts and in their most recent episode they agreed on a forfeit for the loser.
Pegula is the daughter of NFL team Buffalo Bills owner Terry Pegula, and Keys had suggested that she should wear the jersey of the Kansas City Chiefs if she lost.
On the other hand, Keys was offered to eat an apple pie with melted cheese on the top, which Pegula claimed was a much easier forfeit than hers.
“Yeah, that was bad,” Pegula said about the forfeit she avoided. “She was, like, ‘Mine’s worse’. I was, like, ‘What are you talking about? My family owns the Bills. This team has owned us in the postseason. Absolutely not, by far worse’.
“I saw Iva Jovic in the locker room before I went on, and she was, like, ‘If you lose, that’s way worse wearing the Chiefs jersey’. I’m, like, ‘Yeah, all she has to do is eat a piece of pie. What is the big deal?’
“Yeah, I think that was really some extra motivation, because that would have been a tough moment for me.”
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After avoiding her forfeit, Pegula will now switch her attention to two-time Grand Slam finalist Anisimova.
Pegula will likely be feeling confident going into their upcoming quarterfinal, as she has won all three previous matches against Anisimova.
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