(Montreal) One was fresh and available. The other was playing his second game in three hours. The result: a one-sided 49-minute final in which Jessica Pegula triumphed over Liudmila Samsonova to be crowned National Bank Open champion.
The third player in the world had the upper hand in two quick sets of 6-1 and 6-0 on a chilly summer evening on the center court of the IGA stadium on Sunday. As an indication, this is the shortest final on the WTA circuit since Iga Swiatek’s victory against Karolina Pliskova in Rome in May 2021. That one lasted 46 minutes.
It was therefore a final that was anything but thrilling. And the reason is very simple: Liudmila Samsonova was extinct. For the second time in three days due to the weather, the Russian played a second game in just a few hours. She was, with good reason, running out of energy.
And Pegula was well aware of that. Even if it is only her first coronation in 2023, her third in her career, the American celebrated soberly after the final point. In an on-court interview, she admitted that she would have liked to win under “better conditions”.
“I know the schedule was not in his favor. It sucks when you feel like you’re not playing on a level playing field, especially for someone like her, who is such a good player. »
Still, Pegula is champion. And this triumph, she did not steal it. To achieve this, the 29-year-old athlete had to defeat world number one, Iga Swiatek, in the semi-finals on Saturday. It is undoubtedly this victory that must be remembered from his career.
On Sunday, she wasn’t necessarily flamboyant, but she played with confidence and consistency. She was neither too aggressive nor too defensive. His game was on point.
“I practically played a perfect game,” she summed up.
“I did enough to play free, I was continually trying to go for the break and keep the momentum going for as long as possible to win. »
On the field after the game, the song Cotton Eye Joe was playing over the speakers. A nod to his semi-final on Saturday, when the same song played during an important rally in the second set tiebreaker. Pegula then lost the point, then the next five. However, she had snatched the third set.
“I’m glad I got over the jinx, or whatever you want to call it, Cotton Eye Joe,” the champion said with a laugh.
Liudmila Samsonova has never been in the game, but it’s not for lack of trying. The two hours and a few minutes she had between her two matches were simply not enough.
The world No. 18 player looked exhausted in front of the media after the loss.
“I didn’t have time to regenerate because I was in the physio room trying to put bandages all over my body,” she explained. It takes an hour to do that. I do not know what to say. I was off the field, then suddenly I was there again. It was strange. »
Between the two sets, Samsonova left the field for a short break before returning. Back on serve, she took a 40-0 lead before seeing Pegula claim the next five points to break again. It was at 3-0 in the second set that she began to stop believing it.
“I was trying [until then] to do something, to stay positive. Then I started thinking: It will be very difficult today. »
“I tried my best, but it wasn’t enough. »
The 24-year-old athlete, cautious in her remarks, lamented that the previous day’s match had been postponed. “It’s strange that people don’t care so much about us. If you know it’s going to rain at 6 p.m., I think you have to make a schedule where it’s possible to play because I already had two games in one day [Friday]. »
Jessica Pegula, the 4th seed of the tournament, is showing great consistency in 2023, even though she has only reached the final of a tournament once. The Buffalo native, daughter of billionaire Terry Pegula, has reached the quarterfinals in six of the last eight major tournaments.
Lifting this trophy at the end of his arms on Sunday obviously did him good.
“We travel the world to win tournaments and win titles every week, but tennis can be a really tough sport, where you often lose. Even when you win a lot of matches, you still don’t win tournaments, so it can get difficult. »
“Winning in a week like this makes it all worth it,” she continued. Makes you want to go find more. I’ll be back at work tomorrow, in Cincinnati. »
As we write the last lines of this text, the rain begins to fall on the IGA stadium. Obviously…
