Two of the top three players in the world. Little or no rhythm. A smashing war – there were 19 of them. “A bit like a roller coaster”, Jessica Pegula summed up after defeating world number one, Iga Świątek, and securing her ticket to the National Bank Open final , Saturday afternoon.
World No. 3 Pegula won it in straight sets 6-2, 6-7(4), 6-4. So this is where Iga’s journey to the IGA stadium ended – allow us this pun one last time.
“It’s always nice to beat the best player in the world,” Pegula dropped an hour after her win.
We can easily imagine.
But let’s say it wasn’t easy.
To be honest, neither player had a great game. None managed to establish their rhythm. To sum up briefly, Świątek were broken 11 times and Pegula 8 times. The latter nevertheless managed to exploit more of the mistakes of her Polish opponent, for whom nothing was working as expected.
“This week, it looks like we’re all having issues with our serve, even the top serve on the tour,” noted the winner. It’s weird. It looks like the conditions [make the ball] swirl. »
It’s also the first time the players have tested the Wilson Extra Duty balls – rather than the Regular Duty balls – which are the balls used on the men’s side, she recalled. “I think they’re a bit heavier, so they don’t have the same effect on the racquet, or we’re just not used to them. »
Still, the 29-year-old reached the OBN final for the first time in his career. In 2021 and 2022, his journey had stopped in the semi-finals.
“I hope the third time will be the right one and that I will win the tournament also tomorrow,” said the principal concerned.
From the start of the first round, we understood that this match would not be easy. The two players exchanged breaks twice before Pegula finally won a first serve game to take a 4-2 lead in the first set.
Świątek’s misadventures continued. In her fourth service appearance, the Pole was broken for a fourth time. It’s like nothing is working for the world number one. The will was there, but not the precision. Too often, she made mistakes when trying to win.
After this first set, Świątek left the field with her newspaper and towel, as she had done the day before against Danielle Collins. She came back a few minutes later and seemed to regain some composure at the start of the second set. She won the first two games, but then the roller coaster resumed.
The players broke seven more times in that set, until they had to play a tiebreak.
In the tiebreak, Świątek trailed 4-2 when the song Cotton Eye Joe started playing in the middle of the rally. Pegula was about to hit the ball when the referee called for Świątek to return to serve. There, the crowd began chanting “Let’s go, Iga, let’s go!” “. The Pole won the next five points, forcing a third set.
“I just thought it was funny,” Pegula said of it. It never happened to me, let alone with Cotton Eye Joe. I was like, is this really happening? Of all the songs…”
“I don’t know if I would have won the point. Maybe. I would have led 5-2, but that doesn’t mean I would have won the tiebreak,” she added.
In the final set, Świątek took a 4-2 lead, but Pegula had learned lessons from the past two hours. She knew nothing was over. The American appropriated the next four games to finally earn her ticket to the final.
“I was starting to get frustrated that I wasn’t keeping my serve, but at the same time, I knew she was having issues with hers as well. […] Basically, it was to see who could consolidate the break, ”explained Pegula about this end of the game.
Świątek, always not very expressive in a press conference, had difficulty explaining the events.
“I’m not sure what happened when I was leading,” she said. I will have to watch and analyze the game because she was fighting for every point, and so was I. It was a complicated game. »
It was only the second time in 2023 that Pegula had reached the final of a tournament; the last time was in Doha, in February, and she was beaten by… Iga Świątek. This time, she will face either Liumidla Samsonova or Elena Rybakina, two lower ranked players than her.
After the meeting on Saturday, an old video of Pegula resurfaced on social media. We see the American, Heineken in hand in a press conference after a defeat against Świątek at the United States Open a year ago.
“Maybe I’ll treat myself to a beer after the tournament,” Pegula chuckled.
For now, it’s time for rest and preparation. Because his first triumph of the year is within reach.
