It is fitting that Jessica Pegula’s most important tennis match of her career in the semifinals of the US Open on Thursday evening will be played at the same time as the NFL opening game between the reigning Super Bowl champions Kansas City Chiefs and the Baltimore Ravens.
This will likely mean that ESPN’s viewership in Western New York State will be lower than it should be because tennis simply cannot compete with the games of Patrick Mahomes and Lamar Jackson on NBC (here WGRZ-TV).
In tennis circles in Western New York State, people will no doubt have their remote controls ready to flip the switch, but Pegula deserves to be in the spotlight all to herself.
One could argue that Pegula is the most underrated and unknown sports star in the history of Western New York State.
This was evident again on Wednesday night, when No. 6 seed Pegula dominated No. 1 seed Iga Swiatek 6-2, 6-4 to advance to Thursday’s semifinal against unseeded Karolina Muchova, which will be broadcast at 8:30 p.m. on ESPN.
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Jessica Pegula of the USA will face Iga Świątek of Poland in the quarterfinals of the US Open on Wednesday, September 4, 2024, in New York.
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Long before Pegula pulled off the surprise win, ESPN’s Chris Fowler asked analyst Chris Evert if a win would be “the most meaningful” of her career.
It seemed like a rhetorical question, as Pegula was winless in six previous attempts to reach the semifinals of major tournaments.
This statistic deserves an asterisk. As Pegula rightly noted in her post-match interview, she lost to some great players in all of these games.
After Pegula scored the last point, Fowler crowned the victory.
“The biggest win of her career,” he said.
He added that she “played with poise and clarity, cleanly and confidently.”
Evert, who praised Pegula’s mental strength throughout Wednesday’s match against the world’s best player, immediately called it “the most significant victory of her career.”
“New York is her home,” she added.
Jessica Pegula pulled off a major upset at the US Open, beating No. 1 seed Iga Swiatek 6-2, 6-4 to reach her first Grand Slam semifinal. Pegula’s win on Wednesday night at Arthur Ashe Stadium came after she began her career with an 0-6 record in major quarterfinals. Swiatek served poorly in the first set and her forehand was a real problem. Pegula used excellent defense to force Swiatek to hit an extra shot time and time again. The No. 6 seed Pegula is a 30-year-old American. She has won 14 of her last 15 matches and will play Karolina Muchova of the Czech Republic for a place in the final on Thursday. Jannik Sinner and Jack Draper are in a men’s semifinal.
I could almost hear some sensitive Western New Yorkers disputing that remark. She was born in Buffalo, which was not mentioned during the broadcast.
“She deserves it,” Evert said of Pegula’s victory. “She deserves to win a Grand Slam tournament. She is currently the best player who has not won a Grand Slam tournament. Could this be her year?”
To secure a major title, she must beat Muchova of the Czech Republic on Thursday night to advance to Saturday’s final, and then defeat the winner of the other semifinal between 13th-seeded American Emma Navarro and No. 2-seeded Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka on Thursday night.
If Pegula and Navarro both win, Saturday would be an all-American Open final between the daughters of two American billionaires.
Pegula’s father Terry owns the Buffalo Bills and Buffalo Sabres. Navarro’s father Ben is a well-known businessman in Charleston, SC
In other words, their stories couldn’t be more different from those of the Williams sisters, Venus and Serena, who were taught tennis by their father on the public courts around Compton, California.
One almost wonders if this is a reason why Pegula’s incredible success is underestimated. It is an incredible story.
The drive, dedication and discipline that Pegula and Navarro have shown to reach the top of the sport is impressive considering they already knew they were set for life when they first picked up a racket.
The cameras were focused on Navarro’s father and her friends in a box throughout the performance.
During Pegula’s victory on Wednesday, cameras showed several people in a box cheering her on, but no one could be identified.
Her parents were apparently not there. Terry has other concerns, namely the health situation of his wife Kim. In addition, it can be very difficult for some parents to watch their children compete in top-level sports.
You only have to remember all the camera footage of parents watching their children during the Olympic Games in Paris to realize how difficult this can be.
Pegula is also doing something that can be difficult for tennis players to cope with. She is 30 years old. There are very few top 10 players at that age. It is close to the age when many players think about retiring.
Pegula’s first-round win over Shelby Rogers was Rogers’ last fight before retiring. Rogers is 31. Navarro is 23. Sabalenka is 26. Muchova is 28.
If Pegula wants to win the Grand Slam tournament that Everts believes she deserves, now is the time.
It would be nice if the people of Western New York State appreciated her work enough to spend an evening watching her play instead of watching Mahomes with hate.
