Tennis legend Andre Agassi believes there are new “Big Three” in men’s tennis
Tennis legend Andre Agassi believes there could soon be a new “Big Three” in men’s tennis, replacing Djokovic, Nadal and Federer.
Sport in Seriousness
As her chances of reaching the US Open final faded, Jessica Pegula muttered to herself about how poorly she was playing.
The only good news was that things couldn’t get any worse.
The 30-year-old American faced a quick and embarrassing loss in the biggest match of her career, but found her game just in time to eventually overwhelm Karolina Muchova 1-6, 6-4, 6-2.
The win gives Pegula, seeded No. 6, the opportunity to play No. 2 seed Aryna Sabalenka for her first Grand Slam title on Saturday.
“I came out completely floored. She made me look like a rookie,” Pegula said on ESPN. “I was about to burst into tears. She wore me out and I was able to find a way, find some adrenaline, find my legs and then I started playing the way I wanted to play. It took a while, but I honestly don’t know how I changed that.”
A night after defeating top seed Iga Swiatek in the quarterfinals, Pegula looked like a completely different player at the start of her match against Muchova. Pegula struggled with her opponent’s backhand slice and net attack tactics, losing seven games in a row and in danger of losing 3-0 in the second set.
MORE: Aryna Sabalenka defeats Emma Navarro and advances to the US Open final again
But when Muchova failed to convert a second serve break – she missed a fairly routine stretch volley on the break point – the momentum changed completely.
“I thought, OK, that was kind of lucky. You’re still in it. And it’s the little moments that turn the momentum around,” Pegula said.
Not only did Muchova’s level drop, but Pegula also began to struggle in defense. Once she found her normal rhythm again, she began to control the points with her clean, flat shots, preventing Muchova’s all-court game from taking over like it did in the first set.
Once she got into the game, Pegula was unstoppable and immediately took the lead in the third set. Pegula was particularly dominant on returns, winning 12 of 15 points in the second set when she allowed a second serve. She made just 13 unforced errors in the final two sets.
Pegula had never reached this far in a Grand Slam, losing in the quarterfinals six times in the last four years. After struggling at the start of 2024, changing coaches and then sitting out the European clay-court season with a rib injury, this did not seem to be a year in which she would make a breakthrough.
But Pegula was on a roll when the North American hard court tour began, winning the Canadian Open and reaching the final in Cincinnati, where she lost to Sabalenka 6-3, 7-5. It was Pegula’s only loss in her last 16 matches.
In the direct comparison, Sabalenka leads with 5:2.
Follow Dan Wolken on social media @DanWolken
