NEW YORK — Jessica Pegula knows a faster court would better suit her game, but has come to consider playing in Arthur Ashe Stadium like a home game.
“I’ve obviously kind of earned that right over the years,” Pegula said. “When I was younger, I never hit on Ashe, I never played on Ashe. I was always on another court, Court 17 or maybe Grandstand if I was lucky. That’s definitely changed.
“Specifically here being an American, I have played a lot there now. Maybe against someone that hasn’t gotten a lot of reps on that court, I think it is a little bit like a home-court advantage.”
Ann Li is an American, too, but this was her debut on the US Open’s largest court. The 25-year-old was enjoying her best run to the fourth round in a Grand Slam.
Was, as in the past tense, because on Sunday the No. 4-seeded Pegula handled Li 6-1, 6-2, breaking her serve six of eight times. The match ran a brisk 54 minutes.
Pegula advances to Tuesday’s quarterfinals, where she’ll meet the winner of the later match between Barbora Krejcikova and Taylor Townsend.
It’s admittedly been an up-and-down year for Pegula by her high standards, but she’s suddenly come alive this fortnight. Pegula has now beaten Mayar Sherif, Anna Blinkova, Victoria Azarenka and No. 58 Li — all in straight sets — and dropped only 17 games, the fewest she has allowed to reach this stage of a major in her career.
Pegula is trying to match her career-best US Open result, a run to the final in 2024. To help her get there, she brought both of her coaches, Mark Knowles and Mark Merklein, to New York. Normally they split tournaments, but they were both on hand, and Pegula wanted to recreate that team vibe.
They have been calling for more forward play, and Sunday, Pegula gave it to them, winning 12 of 15 points at net.
“It’s a part of my game I can use as a weapon,” Pegula said. “We’ve definitely worked on that a lot. They’re really happy when I can finish a point with an overhead or a volley at the net.”
Her calling card is beating the players she’s supposed to beat. This was her 15th straight victory against an opponent ranked outside the Top 50 at the US Open; the last loss was six years ago to Alize Cornet.
The first-time nerves were evident at the outset, when Pegula broke in Li’s first two service games. It was 3-0 when Li took one of those breaks back. But then Pegula came back to break her for the third straight time … and a fourth.
The set was over in 25 minutes, and Pegula won 18 of 27 points on Li’s serve, 11-for-12 on second offerings.
But 31 minutes into the match, Li, who recently reached the final in Cleveland, held for the first time, leveling it at 1-all. Pegula broke her for the fifth time to take an insurmountable 3-1 lead.
On the last point, a powerful backhand return winner, Pegula let out an uncharacteristic “Come on!”
Pegula has now won 23 of her past 25 matches against fellow Americans and is a sporty 8-2 in fourth-round Grand Slam matches (3-1 at the US Open).