By Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Thursday January 5, 2023
Jessica Pegula recorded her first ever win over a reigning World No.1, taking out Poland's Iga Swiatek at the United Cup.
Photo Source: Getty
Jessica Pegula took her lumps at the hands of Iga Swiatek in 2022, losing all four of the matches the pair contested, and winning only one set in the process.
New year, new vibe?
On Friday in Syndey the American pounded her way past the World No.1, playing picture perfect tennis to hand Swiatek a 6-2 6-2 loss that gave Team USA the 1-0 lead over Poland in the United Cup semifinals.
Pegula hit the ground running and never looked back as she earned her first win over a reigning World No.1 and snapped a nine-match losing streak against the Top-5. She won 10 of 15 second serve points, broke Swiatek’s serve five times and claimed 24 of 29 first-serve points in the victory.
Pegula won 65 percent (61 of 94) of the points in the match to improve to 2-4 lifetime against the Pole.
Swiatek took the first loss of her season hard, and was in tears as she sat down on the Poland team bench, as captain Aga Radwanska consoled her.
"She's one of the best players in the world, so you have to be really on top of your game to win against Jessie," Swiatek told the press. "It was always like that, even last season, you know. So I'm not kind of surprised, because I know what she can do. But I'm more surprised with, I don't know, I just wasn't able to kind of step up to her game today."
Regarding the post-match tears, Swiatek assured the media that it's nothing out of the ordinary - just disappointment.
"I just knew that I felt kind of helpless today, because physically and mentally I wasn't able to kind of show up even, and problem-solve," she said. "So it's always hard when you lose, especially when you're kind of playing for the team and your country. So I was just sad. But, you know, it's not the first time I cried after a lost match. Nothing special."
The Polish juggernaut couldn’t seem to handle the extreme aggression of Pegula, who played flat and fast, using the pace of the quick surface at Sydney to help her put Swiatek on defense.
Frances Tiafoe gave the Americans a 2-0 lead as he handed Kacper Zuk a 6-3 6-3 loss. Tiafoe has won all four of his matches at United Cup, and the Americans are now 15-2 overall.