World No.3 Jessica Pegula acknowledged that the fast United Cup conditions definitely helped her beat Iga Swiatek for the first time in four years. The 28-year-old Pegula destroyed Swiatek 6-2 6-2 in the United Cup semifinal tie between the United States and Poland.
In 2019, Pegula defeated Swiatek on the hard courts in Washington. Last year, Pegula suffered four straight sets losses against Swiatek. «[The] the conditions are totally different from anywhere else I have played it.
Obviously, maybe he had a bit of an advantage, they just flew out yesterday. Definitely the fastest conditions I’ve ever played with it. Every other place I’ve played her has been pretty slow. I think that worked for me a lot, and I was able to use that to my advantage and play a really super clean game.
I think I was able to execute my game plan probably better than before,» Pegula said after her win, according to the WTA website.
How Pegula defeated Swiatek
Pegula broke Swiatek in the first game of the match, but the Pole immediately brought him back in the next game.
After missing an early break, Pegula broke Swiatek again in the third game. In the fourth game, Swiatek had a break point but Pegula saved it to go up 3-1. Pegula continued to put pressure on Swiatek’s serve, breaking the Pole again in the fifth game to take a 4-1 lead and go up by double break.
In the seventh game, when Swiatek was serving to stay in the first set, she saved two break points to ultimately win her first service game. But that didn’t change the outcome of the first set, as Pegula routinely served for the opener in the eighth game.
After winning the first set, Pegula also started the second set with an early break in the third game. Pegula earned her second break of the set in the seventh game, before serving for the match in the following game.
