Jessica Pegula had the opportunity to meet renowned comedian and television host Steve Harvey at the Mubadala DC Open amid her stellar campaign at the WTA 500 event. Pegula, whose parents own the NFL’s Buffalo Bills and the NHL’s Buffalo Sabres, shared a lighthearted exchange with Harvey about his NFL loyalties.
Inside Jessica Pegula and Steve Harvey’s Conversation at the DC Open
Top seed Pegula has put together an impressive run at the WTA 500 event in Washington, D.C., claiming a 3-6, 6-3, 6-0 comeback win over Magdalena Fręch in her opening match. She took on No. 5 seed Anna Kalinskaya in the quarterfinals and secured a 6-3, 7-5 victory, snapping their trend of hard-fought three-set matches with a stellar performance.
Following her win, Pegula met Steve Harvey and asked whether he was a fan of her family-owned Buffalo Bills, the NFL franchise valued at $5.95 billion by Forbes.
“Are you an Bills fan?” Pegula asked.
As a Cleveland native, Harvey said he was a Cleveland Browns supporter. However, he revealed that he was pushing for the team to pick Saquon Barkley and Bills star quarterback Josh Allen in 2018 and was left crushed when the Browns instead selected Baker Mayfield with the No. 1 overall pick.
“No. Listen to me. I’m from Cleveland. We had the No. 1 and the No. 3 draft. I told the Browns, they were going to pick Saquon Barkley. I said, ‘Get Saquon Barkley and then on your No. 3 pick, pick Josh Allen cause he’s from a cold city and he can throw a deep ball.’ They picked Baker Mayfield,” Harvey said.
Although the world No. 3 acknowledged that Mayfield has gone on to enjoy success with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Harvey shared that missing out on Allen and Barkley left him heartbroken.
“I mean Baker’s doing well now, but after,” Pegula said.
“They picked Baker Mayfield. Broke my heart,” Harvey said.
The duo then posed for a picture together.
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On the tennis front, Pegula will lock horns with No. 4 seed Diana Shnaider in the semifinals of the DC Open. The American heads into the contest with a 3-0 lead in their head-to-head record, including a 3-6, 6-3, 6-2 victory in their Charleston Open clash earlier this year.
The winner of the match between Pegula and Shnaider will face either Naomi Osaka or Alexandra Eala in the final of the WTA 500 event.
Following her DC Open campaign, Jessica Pegula will travel to Toronto for the Canadian Open, entering the WTA 1000 event as the No. 3 seed. After a first-round bye, she will face either Magdalena Fręch or a qualifier in her opening match.
