Jessica Pegula recently explained the reason behind her rare show of frustration during her third-round clash with Jelena Ostapenko at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells.
The American had dropped the opening set and appeared rattled before regaining her composure and launching a strong comeback.
Jessica Pegula Explains How She ‘Snapped Herself Back’ Despite Frustrations in Comeback Win
Ostapenko appeared composed as her aggressive shot-making kept Pegula pushed behind the baseline and largely on the defensive.
The Latvian struck the ball cleanly and with authority through much of the opening set and the early stages of the second. She also dictated the rallies to claim the first set, 6–4. Pegula, meanwhile, looked frustrated as the match began to slip from her grasp.
However, the World No. 5 steadied herself and quickly leaned on her experience, cutting down on unforced errors while gradually finding greater depth and consistency on her groundstrokes.
Thereafter, the American mounted a strong comeback, as she claimed the next two sets 6–3, 6–2 to book her place in the fourth round of the BNP Paribas Open. Moreover, her 11 aces and just one double fault proved decisive in the victory, while Ostapenko was broken five times.
It was a grueling contest for both players, particularly for Pegula, who had hoped Ostapenko would have a sluggish start. However, the Latvian’s commanding display in the opening set left Pegula “a little more animated,” as she later revealed during her press conference.
“Yeah, I think I was a little more animated than I usually am today, probably in a negative way of just showing some frustration, especially early on, because I could tell she was playing well, and I was just kind of, like, here we go again, I’m going to have to do this again. I was maybe hoping she started off worse,” she said.Â
“I don’t know. Maybe I could have gotten it in two sets, but yeah, I mean, I’m not that animated. So even when I feel like my attitude is really not great, people don’t really notice it that much,” she said.
The 32-year-old explained that she briefly let frustration creep in but quickly reminded herself to refocus. She believed her level wasn’t poor and avoided letting emotions disrupt her rhythm and overall performance.
“But I think today was a little bit, and I had to kind of snap myself back and kind of lock in to not let that get away from me, because then obviously it starts to affect everything. I kept telling myself I wasn’t actually playing bad,” she added.
She explained that her frustration stemmed not from playing poorly but from missing a few key opportunities, including break chances and moments where she felt she could have played more aggressively.
“It’s one thing you’re frustrated you’re not playing well. I didn’t think I was playing bad. I thought I was playing pretty well. It was just letting a couple chances, couple breaks here and there, maybe a couple shots that I could have been more aggressive on,” she added.
But nonetheless, Pegula was able to regroup and understand the importance of not running high on emotions.
“So I think just having to check myself at a certain point in the match, for sure, just to kind of make sure I was still thinking clearly and not really getting, you know, run over with emotion,” she concluded.
Pegula will next take on Belinda Bencic in a fourth-round clash at the BNP Paribas Open. Pegula trails Bencic 0–4 in their head-to-head, although this will mark their first meeting in nearly three years.
According to PFSN’s exclusive simulator, the American is favored to prevail with a 66% win probability.
