Jessica Pegula has praised Emma Raducanu as she underlined that beating Serena Williams and Victoria Azarenka in back-to-back matches is not a small thing to do.
Raducanu kicked off her Cincinnati campaign with a 6-4 6-0 victory over 23-time Grand Slam champion Williams.
In the second round, Raducanu cruised past Azarenka 6-0 6-2.
Raducanu’s Cincinnati run ended in the last-16 after Pegula handed her a 7-5 6-4 loss.
“I mean, having to beat Serena Williams and Victoria Azarenka is not easy, even no matter how they played or Serena hasn’t been doing as well, whatever. I think handling the moment like that is really difficult,” Pegula said, per Sportskeeda. “For her, I mean, she’s already had success, but, yeah, for her to handle that, I think it’s really hard no matter what. I don’t care what you say or how you are playing or whatever. To beat both of those girls back to back is tough. And bageling them as well.”
Pegula: Raducanu has been playing better
Raducanu struggled mightily with her form at the start of the season, but she seems to be finding her game and form as the season is progressing.
“I thought she was probably playing better maybe the last couple of weeks than she maybe was earlier in the year. Yeah, and the courts are a little faster maybe, which I think also suits her. I think it definitely said something coming into this match, and maybe that’s why I was a little extra nervous,” Pegula added.
On Thursday, Pegula and Raducanu clashed for the first time.
Pegula, who has been playing good tennis throughout the entire season, was the one who claimed victory in their first meeting.
But it definitely wasn’t an easy win for eighth-ranked Pegula, who was tested – especially in the first set.