Jessica Pegula finally wins a huge tournament

Jessica Pegula
Rick Limpert

Who would have known five years ago that Jessica Pegula would win a tournament — any tournament. She was steady at times, but she was not blasting the ball. She had chances, yet she would back off, and she would hope that her opponent would miss it.

Pegula knew that if she beat some excellent players, then her confidence would help reset her career.

Finally this year she won a huge event for the first time, winning the 1000 Guadalajara and beating Maria Sakkari 6-2, 6-3 in the final. During the match, she knew that if she attack with her ground strokes to different areas, then she could eventually prevail. That she did. Also, her return was excellent. Not only that, she also beat Elena Rybakina, Bianca Andreescu, Sloane Stevens, and Vika Azarenka, four Grand Slam champs. Whether she had to go for it soon, or just be patient, and she had it all.

Currently, she is No. 3 for the first time, and she is close to pushing past the No. 2 Ons Jabeur at the WTA Final, which will start on Saturday in Fort Worth. She will not be able to pass No. 1 Iga Świątek. But if they play each other, maybe Pegula can find a path to victory. They played each other this month in San Diego and the Pole out-hit her in three sets. To win the match, Pegula will have to be super assertive, because Świątek slams the ball all the time.

Auger-Aliassime rises

Last year, Felix Auger-Aliassime looked super when he was playing well. Plus he can be very enthusiastic. But he could not win the tournaments, falling in the Stuttgart and Melbourne finals and in Marseille this year.

Then, all of a sudden, he changed. His serve became more harmonious, his backhand was going deep and his return was finally thoughtful.

On Sunday, he beat American Sebastian Korda 6-3, 6-4 in Antwerp. In 2022, Auger-Aliassime has won three titles, and the Canadian is up to No. 9, and he has a real chance to play in the ATP Finals. The biggest thing will be in the Paris Masters, which will start in October 31. There will be serious pressure.

During the last two weeks, Korda finally came up, and he reached into finals twice. The 22-year-old decided to be more patient and, when he had a real opening, he shattered the ball. His father, Petr, won the Australian Open,in 1998, would also be patient but then he would rush into the net. Maybe the No. 33 Sebastian will do the same.

It was a bit of a surprise when Holger Rune took down Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-4, 6-4 to win Stockholm. However, the Dane is only 19 years old, so he can really hit it. He still isn’t perfect, yet, but he did have a fine run at 2022 Roland Garros beating, believe it or not, Tsitsipas.

Another youngster, Lorenzo Musetti, upset Matteo Berrettini 7-6(5) 6-2 in the Naples final. This season, Musetti did not win that many matches in the hardcourts, but the teenager is getting smarter each month. He was aggressive in the match. But, to move up the rankings, his serve and his return needs to grow and blossom.