US Open: Jessica Pegula books Barbora Krejcikova quarterfinal

NEW YORK—Was Jessica Pegula getting—dare I say it?—cocky on Sunday?

After knocking out fellow American Ann Li in a a breezy and mostly brilliant 54 minutes, 6-1, 6-2—booking a last-eight clash with former world No. 2 Barbora Krejcikova—the No. 4 seed broke the fourth wall. Waling to the sideline, she looked straight into the camera and gave viewers all over the country a (brief) fist-pump and (quick) smile.

A minute or so later, Pegula talked to Pam Shriver, who asked her about her net-rushing game. Her answer sounded like it could have come from Roger Federer at his mid-aughts peak of dominance.

“Sometimes it’s tough,” Pegula said of her desire to move forward, “because I’m so good from the back that I kind of get stuck back there.”

Pegula, of course, is one of the least-arrogant of Top 10 tennis players—or anyone else, for that matter. You could see that again in the way she consoled Li with a hug after her younger countrywoman’s dispiriting Ashe Stadium debut. Still, Pegula is right to feel good at the moment.

First, while her opponent was ranked just 58th, Pegula played virtually flawless tennis. She hit with her customary depth and pace from the ground, and was ahead from the start in most of the rallies. As Shriver noted, she made the most of her transition game, going 12 for 15 at net. Her backhand return was especially sharp. And there were no hiccups or nerves or eye rolls as she closed out the second set.

“Very good match I think for me today,” Pegula said. “Probably the best match, honestly, I’ve played since before Wimbledon, I feel like, from the start to finish. So that was encouraging. I was just hitting the ball, doing everything well, executing my strategy very well.”

There’s another reason for her to be pleased: She’s into the quarters of her home Slam for the third time. That may not sound like a reason to celebrate for someone who reached the final last year, but as Pegula noted, she wasn’t in top form, or anywhere close, when the Open started, and she hadn’t been past the fourth round at a Slam in 2025.

“I felt terrible coming into this tournament, honestly,” she told *TENNIS.com's* David Kane after the match. “I had a practice, and I literally—I think I hit with Sabalenka. She killed me. I was playing terrible.”

“I was, like, ‘Yeah, I’m done for today.’ So I kind of walked off the court, like, not very happy.”

I think I knew that since I’ve done well, not just last year but years in the past, that I can always find a way to figure it out and play some good tennis. So I try to take the good energy and the good vibes from last year into this year. Jessica Pegula

What turned it around for her? According to Pegula, an outing far from Flushing Meadows helped.

“Went and did an escape room with my friends and had, like, two drinks and was, like, 'I need to just chill and stop getting so frustrated and overthinking,’” she said.

An escape room as a way to relax? Pegula says she “does a lot of” them.

What a difference a couple of weeks and a couple of drinks can make. Pegula hasn’t dropped a set in four matches in New York.

“There’s been so many ups and downs and different challenges that I face every week,” she says. “To make the second week was a goal, and now to be into another quarter is crazy.”

Pegula has been fortunate in a couple of ways. One, she has yet to play a seed. Two, with Coco Gauff’s serve and Ben Shelton’s shoulder drawing most of the local media attention, she has been able to fly under the radar, despite the fact that she made the final last year, and would have suffered a major rankings drop if she’d made an early exit.

“I think I knew that since I’ve done well, not just last year but years in the past, that I can always find a way to figure it out and play some good tennis,” Pegula says. “So I try to take the good energy and the good vibes from last year into this year.”

Now that many of the top U.S. men are gone, and the quarterfinals are open us, some of the spotlight will swing in Pegula’s direction. She says she’s happy with what she’s done so far.

Of course, I want to go further and do more and win the tournament, but I feel like just on a personal kind of goal level, I’m happy with the way I’ve been able to kind of turn some of my tennis around the last few weeks. Jessica Pegula

“To be able to come back and make another quarterfinal here is something I'm definitely proud of,” she says.

“Of course, I want to go further and do more and win the tournament, but I feel like just on a personal kind of goal level, I’m happy with the way I’ve been able to kind of turn some of my tennis around the last few weeks.”

Is that the kind of statement U.S. fans should want to hear? Traditionally, the correct thing for a champion to say would be, “I’ve got a lot more tennis to play.”

Is Pegula lacking a Slam champ’s mentality? It’s true that, at 31, she has never won one. But I think it’s fair to say she has won enough overall in her career, and come close enough here, to understand how best to approach this second week. She must know that, with No. 5 seed Mirra Andreeva out of her section, she has a real opportunity to go farther.

Pegula is the type of person who goes to escape rooms to settle herself down. So maybe keeping her expectations low, rather than declaring her need to win the title, works for her.

But it was still good to see here get a little cocky after her win today.