How Jessica Pegula dispatched Barbora Krejcikova at the US Open

NEW YORK—Barbora Krejcikova broke a lot of hearts over Labor Day weekend. In her fourth-round match, the Czech saved eight match points over hometown hopeful, Taylor Townsend—seven of which came in an epic 15-13 second set tiebreaker—on her way to a thrilling comeback win. She looked to double-down on playing the spoiler against Jessica Pegula, the highest-ranked U.S. woman left in the draw.

The two play a similar aggressive, all-court style that aims to keep their opponents on their heels. Heading into the encounter Krejcikova owned the head-to-head—two matches to one—but Pegula evened the score with a straightforward 6-3, 6-3 win on Ashe Stadium. She jumped out to quick leads in both sets and made sure Krejcikova wouldn’t be pulling off another miraculous comeback.

Here’s what you can learn from their quarterfinal match-up:

Embrace Doubles

Krejcikova has nine Grand Slam doubles titles and an Olympic gold medal to go along with her pair of major singles titles. Pegula isn’t quite as decorated, but got to No. 1 in the world in doubles in 2023. It’s easy to see why as they have all the trappings—steady returns, good court sense, comfort in the forecourt—that’s required for effective doubles.

The skills translate over to their singles. The moment either woman drew the other out of position with a well-struck ground stroke and saw a defensive shot was coming back, they transitioned quickly to finish the point at net.

Even if you’re just starting out, or prefer the greater physical and mano a mano aspects of singles, don’t forego doubles. The unique aspects will help you develop a more well-rounded game.

Play With Margin

Both women love to step into the ball and drive it through the court. It’s not as readily apparent when watching them play on a screen, but at court level you can see their shots don’t have a great deal of shape or net clearance. On this day, Pegula was getting the better of the exchanges, hitting cleaner and more consistently.

“Pegula is a pure ball striker,” says Mark Kovacs, a high-performance coach who has worked with numerous Tour players. “Her movement and timing are so finely tuned that her contact points on both the forehand and backhand rank among the most consistent on the WTA Tour.”

Krejcikova was -10 in winners to errors. Moreover, she didn’t look in control of her instrument all match long. Even for instinctively offensive players, you still need to be able to go conservative when things aren’t working. Lower the aggression, put a little more spin and height on the ball and aim for bigger targets. If things start clicking and the scoreboard follows suit, then you can open the shoulders again.

Control the Toss

Krejcikova had a tough serving day. She connected on only 42% of her first serves, and tossed in seven double faults. In the second set she gave herself a Bronx cheer, raising her arms to her box after connecting on a first serve following numerous consecutive misses.

Even pros can struggle with the fundamentals. On her first serve, Krejcikova’s toss would sometimes drift too much directly over her head. This would leave her flat-footed without much forward momentum. She occasionally got away with it, but often missed her mark. When she managed to put the ball farther in front of her body, her serves had better pace and consistency.

Don’t Poke the Bear

Perhaps it was a hangover from her improbable and emotional win in the previous round, but Krejcikova came out flat. On her first service game she completely whiffed on a routine overhead on her way to dropping serve and staking Pegula an early lead. Pegula recognized this and did a solid job of keeping her opponent at arm’s length all day. There were moments in each set when Krejcikova had chances to square up the scoreboard, but Pegula hunkered down and made sure to be solid in those pressure situations. It wasn’t always a winner or a dominant point; often she allowed Krejcikova to make a mistake.

When a dangerous opponent is off their game, you can’t throw them a lifeline. Don’t complicate a match you should clearly win. Townsend opened the door for Krejcikova and she took advantage. Pegula was determined not to be so generous.