"Am I like Iga Swiatek? Definitely not" - Jessica Pegula hilariously discloses how she and her coach negotiated on her use of sliding

Jessica Pegula has humorously divulged the negotiation process between her and her coach regarding her sliding on the court.

Pegula defeated Italy's Martina Trevisan 6-7(2), 6-2, 6-3 in two hours and 23 minutes in the second round of the 2023 Cincinnati Open on Wednesday. She will next face Marie Bouzkova.

The American is aiming to extend her five-tournament streak of reaching at least the quarterfinals. Moreover, Wednesday's win marked Pegula's 30th hard-court victory at the WTA level this year, surpassing World No. 1 Iga Swiatek for the most hard-court wins in 2023.

During her post-match press conference, Jessica Pegula shared the amusing conversations she had with her coach regarding her sliding technique on the court. Pegula's coach was skeptical at first about her ability to slide effectively, but she reassured him.

"A couple of years ago, I was, like, I'm going to slide on hard court. My coach is, like, Oh, my God. I think we were here. He's, like, Can you not try and slide in practice before your match? I'm, like, I can do it (smiling)," Pegula said.

The World No. 3, however, acknowledged that she cannot slide like Iga Swiatek, especially while chasing a drop shot. Pegula admitted that while she is able to slide on a practice court, it doesn't come instinctively to her during a match.

"So I do sometimes slide. Am I like Iga? Definitely not. I don't think I slide as much into my shots, like, I can't do the running-for-the-dropshot sliding. I wish I could do that," she said.

"If I do it, I could probably do it on a practice court, but it doesn't really come, like, instant for me to do it a match, so I just don't do it. And obviously, I'm not going to run up to the drop shot and be, like, Oh, I need to slide to look cool or whatever," Pegula added.

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Looking back at Jessica Pegula's performance at the Canadian Open 2023

Jessica Pegula at the 2023 Western & Southern Open

Before commencing her Cincinnati Open campaign, Jessica Pegula had a remarkable run at the 2023 Canadian Open. She reached the final of the WTA 1000 event for the first time, beating some of the world's top players in the process.

Pegula began her campaign in Montreal with impressive wins over Yulia Putintseva and Jasmine Paolini. The 29-year-old American then faced her compatriot and doubles partner Coco Gauff in the quarterfinals. In an intense match that lasted over two hours, Pegula ended up winning 6-2, 5-7, 7-5.

Pegula then locked horns with top seed and World No. 1 Iga Swiatek in the semifinals. The American, who beat Swiatek at the United Cup earlier this year, managed to repeat her success in Montreal, triumphing over the Pole 6-2, 6-7(4), 6-4.

In the Canadian Open final, Jessica Pegula faced Liudmila Samsonova, who caused an upset by defeating current World No. 4 Elena Rybakina in the semifinals. Pegula defeated Samsonova 6-1, 6-0 in just over an hour to secure the second WTA 1000 title of her career.