“Hard to follow Carlos Alcaraz” – Jessica Pegula on doing justice to the US Open crowd after World No. 1's match

Jessica Pegula expressed her gratitude towards the spectators for their support during her US Open second-round match on Thursday, August 31, despite playing after Carlos Alcaraz.

Pegula registered a comfortable 6-3, 6-1 victory over Patricia Maria Tig late into the night and advanced to the third round of the Grand Slam. She will take on Ukraine's Elina Svitolina in her next game.

During her on-court interview, the third seed thanked the crowd at Arthur Ashe Stadium for their cheers. She played at the venue after Carlos Alcaraz emerged beat Lloyd Harris 6-3, 6-1, 7-6 (4) in his second-round match.

On being asked about how she was adjusting to playing in front of bigger crowds, Pegula replied:

“It’s weird I never thought I’d be getting used to Ashe but somehow, I am. It just comes with playing on a lot more stadiums in front of a lot more crowd.

“Thanks everyone for staying tonight. I appreciate the support, it’s hard to follow Carlos [Alcaraz]… it’s tough act to follow man I don’t know why. I don’t think I’m ever gonna do that justice.”

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"Austin Krajicek and I haven’t won a mixed match in like two years" - Jessica Pegula on playing mixed doubles at US Open

Jessica Pegula and Austin Krajicek

Jessica Pegula will also participate in the mixed doubles event at the US Open as the top seed alongside compatriot Austin Krajicek. They are scheduled to play the pair of Laura Siegemund and Sander Gille in the first round on Friday, September 1.

During the interview, the 29-year-old joked about not being among the regular winners in the mixed-doubles category.

“Austin and I haven’t won a mixed match in like two years, so I hope everyone can come out and support us because we’re trying to get a win. So to be honest, I haven’t played that many mixed matches because we keep losing. We made semis here like two years ago and since then, just no wins. So hopefully we can try to get a win,” said Pegula.

The World No. 3 further weighed in on the benefits of competing in other contests apart from the singles ties.

“I honestly love coming to play on off days. I think it’s great practice. It’s time to work on things. It helps me stay competitive you know, I feel like waiting around a lot of times your anxiety builds up because you’re just thinking about your match,” Jessica Pegula explained.

“And I like that I can go out and stay competitive… as long as I’m feeling good. But, yeah I’m not the greatest mixed player, so we’re just gonna try to go out there and have some fun.”

Pegula is notably competing in the women's doubles event as well, partnering Coco Gauff. The duo will take on Cristina Bucsa and Alexandra Panova in the second round.