"Jessica Pegula looked like she didn't want to be there," "Can't choke in QF if you choke in 2R"- Fans react to American's Australian Open shock upset

Several tennis fans on social media were shocked at Jessica Pegula crashing out of the Australian Open 2024 in the second round on Thursday, January 18.

Pegula lost to unseeded Clara Burel from France 6-4, 6-2 after being broken five times during the match. The American looked out of touch for the most part, committing 19 unforced errors in the second set alone.

Reacting to the shock loss, a tennis buff on Reddit opined that the World No. 5 didn't show much fight in the final set.

"Her body language after getting broken at 2-1 in the 2nd set was so awful. Practically just gave up after that," they wrote.

Another fan chimed in, saying:

"Jpeg looked like she didn’t want to be there the whole match tbh wasn’t able to get her head in the game."

A third fan took a jibe at Pegula, writing:

"Can’t choke in the quarterfinals if you choke in the second round."

Another user suggested that the 29-year-old has been going through a rough patch since the turn of the year and feared she might be suffering from an injury.

"I watched her matches at the United Cup and Adelaide and something's been quite off from Pegula to kick off this season. It is very possible she could be heading into a slump if she doesn't course correct soon...unless she's nursing an injury that she's hiding from everyone," the user wrote.

Reactions from Reddit.

Here are a few more reactions from Reddit:

Reactions to Jessica Pegula's Australian Open exit.

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Jessica Pegula's performances at the Australian Open over the years

Jessica Pegula plays a shot at the Australian Open 2024

This was Jessica Pegula's fifth main-draw singles appearance at the Australian Open. She made her Australian Open main-draw debut in the year 2020, exiting in the first round. In 2021, she improved drastically and made it as far as the quarterfinals, before losing to eventual finalist Jennifer Brady.

The American returned to Melbourne in 2022 as the 21st seed. She earned another quarterfinal berth at the event, going down against eventual champion Ashleigh Barty.

Her 2023 campaign witnessed an identical conclusion as she couldn't get past Victoria Azarenka in the quarterfinals.