Jessica Pegula's progress in Wimbledon 2022

[eball]

On 6/7/2022 at 2:52 PM, Gugny said:

 

But to your point ... there's definitely a significant gap in the level of talent between 1-2 in the world and 8-10 in the world.

 

The #2 seeded woman lost in the 2nd round.  Huge upset.

 

Pegula is in the final 32 and her next opponent is ranked 80th.  Round of 16 or bust!

 

Edited June 30, 2022 by eball

[Gugny]

4 minutes ago, eball said:

 

The #2 seeded woman lost in the 2nd round.  Huge upset.

 

Enormous.

 

Jessie Pegula will face her third straight unseeded opponent (Petra Martic) in Round 3.

In Round 4, she is likely to face Elena Rybakina (17), who is up against an unseeded opponent.

Winning that would likely pit her against Iga Swiatek (1) in the Quarters.

[Mike in Horseheads]

8 hours ago, Gugny said:

 

Enormous.

 

Jessie Pegula will face her third straight unseeded opponent (Petra Martic) in Round 3.

In Round 4, she is likely to face Elena Rybakina (17), who is up against an unseeded opponent.

Winning that would likely pit her against Iga Swiatek (1) in the Quarters.

Did the 4th seed lose Gug? you said thats what her future if she beat the hot Spaniard who I don't even see ya mentioned

Edited July 1, 2022 by Mike in Horseheads

[Gugny]

1 hour ago, Mike in Horseheads said:

Did the 4th seed lose Gug? you said thats what her future if she beat the hot Spaniard who I don't even see ya mentioned

 

Yeah, I screwed up.  She'll meet the 4th seed in the semis if all top seeds win.

[NyQuil]

Did she switch coaches a few years back. Its rare (in tennis) to see someone up their level of play as much as she has in their late 20s but good for her.

 

Hope she wins it all.

Edited July 1, 2022 by NyQuil

[GunnerBill]

18 minutes ago, NyQuil said:

Did she switch coaches a few years back. Its rare (in tennis) to see someone up their level of play as much as she has in their late 20s but good for her.

 

Hope she wins it all.

 

My sense is it is getting a bit more common, especially in the men's game, just because the level is so competitive now. That transition from junior to senior tour is really hard. I'm struggling to think of many examples in the women's game though. Fair play to her.  

[Gugny]

22 minutes ago, GunnerBill said:

 

My sense is it is getting a bit more common, especially in the men's game, just because the level is so competitive now. That transition from junior to senior tour is really hard. I'm struggling to think of many examples in the women's game though. Fair play to her.  

 

Interesting topic.  I took a quick look at Serena's grand slam stats and tried to determine success by age.

 

It looks like between 1999 (18) -2008 (27), she was either champ or runner up in 12 grand slam finals.  Between 2009 (28) - 2019 (38), she was either champ or runner up in 21 grand slam finals.

[HardyBoy]

17 minutes ago, Gugny said:

 

Interesting topic.  I took a quick look at Serena's grand slam stats and tried to determine success by age.

 

It looks like between 1999 (18) -2008 (27), she was either champ or runner up in 12 grand slam finals.  Between 2009 (28) - 2019 (38), she was either champ or runner up in 21 grand slam finals.

 

She's the greatest ever. Look at LeBron James in ten year splits. As much as basketball is a team sport, there is a huge mental aspect.

 

Guessing when you get to that level of sheer physical ability, learning how to overcome the mental blocks that stopped you in the past is huge. 

 

Basically, even if physically they lost 5%, they are still so incredibly more athletic the huge gain in the mental aspect makes them goats. For even elite players, who are non generational talents, they lose 5% and suddenly they're in the middle of the pack and the mental aspect isn't getting them back to the elite level.

[BisonMan]

3 hours ago, NyQuil said:

Did she switch coaches a few years back. Its rare (in tennis) to see someone up their level of play as much as she has in their late 20s but good for her.

 

Hope she wins it all.

She had a lot of injuries early in her career that kept her from progressing. She has changed coaches and trainers. Most players would have given up in her situation. Her physical abilities limit her upper end possibilities. Plus, her style of play doesn’t afford her a very large margin of error on shots (limited topspin). Add to that a mediocre serve. 
 

She’s lucky that the string of great players have all but left the tour (Williams sisters, Sharapova, Barty). Her wealth allowed her to keep playing without significant sponsorship. If she can stay healthy, she’ll be a consistent quarter finalist in majors but unlikely to ever win one.

 

Of course, strange things happen. Last year 2 nobodies played in the U.S. Open finals because they never had to play any seeded players along the way. The seeds were all upset early.

[eball]

4 minutes ago, BisonMan said:

She had a lot of injuries early in her career that kept her from progressing. She has changed coaches and trainers. Most players would have given up in her situation. Her physical abilities limit her upper end possibilities. Plus, her style of play doesn’t afford her a very large margin of error on shots (limited topspin). Add to that a mediocre serve. 
 

She’s lucky that the string of great players have all but left the tour (Williams sisters, Sharapova, Barty). Her wealth allowed her to keep playing without significant sponsorship. If she can stay healthy, she’ll be a consistent quarter finalist in majors but unlikely to ever win one.

 

Of course, strange things happen. Last year 2 nobodies played in the U.S. Open finals because they never had to play any seeded players along the way. The seeds were all upset early.

 

I think this is pretty accurate.  I've watched a few of her matches.  I never come away thinking she does anything great...she's just a very consistent all-around player, which under the right set of circumstances can be good enough.

 

[stevewin]

Jess blew it -  Swiatek lost at the top of her draw - left it wide open

[JakeFrommStateFarm]

23 hours ago, eball said:

 

I think this is pretty accurate.  I've watched a few of her matches.  I never come away thinking she does anything great...she's just a very consistent all-around player, which under the right set of circumstances can be good enough.

 

I think her game is best suited towards the slower courts like clay.

 

She'll have no chance on the faster courts like grass

[Augie]

43 minutes ago, JakeFrommStateFarm said:

I think her game is best suited towards the slower courts like clay.

 

She'll have no chance on the faster courts like grass

I thought I saw an interview with her saying the grass should work to her advantage because she hits a such a flat ball making it tough on her opponents. It’s the opposite of clay (think Nadal with his ridiculous topspin).

 

I couldn’t find that interview, but came across this. She says she’s more comfortable on grass now as she’s become more open to working on her slice and getting to the net.  I include this link to show what she says about her game, but probably more so to show how incredibly likable she is.  

 

https://www.tennis.com/news/videos/interview-j-pegula-wimbledon-2r-win

 

It’s a shame she lost with a good looking draw in front of her,  but she does say the grass can lead to some crazy outcomes. Bummer. At least she’s a regular at majors and always a threat to go deep. She’s come a long way!

 

 

.

Edited July 2, 2022 by Augie

[frostbitmic]

Just being able to play in Wimbledon is a huge accomplishment

Edited July 2, 2022 by frostbitmic

[Augie]

2 hours ago, frostbitmic said:

Just being able to play in Wimbledon is a huge accomplishment

 

She’s one of the top two US women players in the world. Top 10 overall in the world. It’s awesome and amazing! 

 

Personally, I’d consider just attending Wimbledon a huge accomplishment!  Jessica has taken this to a new level! 

[Fan in Chicago]

10 hours ago, Augie said:

 

https://www.tennis.com/news/videos/interview-j-pegula-wimbledon-2r-win

 

It’s a shame she lost with a good looking draw in front of her,  but she does say the grass can lead to some crazy outcomes. Bummer. At least she’s a regular at majors and always a threat to go deep. She’s come a long way!

 

 

.

I agree. She has become a staple in the middle rounds and is maximizing her talent. That's the most we can expect from any athlete. 

[Gugny]

22 hours ago, stevewin said:

Jess blew it -  Swiatek lost at the top of her draw - left it wide open

 

I don't think Badosa has lost a set, so that would have been a tough one.  But yes, Swiatek being gone would certainly not have sucked if Pegula kept advancing.  Total bummer.  

[GunnerBill]

15 hours ago, Augie said:

 

Personally, I’d consider just attending Wimbledon a huge accomplishment!  Jessica has taken this to a new level! 

 

Lived in London 16 years and still never been. It often coincides (as it does this year) with me being out of town on vacation. But at some point I have to make it there for a day. It is the last of the main big totemic sporting venues in Britain I haven't done. 

[Augie]

4 hours ago, GunnerBill said:

 

Lived in London 16 years and still never been. It often coincides (as it does this year) with me being out of town on vacation. But at some point I have to make it there for a day. It is the last of the main big totemic sporting venues in Britain I haven't done. 

 

It’s funny how easy it is to put off things I know I should do. In college I could easily have gone to the Kentucky Derby or the Indy 500. I was always too lazy or had “something better” to do, though I have no idea what I did instead. I have little to no interest in horses or car races, but I should have made time for those events, at least once. I’m trying to do better with making myself do the things that seem easy to skip. 

 

Good luck with getting to attend Wimbledon one day. Better yet, I’d love to meet you there! We all need to do our best to check off those important boxes before it’s too late. Make those memories! 

 

 

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Edited July 3, 2022 by Augie

[Billy Claude]

On 7/1/2022 at 11:12 AM, NyQuil said:

Did she switch coaches a few years back. Its rare (in tennis) to see someone up their level of play as much as she has in their late 20s but good for her.

 

Hope she wins it all.

 

 

So I looked at the top 20 in the WTA rankings this weekend to find the age that they finished in the top 30 the WTA year end rankings.   It appears that a jump like Jessica Pegula's in women's tennis is unusual but not unique.

 

Age:  Player

28:  Collins

27:  Pegula, Jabeur

26:  Krejcikova

24:  Badosa, Sakkari, Kerber

23:  Kontaveit

22  Pliskova, Helep

21:  Muguruza

20:  Sabalenka, Ostapenko

19:  Swiatek, Raducanu, Kasatkin, Fernandez

18:  Bencic, Azarenka

17:  Gauff

 

So there are at least 3 other players that broke the top 30 at about the same age as Jessica Pegula.    Danielle Collins, rank 8th,  is the only one older than Pegula when she broke the top 30 but Collins had three years in the top 50 before that.

 

 

 

 

Edited July 3, 2022 by Billy Claude