Jessica Pegula makes her way to US Open semifinals

Jessica Pegula defeated world No. 1 Iga Swiatek in the singles quarterfinals at the US Open yesterday, making this the first Grand Slam to feature two American men's and women's singles semifinalists since the 2003 US Open (Andre Agassi and Andy Roddick; Lindsay Davenport and Jennifer Capriati). 

The Boca Raton resident moved past world No.1 Iga Swiatek, 6-2, 6-4, to reach her first major semifinal at the U.S. Grand Slam. Amazingly, it was Pegula's seventh attempt to win a quarterfinal match at a major.  

Before the win over Swiatek, Pegula had been on a roll. She defended her title at the WTA 1000 in Canada. Then, she reached the final a week later in Cincinnati.

Above: Pegula serving for the match. Photo: Todd Pechter for Florida Tennis.

“There's always going to be nerves,” Pegula said. “But, I mean, I've had some really good wins the last couple of weeks and have been playing some really good tennis. So at the same time, I still was pretty relaxed and felt like I was going to be able to get the job done.”

That said, Swiatek was a tough opponent to face in Flushing Meadows. Swiatek took out Pegula two times in Grand Slam quarterfinal showdowns (once on the exact same court). In their most recent matchup, Pegula only won a single game at the WTA Finals in Cancun.

Nevertheless, Pegula prevailed.

"Thank god I was able to do it, and finally, finally, I can say semifinalist,” she said smiling.

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Written by Florida Tennis Editor and Publisher Matt Pressman. Top photo credit: US Open Tennis Championships.