1 day ago
7
While speaking on a podcast before her big match against Madison Keys, Jessica Pegula was discussing their battle last January in the Adelaide final. Keys’s performance, Pegula recalled, had prompted Pegula to accurately predict to their mutual friends that Keys would win the Australian Open two weeks later. It is normal for players to discuss future opponents, but they do not usually do so in conversation with each other. With a chuckle, Keys interjected: “Jess is like, ‘I hope I don’t see that level [tomorrow].’”
She did not. Keys’s reign at the Australian Open came to a difficult end in the fourth round as the defending champion and ninth seed was crushed under the weight of her hefty unforced error count and a spotless performance from Pegula, the sixth seed, who marched into the quarter-finals with a 6-3, 6-4 win. This was, in some ways, a historic match on Rod Laver Arena: the first grand slam singles match between two podcast co-hosts.
Keys and Pegula, who are one year apart at 30 and 31 years old respectively, are close friends who have known each other for nearly two decades. Although this was only their fourth WTA meeting, with the head-to-head now 2-2, they have trained together hundreds of times. Last August, they converted their friendship and success into a tennis podcast, The Player’s Box, which they co-host alongside the 2021 Australian Open finalist Jennifer Brady and Desirae Krawczyk, a four-time mixed doubles slam champion.
Women’s tennis is known for the fierce competitiveness among its players, which can lead to unfriendly relations between some of its top players. This is actually part of the sport’s attraction for many fans, the understanding that players will fight desperately in matches without fear of offending their adversaries.
This match up, however, is reflective of the friendlier side of the sport. It is impressive how some players compartmentalise their friendships, fighting fiercely during their matches but not allowing the outcome to affect their personal relationships: “As tennis players, it’s not that deep,” Pegula said. “We’ve been doing it for so long. We could literally be friends and laughing till the moment we walk on the court. Then in that moment we both want to win and we both are competitors. We’re going to do whatever we can to get the W. The moment it’s over, you’re back to being friends.”
The build up to this match has been particularly amusing. After their third round victories, Keys and Pegula came up with forfeits for whoever lost the match. Pegula, whose billionaire family owns the Buffalo Bills NFL team, would have had to wear a Kansas City Chiefs jersey with the names of Travis Kelce and his fiancee, Taylor Swift, on the back if she had lost.
Unfortunately for Keys, once she digests the end of her title defence, she will also have to eat apple pie with melted cheddar cheese on top, a dessert enjoyed by the Pegula family. In her prior press conference, Keys stressed just how repulsive she found the dish: “She tried to make it sound like it was the most normal thing ever, and we were all just disgusted. She tried to double down and said, ‘No, it’s amazing,’” Keys said.
The latest Player’s Box was scheduled to be filmed on Sunday afternoon, long before either player realised they might be playing each other. The two players discussed the origin of their friendship and the different paths they took in their formative years, but they also gave their thoughts on the match ahead. It included some light trash talk. At one point, Keys described watching videos of Pegula to scout her opponent’s game: “You missed a hack slice forehand and you were so annoyed. I was like: ‘haha’”
The moment they stepped on the court, all jokes came to an end. This was a significant moment for both competitors. It was clear from the beginning that Keys was completely off, unable to play freely through her tension. Although Keys can blow anyone off the court with the force of her serve and ground strokes, she also regularly beats herself. This match showcased the worst of Keys, who took wild cuts at the ball and sprayed unforced errors from all parts of the courts.
While her opponent floundered, Pegula was tidy and polished as ever. She returned Keys’ devastating serve with depth and consistency, she took the ball early and forced Keys into difficult positions by deflecting her pace and moving the ball well. Most of all, she offered Keys so few mistakes, striking 13 unforced errors to Keys’s count of 28. In the first set, she hit just four.
Pegula has still not dropped a set so far in Melbourne and she is playing great tennis. Now a nine-time grand slam quarter-finalist, she continues to put herself in contention for the big titles with regular deep runs. In this incredibly competitive period at the top of women’s tennis, however, the greatest challenge of Pegula’s career is converting her consistency into a grand slam triumph.
The contest ended with a 14th miserable forehand unforced error from Keys, which elicited a rare bark of “c’mon’” from a typically placid Pegula. By the time they walked up to the net, though, the two players had already ceased viewing each other as adversaries. They greeted each other with smiles and embraced in a warm hug before departing the court as friends again.
