Petra Kvitova had Jessica Pegula's number—and the numbers. But the American's time is now

No Limit NYC: Jessica Pegula talks bagels and wings with Prakash Amritraj

NEW YORK—When it comes to tennis attributes, many fans believe that size and strength are paramount. But eighth-seeded Jessica Pegula’s 6-3, 6-2 fourth-round victory over 21st-seeded Petra Kvitova vividly proved that tennis is most of all a game of movement.

Never mind that Kvitova is 6 feet tall, five inches higher than Pegula. Never mind that Kvitova’s laser sharp groundstrokes have taken her to two Wimbledon titles, while Pegula’s best prior Slam efforts were three trips to quarterfinals, none of which have come in New York. Never mind that Kvitova had won their only two prior matches.

Enough of the history—bring us instead to the present. Right from the start of this match, Pegula’s footwork and court coverage were superb, her discipline and focus equally exemplary. Only a pair of rain delays hindered Pegula’s forward progress. The first came came briefly, after the first game, a short enough interruption amid hazy conditions that convinced officials to keep the roof open. But two games later, Kvitova serving at 1-1, 15-30, the downpour increased significantly. With the court soaked, the roof was closed, the match resumed 45 minutes later.

Aware that playing under the roof would alter such factors as the air and the ball speed, Pegula changed racquets—though in her own idiosyncratic way.

“I got one strung looser, one strung tighter, but I'm weird because the tighter ones tend to feel looser to me,” Pegula told me. “It doesn't make any sense.” She ended up with a frame she’d had strung last night at 51 pounds.

Indoor conditions aid Kvitova’s flat, penetrating groundstrokes. But this was an area where Pegula matched her in the vast majority of rallies. Said Kvitova, “She didn't really leave me any space for my shots.”

Certainly, there were moments when Kvitova took command. Over the course of the match, she’d hit 18 winners, compared to Pegula’s seven. But the Kvitova conundrum is that her tennis can zoom from A to C with nary a pause; today that included 24 unforced errors, nearly twice Pegula’s tally of 13.

Pegula also grasped this chasm. “I feel like I'm always on edge playing Petra,” she said, “just because she can hit winners from anywhere, can get really hot and kind of make you feel like crap, I guess, on the court.”

Time and time again, Pegula scampered swiftly and smoothly to track down a Kvitova drive and then send it back with just as much pace and depth. Serving at 2-3, 15-40, Pegula escaped, eventually fighting off three break points, including one with a 108-m.p.h. ace down the T in the deuce court. From 3-all on, Pegula won 12 of 14 points, a first-rate example of her exemplary match management skills and Kvitova’s narrow range of tactics. It’s baffling that for someone as even-keeled as Kvitova, her matches often have a rollercoaster-like quality.

Sure enough, as the second set began, Kvitova reasserted herself. She immediately broke Pegula and held at 15. With Pegula serving at 0-2, Kvitova came forward and struck a deft crosscourt backhand volley winner, then took the next point for love-30—halfway towards earning a double-break lead. Said Pegula, “Yeah, I was just, Okay, don't get frustrated, she hit a couple good shots. Stick to your patterns.”

Kvitova subsequently lost four straight points, and in the next game was broke at 15. Though the score by then was only 2-all, from that moment forward, Pegula in complete control. Match point was a microcosm of 73 minutes of tennis: Pegula chased down a sharp crosscourt backhand from Kvitova, flung back a crosscourt forehand—at which point Kvitova steered a backhand wide. Pegula had ridden out of the storm of the rain and a few flurries from Kvitova to reach her first US Open quarterfinal.

To think that at the end of 2020, Pegula finished the year ranked 62nd in the world. But since then, she has greatly improved in so many areas, including serve, movement, and, perhaps most importantly, attitude towards the process of competition. Today, Pegula spoke about the inspiration she’s drawn from reading a book by wrestler Ronda Rousey that included this principle: You have to be the best in the world on your worst day.

“And I can get kind of hard on myself,” she said. “I think I've done a really good job the last few years of realizing that, and winning a lot of matches where I'm like, ‘Oh, my gosh, I played horrible.’ I don't mean that in a disrespectful way to the opponent, but just you're feeling like everything, forehand feels terrible, serve feels terrible, but to be the best, you have to figure it out.”

As Pegula has demonstrated during this period of ascent, it’s one thing to make movements with your feet—and another to make movements in your mind.