Transcript: Jessica Pegula def. Danielle Collins, 1-6, 6-3, 6-0

Jessica Pegula def. Danielle Collins, 1-6, 6-3, 6-0

Quarterfinals

MODERATOR: Jess, congratulations on the win. That was an awesome comeback today. Can you share your thoughts?

JESSICA PEGULA: Yeah. It was a really tough match. She was playing at a really high level there for a while and just did my best to only keep it one break and kind of hang in there at the beginning of that second set and luckily was able to turn the match. Yeah, it was really tough, especially with the way she was playing.

She didn’t necessarily agree, but I thought that was one of the cleanest sets of tennis I’ve seen on either tour this year. What was your take on what you were facing?

JESSICA PEGULA: Yeah, I mean, the first set she couldn’t have done anything better. I didn’t even feel like I was playing that bad. Maybe I came out a little slow, but I mean, she was just painting lines and ripping winners, returns, serving really well, going for her shots. I mean, it’s tough to play someone like that when they’re playing at that level. So, yeah, I mean, I agree. I think it was a very high level first set.

Does that just speak to your skill that you’re able to stand up against opponents like that and eventually neutralize them?

JESSICA PEGULA: Yeah, I mean, not always. Doesn’t always happen, but was able to figure it out just kind of in the nick of time. I mean, yeah, I think just with a lot of the matches that I’ve played and coming in really match tough, that always helps your confidence in that you can kind of turn a match and figure it out, and it happened to work today. Can’t say it works every time, though.

What’s your strategy when someone is playing that well? Are you trying to get them to run around more or are you just basically trying to hold on and hope they get out of that zone a little bit?

JESSICA PEGULA: A little bit of both. She missed a couple of balls by like an inch. That always helps. But I was trying to mix it up a little bit, trying to slice, drop shot, keep her moving, not let her kind of set up and just rip winners. Tried to find her foreland a little bit more, and then really have to work on my placement on my serves because she was returning really well. So I kind of had to figure out how I could get her out of that rhythm a little bit on the return. And, yeah, those are just some of the things.

Can you just talk about Ekaterina a little bit? Obviously you’ve played her before. I think she got you earlier this year, maybe in Doha. Just talk about what makes her tough.

JESSICA PEGULA: Yeah. She’s beaten me the last couple of times, all in three sets, I think Miami and then also in the Middle East this past swing, again, in three sets. I mean, she’s tough. When she’s striking the ball in her zone, I mean, she can beat anybody. She tends to upset a lot of top seeds as well. But I feel like on the clay, again, hopefully I can kind of mix it up, show some variety; and if she comes out playing similar to like a Danielle, hopefully I can kind of work my way out of that. So I’ll just see kind of how her level is at and try to adjust, hopefully maybe a little sooner than I did today, but just is try to adjust as much as I can throughout the match, because when she’s serving, kind of hitting her shots, she can be really, really dangerous; and, yeah, need some revenge from earlier this year.

Going off that, what do you need to do tomorrow? Actually you’ve advanced to three straight semis here in Charleston. What does that mean to you and what do you need to do to get into the final on Sunday?

JESSICA PEGULA: Yeah. I think I’m going to have to serve well tomorrow. I think I’m going to have to be aggressive, like I said, kind of show that variety, especially on the clay against someone that’s kind of a big clean ball striker like Ekaterina. So going to have to do my best there, and then hopefully — Miami it was like three semis, then I finally made the finals. So hopefully here I can finally make the final. Third time’s a charm. But it’s going to be tough. I mean, she’s been playing really high level, kind of dominating a lot of her matches. So, again, I’m just going to kind of have to see how it’s going tomorrow and where her game’s at and then hopefully adjust as I need to.

Away from the court this week what’s been fun? I think obviously you’re really familiar with this place. So when you come somewhere like this, are you into old routines or do you try to do some new things throughout the week, too?

JESSICA PEGULA: I mean, I got here kind of late, so I didn’t really have like the weekend maybe as much to do something as fun. But I feel like more old habits. I’m staying kind of out past Mount Pleasant. So I’m really familiar with that area, which is kind of nice. Everything still feels really familiar and kind of home-like. So that’s always nice. I have my dogs here. So that’s been kind of fun just taking them to go do things, taking them to the beach and stuff like that. But, yeah, it feels nice here. It’s like very comfortable, very homey. I think the fans and just the hospitality of everything makes it feel kind of like you’re just playing at home, which I really like. So, yeah, haven’t had a ton of free time. Maybe tonight I’ll get to venture off a little bit. But it’s fun. It’s fun because we know the city so well, too. I was hanging out with Jen Brady the other night, because we were just here for Madi’s wedding, which seems like not that long ago. So it feels like we were just here kind of exploring the city. So, yeah, it feels nice.

End of Interview