Femcompetitor.com, grapplingstars.com, fciwomenswrestling.com, fcielitecompetitor.com, fciwomenswrestling2.com lev-radin-Shutterstock-photo-credit
January 26 2023,
This time it was supposed to be different.
Fans around the world groaned a sigh of frustration and sadness because it wasn’t different.
In fact, it was more of the same.
Five times a quarter finalist bridesmaid but never a finalist and champion bride.
America’s Jessica Pegula lost for the fifth time at a Grand Slam in the quarter finals. This time we mistakenly thought it might be different.
She surged into the 2023 Australian Open ranked number three in the world and feeling confident after recently defeating the world’s number one, Iga Swiatek in a previous tournament.
On January 5, 2023 ESPN posted, “Iga Swiatek, the favorite for this month’s Australian Open, was in tears after losing at the United Cup on Friday. The US and French Open champion sobbed courtside after being thrashed 6-2, 6-2 by American Jessica Pegula in the mixed-team tournament semifinals in Sydney.”
Great expectations swelled, looking forward to the first Grand Slam of 2023.
Jessica got through the first four rounds in solid fashion.
But then again, that’s no different from what she has done before.
What was also the same is that when Jessica meets hardened top players, she falters and falters badly.
This time the teacher was Victoria Azarenka.
Who has made it past the quarterfinals, at the Slams, in major abundance.
As reported by ESPN, “Victoria Azarenka displayed the same confident brand of hard-hitting baseline tennis that carried her to two Australian Open titles and the No. 1 ranking a decade ago, beating Jessica Pegula 6-4, 6-1 on Tuesday night to return to the semifinals at Melbourne Park.”
A veteran war horse, it’s time to get reacquainted with Ms. Azarenka.
Victória is a Belarusian professional tennis player.
She is a former world No. 1 in singles, having claimed the top ranking for the first time on January 30, 2012.
She was the year-end No. 1 in 2012 and has held the top ranking for a combined total of 51 weeks. That was also a year of the Olympics in England. Seems so long ago. How time flies.
Think about it. She was number one for 51 weeks and that was a time period when Serena Williams was still a force.
In fact, Victoria’s most notable rivalry is against Serena Williams. They have met 23 times, including eleven times in Grand Slams, with Serena Williams leading their head-to-head 18–5, 10–1 in Grand Slams, and 5–4 in finals.
5-4 is razor thin, against arguably the best professional female tennis player in history.
Those type of battles on Grand Slam stages will absolutely make you battle hardened.
Azarenka has won 21 WTA singles titles, including two Grand Slam singles titles at the 2012 and 2013 Australian Open, becoming the first Belarusian player, male or female, to win a Grand Slam tournament singles title.
She is also a three-time major finalist at the US Open, finishing runner-up to Serena Williams in both 2012 and 2013 and to Naomi Osaka in 2020.
When you have gone toe to toe with those two giants, in their prime, on the world’s biggest tennis stage, the mighty US Open, arguably that will turn you into a hardened war house.
In singles she also won six Premier Mandatory tournaments, four Premier 5 tournaments, and the singles bronze medal at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London.
She was the runner-up at the 2011 WTA Finals to Petra Kvitová, reached three other Grand Slam singles semifinals (Wimbledon in 2011 and 2012 and the French Open in 2013), and had nine other major quarterfinal appearances.
She finished with a year-end top 10 singles ranking for five consecutive years between 2009 and 2013.
When you have that much experience in the past, the only major concern in the present is are you healthy?
Against Jessica, Victoria appeared very healthy, running down one shot after another and returning down the line, in the corners and other places where Jessica appeared not to be.
Part of Victoria’s recent decline in the rankings was due to a very public and lengthy child custody battle.
Victoria’s 2014 season was decimated by a foot injury.
As a result, she missed five months of the season, and called an early end to her season in September. The injuries forced her to miss seven of her first 16 events of the season, including the 2014 French Open.
Azarenka only managed to make it to one final all season, in her first tournament of the year in Brisbane, where she lost to, drum roll please, Serena Williams in straight sets.
Iron sharpens iron.
In terms of Victoria’s resume, we think you get the point.
So, when Jessica faced Victoria in what should have been the biggest match for the number three player in the world, in all fairness, she just didn’t have the credentials and experience to defeat an internally tough, healthy, deeply experienced and hungry Victoria Azarenka.
As we watched the match, Jessica fell behind early and never recovered.
She even hit some aces on some very important points, not typical for her, but impressive.
The legendary commentator Chris Everett stated in an earlier interview that Jessica would need to take more risks to have a chance to win.
She did take more risks and went for some big shots.
We posted that she needed more power on her shots.
She did hit many powerful shots.
In the end, those were not the major factors.
It was the talent, grit and mostly experience of Victoria that clearly wore her down.
After being down in the first set 3-5 and facing several set points at 15-40, Jessica fought her way back into contention, hitting a hard shot down the line, and uncharacteristic for her, letting out a loud scream for emphasis.
She closed the gap at 4-5 with a chance to serve and tie it up but unfortunately just could not hold a gritty, determined Victoria off.
Once Victoria won the first set 6-4, all the wind melted out of Jessica’s sails and by hitting unforced errors, Victoria made quick work of a clearly deflated Jessica.
It was truly sad to see.
For those of us with high expectations in life, who have fallen short of the mark, we can truly feel Jessica’s pain.
This appeared to be Jessica’s time. After toiling since 2011, finally making it into the top twenty in 2021, quarter finalist after quarter finalist, this year, we thought she was a player of destiny.
In terms of this year’s Australian Open, Serena was not there.
Naomi Osaka either.
Ash Barty retired.
Iga Swiatek, Coco Gauff, Ons Jabeur, Danielle Collins and Madison Keys were all knocked out.
It was as though the sea was parting for Jessica.
But out in the distance, in a battle ship that could be barely seen, on the watery horizon?
A hardened veteran war horse was waiting for her.
~ ~ ~
OPENING PHOTO lev-radin-Shutterstock-photo-credit Femcompetitor.com, grapplingstars.com, fciwomenswrestling.com, fcielitecompetitor.com, fciwomenswrestling2.com
https://www.espn.com/tennis/story/_/id/35389282/jessica-pegula-stuns-iga-swiatek-us-2-0-united-cup
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victoria_Azarenka
https://www.fciwomenswrestling2.com
https://www.fcielitecompetitor.com/
https://fciwomenswrestling.com/
