Well, that was all pretty simple. Jessica Pegula had spent three and a half years looking for a route past the quarterfinals of a Grand Slam.
She had failed six times. She had had questions about her courage and her game. She had even wondered if her time at this level was over.
On Wednesday night, Pegula finally broke through to uncharted waters. The irony? After all her struggles and all those doubts, she barely had to break a sweat.
That was largely thanks to world No. 1 Iga Swiatek, who was in a generous mood at Arthur Ashe Stadium. On the way to this 6-2 6-4 victory, Pegula scored 65 points. Forty-one of those came via unforced errors by Swiatek.
Pegula won’t care. Despite a late wobble – which saw the No. 6 lose a few match points – she did her job and is now just one game away from a first Grand Slam final. The signs could hardly be more encouraging.
The previous three times she defeated Światek, Pegula won the tournament. Next up? Karolina Muchova.
The No. 6 had admitted she couldn’t predict how she would feel heading into this seventh Grand Slam quarterfinal. It would only become clear, she said, once the first match started. Well, the American stumbled over a rather emphatic answer.
Before that, Swiatek had lost serve just twice in the entire tournament. She had given up just four break points en route to the quarterfinals – and none in her last three matches.
Pegula ended that streak immediately. She forced a break point and then drew first blood thanks to a double fault by Swiatek. A few minutes later it happened again.
Another break point. Another double fault from Swiatek. And suddenly Pegula was on his way to the last four.
Swiatek steadied the ship enough to win a couple of games, but the first set was decided in just 37 minutes, with the world No. 1 threatening to jump on the train home before many fans had taken their seats in Arthur Ashe.
She had to find a way—somehow—to keep Pegula from raging out of sight. So Swiatek went off the court for a break and a change of outfit. It worked—Swiatek held on and led the second set—but only briefly. Pegula equalized and then forced more break points.
Swiatek stopped one before handing Pegula the initiative with her 25th unforced foul in just 11 games.
The world number 1 wasn’t quite done yet. She broke back immediately, but it was only a stay of execution. Pegula broke for 4-3 before deciding the match. Curse? What curse?