Jessica Pegula saw the funny side of her exit to Aryna Sabalenka at the US Open 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 as she drowned her sorrows with a Honey Deuce cocktail. Pegula was on course to reach the final after winning the first set but managed to spurn it.
Sabalenka battled back to seal a 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 victory and will face Amanda Anisimova in the final on Saturday. The semi-final between Pegula and Sabalenka was a rematch of last year’s final when the American was beaten in straight sets. It was more of a fight this time albeit of course less stakes given it was a semi-final over a final. Understandably unhappy after losing from a winning position, she mixed disappointment with a light-hearted post after the match.
She took to X to share a picture of herself taking a selfie with one of the tournament’s signature drinks, a Honey Deuce. “When you lost four points on serve in the [third set] but you lost the match,” she wrote. She was puzzled about how she didn’t break back in the third after playing so good before that and didn’t feel like she “I thought it was a really high level,” said Pegula in her post-match press conference. “I don’t know how I didn’t break back in the third. I thought I played some really good points to win the first set.
“She upped her level, started serving a lot better in the second. Then I felt like it was really even in the third, there wasn’t much difference. We were both serving pretty well.
