Hard act to follow: Pegula expresses gratitude towards home crowd playing after exciting Alcaraz at US Open

America’s tennis star Jessica Pegula has expressed gratitude towards the home crowd for sitting in the arena after watching Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz play at the US Open.

The fourth and final Grand Slam of the year is moving towards the business end as players continue to battle it out to secure the ultimate glory.

Pegula defeated Patricia Maria Tig in the second round of the mega-event in straight sets with a score of 6-3, 6-1.

Usually, it is seen that the crowd leaves the arena after watching a top-seeded player play earlier in the day but that was not the case on Thursday.

After the match, the current world number three Pegula expressed gratitude towards the fans who stayed at the arena even after watching Alcaraz play earlier in the evening.

“Thanks everyone for staying tonight,” she said. “I appreciate the support, it’s hard to follow Carlos [Alcaraz]… it’s tough act to follow man I don’t know why. I don’t think I’m ever gonna do that justice.”

Alcaraz defeated South Africa’s Lloyd Harris in the second-round fixture on Thursday in straight sets with a score of 6-3, 6-1, 7-6.

Pegula will now face Ukraine’s Elina Svitolina in the round of 32 clash on Saturday.