“I still think women’s tennis is more entertaining": Jessica Pegula bold statement at US Open

Jessica Pegula defended women’s tennis over men’s after another win at the US Open. She was asked about her compatriots Ben Shelton and Frances Tiafoe’s upcoming match and acknowledged that she regularly watches men’s tennis, although she finds women’s tennis more entertaining.

The American No. 2 has been the player with the best results in the hardcourt swing. She had 9 consecutive wins in the Canadian Open and Cincinnati Open, winning her second title in Toronto and then finishing as runner-up in Cincinnati. At the US Open, she has already reached the third round without dropping a set.

Pegula defeated two of her compatriots, first Shelby Rogers, who was playing her last tournament as a professional, and then former Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin, again in straight sets. The 30-year-old player has an 11-1 record on hardcourts in the last month.

While Pegula establishes herself as a favorite at Flushing Meadows, she was asked in a press conference if she follows men’s tennis, particularly her thoughts on the upcoming match between Ben Shelton and Frances Tiafoe: “How much in general do you pay attention to or even watch men's matches when you're at a Grand Slam Tournament and more specifically I'm just curious your thoughts on Ben (Shelton) against Frances (Tiafoe) tomorrow,” the journalist asked.

“I like watching men’s tennis,” Jess Pegula said. “I still think women’s is more entertaining because they’re so fast, and their serves are so good, that like, sometimes I think (it) get repetitive.”

The 6th seed acknowledged that she is looking forward to seeing her compatriots Shelton and Tiafoe face off. The American also watched Novak Djokovic's match against Laslo Djere, as well as Matteo Berrettini's match against Taylor Fritz: “But I love seeing the matchups and how they play each other and even just try to pick up on things that they like to do, but it’s definitely a different game, so I like watching and learning obviously. I watched Novak a little bit last night too.”

Pegula will return to the court on Saturday to play against Spanish player Jessica Bouzas Maneiro (No. 74), one of the surprises in the Round of 32.