"Maybe Madi opened up the window for people": Jessica Pegula lauds Madison Keys for not being afraid of change in Australian Open title run

Jessica Pegula will face Daria Kasatkina this afternoon in the Last 16 of the Qatar Open as she aims to reach the Quarter-Finals in Doha. She took down Elina Svitolina 6-3, 7-6 in the last round but it is all about adapting to the conditions for her.

Speaking to WTA Insider, she admitted that the conditions constantly changing are a big factor in the shock wins and unpredictability on the WTA Tour. Evidenced of course by Coco Gauff and Aryna Sabalenka both slumping out on Tuesday and she said that going from surface to surface, the onus is there to adapt quickly and figure it out.

"I think if you have more of an all-around game it's easier to adapt because you're able to use different tools in different conditions," Pegula told WTA Insider. "I think the players who can problem-solve the best have those tools, making it easier to get through a situation where you don't feel the conditions favor you and you're able to figure it out.

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"That's something I feel I still can get so much better at. Even though it feels like I do it a lot, there are definitely some matches where I'm really struggling with my ball, or a shot isn't working, and you have to figure it out."

"That's the beauty of tennis. You can play during the day, during the night, from one week to another things get vastly different. You just have to keep a balance of being aware of it without letting it consume you. That can be really tough. Some weeks, maybe the conditions completely favor one girl and completely don't favor you, and you having a bad day and it gets harder and harder. Some days it's easier than others.

"But I think the best players in the world handle it the best for sure."

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The inspiration of Keys

She also lauded Madison Keys in her recent run to Australian Open for giving players like her the guile to potentially step out of their comfort zone when it comes to equipment. Albeit it is not a change that she has gone through yet as she stays to her trusty equipment.

"It's been cool to see everyone's different journeys and how they get there," Pegula said. "Everyone's story is so different and able to be rewritten in every way possible throughout your entire career. Obviously I've seen that in my career being a late bloomer, and now Madison, who's been touted for so long."

"I think it takes a lot of courage to try something new. Honestly, I get really annoyed when people say 'But it's working, why would you change?'

"But why wouldn't you try? Take a risk and try something different that could maybe give you an extra 5-10 percent. With Madi, who we already know can hit the ball incredibly, if it can help her 5-10 percent, that's the difference between her winning a Slam or losing in the quarterfinals."

"It's not that easy to switch because tennis is all about feel. My husband played baseball and hockey and he's like, 'I don't understand, we switch all the time.' But you guys don't have a 'feel' shot. There are so many 'feel' shots in tennis and in tight moments when you're relying on skill to complete that, if something feels slightly different in your hand you can lose that."

"I'm always all for trying different things because you never know. Some people can't live with it, but if I tried it, it was my decision and if it's terrible, that's fine. At least I can say that I tried and I'm always for things where you don't want to look back on your career and wish you tried a racquet. That's so silly. That's definitely not something I would want to regret. Maybe Madi opened up the window for people to step out of their comfort zone a little more."

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