Jessica Pegula has been praised for her consistent tennis after defeating Ashlyn Krueger in the Round of 16 at the Hana Bank Korea Open.
Pegula is the top seed at the WTA 250 tournament and she got her campaign off to a good start against Viktoria Hruncakova, whom she defeated in straight sets, 6-2, 6-4.
The American then faced her compatriot Krueger, ranked at World No. 80, and flew through the match with a score of 6-3, 6-1. This marked the World No. 4's fiftieth win of the season and means that she will progress to her 13th quarter-final.
Although Pegula faced disappointment at the China Open in Beijing last week, where she lost her Round of 16 match against Jelena Ostapenko, the 29-year-old made it to the final of the Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo the week beforehand.
At the WTA 500 event, she defeated the likes of Daria Kasatkina and Maria Sakkari before finishing as runner-up against Veronika Kudermetova. Back in August, Pegula won her second WTA 1000 title at the Canadian Open in Montreal after ousting Coco Gauff and Iga Swiatek prior to a clash with Liudmila Samsonova in the final.
She also reached the quarter-final of Wimbledon, where she lost to eventual champion Marketa Vondrousova. This was after she made the quarter-final of the Australian Open in January, where her run ended against Victoria Azarenka.
Pegula has also qualified for the WTA Finals, which will be held in Cancun, Mexico, from October 29 - November 5. She will play both singles and doubles there, along with her doubles partner Gauff who has also qualified in both disciplines.
After her recent win against Krueger, fans have praised her steadiness and work ethic.
"Jess has been playing arguably the steadiest tennis of anyone all year. No fatigue. No burnout. She’s an absolute work horse, but it’s clear she loves what she does," wrote The Tennis Letter on X.
Pegula d. Krueger 6-3 6-1 in Seoul Jess has been playing arguably the steadiest tennis of anyone all year. No fatigue. No burnout. She’s an absolute work horse, but it’s clear she loves what she does. ✅50th win of 2023 ✅13th QF of 2023 Can’t stop. Won’t stop. 🇺🇸❤️
