"Yesterday sucked, not going to lie, I was not happy" - Pegula overcomes NFL disappointment to flex her muscles on court in impressive display

Jessica Pegula managed to get over the heartbreaking NFL result to come on court to defeat Anastasia Zakharova 6-2, 6-1 in what was a very commanding victory in the first round of the Australian Open.

It was all too simple for the world number six in the early stages, who raced into a 5-1 lead. Four set points later, she was halfway to the second round. The second set had just one hold of serve, which went the way of Pegula to again head into a 5-1 lead. She wasted no time in getting the job done in just over an hour on court.

"I thought I played really solid today. I served really well and kind of did exactly what I wanted to do," she said in her press conference. "I felt like my game plan worked really well, and what I thought was going to happen kind of happened. So it’s always nice when you’re right about the strategy and you’re able to execute what you need to. It makes your life a lot easier. I’m happy with today."

Tennis players are forced to share the locker rooms with their fellow competitors. This can led itself to some awkward and tense moments. "It definitely can be tense — not in a bad way, but you come off the court and there are a lot of emotions," she stated. "You might be upset, they might be upset, or you see someone come off from a crazy match and they’re really upset."

Fortunately, all the players are aware of this. "It’s a weird dynamic and something that’s pretty special to tennis, that you can be changing right next to the person you just played, or lost to, or beat. I think we all have a good awareness and try not to get in each other’s way too much, but it can definitely be a little tense and awkward at times."

Pegula is always humble in victory, keeping her distance. If she knows someone, then she would exchange some words with them. "Yeah, I just try to stay in my lane. It depends if you know the person really well — then you can small talk and stuff like that, especially if you’re on the same schedule and right next to each other," she admitted. "It really depends on who it is and what your relationship is. I never try to go out of my way to make it a big deal. Sometimes when you have your mats, you just want to stay in your lane a little bit and keep to yourself."

While the best tennis players compete in Australia, the best American Football players are challenging for a spot in the Superbowl. This include the Buffalo Bills, who is owned by Pegula's parents, with her having veyr close ties to the team.

This made it very frustrating when they narrowly lost 33-30 to the Denver Broncos in overtime. "Yesterday sucked, not going to lie," she stated bluntly. "I was not happy — not a happy camper. Tough game, tough loss, and how we lost was just a stab-in-the-heart kind of situation. It just wasn’t fun."

While the match was ongoing, Pegula was practicing, so was forced to multi-task. "I was actually practicing during the game, from 11 to 12. I had an earbud in and had the stream on my phone so I could at least hear what was going on. It was pretty much going to the end, right before overtime, and then the game ended."

It was not her plan to play then, but an error from her coach forced her to miss the thrilling match. "I don’t know why my coach booked practice at that time — that was his fault — but it was the only time we could get a court," she remarked. "It doesn’t affect me once I’m out there on court, but you do get a little fired up. You’re upset about the loss, maybe some of the calls, how we played, then you hear the Broncos quarterback is out for the rest of the season getting surgery and you’re like, 'Oh my gosh, that could have been us.'"

At the end of the day, tennis was at the forefront of Pegula's mind and attention. "There are a lot of emotions, especially with my family when we’re texting and calling. But when it comes to match day, you forget about all that. I have other things to focus on."

Pegula will be taking to the court with a fellow American in the second round, this time against McCartney Kessler who picked up a solid win over Emiliana Arango earlier on today.

"It’s a really tough second round. I’m not quite sure how she’s not seeded — I think she just missed it," she said. "It’s tough playing another American and someone I’m playing doubles with here. There are a lot of dynamics. She’s a great girl, I know her team really well, her husband and her brother, and my coach actually used to coach her brother at the University of Florida, so there’s a little connection there."

It could be a complicated match for the 31-year-old, who needs to be fully concentrated at the task at hand. "It’s kind of a shame we have to play each other so early, but she’s a really good player, an unbelievable competitor, hits a big ball, and she’s really dangerous," Pegula praised. "I’ll have to use my experience and come up with a good game plan."

Their one clash came in the ATX Open final last year, in which Pegula showed her class and came out on top. "We played a tight two-set final in Austin last year, but it was super windy and kind of an ugly match. I felt like I won, but the conditions played a big role. We haven’t really played in true, neutral conditions yet, so it’ll be interesting to see how that goes."

As well as singles, Pegula boasts a very impressive doubles CV. She had reached a Grand Slam final and won three WTA 1000 titles from six finals reached. She had a very solid partnership with American number one Coco Gauff, but the duo in recent times have reverted to solely playing singles.

The former US Open finalist admitted that she does miss playing in this category. "I think so, a little bit more. I kind of miss playing — I like being in that competitive mindset. I’m not going to play as much as I did when Coco and I were playing singles and doubles every week, but when I’m feeling up to it, I want to play a bit."

It is always good to have a back-up plan if the singles do not go to plan. "I think it’s fun, I enjoy competing, and it made me a better tennis player," she explained. "Especially at longer events, two-week tournaments, it helps keep me mentally engaged. If singles doesn’t go well, the weeks can get really long. I’d much rather be practicing and working on things while also competing. So I think I’ll play a little bit more than last year, but we’ll see how it goes."

There is no confirmation on who she would play with, but she unveiled her plans to partner up in the Brisbane International with her future Australian Open opponent. "I’m not really sure. Since I’m not fully committed to it, I think I’ll just find people to sign with on site. McCartney and I wanted to play Brisbane and then here, but we didn’t get in at Brisbane. We’ll see how we play together here and maybe play more after that — I’m not sure yet."