Jessica Pegula described Sorona Cirstea as an ‘utmost professional’ following their clash in the fourth round of the US Open in what is set to be the last Grand Slam match the Romanian plays before retiring.
The third seed moved into the quarter-finals with a 6-3, 6-4 win over the 36-year-old, who has previously said she will finish her career at the end of this season. Pegula’s victory is her 49th of the season and the 33rd on a hardcourt since January, which are both more than any other player on the WTA Tour. It is the fifth time she has reached the quarter-finals of a major event.
Following their 90-minute clash on Sunday evening, the two had a lengthy conversation at the net with Pegula praising Cirstea’s recent surge in form on the Tour. Cirstea is currently ranked 17th in the world.
“I just told her, I don’t know if you’re still going to play next year, but you’re playing great. I just said I have a lot of respect for you,” Pegula said of their conversation.
“I always think that she’s just kind of the utmost professional and has always been super nice. She’s a few years older than me, but I feel like I’ve known her on tour for so long.”
Cirstea, who made her US Open main draw debut in 2008, won the Transylvania Open in February and defeated a No. 1 player for the first time (Aryna Sabalenka) at the Italian Open in May. Shortly after this, she became the oldest woman to make her top-20 debut in WTA rankings history.
“I always liked the way she’s kind of carried herself, gone about her business,” Pegula continued.
“I think she’s just had a really nice perspective as far as the interviews she’s given, especially this year, and why she’s playing so well and at a different point in her career and what she’s said about that.
“I always like listening to that side of it, and I think what she says is great and kind of more I can relate to as a player, having a good perspective and enjoying it and enjoying competing and doing what you love.”
At the US Open, Pegula is bidding to win her first Grand Slam title. Should she do so, the American could become No.1 for the first time as long as Elena Rybakina loses before the semi-finals.
In the last eight, she will take on compatriot Emma Navarro, who defeated Anna Kalinskaya 6-4, 6-2. The upcoming match will be the first all-American women’s singles quarterfinal at the US Open since 2015, when Serena Williams defeated Venus Williams.
