Coco Gauff needed two hours and 40 minutes to beat Jessica Pegula 6-4 6-7(5) 6-2 in their first round-robin match at the WTA Finals, a win that left her shoes “torn up.”
The 22-year-old, seeded fourth, battled back from 1-5 down in the second set, winning five games in a row, but could not convert a match point at 6-5 and lost the tiebreak. She then secured the decider to take the win.
Pegula's first match after hot mic incident
The match was Pegula’s first following an incident in which a hot mic captured her criticising Mirra Andreeva’s behaviour. The pair had practised together, and Andreeva became frustrated despite winning four games in a row. After she left, the world No. 5 branded the French Open champion a “diva” who “needs to be humbled.”
Pegula added: “It’s so funny how you see her and then you see Coco’s mentality. If she had Coco’s mentality, she’d be better than her.”
The WTA has since apologised and taken full responsibility for failing to inform the players and their teams that the microphones on the practice courts were being livestreamed. Pegula has also privately apologised to those involved. Andreeva poked fun at the fiasco as she shared a photo of herself with the American at the WTA Finals and wrote: “DIVAS”.
Gauff confirms apology and looks ahead
Gauff confirmed that Pegula apologised for her hot mic comments before Gauff even had a chance to hear what was said. “Before I even saw the video, she came and apologised immediately,” she told Christian’s Court. “Honestly, I didn't even really take it [badly]. Maybe the other person in the situation got a lot more of it. But they both, even her coach apologised to me. I’m a competitor, I’m always going to compete regardless of what’s happening off the court. But I know her heart, and it's all good. I don't feel any type [of way]. We're cool.”
“Jess is an incredible player. We always go back and forth,” she said after securing a gritty three-set win. “I was having a lot of fun today. I had a match point in the second and I didn't get too down on myself. I think today, the key was just trying to be aggressive, but I also had to run a lot. My shoes are pretty torn up now. Some of my shoes are somewhere on the court there. So I'll have to change shoes tomorrow.”
Pegula, 32, could not get a win on the board during her first group stage match. She will now face Marta Kostyuk, who came in as an alternate to replace world No. 1 Elena Rybakina, and lost her first match to Linda Noskova. Gauff next takes on Noskova.
Pegula reflects on second-set effort
Although Pegula survived her second-set wobble to win in a tiebreak, she admitted that it took it out of her going into the decider. “To get me to work to win that set 7-6 instead of 6-1 or 6-2 or 6-3 even definitely didn't bode well for me going to the third because I just used a massive amount of energy,” she explained. “It took like another hour for me to win the second set when it could've been done in one game. That's what she does. That's what she's the best in the world at, I think. She makes you compete and win no matter what, and I thought she reset well going back into the third knowing she had chances. I think I saved one match point. It didn't do well for me having to tough out that second set as hard as I did.”
