Jessica Pegula was able to put the heartache of her beloved Buffalo Bills losing in the NFL playoffs to one side as she defeated Russian Anastasia Zakharova 6-2, 6-1 in her first round Australian Open match.
Pegula, the sixth seed at the year’s opening Grand Slam, was very pleased with her performance.
“I thought I played really solid. Served really well.
“You know, kind of did exactly what I wanted to do.
“I felt like my game plan worked really well, and what I thought was going to happen, kind of happened.
“It’s always nice when you are kind of right about the strategy, and you are able to execute what you need to.
“It makes your life a lot easier, so I’m happy with today.”
‘Loss sucked’
The Bills’ 33-30 loss in overtime to the Denver Broncos was something that Jessica Pegula felt deeply.
“Yeah, yesterday sucked, not going to lie.
“I was not happy. Not a happy camper.
“Tough game. Tough loss. How we lost was also you know; it just was like a stab in the heart kind of situation.
“It just wasn’t fun.”
After each match at the Australian Open, the tradition is for the winner to sign the camera with a message or signature.
Pegula signed “It was a catch.”
She was referring to a controversial play towards the end of the Bills match against the Broncos whereby a ‘catch’ by a Bills wide receiver was ruled to have been a turnover rather than a fair catch.
Could hear what was going on
Jessica Pegula outlined what lengths she goes to at least listen to the Bills when they play key games.
“I was actually practicing during from 11:00 to 12:00, so actually I practiced with an earbud in and had the stream on my phone so I could just at least hear what was going on, because it was pretty much to the end right before we went into the overtime.
“Then the game pretty much ended. It was an important part of the game.”
Pegula stressed that she could compartmentalise these distressing moments to focus on her tennis.
“Yeah, I mean, it doesn’t affect me when I’m out there on court, but you do get, like, a little fired up, because you’re, like, upset about the loss, maybe some of the calls, how we played.
“Then you see the Broncos’ quarterback is out for the rest of the season for sure getting surgery, and you are, like, oh, my gosh, that could have been us.”
Father owns the Buffalo Bills
Jessica Pegula’s father, Terry, is the owner of the Buffalo Bills – along several other sports franchises – and is worth a reported $9.3 billion.
UPDATE: Pegula went on to beat fellow American McCartney Kessler 6-0, 6-2 in round two and Russian Oksana Selekhmeteva 6-3, 6-2 in her third round match.
Pegula will take on compatriot and ninth-seed Madison Keys in Round 4 on Monday.
Dave Marshall is reporting exclusively from the 2026 Australian Open in Melbourne for The South African.
