Jessica Pegula advanced at the 2025 US Open with a hard-fought win over Victoria Azarenka, and afterwards she reflected on the challenge of facing a close friend, the pressures of competing in New York, and the toughness of life on the professional tour.

Pegula admitted that squaring off against Azarenka, a player she knows well and considers a friend, can be complicated. Next is Ann Li for a spot in the Quarter-Finals of the US Open as she goes one step closer to validating her run last year to the Quarter-Finals.

“It was a tough match,” Pegula said. “With Vika, I feel like sometimes you’re not sure—she can be so on. I felt like she was struggling a little bit physically there, but then she loosened up and started playing really well in the second. She served really well for a string of

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