Jessica Pegula shares thoughts on Elina Svitolina and Caroline Wozniacki's comeback heroics

Jessica Pegula held off a spirited fight from Elina Svitolina to reach the fourth round of the US Open and she admitted that the Ukrainian is playing a different brand of tennis since returning to action following the birth of her first child.

Jessica Pegula media duties

Jessica Pegula held off a spirited fight from Elina Svitolina to reach the fourth round of the US Open and she admitted that the Ukrainian is playing a different brand of tennis since returning to action following the birth of her first child.

The pair met for the fourth time in their careers on Saturday and Pegula took her head-to-head advantage to 3-1 with a 6-4, 4-6, 6-2 victory over the former world No 3.

The ever-consistent American will face compatriot Madison Keys next as she looks to reach her seventh Grand Slam quarter-final in nine tournaments.

For Svitolina, it is the end of a brilliant 2023 major campaign that saw her reach the quarter-final of the French Open, the semi-final of Wimbledon and now the third round of the US Open.

An impressive feat for someone who only returned to action in April after giving birth to her first child in October last year.

Svitolina, though, is not the only mother on the comeback trail in women’s tennis as former world No 1 Caroline Wozniacki has reached the fourth round at Flushing Meadows – a mere month after she returned to action after three years in retirement.

Pegula was asked after her third-round win about how different Svitolina’s game is compared to in previous years and replied: “I feel like she’s playing probably a little bit more aggressive. Probably going after her forehand a little bit more.

“She’s still moving very well and still, I think, playing her game, though, at the same time, just being a little bit more aggressive at certain times.

“I don’t know. I feel like she’s kind of come back with a little bit of a reset. I felt like the last few times, maybe I played her before she had her baby, she seemed like a little run down, I feel like. So I think I don’t know, maybe her getting pregnant was, like, good timing for her to kind of go back and reset. I don’t know

“Sometimes that’s what you need, and that’s what players do, and I think we’ve seen that with Wozniaki and several other girls that have had a baby.

“It’s a nice reset, but definitely playing a little bit more aggressive, but I think at the same time, still her game. So it makes it very tough because you’re not really quite sure what to do as much maybe, as before.”

READ MORE: How Caroline Wozniacki overcame huge hurdles to return to the top

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