Tennis player Jessica Pegula accepted her underdog status against Ash Barty, saying that her opponent on Tuesday is the best at the moment.
Pegula faces the biggest test of her career when she goes up against the World No.1 in Barty. She is the favourite to take the Australian Open at her home ground, and has momentum on her side.
Barty reached the quarter-final against Pegula having steamrolled everyone in their path. She didn’t drop a single set throughout the draw as she blitzed to the last eight, and in that vein of form, she is the heavy betting favourite.
As a result, Pegula accepted her underdog status against Barty, saying her opponent was simply a force of nature.
“I feel like Ash is so tactical in everything she does,” she said, as quoted by the West Australian.
“Really a smart, like perfect kind of tennis player in that way.”
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Pegula’s coach David Witt agreed with her, saying that Barty is a multifaceted and world-class player, and just oozes class on the court.
“She has so many different weapons,” he said.
“The slice backhand. She’s just super smart on the court. Her serve is probably one of the most underrated, it’s really good.”
Witt also shed light on her all-round game, saying that she also gets into her opponents’ heads as much as she plays them off the park.
“Whether she has 10 aces or no aces, she moves it around unbelievably,” he said. “Her coming in, she has an all-purpose game where she can come in, volley, the slice. She’s very smart on the court on her shot selection.
“Ash tries to bait you into kind of going for shots maybe that you shouldn’t go for.”
Read more: Suarez Navarro recalls how exciting it was to play Barty at Wimbledon