Jessica Pegula is effortlessly making reparations for her disconcerting Paris Olympics campaign. Although the US women’s team could not take to the Olympic podium, at least now we’ll get to witness a nerve-racking All-American showdown. Pegula has stormed the Canadian Open with a string of impressive performances. Now, she is set up for an ultimate title clash with countrywoman Amanda Anisimova. But, how is she looking to approach that? Well, the talented pro hopes to garner support from her father’s prized possession for that matter!

The 30-year-old is aiming for a successful title defense in Toronto. After making a strong start to her campaign, she swiftly moved past the challenges from Karolina Pliskova and Ashlyn Krueger without breaking a sweat. In the event’s quarterfinals, the American registered a comeback victory against compatriot Peyton Stearns and concluded the contest 6-4, 7-5. Following her semifinal triumph over Russian rising talent Diana Shnaider, the No. 6 seed touched down on why she will be a crowd favorite during her summit clash.

In a post-match presser, Pegula highlighted that there is a good chance that spectators will chant “Go Bills” in her support. Further, she acknowledged that amassing support from fans outside of her home country will be high-key fun for her witness. For the unversed, the World No. 6’s parents, Terry and Kima, are the multi-millionaire owners of the NFL and NHL teams – Buffalo Bills and Buffalo Sabres, respectively. Notably, several enthusiasts root for Pegula because her hometown Buffalo, which is just approx 160 km from Toronto.

During the post-match conference, the American was asked the following: “It’s obviously an All-American final. Do you feel like you’ll have the crowd on your side being from Buffalo, which is kind of close to here?” Responding to which she said, “I’m sure there will be some “Go Bills” people yelling, there always is, especially here. So, yeah, I think maybe I’ll be a little bit of the home crowd favorite, which will be fun considering I’m not exactly from here, but I’m very close. So it’s cool to get that support in a different country.”

While the No. 3 seed is excited ahead of her upcoming All-American duel, she isn’t much pleased about the overall drop of play at the Toronto event.

Pegula asserts a “weird” drop in overall level of Canadian Open this year

Most fans think Pegula is more the merrier with her latest adventure at the hardcourt event. However, that isn’t the case. At least not entirely. Compared to last year, the American has expressed her views on the perceived drop in the player’s performance at the event.

While talking to the reporters, the 30-year-old asserted that owing to disruptive weather conditions and the return of lighter tennis balls, the Canadian Open has had many “ugly matches” this season. She said,

“I was playing better last year, but to be fair, it seems weird this week. I don’t feel like anyone’s playing like great tennis, it’s been kind of ugly matches. We’re back to the lighter balls, which are flying a little bit more on us, and then the last couple days the conditions have just been really tough.”

The former World No. 3 will square off against Anisimova in the title clash on Tuesday, August 13. It is worth noting that the duo has previously locked horns on the Tour, with Pegula emerging victorious in both encounters. Meaning, she will likely hold an edge over the young talent alongside being the “crowd favorite”.