”You Weren’t Rooting for Me”: Jessica Pegula Thanks Ons Jabeur for Bringing Tunisia Fans at National Bank Open 2021

World No.30 Jessica Pegula stormed into the semifinals of the 2021 Canadian Open. Pegula defeated No.13 seed Ons Jabeur of Tunisia in the quarterfinal, bageling her opponent in the third set.

Despite losing the first set 1-6, Pegula staged an incredible comeback to reach her first-ever semifinal in a WTA 1000 event. The American hammered five aces and won 68% of points of her first serve en route to the victory.

Jessica Pegula thanks Tunisian fans

During the on-court interview, Pegula thanked the Tunisian fans for lighting up the stadium. Even though the Tunisian fans were not supporting her, Pegula credited Jabeur for bringing the fans to the court.

“I want to shout out all the Tunisian fans, it’s really amazing you guys coming out. I know you weren’t rooting for me but what Ons has brought has been incredible. So it’s amazing to see her reaching people around the world and it’s amazing,” said Pegula.

The 27-year-old is having an impeccable season. She reached the quarterfinals of the Australian Open this year, which has been her best-ever result in a Grand Slam. In addition, Pegula achieved a career-high ranking of World No.25 after reaching the quarterfinals at the Berlin Open in June.

Up next, Pegula faces Italy’s Camila Giorgi for a place in the final of the Omnium Banque Nationale. Giorgi knocked out No.15 seed Coco Gauff in straight sets and has now defeated three top-25 ranked players this week.

In terms of the head-to-head record, Giorgi leads 3-1 in her rivalry against Pegula. However, they are 1-1 on hard courts. The last time that they played each other, Pegula won 6-2, 6-2 in the final in Washington back in 2019.

On the other side of the draw, Aryna Sabalenka takes on Karolina Pliskova in the first semifinal. The Belarusian leads the head-to-head 2-1 against Pliskova.

With just a handful of matches left, brace yourselves for some high-octane tennis!

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