New York | Pegula made history when she upset Swiatek to reach her first Grand Slam semi-final.

Jessica Pegula made history Wednesday when she defeated World No 1 Iga Swiatek to advance into the Last 8 at US Open and reach the Last 8. “Today was about coming out playing my way and going for what I want,” Pegula explained after her win against Iga Swiatek. My plan was to draw on what I learned from our last encounter at Finals, play within myself and evaluate her. Right away I could tell that her serve was becoming difficult for her. Jessica Pegula enjoyed one of the crowning moments of her Grand Slam career on Arthur Ashe Stadium on New York, defeating Swiatek 6-2 6-4 for her maiden major semi-final at her home Grand Slam event. “Thank goodness I was able to do it, and finally become a semi-finalist!” she exclaimed in response to their achievement. To achieve such feat in primetime against one of the top ranked players is just incredible; yet knowing I could achieve such results was easy; all it required was for her to play her game properly on court and follow through. “Today I wanted to come out playing how I wanted,” Pegula noted. “My plan was to use what I learned from our finals matchup as guidance, playing within myself while keeping an eye on where she stood with serve frustrations. I could tell almost immediately.” Jessica Pegula of seed 6 persisted with her baseline dominance to achieve an emphatic victory against Iga Swiatek of seed 7. “I have come so close so many times before only to lose to great players or girls who went on to win the tournament!” she declared after winning on court. “Everyone was constantly asking what my plans were; all I knew how to do was try my hardest and win again; thank God I managed it; now, finally, I can say semi-finalist.” “On one hand,” Swiatek explained afterwards, “I told myself I could still play well from the baseline; after all, there have been tournaments where my serving wasn’t great but still managed to win anyway. Unfortunately though, this wasn’t quite enough a solution as my serve wasn’t effective enough in pushing through competition. As for my weaknesses from the start, my solidity wasn’t there either – too many errors contributed to me losing and it is my responsibility. “Swiatek’s long season has taken its toll, yet she earned her exhaustion by competing deep into all clay tournaments she entered during spring – winning three outright – before suffering through summer with only consolation coming from winning a Bronze medal at Paris Olympics despite her lost chance for Gold; though Swiatek says she plans on continuing playing past major event of 2018.” “My schedule could be easier, but I’m managing,” she replied, only referring to mandatory tournaments with rules attached that must be attended until November (unless an injury arises ). Jessica Pegula maintained control in her match against Iga Swiatek and will meet Karolina Muchova in Thursday’s US Open semi-final (Luke Hales/Getty Images). Pegula will face unseeded Czech Karolina Muchova for a place in the final. Muchova made history this year by reaching two consecutive US Open semifinals after recovering from surgery for wrist damage sustained last year at New York – she became part of this year’s semis with two consecutive appearances before losing to Pegula! (c Luke Hales/Getty Images). “She’s so gifted, talented and athletic – I absolutely admire how she just comes back out from injury and beats everyone!” Pegula raved of her next opponent. “She’s really good player who’s had extensive Slam tournament experience so it will take all my tennis talent for me to beat her!” Pegula defeated Muchova, playing her fourth major semi-final and bidding to reach her second major final, just last month at Cincinnati where the American won, 5-7 6-4 6-2. Iga Swiatek has had an inconsistent year but plans on competing at WTA 1000s leading into season ending WTA Finals(c) Luke Hales/Getty Images