Jessica Pegula was being reminded of Taylor Fritz’s comments during her dominant win over Rebeka Masarova at the Italian Open.
Pegula beat Masarova 6-0, 6-0 to reach the fourth round of the Italian Open for the first time since it was expanded in 2023.
This is the first time Pegula has ever won a match by this scoreline on the WTA Tour, and she has not lost a single game in the last three sets she has played.
Despite her recent dominance, Pegula admitted that Fritz’s previous comments gave her an element of doubt during her latest win.
Jessica Pegula had Taylor Fritz’s comments about winning a set 6-0 in her head
Fritz is not even at the Italian Open this year, having not played a match on clay so far in 2026, but the world number seven is still having an impact.
Last year, Fritz revealed that he does not actually like winning a first set 6-0 as it enables your opponent to loosen up, while he would tighten up as you cannot do any better.
When asked about the psychology that goes into a ‘double bagel’, Pegula admitted that Fritz’s comments were in her head, but she was trying to twist them to turn to her favour.
“I was like, I lost the first set 6-0, I just always have in my head Taylor Fritz saying that it’s the kiss of death,” Pegula said in her post-match press conference.
“I was just informed that it’s only the kiss of death on the men’s tour and it doesn’t count if it’s three-out-of-five. Three-out-of-five, it’s good. I didn’t know that was a thing. But I was thinking about that literally because I’ve heard him say that so many times.”
She added, “You’re thinking for sure don’t get complacent. You know things can change really quickly. Sometimes the player frees up, took a bathroom break. Can’t get any worse. That’s why I think it’s a hard thing. It doesn’t happen, like, super often.”
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Pegula was then asked if she is still thinking about Fritz’s comments after going 6-0, 3-0 up in the second set.
“Yeah, but I think you’re always thinking the next game, get one more, get one more, don’t give her any chances,” Pegula responded.
“Again, I was down I think Love-40 one game in the second. Like, yeah, I probably could have just tried to go for a crazy shot and maybe lost the game. I think on the clay I just feel like with all the matches here, it seems like everything’s really up and down. People would leave. Breaks don’t mean as much anymore.
“It was more to me thinking like a clay court mentality, just don’t leave anything up for chance. You never know when you’re going to get a couple bad bounces, someone gets in the groove, you hit a double-fault, next thing you know the break’s back. I think I’ve seen a lot of those matches happening here, especially on the clay. Yeah, that’s usually what I’m thinking about: just keep getting one more.”
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Jessica Pegula says if she felt bad after beating Rebeka Masarova 6-0, 6-0
While it is a first for Pegula on the WTA Tour, it is not the first time that a player has won a match 6-0, 6-0, with Iga Swiatek beating Amanda Anisimova in the Wimbledon final by this exact scoreline last year.
Pegula was then asked if she ever felt bad for beating Masarova so dominantly, to which she admitted that she did not.
The American then revealed what Masarova told her at the net after the conclusion of their match.
“You don’t really feel bad. No, you’re trying to get the win,” said Pegula. “However it happens happens.
“She kind of smirked at me at the net and said, ‘Well, that was mean.’ I kind of like processed what she said. She kind of turned away. Chuckled. I think if you ask anybody on tour, they’re going to take that win.”
Pegula is bidding to overtake Coco Gauff as the world number four ahead of Roland Garros, and she will look to improve her chances against in-form qualifier Anastasia Potapova.
This will be a sixth meeting between the two players, and Pegula has every right to feel confident with a dominant 5-0 head-to-head.
