Pegula Reflects on French Open Exit After Watching Sinner's Collapse Against Alcaraz

Jessica Pegula says that Jannik Sinner's brutal defeat to Carlos Alcaraz at Roland Garros relieved her a bit from the disappointment of her own early dismissal. Seeing Sinner squander a two-set advantage and lose despite having three championship points earned her some needed perspective after losing to world No. 361 Lois Boisson in the fourth round.

From the start, it was Alcaraz who was struggling against Sinner. The latter was up two sets and held three championship points when Alcaraz came back in an epic five-set battle. For Pegula, the comeback brought an unlikely consolation.

A Painful Loss and a Surprising Source of Motivation

Pegula Reflects on French Open Exit After Watching Sinner's Collapse

Pegula, who lost to world No. 361 Lois Boisson in a disappointing Round of 16, said she was frustrated and drained of emotion by the upset. But as she sat through the five-hour Sinner-Alcaraz showdown, her mood changed.

"I was at home, and I didn't really turn it on until somewhere in between the five-and-a-half-hours," Pegula said via TalkSport. "I turned it on and obviously I thought Jannik was gonna win, and then it just flipped."

The US tennis sensation continued that the next sequence went crazier when Carlos saved match points and came back stronger. For Pegula, Sinner's loss is obviously "a million times worse" than her recent loss.

Sinner and Pegula Both Target Revenge at Wimbledon

Both Sinner and Pegula suffered emotional losses in Paris. Pegula's loss was to a home-country underdog. She won the first set 6-3, but couldn't keep the pressure on Boisson, who came back with the aid of the French crowd to win the second and third sets 6-4, 6-4.

While Sinner, in search of his second Grand Slam title following his victories at the Australian Open and US Open, lost a possible championship in one of the greatest finals in recent history.

The setbacks notwithstanding, both players look to come back at Wimbledon with a renewed sense of focus. Pegula comes to London as one of the tournament's highest seeds, looking to put behind her premature clay-court exit.

Pegula on Wimbledon Grass Surface Challenges

Going into Wimbledon, Pegula recognized the special challenge grass courts offer. The tennis star said that the sport is a "tricky surface" where everyone can witness the strange momentum swings.

She also noted the structural differences between the men's and women's formats."The men have three out of five [sets], so maybe you don't see that because there's a wider span of someone having to play really well to beat a top player, but for the women it's only two out of three."

Meanwhile, YardBarker reports that Sinner was surprised upon knowing that Emma Navaro would be his mixed doubles partner. He said that they had never talked before, which is actually a funny story to begin with.