Jessica Pegula refused to be negative after easily losing to Iga Swiatek in the Dona final as she noted that she “can still be very proud” of her campaign in Qatar. Pegula, who was the second-seeded player in Doha, didn’t stand much of a chance against Swiatek in the final as the top-seeded Pole dismantled the American 6-3 6-0.
En route to reaching the Doha final, Pegula faced three top-15 players – Jelena Ostapenko, Beatriz Haddad Mai and Maria Sakkari. Pegula didn’t manage to beat top-seeded Swiatek but it was definitely a strong run. Also, Pegula won the Doha doubles event with Cori Gauff.
“I came up a little bit short today, but I can still be very proud of what I’ve done,” Pegula said after the final, per Tennis Majors.
Trophy ceremony in Doha: @JLPegula : “I came up a little bit short today, but I can still be very proud of what I’ve done.”#QatarTennis — Tennis Majors (@Tennis_Majors) February 18, 2023
Pegula made two finals in Doha
Pegula enjoyed a very deep and successful week in Doha.
Last year, Pegula and Gauff lifted their first title as a duo in Doha. On Saturday, Pegula and Gauff defeated Ostapenko and Lyudymila Kichenok in the Doha doubles final 6-4 2-6 10-7. “Yeah, it’s been an amazing week for me.
I had a really tough hard-fought win earlier but honestly, kind of forgot about it. It seems like so long ago. I’m just really happy we were able to win the match today,” Pegula said after the doubles final. Meanwhile, Pegula won’t have much time to rest as she is now set to compete in Dubai.
In Dubai, Pegula is the third-seeded player and has a first-round bye. After a first-round bye, Pegula will play against the winner of the match between Kaia Kanepi and a qualifier. Pegula, 28, is set to make her third Dubai appearance.
In her Dubai debut in 2021, Pegula reached the quarterfinal before losing to Elise Mertens. Last year, Pegula was beaten by Ons Jabeur in the Dubai round-of-16. It remains to be seen how far can Pegula go in Dubai this year.
