I wanted to prove that I'm No. 1": Pegula proud of having propelled the United States to the BJK Cup final

Between nighttime doubts and morning determination, Jessica Pegula shared her mindset before sealing the American victory in the BJK Cup semifinal. Eight years later, the USA will taste the final once again.

For the first time since 2017, the United States will compete in the BJK Cup final. Led by their captain Lindsay Davenport, Navarro and Pegula lived up to expectations against Great Britain on Saturday, avoiding a decisive doubles match as had been the case against Kazakhstan.

Pegula, world No. 7, mentioned in a press conference her pride in having fulfilled her status as the group's leader:

"I really didn’t want it to come down to doubles. Especially after Kazakhstan, I wanted to prove that I'm the team's No. 1 for a good reason and finish the match. So I'm happy I could turn the situation around.

Last night, I was in bed and the Italy-Ukraine semifinal was still playing. I told myself I didn't want to be in that position the next day. Emma's victory took a lot of pressure off me.

But I wanted to be in a position to close the match and avoid doubles. We're going to have a bit more rest for tomorrow. After these two tough matches, that's really going to help us.