Pegula needs time: "In the back of my mind I think 'yeah, whatever'."

Jessica Pegula had a crazy second half of the summer.

Winner in Toronto, then runner-up in Cincinnati, the 30-year-old American gave her all at Flushing Meadows, only to lose in the final.

Beaten by Sabalenka at the end of a very high-level match (7-5, 7-5), Pegula admitted she had trouble keeping a smile on her face at the press conference: "I'm annoyed to have lost.

Everyone is congratulating me and telling me what a great tournament I've had.

But in the back of my mind, I think: 'Yeah, whatever' (laughs).

I think once I've decompressed a bit, I'm sure I'll be a bit more grateful and see it all.

I should probably do that at some point.

Hopefully I'll have some time after that to relax and look back at what I've been able to do over the last month."