Cashmere Wrap: Jessica Pegula Defends her…

Skip to main content directly

It’s championship Monday at the National Bank Open presented by Rogers and after nine fantastic days of tennis, we’ve reached the finish line for the 2024 edition of Canada’s most prestigious tournament.

The last two women left standing for the finals were both from the United States as third seed Jessica Pegula and the returned-to-form Amanda Anisimova competed for the title.

After a back-and-forth three-setter, it was Pegula successfully repeating as champion in Canada with a 6-3, 2-6, 6-1 victory.

When the match began, it was Pegula who came out of the gates flying, breaking Anisimova right off the hop for a 1-0 lead. Anisimova seemed tentative and was no longer swinging freely do off both wings as she had throughout the tournament. The wind, which had been a challenge all week on Centre Court, continued to play a part and it was Anisimova whose shots seemed to be blown more off course.

Pegula would hold her serve easily for the duration of the opening frame and she secured it with a second break of serve to take the first set 6-3 after an Anisimova double fault.

The second set started with more pressure from Pegula who held and then had Anisimova on the ropes at love-40 in her first service game. Anisimova settled down and managed the crucial hold of serve. In the following game, Anisimova turned it up a notch and converted on her second break point against Pegula’s serve with a wicked forehand up the line to go up 2-1.

Suddenly, Anisimova’s shots were finding their mark. Later in the set, a Pegula double fault surrendered another break of serve and Anisimova went on to take the second set 6-2.

Read also: Anisimova Keeps Making Strides

As the third set started, Pegula served first for an easy hold and then quickly went up love-40 on Anisimova’s serve. The defending champion broke for an early 2-0 lead in the final frame and never looked back. Pegula was showing off her Top 10 talent and could sense that the finish line was fast approaching. She dropped just a single game in the final set to complete the title defence.

Pegula’s consistency between here and Montreal is quite something as she made the semifinals in 2021 and 2022 and has now won back-to-back in 2023 and 2024. She’s the first repeat champion in Canada since Martina Hingis accomplished the feat in 1999 and 2000.

Anisimova spoke first following the match and joked with the her opponent saying, “you’re playing amazing tennis, I never want to play you again!”

After thanking her team, tournament organizers, officials and the ball crew, Anisimova saved some kind words for herself at the end and said, “I don’t normally do this, but I’m proud of myself.”

After receiving the trophy on Centre Court, Pegula had kind words for Anisimova.

“I admire you as well for making the decision to step away from your career and take some time for yourself,” Pegula said. “I know that’s not easy but it’s your career and your life and you get to choose how to live it and so that’s really strong.”

Pegula’s speech also touched upon the importance of supporting women’s sporting events and certainly reinforces the guiding principle behind this year’s event of the National Bank Open showcasing the best of not just women’s tennis, but tennis period.

“It’s awesome to see that it’s such a heavily attended event for a women’s tournament as well in Canada,” Pegula shared with the crowd. “It’s such an honour to be a part of women’s sports right now and it’s truly so much fun and it’s amazing especially coming off the Olympics.”

Prior to the start of the finals, Tournament Director Karl Hale stopped by the media centre prior to the match to announce a record attendance total for the week of over 148,000 spectators.

Feature Photo: Peter Power