Fast start, dominant serve fuel Pegula's first two-set win over Kalinskaya

At the Mubadala DC Open on Friday, Jessica Pegula and Anna Kalinskaya skipped the three-set drama for the first time in their rivalry. 

On paper, a 6-3, 7-5 quarterfinal victory -- Pegula's sixth in seven career matches against Kalinskaya -- looked like the American's most comfortable in the head-to-head yet. It never felt that way to her.

"It's always like I'm so on edge when I'm playing her, especially at the end," Pegula said. "She hit a couple winners. I missed just like one or two balls and all of a sudden ... it's 5-all and this could swing totally the other way, which has happened in the past both ways for us. So, it felt like it was straightforward, but at the same time, in my mind, it didn't feel like it."

Part of Pegula's routine afternoon came as a result of a strong serving performance. She did not face a break point until serving for the match at 6-3, 5-4, and served six aces overall. Despite failing to serve out the match at her first chance, she won 80% of her first-serve points and 64% of her second-serve points on an otherwise impressive day at the line.

Pegula said that performance reflected a focus she's shared with coaches Mark Knowles and Mark Merklein over the past two years.

"I think I'm just finding more confidence in matches, hitting different spots [on serve]," Pegula said of her starting shot. "I think I'm able to problem-solve maybe when my serve's not feeling 100%, or maybe my rhythm is a little bit off, and I think I've gotten good at trusting my second serve. I've always had a really consistent second serve. I never am afraid to double fault, and even if I do, it doesn't really get in my head.

"So we kind of use that as an advantage where my coaches were like, 'Go after your second serve, then it doesn't seem to bother you, then try and make that a little bit bigger. Try to move your spots around on your second serve a little bit more, and be a bit more brave in that area.' I think someone like Anna, who's a really good returner, you have to do that, so that was I was focusing on that a lot today."

The win puts Pegula, the 2019 champion in Washington, back into the tournament's semifinals for a third time. Reflecting on her breakthrough effort seven years ago, which was her first pro level single in her eighth final at any level, Pegula said the win reshaped her expectations for what she could accomplish -- a mindset she still carries with her as a Top 5 player.

"It was just kind of a relief, you know, when something is always kind of hanging over your head to get that first title," she said. "I think it gave me a lot of confidence. I think whenever you accomplish something that seems really far away or really hard, you realize it's not as hard as you think it is, and all of a sudden it becomes maybe a little bit easier than before just because mentally you know how to get there, you know what you have to do, you know how to control your emotions and stuff like that.

"I think being able to do it here, I was beating people that were ranked higher than me I think to win the title, it just gave me a lot of confidence. I think I was able to really stack that confidence and keep using it as a springboard to do well, because I didn't want that to be my only one. I didn't want to be like a one-and-done type of deal. It just gave me confidence really."