Jessica Pegula, the world’s richest tennis player, was left gutted by her Australian Open exit - admitting it "sucks".
The 28-year-old, was the highest seed left in the draw at Melbourne Park following shock exits for Iga Swiatek and Ons Jabeur. Tennis icon John McEnroe labelled his compatriot as the player to beat this past weekend, but she met her match in the form of Victoria Azarenka.
The determined veteran produced a fine performance akin to her title-winning campaign a decade ago to dispatch the American 6-4 6-1. Pegula has now lost her fifth consecutive Grand Slam quarter-final, her third in a row in Australia, and claimed the thought of overcoming that mental barrier did not impact her performance.
