Clutching the vibrant crystal trophy late Sunday afternoon, Jessica Pegula ran through the usual on-court thank-yous -- to Credit One Charleston Open owner, Ben Navarro, tournament director Bob Moran, the ball kids, the enthusiastic crowd.

And then she paused and shifted into a heartfelt reminiscence.

“I grew up in Hilton Head, South Carolina, going to Smith Stearns Tennis Academy,” Pegula said, voice cracking, tears appearing at the corners of her eyes. “I learned how to play tennis there on the clay, where the old Family Circle Cup used to be … then spent a couple of years training here on Daniel Island in my early 20s.

“To be able to come here this week after a long two weeks in Miami and take the title is just incredible.”

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Indeed it was. In a transcendent, triumphant circular journey, the top-seeded Pegula won the first clay-court title of her career at the age of 31.

The 6-3, 7-5 win over Sofia Kenin was the final flourish in a breathtaking (literally) flurry by Pegula.

Pegula was serving, down 5-1 and on vapors after a taxing three weeks. Kenin worked her for three set points, but Pegula eventually escaped with the game. That was the turning point, because Pegula won the last six games and the final 10 points of the match.

Back on March 21, Pegula won her first match in Miami. She made it all the way to the final, losing to World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka but stayed committed to playing what she considers her hometown tournament. The victory over Kenin was her 10th in 11 matches -- in a span of only 17 days.

And so, Pegula finds herself the highest-ranked American, at No. 3, trading spots with Coco Gauff. And her 25 match-wins this year are two more than any other woman.

“Honestly, I always play well in Miami,” Pegula said. “I told myself, `You can play well here. You like the conditions here. Why not try and win the tournament?’

“I’m just happy because I have a lot of points coming up on the summer swing. So I’m glad that I was able to make up some ground early in the year. It takes a little pressure off.”

Pegula was around seven years old when she first started at Smith Stearns and spent more than five years there before moving to Florida.

“I always felt like that was where I learned to play tennis,” Pegula said. “The technicality of my strokes, which I feel like are a big advantage now that I look back. Everyone always praises me on my technique and my strokes a lot. Billy Stearns was able to instill that in me at a very young age. To teach me my strokes was very important. That is something that’s really cool when I look back to the first couple of days of learning to play tennis.

“That’s where I grew up a little bit. It was such a fun time in my childhood and living in Hilton Head and being in the Low Country and playing a lot of tennis. That’s where I learned to play, so it’s really cool to come back to Charleston and be able to take home the title.”

Afterward, Pegula fielded a few questions from wtatennis.com:

Second set, down 5-1, facing 3 set points … your thoughts?

Pegula: I think at that point I was thinking just to try and hold, try to get a little momentum going into the third. Hadn’t held the entire second set, didn’t want to get broken going into the third set. It was just stop the bleeding a little bit. That game in hindsight was a massive game. I think that kind of shifted the momentum.

Growing up in Hilton Head, what did you learn from Hall of Fame and two-time Grand Slam singles champion Stan Smith?

Pegula: Stan would always do a lot of serving stuff. Focusing on the toss, a lot of that technique stuff. My serve is something I’ve worked on a lot over the last couple of years. It’s really cool … he’s also a fellow Adidas guy, so we’ve gotten to shoot some cool Adidas stuff together. Him and Billy [Stearns] always text me after every match and every week and are always in touch. Stan texted me even yesterday and was like, `I watched your match and your perseverance is terrific.’ He always says something nice, and I think that’s really, really cool that he still is following my career. I tend to see him a lot, especially at the Grand Slams when he comes in for the second week. It’s cool to keep that relationship.

You won 10 of 11 matches in a span of 17 days? Did you surprise yourself?

Pegula: A little bit. But I think that the fact I did so well at the end of last year had given me that confidence to be able to go on long streaks. I remember coming off Toronto, going into Cincinnati and the US Open I was like, `You know what? I can win these matches over two, three weeks and have a good record. I can be match-tough, and I can handle these situations if it’s a different environment, different court, different conditions.’ I think I was able to carry that into this week

You’re scheduled to play the Billie Jean King Cup in Bratislava, Slovakia -- on Friday. Are you going to go and what are you looking forward to the most the next few days?

Pegula: As of right now, yes, I’m planning to go. Looking forward to having dinner with some of my friends tonight who are in Charleston. Sleeping tomorrow and then flying Tuesday to Slovakia, which is going to be tough. Honestly, I love team sports, and I’m going into the next few weeks not too seriously. Maybe take a breather, try to have fun with the team, try to get the win but not going to take a coach to BJK or Stuttgart, probably. Try to have a little bit of a more relaxed couple of weeks. I want to win and play some good tennis, enjoying it a little bit more.