Pegula heaps 'respect' on Cirstea after US Open Round of 16 win

One word was on Jessica Pegula's mind after beating Sorana Cirstea in the Round of 16 of the US Open: respect. 

Facing the 36-year-old No. 16 seed for the second time in the last 18 days, Pegula was a 6-3, 6-4 winner to reach her fourth US Open quarterfinal in the last five years. But she was quick to praise Cirstea after what was ostensibly the final Grand Slam match of the latter's career.

On Cirstea, who plans to retire at season's end, Pegula said "I think she's such a great competitor and the utmost professional."

"I know it seemed somewhat straightforward, but that was a battle," she added. "It was definitely really intense."

The level picked up considerably inside Louis Armstrong Stadium after Pegula won the first 13 points of the match. In their last meeting, on Aug. 19 at the Cincinnati Open, Pegula was up a set and a break before needed to grind through a 6-2, 4-6, 7-5 win -- and she avoided a similar fate on Sunday despite 11 combined breaks of serve by the two players. 

After leading 3-0 to start the match, Pegula held from 0-40 in the sixth game to keep her lead, and needed five set points to take the set. Later in set two, she won four of the first five games -- but held off Cirstea down the stretch. The Romanian saved four break points to hold to trail 4-2, and the match was decided by four straight breaks. 

Pegula later said that if she was the one to close the curtain on Cirstea's efforts on the major stage, she wanted to make sure that the Romanian knew how much she admired not only the way she competed.

"I just told her, I don't know if you're still going to play next year, but you're playing great," she said. 

"I just always like the way she's kind of carried herself, gone about her business," Pegula continued. "I think she's just had a really nice perspective as far as the interviews she's given, especially this year, and why she's playing so well and at a different point in her career and what she's said about that.

"I just kind of always like listening to that side of it, and I think what she says is great and kind of more I can relate to as a player, having a good perspective and enjoying it and enjoying competing and doing what you love."

In the final eight, Pegula will face either No. 21 seed Anna Kalinskaya or fellow American and No. 26 seed Emma Navarro.

More to come...