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  • "They came out with too much energy" - Jessica Pegula jokes about Buffalo Bills' Kaiir Elam, Dion Dawkins not knowing 'tennis etiquette' at Miami Open
Jessica Pegula meets Buffalo Bills star Kaiir Elam and Dion Dawkins at Miami Open.

"They came out with too much energy" - Jessica Pegula jokes about Buffalo Bills' Kaiir Elam, Dion Dawkins not knowing 'tennis etiquette' at Miami Open

Jessica Pegula had some famous fans in attendance during her first-round win at the Miami Open earlier this week. NFL stars Kaiir Elam and Dion Dawkins, who both play for the Buffalo Bills, Pegula's family-owned team, cheered her on from the stands. Pegula joked that they probably cheered a bit too energetically before realizing that wasn't how things work in tennis.

Elam and Dawkins were shooting for an NFL show somewhere near the Miami Open venue when they learned that Pegula was playing her first-round match against Katherine Sebov and attended the match to show their support for the American No. 1. Pegula met them after the match.

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Reflecting on the meeting after her second-round win against Danielle Collins on Saturday, Pegula made a hilarious assessment of Elam and Dawkins' first time out for a tennis match.

"That was really fun. It was their first-ever tennis match, so they didn't know how to cheer. They said they came out with a little too much energy before they realized the tennis etiquette," Jessica Pegula told Tennis Channel.

Later, Pegula urged the football stars to try their hands at tennis. While Dawkins wasn't quite sure about that, the trio decided to start with some doubles tennis.

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"I got to talk to them a little afterwards, told them I needed to get them on the court. Dion's a big boy, he was like I'm not sure my lateral movement is going to be great. We said we'll start with doubles, so we'll see if we can make that happen," Pegula added.

Pegula moved into the third round with a second consecutive straight-sets win, beating Collins 6-1, 7-6(0).

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"I like to still stick to my routines" - Jessica Pegula on staying at home during Miami Open campaign

Jessica Pegula competes during the 2023 Miami Open.

Jessica Pegula's house is just a half-hour drive from the Miami Open stadium and the American star has opted to stay at home during her Miami campaign as opposed to living in a nearby hotel. The 29-year-old feels doing so gives her a familiar routine, which she prefers. Living a normal life while competing in such a big event helps relieve Pegula of a lot of stress.

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"I like to still stick to my routines, whether that's how I drive here in the morning, what I'm doing when I wake up in the morning," Pegula said on the same, as per WTA.
"I think as long as I can get into a good routine, then that keeps me on track with everything and relieves stress for me. It helps me still feel like I'm being professional."

Pegula will face 20th seed Magda Linette - who beat Victoria Azarenka - in the next round. Her possible quarterfinal clash against doubles partner and good friend Coco Gauff was rendered impossible after 27th seed Anastasia Potapova stunned Gauff 6-7(8), 7-5, 6-2.

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Edited by
Aayush Majumdar
 
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