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Jessica Pegula was not able to control her laughter after 'Cotton Eye Joe' started playing following the American's Canadian Open triumph in Montreal on Sunday, August 13.
Pegula crushed Liudmila Samsonova 6-1, 6-0 in the summit clash of the WTA 1000 tournament. The American sent down five aces against her tiring opponent who committed six double faults playing her second match only two hours after downing Elena Rybakina in the semifinal -- meant to be played on Saturday but was postponed due to rain.
Pegula played some of her best tennis during the week as she downed World No. 1 Iga Swiatek and Citi Open champion Coco Gauff on her way to the final. Her crowning moment in Montreal on Sunday turned a little more special after the DJ played 'Cotton Eye Joe' again.
Pegula can be seen (in the video below) laughing as she waves to the spectators after winning the match.
It wasn't the first time the song was played in Pegula's presence on the court. During her semifinal encounter against Swiatek, the DJ mistakenly cued the song during a rally in the second-set tiebreak.
Jessica Pegula was on course to secure the match after winning the opening set and leading 4-3 in the tiebreak. But after the interruption, Swiatek turned things around to take the second set and delay Pegula's victory.
Pegula was later asked if the pause caused her to falter, and she replied:
"I just thought it was funny. I've never had that happen, let alone with "Cotton-Eyed Joe." I was, like, is this really happening right now? Of all the songs. It was just, like, what is going on?"
"Yeah, it was a bummer because I hit a really good lob, and she barely got it, and I had a really good play on the ball, and she was kind of out of position from the lob that I hit."
Jessica Pegula becomes the first American to win Canadian Open after Serena Williams in 2013
Jessica Pegula became the first American to win the Canadian Open since Serena Williams did so 10 years ago. In 2013, Williams defeated Samantha Stosur 6-4, 6-2 in the final.
After her triumph, Jessica Pegula reflected on her performance during the week.
"Beating Coco and beating Iga were two really tough wins back-to-back. And being able to do that and then just come out today and play a really clean match was kind of great," she said. "I felt like I didn't have a ton of pressure at any point or I wasn't worried too much today."
She added:
"Even when you're winning a lot of matches, you're still not winning tournaments, so it can get tough. Winning a week like this week makes it all worth it and makes you want to keep going for more."
