"I don’t know, it’s so hard" - Andy Roddick assesses Jessica Pegula's chances of winning Cincinnati Open 2024 after Toronto heroics

Andy Roddick recently discussed fellow American Jessica Pegula's chances of triumphing at the 2024 Cincinnati Open following her win at the 2024 Canadian Open. She successfully defended her title in Toronto to secure her third WTA 1000 title and sixth WTA singles title.

Pegula was seeded third at the WTA 1000 hard court tournament where she defeated Karolina Pliskova, Ashlyn Krueger, Peyton Stearns, Diana Shnaider and finally Amanda Anisimova to win the title.

During a recent episode of the "Served with Andy Roddick" podcast, the retired tennis star gave his thoughts on Pegula's potential to achieve the Summer Slam, which involves winning the Canadian Open, the Cincinnati Open and the US Open in the same year.

The 41-year-old said that it would be difficult for Jessica Pegula to achieve the Summer Slam as the three tournaments played back-to-back take a huge toll on a player's body.

“Well she got a better opportunity than anyone else. I don’t know, it’s so hard. It is a little bit easier now than it used to be just because we used to not have byes. If she could win a couple of matches and since she is in Cincy, that’s great preparation for New York. I don't want to see her go and lose in the second round, but if she can put together two, three, four wins, that’s massive. Then you’re fighting your body and mental fatigue and all that," Andy Roddick said [at 17:17].

"But there’s enough recovery time between where you can stretch your body a little bit. You get a full week off before New York. The courts are going to be great for her. They are slippery, the balls get small, she hits through the court, she's going to get there and she’s going to like the conditions, I know that for sure," he added.

Roddick continued:

"But it’s a massively tough task to pull off that Canada, Cincy double bubble. It’s a huge ask. I don’t think that dictates how we view her going into the U.S. Open much. I love her preparation if she can pull off a couple more wins this week.”

Roddick also praised Pegula's 2024 Canadian Open title win over their compatriot Amanda Anisimova.

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Andy Roddick commends Jessica Pegula for Canadian Open 2024 title win

Jessica Pegula [Source: Getty]

In the aforementioned podcast, Andy Roddick said that Jessica Pegula started off great at the 2024 Canadian Open and played well throughout the final match despite getting a tough fight from Amanda Anisimova.

“Jess Pegula came in great, off to a fast start against [Amanda] Anisimova. Credit to Anisimova as she fights back. Then Pegula in the third set might have played the best set of her year so far this year. So, props to her. But Jess Pegula, props on a well-fought victory, needed, and hopefully continued success,” he said [at 09:36].

Pegula will next compete at the 2024 Cincinnati Open. She is seeded sixth in the tournament and will begin her campaign in the second round, having received a first-round bye. She will go up against Karolina Muchova or Dayana Yastremska in the opening round.