"The best" - Victoria Azarenka reacts to Jessica Pegula bringing service dog to US Open press conference

Former World No. 1 Victoria Azarenka recently praised Jessica Pegula for bringing a service dog to the 2023 US Open press conference.

Pegula had a delightful companion alongside her, a service dog named Ace, during the US Open "Stars of the Open" exhibition match. Pegula entered the Louis Armstrong Stadium with Ace, and the video of the moment quickly went viral on social media.

Pegula herself shared the video later and expressed her delight at being a part of Ace's training.

"12/10 a very good girl. Happy to be a part of Ace’s training and journey before she finds a veteran to call home," she wrote on X (formerly Twitter).

Ace also paid Jessica Pegula a visit during media day. The American, who recently said goodbye to her own dog Dexter, is funding Ace's training so that she can one day work with "veterans suffering from PTSD, traumatic brain injury, and/or military sexual trauma."

In light of this, two-time Grand Slam champion Victoria Azarenka expressed her admiration for Pegula. The Belarusian wrote on her Instagram stories:

"The best (adding a dog emoji), @jpegula."

Victoria Azarenka via Instagram stories.

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"I don't feel like any more confident than other times" - Jessica Pegula ahead of US Open 2023

Jessica Pegula pictured at the US Open 2022.

Jessica Pegula is in good shape heading into the 2023 US Open. The American won the Canadian Open in Montreal, which included a quarterfinal victory over Cincinnati champion Coco Gauff and a semifinal win over Iga Swiatek.

Pegula is 25-7 on hard courts this season, and has a 249-139 career record on the surface overall. She is at ease in New York City, having reached the event's quarterfinals last season, where she pushed eventual champion Swiatek.

However, the 29-year-old said during a recent press conference that she wasn't feeling too confident because after winning Montreal she lost early in Cincinnati, even suffering a bagel in the process.

"I don't feel like any more confident than other times, to be honest. Again, tennis is so week to week. I won Montreal, then I got bageled and lost in Cincinnati. You're kind of like back to square one, here we go again, what did I do wrong, what do I need to fix, what do I need to work on," Pegula said.

That said, Jessica Pegula is eager to tackle new challenges and improve various aspects of her game.

"I don't necessarily feel the most confident. Not least confident, but I just feel kind of typical, like I usually do. I go into it looking at it as a new week, new challenges, new things to try to improve on, new ways to try to problem solve. That's always how it's been for me," the American said.