There was truth behind the humility and self-effacing humor.
Jessica Pegula didn't believe it. Not in her heart.
But her confidence has grown over the past year — no, over the past few weeks.
The win advanced her to Saturday's U.S. Open final.
And she hopes — and is convinced — that it will lead to her first Grand Slam title.
“If you would have told me earlier this year that I would be in the U.S. Open final, I would have laughed my head off because I never thought I'd be here then,” admitted Pegula, who will face world number two Aryna Sabalenka.
Terry Pegula, the Buffalo Bills owner whose father is worth $7.7 billion, according to Forbes magazine, has been a top 20 player since 2021 but went 0-6 into Flushing in the Grand Slam quarterfinals.
But the seeds of her breakthrough victory over world number one Iga Swiatek were sown long before.
She stepped out of her comfort zone, changed coaches, reworked her body and improved her movement.
Improved myself.
“Once you start winning a lot of matches and you have confidence that you can win in tough situations and you can beat these girls, it gives you a lot of confidence going into these next few weeks,” said Pegula, 30. “I've been feeding off of that confidence. Learning through different experiences, winning tournaments and it just adds up.”
“When you do something, try it, practice it and then you can use it in a tournament, it gives you confidence and makes you think, 'I can be better, I can improve, I can hit these shots when it matters,' and it just adds up and it adds up really fast. … So, it's a good thing. Hopefully I can be an inspiration to other players who feel like they're stuck or not improving that there is always a way to get better.”
That open-mindedness and ambition also included parting ways with longtime coach David Witt after his second-round loss at the Australian Open and hiring Mark Knowles and Mark Marklein for his role at the San Diego Open in February.
There's no denying that my confidence has increased.
“Yeah, obviously she's grown a lot,” Knowles told The Post. “She's been one of the top players for the last few years and every player wants to make the leap to Grand Slam level. She's a very ambitious young woman and felt she has the tools to achieve it. But it takes another level of belief, and I think she's there. I think she's really gained that confidence this summer.”
“Her confidence has really grown and that was really evident throughout this tournament. She's had some tough draws and worked her way through some tough situations. She's exactly where she wants to be and has the belief that she can do it.”
After an early-season injury, Pegula worked hard on her conditioning, which has helped her improve her endurance and movement, and the results are showing in her stellar 15-1 record since the Paris Olympics.
“Even Jessica after Wimbledon said, 'I know what I'm playing well,' so you need that combination, and then you need the validation of the results,” Knowles said. “And then coming back on a different surface right after the Olympics and winning the tournament in Canada is exactly what she needed. … So when a player gets the validation and feels that what they're playing well, that combination creates confidence.”
The win in Toronto boosted Pegula's confidence, but so did her run to the final in Cincinnati. Her only loss since Paris came on Saturday, when she lost 6-3, 7-5 to her opponent.
“Yeah, it's a great challenge,” Knowles said. “It's a Grand Slam final. She's going to give it her all. And [the best]”Sabalenka is probably the top player in the world right now and she has to make the case that she's the one you want to beat. That's the ultimate challenge. She's very excited about it.”
And I'm confident about that.
