Tennis 2023: United Cup winner Jess Pegula backs Ajla Tomljanovic to star

World No.5 Jessica Pegula hopes to use the upcoming United Cup as a springboard to win her first grand slam title in Melbourne.

The USA star is looking forward to a showdown with Aussie ace Ajla Tomljanovic, who is fresh from a breakthrough win last month after her 2023 campaign was derailed by injuries.

Tomljanovic rose to a career-high 32 in the rankings at the start of the year on the back of quarter-final finishes at Wimbledon and the US Open, but a knee injury ruled her out of the United Cup and then the Australian Open.

She tumbled down the rankings but made a successful return at the US Open, with Tomljanovic claiming her first singles title in Brazil last month in a positive sign ahead of the Australian summer.

She will spearhead Australia at the United Cup alongside Alex de Minaur in a brutal group that features the US and Great Britain, and Pegula is expecting a tough match in Perth based on Tomljanovic’s form before she got hurt.

“It’s great to see her back and it’s awesome to see her win a tournament at the end of the year,” the American star said.

“She was playing some great tennis before she got injured, and I know what that’s like because it’s always really tough to come back.

“She’s someone that can be at the top of the game and can be really dangerous no matter what.

“I know her game pretty well, and I think we’re actually going to be practising together tomorrow, so I’ll try to pick up some tips for when we play each other.

“She’s always tough, she’s a great ball striker and a great athlete, and I’m sure she’s going to be feeling fresh after having some time off, even though it’s not how she wanted to take time off.

“We know she can beat top players, so it’s going to be really tricky.”

While Aussie fans are hoping to see Tomljanovic dominate at her home grand slam, they won’t get to see Nick Kyrgios after the enigmatic star pulled out of the Australian Open for the second year in a row.

The gifted big hitter has played just one match this year, with fears he will never realise his full potential.

“I always love watching Nick’s matches, regardless of what’s going on around him,” Pegula said.

“I truly love watching him play because I think he’s a really smart player and obviously super talented and always entertaining to watch, so it’s kind of sad.

“I feel like he would really thrive in that atmosphere, so for him to miss the last two years of the United Cup is a bummer for you guys.

“It’s always sad to see someone unable to play because they’re not healthy. That’s never great when it’s not on your terms.

“He can be at the top of the game very easily with how much talent he has, so it’s sad to see him not playing, especially given how well he was playing before he got hurt.”

Pegula has bigger things to worry about right now with the United Cup beginning in Sydney and Perth on December 29, with team USA looking to defend its title.

She will team up with Taylor Fritz for the tournament before she heads to Adelaide and then Melbourne, where she’s looking to build on three-straight quarter-final appearances at the Australian Open.

“I definitely like the conditions Down Under and I think it suits my game really well,” she said.

“It starts all over again with round 1, so we’ll see how that goes.

“The goal is definitely to go further than last year.

“It was probably one of the most fun weeks we’ve ever had (at the United Cup).

“It wasn’t that we didn’t think we’d get along, but I think we got along way more as a group than we ever thought we were going to, and then we played some great tennis.

“I ended up having an amazing week, and I feel like we carried a lot of that momentum throughout the year, so it was one of the highlights of my year.”

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