Jessica Pegula admitted the conditions in the Austin final made her feel frustrated but also added that she knew that her rival was dealing with the same issues so she just tried to adjust and hope for the best.
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On Sunday, the 2024 US Open finalist - who was the No. 1 seed at the ATX Open - beat fellow American McCartney Kessler 7-5 6-2 in very windy conditions for her first main glory of 2025.
In each of the two sets, the top seed was down by a break at some point.
It was definitely super windy and it was tough. But I knew it wasnt only me getting frustrated," Pegula acknowledged.
"It was tough to serve and made for a lot of awkward shots. I kind of tried to adjust, play in the middle a bit more, and give myself a little bit more margin where I could hit (fully) but not go for as much.
Pegula: It was ugly, there were points that she should have won...
In the first set, Kessler was two games away from taking the opener after opening a 4-2 lead.
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At the start of the second set, the world No. 48 broke the world No. 4 in the very first game of the set.
However, Pegula managed to overturn the deficit in both sets and get the job done in two sets.
It was ugly. There was a lot of back and forth, and there were definitely a lot of points that she probably should have won, but the conditions were really tough," the Austin champion added.
The 31-year-old American now has seven WTA titles in her collection.
Also, this was the second final of the season for the former world No. 3.
In the first week of 2025, Pegula enjoyed a deep run in Adelaide but didn't win the title after losing to Madison Keys in the final.
Now, she will turn her focus to this week's Indian Wells, where she has only once made the quarterfinal.
