World No. 3 tennis player Jessica Pegula, the daughter of Buffalo Bills owner Terry Pegula, secured her first-career victory over a world No. 1, by defeating Poland’s Iga Swiatek 6-2, 6-2 in the opening match of the United Cup semifinal in Sydney on Friday.
While 28-year-old Pegula lost all four of her matches against Swiatek last season, she defeated Swiatek in 71 minutes to secure her second-career win and earn Team USA its first point over Poland.
Pegula, who is a huge Bills fan, told the Women’s Tennis Association she had been watching the game between the Cincinnati Bengals and the Bills during Frances Tiafoe’s match against Germany’s Oscar Otte when Damar Hamlin collapsed on the field due to cardiac arrest.
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Since then, Pegula has been very vocal and has shared support for Hamlin and his family after the scary collision. She added that Hamlin was her inspiration in her spectacular win on Friday.
“There’s really no words,” she told reporters, per Reuters, earlier this week. “I’m glad they stopped the game. It brings you back to there’s a lot of bigger things that are more important than sports and games. It was pretty scary.”
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She later tweeted: “In moments like this we are reminded of perspective. It’s just a game and in the end, it does not matter after what happened tonight. My prayers go out to Damar and his family. This team is family, football is family, sports bring us together like family.”
If Team USA can win one more match on Saturday, they will face either Italy or Greece. The remaining singles will be played Saturday, with a mixed doubles to be held if required.
