For Some Players at the Australian Open, No Spotlight Is No Problem

Jessica Pegula leads a cohort of players into the quarterfinals that few outside the locker room were paying attention to before the tournament. In this intensely mental sport, that was a good thing.

Jessica Pegula celebrated after winning her fourth-round match against Barbora Krejcikova on Sunday.Credit...Lukas Coch/EPA, via ShutterstockMELBOURNE, Australia — Jessica Pegula does not land on many magazine covers. Her steady game does not produce a lot of highlight-reel moments. She is the world’s third-ranked player but has floated largely under the radar during her steady rise to the top of tennis.

At the Australian Open this year, that approach is looking more and more like a secret to…