Iga Swiatek fought back after losing the first set badly to beat Ekaterina Alexandrova and win the Korea Open, SportsRation reports.
Alexandrova took the first set 6-1 as Swiatek struggled early on. But the world No. 2 found her rhythm and won the next two sets 7-6 (7-3), 7-5 in a match lasting two and a half hours.
This victory gave Swiatek her third title of the year after wins at Wimbledon and the Cincinnati Open.
After the match, a relieved Swiatek joked about her family’s connection to South Korea. She said her win made up for her father not winning a medal for Poland in rowing at the 1988 Olympics, which were held in South Korea.
“I’m happy I could win here because of the family history,” she said. “My dad couldn’t win the Olympics, but at least I won this tournament. Hopefully, he’ll come here next year to enjoy it.”
Swiatek also admitted she wasn’t sure how she managed to win, saying, “Honestly, I don’t know how I won it because she was playing really well. I just tried to stay in the match.”
Alexandrova Disappointed After Narrow Loss
Alexandrova, ranked 11th in the world, played well and actually won more points than Swiatek. She had chances to take control in the second set but failed to break her opponent’s serve, eventually losing the tie-break.
The final set was very close, and Alexandrova said she did her best but came up short.
“She’s a great player and it’s always tough to play against her,” Alexandrova said. “I tried my best today but it wasn’t enough. Maybe next time I’ll do better.”
Italy Retain Billie Jean King Cup with Win Over USA
In other tennis news, Italy successfully defended their Billie Jean King Cup title by beating the USA 2-0 in Shenzhen.
Elisabetta Cocciaretto and Jasmine Paolini both won their singles matches to secure the trophy for Italy. This is Italy’s sixth win in the competition and the first team to win back-to-back titles since the Czech Republic won three in a row from 2014 to 2016.
Paolini said, “It’s been a great week and it’s amazing to play in this competition. We played very strong teams, and beating the USA was really special.”