Barbora Krejcikova elated after defeating Iga Swiatek in the Ostrava finals, says, “Happy to be part of the big game again,”
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Barbora Krejcikova
Following a two-week indoor streak during which she won nine straight matches, Barbora Krejcikova once again came into the limelight. In the 2022 Ostrava Open finals, she took on the World No.1 Iga Swiatek and beat her. This win propelled the Czech player from No.23 to No. 14 in the WTA rankings.
The Czech appeared to be well on her way to building on her successful 2021 campaign at the beginning of the year. She reached a career-high ranking of No. 2 after reaching the final in Sydney and the quarterfinals at the Australian Open, but an elbow injury forced her to miss many months of play.
“I knew before the match it was going to be a full house and all the tickets were sold. I was expecting it to be a big match so I was enjoying it. It was a lot of fun. Even when I was down, I wanted to make it longer and longer and let’s just enjoy.
“To me, someone cheering for me it doesn’t happen very often during the season on the tour when I’m away from home. So, it’s very special,” Krejcikova said in her post-match interview having won the WTA-500 title in front of her home fans.
Barbora Krejcikova became the first player to hand Iga Swiatek a loss in a final since 2019
Krejcikova was keen to play against the World No.1 and really happy that she gave everything she could to win the game. Krejcikova won the match 5-7 7-6(4) 6-3 against Iga Swiatek and took the AGEL Open title at Ostrava, Czech Republic.
The 2021 Roland Garros winner was in danger of falling out of the Top 30 for the first time since she won a major tournament because she hadn’t advanced to the semi-finals or defeated a woman ranked in the Top 30 prior to the Tallinn Open.
After beating Swiatek, she was naturally ecstatic. She further added, “I really have to say, playing finals against Iga is really difficult, but I’m really happy that I was able to do that. I was putting in so much effort and so much fight, fighting until the last ball.
“For sure it’s one of the biggest matches for me, with the performance and the conditions, the atmosphere with the fans, just everything. It was one of the most amazing matches for me.”
Even she is surprised how she began to perform so well again at the top level. When asked about her recent form and the way she is playing surprised so many. “I always felt like it’s there, it’s just hiding. I didn’t just forget all that I did last year. I still felt like it’s there.
“I’m really pleased that everything that I went through and everything that happened, it changed me and gave me extra energy. I think I’m a different player, a different person. I’m really happy to be part of the big game again,” added Krejcikova.
Swiatek has had a dream run this season. She has won 7 titles, including two grand slams, the Roland Garros and the US Open. She also made it to the semi-final of Australian Open.
Since her defeat in the Ladies Open Lugano WTA 250 tournament in 2019, at the hands of Polona Hercog, she has been wonderful. She has been the face of women’s tennis for most part of the year. The crowd was excited to watch the mercurial 21-year-old Polish star and the ever-enigmatic local girl Krejcikova going head-to-head in a thrilling encounter.
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