Kostyuk: I knew that to win I had to work hard

Ukrainian tennis player Marta Kostyuk commented on her successful start at the tournament in the American San Diego.

“You know, I haven’t played for several weeks, so I didn’t know exactly what to expect from this court, from the match, from my opponent. Because of all this, I started the match a little tense until I got into a rhythm. I had some kind of stomach cramps, I think it was due to nerves, before the match I felt a little nervous. I think it was a normal reaction.”

“I think we had a good match, my opponent played very well. I knew that to win I had to work hard. In the middle of the third game we had some great plays. I think that was the key moment of the match, where either she beats me or I beat her. I’m very happy that I won.”

“I feel better every day. As I said, I was a little out of competition due to a cold for a few weeks. My start to the season gives me the confidence to keep working and moving forward. It’s a long season so hopefully there will be a lot of excitement ahead.”

In January, Marta performed successfully at the Australian Open, reaching the singles quarterfinals of a Grand Slam tournament for the first time in her professional career. After that, she took part in the WTA 1000 tournament in Doha (Qatar), which she had to end early due to health reasons.

Due to the forced pause, Kostyuk lost several positions in the WTA rankings, where she currently occupies 34th place, immediately after the second racket of Ukraine Dayana Yastremskaya.

Let us remind you that today Marta started at the WTA 500 tournament in San Diego, America, with a difficult victory over local tennis player Ann Lee (2:1). In the second round she will play with the winner of the duel Tayla Preston (Australia) – Magdalena French (Poland).

Earlier at the same tournament, Lesya Tsurenko lost in the first round, unable to cope with the British Katie Boulter. Another Ukrainian, Dayana Yastremskaya, will start in San Diego on the night of February 28.