Russian tennis player Anna Blinkova said that she showed courage and endurance in the second round match of the Australian Open against Kazakhstan’s representative Elena Rybakina.
On Thursday, Blinkova reached the third round of the Australian Open by defeating Rybakina with a score of 6:4, 4:6, 7:6 (22:20). The athletes spent 2 hours and 46 minutes on the field. This tie-break became the longest in the history of Grand Slam tournaments. Rybakina is the third racket in the world.
— What was the key to getting you to such a state when you had match points before the tie-break? What did you do tactically and execution-wise to put yourself in a position to win?
“If I had to say one word, I would say courage. » This took a lot of courage. I was walking towards my goal. I tried to find a balance between aggressiveness and reliability, I took my time, but I tried to make her play more and more shots. I think in the second set I became a little more defensive. In the third set, I tried to force myself to be more aggressive, to move forward more, to hit harder, to make her move more. It took courage. It took some endurance to stay in the moment and score point after point.
— You said your hands and legs were shaking. A very tense moment. Tennis players are incredible perfectionists who demand a lot of themselves. What kind of work have you done on yourself over the past year?
— Yes, I was a perfectionist. I was never satisfied with the way I played. For example, if I win a point not the way I want, not with a nice shot, I’m not happy about it.
Every point I earn is a good point. Any shot I hit on the court is a good shot. That’s what I think. I did a lot of psychological work to not panic, stay calm, breathe and not get angry after mistakes.
I always tell myself that everyone makes mistakes, it’s normal. If the idea is good, if I want to hit the ball down the field, then it’s a good shot. I just have to keep doing it.
— What does this victory mean to you?
– Many things. To be honest, I had enough motivation to win this match. One of the motivations is to stay here. Before entering the court, I told myself that I would fight to stay here longer, at the Australian Open, in the best atmosphere in the world,” Blinkova said at a press conference.
Blinkova’s next opponent will be Italian Jasmine Paolini, seeded 26th at the Australian Open.
Source : MatchTV
I’m Rose Brown , a journalist and writer with over 10 years of experience in the news industry. I specialize in covering tennis-related news for Athletistic, a leading sports media website. My writing is highly regarded for its quick turnaround and accuracy, as well as my ability to tell compelling stories about the sport.
