Athletistic/Tennis. On Sunday, February 4, the final match of the WTA-250 tournament took place in Hua Hin (Thailand). Russian Diane Schneider played with a Chinese girl Zhu Lin.
Schneider beat his opponent with a score of 6:3, 2:6, 6:1 in 2 hours and 1 minute.
The Russian won her first career title at the WTA level. Thanks to this success, it will immediately regain 35 places in the ranking and become the 73rd racket in the world.
“I have no words. The atmosphere was like I was in a Grand Slam tournament. For me it was really like a Grand Slam tournament, the energy is just incredible. My family watched my performance from Moscow. I would like to thank them for their support. They are with me throughout my career, which I hope will be long and successful.
All players strive to reach the top of the TBS, but it turns out that in our sport it is not always possible to progress when you want. It so happened that the season didn’t start well in Australia, but after a month we managed to overcome all the setbacks and prepare – and have a good tournament in Thailand, playing all the matches with dignity. I’m happy, I’m happy. So, as they say in tennis, ups and downs.
In the second set I was under pressure, there were a lot of unnecessary emotions. After the second set I went to change. You know, I took off the old clothes I had been playing with – wet, heavy – and it was like all my thoughts had disappeared. I got dressed in dry clothes and just seemed to reboot, getting ready for a new set. I understood that it would be difficult: the final, everyone wants to win. But I forced myself to fight for every point, run as hard as I could and take away everything I could. Playing much better than the previous set and showing that I deserve to win this particular match.
I haven’t thought about the expectations yet: whether the title will give me confidence or more pressure, because I just won. It’s difficult to accept the idea that I finally achieved my goal and won my first title. And that’s why it’s difficult for me to say if the title is a hindrance in the future or if it will be easier for me to play. It’s still difficult to judge. We will find out during the next tournaments.
Yes, the first thing I did was call my mother. It’s not an agreement, but simply a habit: after all the matches, the first thing I do is call my mother. We simply share our emotions, our impressions and congratulate each other. It’s already like a tradition,” Schneider said.
“She deserves to be congratulated for winning her first tournament. It’s not the most prestigious, but it’s important for her progression, she has room to grow. Victory in this tournament is a great incentive to improve,” said the president of the Russian Tennis Federation. (RFF) Shamil Tarpishchev.
“Schneider is playing very well now, she had a very convincing victory in the tournament. I have worked with her for a while and I can say that she is very capable, she has phenomenal talent. She plays with a lot of skill, heads the ball well, but she has problems with physical training. When pushed into corners, she often does not have time.
It’s great that she won the tournament, the first title is always dear to every player. When I won the title for the first time, I was very impressed,” said the 1995 Davis Cup finalist. Andrei Chesnokov.
“Congratulations to Diana on her first adult professional title. It’s a very big achievement and a great start to the year for her. It’s clear that Schneider continues to progress and improve. This is very important, because when you have your first WTA title under your belt, you can bet on goals to win tournaments of a higher category. Therefore, Diana is a big boy. Such a victory is very valuable and important for her, especially now.
Its advantages ? Firstly, she is left-handed, which already poses a lot of problems for her opponents. Second, Diana plays tennis actively and is generally very diverse. She has good ball sense, she makes good use of empty spaces on the court,” noted the Russian tennis player. Elena Vesnin.
Andrey Andreev, Sport.Ru
Source: Sport

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