Iga Swiatek recovered from a first-set thrashing to finish a comeback victory over Ekaterina Alexandrova and win the Korea Open.
Alexandrova received the primary set 6-1 as Swiatek struggled to seize the shape that had propelled her to the ultimate in Seoul however finally discovered her type to win the second and third units 7-6(3) 7-5.
The 2-and-a-half-hour closing produced a 3rd title victory for world quantity two Swiatek following her successes at Wimbledon and the Cincinnati Open.
A relieved Swiatek stated after the match that she ‘didn’t know’ how she had received and located time to joke that her win compensates for when her father was unable to win a medal with the Poland rowing group on the 1988 Olympics in South Korea.
“I am comfortable that I might win right here due to the household historical past,” she stated.
“My dad could not win the Olympics, however a minimum of I received this match, so hopefully he’ll come right here subsequent yr to get pleasure from all the things.”
And he or she added: “Actually, I do not know the way I received it, since you have been simply enjoying nice. I simply tried to remain alive.
“Hopefully, we will play extra finals. It is all the time powerful towards you, so it is also entertaining.”
‘I attempted my greatest and it wasn’t sufficient’
It was a painful loss for Alexandrova, who received 11 factors greater than Swiatek and had the possibility to interrupt the world quantity two within the second set solely to fail to capitalise on it, resulting in a tie-break which she then misplaced.
The third set was one other slim affair, leaving Alexandrova – who’s ranked 11 on this planet – to mirror on what may need been.
“She’s such an amazing participant and it is all the time tremendous tough to play towards her, so I attempted to do my greatest at the moment. It wasn’t sufficient, so perhaps subsequent time I will likely be a bit of bit higher,” Alexandrova stated.
