This is the end of the Polish tennis players’ performances in the Olympic tournament at Ariake Tennis Park in Tokyo. Our players won three games in total. One by one Hubert Hurkacz i Any witek in a single and a couple Iga witek – you will cut Kubot in mite. The latter lost on Thursday evening local time in the mixed pairs match with the Russian pair Asan Karacev – Jelena Wiesnina.
How does he evaluate the performances of Hurkacz and witek?
Poraki Kamil Majchrzak with Serb Miaomir Kecmanovic, Magdy Linette with Biaorusink Aryn Sabalenk and couples Alice Rosolska – Magda Linette with Americans Bethanie Mattek-Sands – Jessica Pegula were no surprise. Their rivals were favorites and did not give our representatives a better chance.
How would you rate the performance of our best singers: Iga witek and Hubert Hurkacz? Did some fans expect medals from them? – The lack of medals by Hubert and Iga is not a disappointment. However, it must be remembered that you can measure tennis players in a measurable way only by looking at the ranking. If someone is seeded in the tournament like Iga and Hubert in Tokyo, then according to this seeding players with numbers 1-16 should reach at least 1/8 of the finals. Then the plan is made, nothing can be accused of – says Tomasz Wolfke, journalist of radio 357 and Eurosport commentator, who is currently in Japan.
– Iga lost to a rival who played brilliantly, and also presented herself better than in the first round with Mon Barthel. You cannot make any reservations to it. Those in a lightweight form can be taken to Hubert – adds Wolfke. witek is eliminated in the second round with Paul Bados, one of the symptoms of this season, and Hurkacz will be stopped by Liam Broady, 143rd tennis player in the world.
Witek lost with the revelation, Hurkacz failed a bit
It’s hard to blame our best tennis player at the moment. Poraka from Bados, the last champion Roland Garros, the champion from Belgrade or the finalist from Madrid and Charleston hurt, but it had to be taken into account. Witek was a bit unlucky, because the Spanish is officially 29th in the WTA ranking, and in fact her position is higher – she plays like a player from the top “10” lately. Such a rival is always a challenge in the second round of the tournament.
Hurkacz’s defeat with Broady brought more doubts. It seemed that the Pole would gain a huge dose of self-confidence after reaching the last Wimbledon pfinau. Meanwhile, in Tokyo, he is again hesitant, unable to take the initiative again. He explains after the match with the Briton that from the beginning of his arrival in Japan he was not fed with food and was poisoned. Additionally, while he himself assured that everything was fine with his hand, it was puzzling how he walked almost every time between games.
The performances of our couples in Poland were received with great disappointment: ukasz Kubot – Hubert Hurkacz and Iga witek – ukasz Kubot. The gentlemen were eliminated in the first round of doubles with para Alexander Zverev – Jan Lenard Struff. Could you count on more? Apparently so, but on what basis? Hurkacz and Kubot have played together seven games so far. They lost five of them. Off court, I get along well, but the chemistry is not yet to be seen at the time of the meeting.
It is difficult to unequivocally assess the appearance of Kubota and witek mites. On the one hand, they reached Wierfinau, on the other hand, it was enough to win one game. The level of the Tokyo Mixed Pairs Tournament was sky-high. Suffice it to recall that, among others, the best in the world Novak Djokovi. The performance against the Russians in the final is not a reason to be ashamed, because Roland Garros was in the final recently.
Chances versus real chances
Hurkacz, witek, Majchrzak, Linette, Linette and Rosolska, witek and Kubot as well as Kubot and Hurkacz – we had seven medal chances at the Olympics. How many of these opportunities were strong, real? It seems pretty. As disappointment may be, for example, Hurkacz’s performance in the single, which should reach at least the third round, it was so difficult to hope that the Poles would return from the Olympics with a medal in tennis. It would be a surprise, at least.
We have never won an Olympic prize in tennis before. How will he explain it? In an interview with Kubot and witek, one of the journalists is looking for an answer on Thursday. He did not find it, because our tennis players perceived it as an attack. The fact is, however, that other countries win medals in tennis at the Olympics – this year, for example, Croatia (they have two pairs in the doubles final) and Switzerland (Belinda Benci is in the singles final and doubles bye). Poles must wait at least to Paris, where the next Olympics will take place in three years’ time.
Thinking about our young stars, it seems unfair to accuse them of not having a medal. Witek and Hurkacz have recently belonged to the world leader, but in Tokyo there were at least six figures who had better medal chances than our tennis players. Hurkacz has the best season in his career, but he is still far from it Alexandra Zverev, Medvedev’s Denmark or Stefanos Tstitsipas, not to mention Fr. Novak Djokovic. Likewise, witek, who through the eyes of imaginary fans see with the Olympic gold around his neck, was not one of the strong favorites, such as e.g. Naomi Osaka i Ashleigh Barty.
Pressure doesn’t help
It is also hard to get over the impression that our biggest stars are not served by the buzz around them. The greatest success of Hurkacz? Pfin Wimbledon was preceded by six failures in a row. The expectations for London were not high. The greatest success of the switches? The victory at Roland Garros was preceded by a failure in the first round in Rome, when she played only one game in the season ahead of Paris, and she joined Roland Garros as the 53rd world player without much pressure. The pressure at the Olympics was enormous, which is not surprising, because they are held once every four years, not four times a year, like the Grand Slam tournaments.
The curse of Polish tennis in Olympic competitions continues. It did not break it either Agnieszka Radwaskayou won’t cut Kubot or Jerzy Janowicz. The new generation, headed by Ig witek and Hubert Hurkacz, has so far also bounced off the wall. However, since the young were able to win first, among others Grand Slam tournament or Masters ATP events in Miami, it may also be able to disenchant our performances at the Olympics.
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