He was at home in a foreign country. That is why the atmosphere of the dramatic finale in Ostrava was so moving for the Polish Iga Šwiatek. Despite her defeat to Barbora Krejčíková, she was beaming with happiness. She let the praise rain down on Česká and she radiated positivity to the audience, whom she had to scold on Saturday.
Earlier this week, the 21-year-old Pole wanted to make it to the Ostravar Arena semi-finals at least. Many of his fellow countrymen of his could have arrived for the weekend.
And it happened. Despite a cold, the Polish woman went through the last four tennis players of the star-studded tournament. Even though she managed the three-set semi-final duel against Ekaterina Alexandrová, Sunday’s final against home Barbora Krejčíková was already beyond her strength.
“Bára and I were in a similar situation, she also played a challenging semi-final. I usually win these long battles, but now I couldn’t take it anymore, I didn’t have enough time to recover. It was the greatest physically demanding game of the year. I am proud of myself because he played at such a level, “said Šwiateková.
The title fight was accompanied not only by great tennis, but also by the stormy backdrop of a packed stadium. The Czech cauldron competed with the Polish cauldron.
Poland already had a home atmosphere in Saturday’s semi-finals. After the procedure, however, he had to calm the charged spectators, because they often interrupted Russia in preparation for the service.
“Thank you so much for the support, but this is not football, I don’t want to win like this,” the Warsaw native reminded the Polish fans.
On Sunday, she was extremely pleased with their performance. When she chased her for a turn of events in the latest game, she cried. She couldn’t hold back her tears even during the ceremony.
“The fans created a fantastic atmosphere for us. It was a dream match for us players, fans and organizers,” said the defeated finalist.
In the end, he did a good deed by donating the prize money he won to charity, particularly to non-profit organizations dedicated to preventing and fighting mental illness.
“From the beginning I was hoping to win a few games here to be able to donate the highest possible amount, in the end I succeeded”, added the tennis player, who won 53 thousand euros in charity, or about 1.3 million crowns.
Watch the montage of the Ostrava Open final between Barbora Krejčíková and Iga Šwiateková | Video: O2 TV
