Iga Swiatek fights back to win Korea Open tennis title
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Poland's Iga Swiatek during her Korea Open final against Russia's Ekaterina Alexandrova.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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SEOUL – A tenacious Iga Swiatek battled back from the brink of defeat to capture the Korea Open title on Sept 21, surviving a fright in the first set before taming Russian Ekaterina Alexandrova 1-6, 7-6 (7-3), 7-5.
The Polish star, who cruised through her first three matches in Seoul, looked out of sorts in the opening two sets, committing several double faults and sending many shots flying long and wide.
However, the world No. 2 then ironed out the errors and got a handle on her opponent’s game, wrapping up victory after more than 2½ hours.
“Hopefully I play tennis better than I speak Korean,” joked Swiatek following her victory. “I want to congratulate Ekaterina for an amazing week and amazing final. I don’t know how I won it honestly. You were just playing great. I was just trying to stay alive.
“Congrats to your team as well. Great job. Hopefully we will play more finals.
“I want to thank my team as well. Sorry for being sometimes… hard. Thank you for the patience. It wasn’t an easy week. Thank you for staying with me.”
It was her third trophy of the year, adding to her triumphs at Wimbledon and the Cincinnati Open.
Alexandrova, who won the Korea Open in 2022, took advantage of her opponent’s early struggles and broke serve three times in the opening set to put herself in the driving seat.
The pair traded breaks early in the second set and Alexandrova continued to pile the pressure on. But despite having her opponent on the ropes, the Russian could not finish her off, and Swiatek took the set into a tiebreak, where she raced to a 3-0 lead and held on to it to force a decider.
There was another twist in a high-quality third set as Swiatek served three double faults in one game to gift Alexandrova a break, but she quickly brought the game back on serve and dialled up the intensity.
A deflated-looking Alexandrova could only watch as the six-time Grand Slam champion hit a pinpoint forehand winner to snatch victory and complete her comeback.
“I want to congratulate Iga for such a great week and such a great result,” conceded the Russian, who has beaten Swiatek only twice in eight matches.
“She’s such a great player. It’s always super difficult to play her. I tried to do my best today. It wasn’t enough, so maybe next time I’ll do a bit better.” REUTERS
