20-year-old lefthander: ‘I just keep believing’
By Richard Osborn
As if the Czech ladies’s tennis scene wasn’t already deep sufficient.
That Bohemian lineage that traces from Navratilova to Mandlikova to Sukova to Novotna to Kvitova; onward to Pliskova to Krejcikova to Muchova to Noskova and past, is stretching onward by the day. The newest addition? A 20-year-old disruptor from a terra cotta-rooved hilltop city identified extra for vintners than for tennis gamers.
Meet Sara Bejlek.
While not precisely an unknown commodity (she gained the WTA 500 Abu Dhabi title in February, the identical month she made her Top-50 debut), Bejlak is having the week of her life right here in Cincinnati, the place she’s shocked at least three former Grand Slam champions en path to the primary WTA 1000 semifinal of her younger profession: Countrywoman Barbora Krejcikova, top-ranked Aryna Sabalenka and twentieth seed Madison Keys.
She’s received a knack for the dramatic. Following her 7-6(7), 6-4 upset of the highest seed Sabalenka, a match in which she trailed 1-5 in the opening-set tiebreak and 1-4 in the second set, she was left speechless.
“I lost my words,” she informed us.
Who might blame her. It was her first time going through a world No. 1. In one of many largest tennis arenas in the world, the 12,000-seat P&G Stadium Court.
“I just keep believing,” she expounded on Friday after her 3-6, 6-4, 7-6(5) quarterfinal turnaround towards the home-country favourite Keys, the Cincinnati Open titlist in 2019. “I just try to focus on myself, no matter what’s going on on the other side of the court.”
We’re attending to know her sport in a rush: Standing at a diminutive 5-foot-3, the athletic southpaw depends on her excessive tennis IQ, selection, angles, slice and defensive skills to outmaneuver her extra highly effective tourmates. But we’re nonetheless attending to know Sara Bejlek the individual. Asked to explain her persona, she supplied however three phrases:
“Crazy.”
“Emotional.”
“Careful.”
She positive doesn’t play in a cautious method. Mentored by Jakub Kahoun, Bejlek continues to bolster her self-belief, one thing that ought to come in useful when she faces both American Coco Gauff or Ukrainian Marta Kostyuk in the following spherical.
“I think it’s been increasing during the season,” she mentioned. “We had a big talk with my team a couple of weeks ago, and since that moment, I feel that it’s going quite well, and I’m getting better at believing in myself and improving on the court.”
Bejlek quick details
Favorite colour: Blue
Favorite meals: Pizza
Forehand or backhand: Forehand
Is the tennis ball yellow or inexperienced?: Yellow
Favorite animal: Dog
Favorite participant of all time: Novak Djokovic
