“I knew it was going to be a difficult match because when we played last time, it was three sets and a third-set super tiebreak,” Alexandrova said of a 2024 Australian Open defeat. “She’s such a difficult opponent to play. So, I was trying not to rush things, play a little bit more conservative than I normally play because with her, she mixes a lot of things together. She’ll hit the backhand slice, forehand slice, she can hit some great shots from the baseline, some volleys. She’s always mixing, and that makes it hard to find the rhythm.
“Today, the score will say that it’s super easy but it wasn’t because with her, you always have to be prepared. Even if there’s a moment that she’s not feeling it, she can start playing good at any time, so you need to be prepared. I think I did pretty good except the one game when I lost my serve!”
Indeed, the German threatened to shift the momentum when she interrupted an eight-game streak against her on Saturday, but the Prague-based Alexandrova regrouped and pressed on to wrap up the win in 60 minutes flat.
“I was trying to tell myself that, even though I lost my serve, it wasn’t that big of a deal because I was a set up and still 2-1,” said Alexandrova. “For sure, it was going to be difficult. You’re never going to have it easy where you go out on the court and win every single game. You need to be prepared for any moment of the match. So, I was trying to calm myself and remind myself that nothing happened, I only just lost a game. Nothing crazy happened! I still needed to play the same way. It worked because as I kept playing I knew I would get more chances, and when I did, I was able to use them. So, I was lucky to use them today.”
