Donna Vekic was experiencing some deep emotions after winning an absolute thriller versus Marta Kostyuk as the 28-year-old Croatian says she “can die” if she wins her Paris Olympics semifinal match.
On Wednesday evening, Vekic was inches away from losing a dramatic finish but managed to come out on top after saving a match point against 19th-ranked Kostyuk 6-4 2-6 7-6 (8) in a match that lasted nearly three hours of play.Â
At one point, things weren’t looking promising at all for Vekic after Kostyuk went 5-2 up in the third-set tie-break. But the world No. 21 didn’t quit and ended up winning the match.
“This was a crazy, crazy match. Finally getting one of those tie breaks in the third set…Honestly, I believed I could win until the end, even when she was leading 5:2, even when she had the match point. I continued to fight and believed that I could win,” Vekic told HRT.
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Vekic: I can die if I win tomorrow
At 20:30 pm local time, Vekic is scheduled to return to the court on Thursday and play against world No. 67 Anna Karolina Schmiedlova. If the 28-year-old Croatian wins her semifinal today, she will secure her first Olympic medal.
“This is brutal, this tennis is a brutal sport. That double fault when I was serving for the match, that never happens to me in normal tournaments, now I’m playing for Croatia, there was so much nervousness, before the match I felt sick, I literally felt like throwing up because of how nervous I was. I somehow managed to push it through and just to somehow win that match tomorrow and then I can die,” Vekic said.
Even before arriving in Paris, Vekic was exhausted and tired because she was coming off a Wimbledon semifinal run.
“I’m going to ice (bath), massage, therapy and first get some sleep. I will be ready tomorrow. Schmiedlova? I really don’t know, I have no idea,” Vekic said.