Last Updated on October 30, 2021
In the second round of the Tokyo Olympics, Donna Vekic of Croatia played an incredible match against the last Wimbledon semifinalist, Aryna Sabalenka and won in three sets, -6/4,3/6,7/6.
After two hours and 40 minutes, Vekić achieved a great victory, winning a place in the round of 16
Opening up the top half of the draw a little more… 👀
World No.50 @DonnaVekic stuns No.3 seed Aryna Sabalenka 6-4 3-6 7-6(3) to notch a huge win for #CRO #Tokyo2020 | #Tennis | #Olympics pic.twitter.com/99gQF734Tl
— ITF (@ITFTennis) July 26, 2021
Donna still has problems with her right knee, which she had surgery on in February, struggling with pain and playing under pills, which is why she gave up on the doubles tournament in Tokyo. This ultimately proved to be a good choice because the question was whether she would withstand the rhythm of two matches a day.
In this way, she focused all her energy and strength on Sabalenka, against whom she reached her fourth victory in five of their mutual matches. But she achieved the previous three-four or more years ago, at a time when the Belarusian was not yet so high in the WTA rankings.
Victory over World №3
Donna Vekic, the winner of two WTA titles, commented on her unblemished victory over Aryna Sabalenka in the second round of the Tokyo Olympics.
“Proud of both yesterday’s and today’s match. Aryna is playing the best tennis ever this year, she’s third in the world and it’s not easy to beat her, she even led in the third set. But I fought like a lioness and finally won,” Donna said. who spent nearly five and a half hours in two matches in Tokyo in the scorching sun and unbearable conditions.
“It’s even good for me. I missed training after knee surgery, so I’m making good use of my entire schedule here. These victories will give me a lot of confidence for the next matches. Knee? We’ll see …. it’s something I’ll have to balance the next few months. Everything is fine with the knee, but everything is still fresh after the operation … I have a good team with me and everything will probably be fine, “said Donna, almost bursting into tears.
Match Statistics
| Donna Vekic | Aryna Sabalenka | |
| Aces | 6 | 9 |
| Double Faults | 6 | 7 |
| 1st Serve Percentage | 57% | 48% |
| 1st Serve Points Won | 66% | 76% |
| Break Points Saved | 10/12 | 4/6 |
| Break Points Converted | 2/6 | 2/12 |
| Unforced Errors | 14 | 34 |
The next rival is from Kazakhstan
In the next round of competition, the Croatian tennis player will play against Elena Rybakina from Kazakhstan, who outplayed Rebecca Peterson 6/2,6/2. The athletes have not yet met each other, but Rybakina has played more matches this season and is in good playing shape,so we will see a long match.
