Khaleej Times

Marta Kostyuk was such a perfection­ist when she started playing tennis as a child, she’d blow up in anger if she missed even a single ball

- AP

melbourne — Marta Kostyuk was such a perfection­ist when she started playing tennis as a child, she’d blow up in anger if she missed even a single ball. It made tennis completely unenjoyabl­e.

“I always want to win, no matter what,” the Ukrainian teenager said. “If I was losing, it was a tragedy. It was, like, I don’t want to play anymore.”

Now, after beating Olivia Rogowska 6-3, 7-5 on Wednesday to become the youngest player to reach the Australian Open third round in two decades, Kostyuk is finding peace with the ups and downs of the sport. All at the wise old age of 15.

“Now, I start to enjoy it,” she said. “Finally.”

Kostyuk’s performanc­e in Melbourne is remarkable considerin­g just how far she’s come in such a short time. The Australian Open is not only her first Grand

If I was losing, it was a tragedy. It was, like, I don’t want to play anymorel Marta Kostyuk

Slam, but her first main draw at any WTA-level tournament.

Her ranking? No. 521. Career earnings? Less than $7,000.

Yet the bubbly Kostyuk’s game looks more than ready for this moment. Granted a wild card to the qualifying draw after capturing the Australian Open junior title last year, Kostyuk won three matches to earn a spot in the main draw, then upset the No. 25-seeded Chinese veteran Peng Shuai in the first round.

She followed that up with a convincing win over Australian wild-card entry Rogowska in front of a partisan crowd at Margaret Court Arena, the No. 2 show court at Melbourne Park.

The stats weren’t pretty — 45 unforced errors to just 22 winners — but Kostyuk handled the pressure well. A power player who hits big off both sides, she kept going for her shots even when she misfired. And misfire she did aplenty. While serving for the match, she clubbed a ball off the frame of her racket that nearly hit a spectator in the crowd.

Kostyuk was an acrobat growing up and was so talented, she placed fourth in the Ukrainian national championsh­ips — as a child. But she wanted to spend more time with her mother, a former pro tennis player and now coach, so she gave up acrobatics to focus on tennis at age 11.

Since winning the Australian Open girls title last year, she’s made the jump to the pro level and is represente­d by a high-profile manager, former world No. 3 Ivan Ljubicic, who currently coaches Roger Federer. The impact on her game has been immediate.

“Ivan is always helping me when he sees me,” she said. “And Roger, we speak twice. You know, really, like speak. Not like, ‘Hey, how are you.’ That was nice.”

With her run in Melbourne, Kostyuk has now become the youngest player to reach the third round since Martina Hingis made the quarterfin­als at age 15 in 1996.

This has already brought her a great deal of attention — the kind that has proved so difficult for other young players in the past. Part of the reason breakthrou­ghs like Hingis’ are so rare these days is that the WTA Tour has sought to protect teenagers by limiting the number of tournament­s they can play. Kostyuk is only eligible for 10 tournament­s as a 15 year old. —

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 ?? Reuters ?? Marta Kostyuk hits a shot against olivia rogowska of australia. —
Reuters Marta Kostyuk hits a shot against olivia rogowska of australia. —

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