Cincinnati, Aug 20: World No. 76, Switzerland’s Jil Teichmann, who came back from a set down to defeat No. 2 Naomi Osaka and seal the biggest victory of her career at the Western & Southern Open, said that being an “underdog” she had to just “play my game,” and wait for it to work.
Teichmann defeated Osaka 3-6, 6-3, 6-3 on Thursday evening to secure a quarterfinal berth in the Cincinnati tournament.
“I knew she’s (Osaka) a very tough opponent. She’s a Grand Slam champion. I’m the underdog, so… my plan was to just play my game,” the 24-year-old Teichmann said.
“I move very good; I change up everything I can – directions, height, everything – and I think she didn’t really feel very comfortable about it, and I served very good.”
From the 3-0 deficit, Teichmann nearly pulled level in the opener to gain the momentum.
“I started actually really bad, two breaks down. I did breaks on my own. I wasn’t serving good. I was doing unforced errors. So when I sat down after first set I was, like, ‘Okay, I started off bad, but I’m actually close.’ I didn’t really feel like she’s much better than me today right now,” Teichmann told wtatennis.com
“I took this confidence into the second set. I was like, ‘Okay, let’s serve out well, and I will get my chances,’ and to break her and that’s a little bit what happened.”
Staring down a nearly identical deficit in the final set – serving at 2-0, 0-30 – Teichmann stopped Osaka’s momentum in its tracks, winning four straight games. The Swiss took a lead she’d never relinquish, despite double-faulting on break point when leading 4-2.
The Swiss No.3, who came into this tournament just 1-4 since suffering an ankle injury at the Internationaux de Strasbourg in May that forced her out of the French Open, added, “Literally, I’m shaking right now. I’m very, very happy with this win. I’ve had a very tough year: I started very well and I’ve had many, many injuries. But I felt like I’ve had a good level and I’m happy it’s working out now.” (IANS)
