Donna Vekic was unable to hold back the relief of overcoming a one-set deficit to beat Sloane Stephens in an incredible second-round battle at Wimbledon.
Vekic fell 6-4 in the first set and then trailed 3-0 in the second. But, when the Croatian looked down and out, she dug deep and produced a sensational comeback to take the second set 7-5 before besting Stephens 6-4 in the deciding third set.
Inevitably, the relief, adrenaline and pure emotion got the better of Vekic during her post-match interview on the court. Reacting to what could be one of the comebacks of Wimbledon 2023, the 27-year-old was in tears and visibly shaken by the magnitude of what she had just achieved.
"Thank you guys so much! I always said to my team that I think Sloane is one of the best players in the world and I think she definitely showed that today. It was an incredibly tough match today and I cannot believe I won!"
Vekic's clear relief at bouncing back against Stephens was perhaps a culmination of long-term factors too. The Croatian player revealed that she almost quit tennis completely before advice from Maria Sakkari and Ajla Tomljanovic helped her to continue.
Following the second-round triumph, Vekic was then quizzed by reporters about her emotional display on the court. The 27-year-old explained the process of initially doubting herself, before drawing upon the knowledge that she had what it takes to beat Stephens again.
"I mean, I was losing. Not that I was just losing; I felt like I was getting killed. She was playing so well. I didn't know what to do."
"Also, at the same time, I had a lot of expectations from myself. Before the match I beat her on that same court a couple of years ago, and it was a relatively easy match back then. But I know that she can play as good as she played today. I don't know. Maybe I didn't expect it that much today."
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