Anna Kalinskaya was left in floods of tears after blowing a huge lead against Iga Swiatek at the US Open. The pair locked horns in the third round with Swiatek heading into the match as the overwhelming favourite to progress. She eventually delivered the goods but was made to work hard for the result after a shaky start.
Her unfancied opponent raced into an early 5-1 lead and was firmly on course to win the opening set. However, she ended up losing four set points with Swiatek fighting back to claim the set 7-6. From there, the Pole was never going to be beaten as she cruised to victory, prompting an emotional reaction from Kalinskaya.
Kalinskaya was seen breaking down in tears in the players’ tunnel as she made her way back to the locker room. She wiped her eyes while making the lonely walk, visibly upset after giving up her commanding lead in the first set.
Swiatek had some kind words for her Russian opponent as she reflected on the change in momentum that saw her fight back to win the match.
“Honestly, Anna was playing great,” said Swiatek. “She was playing all these risky balls in like she once did against me in Dubai. I just wanted to make a little bit less mistakes. I just needed to be more solid.
“I just focused on simple things. She started making a bit more mistakes and it got, for sure, tight. I already felt like I had nothing to lose because I was losing pretty bad. At the end, I just went for it, because what more can I do?”
It comes just days after Kalinskaya hit out at her American rivals after blowing a 5-1 lead in the first set of a doubles match. She teamed up with Sorona Cristea to face McCartney Kessler and Peyton Stearns, losing in straight sets.
Kalinskaya waited at the net and had a frank exchange with Stearns, accusing her of being disrespectful. She appeared to be frustrated that her opponents had refused to apologise when their shots hit the net and bounced over.
“I expected a little respect,” fumed Kalinskaya, who has never gone past the quarter-finals of a Grand Slam tournament, before adding: “I haven’t seen you apologise even once.”
Kessler and Stearns did not comment on the exchange, but the latter shared an Instagram post from tennis player Danielle Wolf which appeared to include a subtle dig at Kalinskaya.
“Big dub [win],” wrote Wolf alongside four American flag emojis, before alluding to a costly error from Kalinskaya: “We love a fh [forehand] shank on match point.”
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