Korea Open champion Ekaterina Alexandrova says there's something special about Seoul

Ekaterina Alexandrova lunges for the ball in the 2022 Hana Bank Korea Open final against Jelena Ostapenko at Olympic Park Tennis Center in Songpa District, southern Seoul on Sunday. [NEWS1]

Newly-minted Korea Open champion Ekaterina Alexandrova says there’s something about playing in Seoul that helps her game, with tournaments here providing the backdrop to some of the most memorable moments of her career.

“Every single time I play in Seoul, I’m coming from a previous tournament that was terrible for me,” Alexandrova said on Sunday after winning the 2022 Hana Bank Korea Open. “But anytime I come here, I find my game back.

“This is a special tournament and playing here is always good. I feel the course of the balls, maybe the weather, everything comes together and it just feels really nice on the court.”

Alexandrova on Sunday beat top seed Jelena Ostapenko in a dominant performance that saw her come back from a tight 7-6 first set to smash her way through a 6-0 second set for an unexpectedly fast win. Toppling the former French Open champion won the Korea Open this year, but it wasn’t the first time facing Ostapenko in Seoul has marked a big moment for the Russian player.

In 2018 she won her first WTA quarterfinal in Seoul, beating Ostapenko in the process. That tournament also marked the first time she had beaten a top-10 player, again Ostapenko.

“Honestly when you play with Jelena, it is never easy it is always tough,” Alexandrova said. “She is a great player and she knows how to win. She hits hard, and sometimes it is hard to do something about it.”

Now that the Korea Open is over, Alexandrova plans to take a few days to enjoy Seoul.

“I haven’t done anything this week,” Alexandrova said. “We left the hotel in the morning and went back only in the evening. I didn’t have that much time to explore something new things. I now have two days to explore new things just enjoy my time here without the tennis.

“I’m leaving on Wednesday. Finally, I can enjoy the moment.”

BY YUN SO-HYANG [yun.sohyang@joongang.co.kr]