Spoiler:
Runner-up Karolina Pliskova on why she will be able to come to terms with the ladies' singles defeat by Ashleigh Barty
“I know how to lose, believe me; I'm so good at that.”
It is not a phrase you regularly hear tripping off the tongue of a Wimbledon finalist.
But that is what Karolina Pliskova said after she lost her first Centre Court final to Ashleigh Barty 6-3, 6-7(4), 6-3.
It was not that she is good at losing because she is not very good at winning – Pliskova is the world No.13 and has 16 singles titles to her name. Rather, it was that losing is an occupational hazard for a professional player: you lose more than you win. And the trick is to learn from those losses and make yourself stronger, wiser and better.
“To know how to win and to know how to lose, you need to learn that,” she said. “I think all the big champions and all the big names, they need to learn this. They need to know how to lose. In the end somebody has to lose.
“I don't want to be behaving the way, I don't know, some people are just being like desperate or being super down. Of course, you can be down, but just don't show it to the people because they don't really want to see this. Be down in your room, but not really like in front of the crowd.
“I think also to accept that maybe somebody played better that day, or somebody is a bit better, for no matter for which reason, is also important. Yeah, I just know how to do that.”
And apart from a brief moment in the on-court interview when she became a little tearful (and then berated herself, saying “I never cry!”), she showed the Centre Court crowd how to take a loss on the chin.
She had been stricken with nerves at the start of the match (she didn’t win a point for the first nine minutes); she had fought her way back into the contest in the second set only to tighten up again at the start of the third and then she had chased Barty all the way to the finish line.
Sure enough, she had come second in that foot race but, as she pointed out, the world No.1 was the better player. Simple as that.
FAREWELL
“I mean, not ideal start of the final, of course. But I have to say, like, a lot of credit to her. One thing is that maybe I didn't start well, but I think she really made it super difficult for me to just feel well [comfortable].
“Of course, horrible start. That's why I'm more like proud about the way how I find a way back in that match. I mean, not really close to winning, but it was one set all after. I lost first 15 points in a row or 14, yeah. Definitely horrible start.
“I think I just find a way how to play even without feeling that great on the court today. But I think it's just, as I said, because of her game as well.”
The more she fought, the more the crowd cheered her on. And once it was all over, they gave her a mighty ovation – Pliskova had made a court-full of new fans. That meant the world to her as did the whole experience of the past couple of weeks.
Wimbledon has not been her happiest hunting ground in the past but by getting to the final, by getting the crowd on her side and even by losing to such a deserving a generous champion – it had made it an unforgettable ride.
TO KNOW HOW TO WIN AND TO KNOW HOW TO LOSE, YOU NEED TO LEARN THAT. ALL THE BIG CHAMPIONS AND ALL THE BIG NAMES, THEY NEED TO LEARN THIS. IN THE END SOMEBODY HAS TO LOSE.
PLISKOVA
