Krejčíková Slept Just 90 Minutes After Winning in Athens, Yet Still Took to the Court at Štvanice

Czech tennis player Barbora Krejčíková breezed through the first round of the tournament on Prague's Štvanice island, defeating fellow Czech Linda Fruhvirtová — just a day after clinching the title in Athens, where she'd barely slept at all.

According to Krejčíková, the Athens final against Maria Sakkari didn't wrap up until late at night, and her team didn't reach the hotel until 1 a.m. — with a 5 a.m. departure for the airport already looming. "I slept for about 90 minutes. After that much adrenaline, it's hard to fall asleep anyway. So yesterday I basically just dozed on and off and rested," Krejčíková admitted.

Despite the grueling schedule, the tournament's second seed never once considered pulling out of the Prague event. "I honestly never thought about skipping the match or not playing here. I'm glad I'm somehow holding up, and I hope things only get better from here," she said.

She explained that in Athens, the brutal heat pushed match start times to 5:30 p.m., which meant her sleep schedule shifted deep into the night. "Luckily I can fall asleep in an instant — that really helps. But going to bed at two or three in the morning every night isn't exactly ideal for recovery. Even if you sleep in until ten or eleven the next morning, the quality just isn't the same as sleeping between ten at night and midnight," the player explained.

Just as she does at Wimbledon, Krejčíková sticks to her usual ritual of not finding out her opponent's name in advance, learning it only on match day. "It popped up on the board this morning," she said of the draw pitting her against Fruhvirtová, who had little chance against the experienced 30-year-old.

Krejčíková hasn't had much luck at Štvanice in the past. "I think this is one of my first wins at this tournament. I've never really had much fortune at the smaller events, so I'm really pleased with such a strong start, and I hope to add more wins," she admitted.

It's not out of the question that her trophy collection could soon reach a round number — her tenth career title. "It's tempting, sure, but so far it's only the first round. This tournament is packed with strong players, so we're taking it match by match, round by round," concluded the player, coached by Jiří Novák.

Around Prague, based on reporting by sport.cz