In my last article on Swiatek’s win in Gyor, I was complaining with myself about not having found a suitable nickname for Marta Kostyuk: it seems that eventually I managed to solve this complex problem (see above).
As Attila – Flagellum Dei, who possibly was even more fierce and brutal than Marta, about 1600 years ago moved from Hungary to vent his superior strength against western and eastern Roman empires, winning many battles and raiding the respective territories, Marta – Flagellum Dei this week, still in Hungary, for the first time showed on the Pro Tour very aggressive purposes, winning all her struggles against much more experienced opponents and spreading desperation among them (I know all this is quite stupid, but it’s useful to explain the weird ratio of the nickname – which suits in my view the overwhelming power of Marta’s game). It’s too early to foresee if the 25k which she just gained in Dunakeszi will be the first little step leading Marta to become a first class player on the WTA circuit; but for sure up to now she did her own duty, since in this tournament she beat, among others, Karolina Schmiedlova, currently ranked 250 WTA and former 26 in the world, and the first seed Ipek Soyluk, a 21 year old Turkish player currently ranking in 155th place (not bad at her age).
After a couple of attempts during the last quarter of 2016, Marta obtained her first positive result on the Pro Tour a couple of months ago, having reached a semi-final in a 15k played in Antalya starting from the qualifications. Despite the little experience gained on the Pro Tour, Marta immediately stepped up trying a 25k in Tunisia, where she qualified for the main draw but lost in the first round by 4-6 1-6 against Daniela Seguel (240 WTA).
In Dunakeszi Marta was awarded with a wild card and last week I wondering what she would have done with it: it seems that the answer is that she exploited quite well the occasion offered to her. Already in the first round Kostyuk showed her bellicose intentions by dominating Kimberley Zimmermann from Belgium, dismissing her by 6-2 6-3: this victory was not obvious, since the Belgian is anyway a top 400; but what was really surprising was the authority showed by Flagellum Dei in this match: she conceded only two break points overall and even if her first serve didn’t work very well – she served less than 50% of first balls in in both sets – she was very consistent with her second serve, winning more than half of the points – a pattern which would continue throughout all the tournament – and double faulting only 5 times (considering that she served 33 second balls – presumably being aggressive with it – that’s a good figure). Conversely, Zimmermann managed to win only 25% of the points on her second serve.
The second round was a great confirmation by Marta; as anticipated, she beat Schmiedlova in two tight sets: 7-5 7-6(4) was the final result. Kostyuk had a great start, managing to break her opponent in the second game and conceding only 1 point in her first two service games. Then the flow of the match swiftly changed since, at first time Schmiedlova managed to hold her serve (even if conceding further break points), then she broke back and hold her following service game to 0. Marta gave another demonstration of her mental toughness, managing to hold the following fundamental service game with ease and taking the lead again: both players from now on held their serve without facing particular troubles up to 5-5, when Marta again successfully defended her serve in a never ending game, in which she anyway conceded only one break point; she managed to break Schmiedlova in the following game, securing the first set. The second set went along the same lines as the first one: Kostyuk took a 3-1 lead but Schmiedlova was again able to equalise. And again both players successfully defended their respective service games up to 5-5, even if Schmiedlova when serving on 4-5 made a great effort to hold, having had to save one match point. Notwithstanding the missed opportunity, the young Ukrainian was strong enough to win the following game, but didn’t manage to break Schmiedlova and a tie-break was necessary to decide the set. Again, Marta took an early lead but Schmiedlova managed to equalise on 3-3: it was now that Marta took a decisive advantage by winning the following two points and then, with a 5-4 lead, she managed to close the match, winning the tie-break by 7-4. As in her previous match, Marta served less than 50% of valid first serves, but managed to win nearly 75% of the relevant points; and again, she was able to gain more than half of the points with her second serve – which seems to be a heck of a weapon of hers. She conceded overall only 4 break points, whilst she had 10 opportunities to break her opponent; also the gap between the points won by the two players was more material than one would expect in consideration of the final result, since Kostyuk won 91 of them while her opponent only 77.
The following Marta’s opponent was the first seed of the tournament, the Turkish Ipek Soylu: the reputation Flagellum Dei was building up did not prove wrong, since she won the match by 6-4 6-4. In the first set, Marta was in control, having taken a 4-1 lead by breaking her opponent in the fourth game. On 2-4 Soylu managed to break back and from there on, the two girls managed to break each other on each next game, until Marta won the set. An interesting stat in the first set shows that Kostyuk had 12 beak balls, being able to convert only 3 of them whilst her opponent converted both the break points she had. The second set evolved differently from the first one: Flagellum (brief form of Marta’s nickname) took a 2-0 lead, but then lost 4 games in a row (I am so sorry I missed the Shakespearian monologues she usually takes when something goes wrong or not 100% right: I am sure that in this occasion they were marvellous…); nevertheless, again Marta had a great reaction, winning four games in a row, and the match. Stats: as in previous matches, Marta hit less than 50% valid first serves: though, this time her first serve was less effective, since she won only 55% of the points with it. Though, again, Marta won more than 50% of points with her second serve. In the overall match, Marta had 16 break points, whilst her opponent only 6.
The semifinal and the final were easier for Marta. In the semifinal she was opposed to Rumanian Alexandra Cadantu, current 250 and former top 60. Marta won by 6-3 6-3, nevertheless there was a bit of a struggle between the two: in both sets Flagellum was down by 2-3; both times, though, she won four games in a row. Marta’s serve stats, were consistent with those of the first two rounds; most noticeable in this match she had 12 beak balls and conceded only 2, both of which her opponent was able to convert (and this was another pattern which often showed up in Marta’s tournament: she conceded only few break points per match, but did not save a lot of them). Marta was scheduled to play the final match against Bernarda Pera: I must say that Pera was in disadvantage at the start, since her semifinal was adjourned from Friday to Saturday and it was a hard match which lasted 2 hours and a half. The first set of the final followed the players’ serve until 5-4; then Kostyuk managed to break her opponent and win it by 6-4; in the second set Pera broke her opponent early and took a 2-1 lead, but then she lost 4 games in a row. On 5-2 in favour of Kostyuk, both players held their serves and thus Marta was able to win also the second set and the final one, with the score of 6-4 6-3. In this match Marta hit 52% of first serves in winning over 72% of the points; amazingly she won 70% of points on her second serve and conceded only 4 breakpoints throughout the match (one of which was converted).
Flagellum Day, before turning 15, won her first Pro Tour tournament without dropping a set: and she won not a 15k, but a 25k, having to beat in the process two top 300 and one top 200: this girl is just cracking. Most unfortunately, unlike her predecessor who conquered Milan and settled there for a while, the new Flagellum Dei withdrew from the Italian Open, so I won’t be able to see her live: barbarians are fierce and great, but they are cruel indeed, aren’t they?
