Croatian fan favorite Donna Vekić may not have ended her Philippine Women’s Open stint with the crown, but she’s taking everything that’s happened here as a positive—while also going home with the Filipino fans’ love and admiration.
“I don’t think I learned something new, but I really enjoyed my week here. I played five great matches, and even though I lost today, I’m going to take a lot of positives out of this week,” she told reporters after a tough 2-6, 6-3, 7-5 loss to Colombia’s Camila Osorio in the Philippine Women’s Open finals.
And while she couldn’t complete a championship run, Vekić is hopeful that winning four times in five matches could spur her moving forward.
“I think it will be really good for me going forward. Hopefully I can take some confidence out of this week,” she said. “Having played five matches, you cannot replicate this in practice, and it definitely means a lot. I’m hoping to get some good results moving forward.”
Vekić Soaks in All That Love
Like Osorio, Vekić became one of the fan favorites of the Philippine Women’s Open, and that’s something the Croatian truly appreciates. In fact, she described the love she got as “the best thing the whole week.”
“I think the crowd support has been the best thing the whole week. I had a lot of fun playing out there in front of everyone,” Vekić admitted. “It was really pushing us today to do our best and push ourselves to the limit, and hopefully the crowd enjoyed.”
In the Philippine Women’s Open, Vekić first defeated Japan’s Kyoka Okamura, 6-2, 6-2, in the Round of 32. Then, in the Round of 16, she came out victorious against Maiia Tkacheva, 6-1, 6-2. In the quarterfinals, she outlasted China’s Lin Zhu, 6-4, 6-3. In the semis, she beat Tatiana Prozorova of Russia, 6-2, 6-3.
“Its a tough one but its okay, we move forward.”
Vekić will be moving forward all right, and she’ll do so knowing she’s won over the hearts of Filipino tennis fans.
