LO 2019 – Riske: ‘I am very proud of myself’

Alison Riske could hardly believe she was the new Libéma Open champion after she used her first match point against Kiki Bertens. Her first reaction was ‘I am in shock’. No wonder, as Bertens won the first set and in the second set it was 4-1 for Bertens with five match points.

‘I am very proud of myself. I looked at the clock and after 32 minutes it was 6-0 1-0. I though it cannot be true that I am going to loose with this final with 6-0 6-0. However, I kept believing I could turn the tide and kept on fighting for every point.’

Riske attacked every match point against her. ‘I played close to the net and that is where I scored my points. To me it was my only chance. I am happy I took the risk and that it worked out perfectly.’

Riske won her second WTA title in Rosmalen, after winning a title in Tianjin in China in 2014. ‘I am happy with the way I won this match. It has been a while that won my first title, so this is very special.’