Lucky loser Eva Lys felt like she had been hit by a train after a heavy defeat by world number two Iga Swiatek in the Australian Open fourth round on Monday but the German said she had enjoyed the journey in the best week of her life.
Swiatek thrashed Lys 6-0 6-1 to end the fairytale run of the world number 128, who replaced the unwell Anna Kalinskaya in the main draw following a loss in the third round of the qualifying tournament for the year’s first Grand Slam.
“It’s definitely the nicest week I’ve had in my life just because it wasn’t really only about the result, but also about the whole story,” the 23-year-old Lys told reporters.
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“This is the week I’ve been working for, for ages. I was always waiting for that moment. I’ve had a lot of nights where I was actually talking to my parents, often with tears, asking, When will the time come?”
Lys had every reason to be delighted after she became the first lucky loser to reach the last 16 since the Australian Open relocated to Melbourne Park in 1988, with her progress forcing her to change her flight out of Australia several times.
The Kyiv-born player, who for the last few years has been managing a rheumatic autoimmune disease called spondylarthritis that causes inflammation in her spine and joints, said her run at Melbourne Park had given her the belief she needed.
“Everything just came down to this week, where on one side it’s definitely the tennis I played, but also it was the luck in the beginning,” Lys said.
“It was just the momentum that made it so special.”