German tennis player Andrea Petkovic was emotional following the end of her career, which came after the defeat by Swiss Olympic champion Belinda Bencic in the first round of the US Open by 1-2 (2:6, 6:4, 4:6).
Andrea Petkovic, a former Roland Garros semi-finalist and WTA Top 10 player, announced last week that the US Open 2022 would be her last, although she may make one more appearance at a European event, for to give her friends and family one last chance to see her in action.
“In the last days, I was devastated”, admitted Andrea Petkovic, adding that she was truly saddened. She explained that she wanted to announce her retirement from tennis a few weeks ago, but her plan changed after the news of Serena Williams’ career ending in New York. “I thought that now no one will be interested in my decision”, added Andrea Petkovic. She said she has a lot of respect for the 23-time Grand Slam champion, who advanced to the second round of the US Open. “I wondered how Serena did it. At the moment I really understand heр”, said the 34-year-old German.
Andrea Petkovic commented that she obviously did not give as much to the sport as Serena Williams, but she is satisfied with what she has achieved. The tennis player added that during the match with Belinda Bencic, she reminded herself not to stop fighting and not to give up until the end. “I want to be remembered this way”, concluded Andrea Petkovic.
She has worked as a sports journalist and commentator during her tennis career and revealed that she would like to continue to mentor young talent such as Jule Niemeier, who defeated Sofia Kenin on Tuesday.
