“A perfect birthday present with a wonderful bouquet of flowers as a surprise,” says Marie Bouzková

This statistic may surprise some, but Marie Bouzková has only reached the second round of the Livesport Prague Open two times in her career! The 2022 Livesport Prague Open champion began this year's tournament with a dominant 6–0, 6–2 win over Chinese qualifier Gao Xinyu, who is ranked in the second hundred of the WTA rankings.

This is only the second time you’ve made it past the first round at this tournament. Did you think about that at all?
“Well, I was thinking to myself: You’ve won this tournament before! I don’t remember any more wins since, maybe there were some in the qualifiers, but winning in the first round here feels new. Let’s see what else is in store for me!”

You lost just two games in your centre court match. How happy are you with your performance on your birthday?
“It was a tougher match than the score reveals. I’m glad I started well. The second set was full of important and long games. I’m happy I served well in key moments or managed to do well on the return. This win is kind of my first birthday present to myself.”

What does support from the fans in Prague mean to you?
“It’s great that so many people came even though it was 11 AM on Monday. That was really nice. It shows they’re genuinely excited about the tournament. I enjoyed it and I’m glad the start of the tournament went so well.”

Your partner, hockey player Aleksander Barkov, was cheering for you from the stands too, right?
“Yes, he usually comes to see me play at Wimbledon and Miami. When he’s around, I feel calmer. It was nice that he was here for my birthday too.”

After the match, you received a bouquet of flowers during the on-court ceremony...
“I didn’t know that was going to happen! Tournament director Miroslav Malý surprised me with a bouquet of exactly 27 flowers, that’s quite a lot. When the tournament opened, the Kovačková girls greeted me formally, like you would an old person…”

How will you continue celebrating your birthday?
“We’ll definitely go out for some food, a piece of cake, and we’ll see what else the day brings.”

This tournament is truly your home tournament, right?
“Absolutely. I’m sleeping at home with my parents. I come to TK Sparta Prague every day and train here, so it’s really special, but it does feel a bit different because I’m playing actual matches now. I feel the support from the entire organisation. Tournament director Malý always supports me as much as he can, I really appreciate that. I give my all for the fans.”

There are 11 Czech players in the main draw of the Livesport Prague Open this year, what do you make of that number?
“It doesn’t surprise me. We have younger and younger generations of girls who are already playing well at 14 or 15. Tereza Valentová just won a tournament, which is great. I think it’s just amazing for Czech tennis that things are developing this way. It pushes us all forward.”

Livesport Prague Open (Women, CZE, 275 094 USD, Hard Court)
1st round, singles
MARIE BOUZKOVÁ (CZE, 47.) – Gao Xinyu (CHN, 155.) 6-0, 6-2

Photo: Livesport Prague Open / Pavel Lebeda (sport-pics.cz)

Author: eSports

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