It seems as if there’s often a player who shows up at the Olympics and performs well above expectations. This year, it’s Anna Karolina Schmiedlova (Slovakia). She beat the French Open finalist, Jasmine Paolini, in the third round and backed it up by beating the Wimbledon champion, Barbora Krejcikova, in the quarterfinals.
This is one of the best underdog runs in recent times by a player well outside the top 50. Beating two of the most in-form players on such a big stage is commendable. Schmiedlova out-grinded Paolini in the third round and kept her cool in important moments. Despite looking tired at the end of that match, she played another solid match and outclassed Krejcikova, who also appeared tired.
Schmiedlova plays her best tennis on clay and knows a thing or two about playing in Paris. She’s beaten some good names, including Venus Williams, at the French Open. In the 2016 French Open, she was the only player to take a set off the eventual champion, Garbine Muguruza. 2015 was the breakthrough year for Schmiedlova, where she won two WTA titles as a 21-year-old, but injuries and a slump in form derailed her upward trajectory. She dropped out of the top 200 in 2020 and fought her way back to the top 100.
Schmiedlova has a Shot at Making History
The level of tennis that Schmiedlova has shown in this Olympics must be the best she has shown since she was a top 30 player, if not better. Her groundstrokes have been awesome, she has demonstrated new mental fortitude and consistency, and her serve has been way better than usual. She has been the underdog in all her matches this Olympics but has shocked everyone with her sustained level.
This is what makes the Olympics special. Players tend to raise their level in a way they normally wouldn’t when playing for their country. Schmiedlova has never really been the same since her disaster season of 2016, and yet here she is, playing for a medal at the Olympics. Slovakia should be proud of her for this run and effort.
Dominika Cibulkova was Slovakia’s big player for years, but she never did particularly well at the Olympic games. So Schmiedlova would be making history with a medal in singles, and she is only one win away from achieving that feat. She’s been around for so long; it would be amazing if she could win a medal this week. At 30 years old, after slogging it out through the struggle years, she would deserve it.
Main Photo Credit: Susan Mullane – USA TODAY Sports
