Ondřej Král and Adam Mendrek's journey at the Arctic Open quarterfinals concluded with a hard-fought match against the fifth-seeded Indonesian pair, Mohammad Ahsan and Hendra Setiawan.
Despite finding themselves in a precarious situation during the first game, where victory seemed distant, they displayed incredible resilience in the second game, ultimately securing it with a score of 21-19.
Reflecting on their performance, Král noted “They took less space, they were not as aggressive, especially in those first three shots so we could get into the rally, and we had some chances but the reading of the game, their accuracy, the precision, was just so hard for us. They showed us again in the third game why they are on a different level than us”.
Unfortunately, the experience of their opponents prevailed in the third game, resulting in a score of 10-21 21-19 10-21, concluding their Arctic Open 2023 campaign.
Mendrek expressed his perspective, saying, "This was one of the first times we faced a pair from the top 10 and we managed to take one set from them so I’m very happy for that, but they just showed us how the doubles game is played, and it was really tough for us to get through the first three shots. Now we will see what we have to work on in the upcoming period.”
Despite this final setback, Král and Mendrek had an outstanding tournament. Their journey to the quarterfinals was especially noteworthy considering they competed without a coach, defying the odds.
“Unfortunately, our coach couldn’t come with us because he had to go back to the national training centre, in the Czech Republic, because there are more players right now, but I hope next time he will be with us”, Mendrek reflected.
The duo leaves Finland with a profound sense of accomplishment and an eagerness to continue developing their game.
“This is a milestone for us because this is the best result we’ve ever achieved, and we need to get ready for the next week. We’re playing the Czech Open, in Prague, our home, so we need to focus on that but we’re still going to celebrate a little bit this result because I don’t know when it will happen again for us” concluded Mendrek with a smile.
Král and Mendrek have won the hearts of fans by showing a huge level of sportsmanship and admiration towards their opponents. Following their defeat, they graciously asked Ahsan and Setiawan for a photo, cherishing the moment.
“I’m very grateful for this and happy we could face legends like Ahsan and Setiawan”.
Their journey in the Arctic Open, despite its conclusion, remains an inspiring chapter in their promising careers.