Alison Riske put up an impressive show against higher-ranked Jil Teichmann in the first round of the Miami Open. The 31-year old defeated the 41st ranked Teichmann in straight sets in a match that lasted more than an hour. Alison Riske presently occupies the 53rd spot in the WTA rankings, quite a drop from her career-best singles ranking of 18 back in 2019.
Riske is clearly happy with how things turned out. Speaking after the match on a show hosted by Dani Klupenger and Prakash Amritraj, Riske expressed her delight for being able to stage a comeback from a break down in the first set. “I knew it was going to be a battle especially on these courts which are a little bit slower – she has a great game for that, she gets all the balls back in play. I knew going into the match that it’s going to be a war and the only focus that we had is when diversity is going to set in, I would have to bounce back“, said the American.
She further added, “I am really proud that I could bounce back because there were breaks of serve, I was down in the tie-breaker but I was able to come back, stay strong and get the win and I am really excited about that.”
Riske is grateful and happy to be finally back playing tennis. She has been through a rough patch, suffering multiple injuries which put a lot of uncertainty over her tennis career. She stated, “Honestly, just to be healthy again has been so refreshing for me. Even at the age I am, I really enjoy playing tennis not that I didn’t before but now I don’t really take anything for granted. I am just really loving it. I love every single thing about what I do and I love overcoming tough weeks and bouncing back and seeing how strong I can be with that. At this point in my career, this is what I am looking to do on a regular basis.”
Riske was evidently in a jolly mood during her interaction on the show. She was seen sharing jokes with Prakash Amritraj on the show and all three had a good laugh about it. As a matter of fact, Alison Riske is married to Stephen Amritraj and Prakash is his paternal cousin.
Alison Riske is set to face 31st seed Alize Cornet in her next round.
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