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Hlavackova’s Olympic Heroism


During Saturday’s mixed doubles match, the Czech duo of Andrea Hlavackova and Lucie Hradecka was leading the Swiss team of Martina Hingis and Timea Bacsinszky by a set and a break and looking like a shoe-in for a medal. They were holding a match point—on serve.

Then disaster struck for Hlavackova and her team. She was hit in the left eye by a Hingis swing volley and while she would recover and continue the match, the Swiss would take over and win in three.

Naturally, there was a bit of bad blood between the two as Hingis reportedly complained that Hlavackova was taking two much time with medical staff before continuing the match (see video from about 1:00 to 1:10), but Hlavackova didn’t seem to carry too much animosity with her. According to Tennis.com’s Jonathan Scott, who reported on this story early Sunday, here is what Hlavackova had to say after the incident:

"It happens," she said, before elaborating. "[Hingis is] one of the greatest who knows where to put the ball. When I saw the video and I saw the space which was around me, I have to admit that she could have put it away… She was more worried about not getting a medical timeout for me than about my eye."

After heading to the hospital that night to have her left orbital bone diagnosed and treated, Hlavackova and her partner Hradecka would return on the action on Sunday. They eventually fell in the Bronze medal match to fellow Czechs Barbora Strycova and Lucie Safarova.

Hlavackova, a Silver medalist at the 2012 Games, didn’t medal in Rio. But she is certainly one of the biggest heroes of the week in our eyes for courageously returning to action and handling herself with class the whole way through.

Hingis and Bacsinszky would go on to win Silver, losing to Ekaterina Makarova and Elena Vesnina in the women’s doubles final.

And, in case you were wondering… yes, Hlavackova did have pretty mean shiner:

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