Post-match interviews with Melanie Oudin and Michelle Larcher de Brito

 

Post match Interview with Melanie Oudin

-Congrats for your win today! How does it feel to be back on grass, where you have done so well in the past?

It’s good, I mean, I love the grass. Obviously I’ve done well in past but every year it is tough…this is the first tournament of the year on it and I have never done well here actually. I had some tough rounds here in the past, plus I played Heather (Watson) last year in the first round.

I think I’m really solid so far, I’m serving really well and returning well, I mean that’s the most important thing on the grass. I’m so far so good, I mean, I’m really happy with how I played my past two matches, so hopefully I can get some momentum and be able to play the same again tomorrow.

- Obviously it is not easy for you after the bad injury during the off season. How are you feeling right now?

Good, I mean, it was a long time out so I just need to play a lot of matches. I mean, this is the best consistent I have played, these past two matches, like I just need the match to play, you know, I mean for being out for so long, I mean, everyone is playing the whole year so I’m pretty fresh and I’m definitely looking forward to playing a lot of matches in this grass season.

-What is next on your schedule now?

Birmingham and then Wimbledon in the qualies, so, you never know, I mean if you win this tournament or you do well on the grass, like I know Wimbledon has WCs to give away. So yeah, I mean, it would be awesome if I could do well enough to get one maybe, but if not playing Wimbledon qualies is fine, like I said, I just need the matches.

-What about the goals for the rest of the season?

Right now I just need to be patient with myself and, you know, getting into tournaments, like really get my focus back, because I played so up and down lately, but, yeah I mean, my goal is to get back in top100 again, you know, I want to try by the US Open to be top100 again.

 

-Are you optimistic about a WC for the home slam?

I don’t know, last year I didn’t get one, so I’m not sure, I mean, I think honestly for me right now it’s better to play qualies, like I need to earn my way again and just get those matches, you know, and might be ready for those top players in the main draw.

Post match Interview with Michelle Larcher de Brito

-Congratulations for such a big fight today, how are you feeling?

So far so good. I’ve had two tough matches and I am just glad I’ve past two rounds and, you know, it gets better every day and I start feeling more comfortable on the grass.

- You have done well on this surface in the past, do you like it a lot?

Yeah, it’s nice and fast, so it really suits my game, you know, I play very flat and it helps me, playing on the grass. It is little tricky obviously cause you are kinda nervous about falling and getting injured. I once fell and I was out for three months, so it’s a little scary to play but it’s very nice surface and I think it suits my game.

-After breaking through so young, like you did, how hard it is to confirm your status and stay on the top of the game?

I don’t know, it’s like, you come out and you are the underdog, nobody knows you and it’s kinda easy, you know, to win few matches because nobody really knows you at first, but once people get to know you, they study your game, they get to know you better so then obviously players come up more prepared knowing your weaknesses.

But you know, it’s ok, I mean, it’s part of tennis, a lot of people have ups and downs, and you know, I’m just trying to keep my best and stay happy . I’ve just got to stay positive and keep going and stay happy no matter what happens.

- The match was very tough, you’ve been up 5-2, Coco (Vandeweghe) seemed out of the match, but on every match point she came up with stunning winners. How hard is it to stay focused when such things happen?

I’ve just tried to stay as calm as possible, it was really hard at one stage. You know, even though you’re winning, you know, it’s tough to close it out, it’s always the hardest part of the match, the end, you know.

I’ve got really nervous but I’ve just tried to stay as calm as possible and keep fighting. And it was very nerve wracking but, you know, I’ve just wanted things start working, you know, tried to stay calmer. Sometimes you let out the frustration a little bit but, you know, I’m glad, I’m very glad… you know, I’m not happy that happened but sometimes I’m glad that such things happen because I’m teaching myself to remain calm, I don’t need to freak out ‘cause, you know, I’m in the winning end, so stay calm and walk through.

-What are your goals for this season on grass then?

I don’t know, you know, just win as many matches as possible, I was here trying to get as many points as possible before Wimbledon, also because I have so many points to defend there. So, you know, I’m just trying to get confident on the grass and feel better about my game and just do my best.

-What about the rest of the season?           

You never know what is gonna happen, I’m just trying to work on my game and trying to do my best,. You know, I’d love to… I’m really close to be in the top 100 so it would be nice to get back there but, you know, I’m just trying to work on everything and just, you know, do my best.

There’s nothing else you can do, you know, tennis is such a tricky game, so you have to just get, you know, remain as confident as possible and get out all you can do and that is it all.

The ITF Nottingham experience: Day 2

My second day at ITF Nottingham was absolutely great: a lot of action, some nice interviews and a bit of drama.

If by any chance you can read Italian or trust google translate for the job, you might find a more serious and longer piece on the day here.

Moore vs the rain

To summarise the day quickly, because it is well past midnight and tomorrow I have another long day to cover, the day was smashing. It started with the weather being a bit dodgy, but it definitely improved later on.

As for me it started with a nice chat-interview with Christina McHale, which will be out soon –I’ll keep you updated with that-, who told me that she had finally started hitting again and despite the pain, she is happy and confident for the upcoming weeks.

I then watched Madison Keys hitting with Lauren Davis and it was nice, though Keys was not very centred, but her forehand was absolutely stunning at times. Davis is also nice to watch as her shots seems to be always landing in the last 20cm of the court.

Cox has some great game for grass!

That was on some hardcourts, funnily enough, on the courts next to them, British Tara More was trying to dry the concrete with not much success, so that after some nice 15 minutes of work she gave up.

From actual tennis matches, I watched the first set between Daniel Evans and Daniel Cox. Though Evans won in two 7-5 sets, I was not very impressed by his game, not as much as Cox’s at least.

Cox could be the unknown underdog to make a (small) surprise if he is given a WC in one of the next grass events, including Wimbledon. Nice solid from the back, good serve and obviously very used to the surface.

Who really needs a lot more training on grass is Nick Kyrgios, who lost to Australian qualifier John-Patrick Smith in straights, looking completely unable to move nor adjust to the low bounces.

Johnson vs the net

Thumbs up for Steve Johnson instead. He won his opening match in two comfortable sets against crowd favourite James Ward.

The American has a massive serve, good forehand and his backhand slice works perfectly on grass, his movements need some work on, as he kept slipping and once even crashed into and almost over the net trying to get to a dropshot.

On the women’s tournament I will give just a few flashes for each of the match I followed.

Kristyna Pliskova is clearly finding wins again on grass because it is the only surface where she does not have to move much, nor use her backhand a lot. She generally needs to hit her first serve in and she can definitely do that.

Dunne and her Vika-vibe

Her opponent, the young Katy Dunne was a nice surprise: despite looking 15, she actually is 19. She reminds me of a young Azarenka, because of her look, her game and her on-court tantrums. 

Her biggest problem is that she is some 20cm shorter and way thinner, she has a nice game and could develop in the future.

Both Melanie Oudin and Sharon Fichman impressed me in a positive way: they both won their matches easily against good grass-courters and they both played some very inspiring tennis.

Oudin was radiant as we talked after her match. After the physical problems she is truly enthusiastic of winning matches again, playing some nice too.

“I think I’ve been really solid so far,” she said: “I’m serving really well and returning well, I mean that’s the most important thing on the grass. I’m so far so good, I mean, I’m really happy with how I played my past matches so hopefully I will be able to play like this again tomorrow.”

Fichman, who is the highest seed left, played very well as well and it looked very confident out there in dealing with the powerful shots of Vesna Dolonc.

The Canadian closed in two showing how her flat strokes can do a lot of damage on grass, despite their speed may not be as high.

Fichman vs  Dolonc

The lowest quality, but one of the greatest intensity was reached by the match between Irina Falconi and Eleni Daniilidou. The American easily got the first set for 6-0, then she suffered the return of the Greek and finally disappeared mentally especially. 0-6 6-4 6-0 the final score for the former champion.

The last match of the day for me was an epic three set battle between Coco Vandeweghe and Michelle Larcher de Brito.

I did not write that, but Kontaveit looks like young Masha!

It was epic in many senses, but ultimately for the horrible and yet entertaining attitude showed by the New Yorker in the third set, when things were going in favor of the Portuguese.

Let’s make it clear, I like Vandeweghe and I do believe that her strokes are genuinely among the most beautiful of the WTA tour in terms of smoothness and aesthetics. But in the third set, she would have got a good use of a cold shower or alike.

She played very erratic and brainless points just for the sake of implementing her negative aura, just to save several match points with sensational winners.

very nice to see Mel back!

She came back from 5-2 down despite throwing tantrums including a smashed chair, a flying visor and a out-of-the-blue second serve ace probably faster than any other serve of her match, just after she had netted the slowest of her second serves.

As said above, she came back to 5-5, but then surrendered again, this time for good, especially in the last service game, where she hit two double faults and basically refused to chase the other two returns.

Massive credits to Larcher de Brito though, she was the only one believing she could turn the match around after the first set and so she did, playing a very solid and yet aggressive game.

Larcher de Brito

After the match she said: “I’ve just tried to stay as calm as possible, it was really hard at some stages. You know, even though you’re winning, it’s tough to close it out, it’s always the hardest part of the match, the end, you know.

“I’ve got really nervous,but I’ve just tried to stay as calm as possible and keep fighting. And it was very nerve wracking but, you know, I’ve just wanted and tried to stay calmer.”

Tomorrow it will be a big day with both the quarters and the semis being played. Stay tuned!

A nice tantrum by Coco

A few comments from Rome early days (day 1)

Monday May 13th

[WC] N Burnett (ITA) b. A Cornet (FRA) 62 62

I could watch only the last few games because of an enormous crowd at the ticket office and a bug in the system which was slowing down the whole process. 

Anyway Cornet looked very far from focused and the low crowd all behind the local rising player didn't help her finding the calm to limit Burnett's firepower and force her to hit a lot of balls before winning the point. 
It wasn't so, Nastassja had much of an easy day, all her shots were working well and she was solid with both forehand and backhand, dictating the pace of the rally and so being always on the lead.
The Italian had no problem closing the match, despite playing a bad game on 5-1 on Cornet's serve, she served well on the next game and closed under a waterfall of clapping.

[Q] G Muguruza (ESP) b. [Q] M Johansson (FRA) 16 60 62

I was able to follow this match because court 1 and two share parts of the stands and so while watching Oudin's match, I could spy the next court and enjoy some rallies.
In the first set what one might have expected to happen seemed indeed to happen, but in a completely unexpected way. What do I mean? Well, Johansson was playing the exact match I expected Muguruza to, she served and raturned hard and deep, dictating the rallies with powerful shots, forcing Garbine to run and hit out of her comfort zone. I have to admit I was really surprised by the power and accuracy of Johansson, who had no problems in taking a first set lead of 5-0, while the Spanish youngster looked tight and lost on court.

Something changed in the last games of the set, Johansson slowed down her shots and from then on she barely ever could trouble the Spanish, who started to gain confidence and could rely on a lot more errors coming from her opponent. But if the first set could still somehow end in the French player's favor, the second set was as fast as the first, but the other way round. 
Suddenly it was Muguruza looking flawless and Johansson lost and the rage that soon took control of the French player didn't help her out of the hole, rather killed her last chances to win the match. 
Garbine now could count on much easier balls to attack and most of the times Johansson tried to be more aggressive she ended up missing. On 2-0 down in the third Mathilde tried a desperate attempt to get back, but the close game lost definitely killed her last chances.

[Q] M Oudin (USA) b. E Makarova (RUS) 26 75 4-2 rit.

By far one of the most interesting matches I was witnessed to watch. The two girls played some spectacular tennis all through the match and the quite big crowd watching totally enjoyed it.

I reached the court to see Makarova serving for the first set 5-2 up, but you could tell that she wasn't in complete control of the match. The great form showed in Madrid just few days before was still there, but the slower conditions weren't helping her, while on the other hand Oudin looked the best I've ever seen her on the dirt. Melanie was running much and retrieving many balls back with depth and often with power, so that Makarova could hardly ever charge for easy shots at the net.
Serving for the set Makarova found herself down of two break points after a couple of great defensive shots of the American that found the Russian out of position. Nonetheless Makarova could find a streak of great shots and with a big winner and loud scream she closed to set at her very first chance.
The first games of the second set seemed to lead towards an easy match for the Russian as Oudin looked little tired and frustrated too, after the missed chance to re-open the set. Her balls were too mild and Makarova couldn't ask for anything better, she stepped inside the court and hit many winners to take the lead.
Then suddenly Oudin found that spark of pride that took her far in her best days and with courage and

humility started to make Makarova feel her presence on court: her ball suddenly found power and depth, there was no ball too far to be reached or too powerful to be handled. With two impressive backhand winners in a row she could get the break back and from 2-2 the match found an incredible new quality and intensity.
Both girls wanted badly to win and you could tell by the screams and grunts, the efforts and the "come on's" on winners that made the crowd go wild. Makarova started to look tight and called the trainer on court complaining about all the balls that was defending, but the trainer didn't sort the effect she hoped for as she got broken and Oudin could serve for the second set.
Melanie was a little unlucky then, as she took the initiative and three times in a row she missed backhands that would have been winners and after having wasted 3 set points she was back to tie on 5 games each.
The wasted chance could have hurt her mentally, but she could see Makarova feeling insecure and instead of surrendering, she kept being aggressive and mixing up her game with deadly slices. The combination often took Makarova out of her comfort zone and many times Oudin found the space for a winner, that happened on 6-5 up as with two outstanding winners she closed the set.
The burst of power used to close the set probably took its toll on the American that again started the set below her level, so that Makarova could take a 2 games lead, but once more Melanie fought back and by exploiting her winning tactic to the best, she suddenly re-found the form of the late second set and won four games in row, while Ekaterina seemed to grow tired of fighting and running for every point.
On 4-2 Oudin went to serve, when Makarova called for the physiotherapist, she didn't seem particularly on pain, but the tiring week of Madrid and the 2 hours on court against Oudin probably took their toll on her shoulder and she preferred to retire instead of getting injured before the French Open, mostly because she seemed in no position to win at this point.
It felt like a great win even for the American, who needed this one for her motivation and she looked overjoyed while signing autographs at the end.


J Jankovic (SRB) b. T Pironkova (BUL) 63 60

I could watch this match only from the middle of the first set, but there wasn't much to be said about it. Jelena looked a little rusty at the very beginning and couldn't find the time off the weird shots of Pironkova, who tried to mix her game with spin and slices, but soon started to be too inconsistent to trouble Jankovic. The Serb on the other hand, once she could find the right timing had no problem closing the match and giving no hope to the Bulgarian, who seemed to accept her destiny and soon gave up fighting.


[Q] S Halep (ROU) b. S Kuznetsova (RUS) 61 61   



Probably the biggest surprise of the day and a really pleasant one. Svetlana didn't play bad at all, but Halep looked the best I've ever seen her playing, being really consistent and yet able to be aggressive and hit winners whenever she had the chance.

Kuznetsova didn't enjoy a good service day, but soon she had to ask too much out of it, since Simona was stepping inside the court from the return and winning almost every rally. Svetlana's serve stats then obviously started to get worse as her risks grew higher, while on the other side of the net Halep had no problems with her own serve, beind solid and hitting even a few winners with that shot, which is probably her "worst" weapon.
The Romanian looked very comfortable on the Italian clay and moved smoothly on every ball threw by the Russian, who on the other hand was struggling to read her opponents shots and was often caught on the wrong feet and "dropshotted" many times.
By leaning on Sveta's shots, Halep often found great accelerations and in no time the match was over on her favor with a double 6-1.


K Bertens (NED) b. F Schiavone (ITA) 76(5) 61

The first match of the night session was featuring two players with a great gap age-wise, since Italian only slam champion Francesca Schiavone is 11 years older than the Dutch player. Sadly for her and the home crowd, experience wasn' enough for her to get through this match, despite her will and pride, Schiavone never really looked in control of the match and her game was not enjoying a good day.
Despite coming from the victory in Marrakesh, Schiavone looked as if she had problems adjusting to the court's speed and bounces, but at first it was not that clear, since Kiki was missing too much as she gifted away at least 10 of the first 15 points with errors.
The Italian couldn't capitalise the advantage and soon got broken back and drawn to a set where every point needed to be fought for, even though the quality wasn't often involved in the making.
Only a tie-break could close this first set and Bertens played slightly better there, while Schiavone was too inconsistent and in the end had to surrender to Bertens's powerful strokes 7 points to 5.
Everything happened really fast from then onwards, Bertens finally looked steady and whether in the first set she gifted many points with silly errors, in the second she didn't allow any of that to happen, whilst Schiavone completely lost the plot and in the end couldn't really do much to prevent Bertens from winning it.

[16] K Nishikori (JPN) b. [WC] P Lorenzi (ITA) 62 64 

Coming from a good week in Madrid, where he defeated Roger Federer en-route, Kei Nishikori probably had not much time to adjust to Rome's different courts and you could see that from the first points against Local Wild Card Lorenzi. The cold night had slowed down the courts and the Japanese struggled to produce winners as easily as in Madrid, but that didn't hurt the gap between the two players. Despite looking a little rusty and often missing shots that he shouldn't have, Nishikori never really seemed on the edge of suffering an upset, mostly because Lorenzi's only shots able to worry him were the serve and the dropshot, but the first inevitably started to suffer smaller percentages, once he tried to serve more aces, whilst the second was very hard to be tried on the heavy and deep balls of Kei. Had to leave at the end of the first set.