Getting to know Norbert Gombos

Wednesday wasn't a good day for the ATP Challenger in Cordenons as the heavy rain that forced to suspend matches yesterday kept falling until the today's middle afternoon and despite the hard work from the organization, only one set was played, but the conditions of the courts forced once more to delay the whole thing to tomorrow. 

On outer courts a lot of players kept practicing despite the slow and slippery clay and in one of them I found one of the most interesting rising names of the circuit, Norbert Gombos, from Slovakia, who accepted to say a few words once his training was over. Gombos was born in 1990 and reached his career highest ranking just a few weeks ago being number 262 in the world:

You played really well in your first round match against the 7th seed Pashanski, how was it?

N.G. I really felt good on court, I played really well because I know he is a very good and tough opponent, so I tried my best and I felt really good because I was playing on the centre court and there was a good atmosphere, with a lot of people on the stands…I was glad that I played good tennis.

Is it the first time you come here?

N.G. yes, it’s my first time here in Cordenons. I’ve played many tournaments in Italy this year, but it’s my first time here.

How is the atmosphere here? How do you feel it?

N.G. You know, it’s always good in Italy, really good atmosphere because so many people come to watch matches and, you know, so it’s like, those are just challengers, but with so many people it feels like the ATP tour and there are always nice clubs and good organization…that’s why I am playing only in Italy now!

I see, that’s flattering for us. You played a lot on clay this year, is it because you like it best?

N.G. Yeah, that’s true. I have more points coming from clay, but I don’t care if I am playing on clay or hard courts, also my coaches say that I have a good game for hard courts, but I don’t care, I think I feel more comfortable on clay, because I was grown up on clay. This is better for me, I guess.

You’ve got one more day to rest now because of the rain and the courts, what do you think about your chances in the next round and then for the tournament?

N.G. Yeah, I mean, I am playing against a wildcard [Stefano Napolitano], so some home player, but it will be a tough match because every Italian guys always play really good at home. I have played against local wildcards before in other tournaments and those were tough matches, but I will try my best, that’s for sure.

What would you tell us about your game? What’s your favourite shot?

N.G. Well…I play very good from the baseline, I feel good there, but I improve my game all the time, thinking about new things and I believe that I improved my game, not only my ranking, so that’s why I am training very hard at home, so I try to improve always new things on my game.

Of course, there’s always something to improve, but you are doing a great job. So where are you going to play next? And what are your goals for the season?

N.G. my goals for the season? Well it was to reach top 300 and I already did it *laughs*. So now it’s to get into some grand slam qualifying, you know, it’s my dream to play a grand slam.

Well, you are not too far from that, are you?

N.G. Yeah, just like few points, but I have to defend a few from the last year, so we will see, I will fight for the Australian Open.

So maybe we will see you in Australia next year?

N.G. I hope so. *smiles*

Anyway, I think that yesterday was your birthday…

N.G. yes…

So happy birthday!

N.G. *laughs* thanks!

Did you have time to enjoy it?

N.G. No, you know, it’s always tough to celebrate birthdays on a tournament, because you are always practicing the whole day or waiting for matches…yesterday I played doubles, so it was good because we won, so it’s been the likes of a present…*laughs again* but it was like a normal day for me…

Next week are you playing another tournament or just a bit of rest?

N.G. Yes, I signed in for a 50k + H challenger in Este, so I will go there from here.

Oh ok…well, you know, playing ITFs you are always around and there are very few combined events, so it’s hard to…well first of all, do you have a girlfriend?

N.G. No, not yet. *giggles*

Ok, so, do you think it’s hard to get to know players? I mean, women players…

N.G. Mmm…I don’t think so, I have a lot friends and sometimes we meet at tournaments, it’s easier with other guys though. Sometimes I travel with my coach, so it’s good for me, but I have many many friends on tour, which is really good.

Of course…can I ask you who are your best friends on tour?

N.G. I mean, I have a really good relationship with the Czech guys and also from Slovakia, but that’s why I am playing in Italy so that I can meet some Italian guys and have new friends, you know.

Has it ever happened to you that a girl or a play approached you, like for a date or to ask you out?

N.G. No, no. *giggles* I mean, I try to keep in touch with the girls at home, but I am abroad for a long time, but when I am at hope I try to meet every friend and also girls and I also try to also…how to say it…turn off from tennis a bit, so I try to relax a bit at home and feel good.

I see, well, thank you and good luck for tomorrow.

N.G. Thank you.

ATP Challenger Cordenons: day 2 review

After the unexpected death of the creator of this tournament and chief of the venue, the event struggled to find money and the prize money suffered a downgrade, but in spite of that the Open del Friuli welcomed quite a strong field with 4 top 100 players and Volandri, number 102.
Tuesday witnessed quite a nice number of enjoyable matches and surprises:

Alessandro Giannessi def (4) Adrian Ungur 3-6 7-6 (2) 6-1

The 23 year-old Italian came to this match with the knowledge that despite the huge gap between his ranking and his opponent he could have his chances, as in the previous matches they were tied with one win each. Giannessi started well and could take a break lead early in the set, but the Romanian couldn't react any better: his one handed backhand grew harder and more accurate and there was little the Italian could do whenever Ungur was accelerating from this wing.
In no time Ungur won the break back and started to sail full speed to take the first set, while Giannessi fell in a cloud on negativity, swearing, complaining on calls a smashing balls to the back fence. From 3-2 up, the Italian suddenly found himself 6-3 down and with the desperate need for a reaction in the second set, which eventually came.
Most of the games saw no risks for the one serving, because both guys served really well and up to 3-3 no break points were given. Then in the 7th game Giannessi let his negativity haunt him again and Ungur tried his best to finally break his opponent's serve by chasing after every ball and attacking whenever he had a chance. Giannessi seemed to suffer this situation and was forced to face several break points, but thanks to inspired drop shots he could save them and finally hold. Ungur struggled a bit on his serve too, but in the end there were no breaks and only a tie-break could close the set.
As to follow the path of the last games Giannessi finally got rid of his negative thoughts and attitude and played an awesome tie, whilst Ungur looked tired and there was little he could do from that moment on.
Once he lost the tiebreak he went on serving his first game out in the third, but he immediately called the trainer for some back pain and once back on court he completely gave up the fight, as it was impossible for him to chase Giannessi's sharp angles the match was set for a fast ending in favor of the Italian that moves to the second round.

 (Q) Janez Semrajc def (6) Antonio Veic 4-6 6-4 6-4

Probably the biggest surprise of the day, considering the very unlucky seasons that the Slovene has just left behind and the good results that Veic reached in the past weeks. All in all, Janez came from two tough battles in the qualies, but knew he could have chances against Veic, because he had won their only match before on a future, but that was before the illness that forced Semrajc out.
The match was very intense and it needed almost three hours to finally decide the winner, but it was a great quality one, with the Slovene finding energy everyone thought he might simply not have in the third set, when Veic could get a break lead and he started to be more effective and powerful with his shots. In that moment Semrajc reacted with a good service game and finally by fighting point-to-point to break back by passing with superb backhands all the attempts of the Croat to close at the n
et. The Slovene himself showed great touch at the net and once he finally hold for 5-4 in the decider, he gave everything on return and he finally could snatch this great win to boost his confidence and hopes in this comeback. After the match Semrajc agreed for an interview where you can hear a lot more about his come back and his thoughts on this match, you can find it here.

Potito Starace def (WC) Filippo Baldi 6-2 6-2

There's really very little to be said about this match, because the match itself was never in doubt to end in straight easy sets for the more experienced Starace, who's clearly on a bad moment of his career, but he still has the shots and the consistency to be safe from being upsetted by a youngster, not even as talented as Baldi.
As for Filippo, there's a lot of raw talent for sure, he has a great first serve for his age as he hit a couple of 195+ km/h serves, he has a good shot selection, but he still lacks of a general view of the game and a bigger consistency as he often gives away points he should not. What's more he should find a calmer attitude, because smashing rackets, swearing and self-mockeries channel way too much energy and concentration onto the wrong aspects of the game and in the end he can't play as well as he is capable of.

Post-match interview with Janez Semrajc

The young Slovene won his place in the ATP Challenger of Cordenons by fighting through a tough draw in the qualies, where he was unseeded. In the first round he faced Croatian Antonio Veic, 6th seed of the main draw. The match was long and tough, both guys gave everything in every point, but in the end it was the talent of the Janez to prevail and give him a very important win, after the huge problems suffered in the past years.

 

Well, first of all, congrats for today. You played a really good match.

J.S. Thank you.

I think it wasn’t easy, because your opponent had a much better ranking that you, how did it feel out there?

J.S. Ehm…it was really tough because I played qualies, two matches were three hours long and in the end of the second set I felt the tiredness and it was strange…

You also went down of a break in the 3^rd set, but had a great reaction to that…where did you find the energy to do that?

J.S. I don’t know, I just said: “play, just play hard and be aggressive, just do everything”, I was too tired so I just tried to break his game, otherwise I couldn’t win today.

Totally. How’s it going this season? You did quite well in a few futures in Austria in the past weeks and played San Marino the last one, now you are in the second round here, so it’s going well.

J.S. yeah, in the past I got a lot of problems with mononucleosis when I was 19 and I was 320 and then I had to rest for 4 years because of this disease and it was very tough mentally to stay focused on tennis or quit. This year at the beginning I played some futures…I played bad…and I was thinking to quit tennis, then I got called for the Liga and I said, ok, it’s good money, so let’s go and play. I won some matches against good guys despite two months  with no tennis, so I thought, ok, I can play tennis. So I played those futures in Austria, one I reached the SF, the other two I won, yeah…last week in San Marino it was not the best day, but also the guy was really good.

I see, you probably were a little tired too…

J.S. No, he played really well in this tournament. *laughs*

Ok, well, did you check the draw already?

J.S. oh, no, I know I play in the next round Schoorel, but I never played him.

Well, today you played very good down the line shots, are those your best shots in your opinion or?

J.S. I think my best shot is the backhand, wherever I play it. Then serve-forehand combo.

These indeed worked today…anyway, how does it feel now? I mean you came back from a serious disease and thought about quitting tennis and now, how does it feel to know you can still do it?

J.S. Reborn! It’s a very good feeling because also, I started very good this season, not the beginning, but then a semifinal and two titles, you know, maybe tomorrow it’s my day!

Yeah! Let’s hope for that! And you’ve already reached a semifinal in a challenger before.

J.S. yes, two times. Yeah, but with the disease I still feel tired and it’s hard to recover. I am not so physically prepared because of this and you know, it’s strange when you  play qualies and you reach the semifinal, but you are too tired to play more.

You played really long matches in the qualies as well, so it’s tough for sure.

J.S. yes, against good opponents, like with Ciric in the second round and I also beat him because of the heat as he got cramps in the third set, you know, long matches.

Yes, it gets tough there.

J.S. yes, and with Veic I played in 2008 in a future and beat him easily, but today it was a completely different story.

Indeed. What are your goals now? I mean, not just for this week, but for the rest of the year.

J.S. you know, just to come to main draws of challengers, three-hundred and something, you know, to start the new season and play more challengers and maybe reach the qualies of Australian Open, it’s tough, but you never know. You have to be 317, so I must gain 140 points and it’s tough, but everything is possible.

You played a lot on clay in your career, do you think it’s your best surface or did it only happen because most tournaments around are played on it?

J.S. it’s just because of the tournaments, you know, I also play well on hard, like sometimes I practice with Kavcic and when I do, I easily play better with him on hard, because he likes clay and it’s strange to play with him on hard.

So you think hard is your best surface?

J.S. no, I don’t think so. I don’t know, all surfaces are good. I like to play on clay because when you go to tournaments you know it’s the same, with hard you never know, sometimes it’s slow, sometimes it’s fast.

Yeah, true that. So, is it the first time you come to Cordenons? How do you like it here?

J.S. yes, it’s my first time. It’s a nice place, really nice swimming pool, yeah, I never used it, yet, but I think, I don’t want to use it. Well, nice organization, the courts are slow, but that’s ok for now, for me.

So, where are you going to play next?

J.S. next week I am playing another future, 10k, because I must play some futures, you know, last week I lost first week qualies, if I had lost this week in the first round qualies, I needed to play some matches.

For sure, but now, with that result you will go further in the ranking, so you can start to enter bigger tournaments.

J.S. well, you know it’s only 10 points or something like this, it’s not so much.

Well, a few more wins and you’ll get more points.

J.S. hopefully *smiles* you know, it’s difficult because I feel my legs are so heavy, so now I am heading to massage, so maybe it will be better.

I can see and then your opponent played yesterday so he has got one more day to rest.

J.S. And he’s such a hard hitter, so I will have to run a lot *laughs*

Oh so you did check his game!

J.S. I know him because we are the same age, from juniors tournaments…last year he played very good and I think he’s won some tournaments, but this year he has fallen in the ranking so I dunno.

Hopefully you get your chances! Thank you and good luck for tomorrow.

J.S. Thank you!

Hot & cold in the warm summer season so far

The US Open Series is like every summer unfolding and when only two weeks are left before the big finish line in New York, some hints about players' form have already been given and the first speculations about what's to happen at the USOpen can be done.
Especially in the men series most of the big names showed up only this week in Montreal, in order to enjoy a few weeks off after Wimbledon to rest and train. That  gave the chance to other names to take advantage to the otherwise "packed" draws and take a good margin on the series' ranking. That was the case with John Isner, who sailed through the mediocre draw of Atlanta's 250 by winning it and then reached the final in Washington's 500, defeated by Del Potro in the final.
A similar situation happened in the women tournaments with world number 1 Serena Williams taking part to the race only this week in Toronto and Maria Sharapova yet to compete.

Hawaiian-like hot form

Rafael Nadal. The Spanish champion, winner of the series a few years ago, after the injury that forced himself out for most of the past season is witnessing one of the best years and after the huge disappointment of the first round loss in Wimbledon, he started his summer campaign with a terrific run in Montreal's Master 1000. En route he had to face very little resistance in most rounds, but could raise his game to edge past Djokovic in the semifinal, decided in a massive tie-break in the third set. Rafael is still undefeated on hard courts this year! Up to now he is 2nd in the series.

Serena Williams. The world number one and French Open champion came to Canada after a winning "holiday" in Bastad, where she decided to end her most successful clay season ever, in order to forget the unexpected loss of Wimbledon. To the ones who might have thought that coming back on clay just before the Hard Court season was a bad choice, she replied with a terrific run in Montreal's Premier 5. On her way to the title she dropped no set and never look on the verge of losing any, not even with Radwanska in the semis, when the Pole played a superb match and forced the American to play her best to win every point. Similarly to Nadal's case, she stands 2nd in the series.

Hot like Florida with chances of storms

John Isner. We've already mentioned his summer season so far. With his big serve and a game suitable to the American courts, John leads the Series thanks to the title in Atlanta, won in a tight service-battle of three tie-breaks with Kevin Anderson and then to the final reached in Washington. After those displays of consistency he was upsetted by local WC Pospisil in the first round of Montreal.

Juan Martin Del Potro. After the injury occurred in Wimbledon it looks like he's back on his feet and ready to compete for the only slam he has previously won: the USO. On his way to the title in Washington he was the first seed, but had to battle with other good names like Anderson, Haas and finally Isner. Maybe little fatigue prevented him from another good run in Montreal, where he was upsetted by eventual finalist Milos Raonic in the 3rd round.

Aga Radwanska. Probably the most solid girl on tour, Aga started his campaign for the USO with a good show of consistency, but she looked not as good as she used to. Despite leading the series, she had to face a couple of bad losses, especially for the implications of those losses. After having reached the final in Stanford, she was defeated by Dominika Cibulkova, in a match that seemed to be in full control of the Pole.
The week after it was Sam Stosur's turn to take her down, this time in a 3rd round. In Toronto Aga sailed through the early rounds and then put up a great fight against Serena in the SF. It's hard to see her winning the Open in this form, but she's a lock for a QF or further.

From Hot to Hailing, it's like the east-coast

Milos Raonic. The young Canadian hope reached the final on the home soil before surrendering to Nadal. On his way to the final defeated good names, but a part from Del Potro hardly any of them falls in the contenders for the title in New York and it's hard to see Milos being ready to challenge any of the big 4 at the moment.

Sam Stosur. The former USO Champion is having not her best season and after finishing out of the top 10 is surely looking for a way back to the top. Her summer started bad though, with a bad loss to Govortsova in the first round of Stanford. She could regroup and unexpectedly go on to win her first title of the year in Carlsbad upsetting Radwanska and even more surprisingly by giving no hope to World n°2 Vika Azarenka in the final. Once in Toronto the form slowly fainted and she couldn't get past Kvitova in the 3rd round.

Dominika Cibulkova. Title in Stanford, R1 in Carlsbad, QF in Toronto. Lika rollercoaster the short Slovakian player as usual shows to be one of the most unpredictable players of the tour as much able to beat anyone on a given day as to self-implode on the bad ones. Her seeding will be low in New York, but for sure she's not well liked on any contender's way.

Sorana Cirstea. Like Cibulkova, consistency has always been a problem for her, but semi finals in Stanford, QF in Washington and final in Montreal secured her a spot close to the top 20 and a career
best ranking, but most of all, her wins against Kvitova, Wozniacki and Li showed how much of a dark horse she may be in New York.

Magdalena Rybarikova. Winning titles is never easy when you are not a top name, winning the same title back to back is something huge at any level and Magda did that in Washington, by defeating players supposedly much better than her according to the ranking. The Slovakian won a tight match against best German Kerber and then destroyed Russian Ekaterina Makarova, before taking over Andrea Petkovic in the final. The following week she was also able reached the QF in Toronto where only a massive Serena Williams could stop her winning streak. That said only two weeks ago she was routined by Keys in Stanford, so it's hard to believe she'll be a safe bet for a deep run in New York.

One more reason why hurricanes have female names.

Olga Puchkova. The Russian player in Washington gave a great show of her hot-temper as after the first round win over local Star Stephens argued via Twitter to a journalist, who tried to justify Sloane's loss by saying she was rusty - "Rusty my &@@" was her reply-. But she could outdo that by getting disqualified the following round because in a moment of rage she hit a ball towards the back fence, but hit a line-man instead.

Is it even summer there?

Andy Murray. Coming from the massive win in London, he decided to have a break, but his first matches on hard courts have been a disaster, a tight win against Granollers and a one sided loss to Gulbis clearly are not the best way to start a run whose aim is to defend last year's USO title.

Janko Tipsarevic. First round in Wimbledon, flying to Bogota on Hard Courts to lose his second round match against Falla, flying back to Europe to lose first round on the Swiss clay of Gstaad and then back to Canadian's hard courts and yet another loss. Hard to believe Janko will be a contender in New York.

Gilles Simon. A losing streak of three matches is never a sign of good form, when the last two of them come on the surface of the next Slam and in both you never seem able to hurt your opponents things can't but look even worse.

Caroline Wozniacki. The two years in a row year-ending world number one has fallen in a negative spiral from the beginning of 2012 and it seems that she's unable to ever climb back close to where she's been for so long. Barely hanging in the top 10 she started her favourite part of the season with a tough loss to Sorana Cirstea in Montreal, when she blew 2 consecutive MPs in the second set. Most of her game looked there and the injured ankle seemed fine, but her mental game seems long gone.

Svetlana Kuznetsova. The former US Open champion hasn't been much of a contending for slams in the past years, but after the good display in Australia her season simply failed to deliver. A couple of injuries forced her out for a while, but in two tournaments played this summer she collected 3 losses -for once being a Lucky Loser wasn't as lucky-.

Jelena Jankovic. For the former number one being 3-2 after two weeks of the American summer season can't but be a disappointment, especially if she's won only against players ranked much lower than her and only after tough battles, while the two losses came to players closer to her ranking, but yet still below her

Angelique Kerber. The German number one is not going through an easy season, her body is always facing injuries and her game suffers a lot for that, but she has a lot to defend now and she seems just not ready for that and her top 10 status is in jeopardy. Like Caroline her losses came after tight matches, but she used to win those mental battles.

.

There are still two events left to find or lose form though and then the air of slams can change a lot in the motivation and fears of players, so we are still far from being able to make any accurate prediction, which as usual will be proven wrong anyway.

Bad Gastein Day 2 review

Viktorija Golubic def. (5) Kiki Bertens 6-2 6-2

Heading towards this match, the latest results of the two couldn't be more different as Bertens was living a really difficult moment of her career, with only 2 wins in the past twoelve weeks, while Golubic was on a roll, her results improving week from week and after having failed to qualify for her first WTA main draw in Palermo, she could make it here in Bad Gastein by winning all her matches in the qualies.
Yet no-one would believe the young Swiss could dictate the game and control the match as much as she eventually did. Bertens soon lost confidence and her errors increased as much as Golubic shots became more accurate and deep. Viktorija's one handed backhand was the shot of the match, she could do everything with it from drop-shots to powerful winners and the Dutch had no answer to the variety and consistence of her opponent despite the enormous gap in the ranking (around 200 places between the two).
The match was over really fast and the Swiss never looked as if she could lose it or feel the pressure of the moment. There's a lot of quality in her game and mental attitude, so it won't be surprising if we get to hear more from her in the future.On the following link, you find the post-match interview i took with her.

(WC) Lisa-Maria Moser def (Q) Elena Bogdan 7-6 (6) 2-6 6-4

The Austrian Wild Card, ranked 770 in the world lived her fairytale day, by defeating Romanian qualifier Elena Bogdan in a close and long match, which featured a lot of emotions and quality too. It was clear right after a few games tat the Austrian's ranking wasn't telling much about the real value of her level of tennis, because Moser showed a great fighting spirit and solid shots as well as smart solutions and class. On the other side of the net, the Romanian had much more experience on bigger stages, even though for both of them it was the first appereance on a WTA main draw.
After a really tight first set where the local player had to save a set point in the tie-break, the Romanian took the lead in the second by forcing Moser to hit more and more shots before hitting a winner, or, often, an error. As she said in her post-match interview that you find here, Lisa-Maria lost a bit of focus after the huge effort to win the first set and her level dropped.

In the third set the Romanian took the lead once more, but the Austrian didn't want to let the match go without fighting, she found her first serve back and a few aces made it easier to hold, while elegant and effective drop shots started to expose the Romanian movements to the net and her position really far from the baseline. The momentum suddenly moved to the Austrian side and the crowd supported her way to the win appreciating her brave attitude and shots, which in the end paid off by making her advance to the second round.

(2) Annika Beck def Shahr Peer 7-5 6-3

After the intense and quality-worthy match of the local youngster, this match failed to cope with the expectations given by the names featured. The German young hope played a solid match, which didn't show much more than consistence though, while Peer looked like the shadow of the former self, who few years ago was one win away from the top 10.
The two played a very similar game, based on flat and medium speed shots in the attempt to win for a shorter ball to attack, which rarely happened because of the ability of both to susbtain such rhythm. Nonetheless Peer looked to be the one to try and go for winners the most, but her attempts often ended up in errors, expecially with the forehand, which on the other hand was the shot that gave more points to her opponent.
Both girls struggled to hold serve for the whole match, but the reason of that wasn't due to great returns of serve, but to the instability of their serves: Beck in the case often hit double-faults, whose second serve would barely stay within the base line.
The match wasn't indeed pretty at all, but in the end the German could stay calmer on the important points and let Peer feel the pressure of those, so that she often committed unforced errors in such moments and that in the end gave the edge to Beck to win the match.

Alexandra Cadantu def Maria-Joao Koehler 6-2 6-4

This match was a really interesting one, expecially because it showed a great development in the career of the Romanian, whose game impressed me as much as her great attitude on court. Cadantu is indeed the kind of player that made it to the top 100 by winning match on her consistence, expecially in the ITF circuit, but this year she started to give glimpses of a newer attitude and game in WTA matches too (she routined future Wimbledon Finalist Lisiscki on the indoor clay of Katowice for exemple).
Her shots became a lot heavier and expecially with her forehand she can produce great pace and dictate the rally until she has the chance to close with winners. Her dropshots can be really effective and she rarely abuses of them and her first serve has grown stronger and it's pretty hard to read. Of course she still has flaws in her game, but she looks to be a hard worker and her strenght lies in the winning mentality, which motivates her as much on court as off and this match gave another proof of that. In the second set she was sailing to a straight sets win, when Koehler, with a burst of pride, started to hit heavier shots, painting the lines

from both wings and making the score tight again. Many players at this point would have waited for the storm to pass and hope it would be over before the match is, but Alexandra, after a couple of games of dizziness, got herself back and instead of letting the Portugues assaulting her, she started to change the rhythm of her shots costantly by using back and top spin, so that she could get closer to the base line and finally go for winners. On 4-4 she broke and went on serving for the match closing with a blasting ace.



Petra Martic def (4) Andrea Petkovic 6-7 (5) 7-5 6-3

There is so much to tell about this match between German former top ten and champion here in Bad Gastein a few years ago and the young Croatian hope, because the two played each other twice before and Martic won both of the matches, by recovering from a one sided first set loss. What's more both girls are known for the bad luck they sadly witnessed in the past because of numerous and serious injuries. Nonetheless, the match, which could have easily been the final with another draw, was clearly the most interesting round one match-up.
What really made this match interesting, though, wasn't the quality, because both players played way below their standards and way too many errors were hit from both sides, but the tension and dramatic developing of the match kept the crowd well aware. Under this light, Petkovic surely stood out and not for good.
I want to make it clear immediately, that I am not a fan of hers, so maybe I am biased, but her behaviour was quite rude even from a neutral point of view. She later said to have been ill, but I don't think that's an excuse.
Starting from the first set she look tense and she channelled her rage towards a ball kid as she yelled "are you dumb?" because he had left her towel on Petkovic's bag during the court-change. Then she said other bad things to ball boys because they were slow in giving her balls for serves (which was actually true, but not a reason to insult them).
She then went mad at the umpire, Nouni, because he gave her two warnings for losing time, once on serve and once on return, she started to question every call and was moaning about every line hit by Martic, but on the other hand she was hitting as many or more and never apologized for bad-bounce winners. She did even scream a couple of loud come-on's on Martic errors and double faults.
What's more I think she expected the crowd to be fully behind her, because she's German, a former top player and champion here, but after she insulted the kid, the crowd went tepid and more and more people were cheering for Martic. She looked really bothered by that and more than once made

gestures and faces to mock the crowd.
As for the match, it was much of a rollercoaster and Martic had to blame herself for the first set loss as she wasn't able to serve it out in all two attempts she had. In the second set, she once more failed to convert her advantage and she got broken back and tied at 5 games each, but at this point she could hold her serve and finally break for the second set.
In the third Andrea was quite unfocused and her fights with kids, crowd and umpire took away energies from her running, which was the way through which she could prevent Martic accelerations from becoming winners. What's more her shots started to be shorter and less accurate and by the end Martic could take full control of the set and close it and the match, without too much troubles.

Bad Gastein R1 - Postmatch interview with Lisa-Maria Moser

Lisa-Maria Moser, 22 years old, she could play her first WTA main draw match thank to a WC, because her ranking of 725 clearly wouldn't have let her in. Yet, in a very nice fight she would overcome Romanian qualifier Elena Bogdan and achieve one of the greatest wins of her career on the home soil of Bad Gastein. It seems unlikely that her Cinderella-like story is going to go any further, as she is meeting Mona Barthel, almost 700 places ahead in the world ranking, but the Austrian girl showed a great fire in her attitude on court today and her game is really worth of a better ranking in the future:

Congrats for today, you played a really good match. How did it feel?

I felt, pretty nervous! I was pretty shaky when I got to the court, but it got better in the first set, then suddenly worse in the second, but I thought “ok, you’ve got the first set, so just calm down” and I lost a little bit of, you know, but then in the third set it was good again so…

Yeah, you played really good drop-shots in the third, did you plan them or was it an adjustment?

Well, I like to play them actually, but I kinda forgot. (laughs) I thought, just don’t make any mistake, just hit in. But I kinda got better in the third, so I just felt more comfortable and went for my dropshots.

They were really amazing.

Thank you.

You come from a pretty disappointing loss from last week in an ITF and then you come here and play a good match and win. How could you do it?

Well, last week I was still tired from the tournament before, because it was in Egypt and it was 42°C everyday and my movement wasn’t that good, because legs were still tired, you know, but it improved and today I felt better and this was one of the biggest points.

You play Mona Barthel next, any idea or thought?

Well I have no ideas, I mean, actually I am 700 and she is 31 in the world, so, actually, I am like, I am going there and will enjoy myself on court and…that’s it (smiles).

Still, it was inspiring to see you winning today, you were really happy and the crowd enjoyed it too, it felt great. (she blushes) But what are you next plans now?

Well next week there’s a 10k in Austria, near my home town, so I am playing this one and then one week practice and then, we will see, I still have to enter tournaments, I just have to see, but I think I will stick to smaller tournaments for now (laughs).

In any case, good luck for tomorrow, as for now.

Thank you.

Postmatch interview with Viktorija Golubic

(Q) Viktorija Golubic def (5) Kiki Bertens 6-2 6-2

Young, nice and with an powerful one handed backhand, surely the Swiss made a great impression on the second day of Bad Gastein's WTA international. Viktorija, at her first main draw appearance took down the 5th seed and world n°66 Kiki Bertens, by giving her no rhythm and producing great winners, making the almost 200 places in the ranking of difference look impossible and probably, in not much time, the gap won't be as big. Following the interview I recorded with her after the match:

Congrats on your win today, I think it was the biggest of your career so far. Since the ITF you’ve won in Brescia you’ve been doing really well, what happened?

It was actually, at the beginning of the year, when I started I was 700 in the world, but I started to play better and better and I won two 10k and 25k Brescia, starting from qualifies. You know, it’s just a process, it’s not like something of two weeks, but it’s been the work of 10 years and, yeah, it’s getting better.

Today you played a really solid match against Bertens, while she was evidently bothered by your game. I was really impressed by your backhand, it’s not common to see young women playing with one handed backhand. How come?

Well, I actually played both-handed forehand and backhand when I was small, but then I switched to one handed and well, it fits better my game, because, you know, many different things and I feel very free with it. I think the backhand now it’s a very good shot of mine.

Definitely, you can produce so much power and pace through it. At the moment what are you working on though?

I am working on…everything. Everything has to get better, it’s not like, you know, it’s like step by step and it doesn’t go quickly. You have to be patient and, you know I am still working on my game everyday on court.

Have you had the time to check the draw?

Yes, tomorrow I am playing Hlavackova. I don’t really know her well, I’ve seen her playing now and maybe on television once (laughs). Well, I don’t know now, but I’ll prepare the match and be ready for the next round.

Of course best of luck for tomorrow.

Thank you.

Anyways, what are your next goals?

Oh well…my next goal now is to qualify for Grand Slams, you know, to play Qualies on such big tournaments first and then of course top 200 and, you know…(smiles)

Before leaving you, just one more question, which surface do you prefer?

That’s actually a really interesting question, because, I think I love all of them…and this year I also played on grass, not a match, but a practice but I liked it too, I think it’s really good for my slice…I don’t mind, I like everything actually.

So maybe we’ll see again next year in Wimbledon?

Who knows? (laughs)

Thank you for your time and kindness and best of luck for tomorrow.

Thank you.