Bujumbura U18 ITF Grade 5 (week 1), Day 5

Tuesday 22nd November 2011

It’s was a tough day on the singles court for Julia and Mia today but Jack managed to get a win in doubles which ended our day on a high.

The players had a bit of a lie in this morning as the day was going to be a very long one so we all met for breakfast at 8.40am followed by a quick trip to the supermarket to stock up on water and food.

Julia was first on today and she was scheduled to play ‘not before’ 11.30am so we warmed up off the court at 10am and then were on court hitting from 10.30 – 11am. As the matches before hers were only around an hour each she took to the court bang on 11.30am to play 6th seed Elizabeth Kapari from Ghana.

Julia seemed a little nervous to begin with and her 10 unforced errors in the first game didn’t help her get off to a great start as her serve was broken. She responded well though and fought hard to get back on level terms at 2-2 but it was only at 4-4, after being broken twice in a row, that she managed to hold serve to take the lead for the first time. I’ve said to all of the players this week that it will be the player who is the most consistent throughout the tournament that will come out the winner, not the player that looks the best or hits the ball the hardest but the one who makes more balls back in play. It was exactly the same with this first set and at 5-4* Julia played a very solid game and let her opponent miss to give her the game and the set 6-4.

Julia then had a poor start to the second set which, coupled with her opponent raising her level, lead her to be 3-0 down. She then looked as though the heat was really starting to affect her as he focus seemed to drift in and out too often. With that I reached for Mia’s “Emergency Jelly Babies” and she managed to get a bit of sugar into her system. From 0-3 down she was only able to get one game before Elizabeth took the set 6-1. By this stage Julia was looking down and her opponent was on a high so I suggest she take herself off the court for a (tactical!) toilet break and I got some ice to cool her down and a cold sugary drink to give her a bit of a boost.

It seemed to work as she came back on court with more of a spring in her step and broke her opponent to 15 in the first game. Unfortunately Julia really struggled with serve today and went from 1-0 up to 1-3 down before breaking back and holding for the first time since 4-4 in the first. At 3-3 she looked in control and was playing a much more solid game but 13 unforced errors in the next 3 games really cost her as she eventually went down 4-6, 6-1, 6-3. It was a really tough loss but her opponent did play well and I can see her doing very well this week.

While Julia was starting the 3rd set Mia took to the court to play 4th seed Nikita Dawda from Kenya. I know Nikita from when I was in Kenya in February and I explained to Mia yesterday that she’d have to really be focussed and show she’s up for a fight today as the Kenyan can be very competitive. Unfortunately Mia looked a little flat after going 0-2 down in the first set and despite holding serve in the third game she was just too inconsistent and didn’t test her opponent enough. After losing the first set 6-1 Mia had a chance to get on top at the start of the second as she broke Nikita and then had game points to go 2-0 up but didn’t take her opportunities. She was broken back and then went on to lose the next 5 games in a row as Nikita didn’t let up and was showing just how much she wanted the win by still getting pumped up at 6-1, 5-1 up. Mia was very disappointed with the loss especially as she felt as though she never really competed like she knows she can and in the end that gap between yesterday’s level and today’s was just far too big.

Jack was on for his doubles with Jack Oswald while Mia was still on court so after a quick debrief with Julia I went straight over to court 4 and for once I was in the shade! The two Jack’s have very similar characters and I thought that would make for a really good partnership this week. They are both very hard working, quite quiet but very determined and go about their business in a very professional way. The doubles was no exception and, after they both lost in the singles without picking up any points, they were determined to get through this one so they have a chance of points tomorrow. In the end they took a very good 7-5, 6-3 win to set up a clash with the 6th seeds in the last 16 tomorrow.

Mia and Julia were scheduled to be on for their doubles in the evening but at 5.45pm the referee decided it was too late to start more matches so they were postponed until tomorrow.

After a tough day it was a real bonus that the tournament has decided to run a consolation event on the spare courts for the losers of the 1st and 2nd round matches. This means that Jack, Julia and Mia all get a chance to compete against the other main draw players and develop the areas of their games that they struggled with under proper match conditions. It will really be a fantastic opportunity for them all to play more matches and prepare really well for the tournament next week.

Schedule for tomorrow (an even longer one than today and don’t ask me how we’re going to fit this all in!):

9am – Jack Large (GBR) (UNR) vs Emmanuel Gafilita (RWA) (UNR) – 1st Round Consolation

N.B. 11.30am – (6) Bjorn Scheepbouwer (RSA) & Keegan Sullivan (RSA) vs Jack Large (GBR) & Jack Oswald (GBR) – Last 16 Doubles

N.B. 11.30am – Mia Smith (GBR) & Julia Weisel (USA) vs Stephanie Mbaya (KEN) & Megdalene Mutua (KEN) – Last 16 Doubles

N.B. 2pm – Winner of above vs (4) Melissa Lang (RSA) & Nelise Verster (RSA) – ¼ Final Doubles

To Be Arranged (around doubles):

Akshara Iska (IND) (855) vs Julia Weisel (USA) (1052) – 1st Round Consolation

Mia Smith (GBR) (UNR) vs Giselle Umumararungu (RWA) (1326) – 1st Round Consolation