Dubrovnik Dub Bowl, Day 4

Wednesday 13^th July 2022

It was another great day here in Dubrovnik which saw Isla and Taylor play their last group matches, an excellent post-match training session and a brilliant evening in the Old Town which marks the start of the main draw tomorrow.

It never gets easier when the alarm goes off at 5:30am and, as the week goes on at any international event, the fatigue starts to show for both the players and me! However, the effort and commitment levels remain high each day and we push each other to continue to improve and develop.

We were down at the main tournament site at 6:45am this morning to start our physical warm-up and then we were on court hitting by 7am. Taylor went through his standard 30 minute pre-match hit as he was first on at 8am but Isla continued with me for another 15 minutes afterwards to work on a few specifics. I then confirmed a few match goals with Taylor before he took to the court to face Gustavs Gutans from Latvia.

We had seen Gustavs play earlier in the week and knew that it was going to be a very tough match but we also knew that when Taylor brings his intensity and quality of shot he can compete with any of the players here. Unfortunately for Taylor, Gustavs was very much on his game today and raced through the first 3 games hitting 5 winners and only 2 unforced errors. At 0-3 Taylor dug deep and played some excellent points to take the game to sudden death deuce but he couldn’t quite convert it and lost the set 4-0.

The second set followed almost the same pattern as the first; Taylor was trying to stay in the point and put his opponent under pressure but Gustavs was physically stronger and countered everything Taylor threw at him. There were a few close games and another sudden death deuce point at 0-3 but ultimately Gustavs was too good on the day and ended up winning 4-0, 4-0.

Taylor was obviously disappointed with the outcome and by losing that match it means he will finish 3^rd in the group and now move into the Consolation Draw.

We returned to the apartment for a few hours after the match so Isla could get away from the tournament site, have some food and relax before we returned at 11:30am to prepare for her match.

Raya Markova from Bulgaria had won her first two matches in the group including a very convincing 4-1, 4-1 win over Noemi Nogradi (who Isla lost to on the first day) so we knew that we’d have to be on it from the very first point. Isla was up for the challenge though and she also knew that it was a ‘must win’ match if she wanted to qualify for the Main Draw.

The girls went on at 1:30pm and even from the warm-up it was obvious that both girls were up for a good battle! When they started it was Isla that took an early lead following a sudden death deuce game and then a superb hold of serve which included 3 clean winners from the back of the court. Raya raised her level at 2-0 down and held serve but Isla responded brilliantly with some very aggressive tennis to take the next 2 games in a row to win the set 4-1.

The level of tennis in the second set was just as high as the first but this time it was Raya who was controlling things from the back of the court with some huge flat hitting from both corners of the court. Isla was staying with her in the rallies but after winning 3 sudden death deuce points in 5 games it was Raya that took the set 4-1.

The 3^rd set out here is a simple tie-break to seven points so it’s very important that you get a good start and do not give away any cheap points early on. Isla did just that; she hit 4 winners in the first 7 points and at 5-2 was in full control but Raya is a tough competitor and hit back with 3 points in a row to level the tie-break. Not fazed but this resurgence, Isla held her service point at 5-5 and then played an excellent last point of the match to take it 4-1, 1-4, 7-5.

It was definitely Isla’s best performance of the week but, like Taylor, she unfortunately also finished 3^rd as Noemi won her match without dropping a game. That meant that both Noemi and Isla finish on 2 wins each but Noemi had a better set ratio so she progresses to the Main Draw. Isla was disappointed to find this out but I was so pleased with the way that she played today that I wasn’t really fussed if she qualified or not!

Straight after Isla’s match all three of us headed straight on court for a really good 45 minute training session. Some players do not want to train after matches as they are tired and just want to go back and relax but Isla and Taylor have been up for training as much as possible out here. I love to see this and it motivates me massively to help them develop their games and get as much as they can out of the trip.

After an early dinner we walked to the main square in the Old Town for the Main Draw Opening Ceremony which included some mini tennis in front of the spectacular St. Blaise’s church followed by the draw ceremony in the 15^th Century Sponza Palace.

We then walked back to the apartments to get a good night’s sleep ready for more singles and doubles tomorrow!

Schedule for tomorrow:

Isla Smith (GBR) vs Nina Dugandzic (CRO) – 4^th match on after 9am (2nd site)

Amina Nurmakhan (KAZ) & Isla Smith (GBR) vs Lara Borisova (BUL) & Riko Nakanishi (JPN) – 7th match after 8am (main site)