Saturday 16th October 2021
On paper it looks as though today’s result was a disappointing one but in terms of Isla’s development, both as a player and a person, it was extremely positive.
We started the day with breakfast at 6:30am and then left the hotel at 7:20am for the 15 minute drive to the tennis club. For me as a coach, preparation for any match is extremely important, especially when it’s at an international tournament! But, as a dad, one of the most important things is to get your daughters hair right … I think I’m getting there with it though!
When we arrived it was still dark but within 5 minutes the sun had come up and a few more players started to arrive:
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After going through her physical warm-up, Isla joined the Soto team for her pre-match hit at 8am and, although she was a little nervous, Macy made Isla feel very comfortable. That’s what I love so much about the Soto Tennis Academy; every player works hard for themselves and the other players in the team which creates a real family environment. Macy is 14 years old and Isla is only 10 but Macy worked as hard as if she was hitting with someone her own age. That sets such a good example for the younger players and it is so important in establishing a strong academy culture.
After a very good warm-up Isla took to the court at 9am to take on Marta Crespo De Olano from Spain. The girls were only two years apart in age but the physical difference between them was enormous!
Isla was broken in the first game after Marta hit 3 huge forehand winners but, after an 8 point second game, Isla started to relax and find her range which started to make things a little more difficult for her Spanish opponent. Having gone 0-2 down, Isla fought back to break her opponent and that gave her a really big boost of confidence. From then until the end of the set Isla broke Marta two more times but unfortunately just couldn’t hold serve which resulted in her going down 6-3.
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Despite being broken twice at the start of the second set, Isla kept a strong fighting attitude and managed to break her opponent back twice in the second set too. Even though both Isla’s serving and returning games were very close, she just found it too difficult to hold serve! The points were getting closer in each game and the rallies were becoming longer but, after 1 hour and 35 minutes of play, Isla ended up losing 6-3, 6-2.
There were so many positives to take from that match from a tennis perspective but I would have to say there were many more from a personal viewpoint and that is what I was most proud of. Isla dealt with playing her first Tennis Europe event two years young on a surface that she hasn’t had a lot of experience on and maintained a superb attitude throughout. She also played a tactically tough match against a physically much stronger opponent which will benefit her massively in the future. All in all I was pretty pleased (please don’t tell her that though – she’ll think I’m going soft!!).
After the match we had a little debrief and then we were both really happy to hear that Victoria Herrera from the Soto Tennis Academy had won her match and therefore qualified for the Main Draw – great job Victoria!
We left site around 12:30pm and got some food from the supermarket before heading back to the gym in the hotel to do a full recovery session:
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This afternoon we decided to take a little trip to the other side of Las Palmas to visit the beach and get some dinner at a different restaurant for a change. Both Isla and Matthew will be back on court tomorrow for a full training day before Matthew’s Main Draw campaign starts on Monday.
