Monday 12th December 2011
Main draw started today which saw Mia take on 4th seed Jovana Knezevic from Cyprus while it was just a training day for Sam in the hope of getting into the doubles tomorrow.
Due to practice starting at 8.30am for the main draw players Sam and I had to be at the centre at 7am to get a good amount of time on court. After going through our physical warm up we had just over an hour with the same Brazilian boy Sam hit with yesterday and Sam once again improved on the level he’s been training at throughout the session.
Early 7am start alongside Dan Sanders and the Wrexham HPC team
Mia arrived with Craig at 8.15am and had breakfast at the club before warming up for her pre match practice at 9.30am. She was expecting to be hitting with another girl who had booked with her at 10.30am but when the girl didn’t show it was down to me to warm her up!! We had a good hit for 30 minutes and Mia was seeing the ball very well which gave her a lot of confidence before the match. We then had time to get some lunch and go through the match before Mia went on.
It was always going to be a tough match today as Mia was facing a very tall Cypriote who looked more like she was 18 years old rather than 14! The first set was over quite quickly as Jovana took it 6-0 but from Mia’s point of view it was a very positive performance; she was striking the ball well and working very hard but her opponent just did exactly the same as Mia on a much more consistent basis. In total the Cypriote only missed 2 balls in the entire set!
Mia’s attitude didn’t change in the 2nd and she fought very hard to hold her serve in the first game. From then on it was obvious that Mia’s belief was starting to grow and while her hitting level stayed the same as in the 1st set she significantly reduced her unforced errors while increasing her winners. It was neck and neck throughout the set until Mia was broken at 4-4 after struggling with her serve. In the past Mia has let her head drop at times like this but she responded very well in the next game playing a superb point to go 0-15 up. Unfortunately Jovana stepped her game up and produced 3 winners in that game to take the match 6-0, 6-4. Without a doubt it was the best match I have ever seen Mia play and if she can keep up that level in training and in matches she’s going to improve very quickly.
After Mia was finished she completed her core and band work before stretching out to end a very positive day. We then returned to the hotel to have a rest before meeting back up with Tom and Craig for dinner at the pub across the road from the tennis centre.
Unfortunately Sam didn’t get into doubles today; him and his partner were 17th on the entry list (only 16 get in!) so he’ll be returning to Formentera tomorrow with his aunt.
Schedule for tomorrow:
Girl’s Consolation 1st Round:
Chloe Hughes (GBR) (1024) vs Mia Smith (GBR) (722) – 1st match at 9.30am
Girl’s Consolation Semi-Final:
Chloe Hughes / Mia Smith vs Karla Nuez Delgardo (ESP) (820) – 4th match after 9.30am
Girl’s Doubles ¼ Final:
Rebecca McCarthy (MLT) & Karla Nuez Delgardo (ESP) vs (2) Anastasia Mikheeva (GBR) & Mia Smith (GBR) – 6th match after 9.30am
