|
MCTA Duo Push
Experienced Americans
 Anna
Fitzpatrick and Ana Veselinovic came
agonisingly close to what would have
been a memorable victory over
experienced duo Chanda Rubin and
Ashley Harkleroad before losing in a
match tie-break at the $50,000 ITF
tournament in San Francisco.
The two
Monte-Carlo Tennis Academy stars hit
back after losing the first set to
level the match but eventually went
down 6-4, 3-6, 10-4 in their first
round encounter against the
Americans.
Despite the loss,
it was a positive experience for
Fitzpatrick and Veselinovic playing
against a former Top 10 and
Australian Open doubles champion in
Rubin and a partner who reached the
doubles quarterfinals in Melbourne
earlier this year.
“Obviously, it’s
disappointing to lose the match, but
personally I can’t be too
disappointed because I know that I
dealt with the situation well and
went out to win the match,” said
Fitzpatrick. “They started to read
our volleys a bit better towards the
back end of the first, so I think
trying to hit more short-angled
volleys may have been more
effective, as apposed to aiming for
the T.”
Earlier in the
week in the singles, Veselinovic
went down against No. 8 seed Sunitha
Rao 7-5, 6-0 after leading 5-1 in
the first set, while Fitzpatrick’s
bid ended in the second round of
qualifying against American Ashley
Weinhold.
Meanwhile, MCTA
director of coaching David Sammel
believes both girls will be stronger
for their efforts as they prepare
for more Challenger events in
November. “Anna has made steady
progress since Wimbledon despite a
blip this week,” said Sammel. “This
is normal for Anna and at some stage
over the next two months I expect
her to go deep into a Challenger.
Her doubles ranking rise is also
very fast.
“Ana failed to
defend the $25,000 win from last
year [in Serbia] so her ranking has
dropped 100 places. In a weird way I
think this is a monkey off her back
as it was a great result out of the
blue. When she wins now it will be
sustainable.”
Elsewhere in the
MCTA, South African Wes Moodie
reached the second round of the ATP
tournament in Tokyo – where he
captured the title in 2005 – before
losing to eventual champion David
Ferrer. “Wes played well in Tokyo,
beating Bolleli in the first round
then felt he let a chance slip
losing to Ferrer, one of the form
players of 2007,” added Sammel. “He
will now concentrate on Challengers
to get his ranking back up to top
100. We had to take a step back and
reshape his movement and work on his
strength which will pay dividends
next year.”
Meanwhile,
teenage star Ilija Vucic is ready
for a stretch of junior and Futures
tournaments after a month working
with the coaches. “Ilija was
struggling for form at the US Open
and Kentucky,” said Sammel.
“Mentally we felt the hectic first
year and his rapid rise had caught
up with him so we took him out of
competition for a month to train,
relax and revisit the basics. We are
confident he is ready to go again
and will play four tournaments in a
row now - two futures and two
juniors. He will then prepare for
Eddie Herr and Orange Bowl.”
Although recent
results have not quite gone the way
of the MCTA players, Sammel is fully
confident that a change in fortune
is just around the corner. “When
there is a lull in results and it
seems progress is halted, that is
the time when coaching is most
important and belief in our method
is paramount,” said Sammel. “Unless
a player is a phenom this is normal
and it is no time to panic. Stick to
the basics - reiterate gameplans,
practice well and above all keep the
player thinking of their
improvements.
“Mentally we give
them one main tool to focus on that
will deliver a breakthrough and
reassure them that under the surface
they are still improving even if
results are not reflecting this but
it is only a matter of time. They
have all emerged from testing
periods before so why should this
particular one be any different.”
Click here
for Latest News
Click
here for News Archive |