Grace Leake Interview

Hey guys!

I did an interview with Grace Leake in Cleveland and I am about to start my article, which I will post when completed!  Also some videos of the McHale-Ellis and Davis-Leake matches are on my youtube channel. www.youtube.com/tennisbuddy12

Q: Why and when did you start playing tennis?
I hit my first tennis ball when I was 7 years old. My dad had signed my older sister up for tennis classes at a local college in California and when she started playing, I wanted to do everything that she did! I didn’t start taking lessons until a few years later and I started getting more serious about my tennis when I was around the age of 11.
One of my early memories of tournament play was at a girl’s 10 and under local tournament. I played Lauren Wolman in the finals and lost the match. It was the first trophy I had ever won but when they handed it to me, I burst out in tears. I guess that’s where you could say my love for winning comes from

Q: What is the daily schedule of Grace Leake?
WELL… I have to work in addition to playing, so sometimes my schedule is not the same on a day to day basis. Typically I try to get in 5 hours a day of training. Right now I am working on my fitness so I am working out twice a day and practicing in between my workouts. When I am working on different parts of my game I will do 2-a-day practices on the court, and only 1 hour of fitness. A sample of my schedule is:
6:30 – wake up
8-9 – fitness
9-12 Work
12-3 practice
3-4 – fitness
4-10 – Go home exhausted, eat dinner and pass out

Q: Your story is different then most. You wanted to go to school, but the NCAA deemed you ineligible. Explain that and your reaction?
When I decided to attend the University of Maryland, I had already taken a year off after high school because I needed time to decide what I wanted to do. I applied to UMD, everything was great, and then after speaking with compliance I was informed that there might be a problem getting cleared by NCAA. NCAA Division 1 requires athletes to complete 16 core courses in a 5 year window. I only had 14, and had taken a year off after I graduated which meant that I couldn’t just make up the classes. The process of appealing took so long and their verdict was that I would have to go to community college for two years before I would get a year of eligibility to play D-1 tennis. That decision made up my mind for me because it is already hard enough working and playing tennis. I would have to work to pay for school, go to school and train and it just wasn’t possible.
I was definitely disappointed. I thought that I finally knew what I was going to do and where I was going to go and to have that security taken from me was not easy. Over time it has taught me where my true security comes from and I am totally okay with where I am now.

Q: What colleges did you look at before turning pro?
I looked at the University of Maryland and Syracuse

Q: Who are your best friends on the circuit?
I am pretty good friends with everyone because at each tournament I room with different girls. I keep in close contact with Olga Puchkova, Samantha Powers, and Lindsey Hardenbergh, just to name a few.

Q: What has been your best win and toughest loss in your career?
My best win was the final’s of quallies in Sumter, 2008. I played a girl from Poland and it was like 500 degress on court. I won the first set, got extremely tight in the second and lost it, but won the match in three sets…I think it was 7-6 but don’t quote me on that. It was a match that there were so many distractions in, I don’t even want to go into it haha but she was a great player, and it was a match that I probably wasn’t expected to win. It was also my first time qualifying for the main draw.
My least favorite… I probably didn’t play my worst but it is the first one that comes to mind when I think of tough losses… the 2nd round of quallies in Madrid, Spain. I wanted to quit tennis when I got home. It was more of a build up of things, not just that match in particular but I took that one pretty hard.

Q: You traveled to Spain for a tournament. What was that like? I knew you were going to go for a few events, but withdrew. Did you not like the clay?
I LOVED the clay. I was entered for two events and the first tournament I barely made it into the qualifying draw (you can read about that way back in my blogs from February) and after I lost in the first tournament I was still an alternate for the 2nd tournament. I could have stayed and tried to get in but at that point, it would have been so expensive to stay there and try to play and I was so discouraged by the previous tournament I just wanted to go back home. It was also my first time in a different country and I don’t speak Spanish. There were very few people who spoke English and the language barrier was difficult but if I was better prepared I think I would like to go back at some point because being in Madrid was very cool.

Q: It’s expensive to travel and play on tour. Who sponsors you and do you train at a certain facility and have your own coach?
It is expensive to say the least! Currently I do not have any sponsors although I have gotten several donations which helped defray some of the cost of travels although I have not come up with a permanent solution. Having a sponsor would make a world of difference but for now I make all my money teaching tennis. I currently train in Potomac, MD with my coach Vince Pulupa. He and Matz Classen run an academy called “Ossa.” We have a great group of players there.. Spencer Liang and Natalie Blosser are two of the girls that I train with and there is also a good group of college guys.

Q: What are your goals for 2010?
I really wanted to get my ranking this year. I haven’t even gotten a point yet, but it is definitely still the goal. I think I just need a breakthrough tournament.. I’m so close.

Q: Any advice to tennis fans (and on tennisforum.com)
Don’t let anyone tell you that you can’t reach your goals… notice that the people who are usually telling you that you can’t do it have never actually made it themselves. If you talk to anyone on the pro tour who has reached a certain level they will never tell you not to try but coaches and people on the sidelines are so quick to step in and tell you what you should or shouldn’t be doing with your life. Do what you love, love what you do and work hard – nothing takes the place of hard work.

Grace has probably the best head on her shoulders out of all the players I have met. She deserves to get that ranking and whatever comes her way, she finds a way to overcome it.

$10k Cleveland-Round 1 Qualifying

Hey Everyone!!!
I went to the 10k in Cleveland today and I had a nice time. The club is SO nice. It has 10 clay courts and a few hard courts that are elevated and by themselves. It was so intriguing!

I am pretty good friends with Remeice Ellis and Grace Leake, and have begun an interview with Grace. I woke up at 5:45 to drive the 2 and a half hour journey…oh yeah, the A/C in my car is broken. Yay me! I finally got there a few minutes before the first warm-ups started. I parked right next to a car that belonged to one of the Syracuse players (had the SU tennis plate). Saw most of the team there and also passed some other players, including Caryssa Peretz and Whitney Jones.

Dewonder Davis vs. Grace Leake
I was looking forward to watching this match, as Dewonder is 51 and who plays for the love of the game. She pays for her travels by working as a cashier at a convenient store and Grace’s story is so compelling (had to turn pro, look out for interview). Dewonder, in my opinion, is a 3.0 USTA player. Gets her 1st serve in most of the time, but no pace on any shots and her one-handed backhand was better. She hit her only winners on her BH. Grace is 5 feet 2 inches and a lefty. Her shots are powerful for her size and I was a fan of how she played. Statistics are below:

Davis

Serving
1st Serve In 72% (18/25)
1st Serve Won 11% (2/18)

2nd Serve In 57% (4/7)

2nd Serve Won 0% (0/7)
Aces 0
Double Faults 3

Groundstrokes (anything that hit net or out=error, forced and unforced)
FH Winners 0
FH Errors 10
BH Winners 2
BH Errors 14
Volley Winners 0
Volley Errors 0
Total Winners-Errors ratio 2:24

Return
Breakpoints 0/5

Points Won
12

Leake

Serving
1st Serve In 48% (18/37)
1st Serve Won 88% (16/18)
2nd Serve In 73% (14/19)
2nd Serve Won 57% (11/19)
Aces 5
Double Faults 5

Groundstrokes (anything that hit net or out=error, forced and unforced)
FH Winners 13
FH Errors 4
BH Winners 3
BH Errors 0
Volley Winners 2
Volley Errors 1
Total W:E 18:5

Return
Breakpoints 5/6

Points Won
50

Remeice Ellis vs. Lauren McHale
This was Lauren’s first match since she got knee surgery a few months ago. Her mom was watching and she was SO sweet. Lauren was at Princeton for 2 years and skipped this past season because of injury. She will be transferring to UNC in the Fall and is using these 10k events in the summer as match practice to get ready. Lauren was the number 1 recruit for the class of 2008 and Remeice was 129 in the class of 2007. Remeice went up a break and I thought the upset was going to happen. Lauren was very vocal and even yelled a “vamos.” She is such the opposite of sister Christina, who if does not turn pro is looking at Duke. Christina is much more timid and reserved on court and that was the same for Remeice. There were some emotions from her, but not on the level of Lauren. A lot of games went to deuce and Remeice served for the 2nd set at 5-4 but eventually lost 6-3,7-6(7-4). I got more in-depth statistics and they are below:

McHale

1st Serve Percentage 67% (50/74)

1st Serve Won 68% (34/50)
2nd Serve In 87% (21/24)
2nd Serve Won 41% (10/24)
Aces 0
Double Faults 3

Service Winners 5
Forehand Winners 8
Backhand Winners 5
Volley Winners 2
Dropshot Winners 2
Overhead Winners 1
Overall Total Winners: 23

Errors (anything that hit the net or went out, both forced and unforced):
Forehand: 29
Backhand: 23
Volley: 2
Dropshot: 1
Overhead: 0
Total: 55 (probably around half were unforced)

Breakpoints: 4/12

Points won: 91/167

Ellis

1st Serve Percentage 75% (67/89)
1st Serve Won 52% (35/67)
2nd Serve In 86% (19/22)
2nd Serve Won 45% (10/22)
Aces 0
Double Faults 3

Service Winners 3
Forehand Winners 12
Backhand Winners 0
Volley Winners 1
Dropshot Winners 0
Overhead Winners 0
Overall Total Winners: 16

Errors (anything that hit the net or went out, both forced and unforced):
Forehand: 28
Backhand: 31
Volley: 3
Dropshot: 0
Overhead: 0
Total: 62 (probably around half were unforced)

Breakpoints: 2/6

Points won: 76/167

Other players that were impressive:
Sanaz Marand, Cierra Gaytan-Leach, Aria Lambert. Also the Simone Kalhorn-Elizabeth Ferris match was really tight and had some great points. Pictures and video will come soon!

NCAAs Complete!

Hey everyone!

The NCAA Division I Championships were completed yesterday and it was full of upsets! UGA held the championships in the hot and humid Georgia heat. The conditions was just an added bonus for the players, having already faced some rain and the top players in the final 16 in team, as well as the singles and doubles championships.

Team
The Semi-Finals were (1)Baylor vs.(8)Stanford and (3)Florida vs. (2)North Carolina. The entire championships I expected a Stanford vs. Florida, and that is exactly what I got. When I saw the draw, I did my predictions and I thought that in the even Stanford and Florida played, it would be a match that would go down in NCAA history. Again, I was right. I watched the match on ESPN and I wasn’t disappointed. Stanford is a tennis legacy with 15 team titles going into the 2010 championships. Florida, another strong team with 4 team titles, had one of the best lineups I have ever seen. Their number 2 player, #8 Allie Will, undefeated in the dual season was SEC Freshman of the Year, and their number 1, #9 Lauren Embree, also a freshman, was SEC Player of the Year and ITA Rookie of the Year.
UF won the doubles point, where it came down to 3 doubles. After the break before singles, Stanford retaliated with some strong play. #86 Stacey Tan of Stanford blasted UF’s #102 Anastasia Revzina 6-2,6-2 to tie it up. #83 Lindsay Burdette, a Senior, caused the biggest upset, using her powerful serve and forehand to defeat #8 Allie Will 6-3,6-3, to give Stanford a 2-1 lead and Will’s first, and only dual loss of the season. UF tied it up at 2-2 where #9 Lauren Embree defeated #4 Hilary Barte 6-4,6-3, and left 3 singles matches left to battle. Veronica Li of Stanford was the next person to win, defeating #107 Caroline Hitimana 6-3,7-5 and the tie was still alive with Stanford leading 3-2. UF’s Joanna Mather defeating a cramping Carolyn McVeigh 5-7,6-4,6-0 and to tie it at 3-3! The last 4-3 final was in 2003 when UF defeated Stanford. #33 Mallory Burdette was up a set and was closing in on a win in the 2nd before UF’s #65 Marrit Boonstra won the 2nd in a tiebreak. Things looked like it would end up in UF’s favor, with Boonstra leading 5-4 in the 3rd, but Mallory, the freshman sister to Lindsay and former NCAA team and doubles champion Erin (Class of 2005), clawed back to break and serve for the match at 6-5. She quickly went to triple match point, but lost the 1st on an error and the 2nd on the luckiest net cord ever. She capitalized on the 3rd and the championship and upset went to Stanford. Lindsay was the first person to get to her sister, jumping the fence and tackling her like she was in the NFL. It was an amazing sight (check the video).

Singles
My pick for the singles title, (1)Irina Falconi, lost in the quarterfinals to UGA’s (9-16)Chelsey Gullickson, sister of touring pro Carly. I wasn’t shocked because Irina wasn’t playing her best and Chelsey was playing unbelievable. I knew Chelsey was a great baseliner and she just overpowered Irina. She beat Stanford’s (4)Hilary Barte, to face (2)Jana Juricova of California-Berkley, who defeated (7)Laura Vallverdu of Miami. I watched a good bit of the final and it was “big babe” tennis. Both have a powerful game and they were pushing the others to the side to open up for winners. The crowd was obviously on Gullickson’s side and as she said after, it helped. She won on her 3rd match point to defeat Juricova 6-3,7-6(9-7) for her biggest title of her career. Hopefully, she will get a main draw wildcard into the US Open. She has plans to return to UGA next fall for her Junior year.

Doubles
I expected the top 2 seeds to reach the final. Stanford’s (2)Hilary Barte and Lindsay Burdette played Tennessee’s (1)Caitlin Whoriskey and Natalie Pluskota. Pluskota only came back in April due to a bad hip injury, but they regained their level that won them the All-Americans in the Fall. I saw the end of the 2nd set to the end of it. Barte and Burdette were clearly in the zone and were levels above the Tennessee team. The final score was 7-5,4-6,6-0. The final set lasted a little over 20 minutes and the final point was a double fault from Tennessee. Barte and Burdette hugged, doing one better from their 2009 runner-up in College Station, Texas

Also, I will do a French Open recap after it is over and I will post my Short Story I wrote for the Intercollegiate Tennis Association where I missed the top 3 in the country, but was a top 10 finalist! Hope you enjoyed!

Update + NCAAs + Extra

Hey guys!

Long time, no talk! A lot has happened since the Sony Ericsson! I finally finished my first year and moved to Ohio! Big change, but I am looking forward to it, and attending my favorite school, Ohio State. Just have to officially get accepted first :p NCAAs are starting this weekend with the 16 regionals, which are the 1st 2 rounds of the tournament. The winner from each regional advances to the Round of 16 in Athens, Georgia and then it goes down from there. I will be attending the Ohio State’s Men’s Regional this weekend and I am so excited to see my first men’s collegiate tennis match! Here are my predictions for the Ladies:

Contenders

Last years’ winners: Duke Blue Devils

1. Baylor
Record: 27-2
Highlights: Big 12 Championship, Number 1 Rank
Why?: With only 2 losses of the season, Baylor has a solid line-up. They have only lost to North Carolina 2-4 at the National Indoors and an away match against Michigan 3-4. They have only 1 National Championship, a 2005 singles winner in Zuzana Zemenova. They usually go deep but falter at the end. Can they finally finish at the end???

2. University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill
Record: 26-4
Highlights: ACC Runner-Up, ITA Indoor Runner-Up, Number 1 Rank
Why?: The Tar Heels have gelled extremely well and have a great line-up led by Seniors Katerina Tsang and Sanaz Marand. The breifly held the number 1 ranking earlier in the year and with all 4 of their losses coming at 3-4, they show that they don’t go easy. They also have 1 National Championship, a doubles win when Sara Anundsen and Jenna Long won in 2007. I have personally seen them play and they have the tools to win, but other teams stand in their way.

3. University of Florida
Record: 24-2
Highlights: SEC Winners
Why?: The hottest team in the country right now, who haven’t lost a match since February. Led my freshmen Lauren Embree and Allie Will, they are a force to be reckoned with. They are on a 17-match winning streak. The have 12 National Championships, 4 in each team, singles and doubles. They got the Triple Crown (all events won) in 1995. They have what it takes, but will they flame out?

8. Stanford University
Record: 20-1
Highlights: Pac 10 Winners
Why?: The Cardinals are in NCAA history with their tennis program. They currently ride on a 13-match winning streak and at home, have won a record 161 consecutive matches (131 in the regular season). Their win count is “low” only because they decided against playing at the ITA Indoors. They have a total of 32 National Championships, 15 in team, 12 in singles and 5 in doubles. They also won the Triple Crown in 1990. They have a solid line-up and with their only loss a 1-6 match to UCLA, the Cards can do some damage.

Darkhorses:
- Defending Champions Duke (Defending is a HUGE task)
- Home team UGA (Can they make it past their regional?)
- Georgia Tech (My girls..great to see McDowell back!)
- Michigan (Top 5 team, but can they seal it?)
- Northwestern (Amazing indoor team, but can they prove it outdoors?)
- California (Runner-Up last 2 years…3rd time the charm)
- UCLA (Always a tough program and 2008 Champs)

Final Four
(8)Stanford def. (12)California
(3)Florida def. (2)UNC

Final
(3)Florida def. (8)Stanford – Can be a CLASSIC match!

In other news, Shelby Rogers, who I “discovered” at Ft. Walton Beach, has turned professional! The 17 year old won 7 straight matches to qualify and reach the final of the $50k in Indian Harbor Beach, Florida. She lost to top seed Edina Gallovits in a tight 3 setter before running out of steam. I kept an eye out on Shelby over the Summer when she played my great friend at a $10k and she won 76 67 76. I then met her, and got to chat and she is such a great person. I hope she does well in the future! Lastly, the French Open

#2 North Carolina 5, #20 Georgia Tech 2

Hey guys!

Today, I was fortunate to attend an ACC battle between 2 top 20 teams in the NCAA rankings. North Carolina, who have spent some time at number one but is currently number 2, played my favorite, Georgia Tech, the 20th ranked team who upset reigning NCAA (and ACC) Champions #7 Duke yesterday. I happened to park behind Kristi Miller, perhaps the most distinguished tennis player coming from GT. She is currently engaged to fellow GT alum (and tennis alum) David North and recieved a full ride to Emory Law School. She played a year on the ITF circuit reaching 645 in singles in May 2009 and 291 in doubles in July 2006 (which was highlighted from a US Open main draw doubles win in 2005).

Before the match, everyone honored Amanda McDowell, who is the lone Senior on the Flats this year. The announcer read her biggest accomplishments, which included the 6 national titles GT has won since she hit campus. A light moment was when her ITA Regional Title was read, and she beat Kristi in the final. It was a chuckle since Kristi happened to be in the audience. She was presented with a bouquet of flowers and a frame with a jersey and pictures as well as little notes. It was a delight to see, as she deserves nothing but the best!

Tennis soon followed and the doubles was first:

#30 Sasha Krupina/Irina Falconi (GT) def. Sanaz Marand/Katrina Tsang (UNC) 8-7 (7-5)
- This match was the battle of the day and I stayed on this court the entire time. Sasha struggled early on and Irina was able to help carry on. Sasha played some of her best tennis in the end, as she finally got a feel for the ball. They were down a break pretty much until the end when they broke at 4-6. Tsang is something to watch. Her grunt is one of the most unusual to hear and her service motion is 100% herky-jerky. Marand is a delight to watch and her feel for the ball is great to see. I first saw her in 2008 at the $10k in Atlanta and she has improved so much. She should do well in the pros, if she plays them after she graduates in May.

Jelena Durisic/Sophie Grabinski (UNC) def. Lynn Blau/Hillary Davis (GT) 8-5
- Lynn and Hillary really compliment each other out well and I thought that they would have come back to win. I was impressed with their doubles game a lot. Durisic is the tallest player from the Tar Heels and packs the most power. She and Grabinski just overpowered GT and was able to win.

Shinann Featherston/Jocelyn Ffriend (UNC) def. Elizabeth Kilborn/Viet Ha Ngo (GT) 8-3
- I really didn’t watch a lot of this match, as I was paying a close eye on 1 doubles. Viet Ha (Christina) was making a lot of errors and it really cost them the match. Nothing sparked my interest on Court 3.

Finishing Order: 3,2*,1 (* denotes clinch of doubles point)

The doubles point went to UNC and singles soon followed after.

1. #1 Irina Falconi(GT) def. #32 Sanaz Marand (UNC) 6-1, 5-7, 12-10
- This was such a close match! Duh, look at the score. Irina completely dominated in the first set, giving Sanaz no mercy. It was different in the second set, as Sanaz was playing better ball and pushing Irina around with some penetrating strokes. It was on serve until the end I believe, and then Irina took a bathroom break and then I heard a 10 point tiebreak would be happening because the match was clinched. The tiebreaker was full of long, high-quality points and Irina barely prevailed, but she definitely earned that win.

2. #51 Katrina Tsang (UNC) def. Christina Ngo (GT) 6-1, 6-3
- I don’t know how to describe Tsang. Her game is very technical and her return of serve, she paws towards the court like a cat, it is so weird. She got into Christina’s head and Christina made a lot of errors. Tsang is talented, but it couldv’e gone to 3 sets.

3. Jelena Durisic (UNC) def. Sasha Krupina (GT) 6-1, 6-4
- The battle between the tallest of both teams. Sasha played horribly in the first set and Jelena used her power well. Sasha uses her body well, but focuses more on technicality. She played SO much better in the 2nd set and I thought it couldv’e gone to 3, but Jelena just had that extra willpower. Sasha teared up after the match, I felt so bad, but she will bounce back for her Sr. year.

4. Lynn Blau (GT) def. Gina Suarez-Malaguti (UNC) 6-3, 7-5
- I am super impressed by Lynn. She clinched the win in a 3rd set tiebreak at 3-3 against Duke and is now riding high on confidence. She has all of the tools. She should do so well in her final 2 years on the Flats. Super nice girl and deserves everything. She works hard. She simply outclasses Gina, who was a bit too carefree with some of her shots.

5. #118 Sophie Grabinski (UNC) def. Elizabeth Kilborn (GT) 3-6, 6-3, 6-4
- I am SUPER impressed by Liz. She has all of the tools, just like Lynn, but I think she will turn out a bit better. She will be a top 3 player on the Flats her Jr. or Sr. year. Her serve is excellent and she moves the ball so beautifully. She is local, wasn’t a top recruit and has an AMAZING head on her shoulders…reminds me of someone I know, Amanda McDowell. Sophie just outlasted Liz, and broke Liz at 4-4 in the final set. Liz was upset after that and that’s why she lost the next game. She was upset after losing, but she shouldn’t. I can’t wait to follow her another 3 years. By far my biggest surprise is her and she is just overflowing with potential and talent.

6. Shinann Featherston (UNC) def. Hillary Davis (GT) 6-2, 6-2
- Shinann simply outclassed Hillary, who just made too many loose errors. I didn’t watch a lot of the match and it was the first one over. Her shoulder and groin were both iced when she was watching the Kilborn match. Her net game is really nice to watch and when she is healthy, she will be doing some great things.

Finishing Order: 6,3,2*,4,1,5 (* denotes clinch of entire match)

March-April Update

Hey guys, it’s been awhile, sorry for that! I will get right to it and start with the Sony Ericsson Open, which was held in Miami, Florida.

First, I want to congratulate CoCo Vandeweghe on her 6-1,6-3 over Maria-Elena Camerin of Italy for her second career WTA win. She only lost one point on her first serve in the match. She then lost 6-2,7-5 to Swede Sofia Arvidsson.

I was delighted to see my favorite player on the tour, Ashley Harkleroad, return to the WTA Tour. Almost exactly 2 years before her match against Aussie Alicia Molik, Harkleroad was in a Miami hospital after experiencing stomach pains in her match. It turned out to be an ovary cyst had burst and went into surgery to remove it. After posing for Playboy not to long after that, she found out in the summer that she was pregnant and withdrew from that U.S. Open. She married her coach Chuck Adams and on March 25, 2009, Charles Hooper Adams was born. He is so precious and just so cute. 2 days after her 6-1,6-1 loss, Charlie celebrated his first birthday. Harkleroad was impressed with how she played, as she had only practiced for a month, and she was able to keep her protected ranking for another year. We will see our “American Anna” back in the summer for the World Team Tennis season.

After Serena Williams, Maria Sharapova and Dinara Safina all out of the Sony Ericsson Open, my money was on Venus Williams winning the entire thing. She didn’t fail to dissapoint, cruising her way to the final, losing only one set en route to the final, where she played Kim Clijsters. Clijsters had played Justine Henin in a delicious Semi-Final encounter between these 2 Belgian comebacks. I enjoyed watching it and left the TV to play tennis at 6-3,3-2 Clijsters. I came back shocked to see that the match was still going on and the score was 6-3,6-7,6-6 and Clijsters had a match point. 2 points later, and after a HIGH QUALITY match point, Kim won 6-3,6-7(3-7),7-6(8-6). With that match wearing her out, I thought Venus would dominate Kim in the final. I woke up that Saturday late, but hopefully still able to watch the match. The trophy ceremony had just finished and Kim demolished Venus 6-2,6-1. On a side note, I LOVED Venus’ dress, definitely one of her best!

Going to the ITF circuit, there was a $25,000 tournament in Pelham, Alabama and it was the first clay court USTA Pro Circuit event. Edina Gallovits of Romainia just crushed the field, losing only 11 games total, and 7 were in her first match. Her scores from the second round to the final were 6-0,6-0,   6-0,6-2,   6-1,6-0   6-2,6-0. Wildcards Jamie Hampton and Mallory Cecil won the doubles title.

I will be attending the #20 Georgia Tech vs. #2 North Carolina match, where it is Senior Day. 2008 NCAA Singles Champion Amanda McDowell will be recognized and I am so looking forward to it. Amanda is one of the sweetest players I have met and I hope the back injury she currently has heals so she can play the pro tour. Here are some of stats the GT Womens Tennis Facebook had in honor of her:

• She ranks third all-time in Georgia Tech history with 116 career singles victories.
• She had a program record of 45 singles wins during the 2007-08 season.
• Since she stepped foot on campus, the Yellow Jackets have won six national titles (1 Team NCAA Title, 2 National Team Indoor titles, 2 singles titles [1 NCAA and 1 All-American] and 1 All-American doubles title).
• She excelled both on the court and in the classroom and is a 2010 ACC Postgraduate Scholarship recipient.

I will take pictures and videos and will bring a detailed report.

Videos From 25k Fort Walton Beach

I have all of my videos from The ECAR 25K Women’s Tennis Challenge in Fort Walton Beach, Florida up on my YouTube Channel. It is http://www.youtube.com/user/tennisbuddy12

Enjoy!

Fort Walton Beach 25: 2nd Day

Sorry for not updating guys, been busy traveling home and gearing up for my final semester at Georgia Southern. Ohio State, here I come (hopefully). Anyways, here is my report from my 2nd (and last) day at $25k Fort Walton Beach.

It was a bright and sunny, as well as HOT start to my final day at The ECAR $25k Women’s Challenger. 3rd seeded Canadian Stephanie Dubois faced 6th seeded Tsvetana Pironkova of Bulgaria in a VERY enticing encounter. I was very excited to see this match as both players have been in the top 100. Pironkova even has a win over Venus Williams (2006 Australian Open 1st round). I had an App for my ITouch that can connect match stats, so I made sure I stayed for the entire thing, even if that meant missing other matches. Please forgive some of the stats, as I may have pressed a wrong button and had to go back and missed a point. The BIGGEST flaw is that any shot that went out or in the net, even if a serve was lightly touched, I counted it as an unforced error. I know, I could have gone into more detail but I wanted to see the match too :p Here they are:

Quarterfinal

(3) Stephanie Dubois (CAN) – (6) Tsvetana Pironkova (BUL)

• 1st Serve %                                 67%-61%
• Aces                                                0-6
• Double Faults                                   0-3
• Winners                                         16-36
• Errors                                            60-62
• Break Points                      4/11 (37%)-6/11 (55%)
• Total Points                              82/186-104/186

Score: (6) Tsvetana Pironkova wins 3-6,6-3,6-2

The match was very high quality for the first 2 sets. Watching the match right by me was Dubois’ compatriot, Rebecca Marino, who practiced before the match. Stephanie was guiding the ball around the court very nicely and Pironkova was making a lot of errors, especially on the backhand. Momentum changed in the 2nd set and Pironkova stepped up her game and was ripping winners and serves. She also mixed it up by coming to the net. There were some line call disputes, about 3 or 4 and all but one going in Stephanie’s favor. The one she lost was near the end of the 2nd set and you could tell it really bothered her, adding on top of her opponent’s comeback and her deterioration. I still thought that Stephanie would come back after she lost the 2nd set. In the 3rd set, it was all Tsvetana, and she quickly went up 5-0. Stephanie’s level went DOWN and it was a bit disappointing to see. I think she might have been nervous and it was her first 3 setter of the tournament. She won the next 3 games and Tsvetana closed the match out on her 6th ace to win 3-6,6-3,6-2.  It was tough to see Stephanie get upset but Tsvetana was the better player and the right times. The match lasted over 2 hours and it was a nice match and sad to see someone lose.

After the match, I went back inside to cool down and to check some sites out on the web. Rebecca was in there with Sophie Ferguson and Trudi Musgrave. They were talking about cell phones because Rebecca had just broken her BlackBerry and didn’t have a phone before leaving for England to play a tournament. Sophie had (I believe) Xinyun Han’s mom kneading the kinks out of her neck and both Aussie’s said that they will miss her expertise

I watched a little bit of Sweden’s Johanna Larsson, the 7th seed go against Han. It was a nice match full of high quality points and winners. Han doesn’t hesitate at all to crank the ball early in the rally and Johanna struggled with that a little bit. Han had difficulty retrieving the high-paced and forced shots from Larsson and I believe that was what the difference was in that match. Larsson won 6-4,7-5 and was my pick to win the tournament still.

I didn’t see any of the Arantxa Rus-Chanelle Scheepers match. Rus, the 3rd seed from The Netherlands, was the clear favorite. The 8th seeded South African Scheepers, was a crowd and umpire favorite. It was a tense battle and Rus had won the first set. This match started when the Dubois-Pironkova match was still in progress. I left to go inside and I had heard that Chanelle won the 2nd set 7-5. I didn’t see any of the third, but Scheepers pulled off the upet 4-6,7-5,6-2. Rus started cramping at 1-2 in the final set and contemplated forfeiting 2 games to receive treatment, according to new ITF rules. She didn’t and it was the first time the USTA Pro Circuit used the new cramping rule and Bunny and Missy, as well as the umpires were pleased to see the new rules go smoothly.

During the Ferguson- Anastasia Yakimova match, I decided to hit a little and just relax before the final match I wanted to see. Ferguson, an unseeded Aussie overpowered and outmatched the 5th seeded Yakimova of Belarus. I didn’t see a lot but Ferguson was into the Semis with a 6-3,6-1 upset win. Was that day just an “upset” kind of day??

The last match I saw was the doubles semi-final between (WC)Courtney Nagle and Christina Fusano and unseeded Dubois and Georgian Anna Tatishvili. The Georgian-Candadian duo had ripped leg, especially Anna. Her thigh muscles were so defined, it wasn’t even funny. She relys on her foot speed and you can tell. I expected it would be a close match, but it was very nice to watch. I sat next to a friend of Fusano’s who is playing at Auburn next year. We talked a little about someone we know mutually and why she was here, as she is from Dothan, Alabama. Her name is Emily Newton if you want to check her out. I hope she does well. Nagle and Fusano got off slowly but came back and stayed in control of the entire match. Tatishvili and Dubois were just outmatched against these doubles specialists and they have been in the top 100 before and you can see why. The serve and volleys were crisp from the Americans and it was nice to lead them to victory. They won 6-3,6-2. We spoke a few words after and they had hoped we would be there for the final, but that was our traveling day so we weren’t able to make it.

I expected Johanna Larsson and Coutney Nagle/Christina Fusano to win, but boy was I wrong. The 2nd seeded team of Larsson and Scheepers outlasted the American wildcards 2-6,7-6(7-4),[10-7]. We befriended some players, including Nagle on Facebook and Nagle said it was because we weren’t there cheering for her lol. I hope she reaches the top 100 again, as well as Christina. They are such sweet girls. The same day Ferguson defeated Pironkova 6-4,6-4 to reach the final. The biggest upset in my opinion was Scheepers’ win over Larsson. Not only was the result surprising, but the score was as well. Chanelle won the match 5-7.6-0.6-0. Larsson had to have been tired as her 2010 singles record coming into FWB was 17-3 and she ended 2009 by winning 14 of her final 15 matches. Add her doubles and she was probably exhausted, but she is EXTREMELY fit. I hope she will crack the top 100 by Roland Garros. The final had Scheepers surprising everyone and claiming the title with a 7-5,7-5 win over Ferguson. As Larsson, I hope they crack the top 100, as they have so much potential and talent.

Thank you for reading and pics should be up tonight!

Fort Walton Beach 25k: First Day

Kevin, my twin and myself planned to get up at 8am, have breakfast and be there by 9:30. Yeah, we woke up at 9 and skipped breakfast, showered and got dressed and was off to the site, about 30 minutes from our close families friends’ house. I brought my bookbag with my camera and laptop for the event…. Our GPS had us going to the club and I didn’t have a good feeling about where we were going. We pull up on the road which has houses and then BAM! There is the club and we saw gates and cheered as we saw the banners for the tournament. We pulled up and I quickly got my things and went inside to see Bunny Williams and Missy Malool, 2 of USTA’s finest women who work 220 days out of the year running the pro circuit. I love these two women and they have the biggest hearts out there. Bunny was quoted in a article when asked if she had kids. She said “I reply yes-64 a week.” I love them SO much. I also met with the tournament director, who runs a 25k in Sweden as well. He told me to make sure that I only say good stuff about the players  just kidding.

The match I went to first was 3rd seed Stephanie Dubois of Canada pitted against wild card Jamie Hampton from the United States. During the warm up, some people found out (due to Bunny and the tournament director) that I was a walking tennis encyclopedia. The director said she had a win over Clijsters and I pointed out that it was a retirement  I found out the guy in front of me was Stephanie’s father . Jamie was the one to take control of the points, but made way too many errors. Stephanie went up 5-0 in the first and 5-2 in the second and I was hoping that Jamie would make the comeback, but it wasn’t meant to be. Dubois wins 6-1,6-4. Stephanie is a delight to watch and she guides the ball so well. She changes the ball’s direction so well. I expect her to reach (at least!) the final.

I did not get to see much of the Scheepers and Koehler match as I was cheering on Jamie as much as I could. Koehler, of Portugal was my favorite of the morning as she was blasting the ball and her feistiness and attitude were up there as well. The poor umpire who I felt was berated by Koehler but it was so good. After her match, Koehler was so nice and outgoing and playing with one of the people with a camera. I thought that the 8th seeded Scheepers of South Africa would have been upset, but she rebounded and led the final set 5-0 before winning 2-6,6-4,6-2.

The Swede Johanna Larsson/Galina Voskoboeva of Kazakhstan match in my hopes, going to be a good one. Galina is very serious on court, while Johanna is more carefree. At one point, Galina and her coach I am assuming were talking in Russian and the umpire told him to stop because it could be coaching as she didnt know what he was saying  And Johanna was feeding a ball down the court and she hit the scoreboard thing and all these tennis balls flew out. Twas funny. Johanna hits the ball very hard and I really like her game. Galina has a nice serve and can move the ball but this match was all Larsson. The 7th seed Larsson won 6-2,6-4. I expect Larsson to win, she is really liked here.

I watched a good portion of the Thai 2009 Wimbledon (and World) Junior champ Noppawan Lertcheewakarn (Nok) and Xinyun Han of China match. Nok is coached by the famous Chuck Kriese and I was always eavesdropping on what he had to say. He mentioned right before the first point that Han cranks the ball usually on the 3rd or 4th ball and he was right. Han can play a very nice game. Her groundstrokes her nice and Nok, I think (and Chuck lol) think she got intimidated by Han’s play. Down 5-1 in the first and 4-1 (and 5-2) in the 2nd, Nok was able to come back and fight but Han escaped as the victor 7-5,6-4

Georgian (not the state like me, but country) Anna Tatishvili and the Aussie Sophie Ferguson match was a friggin whirlwind and soon-to-be nightmare for Fergie. Up 6-4,5-1, Fergie looked like she had the match in her hands. Finally, Anna played well and with the support of her father(?) was able to claw back and tie the match at 1 set all. Anna is a scrappy player and pushes the ball well. If she wanted, she could rip it. Sophie’s forehand is VERY nice and she really only sliced on her one-handed backhand. I’m not sure if that was to cover up her BH as a weakness, I don’t know. Anna cramped in the final game of the match and after 3 hours and 5 minutes, Ferguson was in the quarterfinals with a 6-4,6-7(2-7),6-4 win.

Qualifier (as a wildcard, might I add) Shelby Rogers of America was (with the time of day) the final American left in the singles draw. In the warm up, I thought she would have been able to cause the upset of the tournament against 5th seeded Anastasia Yakimova of Belarus. I wanted to ask her coach some questions for TF and he said she is VERY excited for the Family Circle Cup and she is graduating a year early. They are upset about the new NCAA rule (effective starting this school year) that seniors can only take one semester off, not a year like Shelby had planned, before college starts. Shelby wants to go pro, but isn’t ready and lacks experience. Shelby can pound her serve and actually had the points on her racket, but made WAYYYY too many errors and it cost her. Yakimova isn’t anything special and I don’t think she will win , she did pull out the win 6-0,6-2.

The Arantxa Rus and Anastasia Pivovarova match was going to be closer than the score showed in my opinion. The 4th seeded Rus of The Netherlands is crafty and exudes talent, as well as smell according to Kevin . Rus dominated the rallies and the Russian Pivovarova, who received a main draw wildcard into next week’s Sony Ericsson Open in Miami, just couldn’t handle it. I didn’t watch a lot of it but Rus deserved the win 6-2,6-3.

I didn’t see any of the 6th seed, Tsvetana Pironkova of Bulgaria and Shuai Zhang of China play. Pironkova and her parents(?) seem very nice, but I was scouting the grounds. Tsvetana won the match easily 6-3,6-1.

In doubles + randomness:
Kevin and I made sure we cheered loud and proud for Americans Christina Fusano and Courtney Nagle. I don’t see why Fusano doesn’t play singles, I can see why Nagle is a doubles specialist though. We got to hit next to them and Julie Ditty, who says her wrist is getting better. I welcomed back Nagle (and Ditty). Julie was a sweetie and said thanks and Courtney told me “Thanks, but I wasn’t here last year ” I told her I meant on the cicuit and she thanked me. Han and Ji, of China are a fantastic doubles team, but today wasn’t there day. As you read, Nagle saw the trainer after the 1st game in the 2nd set and I thought it was going to be a retirement, but I was wrong. The wildcard team of Nagle and Fusano scraped by in their 2nd consecutive match tiebreak 6-7(2-7),6-4,[10-6]. I didn’t see any of the 2nd seeds Larsson and Scheepers, as I was hitting, but they won over the Chinese Zhao and Zhou 6-2,6-2. I caught a small glimpse of the Tatishvili/Dubois and Sesil Karatantcheva/Yi-Fan Xi match. I expect Anna and Stephanie to take the doubles title and they were more overpowering and crafty in their 6-4,6-4 win. I did open the door for Sesi and saw her changing her shirt on court  As I was watching the Nagle/Fusano match, Nok and Rus were playing Laura Siegemund and Pivovarova and it went the full distance. Laura and Anastasia won 3-6,7-6(7-1),[11-9]. Both Nok and Rus were upset after, but still took a picture with a middle school player.

During the Anna-Sophie thriller, I chased a ball for Nok’s match and while passing by that court a lady (I think and I think she) farted Also, I overheard Jamie say she has a stomach strain. I tried to tell about Vaidisova’s retirement but I didn’t wanna be superfan (too late). An umpire told me Radek must have charm as he was with Hingis (I knew) and IVANOVIC  idk  Marino was taking to someone on her phone (Blackberry, like most players) and I overheard her say she wanted to play Cincinnati and had to be ranked 120. Also, Jacqueline Cako stopped by before leaving for her flight and she was chatting with Anna T. before her match.

I will try and get videos up but here are some pics:

Chanelle Scheepers

Arantxa Rus

Jamie Hampton

Anastasia Yakimova

Anastasia Pivovarova

Indian Wells: Round 4 Wrap-Up

Hey everyone!

I have arrived in Fort Walton Beach and am SO stoked to be here with my 2nd family (fmr. neighbors), as well as being here with the $25,000 challenger that is not even a half hour away from here. I am going to try and bring my best friend, who isn’t a big tennis fan, to the tournament. I am looking forward to all the matches tomorrow and I will be there before the 10am start

Now, going to Indian Wells:

The fourth round of the BNP Paribas Open finished and although 5 of the top 8 seeds are into the quarterfinals, the tournament has been full of upsets. I expected top seed Svetlana Kuznetsova of Russia and 14th seed Belgian Kim Clijsters to play each other in this round and both were upset by Carla Suarez Navarro of Spain and Russian Alisa Kleybanova respectively. CSN and Kleybanova played for over 2 and a half hours and Kleybanova came back from the brink of defeat and win 2-6,7-6(7-2),6-4. Serbian Jelena Jankovic, the 6th seed, outplayed Shahar Peer of Israel 6-2,6-2 to book her spot into the quarterfinals. 8th seeded Aussie Samantha Stosur dethroned defending champion Vera Zvonareva of Russia, the 12th seed 6-2,7-5. 13th seed Yanina Wickmayer was upset by 28th seed Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez in straight, but tough sets 6-4,6-4. 5th seed Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland defeated France’s 11th seed Marion Bartoli 6-3,6-2 to face Russian 4th seed Elena Dementieva, a 6-3,6-3 winner of 19th seed Aravane Rezai of France. Coming off her win over Maria Sharapova, 18th seed Jie Zheng of China scraped by Australian wild card Alicia Molik 6-3,4-6,7-6(7-1). I was able to watch the match between 16th seed Russian Nadia Petrova and Danish 2nd seed Caroline Wozniacki. While watching the end of the 2nd set, I expected Petrova to pull of the upset and Caroline quickly put that thought out with a 6-3,3-6,6-0 win. The quarterfinal line-up is:

(23)Alisa Kleybanova (RUS) vs. (6)Jelena Jankovic (SRB)
(28)Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez (ESP) vs. (8)Samantha Stosur (AUS)
(5)Agnieszka Radwanska (POL) vs. (4)Elena Dementieva (RUS)
(18)Jie Zheng (CHN) vs. (2)Caroline Wozniacki (DEN)