Mel scheduled a 6 week training block for April/May (though she did play AEGON Team Tennis), as usual avoiding the clay court tournaments prior to Roland Garros. I think she has recognised that improvements need to be made for her to have any chance of long-term success at Tour level, so I hope it works out for her. In the short term she will play the French Open on a wing and a prayer, before the grass court season, where she has performed well in the past.
She's been on a 6 week training block since Miami, she will be playing Roland Garros as her next event
I'm guessing its because she played a few WTAs earlier this year, got quite badly thrashed in a number of matches and maybe decided there were some big things in her game she needed to work on to be able to compete regularly at that level
I'm assuming she'll have been doing some training on clay too
This from Mel's website - great news, sounds like she's going to come back super-fit!:
South gunning for French Open success
A beefed-up Mel South hopes her punishing fitness schedule will pay dividends when she makes her bow in the French Open this week.
The New Malden star has maintained a low profile of late, electing to hit the gym, which has seen her world ranking slip from 99 to 124 in the past two months.
But South reckons it is simply all part of the plan.
She said: I took the decision to take some time out as I felt I really needed to get into better shape.
I want to go a lot further than just making the top 100, and for that my body needs to improve.
I have taken the last seven weeks just to work on my fitness - doing a lot of track running and gym work, and I feel really good.
Now Im really geared up for the rest of this season and I cant wait to get started.
Souths French Open action will see her in the main draw thanks to her ranking.
And she admits qualifying on merit has given her a big boost.
South added: To know I am in the draw because of my ranking is great and I will take a lot of confidence from that.
To be honest, the only reason my ranking has dipped recently is because I havent been competing, but it is nothing to panic about.
Now we are into the part of the season I love the most, with the grass courts coming up after the French Open, and that is where I am at my strongest.
With Anne Keothavong still flying the flag for British womens tennis, South makes no bones about her desire to improve on her status as the nations number three.
And the 23-year-old feels breaking back into the top 100 will be just the start.
She added: The first thing is to break back in the top 100.
But top 50 is my goal now.
After the French Open and Wimbledon, I will be off to the States and then Asia to boost my ranking.
It is a grind, but if you want to make it you have to put in the hours, and I certainly do.
Well, to be fair NC has been injured and ill, and we don't know how she's looking at present. I suppose it's rather odd that it's taken Mel 5-odd years to recognise this deficit in her game - you'd think there'd be people to give an honest assessment of her and tell her to get on with it. But she's taken action now, which is great to see. Maybe Naomi will follow her lead when fully healthy.
I don't think Mel's "fitness level" has ever been as much of a problem as certain other aforementioned GBR players. Her game a couple of years ago needed a lot of work to push forwards - "fitness" wasn't the barrier. Since then she has made such enormous progess just from a tennis point of view the "fitness" thing is comparatively more of a factor. Personally I think she's doing things in pretty-much the right order - you can't really argue with her movement up the rankings.
Awesome, she sounds very confident and focussed. Difficult to comment until I see her play, but if she could sneak a win against a clay court mess then shes top 100, right?
Hurrah! Mel now has an LTA blog too - albeit not as funny as Katie's! http://www.lta.org.uk/Articles/Mel-South-blogs/Due-South Not much about herself in this first edition, though from the pictures she does indeed look fit, though naturally still...um, full-figured?
