It was a struggle for Laura throughout the match, even in the first set which she won mainly because BZS was struggling even more. 18 double faults certainly far too many, especially against an opponent who wasn't punishing the serve with winning returns.
A great week for Laura though, and maybe the efforts of the last couple of days caught up with her today.
Ran out of gas I'm afraid, was tired at the end of yesterday, and needed to win it in two. Commentator said she needed to work on her serve, I think fitness is the key. Watched alot of Laura during the last few months, and you can tell each point is an effort physically, and when she gets tired the serve loses punch and more double faults come. But OMG what a week and so many positives to take forward, shame she has to play AMG gain next week, because with a couple of days to rest to recover from this I would have fancied her to get a couple of wins with a kinder draw.
It was a horror to watch, Lauras serve was grim and she really did have her chances. But hey at 18 you have time to work on these things. My son did one of those big growing things (his sport wasn't tennis) and it's incredibly hard to deal with the fact your arms and legs just aren't where you expect them to be it does take a while to get a proper feel for your body and be confident in your movement.
Such a positive week from Laura. I agree with Phil that it is fitness that is the real issue. Also inconsistencies ( often related to fitness ). The serve will come in time ( I agree it is still far too inconsistent ) and in time it can become much more an asset than a hinderance. And that will help her so much.
I worry so much less about what I agree may be annoying inconsistencies just now and just see the bigger picture moving very much in the right direction
-- Edited by indiana on Monday 16th of July 2012 04:01:23 PM