Well, what to say ? Some great shots. Still a bit slow still not mixing it up much, but I think the problem is mainly mental or she could have had that match.
There were times when she looked like the old Laura with great serve followed by winner but there were longer periods when the errors took over. She hit more winners than her opponent but also a lot more losers. She just needs to get more consistent.
-- Edited by Peter too on Thursday 10th of March 2016 10:42:38 PM
Laura played a lot better than I feared she might - looked uninhibited but very rusty as you would expect. Rybarikova helped make it quite competitive by not playing very well. 8 double faults not too bad after that first game.
I think Laura will surprise us here with a win. Just a gut feeling, I hope this dosen't jinx it!
After the first game, I went scurrying for DF records, but in the end, that first game accounted for half the total.
Generally, it went about as I'd expected.
Another 10 points. Laura is ranked 551. Since returning, she has now accumulated 55 points, of which 20 have been earned through actually winning a match. Whilst there are still rolls of the dice to make, and hope everything somehow clicks together - PR, SR, SE, WC whatever else! - I suppose that will be the route. Personally though, I'd rather see her playing $10K, and hopefully dominating them.
In terms of the match, lots of areas of her game that need huge improvement. First serve pace still nowhere near what it used to be. The rest of her game rusty but showed some potential in between the errors. Lots of forehands struck the top of the net. She looked slow around the court to me.
Hope her wrist injury has been resolved and she can stay fit for a lengthy spell.
She is clearly inspired by these bigger events, the concern is that unless she starts picking up some wins soon, by the time her PRs have all been used up she won't have a ranking anywhere near high enough to play in them and then who knows.....
Not sure how many freebies she's got left - but good to see her vaguely competative. It was never going to be easy but seems to be heading in the right direction
Typo
-- Edited by Strongbow on Thursday 10th of March 2016 11:20:56 PM
Much better than my very low expectations, Ryb poor play in the 1st set making it look better than it actually was I suspect. Laura should really have won the 1st set. More power on the serve and the forehand than was there last year, backhand gone backwards a little. It's clear Laura needs to stick with these tournaments and practice hard in between. Hopefully her wrist will continue to improve, to allow her to start picking up wins.
According to Spiceboy on TennisForum, Laura has provisionally entered Istanbul, Rabat, Madrid, Rome with Roland Garros as the last slam she could use her SR for. She used 2 of her 8 last year.
Not sure how many freebies she's got left - but good to see her vaguely competative. It was never going to be easy but seems to be heading in the right direction
Typo
-- Edited by Strongbow on Thursday 10th of March 2016 11:20:56 PM
Still has plenty of SR's left - most will be used for the clay and then wildcards for Wimbledon, Birmingham and Eastbourne.