Boys & Girls; U14 Super Category, Les Petits As, Tarbes, France, indoor hard (Week 36)

DavidC · Tennis legend

Boys & Girls; U14 Super Category, Les Petits As, Tarbes, France, indoor hard (Week 36)

DavidC · Tennis legend

some well constructed points sees Hannah serve out to love for a 6-3 opening set

DavidC · Tennis legend

Didn't see much of the second set but Hannah won 4 games in a row at the end to win 6-3 6-2 and join Hephzibah and Maximilian in the quarter-finals

DavidC · Tennis legend

Tomorrow Hephzibah is first, Maximilian third and Hannah 5th on Centre. The winners of Hephzibah and Hannah's matches play each other in the semis

Boys R3

(Q) Maximilian Carrier d. (12) Jacopo Vasami (ITA) 6-3 4-6 6-4

QF

Matisse Farzam (USA) v (Q) Maximilian Carrier

Girls R3

Hephzibah Oluwadare d. Eliska Forejtkova (CZE) 6-3 6-1
(WC) Hannah Klugman d. (WC) Ksenia Efremova (RUS) 6-3 6-2

QF

Hephzibah Oluwadare v (7) Mathilde Ngijol Carre (FRA)
(WC) Hannah Klugman v (6) Eva Maria Ionescu (ROU)

Coup Droit · Tennis legend

QF: Hephzibah Oluwadare v (7) Mathilde Ngijol Carre (FRA)

Hep is playing her QF at the moment, broadcast on livestream. First set to Hep 6-3

She is clearly the more aggressive and dominant player - really going and looking for her points.

The French girl has done nothing more than defend.

The commentators (who do Roland Garros and everything) are critical of Hep's serve (the left arm that falls away, the lack of elevation she gets) but like her game, her attack, her spirit.

Coup Droit · Tennis legend

Hep ended up losing in three sets, despite having led 4-2 in the third.

She'll be SO disappointed.

But - like every time I've seen her - Hep just needs to get her schemes of play a little more sorted. Which is age and experience and understanding. She was SO much the better player for most of the match. But in true junior fashion, Mathilde just defended her heart out, and Hep got a bit confused what to do, switching between attack and playing percentages rather randomly. Hep is rather short, but powerful, and has a lot of weapons. She doesn't quite have it sorted out how to use them, in a regular repeatable way, and gets a little lost.

Coup Droit · Tennis legend

Hannah is now playing live on the livestream link.

Her opponent looks about 8 years older than Hannah.

The commentators are in dreamland - one keeps likening Hannah to Steffi Graf (who he saw play at Les Petits As a LONG time ago).

And it's true that Hannah has an amazing backhand slice for her age. A very good serve.

And what the commentators call a game that is ultra 'aerien' - very light and airy on her feet

JonH comes home · Tennis legend

So, CD, are we looking at Wimbledon Final 2025:

2 time defending champion - Emma Raducanu

versus

new UK star teenager - Hannah Klugman

The mens final I suspect will be Djokovic versus Zverev, respectively beating Nadal and Federer in their last appearances in the semis

Coup Droit · Tennis legend

2025?

I don't put too much emphasis on what the tiddlers do

there's so much water to go under the bridge before adult success...

BUT it's quite fun to watch.

And poor Hannah took a REAL fall - half tripped onto one knee at full stretch and completely clacked the other knee with all her weight. She was wincing, and hobbling, and trying not to cry, and the commentators were screaming 'sit down, get the phyiso, get some ice, someone help the youngster, she doesn't know what to do'

But Hannah carried on .... taking a point or so to shake it off..... very gutsy.....and is now serving for the first set.

DF · Tennis legend

Hep didn't seem to care much yesterday. It was as if she expected to win and did not need to work at her shots.

Hannah is trying hard against a wily and older competitor

Coup Droit · Tennis legend

But Hannah has to work harder for her points (at the moment) because she' that much slighter (apart from the serve which is a real weapon, just from technique).

Hep has far more power. So can rely more on shots, rather than points. But I agree, as above, Hep really needs to learn how to use the shots in regular, reliable schemas of play.

SuperT · Futures level

This is so much fun. I love Hannah's attitude. Just playing each point and showing very little reaction apart from the odd fist pump. The other girl looks well and truly p****d off.

-- Edited by SuperT on Friday 10th of September 2021 03:02:56 PM

DF · Tennis legend

Well done Hannah !

Coup Droit · Tennis legend

SuperT wrote:
This is so much fun. I love Hannah's attitude. Just playing each point and showing very little reaction apart from the odd fist pump. The other girl looks well and truly p****d off.

Absolutely biggrin

And young Hannah, like a blade of grass, takes the second set very easily.

Excellent match.

DavidC · Tennis legend

Maximilian is currently on court (streamed) - served for the first set at 5-3 but pegged back to 5-4*