 |
Roland Garros 2009
Blog tactics - don't give your opponent a headstart
by Paul Myers
Article published on the 2009-05-29 Latest update 2009-06-05 14:41 TU
Michelle Larcher de Brito of Portugal celebrates after winning her match against Zheng Jie of China
(Photo: Reuters)
As I was saying in a previous entry, the best blogs are philosophical, self-referential and never afraid to heap praise on themselves. So time for some eulogy lavished by none other than the Roland Garros blog.
Just a few days ago I was chatting with the 16-year-old Portuguese player Michelle Larcher de Brito. She had just won her first-round match after coming back from a first set whitewash and a break down in the second.
She’d done the same thing in her final match of the qualifying competition a few days before that. So my suggestion? I quote the blog: "How about winning the first set and then the second set and not giving your opponent a massive head start?"
The second round result? 6-4 6-3 to the Portuguese girl against the 15th seed Jie Zheng from China.
Naturally the Roland Garros blog takes full credit for this advance. “I just kind of went in there and played my game,” she said after the second round match, “just attack. That’s my game, always attack and always run down every ball.”
This Friday morning, less than a week after getting ready to play the final round in the qualifying event, Ms de Brito is preparing for a match that could take her into the last 16 of her first grand slam. Quite an achievement.
De Brito is being compared to another product of the Nick Bollettieri tennis academy, one Maria Sharapova. Maybe it’s because de Brito makes a lot of noise on court like Ms Sharapova. Maybe it’s because they have the fighter’s mentality.
In a glorious piece of symmetry, Sharapova will be the last up on centre court on Friday. She is trying to get back to the top level after a terrible time of injuries. And the pressure is off her at the moment.
Not that it makes much difference when the pressure is on her. She goes for her shots. A thing that her last victim, Nadia Petrova, failed to do when their second round match was hers to have. Petrova said afterwards she simply didn't go for it when she had the chance. Difficult to believe that the number 11 tennis player in the world had such issues.
But then after having seen Jose Acasuso let Roger Federer back into their second round match on Thursday afternoon, not much surprises me.
The Argentine had four set points in the first set tie break and contrived to lose it. He was a double break up in the third set before Federer came back and won it in the tie break. The fourth set was a formality.
Acasuso was a broken man and Federer lives for another day – though it’s difficult to rate his chances when the going gets really tough. But then there’s the cliche about the tough getting going and with 13 grand slam titles to his collection, Federer is undoubtedly tough. .
l
