I hope more Japanese players could come out even among the top 50.
I hope more Japanese players could come out even among the top 50.
I won my first match of the year here last night and that really gave me a lot of confidence. Today I just focused on myself, on my rhythm, and not on my opponent. That was what made the difference for me today.
She set a slow pace and I got kind of trapped into it. In the second set, I picked up the pace and that forced her to start making errors. My shots weren't so good, but with the crowd behind me, I willed myself to win.
I moved well in the first set but then I found that I was unable to attack as we went into the second set, ... She kept me back (on the baseline) and that's not my style. I couldn't get the same rhythm back.
It's always difficult playing a strong player like Anastasia so I am pretty relieved to win and make the quarter-finals here.
Whenever we have the Olympics or the Fed Cup, our schedule becomes very tight and I couldn't play the last couple of years. Everything is fine with me this year.
I lost easy in Seoul 6-3, 6-2, but all the games were really close. I just couldn't win the crucial points. I have to be aggressive tomorrow.
I've seen her play better than today. She was thinking smart at the beginning. But maybe the concentration wasn't great today, up and down. I tried to just play every point and focus.
It wasn't until I actually shook my opponent's hand that I felt I had won the match.
© 2020 Inspirational Stories
© 2020 Inspirational Stories