[ad_1]
Olga Savchuk, manager of the Ukraine tennis team, WTA commentator, as well as the coach of the world’s third racket, Karolina Plishkova, in an exclusive comment to Sport.ua told how the current US Open tennis championship was different from the above, and also appreciated the performances of the Ukrainian women and their ward.
About the tournament
Everything was much better than expected and the players were very satisfied. We felt as protected as possible: we often took tests (every three days), there was security everywhere, it was impossible to leave the territory. But somehow this did not bother, but there was the feeling that you were at the Olympics, in a closed structure: we traveled on the same bus with other players, we lived in the same hotel. Only tennis players and coaches.
The sensations were new, but very interesting, because the first time they played without spectators. Thanks to this, tennis players can safely walk between the courts and watch other athletes’ games. No one ran, asked to be photographed or get an autograph. There was no such crowd, you could move freely.
Players had lots of entertainment: mini golf, basketball, table tennis, soccer. The tennis players communicated more with each other, they had fun. This was the case both on the courts and everywhere the fan zones used to be.
All the seedlings had their own individual rooms at Arthur Ashe Stadium (formerly a VIP area for fans, roughly). The team could relax there all day. Let’s say if someone was playing or practicing on center court, then for example Andy Murray or Kim Clijsters looked at you. Because there was nothing else to do and everyone was watching the training. This was unusual.
On the brilliant return of Martha Kostiuk
I only saw one Martha game, against Osaka. The first two failed, but judging by the score, she just killed Kasatkina, as other coaches told me, and she played very well against Sevastova in the second round. It seems to me that initially I did not expect to enter the application. I got there at the last minute, I really didn’t prepare for the difficult, I came off the ground. I think Marta was not very confused in terms of preparation and played freely. She spoke positively, she showed a very decent game. In the match against Osaka, she had a great opportunity when the score was 2: 1 in the final game. I hardly press, the third set could have turned out differently. Martha made me very happy with her level of play, I’m generally a fan of her tennis.
On the failures of Dayana Yastremskaya
Yastremskaya and Baina learned of the termination of cooperation from social media. It was a bit unexpected for me. It so happened that due to the coronavirus, they did not see each other for five months and perhaps they did not train enough together. Somehow, their cooperation ended quickly.
I watched Dayana’s second round match against Madison Brengle, she made a ton of unforced errors. It was an unexpected defeat.
On the performance of Katarina Zavatskaya and Katerina Kozlova
Katya Zavatskaya got a tough opponent in the first round. She said in an interview that she didn’t play well, but for the first round Rybakin was a tough opponent.
Katya Kozlova was not in very good shape for the US Open, because she had minor injuries during so-called preseason training. It’s good that you were able to complete the first circle. By the way, when training with us before the tournament, she pulled herself on the back of her thigh. It literally happened two days before the start of the competition. At first I thought it was not serious, but then it turned out the opposite. This hampered her in both the first game and the second. She even had a set point against the Czech, but after the match she said she couldn’t run 100%. And when you play someone who won the “Helmet”, you must be in perfect physical shape. She had no luck with this injury.
On the quick departure of Karolina Plishkova
Carolina was ready, we trained a lot and well for this tournament. But everything went wrong. She did not show her level of play, not even 80% of how she usually plays. Caroline Garcia played very well in the second round match. Of course, there was no pressure on her, she played in a relaxed manner (the match result was 6: 1, 7: 6 in favor of the French – approx.). And Plishkova is the first seed, there is moral pressure, they expect victories from her. But it seems to me that she was not prepared for Garcia to be in this form and the first set was very fast in the other direction. In the second game, Plishkova played and led 5: 4, but the effect was that she released a lot early in the game.
About the next dirty season
In training, you can see that not everyone got used to the ground in a few days. The next tournament in Rome will be interesting, maybe even a little wrinkled. Because those who came from the US Open are not ready for clay yet, it will be difficult for them to play.
But now everyone is so happy to play that it doesn’t matter where or what to play. At least on the moon. As for the new tournaments, I only know from Ostrava. They don’t say anything else. In general, we are in a strange state, somehow suspended. The men have already had 10 weeks full of tournaments, and the women have something weak.
If you find an error, select a piece of text and press Ctrl + Enter.
[ad_2]
