Judging from the results obtained so far, it seems 2015 is definitely a positive year for Sara even when it comes to her less favourite surface to play on. She reached a good third round back in Eastbourne and mean to add more wins this week at the All England Lawn Tennis Club in Wimbledon, which she already succeeded in, getting through the first round after a 2-years fast.
Considering the fact that playing a derby is never easy and it is even more so since it is the hardest Slam of the year we are talking about, Sara has not been very lucky in her main draw, since her first opponent turned out to be none other than the legend Francesca Schiavone.
We all knew – basing on the fact that two of most reknown warriors of the entire WTA were on the opposite sides of the net – the performance of the match would have been unpredictable. Still, everybody expected nothing but a great fight and that is exactly what happened this afternoon on Court 17. The first set was determined by the 7th game – which went on for a cool 30 points and 20 minutes – and even the second one seemed to follow the same trend, as Sarita was about to serve for the match at 5-3 after another exhausting battle in the sixth game. Surprisingly, the Lioness got back on track instead and levelled the match with a 4-games streak. She even tried to follow the momentum in the final set but Sara’s faboulous resistence dampened her last hope. Final score: 6-2, 5-7, 6-1.
Sara’s comment about the match was:
“I started off very well, I felt I could push my groundstrokes from the get-go, especially the forehand. Still, it is always difficult for me to play on this surface, I get more tired and can not keep my usual arm speed. She took advantage of my decrease but in the end I was good to get back on top. It is never easy to plan and play a derby, especially against Francesca who is a friend of mine, plus we practiced together billions of times.”
“I usually have a slight performance drop in the beginning of the second set due to fatigue. It is like grass drains your energies. I have been dead sore for 4 days after Eastbourne, I was so tired I couldn’t flex my knees. Luckily the courts here in Wimbledon are more dry thanks to the heat, therefore I have got much more confidence in my moves than I usually do on grass. Whenever there is the classic damp London weather I can not help but feeling anxious which not only penalize my game but also costs me lots of energies”.
