Mertov’s Tennis Desk will be on location at the Rock Creek Park Tennis Center, in Washington D.C., throughout the Citi Open (August 1-9) !!
The men’s field is led by two top 5 players, Andy Murray (no. 3) and Kei Nishikori (no. 5). It will also feature an impressive group of players such as Marin Cilic (no. 9), Richard Gasquet (no. 13), Kevin Anderson (no. 15), Grigor Dimitrov (no. 16), Feliciano Lopez (no. 18), and the top American John Isner (no. 19).
On the women’s side, following the late withdrawal of Victoria Azarenka due to right-shoulder injury, Ekaterina Makarova is the highest-ranked participant at no. 11 and will be challenged by a strong group consisting of ex-Major winners such as Samantha Stosur (no. 21) and Svetlana Kuznetsova (no. 24), and younger stars like Belinda Bencic (no. 22) and Eugenie Bouchard (no. 26). Update: Bouchard has withdrawn with an abdominal injury
Check here for reports throughout the tournament and stay tuned to Mertov’s Tennis Desk on Twitter for live updates, and on-site photos…
Interview recorded at Wimbledon, on July 6th, 2015, following Minnen’s first-round 6-3 6-3 win vs. Maddison Inglis (AUS) in the Girls’ Singles draw.
Greet Minnen is a 17-year-old Belgian player. I watched her play only once before, late in 2014. I thought she had plenty of talent, good overall technique, and the necessary athleticism to be a great tennis player in the future. She had a solid serve, and her game seemed to be better tailored for faster courts. Having followed her mostly from news feeds since that time, I knew that she suffered an injury after the Australian Open (in which she reached the semifinals of the junior girls’ draw) that forced her to be off the court for several weeks. In any case, prior to coming to Wimbledon, my mind was made up about interviewing her.
We did the interview approximately two hours after her win vs Inglis. Minnen has played Inglis before, but not on grass. After I introduced myself and asked her how to pronounce her name correctly (definitely not how you would read “greet” in English, closer to but not exactly like “Great”), I congratulated her and she said “thanks” and added that she felt great and in good shape throughout the match, and that she was happy. Shortly after, we began the interview.
Greet was very polite and spoke in a soft-mannered tone. It was truly a pleasure talking to her. She seemed extremely mature and intelligent about the game of tennis, and gave the impression of having a clear vision of her goals. She answered every question with enthusiasm and made an effort not to spare any details despite her limited language skills. When given the choice, she preferred doing the interview in English rather than French. I adjusted a few words and tenses in order to make it more understandable for the reader, but in general, I did my best to transcribe word-for-word, as much as possible, everything that was said.
—————- MT-Desk:
About your match today… It looked from the outside like you were in control of the match from the first point to the last. Did it also feel that way to you inside the court?
Greet Minnen:
I also felt that I was a bit more in control than she was. I knew that when I played well, I could win easy points. But she kept hanging on much better than I expected actually. She served a few good serves, and it was difficult to break her in the second set. But once I did, I knew that I had to hold my serves to win out.
MT-Desk:
You put a lot of pressure on the returns and she double faulted a few times because of that.
Greet Minnen:
Yes.
MT-Desk:
You had a hamstring injury after the Australian Open. Do you feel that by now you have found your form?
Greet Minnen:
Yes, I think it’s coming back by now. It’s still not the best I ever played. In Australia, I was playing really well, unfortunately I had the injury. It happens. But now, I am getting back to the level that I want to be, I think.
MT-Desk:
Was that your first big injury or have you had one or two before?
Greet Minnen:
I had injuries before but not as big as this one. I was out for two months. I also had a shoulder injury before that lasted one month. But this was the biggest one.
MT-Desk:
What is your practice schedule during the off-season and where do you practice? Do you mostly practice with other players or under the supervision of a coach? Please give details, if you don’t mind, on your daily practice routine during the off-season.
Greet Minnen:
I practice in Antwerp at the Belgian Federation. I practice mostly with other players, but not from my age, because there are no players at my age. They are older or younger, it does not matter really. I just finished school so now it’s going to be different when I practice. But last year, I used to practice in the morning before going to school for 3-4 hours. [Greet added later that she worked with coaches from the Belgian Tennis Federation, but not with one coach specifically]
MT-Desk:
You mean you practiced before school, early in the morning?
Greet Minnen:
Yes, around 8:00 or so. Then, I would go to school. Then, in the evening, I practiced again twice: tennis and physical. Then I had to do some homework, and went to sleep. In the mornings, it was mostly drills and a lot of ball hitting. In the afternoon, I would mostly play matches.
MT-Desk:
You seem to have a complete overall game. You hit slice, topspin, flat, you come to the net, hit drop shots. You have a good serve and overhead. Have you always had this type of game since you started playing tennis or did you develop some of these shots later?
Greet Minnen:
Well, my serve was actually there from the beginning already. It was my strongest point with my forehand. But my backhand was kind of my weak point in the beginning, but I think it’s getting better now. Also, my slice and drop shots were not there at all in the beginning. So I had to develop them of course.
MT-Desk:
So you developed your touch later?
Greet Minnen:
Yeah. I had some but I did not use it [and laughs].
MT-Desk:
In terms of technique, what is your next immediate goal? Is there a specific shot that you would like to develop?
Greet Minnen:
I have to try to come more to the net. Especially on grass, it’s very important that you go to the net. I am always like, little bit holding back to go to the net because my volleys aren’t that amazing [smiles], but they are ok.
MT-Desk:
I think you have good technique, but I saw that you hit a couple of good forehands during the match and you stayed back, hesitated.
Greet Minnen: [smiles] Yeah, I was like “I want to go but… no never mind” . Yeah, I have to come much more to the net. I think that’s very important for me now.
MT-Desk:
You have hard court season before the U.S. Open, you will continue to work towards that goal?
Greet Minnen: [Nods firmly] Yes!
MT-Desk:
What about your goals in the next 12 months? You finished school, you will soon finish your junior career. Are you already thinking about post-December?
Greet Minnen:
Yeah, of course! When I finish Wimbledon, I will play a lot of tournaments in Belgium, [ITF] $10,000s. It’s very important that I get my ranking back that I lost. But I think, end of this year, I want to be like 600-700 WTA.
MT-Desk:
Is your family into tennis? Are you the first one in your family to play tennis? Can you talk about your family a bit?
Greet Minnen:
My dad used to play tennis when he was younger, but he mostly played soccer. My mom also played a little bit of tennis but not much. So, I think am the first one who really wants to go for it. My brother rides horses, so it’s totally different than me. He likes animals, I like tennis balls [smiles].
MT-Desk:
Do they come and watch you play all the time?
Greet Minnen:
My dad, mostly yes. My mom passed away, so, no. My brother, he doesn’t come actually, he is not interested really [laughs]. But my dad is really amazing when he comes to watch.
MT-Desk:
I have noticed that players from the younger generation don’t like to watch tennis on T.V. for a long time. Maybe a few games, but not a full match [Greet says “Yeah” and smiles]. Do you actually sit down and watch a full match from the beginning to the end?
Greet Minnen:
It depends… If I know the person, like a person from Belgium, then yes, I want to watch the whole match. [I can’t tell if she is trying to give me a message, so I decide to go ahead and mention David Goffin’s ongoing match]
MT-Desk:
Oh! David is playing now… [Greet laughs and says “Yes!”],
so I should let you go! [laughs again, motions her hand as if to say “it’s ok” and continues talking]
Greet Minnen:
But also, when it’s like Federer, I also watch the match. But when it’s like not such an important match… or I also don’t like watching women’s tennis in general [and smiles], I don’t like how they play.
MT-Desk:
Van Uytvanck was watching your match. Does it feel good because she watched from beginning to the end? [Alison van Uytvanck, 2015 Roland Garros quarterfinalist, is the highest ranked player from Belgium in the WTA at no. 49. She watched both of Greet’s matches from start to finish!]
Greet Minnen:
Yeah, of course. It’s amazing that she was there. I play with her sometimes at the Federation. It’s like little bit of an example for me on how I should play eventually. So, yes it was really great.
Van Uytvanck (left) watched Minnen’s match in its entirety
MT-Desk:
Good luck and I hope you continue winning. Thank you for taking the time.
Greet Minnen:
I hope so too. No problem. Bye.
—————-
Unfortunately, Greet lost to Vera Lapko the next day, in an extremely tight second-round match, 6-7 6-3 7-5. Lapko advanced to the semifinals before losing to the finalist Anna Blinkova. This seemed somewhat familiar. I interviewed Sofya Zhuk, a month earlier at the French Open after her first round win. She also lost the next day in a very tight match (was up a match point in the third). CiCi Bellis, who defeated her, also reached the semifinals. Then, Zhuk went on to win the Wimbledon Girls’ Singles title. Hopefully for Minnen, the same pattern will repeat itself at the next Major, the U.S. Open.
If you want to buy tickets at regular prices, here is what you are facing (remember this is in GBP, convert to your own currency if needed).
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And if you arrived in a car, be ready to pay these parking prices…
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Here is the alley leading from Centre Court to Court 1, with Court 14 on the right (you can only see the back of the stands) and Court 18 further to the left (you can see the spectators).
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Another picture from the grounds with Court 18 on the background.
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More intimate and closer to the action: Courts 8 to 11.
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Scoreboards everywhere keep you updated on the matches and help you decide where you want to head next.
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While you walk around the grounds, you can possibly run into some famous people such the legendary Ilie Nastase who also has the rank of Major General in the Romanian army and he will dress accordingly too!
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Or the Swiss Davis Cup Captain, and Federer’s coach and confidant, Severin Luthi, enjoying a nice day at Wimbledon with his family.
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What an amazing match this was in 2010! Wimbledon makes sure it’s never forgotten.
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The true heroes of the courts, the ball kids, heading home in the evening, cheered on by their supervisors.
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During the second week, main draw matches get scheduled for the most part on the show courts. The competition also begins for the Legends, Seniors, and Juniors.
Here is the girls’ doubles semifinalist, the British Freya Christie.
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Boys’ finalist Mikael Ymer of Sweden already has fans asking him for pictures and autographs.
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A page from the 1980s! Andrea Temesvari and Andrea Jaeger competing in the Ladies’ Invitational Doubles.
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Just for good measure (!), Centre Court had to be evacuated one evening due to a small fire.
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Then, we arrived in the final few days of Wimbledon…
Henman Hill filled up every day once the tournament reached it’s last few days. Here is a shot from one hour before the ladies semifinals started on Thursday.
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The Kids’ clinic ran in the mornings until the last days of Wimbledon.
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Finalist Garbine Muguruza of Spain, practicing her returns (amazingly, in front of empty stands!) on the day before her final round encounter with Serena Williams.
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Serena practicing her serves with coach Patrick Mouratoglou on the morning of the final.
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And here are Sania Mirza and Martina Hingis getting ready for their Women’s Doubles final. They lifted the winner’s trophy, Mirza making history as the first Indian woman to win a Major title, and Hingis winning her first title at Wimbledon since 1998 (women’s doubles, she won the singles’ title in 1997)
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Jean-Julien Rojer and Horia Tecau receiving much love from fans after they won Wimbledon Men’s Doubles title.
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And it is only appropriate to end this series with the one constant thing throughout the weeks: The Queue (this shot, on the last day of Wimbledon).
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This concludes Wimbledon 2015 coverage for MT Desk. Thanks to everyone who read the updates on Mertov’s tennis Desk and followed the ones on Twitter. My next on-site coverage will be from the Citi Open in Washington D.C.
Until next time…
Here are more pictures from the 2-week-long adventure called Wimbledon.
In case you missed it, click here for Part 1.
Here how calm and peaceful Wimbledon can be in the morning before the gates open.
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Yet, here is how hectic and crowded it can also get during the day
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Fans can go to Aorangi Park tennis courts, adjacent to regular match courts, and see world-class players practice. Some of the courts are visible to ticket holders, others are too far back. Couple of those courts are right next to where tennis fans can watch them up close from a platform (such as the one with Fognini and Bolelli below).
Aorangi Park courts. Seppi and Federer are practicing in the middle court, Sabine Lisicki to the left.
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Fognini and Bolelli were not exactly painting the portrait of an intense practice session..
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Once you begin to explore the grounds, you slowly realize what a beautiful place it is and how big a role it plays in the history of our beautiful sport. Here are some examples…
Here is a view of Court 14 below, with Court 1 on the right, and Henman Hill in the background.
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If you have a Court 1 ticket, you get treated to this beautiful view.
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When the rain comes, the courts get covered in about 2 min 30 seconds (I timed it three times, that was the average). That is from the time they line up to pull the covers back, to the time they secure the covers to the sides.
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Then, there is of course, Centre Court, roughly 4 years older than Her Majesty the Queen Elizabeth II.
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But my advice to you, don’t get stuck in the big show courts and miss out on everything that you can see in and around the outside courts. In the show courts, the best players in the world showcase their talent. On the grounds, and around the outside courts, Wimbledon showcases history.
For example, the last British man to win Wimbledon prior to Andy Murray (in 1936) welcomes you if you enter through Gate 4. One of my favorite art pieces on the grounds.
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Once inside, you can visit the Lawn Tennis Museum.
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Or simply shop for Wimbledon souvenirs. If you are an American, I would urge you not to convert pounds to dollars in your head if you don’t want to ruin your shopping experience!
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However, there is one place you will not get to see: the Clubhouse of the All England Lawn Tennis & Croquet Club. Only members are allowed through that door, even during the tournament.
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The skies often turned gray during the two weeks…
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… but rarely did we have rain delays, and if we did, there were short like this one during the match between Roger Federer and Gilles Simon.
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The groundskeepers and maintenance crews do the best they can do maintain the courts
But you can only delay the inevitable for s long. In the first week, courts slowly began to lose their “pure green” color. Below is a series of photos of the progressive wear and tear on the courts, throughout the two weeks.
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Hey, look at it half-glass full. Service lines are hanging in there just fine. Where have all the serve-and-volleyers gone (with a deep sigh)?————
In the meantime, competition continued all over the outside courts.
You can see some players, such as Malek Jaziri here, put on some dance moves (!)
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On Court 2, Marsel Ilhan came close to going 2 sets up on Kevin Anderson (led a set and 6-3 in the second-set tiebreaker)
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On smaller courts, you are next to the action, although it can get a bit crowded..
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You can also walk up and ask your favorite player for an autograph, such as this Australian fan who asks one from Sam Groth after his first-round win.
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Sometimes players such as Timea Bacsinszky can get overwhelmed by the amount of fans as she exits the court.
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Random fictitious caption ==> Bacsinszky: “I am suffocating!!! Get. Me. Out. Of. Here. PLEASE..!” – The girl in pink on the right: “Oh God! Is she going to pass out?” – The little girl in the back: “Mommy mommy, what was wrong with her? She did not sign my ball!”
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These inspirational quotes by some past and current champions fill the walls on the back of Court 12
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Prior to Roland Garros, I had watched Sofya Zhuk play only one time in 2013 (in a junior tournament in Switzerland) and I was impressed with her tenacity and desire to win, but it was nonetheless two years ago. Since then, I tried to follow her scores as much as I could and watched her results consistently improve as time went by. When I knew that the fifteen-year-old Russian was going to be a part of the junior tournament in Roland Garros, I made it one of my first goals to set up an interview with her, in order to introduce her to my readers and to other tennis fans outside of Russia, and Belgium where she practices at the Justine Henin Academy. The interview below took place on June 1st, at Roland Garros, following Zhuk’s first-round win over Australia’s Naikhta Bains 7-5 6-3.
Zhuk vs. Naikhta Bains, 1st round Roland Garros.
I can comfortably say that chatting with Sofya was a treat. She is a delightful youngster with a good sense of humor, and carried a genuine smile throughout the interview, attentively listening to every question so that she could answer as best as she could, despite the language barrier. She showed great mental maturity on the court in the way she handled different ebbs and flows of the first set at different stages, always keeping a positive body language. Unfortunately, I could only watch the first set of her win over Bains. However, I went on to watch the full match when she took on the American CiCi Bellis in one of the most thrilling matches that I have seen throughout the two weeks in Paris. For those interested, I posted my full tactical analysis of that match later that day on MT Desk, with pictures and clips.
Although I expected that Sofya would successfully introduce herself anyway to the tennis world sooner or later, I did not predict that it would be no more than six weeks later at Wimbledon, when she went on an amazing run of six consecutive wins as an unseeded player to lift the Wimbledon girls’ trophy on Saturday on Court 1.
Zhuk, coming to accept the winner’s trophy from the 1969 Ladies’ winner Ann Jones
So without further delay, here is the one-on-one with Sofya Zhuk at Roland Garros.
Sofya, let’s start with this match. The end of the first set got complicated when you were leading 5-3 and Bains saved couple of set points to come back to 5-5. At that point, you remained composed and positive. You did not lose your temper at all. How were you able to stay focused and not get disappointed?
Sofya Zhuk: I have improved my mental game a lot. At 5-3, I lost focus. From 5-3 to 5-5, in those two games, I began to realize that. Then, I tried to scream “Come on!” to myself when I win points because that helps me a lot. I also realized that I needed to serve well to take the advantage from the beginning of the point. Then I took control again. In the second set, it was easier because I stayed focused every game.
I apologize I didn’t see the second set since I had to unfortunately leave to go elsewhere.
Sofya (interrupts, laughs loud and adds): Yeah, but the second set was more interesting (more laughter).
Ok, let’s move on to your practice schedule. Could you elaborate on that? How many hours a day do you practice? How is your off-court training? How do you practice during tournaments, for example now? Could you give some details on those?
Sofya: Pretty simple really. I practice in Belgium usually. Around three hours a day. I do it in two sessions, 1 hour 30 minutes or 1 hour 15 minutes first, and the rest in the second session. One is usually from the basket a bit slower, the other one with a sparring partner. Fitness is usually one hour with a bit more intensity and thirty minutes just for the shoulders or other things, it depends.
Any days off?
Sofya: Yes, of course. On Saturdays, I practice sometimes and sometimes I am off. On Sundays, I am off. During the tournaments, if we have a sometime before the match, I practice 30 minutes easy. After the match, usually I am not practicing after matches, but here I have doubles anyway so I don’t need to practice.
If you have to go let me know.
Sofya: No, no, it’s fine. It’s three or four hours later (smiles).
What is the next immediate big goal for your game? In other words, what specific shot, pattern or tactic are you working on right now that you would like to have settled in your game by the end of the summer for example?
Sofya: Actually I don’t have a specific goal like this. I am improving my game, my movement. I am trying to improve everything.
I don’t know if this is something that you work on, but in your match, there were several points in which you made your opponent run and put her on the stretch. At that moment, you took a few steps in, but then you would change your mind and back up to the baseline. Is that a barrier, going forward, for you mentally?
Sofya: No, it’s not that. For example, I hit a ball and I understand that she is on the run. I see that she will have a good hitting zone, so I decide it’s not a good point to go forward. Because then, she will hit a winner or pass me. So I go back and try to make her move out of the court even more, and after that, I go to the net.
If she is really stretched and you feel like a high floater is coming?
Sofya: Yeah, something like this or just… (pauses, then smiles, and continues)… I am never actually going to the net just if I hit the ball and running to the net. Not logical (laughs again)
How many people are in your team? I mean the immediate people that surround you.
Sofya: It’s just my mom and my coach. They travel to every tournament with me. I think my mom understands tennis better than my coach (tongue-in-cheek laughter).
So you are not the first one to start playing tennis in your family?
Sofya: My brother started playing tennis, but then he had a problem with the knee because he grew up too fast. Then, he only kept practicing a little bit. He started tennis a bit late, when he was 9. He never started playing professional tournaments. He decided to go to university and he finished it. he is working now.
You had an injury earlier this year. Is that ok now?
Sofya: Hmmmm, not so much an injury, but it was like.. I just had to rest to get ready for the tournament. It was a bit of a pain here (points to the hip and leg area), so I just stopped and took a bit of time off, in order not to make it worst.
Perfect, thank you for taking the time Sofya.
Sofya: Thank you too.
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On Saturday, following her victory over Anna Blinkova of Russia – to whom Sofya has lost four times in the last two years – in the finals of Wimbledon, Zhuk said in the post-match press conference that she loved playing on Court 1 in front of numerous fans: “I love to play on this court. It was the first time I played when so much people are watching me. But I really had a pleasure to make that. I’m just in love when it’s so much people, everyone is supporting me, they’re clapping their hands when there’s a good point.”
Zhuk felt in her element in front of the big crowd on Ct 1
Sofya also said that she follows the same schedule in practice as the one she followed up to the French Open (see above my interview) and added that she was “really focused on each game, each match,” and added: “Here I controlled myself and I controlled each ball from first ball to the end.”
“Pictures tell the story.” In a time where the line between hyperboles and clichés is turning progressively blurry, this one still remains as one of the more valid clichés in the English language (or any other language one would assume). Over the two weeks at Wimbledon, many stories take place outside of the Centre Court or the main competition. Fans attending Wimbledon get treated to the “experience” of SW19 rather than simply watching matches live instead of on T.V. If you have followed my articles and live reports in the past, you would know that what interests me the most is precisely those outside stories that embody the tournaments on the professional tennis calendar. Yes, the tennis is compelling, and yes, the players and the matches still headline the media and conversations in club houses. Yet to those who may not have had the Wimbledon experience yet, here are a series of photos that may offer a glimpse into the “rest of the story.”
The adventure begins at Roehampton courts for qualifying rounds.
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At Roehampton, hard-working ball kids take much-needed breaks in between the courts.
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Lines get refreshed often, this one between the 3rd and 4th sets of a men’s match.
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Little did Dustin “Dreddy” Brown know when he was playing this qualifying match that he would go on to defeat Rafael Nadal in the Main Draw one week later, and become the centerpiece of one of the biggest upsets in Wimbledon 2015.
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Meanwhile London was more than ready for the main event. The fact that Wimbledon would be the talk of town for the next two weeks in London could not be overlooked. The town of Wimbledon had signs everywhere celebrating the biggest tournament in the world, but the rest of London did not lag far behind.
Buses were advertising Wimbledon…
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… as well as the giant advertising board in one of the most famous squares in the World, Picadilly Circus.
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Pubs took the opportunity to mix Wimbledon with drinking and dining.
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This hotel’s bar had the right decoration
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People even read about and chat about Wimbledon in the tube…
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At Souhtfields tube station, Wimbledon spectators came off in clusters to take the short 10-to-15-minute walk to the courts.
At Wimbledon, on Monday morning, it was the calm before the storm…
Court 14 was ready action after being closed for renovation during last year’s tournament.
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On Monday morning of the first week, prior to the start of the matches, Roger Federer and Stefan Edberg looked ready to tackle the green grass of SW19, something both men knew well how to do.
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A Wimbledon tradition, “The Queue,” was already filled with hopeful spectators. (Side note: Did you know that there is a 25-page “Guide to Queueing” to help “Queuers” familiarize themselves with the procedure and etiquette of being in “The Queue”?)
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Past winners like the 1999 champion Lindsay Davenport did their best to keep tennis fans in The Queue entertained.
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Every day, from the various points on the grounds, the first ticket holders of the day such as the ones above walk in to enjoy the matches.
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