A nice easy win for Baby K, who beat Brianti 63 62. Less toss catching, more placement of the ball and attacking the net.
I still have my doubts. She just not crushing that ball on the
forehand side like I'd like. Did a good job constructing points
though. All in all it was a nice controlled performance. She's into the third round and will meet the slow moving but hard hitting Kleybanova. That match-up makes me a little nervous.
As for the other Serb it was a tough grind for the straight set win, beating Flipkens 64 75. And yes, two matches into the season and JJ has already called the trainer.
Flipkens gave JJ fits but I think the bigger issue was her shoes. I hate to say I told you so (that's not true, I FLOVE it) but did I not say I'd be shocked if she wore the ANTAs instead of the Reeboks for her matches? She had been practicing in them all off season, played with them in HK, and practiced with them the week before the tournament. There is not one picture of her wearing the ANTAs before her first match the other day.
Stupid, stupid, stupid decision. Because now she'll probably develop blisters, which she'll have to play through for the rest of the tournament. And considering her movement is her strength, that's a big problem. In the second set JJ wasn't moving well, had no stick on her shots or her serve, and just looked like a weak journeyman player.
I hope she figures something out. Because even though I don't want her to win the tournament, I definitely don't want her getting dumped out because of equipment problems.
