It could have been an intriguing match. What it turned out to be was a tense affair that eventually saw Vika roll past Believe in straight sets. Vika's looked really solid off the ground this week. She has also been quintessential Vika, bossing the ball kids around and bitching and moaning about god knows what. Whatever works, I guess. Everyone's got a schtick.
But afterwards she was all smiles:
As for Mels, she gave a pretty entertaining presser. She's an 18 year-old bubbly American teen who is well aware of the pressure and expectations placed on here in the States. She's coming from playing in Europe where there was no one in her pressers, to the States, where she's the center of attention and every journo wants to ask her about expectations and pressure. And you can tell from watching the presser that she gets it. She's not blocking out all the chatter, though, even if she tried she'd probably fail.
But the upshot of her presser was that she reiterated that all these expectations are based off of ONE tournament. While she doesn't think her run to the USO was a fluke, she also thinks it's a bit ridiculous that American fans, based off that one tournament, expect her to win all the time. It was clear that she's a bit annoyed by it. The kid is trying her best to keep perspective but she has to answer the questions all the time and deal with the crowd's reaction when she loses. Besides, this is only her second year on the tour. Cut the kid some slack.
Speaking of which she gave a pretty entertaining answer when asked whether she enjoys the crowd support she gets in the States:
“Yes and no. It’s kind of annoying sometimes when people are like ‘Pull it together Melanie,’ and they yell at me kind of. Really? You get down here and play. I know they mean it in a good way, like to say ‘C’mon’ Melanie,’ but you don’t have to say ‘Pull it together,’ like ‘Get your energy up’ That’s what some lady was telling me.”
To be clear, she didn't come across as ungrateful. She came across as being honest about. And let's face it, she's right. I mean, who yells that shit at tournaments? Root for someone and be positive. Don't fucking schill advice. Believe me, they didn't ask you.
As for her game, it was pretty clear watching her against CanWoz and Vika that the kid needs a serve. Right now she's JJ with a touch more power but less consistency. She's going to have a tough time holding serve.
