Edgy Vaidisova squeezes through
Nicole Vaidisova, the 18th seed, battled her inner demons as well as her opponent to beat Sam Stosur 6-2, 0-6, 6-4 and win a place in the third round. The Czech player’s game disintegrated mid-match but she was able to seize the opportunity when Stosur’s service faltered in the third set to turn the tide.This match saw one player whose ranking was perhaps surprisingly high to the casual observer facing one seeded lower than you might expect.
Stosur always used to be labelled a doubles specialist, winning the French and US Opens and also the season-ending championships in 2005 and 2006, both times with Lisa Raymond. Her singles career began to take off this time last year and she shot up to a ranking in the high 20s until she was sidelined with Lyme disease – a tick-borne illness causing headaches, fatigue and nausea, from which she only recently recovered.
In Vaidisova’s case, it seems hard to believe she is still only 19, or that she is not firmly entrenched in the top 10 by now. She created a stir at Roland Garros in 2006, defeating Amelie Mauresmo and Venus Williams on her way to the semi-finals and a top 10 ranking. In spite of regular quarter and semi-final appearances since then, she has yet to step up to the next level and has found herself overtaken by the raft of young Russians and Serbians.
Neither player hit their straps in the first set, which was played in weather encompassing three of the four seasons – bright sunshine, occasional autumnal gusts of wind and even a brief April shower. Stosur’s serve-and-volley game was below par and left her open to the passing shot while Vaidisova seemed to have a pathological fear of the net.
The Czech’s serve bailed her out every so often but it was the quality of her returns that made the difference – impressive power and so much top-spin that on two occasions, Stosur’s follow-up shot landed on neighbouring Court 4.
Even though she took the set 6-2, the No. 18 seed was clearly not happy with her lot, shaking her head incredulously in the direction of her entourage. Indeed, after every error, be it as minor as a first serve gone awry, she would compulsively look over to the players’ box for reassurance.
It was a portent of things to come as after the change-over, Vaidisova’s game fell apart. While Stosur was in her own world, focused on her game and seemingly impassive behind her sunglasses, her opponent suddenly morphed into the teenager that she still is.
Racquets were bounced, shoulders repeatedly shrugged and even coach David Felgate’s constant chirping and the presence of fellow countryman Lukas Dlouhy seemed to have no effect.
Just 25 minutes later and the match was level – all that the Australian had to do was get the ball over the net and wait for the suddenly lethargic Czech to make an error. The net was seemingly too high and the baseline too near for poor Nicole.
Stosur pushed her run of consecutive games to nine to open up a 3-0 lead in the decider before the wheels suddenly fell off her wagon. When your game is based on serve and volley, you need to get your first service in the right place, and Stosur suddenly lost that ability.
Overall, she managed only 38 per cent of first serves and lost 16 of 23 points at the net, and the tide turned once again.
This time it was Vaidisova who sat back and waited for the mistakes, winning six of the final seven games to clinch the match and a third-round tie against another Australian, the up-and-coming Casey Dellacqua.
Vaidisova has been making progress every year at The Championships: third round in 2005, fourth round in 2006 and the quarter-finals last year. For her to keep on an upwards curve and make the semi-finals, she will need a serious dose of confidence and self-assurance sometime very soon. Felgate will be earning his money over the coming days.
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