Du Maurier Open Match Reports

by Ed Toombs

(Check for more coverage from "On The Line Tennis E-Zine"!)

As Ed is known fan of Yayuk, I thought that it could be interesting to read a comment from this point of view as well! Thanks Ed, for giving me permission to use your work!

(Check also Ed's Yayuk Basuki Web-site!)

So, here it comes....

Huge win for Yayuk! Monica, get ready, you're next in line!! B-)

Dominique won the toss and chose to receive. This turned out to be a good choice, as Yayuk had a very shaky service game. On the first point she missed a drop shot, and then she served two double faults as she was broken at love. She had a chance to break back against Dominique in the second game, as she had a break point in a long, three-deuce game. But Dominique served well and played good attacking tennis to hold and take a 2-0 lead.

Van Roost continued on her roll, speeding to a 5-1 lead. Yayuk was having problems with her first serve, and was also unable to find the range with her forehand. Meanwhile, Dominique was having success serving serving to Yayuk's backhand, and playing a good all-court game that included strong attacks, drop shots and baseline winners.

Things were looking mighty bad! Yayuk almost lost her serve at 1-5, but fought off three break points with a scintillating backhand drop shot, a tough kicking second serve that handcuffed van Roost, and a sweet backhand volley. This was Yayuk's best tennis of the match, and it seemed to inspire her.

In fact, Yayuk had just started a streak of 10 games in a row! Six consectutive games to win the first set, 7-5, and four more to take a 4-0 lead in the second. It was awesome to see. Yayuk was not banging aces as she was in the first round (4 today, compared to 10 aces against Wang on Monday). Her first serve precentage was 47 percent overall, mainly because of serving woes at the beginning of the match and also toward the end. But during her hot streak she was getting a lot of unreturnable serves in, and her kick second serve to the backhand gave Dominique trouble throughout.

Yayuk was on fire. She was ripping fabulous forehands at all angles, including some devastating returns of serve. On the backhand side, she stayed with the slice, and it was very reliable -- I counted only two backhand unforced errors all match! And she pretty much stayed baseline, with only 6 appearances at the net.

And of course, during a run of success like that, the player losing all those points must not be playing very well, and this was the case with van Roost. Her service went downhill, with some costly double faults. And she was missing a lot of makeable shots: if she tried to attack a short ball, she seemed overanxious and more often than not drove the ball into the net. Dominique told us after the match that she was just returning after a long break from the tour, and her lack of match toughness showed. When Yayuk started making her shots and climbing back into the match, Dominique panicked and then got discouraged.

At 7-5, 4-0, things looked well in hand. But you know our Yayuk, she is a streaky player and she can lose games as quickly as she wins them. So when Dominique broke Yayuk and pulled to 4-2, I inched forward nervously in my seat But Yayuk held serve, taking a big 5-2 lead on a massive cross-court forehand that landed just inside the line.

Van Roost held to make it 5-3, and Yayuk now served for the match. She closed it out in style, with a huge inside-out forehand and back-to-back aces that blew past an overwhelmed van Roost, and it was over, 7-5, 6-3.

I talked to Yayuk after she did a post-match autograph session, and she was beaming. She next plays Seles, and while Monica has beaten Yayuk decisively the four times they have played, Yayuk says she has nothing to lose, will just play her game and hope for the best.

And now - interview with Yayuk after her match with Dominique...

I caught up with Yayuk after her second-round upset win over 12th-seed Dominique van Roost. She had just done a post-match autograph session, still had a doubles match to play and had not yet eaten. So we kept it short! We talked about her upset of van Roost, the year so far and her future in the game.

Q: Congratulations on your big win.

Yayuk: Thank you.

Q: This is the second time you’ve beaten Dominique. What is your secret against her?

Yayuk: Actually it was not that easy, I didn’t start that good. You know how Dominique plays, she started hitting all the winners, and suddenly the rhythm just switched around. I was down 1-5 and some set points [she faced five set points in the first set]. You know, I just tried to do some shots that are different, and all of a sudden she didn’t have that confidence any more. And I took the chance. And against Dominique, you know, she hits a lot of winners, but I just have to hang in there, because she can make a lot of errors too.

Q: Dominique said after the match that she was rusty after taking a long break from the tour. Do you take that into account when you prepare to play someone, that they might be rusty? Or do you just play your game?

Yayuk: No me, really, I just play my game. I know a lot of  girls are just coming back to the hard courts now. Three weeks ago I didn’t feel good in my knee, and I knew I needed matches. I lost a pretty bad match last week [to Elena Tatarkova, 6-4, 3-6, 3-6] and also two weeks ago [to Chanda Rubin, 0-6, 1-6], so that’s why I need more matches to get out and play, to be ready for the US Open.
 But it’s tough when it’s on and off, when you’re injured, you know. You try to get your rhythm back, and you have to play matches, and that’s what I am doing at this time.
 But it’s true, a lot of players have been having a few weeks break and are starting to come back now, to be ready for the US Open. But I think everybody has the same problem.

Q: Were you confident going into the match, or maybe a little nervous playing a seed?

Yayuk: No, I wasn’t nervous. I was confident playing the match. You know, as long as I’m happy with the way I play, it doesn’t matter, win or lose. You try your best, your best effort. For me it doesn’t make any difference as long as I put my best effort on the court.

Q: You have had a kind of a tough season. After being in the top 20 briefly, you are back to, I think, 37 right now. What is not going well this year that went so well last year for you?

Yayuk: Like I said, I was injured a couple of times. During Australia I was injured in my back. And last time, after Wimbledon, I was sent home for one month because my knee was swollen, it was hurting. With those few things, you’ve lost the confidence. And you’ve lost the tournaments: you’re supposed to play a couple of tournaments more, but you’ve lost that. And after a break, you’re coming back and need matches, and it’s not easy to play someone who has already been playing matches. They’re ahead of us. So all I’m trying to do right now is to keep my body healthy and be ready to play.

Q: Is there something about Montreal? Because the last time you came here you were a semifinalist in 1996. Are there good memories coming back here, and does that help your confidence?

Yayuk: Oh, maybe… pretty much… maybe… pretty much, yes. I’ve heard a few people saying that, yeah. But I feel great playing here. It’s not only in Montreal, but in Canada. I think there are great people here, and it’s a nice place with great atmosphere, and a good stadium. This tournament is great, they give very good service to the players. Everything is very organized for whatever you need, and all you need is to play your best tennis. It’s true that I am playing well here, and two years ago I was playing well here too. This time I feel like I can keep winning each round again. So we’ll see!

Q: You mentioned the injuries you’ve had this year. Are you close now to being physically 100%?

Yayuk: I’m trying to be ready, and trying to maintain my body in good health, to get my physical condition in good shape, the way I really want it, like last year. But this is not easy. Sometimes you force it too much when you come back. So all I’m trying to do is maintain, not to force myself, and trying to get back into top shape.

Q: Finally, I have to ask this: are you going to be back next year on the tour?

Yayuk: I will see.

Q: Not sure yet?

Yayuk: Not sure yet.

Q: OK, well thanks, Yayuk, congratulations, and good luck the rest of the tournament.

Yayuk: Thank you.

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