Husrefovic advances on rainy day at Melbourne Park
UPDATE: Equally relentless as the rain falling at Melbourne Park on Sunday was Ella Husrefovic, the No.4 seed advancing to the third round of the girls’ 14/u Australian Championships.
Melbourne VIC, Australia, 7 December 2014 | Emily Collin
Equally relentless as the rain pounding on the tin roof of Melbourne Park’s indoor courts was Ella Husrefovic’s baseline attack as she sailed through to the third round of the girls’ 14/u Australian Championships.
The fourth seed from Queensland scored a 6-2 6-1 win over Julia Khamula.
Using her strong serve to dictate play, Husrefovic was pleased with the way she was able to control her attack.
“I cut down on unforced errors and was a bit more consistent,” she said.
Though perhaps not reflected in the score line, the contest was an exciting one with Khamula’s fast footwork often creating gruelling rallies.
However it Husrefovic’s clean hitting and willingness to approach the net that was the key factor in securing the win.
> view the girls’ 14/u Australian Championships draw
Also cruising through to the third round was top seed Jeanette Lin who overpowered twelve-year-old Western Australian Monique Barry 6-2 6-2.
Having spent the past two months focusing on improving her net play, Lin was satisfied with her ability to control the match.
“I like staying on the baseline and trying to get the first shot,” she said.
The rain eventually eased as the dat progressed, allowing boys’ 14/u action to commence outdoors on Sunday afternoon.
The top four seeds – Stefan Norodom, Sean Van Rensburg, Alexander Crnokrak and Greg Polmans – all advanced to the third round, with only No.1 seed Norodom dropping a set.
They were joined in the last 16 by the highly-rated duo of seventh seed Dane Sweeny and No.9 seed Rinky Hijikata, who set up a third-round clash with respective straight-sets wins.
> view the boys’ 14/u Australian Championships draw
Meanwhile, ahead of Monday’s commencement of the 18/u Australian Championships, two qualifying spaces in the draw have been filled by Alicia Smith and Anja Dokic in the girls’ tournament, and Cody Brackenreg and Jack Thiessen in the boys’.