17-year-old Serbian star Olga Danilovic fell in the first round of qualifying in Linz, losing to Tereza Smitkova in a thrilling three-set encounter.
It was a crash back down to earth for the Serbian, who two months ago had claimed the title in Moscow. Her first title at tour-level, where she became the first player to win a title as a lucky loser in 38 years.
The run to the title in Moscow was a surprising one. After losing in the final round of qualifying, Danilovic had really done what most tennis players do after losing at an event, and that is mentally move onto the next one, but once she got the call that she had that second opportunity to put things right, Danilovic made sure she made the most of her second chance. In that week alone, Danilovic beat the likes of Julia Goerges and Kaia Kanepi, to name a few, but now the next challenge awaits for the Serbian, and that is to maintain that high level on a consistent basis on tennis’ highest level.
Danilovic has not played a great deal of tennis since that Moscow triumph. She lost in the second round of qualifying at the US Open and then fell at the second hurdle in Tashkent, but now Danilovic will be searching to get her ranking high enough to be a regular feature at these big WTA events. The loss early in Linz really is a reminder of just how tricky the qualifying rounds can be and that there is still a lot of work to be done in terms of her development on a tennis court.
The 17-year-old’s ball-striking was immaculate at times. She has the raw talent that allows her to demonstrate hard-hitting tennis from the back of the court, and the forehand really is a real weapon of hers, but I think the real challenge in the next stage of the process will be committing to the psychological side of the game. As far as tennis ability, Danilovic is as good as any player in that age group, but it is the mental side that may hold her back for the time being.
In her loss to Smitkova, Danilovic really was her own worst enemy at times. And although the tennis scoring will always say that every lost point is just one point lost, but it sometimes feels like bonus points from a psychological point of view, especially when Danilovic’s opponent can see her really giving a lot away in terms of emotion from the back of the court. The next stage for the Serbian is to embrace the emotional side of the game, but try to channel it in a more positive way. A prime example of that on the men’s game is Andy Murray, who regularly wore his heart on his sleeve during his big tennis battles, but sometimes that lessened during his first stint being coached by Ivan Lendl. The question for Danilovic is whether she will commit to giving less away to her opponent or whether she can use the emotional side in a positive light, which are two viable ways she can develop her on-court persona as a competitor.
There are core strengths to Danilovic’s game that will serve her well in the years to come. The left-handed serve is something that is mostly a great weapon to have as it is very rare on tour, and it gives her the option of being able to exploit the angles off the serve and off the first forehand, which she does do efficiently. She’s able to create cheap points off some of her groundstrokes, which puts her a step ahead of some of her counterparts in a similar age group, but sometimes she has an impatience to impress. An impatience to pull off the perfect shot, but in many ways I think that is down to the sort of character she is on the court. Danilovic very much strives for perfection on a tennis court. The moment she loses a single point then it really gets on top of her, and the moment she wins a point, she shows all of her positive emotion as well. It is a key characteristic to all of the great champions in the game. The feeling of pure ecstasy when they claim the final point of a match, and a hatred of losing, which spurs the great champions on to exceed their previous standards each and every time they get on a tennis court.
Danilovic has all the assets to be a very good player in the near future. Like I said, the loss in today’s encounter against Smitkova is a reminder that there is still things to improve, but the foundations of the Serbian’s game is what guided her to Moscow success and it is something that will take her far going into the 2019 season.
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