You’re never going to have a host of compatriots to ask for grass-court advice when you’re a player from little Luxembourg. For Mandy Minella, there is only one other travelling the circuit - and it’s a good thing he is quite handy with the green turf under foot.
Through to the final round of qualifying after stunning top seed Lourdes Dominguez Lino on Wednesday, the world No.205 admitted she had picked countryman Gilles Muller’s mind following his resurgence in the past 12 months.
“Yeah I’ve asked him many tips, you know,” she laughed. “All the time, saying ‘hey guy, how do you play that well on grass?’
“Yeah he’s trying to help me a lot and I’m happy that I’ve already got my first win (before today). I guess that gave me a bit of confidence, so I hope I can finish it now.
” Minella, who rose as high as world No.66 nearly two and a half years ago, hopes her momentum in the qualifying draw may also be a sign of things to come in her year ahead. “I would like to. I think I can still do it,” the 29-year-old said.
“That’s why I still play because I’m not the youngest anymore so I want to give myself this chance to go back and see how far I can go.
” The Luxembourger had only lost to the Spanish world No.90 as recently as April at an ITF event in Colombia and was all too aware of her poor record against the 5ft4in baseliner, whose heavily top-spun shots off the ground are better suited to the higher-bouncing red clay.
No hay comentarios:
Publicar un comentario