USA VS. SOUTH AFRICA
Our USA #2 singles player Renata played against Helena Mowatt of South Africa. In the 1st set Renata started off strong and was up 3-1 using her heavy topspin and crafty drop shots. This was a very effective strategy and she went up 4-2. Then the game played at 4-2 went to 15 deuces! Renata ended up on the short end of that very long game then the next game she held serve being down 15-40 for a 5-3 lead. She lost the next game and lost her next service game at love. Now the score is 5 -5. Renata broke serve and went up 6-5 then served very well to win the 1st set 7-5! This 1st set lasted 1 ½ hours. In the 2nd set Renata played very confident and went on to win 6-1. Well done Renata. USA 1 South Africa 0.
Our USA #1 singles player Vesna (who was interviewed today for this blog so be sure to read more after you find out our end result) who played against Ralene Buys of South Africa. Vesna started out her match with a service break then held serve to go up 2-1. From there on it was very tight getting tied up all the way to 6-6. In the tiebreaker Vesna held off a set point at 5-6 and won the next three points to win the tiebreaker with a 7-6 1st set win! In the second set Vesna it was tight till Vesna pulled up 4-3 then 5-3. Her opponent fought back to make it 5-5 then 6-6. Time for another tiebreaker! This breaker was tight all the way till the end. She won it 7-5! GREAT WIN VESNA!! USA 2 South Africa 0.
The USA secured the win over South Africa.
Rachel Gale and Carolyn Wei played doubles for the USA and ended up losing 6-0, 6-1 against a tough South African doubles team! Even with that loss the USA defeated South Africa 2-1. We play Sweden tomorrow.
Interview with Vesna McKenna our #1 singles player on the USA 40’s Young Cup team. I decided to ask each of our team players a few questions and share their answers with everyone reading this blog.
This is Vesna’s 1st time playing in the World Team Championships. She is a firefighter for Miami Dade Fire and Rescue. She was born in Argentina of Croatian decent. She speaks four languages: Croatian, German, English and Spanish. Her team mates are very happy for her fluent Spanish speaking skills!!!
How does it feel to be playing for the USA here in Spain for the 1st time?
“I feel Great, nervous, excited and happy. It is an honor for me to play for my country!”
Are you having fun with the players on your team?
“I am having a blast! We are a very diverse team. Each of us comes from different backgrounds yet we all interact with each other really well.”
Are you missing any foods from America?
“No, I can eat anything. The food is all good here in Spain. However, I do miss my son and husband as well as my job!!”
Vesna’s birthday is on May 6th so I wanted to wish her an early “Happy Birthday!”
By: Rachel Gale, Captain, Young Cup team
Hello Everyone, Today is Monday, April 27th our 1st day of matches.
>
> Sorry I could not get online yesterday and it was not my lack of trying.
> The phrase our team has now is "Are you in yet?" meaning have you
> gotten on the Internet?? Okay so the seeds for the 40’s Young Cup are as follows:
>
> #1 France
> #2 Italy
> #3 USA 🙂
> #4 Great Britain
>
> There are 4 different round robins. We are in a round robin with
> Slovenia, South Africa and Sweeden. Today we played Slovinia and here
> are our results:
>
> Rachel Gale started us off at #2 singles and won 6-1,6-0 against
> Tanja Valiavec. She got the USA off to a great start! Then Vesna
> McKenna kept the ball rolling with a 6-0,6-0 win against Anja
> Zavadlav. Vesna played very well and stayed focused!
>
> Our doubles team of Renata Marcinkowska and Carolyn Wei defeated
> Tanja and Anja 6-0,6-0. They had great hands at the net!!
>
> We will go and practice this afternoon to be ready for our next
> opponent tomorrow!! We are on Italy’s side of the draw.
>
> That is all for today! Stay tuned for more results tomorrow (If I
> can get connected!!)
>
> Go USA!!! Rachel Gale :0)
>