I left you last after having received a phone call saying that I needed to be in Italy the next day. Any of you who know my sister Natasha know that my panicking was only done in vein. 5 minutes later everything was all sorted. I was booked on a flight from Cairo to Rome at 430am arriving in Rome at 730am. I put clothes on grabbed my things ran down to the lobby to make sure I had a ride and waited until 2am when the taxi was going to pick me up to take me to the airport.
I slept for 2 hours on a couch in the lobby, 3 hours on the plane finally arrived in Rome at 8am. Kevin was waiting for me at the airport and we were off in taxi to Latina which was about 2 hours away. I barely made it in time for my match. I ate a sandwich, had a five minute warm up, but all I really needed was a huge glass of coffee!
I won the match 7-6, 7-6 judging by the score you can see that it was not an easy match. It was a battle every step of the way. The rallies on clay are so much different than on hard court. They are longer and more deliberate. You have to think about what you are doing. The girls that I was competing against did not just hit flat fast balls. They used slice angles, they used heavy top spin balls to push you back, and they used their brains. This is so unlike hard court tennis. On hard court I just react to the big flat hitters. Now I have to build the point, I have to think about what I am doing because as soon as I get into reactive mode on clay I am toast. My biggest weapon-my speed-is neutralized because I have no footing out here. I have to be very careful not to get put in defense.
My second round match was not as good at all... I lost 6-2, 6-2. I have never felt so foolish in my life. She made me look like a complete idiot. She knew exactly what she was doing out there. She played like she has been playing tennis for many life times. She would hit these heavy balls with both her backhand and forehand that gave me anxiety when the bounced. I didn't know what to do. I was slipping around like I had on ice skates. I think I almost started crying during the match because I was so humiliated.
Kevin saw her play the day before and knew I had no chance. He could sense my frustration and embarrassment and made it very clear to me that I cannot be disappointed in my performance.
I don't think that either of the girls that I played have ever stepped foot on a hard court. They are seasoned clay court players. I am embarking on a journey to become a more well rounded player, part of this journey involves me learning how to play on clay! This is a very daunting task for most Americans, but I am past the point of return. Unfortunately like everything else it will take last of time. The beautiful thing about this endeavor is that I am getting better. I see improvement every match.
Apparently I play better doubles on clay than on hard. I have made some huge improvements in doubles in the past few weeks. In first tournament in Latina I played doubles with Ashley Weinhold another up and coming American. Because I was playing a 10K Kevin thought it would be a great opportunity to practice some things that he wanted me to work on. There are so many things that I need to work on and it tough to figured out what is the most important to tackle. Although we have talked about doubles a lot and Kevin has clearly voiced his frustrations with my doubles we haven't worked on it they way we would have liked. Well this week we got to work on doubles and the results were astronomical.
We got to the semifinals of doubles, defeating our first two opponents with relative ease. We were on fire. We both have such great volleys which believe it or not it is not something you see very much on the women's tour! I think the two up combo caught people off guard. Ashley would hit a serve and as soon as the ball crossed the net I would slam it down their throat. The rallies were never that long, but if they happen to go more than 2 shots our opponents were playing against a solid wall. I can imagine that, that was pretty intimidating.
The semifinal match got off to a great start. We won the first set in about 20 minutes we were cruising. At that start of every second set-particularly in doubles-there is a premium on getting of to a great start. I tell myself and usually my partner, ok now is the time to notch it up a level and go after it, but it rarely happens. Normally at the start of a second set I get more reactive, more fearful and I practically run from the ball. This second set was no different. We got tight they got lose. We lost the second set in 20 minutes! The third set breaker followed a similar pattern. We got up to a fast lead, but couldn't close it out.
The next morning I woke up we were supposed to go and practice, however, I had not had a day off in 10 days and I felt like it was imperative that I see the city that everyone says so great. Equipped with a book on Rome and an iphone application (all compliments of Ashley) we were off to see Rome in day.
The journey was adventurous from the start. At the bus stop we befriended an old man who promised to show me the coast of Italy, gave me his phone number and asked for my hand in marriage. After my proposal we met a really nice college student who used to live in Virginia and spoke perfect English. She was going to Rome too and helped us buy bus, train and metro tickets. She explained everything we need to know about getting there and back. I don't think the day would have gone so smoothly without her.
We had a massive plan of attack, we wanted see everything. The Spanish Steps, the Vatican, the Coliseum, the Pantheon, you name it we planned on seeing it. Not only did we want to see everything, but we also wanted to eat the whole day. We wanted to try everything Rome had to offer. Rome was not built in a day so guess what you certainly cannot see and eat everything in a day! We did give it the old college try.
Back to reality I had one more tournament in Latina-the same city-to play before I was to return to the motherland. I think it was Saturday morning that we had to sign in. We went to the club practiced signed in and we were in the van to go to the hotel when a taxi pulled up and I saw a familiar face getting out of the taxi. Everything happened so quickly I flung my arms hit the umpire sitting next to me and screamed my sister is here!!!! The driver came to an abrupt stop because of course he didn't speak English he thought we hit something. My sister, best friend and confidant flew all the way to Italy to spend less than 48 hours with me because she thought I needed some support. She thought right that was like Christmas. It lifted my spirits I felt like I was on top of the world.
Now of course and unfortunately this new found happiness did not translate to a win on the singles court... So sad, for what feels like the millionth week in a row I have to report bad news. I played another Italian girl who I don't think has ever seen a hard court. Her unorthodox game and stroke were deceivingly good. I left the court thinking there is no way I should have lost that match, but she played well. Like many other girls out here she executed when it was counted.
I bet Natasha would have stayed if I had won, but like a dummy I lost. So sadly she had to leave. Because she doesn't have the luxury of getting to see me play every two weeks she sees bigger jumps of improvement. The last match she saw me play was in San Diego I am sure that she saw some major leaps-a more aggressive player with a huge serve and forehand. Well maybe I am exaggerating a little bit... It was depressing to see her go, but she left me with a felling that I could take over the world.
I took this reignited passion and energy to the doubles court the next day. I played by far the best doubles match of my life. Truly I was in the zone. I was serving and volleying, hitting every first volley inside the service line. Mind you two weeks ago I was hitting my first volleys a foot inside the baseline! I was crossing and poaching on almost every ball. I made only 5 errors the whole match.
The quarterfinals match we played was against a girl that I lost to the week before in doubles and a girl that I used to train with at Evert's. I swear they hit ground strokes that traveled at speeds over 100 miles per hour. Who wants to cross on a ball like that? Let me tell you not me! There is no way we should have won that match, but we did 1-6, 7-6 (10-5). Luck was on our side!
I couldn't quite understand how I had gone from playing the best doubles of my life right back to the awful doubles I was playing before in the matter of two days. I still don't get it. I was determined to fix it for our semifinals match. This was a huge test. Was I going to break through everything and just jump in the fire, go crazy and be the great doubles player that I know I can be, or was I going to crawl back in my shell and not reach my potential like I do most of the matches I play? I would make you guys guess, but I will just tell you that I went right back to comfort zone. I didn't break through any barriers. I have some of the best volleys out here, my serve has come so far, and my returns at times are deadly. These are all these that are keys to being a great doubles player and I have them! Now it is time to start playing like it.
While I was in Italy at least 2 people a day would ask me why I was in Europe. "It is very rare that we see Americans in Europe what are you doing here? Why are you not in the states playing the tournaments over there?" One girl introduced herself to me as we were sharing a court. "Hi I am Nada from Serbia." In response I said "Hi I am Megan from America!" She proceeded to tell me she knew who I was because I was the new one and everyone was talking about me. Now I am not sure if that is a good or bad thing. Or some of the girls will ask with a smirk "So how are you enjoying the clay?" I think it is obvious to everyone that Americans are not so good on clay, but at least I am trying
With new levels of frustration due to lack of wins I was ready to go back to the states and try my luck on the green clay. My thought was that maybe people who choose to stay in America and play there could not be as good on clay as the girls playing in Europe. I just knew it was my time to have a good singles run at a tournament. We were off to Jackson Mississippi. I learned my lesson and I requested a late Wednesday start. I got what I thought was a great draw. I was ready to rock and roll!
Or so I thought... the 16 year old Jackson native was a good lefty player. I got off to a fast 3-0 I was playing well. All of a sudden I she was hitting winners every where and I was pooping balls short up the middle of the court as usual. I eventually won the match 7-5, 6-1 but it was not pretty.
After this match I was convinced that I could still make a turn around and win the tournament. I had to make a huge attitude change and come out the next day fired up ready to kick some butt. The attitude change was there and I came out ready to go. Wow could have been more off the mark. This girl was good... at one point she was 63 in the world and she played like it. She knew exactly where to put the ball and seemed to be able to put it there with ease. She beat me very easily 6-1, 6-2. I played well and I continue to get better, but I still have a lot of work to do to contend with the big hitters.
I played doubles with my favorite "Come on YETS" screaming partner. Although we do well together I don't think we have good chemistry. I have also decided that my sanity is more important than a win... We made it the quarterfinals. By the time I hit the last ball I knew it was time for a break. With the exception of Natasha's surprise I hadn't seen anyone in my support system in 2 months. The time had come I needed to go home... wherever that is.
Right now I am in Williamsburg and I have been here since Friday. I am leaving for South Africa on Thursday. After this much need break I am ready to out there and play on some hard courts!
Wish me luck I will need it! Until next time...
Megan Mouton-Levy
http://meganmoultonlevy.blogspot.com/
Supported by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA)
