[9] Tinne Gilis (BEL) 3-1 Katie Malliff (ENG) 11-3, 11-4, 9-11, 11-5 (40m)
Tinne : The first rounds…. they are always tough. Katy has been out for a year I think, and I truly didn’t know what to expect, except the knowledge she is a tough player, a skill player, she is amazingly talented.
I knew if I was not hitting my targets, she would put it away like she did in the third.
I think I was lacking a bit of energy because of the nerves: it’s the world champs, and you want to do well, the most important tournament of the year. And it doesn’t matter the number of years you’ve been on the tour, it never gets easier. Maybe I was struggling a bit more with it today than normal….
I very very relieved I managed to get that fourth game, as I wasn’t confident AT ALL. She is such a talented player, I hope she is going to stay injury free and that she’ll keep rising in the rankings, she deserves it, she is such a fair player, there were hardly any decisions.
My coach David Palmer was telling me to commit more to my shots, no in between choosing shots, and to really try and keep her behind me and away from her. But it was FAR FROM EASY!
David is honestly one of the kindest person/coach I ever met, getting to him is not easy, his base is in the middle of nowhere but I don’t mind. Plus I like him as a person so much, I want to make it work, especially as I work with a physio/physical coach that works with David, it’s a great team, he is based in Belgium too, so it works great for me.
