's-HERTOGENBOSCH, The Netherlands - Michaella Krajicek may only be 20 years old but she has already accomplished so much on the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour, winning three singles titles and three doubles titles, also reaching her first Grand Slam quarterfinal at Wimbledon two years ago. This week the Dutch star will write her third straight blog from the Ordina Open.
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Friday, June 19, 2009
Unfortunately we lost in the doubles final today :( It was disappointing, but I think it was a great match from both sides. It was very tight until the last moment. We were a few match points down, then had one ourselves, then lost. We would have loved to win the title together, but we'll play more in the future, and I have to give all credit to our opponents. They played a great match!
Even though I lost second round in singles, I feel really good about this week. I love playing here every year. The tournament organization was great, and the Tournament Director, Marcel Hunze, did such a great job. The title sponsor, Ordina, was amazing, too. The activities I did like sponsor visits and kids day were really fun. I'll definitely look back on this week with good feelings.
The fans have been great this week. Your support made it very enjoyable! Hopefully you'll keep supporting me in the coming weeks and months. And of course, thanks for reading my blog - it's a tradition for me to do it from here every year, and I will be back next year to keep that going!
Take care :)
Misa
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Thursday, June 18, 2009
I'm happy to tell you we won our semifinal match and we'll be playing for the doubles title tomorrow. Our opponents gave us a tough one today, but we were very solid. We held our service games fairly well most of the time and we were really pushing them on their serves. In the end, we won in straight sets. We definitely had a lot of fun today. Yanina had won her singles match before, and she continued to play well in the doubles, so congratulations to her!
Yanina and I play well together because we don't sweat the small stuff. Both of us focus more on our singles and take this more as practice for that, but I think that helps. It takes the pressure off. If we lose, it's no big damage. We both have good serves and volleys and can play well from the back, so it works well in doubles. Obviously we're both playing to win, too. It's tough to beat us.
I did a few other fun things today. I had a hit with one of Holland's best juniors - she is 13 and No.1 in the Under 16 category. She's a friend of mine and she asked me, so of course I said yes. I hit with her for about 30 minutes. I must admit, she plays really well! Then I went to do an interview for my sponsor, Ordina, which is also the main sponsor of the tournament. Stanley Franker, our former Davis Cup coach, did the interview. Later I went to the gym for some running, then got a massage... another pretty busy day!
One more thing... the new issue of Vriendin, a magazine in Holland, just came out, and there's a four-page article on me. They interviewed me before. There are some nice photos, it's just great. Check it out if you can...
Congrats again to Yanina! I'll talk to you all again tomorrow!
Misa
Of all the cities you've been to, which is your favorite? Bobby, USA
That's a tough one. I've been living in Prague since I was nine (my parents are both Czech) and I love it here so this is definitely one of them. But I love New York City, too. Prague I love for its history and New York for being so busy.
What are your goals now that you are back and healthy? Karen
This year I want to get back into the Top 100, but my career goal is to become No.1! But all the other girls have the same dream so I know it's tough! I'd love to win a Grand Slam. There are things that you have to do to achieve all of these things though, including staying healthy and keeping on enjoying it :)
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Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Another busy day today! I started off practicing with Yanina in the morning to prepare for our doubles match. I did some work in the gym too, not that much, but now that I'm only in doubles I can do more running aside from my matches. After lunch we waited around a bit and then played very well in our match, especially in the first set. We made some mistakes in the second set and we were down two breaks but we were able to win it in a tie-break. We really had a lot of fun out there. I'm excited to be in the semifinals!
After our match we went to the kids day together. We took about half an hour of questions, and then I did an autograph session for my sponsor, Babolat. I was there for 50 minutes! I almost had to go to the physio afterwards to get my arm checked :) The encouragement from the fans is so nice. The kids are always excited to meet me, but I am always so happy to meet them too :)
We're playing Dekmeijere and Kops-Jones tomorrow. I've never played them as a team, although I have played Dekmeijere separately. We'll just try to keep each other pumped up, whether we're up or down. We just want to have fun, and hopefully we can do well again tomorrow and reach the final!!
I just had dinner and I'm hoping to watch a movie or some TV tonight. It's nice to be back in Holland, where I can watch the things I know :) We'll see what's on!
Misa
How did you spend your time while you were injured?- Alexis
Well, a lot of time was spent recovering from the injury, as in building things up again, especially with the knee. They gave me 4-6 weeks but I took about 8-9 weeks in total, just to make sure it healed. The most crucial thing is to give yourself time. My coach joked that it wouldn't be difficult for me, that I'm good at relaxing! In those weeks I'd rest a lot but do a bit of light hitting on the court, like 15 minutes one day, 20 minutes the next... In the other time I'd catch up with friends and do fun projects, things like decorating your apartment or whatever... It's always nice to switch off from the Tour, and when you're back, you'll be very fresh. There's never really a boring time for me. I love to play so much, but if I have a lay-off, it's not the end of the world for me :)
Who were your idols when you were young? Shane
I sort of looked up to my parents mainly, especially when I was really young. Not so much like idols, but someone you respect and learn from. The older you get, the more opinionated you get, and it's a different story! I didn't really have anyone in particular as an idol. There are a lot of clever people in this world though, and many of them don't get the recognition they deserve, people who help other people and change their lives. They don't get thanked enough.
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Tuesday, June 16, 2009
I'm disappointed about losing my singles match against Barrois today. I didn't play as well as I did yesterday, and not as aggressively as I wanted to. I was really hoping to go on a bit more in the tournament. But I give all the credit to my opponent - she played great. Unfortunately I had to lose today.
Yanina and I played very well in our doubles, though. It was tough for me to focus on doubles when I had lost my singles, because usually I think of doubles as practice and just try to have fun. I'm a singles player first, then doubles. But it was important to get my attitude right before the match, and we had fun out there and focused too. Tomorrow we have our quarterfinal. I'm happy I made up for the singles loss today with the doubles.
It was actually another rainy day here. I went on for my singles match twice. It was funny going on then coming off completely wet, then going on again. It started pouring a bit. We went to these grass courts at the back of the club to practice my serves and volleys a bit in between, but the courts were pretty wet, and when the ball bounced it would splash some water with it... My coach and I ended up coming off pretty wet. But it was fun!
Tonight I had a nice dinner and talked to my coach about the matches today. In addition to the doubles I also have a kids clinic tomorrow... I hope it'll be an exciting day! I'll write again afterwards.
Misa :)
What is the hardest thing about coming back from injury? Liam, UK
The toughest thing is getting confidence again. It's not that you don't believe in yourself, but it's gaining the confidence back on the court. You can practice X amount of hours but it's the real matches that do the trick. Obviously right when you're playing your first or second tournaments back, you aren't really sure that you're ready for it, that you can still do it, that you won't feel the injury anymore.
Does your little dog travel everywhere with you? Simon
No he doesn't unfortunately. He stays in Prague where my parents and little brother live. I'll see him here and there in between tournaments. I must admit, I miss him. But it's not so nice for the dog itself to travel anyway. And I trust my parents with him. They do put him on the phone sometimes, and sometimes when I'm on speaker he'll start barking :)
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Monday, June 15, 2009
Another rainy day at the Ordina Open!
I had a nice hit in the morning and did a bit of work in the gym too, so it was a good start... but then the rain came again! So I was just waiting most of the afternoon... I actually went for a little snooze in the back of the tennis park, I got about an hour's sleep. Rest is much needed when you're waiting around, because you spend so much nervous energy, but also there's so much food right there, and you don't want to be eating all the time! So the nap helped :)
I was called out for my match against Sara Errani around 630pm. I played very aggressively from the start. Even though I lost the first three games, I felt I was playing well. I just kept going for it right until the end and I was able to win, 64 62. I was a bit emotional at the end of the match because it has been a tough time for me, not just coming back from the injury last year but also some of the not so nice things the Dutch press has been writing about me, some of which aren't even true. But today ended up being one of the best days of my life. Not even because I won the match - it's hard to put into words. Just everything. And I owe so much to my coach, Allistair McCaw, who travels with me, helps me to be physically ready for this sport, and who has stuck by me this entire time. In life you just have certain days where you cross that bridge...
I just had dinner... at 1045pm! It has been quite a long day :) I haven't eaten anything since 6pm so I'm pretty hungry. I ordered Chicken Cordon Bleu. I had to treat myself to something nice!
One thing I forgot to mention yesterday was a clinic I did two days ago for my sponsor, Randstad, for a few hours with some kids. I wanted to tell them all I had a great time. I don't know how I forgot to mention that yesterday.
Tomorrow is going to be another long day as I have singles and doubles. I'm second on after 11am for singles against Barrois, who I know very well because I played against her twice last year. She's a tough opponent with a great serve and a very aggressive game. Last time I played her was in Memphis this year, and I won 7-6 in the third. It was a very good match from both sides. Like today, I'm planning to just go out there and enjoy it. No pressure! Whatever happens, happens. She beat Vesnina in the first round and Vesnina has been playing very well this year, so it'll be tough. In doubles I'm playing with Yanina Wickmayer. We've only played together once before but when we did we won the title, so hopefully we can go out there and shoot some more bullets :)
It's pretty late but I'm going to answer some of your great questions, and we'll talk again tomorrow!
Misa
Is it more pressure when you play in at home? Art, Netherlands
I actually don't feel any pressure playing here. I've been playing here for five or six years now and I feel like every year was a success, not because I won the tournament, but because I've always played well here. I really enjoy playing at home. The crowd gives me so much support. It's a good feeling playing here.
Which tournaments are you looking forward to playing next? Helen
I'm playing a lot of tournaments in the US after this. First a few ITF ones and then all of the ones in the US and Canada. I love it there. I'm looking forward to the whole trip! Also, since last year, I've been training at Bollettieri's. It's like my base at the moment. I like being there and practicing there, and I will definitely be going back and forth there between tournaments.
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Sunday, June 14, 2009
I'm very happy to be back here. I really enjoy playing here every year. And just like playing here is a tradition for me, so is doing the blog from here :) This is my third year in a row blogging from the Ordina Open.
Although it rained a lot earlier in the day, I had a nice start to my week with an exhibition match against Kim Clijsters. As you all probably know, she is returning to the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour this year, and this was her first singles match back. And she played very well! It was an honor to play against her. She still plays at such a high level. She won the first five games, too - that's when I knew she was taking this very seriously! I didn't expect a smashing start like that :) It was definitely a wake-up call! In exhibition matches you want to enjoy yourself, but you also want to show your best tennis. I was starting to play better in the second set, but she won in straight sets. I enjoyed every moment though, even if I was a bit up and down throughout the match.
I was so happy so many people stayed around to watch the match. It rained from about 9am to 3pm today. It was a shame. I went to the gym and relaxed a bit during that time, just waiting to play. When we eventually got to play, there were lots of people there. By the end of the match the stadium was full. It wasn't easy for them to stay either. We were so thankful to them for staying. It's so much better for us players to play in front of such a great crowd!
I'm playing my first main draw match tomorrow, third on Centre Court. I'm playing Errani from Italy. I played her in Auckland last year and we had a very long match. I was struggling with my wrist then, so it was a very different time for me. But that goes for her, too. She was ranked much lower then and was just coming up. Tomorrow I'll just play my game and go for it. I'm trying to enjoy every moment on the court - that's really important for me, because I'm still coming back from my injury. It's a new start. And I'm really trying to become more consistent in my results, too. You need to play well and win consistently. Hopefully I can get back into the Top 100 by the end of the year, that's my goal. So whether I lose first round or win the title this week, I'm just going to enjoy it!
Have a good night and talk to you tomorrow!
Misa
