Bay Area Racquet Club Fall Junior Open

I had an Open tournament starting on Saturday, October 27, 2018. It was called the Bay Area Racquet Club Fall Junior Open. It was played at Bay Area Racquet Club (BARC).

In this tournament I signed up to play 14s instead of 12s. Not that I aged up or anything, but I thought it would give me great practice and experience playing in an older division. It also gave me a lot of nervousness; however, I was the number 1 seed! I felt like I HAD to win this tournament. But, to counter all the nervousness I had, it also gave me excitement and curiosity.

sharing my experience w/ Emo

It was Saturday morning and we just arrived at BARC. I felt surprisingly upbeat and believe me when I said I did not like waking up in the morning! I felt ambitious and that was not a feeling I had felt a lot before my matches. With a positive attitude and an upbeat demeanor, I started my match with my first opponent Cara Vajdos. I didn't know what to expect so I stayed very patient and consistent, and I tried to outplay her until she misses. I attacked her shots whenever I could to get her in a defensive position. I tried to hit the majority of the balls deep, and a lot of the shots I hit pushed her back and gave her trouble. I won 6-0, 6-0.

w/ my mom!!!

The gap between my first match second scheduled match was pretty short. With my second opponent Rachana Hari, I applied the same starting strategy: stayed patient and consistent the first set, staying equal to her, until I could figure out her game. I kept my lead at 5-2, but Rachana evened the scores to 5-5. Well, I got careless at 5-2, and I relaxed my game intensity. I began getting nervous and started babying more balls than the previous games up until now. At 5-5, I sucked it up and stayed very consistent just hitting it in the court trying to get at least a 2-point lead so I could start attacking freely at the right moments. I stepped up my game and made less errors and that got me the set. I boosted up my game in the second, still playing with the same style and tactics just a little more intense and aggressiveness, Consequently, I got a lot of errors out of her. I won 7-5, 6-0.

I was now in the finals! My final match was scheduled on the following day, on Sunday. I was really motivated to play and hopefully take the win. I knew I could do it!

w/ my dad and little bro

My finals of the tournament was with Keerthana Hari. (You guessed it, the younger sister of the two.) We were head to head in the first set, but I was the one in control on most of the rallies. There was a balance when playing Keerthana--I stayed aggressive but I was also patient. I ended up wining the first set, 6-4. In the second set, Keerthana changed her strategy and went for more on her shots. She started hitting harder, and I had to run a lot more. However, she made a lot of unforced errors earlier in the set. And as the match went on, I began gaining more confidence. And with confidence came more powerful, accurate shots! I hit more freely, still not too risky near the line, and I had my patterns and tactics all figured out near the end. I won this match 6-4, 6-1. It was a great feeling to be able to play in the "zone" with a clear mind.

It was such an amazing feeling to win a tournament. I was full of adrenaline, but also very tired! I felt exhilarating! It brought me confidence and motivation. Those help a lot in future matches...

Taking all things into consideration...I'm enjoying my moment. ;-) 
Karina Zaharieva