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I had a 2-day Champ tournament starting on Saturday, January 6, 2018 called the BCS New Year Champ Major Zone. We got to College Station Friday night right after daily tennis practice. We drove for about 2 hours to get there. Me, my dad, and my coach were all really hungry when we got there. So, we all decided we should go eat at Outback Steakhouse. We were laughing and having a great time. But every once in a while I would start thinking about my performance on the court tomorrow. (You know...the pre-match jitters!)
I had a pretty early match the next day, I had to play at 8:45 a.m. Our plan was to get on the courts around 7;30 a.m. so I can have some time to warm-up and stretch. When we got there, I stretched my arms and legs to get them loose and moving. After that, I hit some shots with my coach. When I finished warming up, I felt ready for any obstacle that was thrown in my way. I was now going to try to conquer my very first match. My first opponent was Anna Bien. She always hit cross-court. She went down the line really rarely. I tried to be consistent at the baseline. I tried hitting rally speed with really good placement until I get a slow ball that I can attack. I won this match 6-3, 6-3. We went back to the hotel to roll out my leg and arm muscles. I also ate some sushi to give me a little boost. After an hour or so, I was ready for my second match.
My second opponent was Lauren Kiblinger, seeded #8. In this match, both of us were really good at holding our serve. We were both really determined to break the other person's serve. During our service games, we were either more aggressive, or, the other person made more mistakes. Our serves didn't really help us start attacking before the other person. I was able to break her by attacking and/or making her make the mistake first. Fortunately, I won this match 6-4, 6-4. Before we went back to the hotel, we went to an American restaurant right next to our hotel called Kettle Restaurant. Afterward, we went back to our hotel room and I took a little nap because I was pretty tired from my previous two matches. When I woke up, it took me some time to get my energy back. But when I did, I was ready to fight.  That's my tire smiles. :o) My third opponent was Ella Brownback, seeded #1. This match was really important. If I win this match, I play the semi-finals on Sunday. But if I lose, it's all over and we go home. Anyway, I should probably tell you about the match. Ella had a lot of topspin on her groundstrokes which made me reach up in order to hit the shot. I realized I should move in closer so I can take her shots on the rise so I don't have to reach so high. I attacked her a lot with a huge amount of angle and good placement. I was able to win 6-2, 6-2. After my last match on Saturday, we went to this amazing restaurant called Torchy's Tacos. The food tasted extraordinary! When we went back to the hotel room, full of food, we all took a bath and climbed into bed. I lay in bed thinking about tomorrow. I kept asking myself, do I have what it takes?
I woke up really, really early next morning on Sunday. I woke up around six in the morning and got to the courts around 6;45am when it was still dark outside. I took my time doing some dynamic warm-ups. The sun started peeking out from the horizon to light up the courts a little bit. As me and my coach were hitting, the courts started filling up with people. Soon, they started calling all 8;00 matches and I headed towards the check-in desk. It was time for my semi-final match. My fourth opponent was Shannon Barton. In the first set I stayed consistent because she would usually miss first in our rallies. In the second set however, I went full-out Karina "beast-mode" style! I attacked this way and that with little to no mistakes at all! In this match, I stepped of the court with a proud 6-3, 6-0 win. I was so full of adrenaline pumping through my body as these six words kept yelling in my head: "I made it to the finals!" We started heading back to the hotel room to rest and take a good long nap. After that nap, I didn't feel like talking to anyone! But that happens to everybody.....right? Finally, I started gaining my energy right when me and my opponent were walking to our court.
My fifth and final opponent for the tournament, was Anna Guan. This match was a toss-up between mental, physical, and technical. Every now and then, it would be mental and every now and then, it would be physical or technical. In the first set she kept me moving side to side and back and forth causing me to make errors. In the second set, she seemed to slow down and made more mistake than the first set. In the third set however, I lost focus completely. My shots didn't have meaning or purpose, my placement didn't have any idea behind it, so it was completely out of control! Therefore, I lost 3-6, 6-4, 1-6. I was a little disappointed with my performance in the third set. I should have stayed focus and planned out my shots more carefully. But overall I was pretty proud of myself on how much I had improved in a month. I think this was perfectly good proof of what I should work on the following weeks or months. My coach was probably already thinking of what we would work on in the next practice.
Anyway, that's not the point. The point of tennis is to have fun. People sometimes just take it to the next level and worry too much about winning. Look, this isn't just about tennis. This is about life itself, my life! In tennis it doesn't matter if you win or lose. It's about how you played. In life it doesn't matter what you did in the end, but the the things you've done throughout your life.
Lot's of love! Karina Zaharieva P. S. Don't worry about the losing part. It makes you stronger! |
Karina ZaharievaI'm an aspiring junior tennis player. My goal is to play professional tennis. This is my journey. I hope you enjoy my website and follow my progress. Categories
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