Capriati vs. Nagyova
by Prip
Henrieta Nagyova had had a very up-and-down year 2000, battling
injuries but winning 3 tournaments and chalking up a 33-20 win-loss
record for the year. She had ended the year well, taking the title
in Kuala Lumpur and reaching the semifinal in Pattaya, but split
with her coach Tomas Malik after he decided to pursue a different
career. Still coachless, the Slovakian is trying to build up
on her match-toughness, although she carries a lot of confidence with
her.
Henrieta played extremely well in the first set, sticking to her
resolve to play aggressively and made all the plays. Complimenting
her baseline game well with frequent net approaches, the Slovakian
did all the work, and was in the driver’s seat all the way. She took
the first set 6-4 after getting an early break, and the match went
into the second set.
Things started to slow down for Nagyova, though, and it looked like
she wouldn’t be able to keep up the level of play she had shown in
the first set. Jennifer got the break to go up 3-2, and then the
reason for Henrieta’s lapse became apparent. She called for the
trainer, and removed her shoe to reveal a very painful looking toe.
The Slovakian had nearly pulled her toenail off in her match against
Chanda Rubin the week before, and had been undergoing various
treatments since. The nail was bleeding considerably, and the
22-year-old must have been playing through a lot of pain. She came
on court after getting the toe wrapped up, but could hardly move on
the court. Jennifer consolidated for a 4-2 lead, and had a field trip
hitting easy winners against an immobile opponent, taking 6 games in
a row to take second set 6-2 and go up 2-0 in the third.
Henrieta looked utterly helpless and frustrated, but very bravely
fought on. She blocked the pain out as best as she could, and started
moving about on court again. Playing as aggressively as she had in
the first set, the Slovakian got the break back for 3-all, but
promptly got broken again thanks to several unforced errors.
Nevertheless, she continued to go for her shots, and very suddenly,
found herself up 5-4 with Jennifer serving to stay in the match.
The last few games were extremely tense, with long rallies and
aggressive play from both players. Henrieta was still having trouble
moving, though, and in a sport like tennis where you have to change
directions a lot, a bleeding toe is as good as a broken leg. Jennifer
took full advantage of the situation (and overcame a rather nasty looking
fall on the left sideline), taking the last three games to win the
match. Had Henrieta not been hampered by her injury, she would most
likely have walked away the victor today. Capriati deserves credit for
her strong finish, though. The American shook her fist in delight
after surviving the 4-6, 6-2, 7-5 ordeal.
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Last updated 26 September 2015
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