Frustrated Lewis asks for patience
Regardless of what anyone’s views are on how Jade Lewis played in Auckland last week, there needs be some sympathy towards her.
Her 6-4 6-3 loss to Viktoria Kuzmova on Tuesday night seemed to polarise opinions on how much progress she’s made since her loss to Venus Williams the previous year.
On the plus side, she served well, her technique is good and she showed fighting spirit.
But the negatives were that she wasn’t aggressive enough and her on court demeanour wasn’t great.
Saying ‘come on’ or doing a fist pump when your opponent double faults isn’t a good look. Neither is not acknowledging the crowd when walking off court after a match.
But what it mainly comes down to is a desperation to win and also that she’s incredibly hard on herself, which is something she admits.
She also really wants to first win of her career Classic.
‘‘I was very upset after Lauren Davis (in 2016) and Venus Williams (last year) because I was one point away in both of those matches, so that was really hard for me,’’ Lewis said.
‘‘In this one (against Kuzmova), I was right there and I didn’t even play what I think is my best tennis.
‘‘So it’s always good to show I can play that level and for me.
‘‘If I played my best, I could have turned that around one that. Even playing the level I did I was still right there and the crowd was going for me.
‘‘In the second set the crowd got me back into it and I was fighting and playing with a bit more focus, just trying to go for it.’’
Neil Carter, the recently appointed New Zealand Fed Cup captain, was naturally keeping a close eye on Lewis during her match against Kuzmova.
‘‘Jade has had a rough year and this was her first match since October,’’ he said.
‘‘She’s around 1000 in the world and hasn’t been winning matches at the $15,000 (ITF tournament) level.
‘‘She’s been working with David’s brother, Chris, over in California. But it’s about finding a level and maintaining it for point after point.
‘‘She had an opportunity early in that match, she had a break point, but that girl is a world-class 19-year-old. get at that the
If I played my best, I could have turned that around one that. Jade Lewis
‘‘She was nervous, she’s playing a local girl in front of a home crowd and Jade didn’t capitalise on that.
‘‘Had she taken that break point, found a bit more rhythm, moved up the court and been a bit braver, we could have seen a different match.
‘‘But she let the girl off the hook and Kuzmova started swinging freely, was getting up the court and put Jade under pressure.
‘‘Jade fought hard, got in behind the ball. Her big strength is her speed around the court, she does that well, but she didn’t apply enough pressure when it counted.’’
Lewis, who also went out in the first round of the doubles, enjoyed her week in Auckland and, despite the defeats, felt that she’s demonstrated to herself belongs at WTA tournaments.
‘‘Centre Court is always a great time and I really show that I can play at that level again,’’ she said.
‘‘Last year I think I played better, but my serve is better than last year and I’m getting free points on my serve.
‘‘I was extremely comfortable finishing points, playing strong and then she had a great serve too, so that was also a challenge.
‘‘But if I’d just played a little bit of more aggressive, I could have turned that match around.’’
Lewis is going through the same situation Marina Erakovic did, where the sporting nation follows her intently for one week of the year then has a passing interest for the other 51 weeks.
‘‘Everyone expects me to jump so quickly, because they see a great result (against Williams) and think that’s what happens every time,’’ she said.
‘‘Everyone’s asking me if I’m going to Australian Open qualifying and I’m like ‘no, I’m ranked 1000.’ They’re shocked by that but I have to start from the bottom and get up from there.’’ she