Turkey talent sails into quarters

MUMBAI: Through the ups and downs of a close match that lasted for over an hour and a half at the Maharashtra State Lawn Tennis Association (MSLTA) lawns, one could barely spot an emotion on fourth seed Melis Sezer’s face.

No racquet throwing, no shrieks of anger, no yelps of delight. There was just emotionless tennis from her end as she sealed her campaign against fifth Shweta Rana 7-6, 6-3 to enter the quarterfinals of the ITF Juniors Tournament here on Wednesday.
After leading 5-2 in the first set, Melis went down 5-6 as Shweta picked up some good points to take the set into a tie-breaker. She kept her nerves to clinch the issue and cruised through the second set to seal the contest.

“At no point did I think that I am going to lose. I know that there’s no way I can think about losing. When I am out there, I only think of winning,” Melis said after the match.
Her English coach David Gaves, who has been training her for the past four months, also finds Melis’s mental fitness commendable. “Her psychological strength is one of her strong points. She is a tough girl - doesn’t get too excited or dejected. That helps her a lot,” he said.

The 15-year-old’s calm and composed nature was also reflected in her decision to come to Mumbai despite the terror attacks in the city two weeks ago.

“I was a little scared in the beginning. As soon as I arrived in Delhi I heard of the massacre. My parents were very sceptical about letting me participate in the Mumbai event but I managed to convince them,” Melis said.

The Turkish junior national champion is currently ranked 226th in the world and hopes to break into the top 200 by the end of this year.