Tennis is a game where there will be a lot of errors, and you need to accept that. You can't just hang on to it, says Ankita
Ankita Raina lost in the second qualifying round of the Australian Open earlier this month. Yet, sitting in Singapore, she made it a point to watch the action in Melbourne on TV every day.
"Tennis is a game where there will be a lot of errors, and you need to accept that. You can't just hang on to it. You can't keep thinking over the misses, you need to move on. It was one of the things that I observed (by watching the Australian Open)," Ankita said.
Not only did she observe, she executed it too.
Brushing aside the disappointment of not making the cut to the main draw of the season's first Grand Slam 10 days ago, Ankita bounced back to be crowned champion of the ITF $25,000 event in Singapore on Sunday.
The 203rd-ranked Indian stunned the top seed and world No. 122 Arantxa Rus of the Netherlands 6-3 6-2 in the final.
The victory on Sunday was her fourth consecutive against higher-ranked players in the week in Singapore, with Ankita beating world No. 202 Lesley Kerkhove in the Round of 16, world No. 142 Sabina Sharipova in the quarterfinals (Sharipova retired with Ankita leading 7-5, 2-0) and world No. 150 Conny Perrin in the semis.
The result will propel the Indian to a career-high world ranking when the latest WTA rankings are released on Monday, a feat largely down to the run in Singapore that would not have happened had she won two more matches in Melbourne and made the main draw.
"I was disappointed when I lost in Melbourne, but everything happens for a good reason. You learn more when you lose, because that's when you think and analyse what you need to improve," Ankita said.
The analysis sessions with her coach Hemant Bendre intensified when she landed in Singapore earlier than what she had hoped for, and although he left after the second round due to prior commitments, it played its part.
"There were a few things that I wanted to work on mentally as well as on my game. My coach and I were working on it in Australia as well, but you learn some things only while playing matches, and that is exactly what happened here," Ankita said.
Those things included her serve, an aspect of her game she has been continuously focussing on developing. And in the final against Rus, Ankita did not face a single break point. "I don't usually say it, but today I told my coach that I'm proud of myself," she said.
Apart from the sheer valuable experience of just being part of tennis' biggest stage Down Under, Ankita's Australian Open sojourn also took her motivation a level higher.
"It (Australian Open) taught me a lot. After I lost there, I wanted to be there (main draw) more. I told myself that with a little more push, I'll be there soon," she said.
Ankita has taken a giant stride towards getting that push with the Singapore title, and has now set her sights higher for the rest of the season.
"I have lost a lot of matches to get here," Ankita said. "I want to build on this now."
ANKITA'S ROAD TO SINGAPORE TITLE
- Round of 32: beat N Luangnam (THA) 6-1 6-2
- Round of 16: beat 8-L Kerkhove (NED) 4-6 6-2 6-3
- Quarterfinals: beat 2-S Sharipova (UZK) 7-5 2-0 retd
- Semifinals: beat 3-C Perrin (SUI) 6-4 6-1
- Final: beat 1-A Rus (NED) 6-3 6-2
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