Crazy moments: the old good days
This is the second of my “goodbye series” of articles and follows the one I wrote on my beloved Kaja Juvan during last may: this category of pieces share the peculiar feature of being all tremendously nostalgic: there’s a rumor that two of my 4 readers who have read the “goodbye article” on Juvan have soon after committed suicide. The remaining ones are now aware and can make their own choices.
This is a “goodbye” article since Marta Kostyuk has retired from the Junior Australian Open and has declared she is done with the Junior Tour (which is a sensible decision); thus, this may well be the last time I write a piece dedicated to Marta: notwithstanding the young age, she is already falling out the scope of this site (at least partially).
It was thus necessary and fair to end up a stream of 6 articles specifically dedicated to Marta spending a few lines on the glorious match she played against no. 4 in the world, Elina Svitolina, in the third round of the (pro) Australian Open.
Of course, the match was not exactly tight: it was basically the first time that Marta played against a top 100 player, as I do not consider the match she won against Peng in the first round to have been a proper one, since I suspect that Peng was heavily injured (or, anyway, she played so obnoxiously that I won’t any way consider it for the purposes of my records). Kostyuk started well, by breaking Svitolina in the early stages; though, the difference of experience between the two girls (Svitolina is young, but yet she is 8 year older than Marta) became soon evident and in an hour Marta was dismissed.
Even if at the end of the match Kostyuk showed to be quite unpleased with herself, I think she played very well, at least from a mental standpoint. Ok, her first serve didn’t work at all, and that’s a fact; it happens. She double-faulted 9 times and she missed quite a lot, both with forehand and with backhand. Of course she alternated all these mistakes with the superb shots and combinations that are typical of her explosive game. I’ve read some reports about Marta’s match and also the TV commentators pointed out quite a few times that she was receiving a “lesson” from her older compatriot: she needs to slow down, she needs to mature or she has to quit her attitude to shoot everything at 100% and to always play with a “take it or break it” approach.
Honestly, I don’t agree with anything of the above (except for the fact that Marta’s first serve underperformed). One should judge Marta’s match taking into account her experience: what I mean is that, whilst in the junior tour her 2nd serve, hit at 140 km/h, allows her to win over 50% of the points; against Svitolina (who is used to return Williams’s and Pliskova’s serves), Kostyuk’s second serve becomes a piece of cake. What should have Marta done: serve at 130, never double fault and cope with 100 winning returns by her opponent? Why do that? Nope, Marta tried big, forced a lot and, thus, she did a lot of mistakes. And I agreed with her attitude. The same applies to Marta’s baseline game: it’s fair to state that Marta does not interpret tennis exactly as Arantxa Sanchez. But what would have been the point to play more safe and enter into struggles with no. 4 in the world who is, by chance, one of the most consistent baseliners one can find? Marta took enormous risks, which sometimes paid off, some others did not. To the above, the following should be added: till yesterday she was used to playing against opponents (junior or pros) to whom her serves are hard to receive and the pace of her shots is, on the long run, not bearable. Svitolina, though, plays at a completely different level: Marta gained little advantage from her valid first serves, if any, and benefitted of no free points; she was ferociously attacked on her second serve; instead of playing 3 shots from the baseline to win a point, against Svitolina she sometimes needed 8. I seriously doubt Marta was used or mentally prepared to face such a situation (how could she have been?), which I guess unbalanced her a bit. More, as soon as Marta slowed down or played one shorter ball, Svitolina killed the point. How can one state that Kostyuk, in this occasion, should have played more reasoned tennis? Against SVITOLINA? Honestly, I think that’s bu****it.
Playing as she did, Marta managed to level the first set to 2-2 and the four games lasted overall 20 minutes; she also had a few chances to reach a 3-4. Eventually, she lost 6-2.
In the second set I felt happy when Marta tried something I had already seen from her last year, against Masarova, in the Junior Australian Open finals: realising that things were turning bad for her, she changed strategy and went to the net more often and even won a few points thanks to this; finally, she also won a game ending a heavy partial of her opponent. A further game, she owned it soon after. Of course Svitolina didn’t take long to adjust and, after a few passing shots, she secured her lead also in the second set.
As mentioned, at the final stage Kostyuk was frustrated and she basically didn’t play the last game: maybe she was hoping to last longer, or even that a miracle would have occurred; she turned out to be disappointed. Who wouldn’t be? The girl is a kid: she is 15; her frustration (which lasted one game only) was absolutely fair and reasonable; plus, she has a winning mentality. If I compare the match Marta played against Svitolina with those she played only one year ago in Australia, the difference is stunning. How much this girl has matured both in her tennis skill and even more in her mental skill, is sensational.
To be fair, the critiques I heard from commentators on Marta’s match against Svitolina were in line with those I made to Kostyuk when she played against Burrage and Naho Sato. The only difference is that at the time I felt as evident that the kid was superior to her opponents and really there was no need of playing as risky as she did; really, she was immature, as she passed from a “crazy moment” to another for no apparent reason (she was only 14!). This time it was a completely different story: Marta had a slim chance and she relied on her best features to try to exploit them. She kept focused throughout the match, notwithstanding frustration. She honoured herself and was honoured by the serious match her opponent played to counter her.
Hopefully and possibly, in short time Marta will win everything: if I have to bet on the future of two players, those would be her and Iga Swiatek. Probably Kostyuk will become utterly boring as Serena Williams, killing basically every match she will play: I will then miss her (nowadays few) “crazy” moments, which now don’t piss me off anymore, but make me smile; they show that, finally, she is human and eventually she is still a kid. Though, the kid is becoming a young woman real fast; plus, the kid already become a young pro. It’s then time to say goodbye to Marta Kostyuk: Flagellum Dei.
