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Kimberly Birrell

47K views 306 replies 35 participants last post by  Mazda 
#1 ·
Kim had some great results in senior ITFs last year and is into the SFs of the Australian Open juniors. Has a great game, and a great attitude on court. She never gives up, no matter the scoreline.
 
#7 ·
Tennis Australia said:
TOUGH BIRRELL FIGHTS HER WAY TO AUSTRALIAN OPEN SEMIFINAL
There are some players that thrive on the contest, that love the fight. Kimberly Birrell is fast earning a reputation as one of those players. Today she won through to the semifinals to the girls' singles at the Australian Open.

Melbourne VIC, Australia, 23 January 2014 | Rob Sheeley 1 5



Kimberly Birrell in action during the 2014 Australian Open Junior Championships at Melbourne Park on January 23, 2014 in Melbourne, Australia.
There are some players that thrive on the contest, that love the fight. Kimberly Birrell is fasting earning a reputation as one of those players.

Today Birrell won her fourth match in the girls’ singles at the Australian Open to advance to the semifinals. Three of those four matches have been gruelling three-set affairs that have lasted over two hours, but that is not worrying Birrell in the slightest.

“I’ve had so many three-set matches that I think now that any time it goes to a third set, it works in my favour,” Birrell said after coming from behind to defeat Polish 10th seed Anastasiya Komardina 6-7 (7) 6-1 6-3.

After going down in a titanic first-set tiebreak, Birrell was forced to mentally regroup and attempt to haul back the ascendency, something she admits wasn’t easy.

“It’s not easy, I had three set-points in the first set too, so it was a bit disappointing not being able to get those but as soon as that happened, I just had to put it behind me and concentrate on winning the next point and the next set.”

And that was exactly what the 15-year-old did, with great success too, all the time being supported by a vocal crowd who desperately wanted to get the Queenslander over the line.

“The crowd were amazing.

“It’s a pretty crazy feeling hearing your name being chanted out.

“You try to have four walls around you when you play, but having that in the back of your head definitely helps a lot.”

Birrell managed a first serve percentage of 58% today which is slightly below her tournament standard; she plans on wasting no time in ensuring it is spot-on for tomorrow’s semifinal.

“Down on that court (Show Court 3), I think it gets a little bit swirly with the wind. My serve wasn’t quite as good today.

“I’m going to go back out on the practice court this afternoon just to see if I can improve that a bit for tomorrow.”

Awaiting Birrell in the semifinal is Croatian Jana Fett, an opponent who she has never played.

“I don’t really know her too much. But my coach and I will sit down tonight and have a talk and come up with a game plan for tomorrow.”
:)
 
#8 ·
Kim lost in SF to Jana Fett 60 64. A great tournament for Kim.
 
#9 ·
BIRRELL ENDS AMAZING WEEK AT THE AUSTRALIAN OPEN
For Kimberly Birrell, it probably ended one day earlier than she would have liked it to. But today was just the culmination of a superb week for her at the Australian Open. She says it's only the beginning.

For Kimberly Birrell, her week probably ended one day earlier than she would have liked it to. Today she went down in the Australian Open girls’ singles semifinal 6-0 6-4 to Croatian Jana Fett. But today was just the culmination of a superb week for Birrell, who at just 15 has achieved great things.

“It has been a great week, it’s been amazing, I still don’t want it to end. I’ve learnt so much about myself.” Birrell said after the match.

“I’ve had some real positives come out of this week so I have to concentrate on those and not hang on to the disappointment too long.

“I’ve just got to get back on the practice court and keep going, it’s only the beginning.”

The initiation into any Grand Slam semifinal is tough and today was no different for Birrell when she met a red-hot Fett who oozed power from the very first game. However she says that, if and when this opportunity arises again, she now has a wealth of knowledge she can call on.

“I was a little bit more nervous heading into this one, it was a semifinal, I’ve never been in this situation before, I think it’s going to help a lot next year.

“I wish I could go out and play that match again; I’d like to have had a better start.

“If I’m ever in this situation again it’s an experience I’ll be able to call on.”

For a fleeting moment during the second set, it looked as though Birrell was about to stage one of the comebacks she has made a trademark of hers this week.

“I just wanted to finish the week the way I started it, I wanted to fight for every point.

“I think I tried my hardest but she was just better on the day.”

One of the biggest positives for Birrell is how much improvement she knows that she is capable of. It could be scary to ponder just how good she will be this time next year and beyond.

“I think I have so many things that I can still improve on.

“The strength and physical side of my game is something I’ll always be able to improve on, I’ve been working very hard in the past six months and definitely want to keep improving on that.

“I’ve had an ab (abdominal) injury in the last few weeks and I’ve just got over that and I haven’t been able to practice my serve as much, so hopefully I can keep working on that.”

While Birrell’s run of success at Melbourne Park this week is largely due to her stellar form, she says the support of those closest to her as well as the parochial Aussie crowds was a massive fillip for her confidence.

“Being here at home, having the home crowd, the support I have had has been crazy, incredible, I couldn’t ask for anything more.

“Having my family here and my amazing coach and team, I really owe everything to them.”

Unfortunately for the Gold Coast 15-year-old, she will be back to reality with a thud in the coming weeks as she returns to the grind of “normal” life.

“I’m going to head home; I’m starting year 11 so back to school,” she said with a wry smile that may well of veiled some lament.

One thing is for certain, if things go to plan for Kimberly Birrell, next year, things may well end a day later and with a trophy.
 
#19 ·
Great article on Kim on Aceland Tennis

http://acelandtennis.com.au/news/589-long-road-ahead-but-coach-says-birrell-on-right-track.html

COACH Chris Mahony did not have to think hard about how to lift pupil Kimberly Birrell’s spirits after her Australian Open girls’ singles semi-final defeat last night.

Mahony’s words to the 15-year-old Queenslander were simple and effective.

“She was down 6-3 6-5 30-0 in the first round and she fought so hard just to get through that match and stay in the tournament,” Mahony said.

“She ended up beating a couple of girls in the top 20 and making the semi-finals and wasn’t far from taking that match into a third set there and then you never know what happens.

“It’s a real breakthrough for Kim and she’s been working so hard this year ... and you can see it all come together and she’s making good strides.

“She’s an unbelievable girl with good personal qualities, so she’s got a fantastic career ahead of her.”

Mahony is Brisbane’s National Academy manager, so he sees and works with plenty of Australia’s up-and-coming talent, and has coached Birrell for the past year.

He said Birrell, who was also a semi-finalist at last month’s Australian 18-and-under Championships, sat comfortably alongside the best of them.

“I’ve been fortunate enough to have some of the good, young teenage Australian girls and she’s right up there in her results, but also her personal qualities,” Mahony said.

“Her character is so good. You just know that’s going to give them a chance to maximise that potential, so she’s a fantastic kid and comes from a great family.

“Her dad (John) is a coach as well.

“He spent an incredible number of hours on the court with her when she was young and they’ve done a good job to raise a good player and also a quality person.”

Birrell’s backhand is her standout shot and Mahony also rates her forehand and return of serve as strengths.

Her serve is a work-in-progress, although an abdominal injury that first started bothering her in about August last year has restricted her ability to practice it.

“Her serve is improving and it’s really only been a month she’s been able to practice it properly,” Mahony said.

“She had (the injury) for a couple of months – through August, September – and she’s worked hard to rehab it and move on.

“It seems like it’s pulled up pretty well from the big load of the last three weeks in Hobart, Traralgon and AO and she’s been working hard on her mental side with Ruth Anderson, our psych.”

Three times during Birrell’s Australian Open girls’ semi-final run she came from a set and a break down to win.

She also seemed set to launch a comeback from a set and double break down in yesterday’s semi-final against Croatian Jana Fett.

Birrell recovered one of the breaks and had three further break points in the eighth game of the second set to get back on level terms, but couldn’t quite convert them.

“We saw the benefits of (her mental training) this week,” Mahony said.

“She dug herself out of many holes in several matches, so the confidence she can take in that side of her game out of this performance is huge.

“She’s been working super hard on her fitness as well and committing to get into the gym more and it was just great to see it all come together for her, because she really deserves it.”

Birrell’s best senior scalp so far is Canberra’s then world No.436 Alison Bai.

But her second-round girls’ victory was over No.3 seed Anhelina Kalinina, a Ukrainian who is ranked 341 at WTA level.

“On her given day, she’s proving she’s able to beat that level, but we all know there’s another jump from 300 up to 100 and then another jump from 100 to the top 20,” Mahony said.

“She’s 15 years old and she’s still got to go into her training block, go back to the practice court and watch some film and take the confidence, but learn some things.

“I’m confident she’s going to get there, but it just takes time, physically.

“It’s a long journey and there are not as many young teenagers dominating as there once was. It’s a physical sport now and it takes time, but she’s on the right path.”

Mahony said they were working hard to create a strong team around Birrell and relished the rare opportunity to have her family with her at the Australian Junior Open.
 
#20 ·
Philippines G1

R1: Bye
R2: def. Muramatsu 6-1 6-4
R3: def. (16)Leduc 3-6 6-4 6-4
QF: def. (5)Steffensen 6-3 6-1
SF: def. (1)Bolture 2-6 6-2 7-6(3)
F: lt. (14)Lang 6-2 7-5

Great tournament for Kim. Assuming she isn't defending any points this week her ranking should move up into the top 20.
 
#27 ·
Thanks, Ayumi, but I already know about the ban. :) The point that I was trying to make was that there are ways to try and work around a ban. And no, I'm not talking about just sitting there passively watching what other people are posting while you wait for your ban to end...

PS: My apologies for helping to hijack Kimberly's thread. I guess that I should at least try to get things back on track, so here goes... I think that her results thus far are indicative of just how big of a talent she is. In the juniors, she had the run at this year's Aussie Open, and, at the pro level, she pushed Zlochova to 3 sets on two separate occasions last year. Zuzana was singing Kim's praises after those two matches, so that is definitely saying something. I haven't watched any of her matches yet, but I did see a few seconds of her playing during the Playoff, and my impression was the same as her coach's -- Job #1 is definitely to focus on her serve. Looking forward to being able to watch her play again because the rest of her game has got to be pretty awesome in order for her to be doing as well as she is. :yeah:
 
#28 ·
This months Australian Tennis Magazine has a fantastic article about Kim
 
#38 ·
Kim plays Catherine Cartan Bellis 1st round. Haven't heard of her, but she's the 2nd seed.:(
 
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