For that kind of success Croft believes those early competitions will be crucial. "She's got to try to get good draws, put herself up against the best in the world but mix it with lower tournaments to keep the confidence going." What kind of impression will she make on 2013? "I think she's on a roll at the moment. I think she's now a player that lots of people, if they draw her, will fear. That's what she's done, she's created that aura around herself. It's really exciting."
1) Money: Shenzhen is a 500K event, not a 235K. It makes some financial sense to go there instead.
2) Nostalgia: Asia is where she had her best run to date in Guangzhou. She might feel that the court in Shenzhen favours her more than the Aussie courts.
3) Weaker draw: The cutoff to get into Shenzhen is 102, Auckland's is in the 70s and Brisbane is a premier where most of the top 10 is playing.
Essentially, Shenzhen is where she has the greatest chance of seeing the best possible return on the investment of flying out there.
Laura down two breaks 4-1 making way too many errors. If she cleans up her game she will blow Niculescu off the court. I don't believe Niculescu has hit a winner yet.
Not to be for Laura in Shenzhen this year, too many unforced errors and she couldn't really get in a rhythm. She didn't return very well and Niculescu played smartly, keeping in the rallies with patience. Ah well, on to Hobart. 6-2 6-4
Didn't see the match but I imagine Niculescu is the sort of player to show up Laura's inexperience. It's key for Laura's coach to help her understand why her game was neutralised here so she can learn how to beat players of this type in the future.
The scoreline wasn't actually that bad, especially on Laura's serve. Her serve stats are well above what they usually are, second serve aside. She just had no clue what to do with Niculescu's serve. Normally, Laura can put pressure on her opponent with her groundstrokes on the return. But here? Nothing.
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