US Summer Tour 2010 Day 23
Benny Lin
Founder & Academy Director
US Summer Tour 2010 Day 23
Posted at : August 02, 2010
Happy 14th birthday to Michelle Lo. I guess her birthday brought her luck because she won both singles and doubles at Lakewood Championship. In her singles match, she played an aggressive baseliner but Michelle was too solid for her opponent. She got some problem in the first set but mostly because of her mental (too tired, played too many matches). She looked a bit lethargic but her game picked up after a few games, mostly because of her fighting spirit and desire to win.
Wallace was simply too tired mentally. He didn’t perform as good as he could, and I could see it was because he was tired, not only physically but mentally. Mentally there was no driving force to push him to play better today. Nevertheless, credits must be given to his opponent who played smartly against Wallace by patiently keeping the balls back and wait for his chances. Wallace played a lot of matches and he did well in this tour. Not only he improved his game but he also gained a lot of invaluable match experience.
The day however belongs to Alastair and Matthew Wong Ming Hin for winning the U14 doubles. The match went to the last super tiebreak of 16-14. Everyone who watched the match was so nervous (more nervous than the players) but I have to take my head off to Alastair and Matthew for being able to perform under pressure. I must say that they were down a few match points but they kept their head cool and clear which was a big, big surprise to me. They were able to come up with some good play as well during important points, especially from Matthew who was able to keep a lot of balls during big points. Both kids did really well and I am proud of them. Regardless the result today, I see them as winners because of their fighting spirit and fearless attitude.
Tomorrow I will take the kids to visit Advantage Tennis Academy to see their facility, programs and meet their coaches. It’s going to be a unique experience for the kids.
This tour has been very fruitful for everyone involved. As I promised the kids have improved their game significantly (consciously or subconsciously) and they learned a lot of life skills and I know they will go home as better tennis players and more mature and independents kids.
This will be my last report from LA. Thank you for reading my reports and I will see you back in Hong Kong.
Pictures have been uploaded on my facebook (Ben Lin).