Aussie Summer 2015-16 #13

The industrial port town of Port Pirie

It was a warm but rainy and blustery day that greeted the players for the second round of the Port Pirie singles. Not the best weather for good tennis. Greg was up against an up and coming Australian teenager, 18 year old Marc Polmans, who is one of Greg's team mates at the Kooyong Tennis Club, currently ranked 865. Polmans, who was a promising junior winning the Australian Open Junior Boys doubles title last year, is showing good form having knocked off the No.2 seed Alex Bolt in three sets. A stern challenge for Greg, still on the come-back trail.

In the howling wind Greg started well breaking Polmans in the first service games. Polmans was it to be denied though, breaking back immediately and then getting on a roll, winning five games in a row, breaking Greg another two times, to get to 5-1 up, saving two break-points along the way. Both players were struggling in the wind, Greg breaking Polmans' serve to get a break back to get to 2-5. But unperturbed Polmans proceeded to break Greg for the third time in the set, to seal the set win 5-2. Greg was doing himself no favours, serving at 40% in the set, with more double faults than aces.

Marc Polmans (pic by M.McGowan)

In the second set Greg set about righting his serve and his game, saying he was not aggressive enough in the first set trying to cope with the wind, and started hitting out more, really going for his shots. More free-flowing, his serve percentage improved and he held serve for the first time and broke Polmans early, to lead 3-1. His improvement continued, despite the wind, and he held serve more comfortably and then broke Polmans a second time to secure the set 6-3, and give himself a chance in the match at one set all.
In the third his improvement continued, but Polmans picked up as well, games going to 3-3, then 4-4 on serve. Greg then saw himself staring down three break points against him when, as he put it, two shanks returns by Polmans off good serves, followed by a bad smash in the wind turned his luck. He saved the first break point but another errant smash in the wind off a high recovery lob by Polmans, saw Greg drop serve at a crucial time, to allow Polmans to serve for the set at 5-3.
Greg fought back, getting to 30-30 but Polmans serve held firm, winning the game and the set 6-4, wrapping up a long two and a hour match 6-1, 3-6, 6-4.
Greg was naturally disappointed. He had taken too long time to adapt to the conditions on his serve in the first set, had served poorly for that set and given the advantage to his younger opponent. He fought back well but the damage had been done and Polmans came through on the day, progressing further the next day to the semi-final, beating Andrew Whittington, another Kooyong member 6-2, 6-3. He was joined in the semis by Greg's mate Kiwi Rubin Statham, yet another Kooyong player. 
Its on to the tournament next week for Greg , to be held in the Victorian country side town of Mildura, miles away from anywhere again.