MUBADALA Silicon Valley Classic, San Jose USA
[91] Marie Bouzkova (CZE) vs. [636] Coco Vandeweghe (USA)
September 2018 was the last time Vandeweghe played a singles WTA match prior to last night. The American has had issues with her ankle/foot in the past but this time it serious and potentially career ending. The injury showed in her match results, as she lost in the first round in eight consecutive tournaments. Finally, when the pain was unbearable, she opted to step away and address the problem.
Vandeweghe’s 1st match post ankle injury
No surgery was required; however, extensive rehabilitation was necessary and it took some time to heal. Yet, watching her match last night, one would not have known she had not played on the WTA tour for ten months. She looked fit and was moving just as well as she did prior to her foot injury. The rust was evident, but nothing physical, mostly it was expressed in mental lapses. After taking the lead, she could not consolidate as a slew of errors flew off her racquet.
It’s never easy coming back from an injury; it’s perhaps even more difficult when your ranking has dropped so precipitously that you can no longer get direct entry into the main draw of tournaments. Of course, you can use your protected ranking status, but most players like to save those for the bigger tournaments. Fortunately for Vandeweghe, she was gifted a wild card at this tournament and looks like she is making good use of it.
Match stats for Vandeweghe
In the first set, the American saved all four break points against her serve and broke twice to win the set 6-2. While her first serve percentage could have been higher, she won seventy-two percent of her first serves and sixty percent of her second serves. Things got a little more complicated in the second set; her first serve percentage fell below fifty percent and she won only forty-seven percent of her second serves. Thus, it was no surprise that she was broken; however, she regained her focus and the second time around she consolidated the break to win the match 6-2, 6-4.
SOURCE OF IMAGES: serveandrally originals
