Karman Kaur Thandi put up a brave fight against World No. 47 Anastasija Sevastova before bowing out with a scoreline of 46 06. India is trailing by 0-2 against Latvia after the end of Day 1 action.
Karman Thandi shared her thoughts on the match. Notes below
Takeaways from the match
Playing at this level after a couple of years and also I haven’t played against a top-50 player before. It was a good first experience, especially in the first set. I was right there with her in the first set but got broken twice which made all the difference.
The first set could have gone either way. In the second set, the intensity dropped a bit from my side. She also started playing a little bit more solid. The chances she was taking with her strokes were falling in.
Overall the positives from this match – sticking up to the level in the first set. Looking forward to working on my game and developing on my physical aspects in the future.
Medical timeout. Was that the reason for the drop in the intensity?
It was not a major issue. The calf was getting a bit painful. It was not a matter of great concern. I need to work on my fitness to keep it up throughout the match. Against an experienced opponent, I need to stick to that level for a longer period of time. If I keep playing that way, the match could have gone either way.
What were your takeaways from Ostapenko match? How would you prepare to face her?
I watched a couple of games. Ankita played really well and gave her a tough fight. She is an experienced and aggressive player. Now that I’ve seen play her live, I will be a bit better prepared on how to play her tomorrow. Its the opportunities that we get, I should be there to grab them.
In the second set, the line call. What were your thoughts on it?
She hit an outball and the linesman called it out. I challenged it but the umpire called it a game already. Sometimes it happens in the match and so we can’t do much about it.
Absence of the fans. Did it help you play freely?
It only pumps me up. There is pressure but in a good way. Thats what we are playing for. I like playing in front of crowd – either side. It doesn’t matter much if the crowd is cheering for the opponent too – its fun playing in front of crowd.
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