Ankita Raina lost a tight match to WTA #47 Anastasija Sevastova 0-6 6-7 in the 3rd rubber of the BJK Cup World Group Playoffs against Latvia. She shares her thoughts on the match and the tie below :
Thoughts on the match today
It was a solid first set from Anastasija. I knew that I had to play more solid than yesterday. I did that in the 2nd set, where I had some opportunities. I could have been more aggressive when I had chances to close the set. The atmosphere has been good. Even in these tough times, it has been nice to be able to play the World Group Playoffs. We were really happy to be here
On her strategy of keeping the ball in and waiting for the error from the opponent
That’s my strength and I need to play to my strengths. Like I’ve said in the past, playing for your country is a whole different ball game. You have a lot of added responsibility. It’s not like any other event we play on the Tour. There were analyses and learnings from the Ostapenko match yesterday. I tried to implement them today but it took the first set for me to implement them. Anastasija didn’t give me too many free points either. I told myself “I have nothing to lose” in the 2nd set.
On things that went wrong in the 1st set
The plan was to take a lead or to be close. There were no free points from her in the 1st set. I could have done better for sure, which I did in the 2nd set. It’s something that I will take to my next match.
Comparison of level between Ostapenko match & Sevastova match
The match was up and down yesterday. I made a lot of errors in the first, giving the point away in the first or the second ball itself. Today, in the 2nd set, it was much more solid. But I also felt that I should have been more aggressive. There were a few points where I could have adjusted and adapted to the situation better.
