British Tennis Forum - Celebrating 20 Years!

the addict wrote:

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L16:-Emily Appleton (GBR) / Dalayna Hewitt (USA) CR230 (98+132) [1] def Katy Dunne (GBR) / Lily Miyazaki (GBR) UNR (UNR/CH=135 + 420) 6-4 3-6 10-5

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QF:-Emily Appleton (GBR) / Dalayna Hewitt (USA) CR230 (98+132) [1] v Sayaka Ishii (JPN) / Mio Mushika (JPN) CR2461 (1607+854)

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 Emily & Dalayna lost, 7-5 6-3

foobarbaz wrote:

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Katie won 6-3 6-7(4) 6-3. Swan played so well, very controlled tennis against the big serving / big hitting American. First set Katie broke for 3-1, then Hewitt went down like a sack of spuds, the parasols flew onto the court, and Katie took the set. Second set an early lead for Swan, and Hewitt's footwork was letting her down. Then the American start playing more aggressively, really unloading and it was working. The rallies were shorter and Swan's advantage was reduced. Clutch serving from Swan kept parity in the set, and then it was a tie break. Katie fell behind and then got it back to 4-5, but two double faults during the tiebreak proved to be her undoing. Swan went off-court at the break, and came back even more focused. Held serve, broke Hewitt, and then crucially held serve again. Hewitt was hitting aces for fun, and you'd have thought that Katie would feel the pressure, but she didn't panic, and in winning her service games closed out the match. There were a few back stretches towards the end, and it probably was an issue because the 1st serve wasn't firing so well from the middle of the 2nd set onwards, but Swan battled through it and put in some good serving at the end. The match point was an extended rally, and Hewitt ended up on the deck again, this time defeated. This was a good win, make no mistake. Hewitt is a bit of a beast, and the serve is very potent.

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 Thanks for the report  I was watching until midway through the 2nd set and Hewitt was firing bomb after bomb at Katie, and it's like you say, Katie just seemed so calm. I had to eventually give in to sleep but feared the result I'd wake up to so, it's amazed me. Well don Katie 

indiana wrote:

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Good to see Katie come through and thanks very much for the report. I do note that 25 yo Hewitt's highest singles ranking is CH 383 from 2024 ( currently WR 624 ) so how impressive a win was it?    I admit I haven't delved further into Hewitt's history other than the big serving and WR/CH 132 doubles ranking.

Also a slight worry to hear of back stretches again after apparently all-clear previous matches recently. I know someone did suggest she have this week off but given she had fairly short matches in her title run last week and seemingly fit and well, tbf it did indeed seem perfectly fair enough to play here. Hope all will be well here and she can find a good level moving on this week.

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 If I had a back problem and a health care professional had prescribed back stretches for it then I would try to remember to do them before the problem recurred so we might be optimistic about them this time.

 

And yes, I am aware of the curse of the commentator so she will probably wake up tomorrow in a state where she has to withdraw. Fingers crossed.

indiana wrote:

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Good to see Katie come through and thanks very much for the report. I do note that 25 yo Hewitt's highest singles ranking is CH 383 from 2024 ( currently WR 624 ) so how impressive a win was it?    I admit I haven't delved further into Hewitt's history other than the big serving and WR/CH 132 doubles ranking.

Also a slight worry to hear of back stretches again after apparently all-clear previous matches recently. I know someone did suggest she have this week off but given she had fairly short matches in her title run last week and seemingly fit and well, tbf it did indeed seem perfectly fair enough to play here. Hope all will be well here and she can find a good level moving on this week.

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 Yes, I would tend to agree it's a bit confusing Hewitt's ranking, certainly based on yesterday's play. I note that Hewitt has played predominantly on hard court the last year, and also quite a number of W100 tournaments. The fast carpet courts in Kurume seem to suit her game, just as they do Swan's. Perhaps her big hitting isn't as effective on the slower hard courts, but also there seemed to be a distinct shift in intensity yesterday in the middle of the 2nd set. It was almost a case of oh well, probably gonna lose so might as well go out all guns blazing. That to me suggests an application issue. She was quite languid early on, relying on the big serve, and not quick enough to the ball when it was returned. The forehand in particular was quite loose. Things changed when she decided to go for it, the serve became stronger, the forehand more effective, and she played more to her potential. Of course, we'd need to balance that with any slight drop in Katie's level, at the same point in the match.

Stand down, Katie won 6-4 6-4 in a nice 1hr 36. Normal service is resumed and I'm pretty sure that's her MDWC sewn up now.

-- Edited by emmsie69 on Friday 15th of May 2026 05:21:44 AM

Great news to wake up to. Watching on replay now. First set in the bag. Both players similar style of play, Saito's serve, especially the 2nd serve is much more to Swan's liking. Katie playing some sparkling tennis, turning defence into attack. Not sure that Saito's footwear is helping her, seems way little grip and several times she collapsed on the shot. Plenty of winners from both players, and difficult to hold serve. Katie finding a strong service game at just the right time to take the 1st set.

emmsie69 wrote:

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Stand down, Katie won 6-4 6-4 in a nice 1hr 36. Normal service is resumed and I'm pretty sure that's her MDWC sewn up now.

-- Edited by emmsie69 on Friday 15th of May 2026 05:21:44 AM

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 Yippee, more great news!