3 minute read
Storm Sanders couldn't keep up her dazzling start against Elise Mertens on her French Open debut but it's given her a taste for life among the tennis elite.
Her hurricane start may have eventually dwindled into the faintest breeze as she was swept out of the French Open - but Rockhampton's latest tennis rocket has promised us that we're not at the end of the Storm.
"I hope everyone can keep following my journey. I want to keep going. This isn't the end; this is the start," reckoned Storm Sanders, still beaming away after her adventures in Roland Garros wonderland were dismantled by Elise Mertens on Monday.
She eventually went down 6-4 6-1 to the Belgian 14th seed on her overseas grand slam debut - but for half an hour, she gave a top-20 class act the runaround, smacking at least half a dozen unstoppable early winners which persuades her she can live with the best.
Mertens had started slowly, having evidently been distracted by having to black out a sponsor's logo on her visor with a marker pen.
Yet once she'd experienced the gale force across the net, she began to mix up her game, particularly employing high, looping groundstrokes to increasingly take control.
If anything, Sanders was guilty of trying to force the issue as she ended up making 37 unforced errors, many stemming from her attacking too ambitiously.
"But being 4-1 up (in the opening set) just shows that if I'm playing well and super clear with my game, I can definitely match it with the best," said Sanders.
"I'm definitely disappointed. I felt like I definitely had a lot of opportunities, especially in the first set. I came out playing really well, being aggressive.
"I want to keep playing these girls and challenge myself and try and get better. You can only get better if you're having these opportunities and these experiences.
"It's been an awesome experience.I've been here 10 days now and qualifying for the French Open was an amazing achievement for me.
"But I'm still hungry. I want to keep feeling this. I want to be playing main draws of slams. For me, it's given me this extra motivation that hopefully by the US Open, I'm in the main draw on my own ranking.
"That would be a huge goal for me," added Sanders, who'll find herself in the world's top 150 for the first time next week.
She had told AAP before the match that she hoped to make Australia and Rockhampton proud.
Did she think she had achieved that?
"I hope so. I gave everything out there," she smiled.
"I don't give up. I've got heaps of messages from home. Everyone is super proud of me."
