Having lost to southpaw Angelique Kerber twice in Australia last month – in Brisbane and the Australian Open - American Madison Brengle will meet another top 10 lefty Petra Kvitova in the second round of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships after brushing aside Ekaterina Makarova, another southpaw, in the opening round on Monday.
Read more: Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships: The National's full coverage
Trailing 4-0 in the second set after winning the first 6-4, Brengle turned the tables following a chat with her coach Julie Coin, winning seven of the next eight games for a 6-4, 7-5 win.
How did you make such a great comeback in the second set?
Well, I called my coach out when I was down 4-1, and she just basically said to just keep it simple and get your legs going again. That’s what was working well for me in the first.
I was moving my legs well and I thought I maybe got a little too stiff to start the second. When I picked up my footwork, everything started working well again.
Is that your mom?
No, that’s Julie Coin. She finished playing end of last year, and as soon as she told me that she wanted to stop playing, the first question out of my mouth was, ‘Do you want to come travel with me?’.
We are working together. It’s really good.
First time in the main draw here in Dubai? What’s your impression like of the tournament and the conditions as well?
It was a little windy today, but it’s a great tournament. The stadium court is beautiful. I got to hit on it the first time this morning. It’s nice.
I like how everything is set up with the courts and the grass area to warm up. It’s really nice.
Have you done anything fun here in Dubai? Gone to see anything?
We went to the Dubai Mall. As someone who loves to shop, that was cool. We went to see a movie there. It was fun.
What movie?
How To Be Single. It was like a fun one to see for Valentine’s Day.
You have Petra Kvitova next. How do you look at that match?
Lefties. I played Angelique Kerber twice in Australia and I’m playing all the lefties [Ekaterina Makarova is also a lefty].
Kvitova is a very, very tough player and the serve, it’s tough. She hits the ball big. We played on the clay court last time so it’s different. Yeah, I will do my best.
I will try and keep my legs going with me the whole time.
arizvi@thenational.ae
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