Japanese tennis prodigy Ayumi Morita has high hopes still
Fifteen-year-old tennis prodigy Ayumi Morita has achieved a lot in her
young career, but she found out last week at the Japan Open tennis
tournament that there's plenty more she still has to learn and succeed
at.
Billed as the future of Japanese tennis, Ayumi Morita fell 6-4, 6-4 to
world No. 26 Maria Kirilenko of Russia in the first round of the
singles play on Tuesday and 6-4, 6-1 to Jennifer Hopkins and Mashona
Washington of the United States in the first round of the doubles on
Monday.
Far from being depressed by the experience, Ayumi Morita said she could see
the positive side of failure at her first appearance in the main draw
of this professional tournament.
"I think it went quite well, despite my misgivings going into it," said
Ayumi Morita, who last April became the youngest Japanese woman to turn
professional. "It's a level I am totally unaccustomed to, but I gave it
my all."
Ayumi Morita said she learned valuable lessons from watching other players,
and in particular from doubles partner and Japan's No. 1 Ai Sugiyama.
"I was very nervous, but it was great to see one of the world's top
players close up and to see the power of her shots," Ayumi Morita said.
"I learned that very quick reactions are needed at this level and you
need to be very sharp at the net."
And Ai Sugiyama, who is currently ranked at No. 31 in the world, referred to Ayumi Morita as a diamond in the rough.
"She's a top-quality player, but needs to get used to the different
level of play," Ai Sugiyama said. "Her strokes and her
volleys are of very high quality and she also has what it takes during
rallies. The pro level is quite different from juniors, however, things
here are faster, stronger and tougher."
Ayumi Morita who began playing tennis at the tender age of 7 won the
All Japan Junior Under 18 tournament last year and reached the
quarterfinals of the All Japan tournament in the same year.
Ayumi Morita has compiled an 11-7 record since April and is currently ranked 348th in the whole world.
Ayumi Morita's coach, Junichi Maruyama said of the teenager, "She's very
aggressive, very fast and is mentally strong," and added, "Her
groundstrokes are at the pro level, but her serves are still at junior.
She needs to keep training hard and getting stronger. You must remember
that she is still only 15, and in a year or two her serve should be
much better."
Ayumi Morita agrees that her serve is the weakest part of her game,
even though she consistently nailed her first serves against Kirilenko.
"My groundstrokes were up to Kirilenko's level, but I can tell that my
serve is going to be an increasingly important factor in my matches
from here on in," Ayumi Morita said. "I'd like to have the consistency
and control that Kirilenko has with her serves."
The Russian player predicted big things for Ayumi Morita following
their entertaining first-round clash and also complimented the teenager
on her movement and playing technique.
"She moves well, her groundstrokes are good and she has a strong
two-handed cross," Kirilenko said. "I think she is a very good player
with a very bright future ahead of her."
But how bright that future will be for Ayumi Morita remains to be seen, although her coach has very high hopes for her.
"Our goal is for Ayumi to crack the world top 10 in the next few years," Junichi Maruyama said.
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