Storm Sanders stayed calm and carried on as she continued her hot run, surging into the Australian Open Wildcard Play-Off semifinals with another straight sets victory at Melbourne Park.
Sanders has made a remarkable return to singles in recent months and is now within two wins of a place in the Australian Open main draw after her classy 6-2 6-3 win over Destanee Aiava in Thursday’s Play-Off quarterfinals.
The 25-year-old West Australian will now take on Abbie Myers in Saturday’s semis.
Sanders told emageogroup.com she was feeling good after getting through her blockbuster quarterfinal against the powerful Aiava.
“The score probably didn’t show how tough it was,” Sanders said. “The conditions were windy. She definitely hit the ball big so it was quite physical as well.
“I knew that she was going to be able to take control of the points early with her serve and return so I just had to really hit my spots on serve and just try and return deep and, if I had the chance, try and get on the front foot first and if I couldn’t do that, just stay in the point and try and give her no angle and not too many short balls to put away. I was able to just stay tough.”
Sanders said the straight sets result gave her confidence, but she was not thinking too far ahead.
Having had a tight tussle with the big-hitting Myers in the past, Sanders is expecting another hard match come Saturday.
“It’s more probably those tough moments, just staying tough and not getting too tight and nervous when it’s getting close and backing myself,” Sanders said. “Just making the right decisions under pressure, which I think I’ve been doing pretty well. It’s reaffirming that I’m doing the right things on court.
“I think that’s probably one of the biggest things that’s changed since coming back from not playing singles for two years, is staying in the moment and not thinking about the end result or what will happen if you win or lose. If you lose your serve, it’s not the end of the world.
“That has definitely helped me, just being calm and focusing on my breathing. I’m actually trying not to think about the Australian Open spot. I’m just focusing on playing my next opponent. This week it’s just being able to get more matches and get that singles experience again. I’m aware there is a massive carrot at the end of that. Maybe on Saturday I’ll be a bit more nervous.”
Sanders’ strong return has not gone unnoticed.
“I’ve had a lot of messages of support over the last month really, just coming back,” she said. “I have felt a lot of love, which is really nice. I’m enjoying it and I hope people enjoy watching me play as well, so it’s been good.”
Earlier, Maddy Inglis went down 6-3 6-2 to Belinda Woolcock in her quarterfinal.