The Tribune

By JONATHAN BURROWS

Tribune Sports Reporter

jburrows@tribunemedia.net

Sydney Clarke’s first week at the W15 Maanshan Open in China ended earlier than she wanted, but the Bahamian tennis player left the tournament with another valuable lesson as she continues her push toward the WTA rankings.

Clarke, 24, was eliminated in the second round of qualifying at the tournament in Maanshan after failing to advance into the singles main draw. She also did not get into the doubles draw, bringing her first week in China to an early close.

Despite the result, Clarke said there were several positives from her matches, particularly in how she handled difficult situations that had affected her in previous tournaments.

“Week one of the tournament went well. Unfortunately, I was ousted in the second round of qualifying, but there was a lot of positives to take away from my match,” Clarke said. “I’m very glad to see and very hopeful to see how I build on that momentum.”

Clarke opened qualifying with a strong performance, saying she started with plenty of energy and remained locked in from the beginning.

Her second match took longer to settle into, but once she found her rhythm, she was able to turn the match around and put herself in position to compete.

“The second match, it took me a bit to get into a groove, but once I did find that groove, things turned around for me,” she said.

Clarke identified the key moments of the match as the deciding factor, particularly points where she needed to execute with greater consistency and make the right decisions.

“It mostly came down to a matter of making an extra ball, placement of my shots and just being able to come up with good shot selection at the right moments,” Clarke said.

Those moments included deuce points and opportunities to close out games when she held leads.

Clarke acknowledged that she sometimes became less decisive after creating an advantage, moving away from the approach that had helped her establish the lead in the first place.

“Sometimes when I would have the lead, I would not be as decisive as I was or stop doing the things that I was doing to get there,” she said.

That recognition has become part of Clarke’s development as she gains more experience at the professional level.

Rather than viewing the early exit as a setback, she believes repeated exposure to these situations will allow her to respond better when similar circumstances arise.

“I’m still proud of what I’m doing and it’s all a matter of time,” Clarke said. “Putting myself out there and continuing to grow and play these tournaments only helps me to get better.”

One of the clearest examples came during her opening match.

Clarke’s opponent took a medical timeout at a critical stage of the contest while Clarke was leading 5-2. She said the situation could have disrupted her concentration, particularly because she had previously experienced a similar situation that resulted in her losing momentum and eventually the match.

This time, Clarke responded differently.

“I made sure to stay focused and kept my mind going,” she said. “I found a way to tell myself, ‘Hey, I’ve been in this situation before. I know what to do.’”

Instead of allowing the stoppage to affect her, Clarke focused on remaining active and maintaining her energy.

“I just need to continue to be strong, go for my shots and just stay moving. Don’t sit down, don’t lose that momentum, keep that energy up,” she said.

Clarke said successfully managing that moment was an important sign of progress because of what happened in a similar situation previously.

Tennis can change quickly, and Clarke said maintaining momentum will be one of her main areas of focus as she prepares for another week of competition.

“Momentum shifts very quickly in tennis,” she said. “For next week, just working on that when I have the momentum, keeping it as long as I can.”

She understands that recovering momentum after losing it is possible, but believes taking advantage of opportunities while she has control of a match is critical.

“You’ve got to take advantage of any opportunity because one momentum shift changes the whole dynamic of the match,” Clarke said. “It changes emotions of players.”

Clarke will now turn her attention to another opportunity in China after her first week ended without a doubles appearance.

She was unable to get into the doubles draw this week but plans to try again next week.

“Unfortunately, I didn’t get into the doubles this week, so my week one wrapped up very early,” Clarke said. “I’m going to try again next week and see how it goes.”

The WTA ranking remains the primary objective for Clarke. She currently has an ITF ranking of No. 888 and is continuing to work toward earning her first WTA ranking points in singles and doubles.

“The goal is still to get the WTA ranking,” she said. “Right now, we still have an ITF ranking. I’m 888 on the ITF rankings list. But the WTA ranking is still the goal and we’re working towards it.”

Clarke remains confident that the ranking will eventually come as she continues to put herself in professional tournaments and learn from each match.

“I know that I will obtain my WTA ranking. It’s just a matter of when,” she said.

“It’s all about growth. It’s all about getting better,” she said. “Once I do the things that I need to do, I will get the results I’m looking for, but it’s just a matter of time, discipline and focus.”