Oziera's Corner - April Wins

On Monday, April 26, 2021 Oziera won the Chapel Hill National L5 USTA Junior Championship 18s singles!  She is now ranked 78 for USTA National Juniors 16s which is BEFORE this most recent win.  

Coach Laury Hammel reports:

On Sunday, April 11, 2021 Oziera had one of the biggest days of her young life.  Oziera won the USTA New England Indoor Championships for the Girls 16's for the second year in a row!  She has now won three of the last four New England Level III Championships--

June of 2019--New England Outdoor Sectional Championships in Girls 14's February 2020--New England Indoor Sectional Championships for Girl's 16's  April 2021--New England Indoor Sectional Championships for Girl's 16's.  

She returned from her latest trip to North Carolina a far superior tennis player who was playing terrific defense and spectacular offense.  On Saturday, in the first round she overwhelmed her opponent 0,1.  In the quarterfinals she finished off her adversary quickly with a score of 1,2--this was a quality player and earned her another important win!  

In the semi-finals on Sunday, she faced the number one seed Lauren Zhang. Oziera completely dominated the match from beginning to end.  It could easily have been 1,0, but Oziera lost her concentration just a little bit and ended up winning 1,2. Oziera did all the right strategies and during the whole match she did many amazing things.  It was a blast to watch her display her wide variety of talents and skills.  I can only say WOW!

In the finals she played the most improved player in NE (outside of Oziera), Lane Durkin! Lane's hard work has obviously paid off as she reached her first finals in a Level III or Level IV.  The match began with Oziera on fire and winning the first set easily 6-0.  In a word, Oziera played awesome.   Then Lane began playing better and Oziera forgot to hit high balls and the match quickly turned around as Lane was hitting 2-3 winners a game off of Oziera's relatively low balls.  Between sets I explained to her that she needed to hit higher and be ready to be more offensive with her TSFH.   She then proceeded to go up 5-3 doing the right thing. Then she got nervous and stopped hitting aggressively.  With the score knotted at 5-5 in the third set, Ozier served big and hit big forehands and won the game handily. The final game Lane made four unforced errors to end a terrific battle.  

Here is the good news in terms of Oziera's progress:

*Her topspin groundies were high and heavy with terrific spin

*She chased down a ton of great shots and ended up winning most of the points when she was scrambling.  

*Her backhand topspin and slice were both remarkable and were both defensive and offensive winning her many points.  

*Her TSFH was amazing and she hit a ton of winners after setting up the point and got a short ball. Her IO FH was particularly devastating.  

*Her volleys were decisive and well-placed.  

*Her serve was strong and set up many points and won her several free points in critical games.  

*Her attitude was excellent and she was mentally tough.  

*She learned a lot and developed more confidence in her ability to play more aggressively with better offense.  

*She earned this tournament and she played awesome!   

Thanks to Mike for the excellent coaching by Mike and his team. Thanks so much for the support from Phil, Tim, Dawn, and Advantage kids.  

Go Oziera!

Laury