R2: Rollercoaster for Rowan against Hana

Rowan : It’s actually very difficult to play Hannah. It’s as if you’re playing your sister, and I felt the tension throughout the entire match. I want to win, she wants to win, and I think that’s what makes it tricky.

I had a game plan in mind and I was just trying to commit to it, to get everything else out of my head. Sometimes it worked and in other patches it didn’t. But I’m glad I held on until the end of the match.

Overall, I think I did pretty well. In the second game there were patches where I just tried to win quickly and overdid the short game. But other than that, I’m really happy with how it went today.

Logically, I’m playing Amina Orfi if we go according to seedings. I’ve played her a couple of times, but she’s a different player now from the one I played a year ago. I’m playing the world number one, so I really have to be up for it, and it’s never going to be an easy match. The pressure isn’t on me, though, so I just want to see where my level is now.

I’ve put in a good patch of work over the summer and I feel I’m slowly getting back to where I want to be. It’s a process, and I really need to be patient. I’ve been having doubts, obviously. It’s never easy coming back, and the doubts are always there. It’s really good to play a couple of good matches and see what I need to work on and what has improved over the summer. I believe I still have a lot of work to do. It’s good that I can play these matches on these stages again.