Ellis takes 2nd National Doubles Title- With Partner Gabriela Coates

Annabel Ellis claimed the National 12s Doubles Title partnering Gabriela Coates of Christchurch.They defeated Chanistha AMPORNACHARIYA and Jessica SHAW 10-3 in a super third set tie break.Anna Cochrane also teamed with Michal Matson to win the Cosolation doubles event.Earlier Ellis had lost a very close semi Final against top seed Rosie Cheng 6-4 7-5. I was on hand to watch and also watched their meeting in Hamilton earlier this year which Cheng won 6-0 6-2.It was great to see the Match improvement in Annabel from then to .... today.The first six games where very evenly contested lots of deuce games but Ellis found herself down 5-1 before a few things started to go her way and fought back to 5/4.Its funny that just a couple of points a net cord or a close call that goes against you can mean the difference of winning or losing a set and thats tennis and the important thing is to keep to your game in a close set such as this,,, dont panic, just execute that little bit better.In the second set Ellis went to 4/3 and had points for 5/3 but after a very long game Cheng fought well to make it 4-4.Cheng then had a match point at 5-4 but Ellis was brave winning the point and levelling at 5 all. Cheng was mentally strong making very few unforced errors, and Annabel had a couple of lapses to lose the last two games and the match.From a coaching perspective one can take a lot of positives seeing some grinding play as well as attacking.And with losing a close match the player and coach can get a good insight on what to expect next time they meet. Watching many 12s matches over the years to win this event one has to be prepared to hit a lot of balls and Annabel certainly did this.In Hamilton there was so many cheap and unforced errors but today it was a different and improved Annabel.Losing such a close match is never easy .....But no doubt there will be more meetings not just with this player but others and these matches are so vital in the development of players.Well done Annabel.

"What we have to learn to do, we learn by doing." - Aristotle