Monique Barry served first when she played Yilin Yan in the first round of qualifying for the women’s ITF tournament in Playford, and lost a couple of points to unforced errors before winning the game. Yan then won a great rally with a beautiful backhand volley, before completing her first game with an ace down the middle that I’m pretty sure both players felt was a fault. Yan hit a beautiful cross-court backhand winner to end a good rally on the first point of the next game, and a backhand volley from her took Barry to deuce, but the New Zealander won the good rally on the last point with a nice overhead volley. Yan was then taken to two deuces before getting the advantage after the second one with a backhand drop shot that hit the net cord and went over, and Barry overhit a cross-court forehand to gift Yan the hold.
Barry had another comfortable hold before a forehand into the net from Yan took her to 0-40. She forced Barry into an error to save the first break point, and Barry ended a good rally on the next point with a cross-court backhand into the tramlines, but trying to save a third break point proved beyond the teenager, hitting a backhand into the net to lose the game. She did the same to end a great rally in the next game before hitting a beautiful forehand return down the left sideline, but that was the only point she won. There was a different kind of drama in the next game when the umpire’s umbrella blew off its mount and landed in the court after a faulty first serve from Yan, and she went on to win the replayed point. That was false hope for her, however, as she followed that point with an unforced error, and ended the game after two deuces with the last two of three more in a row. That second break cost her the set after 35 minutes, but she would improved markedly in the second.
The second set started with the longest game of the match, Barry having to save a break point to get to a first deuce, and more break points after that and the next three deuces before finally holding serve after the fifth. The first half of the game hadn’t been anything special, but Yan hit a beautiful inside-out forehand winner to get the advantage after the third deuce, and Barry hit two beautiful forehand winners to complete the game after seven minutes. Yan hit a beautiful inside-out forehand winner on the way to holding serve next up, and they both held to love in their following games. Yan then hit a beautiful cross-court backhand winner to take Barry to deuce, but spoilt the good work with two unforced errors. Both players continued to hold serve, the highlight in the next passage of play being a beautiful forehand drop shot by Barry in the eighth game, but it was the only point she won.
She lost her serve in the next game, and unfortunately the ITF stream, which had had little conniptions earlier in the match, chose those few points to freeze up. It came back for the next game, however, where Yang broke herself to love, finishing with a double fault. Barry then held to love again, winning the great rally on the first point with a beautiful backhand winner down the line. Yan now had to hold serve to get to a tie-break, and she took the second point with a fabulous cross-court backhand winner. Barry won the good short rally on the next point with a lovely inside-out forehand winner, but two unreturnable serves from Yan completed the hold.
The tie-break looked to be over even before the first change of ends, Barry losing her first three points with unforced errors into the net, but Yan had also lost a serve when she hit a cross-court forehand into the tramlines. Her beautiful cross-court forehand volley to end a great rally on the first point after they changed ends gave her five set points, but Barry wasn’t giving up just yet. She won her first serve with a fabulous backhand drop shot, and the second by forcing Yan to hit her return over the baseline. A double fault from Yan gave away the third set point, and she lost the fourth as well to the best shot I saw during the match, a fantastic inside-out forehand return from Barry.
The serve went back to Barry in an attempt to save the last of the set points, but that proved beyond her, sending a forehand over the baseline to end the set after 50 minutes. It was an unexpected setback for the fourth seed, but the match was by no means over, and that was demonstrated immediately the final set began when Yan lost her serve with a backhand over the baseline. She did break straight back when Barry found the net with a forehand for the second time in the game, but she wouldn’t get any further. Two backhands over the baseline in the next game were followed by two double faults, and Barry consolidated that break by holding her serve to love.
More unforced errors, including a seventh double fault, cost Yan the next game, and Barry hammered home the advantage with a lovely lefty slider ace to end the next game after earlier ending a great rally with a fabulous cross-court backhand winner. That left Yan serving to stay in the match, and she looked to be well on the way at 40-15. From there, though, she couldn’t win another point, being forced to hit a forehand volley into the net before a beautiful cross-court forehand winner from Barry took them to deuce. Yan hit her next shot into the net, and her final forehand was forced there as well, ending the match after an hour and 56 minutes. The final score was 6-2, 6-7 (5), 6-1, and Barry will play Ashley Katz in the second round.