July 28, 2018
San Jose, Calif.----- Recent San Jose State University graduate Sybille Gauvain became one of the first four players to compete on the new Mubadala Silicon Valley Classic women's tennis tournament stadium court.
Facing Anna Blinkova of Russia, ranked #101 in the world, the former Spartan led 3-2 in the second set before losing 6-0, 6-3, in a tournament singles qualifying round match at the San Jose State Tennis Complex.
"When I started, I was a little bit nervous. I was trying to put the ball in the court. The first set, I think I fought a lot. She (Blinkova) was playing pretty fast and returning (shots) very good. My serve was not that bad and my shots were fine," said Gauvain, who was a four-time All-Mountain West singles player during the 2015 through 2018 seasons.
"I tried to step it up more in the second set and it worked. When I was up in the second set, I should have focused more on my games. She's a very good player and it was a good experience."
Gauvain believed she rallied well with Blinkova throughout the 56-minute match. The slight breeze was not a factor for either player.
"At 0-2, I won the first game, I needed to win one game to be a little more into the match. At 2-1, I was feeling better about my serve and that's how I was able to win three games in a row."
With Gauvain leading 3-2 in the second set and ahead, 30-0, in the sixth game, the match turned when the Spartan returned a shot wide. Blinkova won the next four points to even the set at 3-3 and closed out the match.
"I had a very nice crowd behind me. There were a lot of people cheering for me today. It was pretty nice. I wish I could have done better. I tried to do my best," said Gauvain, who now has three professional tournaments on her resume since graduating. She plans to continue sharpening her game in preparation for tournaments later in the summer.
The Mubadala Silicon Valley Classic continues through Sunday, August 5. Morning and evening sessions begin Monday, July 30.