Tennis player Kiki Bertens hopes her matches with the Dutch national team in the Billie Jean King Cup against China this week will be a good start. The number 11 in the world rankings wants to make a good start to the season on gravel. On Friday the Nations Cup opened against Xinyu Wang in Den Bosch.
Bertens is on his way back after Achilles tendon surgery. De Wateringse has played in three tournaments since her comeback at the end of February, but has always lost her first match. “Confidence grows by winning competitions,” Bertens said. “I know training is going really well, also in the US, but I am still waiting for good results. This week has been very relaxing. We trained well, but there was also room for relaxation. That would be a positive boost if things go well. This week, I can take that with me for the rest of the dirt-court season. ”
Gravel is Bertens’ favorite surface and indicated that it suits her the most physically. Although the hard-court transition was a bit difficult, so captain Paul Harhuis couldn’t say for sure if she would play on Wednesday. There is no mystery about that now.
Pain
“This surface is also nicer for my body. I move better and I can rest my left leg a little more. I don’t play without pain, but I think the athlete never plays without pain. I have every confidence that I can completely give myself on the right track.”
Bertens also knows which position the match will be in on Friday. “I try to be as comfortable as possible and know that I shouldn’t be running a lot of things at once, even if things don’t go well in the beginning,” she said. “To talk about it on the bench and then get a thing or two that I can focus on, so I’m not busy too much with 683 things at the same time.
Bertens immediately announced in the moment of digital journalism that she wanted to think as little as possible about the negative things. She didn’t want to be reminded of last year’s Fed Cup match against Belarus. “It was very painful,” she said. “Then I won the first two games,” team captain Harhuis added. “If you can start the same way, we’re very happy with it.”
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