Irina Falconi’s US Open dream ended on Friday … but you couldn’t tell during her post-match press conference. She was calm, cool, and collected, just as she was during her match, despite the fact that she lost 6–0, 6–1 in under an hour.
“It was just a matter of execution. I didn’t execute today and she was just the better player today. At the end of the day, tennis consists of two things, matchups and execution. Today, the matchup wasn’t perfect, and she executed and I didn’t. That will result in a 50-minute match.”
On Wednesday, after a thrilling upset victory at Arther Ashe Stadium against Dominika Cibulkova, she was holding court in Interview Room one, all the world hanging on her every word. As the reporters left to file their stories, she could have run off to celebrate with her coaches, but instead, she was focusing on her next match.
“Right after that match, I was already thinking, ‘I’ve got Lisicki next.’ I wasn’t thinking, ‘Oh my gosh! This is so cool!’”
It is that type of focus and discipline that she learned from Georgia Tech tennis coach, Bryan Shelton. Falconi had not planned to go to college right away. After losing a match 6–0, 0–6, 6–0 to a college player, she called her mother and told her she wanted to go to college. She emailed Shelton, was assured a spot on the team and enrolled that fall.
She thrived in college tennis, earning All-American honors as a freshman and was ranked the number one player during the 2009-2010 season. She won an ACC title with her team, dubbing the feat her best moment in college.
It was at the end of that season she realized it was finally time to turn pro, a decision she did not take lightly. “Turning pro was one of the most excruciating and stressful decisions I have ever made in my life.”
She said she lost sleep over it, not because she didn’t believe in herself, but because of the phone call she would have to make to her coach. “To tell him, ‘I am not coming back next year. I believe in my tennis so much that I am going to go ahead and stop my education and turn pro—it’s easier said than done.”
After her showing here at the US Open, she has no regrets, as she shouldn’t. Her two years in college gave her the experience she needed to have not only a well-rounded game on the court, but a level head off the court and in the interview room.
A reporter asked her what the headline for her magical ride this week should be. She paused, as she did before every answer, calculating what she would say. “Hurricane Irina has left the building.” The press room roared with laughter, as she smiled, having forgotten about her loss just like the rest of us.
“Hurricane Irina” will be back next year, but we should anticipate a direct hit this time. Someone tell Bloomberg to keep the 7 train running this time
More on the US Open: http://ept.ms/usopen11
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