With spunk and fire, rising tennis star Daria Gavrilova is set to rule Aussie hearts
As I was watching Daria Gavrilova’s second round match against the two-time Wimbledon winner Petra Kvitova at the 2016 Australian Open, my attention was drawn to a very interesting comment from the commentator about the young Aussie.
“She is like a good bottle of champagne, the more the bubbles, the better.”
True to the above words, the 21-year-old Russian-turned-Australian is a bundle of energy, bubbling with vivacity, and possesses a fiery spirit that sets her apart from the girls of her generation. It is thus no wonder that within a few days of becoming a naturalized Australian citizen, the 166 cm tall dynamo has already endeared herself to the Aussie crowd. They keep coming in large numbers to root vociferously for their favourite ‘Dasha’, as the 39th ranked Gavrilova is popularly called.
For a nation whose top female singles player, Samantha Stosur, fails to live up to their expectations time and again, they have found a new hero. Unlike their supremely talented upcoming male star Nick Kyrgios’ countless controversies, Gavrilova is someone with an affable personality and one who is hitting the headlines for all the right reasons.
One of those reasons is definitely her well-rounded game. She has partly modeled herself on Kim Clijsters’ game, the four-time Grand Slam champion, and her brand of tennis constitutes mostly of aggressive counter-punching. With a fluid movement on the court, she can effortlessly convert defense into offense whenever needed.
Her ability to put a lot of balls back into her opponents’ court came in handy against the attacking players like Kvitova, and the 28th seeded Kristina Mladenovic, this week at the season’s first Slam. Both became her victims as she tired them out with her relentless returning, eventually forcing them into submission.
The match against Mladenovic especially was a humdinger. The two were contemporaries in juniors, but the Frenchwoman has since had more experience on the senior circuit. Yet, Gavrilova seemed unfazed. One round after toppling the sixth seeded Kvitova, the Aussie seemed far from done in this tournament!
The third round of a Slam was previously an uncharted territory for her, yet she fought like a true warrior and seemed so much like a seasoned big-match performer. She feasted on Mladenovic’s second serve returns, pouncing on them like a lioness, which left the Frenchwoman with no answer.
Wearing her heart on her sleeve, the 2010 junior US Open champion survived the 2 hours 51 minutes epic, which thoroughly tested the youngster’s endurance and desire to win. It is this insatiable hunger for victory that was visible during the 2016 Hopman Cup final, when she saved five set points in the second set, against the higher-ranked Elina Svitolina.
Alongside Kyrgios, she brought her new country the Hopman Cup title after a gap of 17 years. The mixed doubles tournament had a spectacular exhibition of Gavrilova’s fighting skills and even when she did not win, her tenacity and guts became the talk of the town.
The youngster burst into the spotlight last year after recovering from a torn ACL in 2014. The time away from the sport certainly made her fitter and stronger, and a rejuvenated Gavrilova returned to take the Tour by storm. In 2015, she was the brightest young talent to watch on the WTA circuit with confidence-boosting triumphs over Maria Sharapova, Ana Ivanovic, Lucie Safarova and Belinda Bencic.
The ranking, quite naturally, soared and she made a jump of 197 spots in the span of a year, making her the obvious choice for WTA’s ‘Newcomer of the Year’ award.
Admiration for this spunky girl is now not just limited in her fans’ circle anymore, even experts are openly endorsing her. This week, the legendary 24-time Major winner Margaret Court heaped effusive praise on her during a tv interview. “She could be up in the top 10. She seems to be enjoying it and that's the main thing”, Court said.
There’s so much to love about Gavrilova and it is not just about her tennis. Her shushing of the crowd, when they were cheering Mladenovic’s double faults during their third round match, stands testimony to what a classy individual she is.
Daria Gavrilova’s popularity is undoubtedly rising every day, more so as Aussie fans see shades of Lleyton Hewitt in her. With the former World No. 1 retiring earlier this week, Aussies are looking up to this Moscow-born Melbournian, whose firepower resembles Hewitt’s ferocity and the never-say-die attitude.
Much like the two-time Grand Slam champion, this Nicole Pratt-coached girl doesn’t have any stage fright, rather it brings out the best in her. She is not unnerved by the attention she is getting, instead she is only channelizing it positively.
“I get a bit of attention now. I don’t mind it to be honest. I love the crowd, and I love to put on a show,” the 21-year-old, who has been living Down Under for four years, has revealed in a recent interview.
Her growing brigade of fans will hope that she is able to put on another show as she will be up against the dogged resistance of the tenth seeded Carla Suarez Navarro in the fourth round on Sunday. Whatever that outcome is, Gavrilova is sure to be a permanent feature in the latter stages of elite tournaments pretty soon, and she seems to be the perfect successor to carry forward Australian tennis’ rich legacy.
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