ELENA JOHNSON battled illness to ensure she remains in the top 20 of the national rankings.
The Sarnian star reached the quarter-finals of the Wimbledon Challenger singles competition and hopes that may even be enough to improve on her current 18th position.
‘Having been ill this week I was concerned that I may struggle to cope physically in a tournament,’ Johnson said.
‘I felt fine on the morning of the event but as the first match got under way I became very aware that I wasn’t 100%. I made the decision to continue playing because pulling out would cause my ranking to slip.’
In the first round Johnson was drawn against Cristen Callow, of the Isle of Man.
Callow won singles bronze at the Island Games in Aland and has started to climb the national rankings in a bid to qualify for the Commonwealth Games. She is currently No. 27.
‘Luckily, I was in control throughout the match and rallies were not lasting too long,’ Johnson (pictured) said.
‘I won the match 21-14, 21-12, which was fairly comfortable but the match took a lot more out of me than it usually would.’
In the next round the Sarnian met Miriam Beales, who is ranked 28 nationally.
‘Although I am ranked 10 places above her, we are of a similar standard and have had similar results so I was anticipating a tight match,’ said Johnson.
‘I felt much better from the start of this match and was managing to win long rallies, which boosted my confidence.
‘I just managed to take the first game 21-19, after which her head dropped and she started making unforced errors. I won the second game 21-15.’
However, the Guernsey player’s run came to an end in the quarter-finals as she was knocked out by junior international Munn Tzin Bong.
‘She was a very deceptive player, which meant that I was seeing the shuttle late and giving her time,’ Johnson said.
‘The pace of the game was quicker than the previous games.
‘I have worked hard on improving my endurance so now I need to work on injecting more pace.’
Johnson and regular partner Kate Lester were seeded three/four in the doubles, but were forced to pull out after the player from Leicestershire was rushed to hospital to have her appendix out.Wimbledon Challenger event: Sarnian reaches singles quarter-finals despite not being 100%
Article posted on 13th November, 2009 - 2.29pm
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