Julia will play her last qualification round against Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, the current #1 Junior player. I know Anastasia very well. She prepared for the 2006 Roland Garros Junior at the Academy. She is a very dangerous and intelligent player. She has a sense of the game, strong defensive qualities and is constantly progressing. She is used to winning. Thus a very difficult match is on the horizon...it is also an important one because it represents an opportunity for Julia to once again participate in a final Grand Slam draw. This is not an end in itself but possibly the beginning of a beautiful adventure.
Julia starts off the match much tenser that during her other matches. She is not as aggressive. Anastasia notices this right away and uses it to her benefit in order to control the game. She takes the ball very early and hits hard with a minimum of errors. The level of her game is remarkable. Having worked with her, I know that she cannot maintain this level for the whole match. After winning the first set 6/3, Anastasia starts to make some errors. Julia immediately uses this to her advantage to "break" and the match inverses instantly. In fact, this break relaxes Julia, who starts hitting into the ball as she usually does. She once again dominates rallies and the score of the next two sets is clear: 6/1 6/1 in Julia's favor, aided by numerous double faults on her opponent's part. Julia qualifies for the final draw. Now we just have to see what this famous final draw has in store for her and Marcos.

The tension is building. Marcos faces a very difficult match: a duel with Gaël Monfils. The latter is an unpredictable player, capable of the best and the worst, but above all, he is a brilliant person when circumstances permit. Everything is in place for him to give his best: he is not under any pressure, has nothing to lose for he plays against last year's finalist and he is now ranked under-50. He is on a sold-out center court at night, and really wants to show the tennis world that he deserves his spot in the tournament.
Julia again faces a Russian: 20th seeded Maria Kirilenko. I watch a match that once again resembles the three preceding ones: a thundering beginning, in which Julia outclasses her opponent on every level. She loses a weak second set and their games balance out in the third. Unfortunately, the match results in a defeat for Julia 6/4 in the third set.

Julia relaxes after the match. She opens up and complains of always playing the same game. All that I have seen and heard during these past few days is a goldmine. I will be able to take Julia to the next level thanks to all of this information. She showed me very interesting things. Now I am certain that she has the capacities to accomplish great things, but many things need to be developed. Her motivation will lead me. We must simply get to work to construct her athletic future. I decide to cancel her tournament in Tokyo the following week so that she may train in Paris for two weeks. She will then participate in the GDF Open in Anvers.