Baptiste's early success hits a speed bump in Cincinnati Open

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6 days ago

Success doesn't always come on a schedule. It doesn't appear when we want it. Sometimes it sneaks up on us.
For example, Hailey Baptiste didn't really expect to make the fourth round of the French Open or the third round at Wimbledon this season, her best results at the majors. She made her professional debut at her hometown tournament in Washington, D.C. where she beat Madison Keys, a top-10 regular and the winner of this year's Australian Open in her very first pro match.
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Easy, right? Of course not. Baptiste is 23 now, practically a wizened veteran when the likes of 18-year-old Victoria Mboko are winning their home WTA 1000 tournament in Canada (Monday night over Naomi Osaka). And Baptiste's Monday opponent at the Cincinnati Open was 19-year-old Clervie Ngounoue, who, like Baptiste, is from Washington, D.C.
Baptiste reached her career-high ranking of 48 two weeks ago and comes here ranked No. 50 in the world. Her game has been helped immensely by her coaches, Eric Hechtman and Franklin Tiafoe, who happens to be the twin brother of Frances Tiafoe, who will also be in Cincinnati and who is ranked No. 12 in the world. It is a close-knit little family that travels and practices and eats and does just about everything together.
And proof that nothing comes easy on this tour was in stark relief Monday. Baptiste just could not make the tennis ball stay on the tennis court and Ngounoue made just about every ball fall in just the right place. Ngounoue won 6-1, 4-6, 6-1 and proved that being ranked 221 in the world does not make one an underdog, at least not in tennis.
It was Baptiste who was mostly the aggressor, hitting more aces, being more willing to try drop shots and volleys but sometimes just keeping the ball between the lines is enough. It was for Ngounoue, who was pink from head to toe (even her hair) who smartly stayed conservative, willing to win the first set on a double fault by Baptiste.
Baptiste's face could be an emoji encyclopedia. There is no guessing how she feels after every swing, just check the face. Angry, happy, frustrated, peeved, excited. And that was just after one point.
Early in the second set there was no need to look at Baptiste's face. All her emotions moved down. Shoulders slumped. Legs listless. Arms stiff. It seemed her summer of improvement took a week off but on this endless tennis loop there is always something to look forward to. And that's a good thing.
She can go back to her family and pretend Monday night didn't happen because next comes the U.S. Open. Baptiste, who wore black shorts, a black shirt, black headband and black shoes, funeral clothes almost, will take this beating and make it matter. She was willing to come to the net. That's a plus. She wasn't afraid to try drop shots. That takes courage, even when they miss.
The second set became more of a competition but, goodness, she has plenty for her coaches, her family, to work on the next couple of weeks. Franklin Tiafoe sat in the players box with his head in his hands. But only for a minute. His eyes were a calculator, processing what he was seeing, getting ready for another practice.
When Baptiste started her career with that upset over Keys on the courts in Washington where she had practiced so often, she said at the time, 'I don't really believe in magic or things like that, but it's hard to put into words what these courts and this city have meant to me and my career. With all of the familiar faces in the crowd, it's like having a home-field advantage or something. Good things just always seem to happen to me here.'
Older and maybe a little wiser, Baptiste still doesn't back down.
Behind 3-1 in the second set she sprinkled in some aces, kept going for those lines, kept Ngounoue on the move and came from 3-1 down to 3-3 and suddenly Ngounoue was rattled just a little.
A double fault to start the seventh game, followed by a tight forehand that buried itself into the net, then a wild crosscourt forehand well out and Baptiste had her first break points of the match. She didn't need any but the first one, a sliced Ngounoue forehand well long gave Baptiste her first advantage of the match, 4-3, and, yes, a smile emoji on her face. A winning smash put Baptiste ahead 5-3 and where 20 minutes earlier things seemed hopeless, suddenly they weren't. Baptiste served out the set, winning from deuce. Emoji face – relieved.
The final set of the match turned in the fourth game of the final set. Baptiste tightened up, played suddenly cautiously and Ngounoue got the break because Baptiste sprayed her forehand far and wide. And gaining that 3-1 lead seemed to free Ngounoue. She hit her third ace of the match and forced Baptiste into making a forehand error for a 4-1 lead, consolidating that crucial service break.
Ngounoue got a second break making it much easier to serve out the win, with a 5-1 lead. The 19-year-old, who shows no emotions while she plays, showed none even after the match-winning point, a forehand return hit just long by Baptiste.Emoji face? Unsuitable for a family newspaper.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Hailey Baptiste suffers upset to Clervie Ngounoue in Cincinnati Open