Udvardy cites influence of big sister Panna as SW19 journey continues
Before and after every match she plays, Hungary’s Luca Udvardy phones her big sister – and whatever advice Panna, who is currently ranked No. 100 in the world rankings, is serving up it is certainly working.
Despite allowing a flurry of match points to slip from her grasp, No. 7 seed Udvardy secured her place in the quarter-finals of the Junior Championships, Wimbledon with a 6-4 7-6(3) triumph over Canada’s Annabelle Xu.
Victory also ensured that the 16-year-old is the first girl from Hungary to reach the last eight at Wimbledon since Timea Babos and Zsofia Susanyi more than a decade ago in 2009.
Given the seven-year age difference, Luca insists there has never been any sibling rivalry with her sister, who reached the second round of the women's draw here. However, should a game of Junior Grand Slam Top Trumps ever unfold, Luca certainly has the edge.
Panna twice reached the second round at a Junior Grand Slam, although Luca believes her sister’s readily-available nurturing is a major factor in her ongoing success on the grass of Wimbledon.
“Panna always helps me and we always speak before and after my matches,” Udvardy, who competed for Hungary at the 2021 Junior Billie Jean King Cup by BNP Paribas Finals in Antalya, told itftennis.com.
“She gives me tips and tells my everything that I need to do, she shows me the way. She has already been here and played the Grand Slams, so she is a really good idol for me.
“I had never played on grass until a few weeks ago and Panna told me the slice is important and that I need to stay low. Today, she didn’t know my opponent well, so just told me to focus on court, give everything that I have and focus point by point.
“That’s exactly what I did and I am really happy. It was a tough match. I am still a bit shocked that it was such a long match as I had so many match points. I was a bit nervous when match points came and went but I was just thinking, ‘next point’.
“I always want to show my best tennis at big tournaments and given I am the seventh seed, I really wanted to get to the quarter-finals. Now, however, I don’t want to stop.”
Udvardy will draw swords with No. 3 seed Nikola Bartunkova of Czech Republic for a place in the semi-finals. Bartunkova, who also competed at the 2021 Junior Billie Jean King Cup Finals and was part of the victorious Czech Republic team, sealed her place in the last eight with victory over Rose Marie Nijkamp of the Netherlands.
Elsewhere, No. 1 seed Liv Hovde survived a huge scare against Kayla Cross and was forced to fight back from a set down, while for large parts of the second set it looked as though the Canadian would prevail. Hovde eventually navigated the clash 4-6 7-5 6-4.
Hovde now faces Ella Seidel in the quarter-finals following the German’s 7-5 6-4 triumph over qualifier Yu-Yun Li of Chinese Taipei, while there were also wins for South Africa’s Isabella Kruger and Victoria Mboko of Canada.
Those two will now go head-to-head for a place in the last four as will Czech Republic’s Linda Klimovicova and wild card Jasmine Conway of Great Britain, who defeated No. 2 seed Celine Naef and Japan’s Hayu Kinoshita respectively.