Jelena Durisic's problem wasn't her feet or her backhand or any of the other essential parts of a tennis game. It was her toss.
Again and again as she lifted it into the air" the ball would drift just far enough to the left or right to throw off her serve.
""I got nervous"" Durisic saidSaturday. You'll notice if I'm nervous because the toss is going to be a little bit off.""
Durisic was in a tight doubles match against Minnesota's No. 2 pair" Karina Chiarelli and Lindsay Risebrough. But more importantly the rest of her Tar Heel teammates were following every movement which wasn't helping her nerves.
Durisic's match the last to finish took a full 20 minutes longer than the other pairings.
So while the rest of her team shouted words of encouragement from the neighboring courts" Durisic was rolling her eyes and thrusting her arms out in disbelief after each of her own mistakes.
""I'm one of those people who are like" if I don't perform I get so pissed off that I play much better she said. I sort of like to rip it to pieces forget about it move on. Be aggressive" because my game is aggressive.""
Coach Brian Kalbas has been impressed thus far with her style of play.
""She really puts people on their heels with her big serve and her big forehand" he said. When she's confident" she really can be overpowering and intimidating.""
Nerves aren't typically an issue at home matches" where most of the spectators are friends and family. For a freshman like Durisic though" the pressure of playing on a varsity team can be surprising sometimes.
""It was something new"" she said. I'm still not used to the whole match phase because in the fall we played all on our own.""
Even though the doubles point had already been decided in favor of UNC" both sides got emotionally involved in the third match as momentum shifted back and forth. Durisic and partner Katrina Tsang had the advantage several times first at 4-3 then 6-5 and then 7-6" only to lose in the tiebreak.
""I think we just lost focus after we were up 6-5"" Durisic said. We started focusing too much about certain things instead of just on our shots and moving our feet. I got a little nervous I have to say.""
When the pressure eased off" however she had no problem dispatching Danielle Mousseau in her singles match. Durisic found her way back in the kind of form that earned her a No. 29 ITA singles ranking in the fall.
She lost only two games en route to that straight-set victory and followed it up on Sunday against Michigan State with wins in both her singles and doubles matches.
Contact the Sports Editor at sports@unc.edu.
