LISA PHILLIPS has described tomorrow’s decisive Group B meeting with Austria in the World Championship European Qualifiers as a journey into the unknown.
The GB Ladies team got off to a fine start when they dispatched Lithuania 3-0 with Phillips and partner Abi Tordoff particularly impressive in handing out a helping of double bagel to their out-gunned opponents.
While with the no.1 pairing of Tia Norton and Claire Smith made to work for a 6-3, 6-4 victory and Olivia Smith and Hansie Ruddick victorious by 6-4, 6-2 it was a good day at the Derby office for the British Ladies team.
Looking forward to tomorrow’s 5pm shoot-out with the Austrians, Phillips is hoping her telepathic understanding with Tordoff will stand her side in good stead: “The Austrians are a bit of an unknown quantity to us but we are delighted to be going into that match on the back of such an emphatic victory against Lithuania.
“Abi and I have played a few tournaments together and we feel like we have a good partnership and we are both team mates at Chelsea Harbour Club and were lucky enough to win the LTA National Club League Championships recently.
“Abi is an ex-tennis player and I am more of an ex-squash player although I did play tennis but I dislocated both my knees, first one and then a few months later the other and had to have double knee surgery.
“But hopefully our styles complement each other. I think Abi is the more aggressive player but she thinks I am the more aggressive one but we train and play together and we have just hit it off.
“Now we just know each other’s game so well and sometimes I don’t even have to shout: “Mine!” and Abi will know to leave it while she seems to be able to tell where I will be before I get there almost.
“If we beat Austria then we will face the winner of Group C which will probably be Sweden who are the favourites but we will be going into that match with the attitude that it is winnable and that is how we view every match.”
Meanwhile GB Ladies head coach Alvaro Guerrero is hoping an early morning spying mission could reap rich rewards tomorrow: “We saw Austria last year in the Europeans and we had the opportunity to see them training earlier today and that was very useful, so we will go for them!
“As for today what pleased me most was our focus, it was great and it has given us a strong foundation to build on against Austria tomorrow.
“The match with Austria is 5pm and we will see if we can fit in a light session in the morning, then lunch and then the team talk and we will be ready for them.”
