Sachia Vickery enjoying well deserved holiday in Guyana

Nov 08, 2013 Sports

– Looking forward to a busy 2014 season

By Rawle Welch
Back home in the country of her parents’ birth, world # 182 ranked tennis player Sachia Vickery is enjoying a well deserved holiday after what she described as a terrific year in her career.
Vickery, who was born on November 5, 1995 in the USA, flew into Guyana with mom Paula Liverpool on Wednesday evening to commence a two-week vacation just before she embarks on rigorous off-season preparations ahead of the start of the 2014 season.
Speaking with Kaieteur Sport yesterday at the Princess Hotel

USTA Junior champion Sachia Vickery (left) with her Mom Paula Liverpool and Mark Xavier at the Princess Hotel yesterday.

where she is staying, Vickery, who made it to the second round of this year’s US Open Championship, described the season as the best in her career to date.
“Making the draw at the US Open this year is definitely the high point since it was always a dream of mine to play at the highest level and to achieve that is something I will always remember,” Vickery said.
Vickery, who defeated former Wimbledon semi-finalist Mirjana Lucic 6-4, 6-4 in her first round match, before losing to qualifier Julia Glushko 5-7, 3-6 disclosed both matches were tough, but pointed to a bit of nervousness as a strong factor for the loss.
“I had chances to win, but because I was a bit nervous, especially since I was playing in my first Grand Slam event I made some errors, but let us not forget that both of those players are very tough players,” she reminded.
The strongly built right-handed player who packs a powerful forehand is highly regarded on the Circuit as one of the emerging stars in the game in the USA and the world.
Quizzed on whether she will be much better next time and whether she will be able to cope with the pressure of playing on the ‘big’ stage, Vickery informed that she will be much better prepared to handle the big occasion and the atmosphere of playing in front of a large crowd.
“I have the fight and determination I work real hard and see no reason why I should not be out there with the best players in the world,” she stated.
She said that her goal for the upcoming season is to be ranked in the Top 100 and if she is able to get ranked even higher then it will be a great achievement.
Vickery, who is also taking the time to nurse a slight back injury, revealed that recovery is going well and she expects to be fully fit in time for off-season training, before heading off to Australia to compete.
She told this newspaper that she starts out at the Brisbane Open then move on to the Auckland Open in New Zealand, before heading back to Australia for the Sydney Open and ends the sojourn with the Australian Open in Melbourne.
According to her, next year she plans to travel to compete extensively and she is gearing herself for the rigorous schedule.
Asked to comment on the young stars from the USA that has emerged recently namely Victoria Duval, Sloane Stephens and herself, Vickery said everyone has been working hard and the Programme is a tremendous one and geared to develop talented players.
She said she has had good success against some of the best juniors in the USA so she knows all about them.
Vickery was given the opportunity to highlight the major influences in her career and she identified her Mom, the USTA for recognising her talent and willing to join forces with her, Otis Johnson, who was one of the earliest to work with her, Nick Bolleteri, Bill Adams, who was always there as a mentor Kathy Rinaldi, her Coach on the USTA among others.
Meanwhile, Liverpool’s wish for her daughter is for her to be the best that she can be and hopefully accomplish the goals that she set for herself.
She said Sachia singlehandedly brought her ranking into the 200’s because most of 2012 she travelled without a Coach, but it was her determination to achieve that goal that was so inspiring.
Liverpool thanked GOD for blessing her with a daughter who is determined to make it to the top.