Lights, digicam, motion! Like the best main girls of the silver display, Ajla Tomljanovic has been delivering some star turns with the highlight turned on her.
At least that is the way in which it is appeared this 12 months as Australia’s high lady participant has had her tennis season adopted in close-up by Netflix documentary makers taking a deep dive inside the worldwide tennis circuit.
It’s odd, however ever since she’s been enjoying with a microphone-wielding digicam crew following her each transfer, Tomljanovic, at 29, has elevated her sport to new heights.
She’s reached two grand slam quarter-finals at Wimbledon and the US Open, ended the profession of Serena Williams in a blockbuster triumph at Flushing Meadows, and soared to a brand new career-best rating of 33.
And this week, she’s led Australia to the semi-finals of the BJK Cup with two victories, trying a really totally different model of the participant whose apparent expertise had all the time beforehand gave the impression to be laced with self-doubt.
So after 23 victories in her final 32 matches, what’s clicked? “A lot of things,” Tomljanovic mused in Glasgow.
“But mostly, if I have to put it down to one thing, it’s just where my head’s at in my life. I think that translates to the court.
“I’m blissful. Tennis is enjoyable once more. Even when I’m dropping, I’m discovering pleasure, which is de facto all it is ever been and it is alleged to be.
“I lost it a little bit there for a year or so. But it happens. We love what we do, but tough times come and that’s okay – but I figured it out.”
And what concerning the Netflix impact? Coincidence?
Tomljanovic could not assist smiling at what she thinks is a whimsical thought flying across the circuit that her enchancment’s really been all the way down to feeling the necessity to carry out properly for the cameras.
“No. I mean I didn’t think once when I’m winning, ‘oh, my gosh, this is going to look cool on Netflix’. It’s a bonus. It’s great!” she stated.
“I started playing tennis way before Netflix came around. My goals and dreams are bigger than that, but it’s cool I had some good moments this year that they were captured.
“It solely works for those who’re actually sincere and you’re your self 100 per cent. That’s why I actually had to consider doing it, as a result of I really feel like I did let the cameras in quite a bit.
“I had fun with it, because I think it’s fun for people to see so many things going on behind the scenes that they don’t normally, to see it’s not just sunshine and rainbows all the time.”
But this looks like a sunshine ‘n rainbow week for her in Scotland – and, to stress her level, the documentary makers have taken every week off in Glasgow whereas she’s nonetheless saved profitable.
Leading Australia into Saturday’s semi-final showdown with Britain, she’s having fun with one among her favorite tennis weeks.
“In our country, we love sport, we love camaraderie, team events. I think a lot of our players thrive in this environment and that kind of makes you want it even more when you’re part of a squad like that,” she stated.
Three years in the past, Tomljanovic misplaced within the agonising loss to France within the last.
“But when I played in Perth, it kind of opened my eyes that I never thought that these weeks would mean so much to me.”
