His very sober reaction – or even lack of reaction – at the end of the match in no way showed the importance of the moment in the young career of Lawrence Demers, but it did make it clear that the Quebec athlete does not adhere to the famous expression “it’s not how, it’s how much.”
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At 16, the tennis player from Bouchateil scored her first professional victory on Tuesday on one of the Club Avantage courts, where she hit her first tennis balls 11 years ago.
And all this after spending four long months away from the field to nurse a micro-score in the Challenger W35, a fairly tough tournament given his only experience in two professional matches.
“I was happy to win, but a little disappointed with my match,” the young player explained after her victory over Canadian Maria Dobreva, who is three years older than her and who, like Demers, is not yet ranked by the WTA.
“I didn’t play my best tennis, but at least I did what I had to do to win,” she reassured herself then.
In fact, at the end of the match, Lawrence Demers no longer remembered that she needed to save match point to finally defeat her opponent of the day in the final set tiebreaker.
Thus, we understand that the teenager is a perfectionist, as confirmed by her father Philip, and that emotions occupied a lot of space in her mind when she played in front of several members of her family.
Only two defeats among juniors
Canadian tennis hope Lawrence Demers has a strong track record, with 15 wins and two losses in the juniors this year. She also won three titles, including one in Quebec, at another tournament organized by the Aliassime Academy in May, before her pace was slowed by injury.
She remembered Club Avantage's fast surface well, even though she is now in exile in Montreal at Tennis Canada's National Training Centre.
In the teenager's clan, the joy of this first victory was much more palpable. It's a great career moment and Phillip Demers was delighted to see his daughter achieve it before his eyes.
Just as he was glad to have her home, where Lawrence could be reunited with his room during the week of the event.
“It’s nice to see her performing at home, like in the juniors,” dad smiled. These are her first WTA points, so we are very proud of her!”
Professional attitude
Those first WTA points will be written next to her name next Monday when the rankings are updated, but Lawrence Demers is not too keen on taking the plunge.
In fact, the Quebec player is considering opting for the NCAA rather than jumping to the pros quickly.
But at the same time, experiences like the one she may be going through this week as professional women's tennis returns to her hometown after a seven-year absence will obviously be good for her.
“The ball flies faster [que chez les juniors]. But the difference is really about attitude, she noted. Juniors tend to give up a little faster, while professionals maintain their level throughout the match.”
“And you, Lawrence, played like a professional on Tuesday?” it was restarted.
“There are things you can’t control, but the attitude was there!” she congratulated herself.
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