By Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Wednesday January 17, 2024
Alycia Parks sports activities a golden arm that may generate jaw-dropping energy from the service stripe. She used that world-class serve to assert her maiden title in Lyon in 2023, defeating Caroline Garcia within the closing, and reached a career-high rating of No.40 on the planet at one level final yr.
Now ranked 82, Parks used that energy recreation to earn her greatest win by rating at a Slam on Day 4, taking out Leylah Fernandez, 7-5, 6-4.
Forward of her third-round conflict with Coco Gauff on the Australian Open, Parks is considered a uncooked expertise with important upside. Listed below are 5 issues to know concerning the American earlier than her second within the highlight.
1. She struck the quickest serve in US Open girls’s singles historical past
That occurred in 2021, when Parks slammed a 129 MPH serve on her US Open major draw debut, tying herself with Venus Williams for the quickest US Open serve on report. As of this week, Parks has tripled her haul of Grand Slam major draw victories, bettering her profession report on the majors to 3-4.
2. She’s obtained a brand new coach
Parks was coached by her father Michael throughout her youth, and did not play a lot on the junior circuit. She defined the reasoning behind that in her press convention on Day 4 in Melbourne.
“My dad took me out of the juniors solely as a result of I used to be rising so quick, and he did not need me to get injured,” she mentioned. “He needed me to develop. I all the time needed to go professional, and that was the objective ever since I picked up the racquet. So I feel it panned out properly, and I would not take any completely different route.”
Parks began working with Aussie coach Mark Hlawaty just some days earlier than the Australian Open. Since then she has gained two matches to achieve the third spherical at a significant for the primary time. Not unhealthy in any respect.
“Mark has been working with me this week,” she mentioned. “It is type of new. Effectively, he is serving to me out for Australian Open and hopefully sooner or later. I feel we’re a superb partnership, and we look ahead to working collectively sooner or later.
“He flew in I feel Friday. Thursday evening or Friday. Then we had at some point to prep. Then, I do not know, we’re within the third spherical, so I feel we’re doing fairly good collectively, yeah.”
3. She’s already defeated Gauff – in MIXED
Ultimately yr’s US Open, Parks and Denis Kudla defeated Gauff and Jack Sock in combined doubles in straight units. Parks has been a superb doubles participant normally, owns two titles on tour and is at the moment ranked 31 within the self-discipline.
4. She watches Serena for inspiration
Parks says that she loves watching Serena’s matches to today, and even watched one earlier this week. What does she get from watching the GOAT? Tranquility.
“I might say positively her calmness when she’s in sure conditions,” Parks advised reporters on Wednesday in Melbourne. “When issues are going too quick, she’ll really decelerate and rethink her serve. That is positively considered one of her weapons.
“Simply the way in which she carried herself on the courtroom, she’s very targeted. She does not, like, rush. I are inclined to rush somewhat bit after which often that is once I begin to type of snowball. So I’ve to sluggish it down and take it level by level.”
5. Gauff says it’s only a matter of time earlier than Parks breaks out on tour
Talking of the matchup, Gauff had a whole lot of reward for the 23-year-old.
“I’ve identified her for a very long time, since I used to be, like, possibly like 9 years previous,” Gauff mentioned. “Used to apply together with her and her sister. We each lived in Delray Seaside, in that space. I do know her very properly. I all the time refer her — clearly not for the subsequent match.
“She has a giant recreation, large serve, large photographs, very athletic. I feel she’s one of the – if not “the” most – athletic gamers on tour. Like me, her, Sloane, and Iga are in all probability up there and Sakkari. And there’s extra I am in all probability lacking. These can be, like, my prime 5. She’s like up there. “It is going to be a troublesome match. I do not anticipate it to be simple. I’ve by no means performed her really since that age apart from the combined doubles we had at US Open, however I’ve by no means performed her in apply or something. We’re each entering into, you recognize, not blind as a result of we clearly watched one another, however by no means hit or something.
“It is going to be a troublesome match. She’s an incredible participant, and I all the time knew she was going to do properly on tour. It was only a matter of when it was all going to align. I feel now it is beginning to align.”
