#mika buchnik

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Congrats to 🇮🇱🎾 Israeli tennis player Mika Buchnik on winning her first round Girl's singles match at the Australian Open!

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Wimbledon JGS R1: Rositsa Dencheva def. Mika Buchnik [Q] 6-0, 6-2 Match Stats

📸 BBC iPlayer

R. Dencheva completely outplayed Mika as she tried to make her stay back. This way, she could score 21 winners (forehand and backhand combined), while Mika somehow won 70% of her net points. As the latter's option became limited from the baseline, some or most of her shots turned out to err, which resulted in her making 4 more unforced errors (21) than R. Dencheva (17). This then confirmed how R. Dencheva converted 83% of her break points, while Mika had her chance as she moved forward near the net, to no avail at the second set.

Besides, R. Dencheva also outplayed Mika from her serves. Scoring 2 aces than Mika's 1, she landed 73% of her first serves and won the same amount of first serve points (73%) compared to Mika's 56%. On the other hand, Mika's 4 double faults faded her second serve winning percentage to 20%, 23% behind R. Dencheva as her follow-ups were insufficient to carry through the match.

In the second round, R. Dencheva will face eighth seed Mingge (Mimi) Xu, who stunned Joy de Zeeuw 6-1, 6-1 in a stunning, dominant first-round performance. Knowing how powerful both players' game can be, maintaining their balance should be one of the keys outside of their point construction to stand out in this match, while maintaining their pace straight. Could be a rough one, but nothing looks impossible that this match could deliver a lot.

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📸 🎥 BBC iPlayer

Mika tried to slightly step up in the second set, but R. Dencheva's power turned out to be too much for her. It started from the first game, where the latter secured her game point through a powerful forehand winner before an unreturned serve secured her service game hold to 1-0. To continue, she started the next game with a fourth-shot backhand winner, where she proceeded to go after Mika's backhands until it erred twice to create and convert her break point to 2-0. R. Dencheva then consolidated with a service game hold to 3-0.

Mika then found her footing to secure her service game hold to 3-1. However, it took several more games before she had some actual chances thanks to a forehand pass to succeed another attempt due to R. Dencheva's forehand error, but the latter still held her serves to 4-1. Two games after that massive hold, R. Dencheva came up with a forehand down-the-line winner to generate her game point before she held to 5-2. Unfortunately, an erratic service game resulted in Mika being broken for the match, as R. Dencheva broke for the second set 6-2 to secure her spot in the second round.

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AO JGS R2: Emerson Jones [6] def. Mika Buchnik 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 Match Stats

📸 Eurosport IL

Clutchness on return became everything this match came down to. While Mika's important break of serve in the first set came thanks to her forehand winner, it was also the reason behind Emerson's crucial points in the last two sets, added by her backhand down-the-line winners from the third set. Mika tried to approach it further with a defense-to-offense method, defensive enough to cause troubles in the final game, but Emerson's 2 unreturned serves saved her from further problems to close the match. As a result, Mika had 8 opportunities to break, but Emerson maximized her chances well with a 57% break point conversion rate, as well as confirming Mika's 16-44 winners-unforced errors rate due to the risks posed by her approach than Emerson's 35-49 rate thanks to the latter's aggression.

On the other hand, it appeared both players had their own service game strengths. Even though Mika only landed 64% of her first serves, she had an exceptional winning percentage by 6% (71% to 65%) than Emerson, firing 6 aces along the way. While this could drive her out of trouble in most occasions, her rushed follow-ups to her second serves did not, fading her second serve winning percentage 36% behind Emerson despite double-faulting just once.

In the quarterfinals, Emerson will face ninth seed Tyra Caterine Grant, who previously defeated Julie Pastikova 3-6, 6-2, 6-3 in the second round. While pacing became one of such issues in this match, the setup would be one of the most important things to see considering both players conceded the first set but absorbed the pace well to catch the rest of the match. Should also be an exciting watch while realizing both players' potentials!

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📸 🎥 Eurosport IL

The third set then commenced with Emerson's early break (1-0) thanks to her backhand down-the-line winner that set an important equalizer before Mika's backhand error created the former's break point several moments later. Even though the said break point was initially broken, Emerson eventually earned that break before consolidating her lead to 2-0. Interestingly, Emerson had a backhand down-the-line winner as another equalizer and almost doubled the break, but Mika still managed to hold her service game to 2-1.

Since then, Emerson held firm until she had an opportunity to serve for the match in the tenth game, where she had her 3 match points saved while Mika also had 3 break points, to no avail. It all started from Emerson's failed lob while trying to respond to Mika's smash, which put her into a deficit position. Mika's first match point save then came from a backhand return ace to Emerson getting run over from her forehand side, while Emerson's forehand errors, one of which was a result of Mika's defenses, saved the other 2 match points. They also contributed to Mika's 3 break points, but the shot misfires (which went too wide) resulted in her break point non-conversions. Ultimately, Emerson closed the match with 2 unreturned serves, taking the third set 6-4 to secure her spot in the quarterfinals.

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📸 Eurosport IL

The second set became a fruition to Emerson's pace-absorption efforts under pressure, trying to go after Mika's baseline game to appear more aggressive. After three consecutive holds, taking advantage of Mika's previous errors, Emerson came up with a cross-court forehand winner to secure her break point before eventually breaking to 2-0. However, her subsequent forehand errors resulted in Mika breaking back to 2-1, while Emerson regained her forehand winners just in time to create her break point before breaking back again to 3-1.

Subsequently, Emerson consolidated to 3-1, and she had not looked back since. Mika survived several break points and hung on to hold her serves, but Emerson still earned her chance to serve for the second set three consecutive holds later. Outhitting Mika's forehand side with a working volley, which signified her willingness to move forward, Emerson took the second set 6-3, bringing the match to the deciding set as a consequence.

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📸 Eurosport IL

The Junior Girls' Singles sector of the Australian Open continued with its second round with sixth seed Emerson Jones, who defeated qualifier Daria Egorova 7-6(5), 6-4, faced Mika Buchnik, who came back from 1-3 down in the final set to defeat Ekaterina Perelygina 2-6, 6-4, 7-5. While noting both players could be aggressive here, it all came down to how they handled the pressure points from the baseline, considering how rarely both of them moved forward by the end of the match.

Emerson had a nervy start to the match, which was marked by her +1 errors before Mika consolidated the lead to 2-0. Emerson then hung on with a service game hold to 2-1, trying to figure out her pace while dealing with Mika's aggression. This effort then bore fruit in the fourth game, where she had a break point before Mika held to 3-1, continuing with Mika's forehand pass that might have led to a possible demolition (with Emerson's forehand error creating Mika's break point by then), but not necessarily as Emerson held that serve to 3-2.

It was not until the eighth game where Mika's final shot errors resulted in Emerson catching up, with a forehand ended up being up in the air creating Emerson's break point before it was converted over Mika's double fault. However, Mika bounced back and appeared more aggressive thanks to her 2 critical shots: a backhand down-the-line winner to force the deuce before her forehand winner secured the critical break to 5-4. As a result, Mika earned her chance to serve for the first set, where she ultimately did to take the set 6-4, securing her one-set lead en route to the quarterfinals.

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IL Nats 2023 WS F: Mika Buchnik def. Alian Zack 6-3, 6-1 Match Recap

Mika Buhnik's point to *5-1 40-15, 2nd set (left) and to take the second set 6-1 (right) (📸 Sport 5 Plus IL)

Disclaimer: having a target language of a kind (as it is spoken in such a country), there for the tennis, match, and youngster scouting purposes.

During the off-season, the National Championships ended up featuring numerous youngsters in the Women's Singles category, with a local breakout Alian Zack, junior World No. 231, who advanced at the cost of last year's runner-up and first seed Mika Dagan Fruchtman's retirement down 1-6, 1-4 in the second set of the quarterfinals before defeating May Fadida 6-3, 7-6 in the semifinals. On the other hand, Mika Buchnik appeared solid by defeating Shahaf Liberman 6-4, 6-4 in the semifinals, paving her way to the title. Considering both Mika (16) and Alian (17) are still young, regardless of the outcome, the future is even brighter on paper, while Mika's experience might have helped her a lot in today's match.

The first set started with a pushfest until everything went wrong for Alian toward the end of the first set, particularly with her service games. Apparently, the match began with both players struggling from their backhand wings, especially when Elian tried to move forward with a working volley to set herself a point ahead in the third game, but it was insufficient due to Mika coming from 2 points behind (at the cost of a failed drop shot) and held her serves to 2-1. Subsequently, Mika survived a break point out of an unforced error and her hold to 2-2, thanks to her forehands, became crucial as Mika broke to 3-2 due to Alian's two consecutive double faults. However, Mika got broken back thanks to Alian's backhand pass even if it seemed Alian's forehand unforced error for the last shot signified it could have been it, but the latter pushed through. Mika became even more solid after Alian missed her final forehand and backhand in the last 2 points (4-3) before Mika consolidated to 5-3, and her forehand winner forced an important deuce before Alian's +1 errors (forehand, then backhand) allowed Mika to take the first set 6-3, asserting her dominance since.

Mika's aggression came into fruition in the second set. After almost smoothly holding her service game 1-0, the third game in this set became important as Alian tried to appear more aggressive, including the way she came up with 2 break points through her forehand swings, but Mika held her service game firm to 2-1 before she eventually broke to 3-1 at the cost of Alian's forehand errors, to the latter's dismay. Another erratic and passive service game did not help Alian in the game after as she trailed a double break to 5-1, thus allowing Mika to serve for the second set breadstick (and the title). Despite her best efforts, Mika's cross-court backhand winner secured her eventual match point, which was converted thanks to her unreturned serve, baking the second set breadstick (6-1) to secure the title.

As a result, Mika maiden Nationals title in the senior category after her quest in the previous years were stopped at least in the semifinals last year, her first after winning the U-13 category a long time ago. For Elian, this should be a stepping stone to start her next season, and the final was followed by the Men's Singles final, where first seed Yshai Oliel sought for another Nationals title by facing Ofek Shimanov as a repeat of last week's meeting during the interclubs' finals.

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[Late Post] IL Nats 2022 WS SF: Shavit Kimchi [1] def. Mika Buchnik 7-5, 3-6, 6-2 Match Recap

🎥 Sport 5 IL

The semifinals of the Israeli national championships saw the first seed, Shavit Kimchi, facing Mika Buchnik for a spot in the finals. Except for one tie-break set in the second round, both of them mostly won their previous rounds' matches in straight sets.

The first set saw Mika breaking at 4-3, where she secured her break point after Shavit misfired his forehand in response to a forehand-to-forehand exchange, where she converted several points later because of the same misfire, when it went wide. However, Mika got broken back because she got ran over when she tried to lob for Shavit's break point, only for Mika's misfired forehand to grant Shavit's break back. At the end of the day, Shavit broke for the set at 7-5 after a working forehand winner.

The second and third sets were something else. Somehow, after Shavit's service game errors, Mika was able to shift the momentum to break early at 2-0 (some at the expense of Shavit's own errors). and managed to take the set at 6-3. However, Mika could not keep up with the pace, hence the little medical time-out she took at the early parts of the third set because of her back. At the end of the day, Shavit took the final set 6-2, sealing her final spot with 2 aces.

In the final, Shavit will face Mika Dagan Fruchtman, who defeated Nicole Nadel in straight sets, 7-5, 6-1. Both of them are looking forward to winning their first Nationals title for Women's Singles. On the other hand, Nicole Nadel/Mika Dagan Fruchtman had to withdraw from their doubles finals (only health!), hence the Women's Doubles title went to Alian Zack/Mika Buchnik.

Something else, however, happened in the men's sector...

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📸 BBC iPlayer

The action in the Juniors' sector in the Wimbledon Championships then continued with the Girls' Singles match between Rositsa Dencheva, former World No. 18 that is currently ranked 20, and qualifier Mika Buchnik, who defeated ninth (qualifying) seed Nellie Taraba Wellberg 2-6, 6-4, [10-6] in the final qualifying round. This could be an intriguing match considering their pacing and point construction ability, but the first set turned out to be something else.

R. Dencheva had a solid start after holding his serves to 1-0 by hitting a fourth-shot backhand winner to begin the subsequent game. Mika's unreliable second serves then did not help, with a double fault generating the Bulgarian's break point before it was converted thanks to her forehand return ace to Mika's failed forehand response to break early 2-0. Subsequently, R. Dencheva held her serves to 3-0.

This was followed by another neat service game, where R. Dencheva fired a backhand winner on the latest deuce to secure her latest break point. This was followed by a forehand return ace to double the break 4-0, where she consolidated her lead to 5-0. Forcing a deuce in the next game, she also created her latest set point before it was immediately converted thanks to her working volley to close a longer rally to serve the first-set bagel (6-0).