■”My opponent wasn't a power type, but a type that builds things up so she was a good match for me, and I think I was able to play the way I wanted,'' Aoi Ito said, looking back on the match. She used her forehand slice, high-trajectory loop balls, and manipulated the rally rhythm to confuse the orthodox-style Elisabetta Cocciaretto. Her opponent yelled in frustration that the rally wasn't going her way and slammed the ball on the ground. “If I don't have that, it wouldn't be me,'' says Ito, who always strives to play in ways that make her opponents cringe. Every time she saw her opponent's movements, she must have thought that her prey was caught on a trap.

■It's not just her irregular plays. She incorporates a variety of offensive patterns, such as the down-the-line shots she uses after she drives the opponent out with a wide serve from a deuce court, and “sneaks-in'' where she uses high trajectory shots to lure the opponent's loose return ball and steal the net. The ideal pattern is to finish at the net. It's a tennis game full of variety that we haven't seen very often in recent years. In the past, she aimed to be a fast-attacking type who takes the net by hitting the balls on the rise, but she “felt her limits'' and found her current style in high school. How can you win against powerful athletes with a slim physique less likely to build muscles? Through trial and error, she has developed a unique style of tennis that is about to blossom.

■Her comments are also witty. In an on-court interview, she said, “My physical power was zero, but I had emotional power today.'' Although she entered the game with the declared goal of “winning four games,'' in reality, “I was determined to win as many games as possible.'' She is a 20-year-old who appears easygoing on the surface, but underneath, she fights passionately with a “smug'' on her face.