Miller upbeat despite ITF loss
Published:Thursday | May 23, 2024 | 12:11 AMOrane Buchanan/Staff Reporter
JAMAICAN TENNIS player Jeremy Miller believes a lack of experience was the reason behind his failure to progress beyond the qualifying round of the ongoing International Tennis Federation (ITF) World Tennis M15000 tournament, being hosted on local soil.
“I wouldn’t say disappointed as I realised there’s a gap in terms of exposure to that level of tennis on a consistent basis. For me, I looked at it as a more glass half full than empty mentality. I went out there, did my best and saw where I’m at. That’s just how I looked at it,” said Miller.
Miller was ousted from the competition by Australia’s Timothy Gray 6-2, 6-1.
“These guys do it day in and out and travel to these tournaments all the time while this is my first pro circuit tournament,” said Miller, pointing out that the heat affected the tennis overall.
“I conduct most of my practice sessions in the middle of the heat, but it’s still hot, and it will slow you down, regardless. You just have to go out there and try to manage it as best as you can,” he said.
According to Miller, he made too many unforced errors in the game, and his opponent wasted little opportunity to capitalise.
“I think what worked well for him was that when he got the chance to come to the net and finish the points, he did. For me, it was a lack of sharpness as I wasn’t able to stay in the points long enough, and sometimes, I found myself making unforced errors out of nowhere. Therefore, I’ll be looking to improve upon that,” he said.
The 2023 Innovative Invitational champion said he has already shifted his focus to Sunday’s ITF qualifiers.
“The third ITF M15000 starts on Sunday, so I’ll be gearing up for that and take aim at playing the qualifiers for that and then take it from there.”