I spotted this feisty little player at a duel meet in Delray Beach, she caught my eye with her feistiness, friendly smile, footspeed, consistency and propensity to use the famous Hewitt “Come on” for self-exhortation purposes. Meet Kaila Cochran…
Plays at: Eastern Florida State (sophomore).
Major: I’m planning on going into Elementary Education.
First Tennis Memory: “I didn’t plan on playing tennis at first. My friend was forced to play by her mom and she didn’t want to go by herself. So it was like, okay I’ll tag along with you (age 8). And then I ended up really enjoying it and sticking with it. And she kind of quit shortly after. I find it really enjoyable and a thrill.”
Inspirations: “Anna Kournikova. (Why?) Because she was still a great player eventhough she didn’t really win anything too big but she’s still an inspiration.”
Racquet You Play With: “I use a Prince, the Air Vanquish.”
Strings: “I don’t know.”
Shoes: “Adidas.”
Your Style of Play: “Very consistent. And I try to get to every ball.”
Greatest Tennis Moment: “Would be right now, I’m having a blast playing college tennis.”
Most Painful Tennis Moment: “Losing District finals in high school my senior year.”
Strangest Match: “Probably playing people that are screaming out the score at you while you’re serving. I remember playing freshman year, it was the District finals. And I lost to the girl in regular season and I ended up beating her in District finals. But during the match, because I was beating her, she took all the balls and started hitting them as hard as she could at my head. And our coach was like, do you want me to get a ref or something and try to have her chill out. No, no. This is hilarious. It’s kind of funny when people get really mad.”
Why Do You Love Playing Tennis: “Why do I love tennis? What’s not to love? It’s such a great sport and you can play it for ages.”
First Famous Player You Met Or Encountered: “I haven’t yet. And I hope to tonight (at Delray Beach ATP event).”
Embarrassing Tennis Memory: “I was playing the State Closed Doubles tournament in Daytona and it was my first day of Closed Doubles tournament and my partner was serving and I was at the net and I wasn’t paying attention and she served and the return goes straight and hits me in the throat [laughs].”
"I find it enjoyable and a thrill."
Abe Froman · March 12, 2014 at 11:31 am
strange that she doesnt know what strings she plays with….IMO, strings are more important than frame..
Scoop Malinowski · March 12, 2014 at 12:15 pm
I never know what strings are on my Volkls, Technifibre something right now.
Abe Froman · March 12, 2014 at 12:35 pm
surprising scoop…..you should try natural gut at 10 pounds tighter than your usual tension….should be amazing and there’s a reason why it is so damn expensive….string is not a string; as car is not a car (like getting into a rolls royce from a GM car) lol
Dan Markowitz · March 12, 2014 at 2:30 pm
Scoop,
There are other ways to pick up women without interviewing them for a Bio-File 🙂
Scoop Malinowski · March 12, 2014 at 11:07 pm
Thanks I will try it Abe but I’m loving my new technifibre l7 gauge strings, haven’t lost a set or a match with them in 4.5 USTA and 5.5 Ultimate tennis singles. So accurate and good feel.
Andrew Miller · March 13, 2014 at 12:04 am
I like this players story about the opponent getting angry. If they start doing crazy stuff and you stay focused you got a shot !
Scoop Malinowski · March 13, 2014 at 9:30 am
I like the way she handled it too Andrew ) When the player starts losing it mentally like this opponents it usually means they are helpless and desperate. Like remember Muster ran to Henman’s side of the net at the US Open on Ashe and chased him into the tunnel, it was because Henman was playing out of his mind and he was killing Muster who though he was pretending to be playful he was also at the same time trying to disrupt Henman’s rhythm. But it didn’t work. Henman just blitzed him that afternoon. Never forget that.
Andrew Miller · March 14, 2014 at 2:23 am
Good she kept her cool. I’ve seen a few examples where the anger turns the tide – but only when it distracts the opponent. When Federer had an outburst in Miami 2005 vs. Nadal in the final, being down 2 sets, his reaction shocked even Nadal, allowing Federer to regroup. But this is Federer we are talking about here. If you are getting to the opponent and they start getting upset, you’re in excellent position.