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| 29 Jun 2003 | |
| Day Six: Russian Revolution |
The Russian revolution in women’s tennis is quite something. Five Russian women have made it to the fourth round and the second week of
Wimbledon. It’s the fourth time in the last five years that a Russian woman has made the last 16, and there is the guarantee of at least one of them reaching the quarterfinals.
Maria Sharapova is 16 and she scored an impressive result over the eleventh seed Jelena Dokic 64 64 and now comes up against just turned 18 year old (27 June) compatriot Svetlana Kuznetsova who swept aside French player Emilie Loit 61 62.
If you shut your eyes and listened to Sharapova talk, you’d swear it was an American teenager, which not surprising when you consider that she has spent half her young life in the USA after being born in Siberia, then living briefly in the Black Sea city of Sochi where Yevgeny Kafelnikov comes from.
Her family moved to the USA when she was six because they could
see the potential their daughter had, and settled in Florida at one of the tennis academies there.
There is such an air of confidence about the teenager and it’s easy to see why she loves it so much. For her it is still a game, sure it is very competitive and there is that drive to be the best in her but above all it comes across that it is still fun. Certainly for most observers the run to the last 16 could be seen as a bit beyond expectations because it is only her third Grand Slam main draw and in the previous two, this year’s Australian and French Opens, she lost in the first round.
"When I come into a tournament I’m expecting to win. That’s my philosophy," said Sharapova in a polite tone that sort of half questioned anyone for thinking that this should be seen as beyond her expectations.
"I can’t go into a tournament think ’yeah, I’m gonna get my ass kicked
today, so I might as well just leave’. Basically I’m very happy and I’m
very surprised. Yes I’m very young, I’m 16 and I’m in the fourth round of Wimbledon. How odd is that?
But you know, I knew that one day it would come; one day all the hard work could pay off. I mean, I’m surprised, but it’s just reality."
She is pretty, has long blonde hair and it is only obvious that the
comparisons are to be made with Anna Kournikova who is missing this year because of injury but last made the Wimbledon fourth round in 1999. But Sharapova takes it in her stride and says she is nothing like her incredibly famous and glamorous fellow Russian.
Walking around Wimbledon Village she says heads turn in that she is
recognised and she revealed that her agent suggested that she start wearing dark glasses and a hat in an effort to be left alone. The paparazzi were waiting for her outside a restaurant in the Village and started clicking away when she appeared. Sharapova thought it was all amusing. She certainly Sharapova loves the attention, what attractive 16 year in her situation wouldn’t?
The fact that she seems to take the attention in her stride allows her to be unfazed when she plays on one of the two main show courts as she did against Dokic.
"I love it. Court One is unbelievable," she said.
"I was like ’I’m not gonna give her a chance today. That’s it. I want to be a winner today on this court, right here, this moment.”
"When I went out there, all the fans were just crazy, the place was just filled up. You get like, ’wow’, and everybody’s around you."
Asked if beating Dokic was the best victory or the best performance of her career, Sharapova mulled over her answer and sophistically suggested that it was hard to really determine that because she hadn’t played Dokic before.
"I didn’t know what to expect [as] there were points where I just made my way through the point and force her to hit an error," said Sharapova.
"I think I could have performed well. Like, if she didn’t have so much power, I think I could have played my game a little bit more and enjoyed it out there while I thought that I was out there scrambling.
“And when I got the opportunity, I hit a really good shot or I made her hit an error. But it’s definitely a big win in my career."
Andre Agassi and Mark Philippoussis have won through to a fourth round
showdown after both scored four set wins. Agassi defeated Younes El Aynaoui 57 64 76(4) 76(4) in a match that put on show a good standard of tennis which also had it lighter moments like when the Moroccan threw his racquet into the crowd after missing a couple of points.
Agassi said he always enjoys playing El Aynaoui but adds that he is also a frustrating opponent because he is flashy and "there’s a lot of tactics going on" on the court. The second seed indicated that much also comes down to the Moroccan’s serve and Agassi left the court feeling he had put in a very focused performance.
It has often been said that the second week of a Grand Slam becomes a
different tournament, a new one and as things get down to the business end, players probably start having serious thoughts about winning it. Agassi says every Grand Slam has a different vibe.
Sometimes his game has been a ‘total wreck’, other times everything has ticked over perfectly and he has felt great at the end. But then he has also felt that things couldn’t be better but he "threw in a shocker".
"While you might get one feeling or another, I found that through the years you can’t put a whole lot of relevance on that," he said.
"If it really matters, I felt great. I needed to step up and taking care of business at hand is ultimately what you need to do. So based on how I felt today, I felt great.”
Philippoussis believes the second week is a new tournament. He scored a
"gutsy" win over the 35th seed Radek Stepanek 46 76 64 76. It was a match where he stayed firm and fought through, explaining that the Czech player is awkward to face. It is the fifth year in six that he has reached the last 16 or better at Wimbledon and now he is looking forward to the challenge of Agassi.
"Obviously I know how he is going to play and I think the most important thing for me is just to go out there and fight again and enjoy myself," said Philippoussis.
In other results, Serena Williams took another step towards successfully defending her title when she defeated Laura Granville 63 61 and will play Elena Dementieva, another Russian. And yet another Russian, Anastasia Myskina, beat the champion from 1994, Conchita Martinez, 63 63, and faces Jennifer Capriati in the next round.
French Open winner Justine Henin-Hardenne defeated Alicia Molik 64 64, she now plays Mary Pierce who upset 23rd seed Lisa Raymond.
For home fans though, the rest day on Middle Sunday will be spent nervously anticipating Monday’s clash between last year’s runner-up, David Nalbandian, and lone Brit survivor Tim Henman. Henman easily disposed of qualifier Robin Soderling 63 61 64 on Centre Court, while over on No. 1 Court Nalbandian was struggling to a brave five-set win over the talented but injury-prone Karol Kucera, 64 57 67(1) 64 62. Nalbandian has a 2-0 head-to-head over Henman so an intriguing clash should be in store.
Juan Carlos Ferrero beat Sargis Sargsian on Saturday to confirm his growing reputation as a man who can play and win on all surfaces, and has earned a clash with Sebastien Grosjean. Alexander Popp, the 6”7’ German who reached the quarterfinals here in 2000, will bid to match that achievement as he takes on Olivier Rochus, the 5”5’ Belgian. It is almost certainly the biggest height differential ever seen in a Grand Slam event, but as we have seen in the first week, in tennis anything is possible.
If you want to follow the action as it happens, with live scores and results, then please visit the Official Website at www.wimbledon.org.
The Junior Tournament is now underway. Please visit www.itfjuniors.com for daily wrap-ups and the latest pictures.
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