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| 06 Jul 2002 | |
| Reid sets up Australian double at Wimbledon |
By Eleanor Preston
Todd Reid matched his countryman Lleyton Hewitt’s feat in making a Wimbledon final, coming from behind to defeat Steve Darcis 3-6 6-2 6-2 and earn himself the chance to take on Lamine Ouahab for the boys’ title. "It would be great if Lleyton and I could make it an Australian double," said Reid. Ouahab ended Rafael Nadal-Parera’s title hopes with a 6-3 7-5 win.
The girls’ competition will see an all-Russian final between Vera Douchevina and Maria Sharapova. Douchevina downed France’s Tatiana Golovin 6-3 6-1 while Sharapova disposed of Maria Kirilenko 6-0 3-6 6-3.
Reid, who was runner up at the boys’ Australian Open in January, losing to Clement Morel, put in another battling performance to earn another shot at a junior Grand Slam title. "He started really well," said Reid. "He came out firing and I was a little bit cold and a bit nervous at the beginning. Then I started coming to the net a lot more and that paid off. I am probably a lot more comfortable on the baseline but I’ve been playing a lot of doubles with Ryan Henry and so I’ve got a pretty good volley."
Reid, 18, comes from Sydney and divides his time between Sarasota in Florida and his family home in Coogee, New South Wales. He is supported by Tennis Australia’s Targeted Athlete Project and has trained at the Nick Bollettieri Academy in Florida and says that his biggest ambition is to join Hewitt in the Australian Davis Cup team. First though, he would like to see Hewitt lift the Wimbledon trophy. "Hopefully Lleyton wins his first Wimbledon and so do I. That would be great and I wish him lots of luck," said Reid. Like Hewitt, Reid says he loves the history of the Championships and appreciates the strong Australian support that he has been getting this week. "I grew up watching it on TV," he said, "everyone in Australia did. There have been so many great Australian champions here down the years and so Wimbledon is absolutely massive back home."
While Australia boasts a rich tennis heritage, Russia seems to hold the key to the future of the women’s game. Douchevina and Sharapova’s all-Russian final comes no surprise to Douchevina. "There are so many of us and that makes us all want to play better. It drives us," she said. "It gives us all a good chance." Sharapova will be after revenge from Douchevina after she beat the 15-year-old in last week’s Roehampton final. "I beat her pretty good, 6-1 6-1 so that gives me a lot of confidence. Also winning that title made me feel really good about playing on grass," said Douchevina. Not as good, though, as taking the Wimbledon girl’s crown. "Winning here would be really, really special," she said.
Photographs by Susan Mullane
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