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| 05 Jul 2002 | |
| Russians Girls dominate Semi-finals places |
Despite yet more inclement weather at SW19, the girls semi-final at Wimbledon is complete, with a last four line-up dominated by three Russians.
Only France’s Tatiana Golovin, who boasts Russian heritage, prevented a clean sweep by one of the world’s most successful tennis nations. Golovin will play Vera Douchevina for a place in the final after beating Anna Bastrikova 6-2 7-6. Golovin already recorded her best ever junior Grand Slam performance by reaching the quarter-finals but says she feels she has found a new maturity this week. "I guess I’m getting a little bit older so I’m starting to realise what I have and work out what I need to do," she said.
Douchevina, seeded eight, had a battle on her hands against Eugenia Linetskaya, eventually beating Linetskaya 6-1 4-6 6-1.
In the other girl’s semi-final, Maria Kirilenko will take on Maria Sharapova after both cruised through their quarter-finals. Kirilenko ended Linda Smolenakova’s winning run at Wimbledon, beating the Slovakian 6-4, 6-4.
Sharapova breezed past Cory Ann Avants in their match 6-0 6-2. "I really played a solid game, very clean and without too many errors," said Sharapova. "I started well and things really went my way. My game was really on today." The fifteen year-old reached the final in Roehampton last week and said she took a lot of confidence from how her game has developed this week at Wimbledon. "The first few matches were tough but then you have to expect that. It’s a Grand Slam, it’s Wimbledon and the competition is very strong."
Sharapova is enjoying life at the All England Club and has a healthy respect for the traditions of the tournament. "I love London and Wimbledon is definitely my favourite Grand Slam. People all come to watch the juniors here and they seem to really appreciate all the tennis, not just the pros. You don’t get that in many other places. It makes it a really good atmosphere to play in."
Todd Reid’s strong showing in Grand Slam events this year continued when he fought his way into the boys’ semi-finals. Reid, who reached the final of the junior Australian Open in January, beat Michel Koning 6-3 3-6 6-1 and will now face Belgium’s Steve Darcis for a place in the final. Darcis needed all three sets to get past Mathieu Montcourt 6-4, 2-6, 6-4.
Lamine Ouahab kept the Algerian flag flying high with a gutsy 3-6, 6-4, 6-1 victory over Luka Gregorc. Ouahab will play Spain’s fifteen-year-old Rafael Nadal-Parera after the Spanish wonderkid notched up another added another seeded scalp to his collection with a 2-6 6-3 6-4 win over Philipp Petzschner. Nadal-Parera is unseeded at Wimbledon and received a wildcard into the boys’ draw but his win over second seed Brian Dabul in the first round and his progress to the semis suggests that he may not need to many more wildcards during his junior career.
Photographs by Susan Mullane
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