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| 06 Jun 2003 | |
| Baker aims to fly Stars and Stripes in Paris |
By Eleanor Preston at Roland Garros
Brian Baker has already carved his name into American tennis history by being the first US player since Jared Palmer in 1989 to make the French Open junior final. If he beats Switzerland’s Stanislas Wawrinka in Sunday’s boys’ final he will become the first American since John McEnroe in 1977 to win the boys’ title in Paris.
“I was actually looking at that stat today on the internet,” laughed Baker after he beat French hope Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (FRA) 6-3, 6-3 to earn his place in the final. “I’m not going to start comparing myself to McEnroe, because I’m not even close. I was a Davis Cup hitting partner with the team in Croatia so I know Patrick McEnroe (US Davis Cup captain) very well but I don’t know John.”
Baker, who is also the reigning Orange Bowl champion, hails from Nashville Tennessee but says there aren’t many chances to practice on European clay there. It does not seem to have made much difference to his form here in Paris though. This week he has already beaten the top seed and World No.1 Marcos Baghdatis (CYP) and has now added home favourite Tsonga to his list of scalps.
“There’s green clay in the States but it isn’t really anything like the red stuff and I don’t spend much of the year playing on clay,” said Baker. “It’s pretty much only two or three weeks a year. This week the weather has been good, the sun has been shining, the balls have been pretty light and so I have been able to play more of a hardcourt game on the clay court. I’m not going to sit back and try to grind with these European dirt ballers. I just have to try and play my game to the best of my ability and hope that will be good enough.”
Wawrinka will be a tough proposition in the final though, especially as the Swiss enjoyed a confidence-boosting 6-4 6-2 win over second seeded Spaniard Nico Almagro in the semis.
In the girls’ competition, the tournament’s top two seeds have lived up to their pre-event billing by both reaching the final. Top seeded Russian Vera Douchevina earned her final spot with a 6-4, 6-3 win over Michaela Krajicek (NED); second seed Anna-Lena Groenefeld (GER) had a far more gruelling time against Madalina Gojnea (ROM) 6-7(4), 6-4, 6-0.
“Last time I played Douchevina I lost very badly so want to do a bit better than that in the final,” laughed Groenefeld. “That was on hard court and I think it will be a bit easier on clay because it is a better surface for me. I want to get rid of that memory.”
Groenefeld’s chances will not be helped by a shoulder injury which hampered her in the semi-final against Gojnea, although the problem is not thought to be serious.
“In the first set I was serving well at first and then my shoulder suddenly started to hurt, and after that I was thinking too much about my shoulder and not enough about my tennis,” said Groenefeld. “I just tried to hang in there to win the second set and in the third I was able to play my game.”
“Of course I am happy,” said Douchevina. “Last year I made the semis to go one better and so this is big. Groenefeld has a very powerful game so I will need to serve well and I will have to make some returns.”
Douchevina needed to come from 1-4 down against Krajicek and was quick to praise the Dutch girl afterwards.
“She has had very good results, she won some tournaments before Roland Garros and she has a good ranking for only 14 years old. She is so young,” said Douchevina. “I know three or four years ago she played under 12 and she was good then but she has got even better. I am more experienced and that was a difference today.”
Photos by Susan Mullane
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