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| 08 Jun 2003 | |
| Wawrinka and Groenefeld crowned king and queen of Roland Garros |
By Eleanor Preston at Roland Garros
Stanislas Wawrinka (SUI) and Anna-Lena Groenefeld (GER) are the new French Open junior champions after taking the boys’ and girls’ honours at Roland Garros.
The only thing that looked like stopping Groenefeld was the rain as she whipped through her match against Vera Douchevina, beating the Russian 6-4, 6-4. Groenefeld, who celebrated her 18th birthday four days ago, is the first German since Ilse Buding in 1957 to lift the girls’ trophy.
Wawrinka had a tougher time against American Brian Baker but eventually prevailed 7-5, 4-6, 6-3.
“I feels very good to be a Grand Slam champion, I feel very happy. Everything is new for me but it’s not bad,” said a delighted Groenefeld afterwards.
“Today I played good, especially in the first set and until I got to 4-1 up and then I started to feel a little nervous. She tried to come back but I held on and tried to be a bit more aggressive. I tried to hang in and do my best. It was hard not to think about winning the trophy when I was in the lead but I hung on.”
Groenefeld, who comes from Nordhurn in Germany, said all her friends and family at home were watching the scores on the internet and have been besieging her with e-mails as they followed her success this week at Roland Garros. “I can’t wait to talk to all my friends on the phone tonight or write them messages on the internet,” said Groenefeld.
After beating Douchevina, Groenefeld joined Wawrinka for a special champions’ photo session, posing under a sign which points to the US Open and Wimbledon and the Australian Open. “Having my picture taken and going to press conferences is all new for me,” said Groenefeld, “but it’s definitely new in a good way.”
Wawrinka also said he enjoyed being the centre of attention after beating Baker and becoming only the second Swiss in the tournament’s history to win the boys’ event and the first since Heinz Gunthardt lifted the trophy in 1976.
“I am very happy that I won because I was very confident at the beginning of the match,” said Wawrinka. The 18-year-old, who hails from Lausanne, has been suffering from a throat infection all week and had to battle fatigue as he tried to stop a gritty fight back from Baker.
“I definitely had a big physical comedown in the second set when I started to feel very tired but I played very well in the final set to finish it off,” he said.
Baker said he was disappointed in his performance but admitted that the windy, overcast conditions and the way Wawrinka played made life difficult for him.
“The court was playing a little slower with all the rain and his style of game made me uncomfortable because he doesn’t give you a lot of rhythm and he goes for big shots all the time,” he said. “But it was a great tournament for me because I never play on red clay so I wasn’t expecting to do as well as this. It’s disappointing that I got as far as the final and couldn’t finish it off but hopefully I can build from it.“
Wawrinka said he was just as surprised as Baker by his performance this week. “I didn’t know what to expect when I got to Roland Garros, so I am very happy to have beaten so many good players and become the champion.”
Photos by Susan Mullane
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