 Photographer: Susan Mullane
Date: 06 Jun 2004 |  Photographer: Susan Mullane
Date: 06 Jun 2004 |  Photographer: Susan Mullane
Date: 06 Jun 2004 |  Photographer: Susan Mullane
Date: 06 Jun 2004 | | |
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| 06 Jun 2004 - Paris - Eleanor Preston | |
| Monfils and Karatancheva Reign At Roland Garros |
France’s Gael Monfils added his home Grand Slam to the Australian Open boys’ title he won in January with a 62 62 demolition of America’s Alex Kuznetsov at Roland Garros.
Bulgarian Sesil Karatancheva notched up an equally impressive victory to score her debut junior Grand Slam title. She became French Open champion with a 64 60 victory over Romania’s Madalina Gojnea and the voluble 15-year-old was so excited afterwards that she could barely contain herself.
“I’m really excited as you can see,” she said, sporting a huge smile. “I’m really touched right now because I didn’t expect to win. When I first came here I was so excited just to be in Paris, where I had never been before but now I feel different because I actually won. This is a big step I’m already thinking forward to the French Open next year because now I understand how much I want to come back here and win the women’s title. It’s the beginning of something and I’d like to finish it and make the second goal come true just like this one did.”
Karatancheva, who has already played WTA Tour events and is hoping to mix her junior career with more senior tournaments later in the year, has already made herself something of a hit with journalists, who love her extrovert, natural personality.
“I don’t think I’m a star but it depends how you define a star,” she laughed. “If I think I’m doing the right thing then I’m not really going to shut up because people are going to get offended by it, I’m going to say what I think is right and when I think it’s right because that’s being myself. I can’t pretend that I’m somebody else and that you can just push a button and get me to do this and this and this. I’m not a mean person. I’m fun to talk with and I’m going to keep going like this.”
The teenager is based at Nick Bollettieri’s academy in Bradenton, Florida and says she will be returning there to celebrate her memorable victory at Roland Garros. “I have my dad and my travelling coach with me but I can’t wait until I get back there because I have a lot of friends.” In the meantime she will have to content herself with taking constant calls on her mobile phone, which has been ringing with messages of support and congratulations from both Bulgaria and Bradenton.
“My mobile phone is ringing a lot all the time anyway,” she laughed, sounding like a hundred other 14-year-olds. “My coach he’s going crazy with me because I get messages, phone-calls all the time. I can’t live without my phone. It’s like my heart and it’s something I can’t live without.”
Like Karatancheva, Monfils withstood the pressures that comes with being the pre-tournament favourite galloping through his matches with an air of calm that belied his years. He only dropped one set en route to his second junior Grand Slam title and took little over an hour to dispatch Kuznetsov in the final.
“It’s my reward for hard work with my coaches,” he said. “I already won in Australia, so it proves that that it’s not luck and that I’m confirming what I’m able to do. I personally do not put pressure on myself but I have to believe in what I’m doing. There’s no reason why I shouldn’t play well in the main draw now because I’m one of the best juniors. It’s possible if I work hard. Maybe in two or three years maybe I will be able to hold the men’s trophy.”
Having now won the first two Grand Slams of the year all thoughts automatically turn to the junior Grand Slam; “I heard that Stefan Edberg was the only one who ever done it, if I could win the other to it would be great, it’s a great challenge.”
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> Bohmova and Krajicek.....doubles round-up
> Kuznetsov carves out clash with Monfils..Day Six Round-Up
> Bacsinszky bowls Krajicek over...Day Five Round-Up
> Peer peerless....Day Four Round-Up
> Patience pays off for Gojnea...Day Three Round-Up
> Naso rolls over Rieschick...Day Two Round-Up
> Karatancheva breaks Grand Slam duck...Day One Round-Up
> Roland Garros Preview
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