 Photographer: Susan Mullane
Date: 01 Jul 2005 |  Photographer: Susan Mullane
Date: 01 Jul 2005 |  Photographer: Susan Mullane
Date: 01 Jul 2005 |  Photographer: Susan Mullane
Date: 01 Jul 2005 |  Photographer: Susan Mullane
Date: 01 Jul 2005 |  Photographer: Susan Mullane
Date: 01 Jul 2005 |  Photographer: Susan Mullane
Date: 01 Jul 2005 |  Photographer: Susan Mullane
Date: 01 Jul 2005 |
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| 01 Jul 2005 - AELTC Wimbledon - Eleanor Preston | |
| Haase Survives As Lone Seed Amongst Final Four |
Robin Haase of the Netherlands led the charge into Saturday’s junior Wimbledon finals with a 76 67 64 victory over American Tim Smyczek. Haase is the only seed left in either the boys or girls’ draw heading in to the final weekend.
Haase will take on France’s Jeremy Chardy, who knocked out World No.1 Donald Young 64 76 in the semi-finals. Austria’s Timea Paszek and Poland’s Agnieska Radwanska will play an all-unseeded girls’ final after they beat top seed Viktoria Azarenka and second seed Agnes Szavay respectively.
Despite the fact that he is 14th seed, Haase seemed as surprised as anyone to find himself in his first grand slam final given the problems he had during his preparation for Wimbledon. The 18-year-old was struck by a foot injury after slipping on the grass while playing at Roehampton and then, just as he was recovering, was struck down with a throat infection which dogged him throughout his first two matches.
There were times when I couldn’t swallow, I couldn’t eat and was really sick and when you look at it like that it’s amazing,” said Haase. “If you’d have told me a week ago that I would be in the Wimbledon final I would have laughed.
“It’s great to be the final but now that I’ve come this far I want to win one more match and take the title. When your chance comes up you want that little bit more.”
Chardy will be equally hungry. After he lost to Gael Monfils in the Wimbledon semi-finals a year ago, Monfils told him that he would come back a year later and win the title. “I hope that what he said comes true!” said Chardy.
In the girls’ draw, few players have been able to match Paszek’s giant-killing run to the final. Including her win over Azarenka, she has now beaten four seeds in her last four matches, though she admitted that her semi-final against the reigning Australian Open champion was by far the biggest battle of the lot.
“It was such a strange match,” she said. “I started well then I was a set and a break up, I got an unlucky net-cord and after, like, three minutes she’d won the set 64. In the third set I tried to forget everything that had happened before and just play my best. It was a great match because she played very, very well. It’s a great feeling to be in the final because it’s everybody’s dream, especially at Wimbledon because it’s the tournament everybody talks about.”
Paszek has played Radwanska before but says that it will matter little once they are playing for a grand slam final. “Every match is different, especially when it’s a Wimbledon final so all I can do is try to have fun and play my best tennis. Now I want the title. It’s natural when you have come so far that you want to finish it.”
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