 Photographer: Susan Mullane
Date: 04 Jul 2006 |  Photographer: Susan Mullane
Date: 04 Jul 2006 |  Photographer: Susan Mullane
Date: 04 Jul 2006 |  Photographer: Susan Mullane
Date: 04 Jul 2006 | | |
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| 04 Jul 2006 - Wimbledon - Eleanor Preston | |
| Cavaday seizes her moment to shine |
Great Britain’s Naomi Cavaday is no stranger to Wimbledon after pushing experienced professional Ai Sugiyama hard in her first round main draw match last week. Tuesday saw her replicate that form in the juniors as she battled past Russian Ksenia Lykina 6-4, 2-6, 6-1 to seal a place in the third round.
“I’m pleased to get through. Now I’ve got another match tomorrow and I’m looking forward to it,” said Cavaday. “I think it’s a massive help to have played in the main draw because obviously the level that they have is almost the same. It’s just good because I know that if I play how Sugiyama played against me in the main draw, then these juniors are going to be how I was. They are going to really feel the pressure, so what I’m trying to do is really try and step up the intensity and put it on them and see how they react.”
Cavaday, 17, will take on Kristina Kucova of Slovakia for a place in the quarter-finals of a grand slam for the first time and is bullish about her chances of progressing after making what she feels are great strides in her game recently.
“I’ve been really confident all year and I’ve been really enjoying the grass and I’m confident that it works well on this surface,” she explained. “Against Sugiyama I put up a good fight and I gave it my best shot. It is good for me to know that I can compete with her at that level – I took the lead in the second set – and now it’s about being able to sustain that in training and matches day-in, day-out. I’ve got massive desire and determination. This is what I want to do. I had a taste of it against Sugiyama and I definitely want to be back in the main draw next year. I want to get my ranking up and make some opportunities.”
Cavaday currently combines senior and junior events but she will be focusing solely on the juniors from now until the final junior grand slam of the year at the US Open. A good run at junior Wimbledon would be the perfect springboard for the summer. “This Wimbledon has been really good because it’s given me the chance to get my name out there, not so much in the media and in the public, but with the other players,” she said. “No-one knew who I was when I played in the main draw, few players know who I am in the juniors, so it’s good to get myself out there and say, ‘look, if you’re going to play me, this is what you’re going to get,’”
Cavaday’s compatriot Julia Bone made it two British girls through to the third round by beating Corinna Dentoni of Italy 6-4, 6-2 and has the unenviable task of taking on third seeded Russian Alisa Kleybanova next.
Urszula Radwanska of Poland – whose sister Agnieszka won the girls’ title last year – scored Tuesday’s most impressive upset by knocking out Sorana-Mihaela Cirstea of Romania 6-4, 6-1.
Pavel Chekhov of Russia contested one of the day’s more compelling and competitive matches in the boys’ draw by outlasting last month’s Roland Garros runner-up Philip Bester of Canada 6-4, 6-7, 6-3. Donald Young of the USA, sixth seed Luka Belic and top seed Thiemo DeBakker all eased through to the third round with little trouble.
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