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Wimbledon set for teenage rampage
Women's tennis old guard is in danger of being swept away by a teenage rampage at Wimbledon with a host of eastern Europeans leading the charge.
Women's tennis old guard is in danger of being swept away by a teenage rampage at Wimbledon with a host of eastern Europeans leading the charge.
Old reliables Lindsay Davenport, Serena Williams and Belgian duo Kim Clijsters and Justine Henin-Hardenne are being talked of as the most likely winners.
But the likes of 15-year-old Sesil Karatantcheva from Bulgaria and 17-year-olds Ana Ivanovic, of Croatia, and the Czech Republic's Nicole Vaidisova are determined to have their say.
By comparison, defending champion Maria Sharapova is being made to look like a veteran at the tender age of 18.
All are young, confident, marketable and are not prepared to take a back seat to the game's grand dames.
Karatantcheva reached the quarter-finals at the French Open just over two weeks ago beating former world number one Venus Williams on the way; Ivanovic also made the last eight at Roland Garros knocking out French third seed Amelie Mauresmo in the process.
Vaidisova already has two WTA events under her belt winning in Vancouver and Tashkent last year as a 16-year-old.
All three are making their senior Wimbledon debuts this year and such is their progress that Ivanovic is seeded 19; Vaidisova is at 27.
The slim, tall figure of Vaidisova has also been adorning magazine covers in the United States, but she shrugs off comparisons with Sharapova, whose looks and game have propelled her to a life of luxury since her win here last year.
"I don't really see much of a similarity with Maria," Vaidisova told the Sunday Times.
"We are different people who do our own thing in our own way. We don't really know each other. I want to win Grand Slams but I am not basing my career on hers.
Despite her tender years, Vaidisova, whose game was honed in the United States, is already on the books of IMG.
"In Reebok's view, Nicole is very much the future," said the company's tennis director Dianne Hayes.
"She is as beautiful as Maria (who is a Nike star) and has the potential to achieve just as much on the tennis court."
Karatantcheva, who talks as confidently as she plays, has similar aspirations.
She has even written her autobiography and is convinced she knows the reason why there is a host of talented teenagers on the tour.
"Young players travel a lot more than in the past and that makes us more prepared and gives us all a greater perspective, makes us more mature," said Karatantcheva who like Vaidisova smoothed out the rough edges at the Bolletieri Academy in Florida.
"If you asked me two years ago how long it might take me to be in the top ten, I would have said: 'Overnight, just go out there and hit a few shots'.
"But I have a better perspective of what it takes now."
She is getting there — her quarter-final run at Roland Garros sent her ranking up from 98 to 52.
