The Hindu : Sport / Tennis : Michaella wants to emulate big brother

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Saturday, Jun 05, 2004

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Michaella wants to emulate big brother

PARIS, JUNE 4. Michaella Krajicek wants to emulate her big brother and win Wimbledon. Richard Krajicek won the grass-court tournament in 1996, beating seven-time champion Pete Sampras along the way.

``I would like to win a Grand Slam, especially Wimbledon. It's awesome to have a brother like that,'' 15-year-old Michaella said on Thursday after losing to Timea Bacsinszky in the girls' quarterfinals at Roland Garros.

The Dutchman retired last year after reaching at least the quarterfinals in nine Grand Slams. He made it to the French Open semis in 1993.

``I'm the only person he plays right now. He helps me with my serve,'' she said.

Richard's booming serve topped 220 kph (135 mph). Michaella says he refrains from unleashing a trademark thunderbolt when they play.

``I wouldn't even be able to reach it,'' she said.

Her idol in women's tennis, she added, is Serena Williams. ``I would watch her 24 hours a day if possible.''

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Beckham excited: Tim Henman's unexpected run to the French Open semifinals has caught the eye of England's top sports star.

England soccer captain David Beckham called Henman's success ``a massive boost for the country,'' in a posting on the tennis player's official Web site.

``Tim's done really well,'' the Real Madrid star was quoted as saying. Beckham will lead England at this month's European championship.

No. 9 Henman faces No. 3 Guillermo Coria, who has won 36 of his last 37 matches on clay.

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French cheer: Teenagers Tatiana Golovin and Richard Gasquet defeated Elena Bovina and Nenad Zimonjic to reach the French Open mixed doubles final. The French pair's performance bodes well for French tennis. Golovin is 16, Gasquet 17. Both lost their first-round singles matches last week.

``I have a lot of work to do in singles, and for me to win in doubles is great,'' Golovin said. ``But you need to take things step by step.'' At 15, Gasquet won his first ATP Tour match at the Monte Carlo Masters in 2002. He was the youngest player to qualify for a Masters event.

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Argentine pride: Times are hard back home, and Paola Suarez hopes that Argentina's success at Roland Garros will make up in some small way for economic hardships.

Suarez's bid for her first Grand Slam singles title might have ended in the semifinals, but the men's semifinals included three Argentines — the country's best showing at a major.

``I hope that all the people in Argentina will be able to also enjoy these victories that we are giving to Argentina — me and the boys as well — and we'll be able to make up for other shortcomings,'' Suarez said after losing to Russia's Elena Dementieva.

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Hingis' thoughts: Martina Hingis isn't ready for a comeback, although she daydreams about it on occasion.

``I wish sometimes I could still play. That's human, I think,'' she said on Thursday after watching the French Open women's semifinals. ``But I know I wouldn't last. Not right now.'' Hingis, who won five Grand Slam singles titles, retired at 22 in 2002 after operations on both ankles.

``If you're out for a while, it's hard to come back,'' Hingis said.

She wouldn't make a prediction for who will win the all-Russian title match between Elena Dementieva and Anastasia Myskina, saying: ``You've got two players who deserve to play in the final. They made the best of their potential in this tournament.'' Hingis called Myskina ``a late bloomer,'' and said Dementieva could play well as long as she keeps a hold of nerves that sometimes make serving an adventure.— AP

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