A TRIP DOWN MEMORY LANE WITH CHERYL JONES REPORTING FROM PARIS @ THE BNP PARIBAS FRENCH OPEN

Written by: Staff on 28th May 2015

French Open tennis tournament at Roland Garros

A TRIP DOWN MEMORY LANE WITH CHERYL JONES REPORTING FROM PARIS @ THE BNP PARIBAS FRENCH OPEN

epa04767708 Sloane Stephens of the USA in action against Venus Williams of the USA during their first round match for the French Open tennis tournament at Roland Garros in Paris, France, 25 May 2015. EPA/ETIENNE LAURENT |

Today’s Cheryl Jones Roland Garros Story-Tennis A Game of Chance Perhaps

By Cheryl Jones

One of the perquisites of being a tennis journalist is that I am able to steal a look at players’ who haven’t quite made it to the forefront of the tennis “scene” – yet. Most newspapers in the States relegate tennis to a column hidden in the back of the sports section – unless there’s a major tournament being contested in close proximity. And even then, not much is ever written about young players who may be up and comers. Each of the major tournaments reserves the second week for junior players to test their games with other young competitors from across the globe.

Watching a youngster mature into a major tennis star is a reward in and of itself for anyone who follows tennis. (Roger Federer lurched into my view before he was a star and I insisted that several folks in the pressroom look at the Swiss player that I had a feeling was going to be someone special. They said that no one of note could ever be a big time player and come from Switzerland. They were wrong. I’ve seen the proof.)

Several of today’s women’s matches offered an opportunity for me to say, “I remember them when…” It wasn’t always a performance on the court that told the story. (It’s a special personality or often something as illusive as a way they carry themselves that forecasts a future spent in the limelight.) It’s not rocket science but a much more intuitive sort of observation process.

Victoria Azarenka was Viktoria when I first met her. Somewhere along the line, the “k” became a “c”. She now lives in Monaco, but she originally came from Belarus. That first interview was ten years ago when she was about fifteen; she had won the Australian Open Junior Championships and later that same year she triumphed in Flushing Meadow at the US Open Junior Championships.

Azarenka lived in Arizona with Belarusian NHL player, Nikolai Khabibulin and his wife who were friends with her mother. She was perky and shy all at the same time. She spoke excellent English and impressed me with her thoughtful behavior and a genuine “go-get-‘em” attitude. Then, she was just a kid who seemed to be on the right track. Her plan was to become a big time tennis player. That plan worked out quite well. There have been a few detours, but the direction is essentially clear now, despite injuries that have kept some of the plans in abeyance. Undeterred, she keeps plugging away. Azarenka’s career has blossomed. She has won the Australian Open twice; finished 2012 ranked number one in the world; stayed at number one for 51 weeks; and now is on her way back after a foot injury that has hobbled her rankings. Today everything went her way. She defeated Czech Republic’s Lucie Hradecka 6-2, 6-3, to move on to the Third Round.

The twenty-five year old Azarenka is a bit more circumspect in her perspective nowadays. Much has transpired since that fifteen year old oozed on to the professional tennis scene. Fans know her name now. She has finished in the Top 10 five times during the last six years, including three seasons in the top three. She is back in competition in Paris, having missed last year with that nagging foot injury. Up to that point, she had made thirty-three consecutive Grand Slam appearances in the Main Draw. She looks healthy this time out and it’s a sure thing that she will be giving her all to the matches that remain. Next up for her is Serena Williams in a couple of days. Williams may not have the advantage in Paris, even with her number one ranking. Azarenka has been there too.

Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark in action against Julia Goerges of Germany during their second round match for the French Open tennis tournament at Roland Garros in Paris, France, 28 May 2015. EPA/IAN LANGSDON

Another player that caught my eye when she was very young was Caroline Wozniacki. At just a tad over fifteen, she catapulted on the scene with a win in Cincinnati. She wasn’t so fortunate today. She fell victim to a German woman by the name of Julia Goerges, who sent her away. She had only lost to a German player once before after six Grand Slam meetings. Since Wozniacki is ranked sixty-seven places ahead of Goerges, it was an unpredictable loss today.

Wozniacki is Danish. She is twenty-four, soon to be twenty-five. There was something special in her bubbly attitude from the beginning. It was a sparkle in her eye and a genuine love of the game. In 2006, she was the winner of the Junior Championships in New York at the US Open. Her father, Piotr, who was a professional soccer player in Poland, has been her coach for most of her career. Sven Groeneveld helped with that coaching for a number of years, too. Groeneveld seemed to fine-tune her skills and iron out kinks that have been left behind.

She was the number one player in the world for quite a stint, but has never won a Slam. She has at least one title for eight years running and has never won a Grand Slam. She ranks fourth among active players (behind Venus and Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova) for singles titles, with 23. (That out ranks the previous “dubious” record holder, Pam Shriver who had 21 titles.) At the end of 2014 she finished in the Top 10 for the sixth consecutive year and presently, that is the most of any active player. Today was bad news though. Even though she has made thirty-three Grand Slam appearances she’s out in Paris, and that major win is still out of her reach. Wimbledon will offer a new opportunity for her to shine.

Sloane Stephens and Heather Watson both caught my eye as youngsters. Stephens is an American who comes from Southern California, although she sometimes calls Florida home. Heather Watson is British, but she often calls Florida home as well. Both young women have had successful careers as professional competitors. They both had that special zing as youngsters. Both of them are hard workers and both appear to have many years ahead of them on the pro circuit.

Stephens is twenty-two and she has shown amazing abilities when challenged. She has consistently done well in major tournaments. She is one of the few players who have defeated both Venus and Serena Williams in Grand Slam play. (The other American who accomplished that was Lindsay Davenport.) She’s been up and down lately, but “Sophomore Slump” may have reared its ugly head. Times may be changing for her after today. She defeated Watson 6-2, 6-4 in an hour and ten minutes in the early afternoon.

Britain’s Heather Watson returns the ball to Italy’s Roberta Vinci during their first round match for the Italian Open tennis tournament at the Foro Italico in Rome, Italy, 11 May 2015. EPA/ALESSANDRO DI MEO

Watson is twenty-three. At twelve, she moved to Florida and Bollettieri’s Academy. She’s done better on the tour than any British woman in a very long time. She began by winning the US Open Girl’s title in 2009. The promise she showed has been interrupted with a few issues. One of those issues was a lengthy illness – glandular fever – a malady that used to be referred to as “the kissing sickness”. It is more correctly known as Mononucleosis. After recovering from that illness, she had a recurring right rib injury. Bad luck has followed her. Undaunted, she soldiers on.

Even though her ranking is now just a tad above Stephens’ there is evidence that she will have a career worthy of England’s praise. She began the year by winning Hobart without dropping a set for her second WTA title.

There are many more promising players waiting in the wings. The likes of Federer, Maria Sharapova, Novak Djokovic, Azaranka, Marion Bartoli and even Lindsay Davenport didn’t just appear at the top of the heap. Each of them has worked for years honing their games and competing with other gifted players. Sometimes it’s worth looking beyond the names and following the exploits of someone no one else ever heard of. It’s worth the effort. Then it will be easy to say….”I knew them when…”.

Topics: Cheryl Jones, French Open, Paris, RG15, Roland Garros, Tennis News

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10sBalls_com says:

May 28, 2015 at 2:09 pm

A TRIP DOWN MEMORY LANE WITH CHERYL JONES REPORTING FROM #PARIS @ THE #BNPParibas #FrenchOpen http://t.co/cm9i1fbBJJ #RG15 #FrenchOpenTennis

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