I've had great fun here this time knocked out some good players
"I've had great fun here this time, knocked out some good players and made history. Every match I feel I'm getting closer to what I want to achieve."While the women's game becomes stronger in depth, the same is not happening in the men's, where there are far fewer gifted teenagers coming through. Experience is always important but the way she was going for her shots, she really took a lot of risks and it didn't seem like she was getting nervous at any stage and that's very impressive to me."Equally impressive is Stevenson's self-belief, even after her 6-1, 6- 1 semi-final defeat to Lindsay Davenport "In the years to come I'll win on Centre Court," she said. "There are only a few players in the game who hit the ball as hard as she does. Now those troubles are behind her - illustrated by progress to a Wimbledon semi-final - a bright future beckons. "She wasn't tentative, she really went for it," Graf said, after their match. After playing in the 1997 US Open aged 15, when she lost to Jana Novotna, Lucic's abusive father hindered her advancement.
That Stevenson has not been prominent until now is less to do with a lack of ability than her mother's desire for her to maintain a low profile.Of the three, Lucic, ranked No 134 in the world before Wimbledon, was the most established and arguably had only taken this long to get noticed because of personal problems earlier in her career. She is a former junior world No 1, and in January she reached the third round of the Australian Open, where she lost to Hingis. Her progress, like that of her contemporaries such as Hingis, Venus and Serena Williams and Anna Kournikova, has been the result of efficient youth programmes and the unstinting ambition of parents and mentors.Stevenson, too, has played tennis since she was a youngster and grew up in close contact with the Williams sisters, whose father made a decision not to allow them to play in junior tournaments because he did not want them to face too much pressure. Steffi Graf went on to win all four Grand Slam singles tournaments in 1988. Before arriving at the Championships this year, aged 30, with seven Wimbledon titles to her name, her Grand Slam tally stood at 22. It seems only fitting, as Graf exits centre stage from the All England Club for the final time, albeit without a much-desired eighth title, that a new generation of emerging talent should take its place under the spotlight. Foremost among the pretenders are Jelena Dokic, the 16-year-old Australian qualifier who caused the biggest upset in years by beating Martina Hingis in the first round; Alexandra Stevenson, the 18-year-old American qualifier with the protective mother and the basketball-playing father, who eliminated Dokic in the quarter-final; and Mirjana Lucic, the 17-year-old Croatian, who made it as far as the semi-final before being beaten in three sets by Graf.That Dokic and Stevenson met in the quarter-finals - and hence guaranteed that a qualifier would grace the women's semi-finals for the first time - was remarkable, but they did not emerge from the ether without trace.Dokic's family had moved to Australia when she was 12 to give her greater opportunities to play sport and develop her career. LITTLE MORE than 12 years ago, the tennis world was marvelling at a 17-year-old German girl who had emerged as if from nowhere to win the French Open.
because they sound crazy.Lindsay Davenport wonders about Mrs Stevenson.I want to leave England as soon as possible."Mad Dad" Dokic warms to the place.She [Dokic] is staying in a downtown bordello.BBC commentator Julian Tutt makes Mr Dokic madder.It was meant as a light-hearted comment.Tutt quickly apologises.It's far nicer than being at Wimbledon.Hingis swaps the tennis towel for the beach towel.. They were friendly and supportive.Samantha Stevenson on her daughter Alexandra's welcome to the women's Tour.I'm not sure if she's doing it for attention... The only thing that kept us sane was the attitude of the American men players. The only way is to guess which way it's going.Arvind Parmar on Greg Rusedski's serve.I only said there was a 99 per cent chance I would never play here again, if I remember correctly.Boris Becker justifies his reappearance at the All England Club.I couldn't put my shoes on because I was so nervous.Becker, knocked askew by the support of the Wimbledon crowd.We'll be trying to hit each other on the back of the head as many times as we can.Pat Rafter on the prospect of meeting his doubles partner, Jonas Bjorkman, in the singles.I told her I was the greatest player of all time.John McEnroe explains why his doubles partner, Steffi Graf, had burst out laughing.Alexandra was called a nigger by a player on court. I haven't had any contact for a year.Lucic on the escape from dad Marinko's beatings.It's not very nice You can't even get your racket on the ball. I actually touched her.A young man brushes shoulders with Anna Kournikova.Steffi...A reporter off to a bad start with Kournikova.Steffi was always my favourite player, but she won't be my hero tomorrow.Mirjana Lucic before her semi-final against Graf.My father figures nowhere now. I guess I am still in the match.Martina Hingis explains the inexplicable.We decided to have a little bit of distance.Hingis sacks her mum.I don't think anybody can help me.
The odds on my winning are about the same as the second coming of Christ.British No 12 Danny Sapsford on the prospects of meeting Pete Sampras.There's not that much love in the air.Pete Sampras declines the chance to watch the US Davis Cup captain Tom Gullikson in the over-35s.It was like an alien abduction out there - someone invaded his body and turned him into the greatest volleyer in the universe.Jim Courier blames cosmic forces for defeat by Henman.I touched her. I played quite well. Jelena Dokic, after overwhelming the No 1 seed, Martina Hingis, 6-2, 6-0. Not yet I mean, it's kind of.. I'm sort of still.. I am a little tired I sort... More partners than Fred Astaire.WIMBLEDON CHAMPIONS 1999Men's singlesP Sampras (US)Women's singlesL Davenport (US)Men's doublesM Bhupathi & L Paes (India)Women's doublesL Davenport & C Moriaru (US)Mixed doublesL Paes (India) & L Raymond (US)Boys' singlesJ Melzer (Aut)Boys' doublesG Coria & D Nalbandian (Arg)Girls' singlesI Tulyaganova (Uzb)Girls' doublesD Bedanova (Cz Rep) & M Salerni (Arg)Men's 45 & over doublesB Gottfried & T Gullikson (US)Men's 35 & over doublesK Flach & R Suguso (US)Women's 35 & over doublesE Smylie & W Turnbull (Aus).
Otherwise, Sampras would have tripped the light fantastic with Steffi Graf (1993 and 1995), Conchita Martinez (1994), Martina Hingis (1997), Jana Novotna (1998) and Lindsay Davenport (1999). Sampras used a two-handed backhand until his early mentor, Pete Fischer, persuaded him to change to the classical one-handed style.As Sampras spoke, the words of Hingis came to mind when she remarked two years ago how disappointed she was to discover that the traditional champions' dance had been discontinued. The splendid trophy stood before him, inscribed with the words: "The All England Lawn Tennis Club Single Handed Championship of the World". Hingis, the 1997 champion, is now in Florida, preparing for the American hard court season.Hingis's first-round defeat by the 16-year-old Australian Jelena Dokic triggered a wave of publicity over teenaged players and their parents.There was Hingis and mum (her coach, Melanie Molitor), who decided to go their separate ways; Dokic and her dad, Damir, who was able to cheer his daughter through to the semi-finals having overcome the embarrassment of being ejected from a tournament in Birmingham because of unruly behaviour; Alexandra Stevenson and mum, Samantha, who made allegations concerning lesbianism and racism on the women's Tour; and Stevenson and dad, who let it be known that he is none other than Julius Erving II, "Dr J" of basketball fame.On the positive side, the women's game saw the blooming of several new starlets, including Dokic and Stevenson, and Mirjana Lucic, who appears to have put her parental difficulties behind her since moving from Croatia to the United States.Lindsay Davenport, charmingly, thanked everybody who came to mind after starting a day of American celebrations by defeating Graf in the final, having hastily arranged to have a new dress delivered in the hope that she would be among the guests of honour at the Wimbledon Champions' Dinner at the Savoy.John Curry marked the end of his 10 years as the All England Club's chairman by complimenting the players for the way they put up with the weather and thanking the Club's top seeds for all seasons, Alan Mills, the referee, and Eddie Seaward, the head groundsman.Sampras said it was "pretty cool" to have won the title six times. Surely the old warrior would have taken the same decision as Graf in similar circumstances.While Wimbledon indulged in its party piece of running the covers on and off the courts, Martina Hingis spent the second week away from the rain in the sunshine of Cyprus with her boyfriend, the Swiss player Ivo Heuberger. They left empty-handed, but treasure chests of fond memories and goodwill followed in their wake.An angry John McEnroe declared that he would stick to commentating, except for his regular participation on the ATP Senior Tour, after Graf abruptly ended their Wimbledon mixed-double partnership in order to rest a dodgy thigh muscle in the hope of winning an eighth singles title."It was like being punched in the stomach," McEnroe said He cannot be serious.