Around the World with Mr Ed (March 10, 2001)
by Ed Toombs



Since both Mr Eds are supplying reports from tournaments this weekend, we will be slovenly and let someone else do the work for us! Esteemed tennis fan and keen observer C******** was at the qualifying and first round action at Indian Wells this week. I found her observations about some of the lesser-known and up-and-coming players, most of whom are probably known to us by name only, quite intriguing!

Alison Bradshaw

Bradshaw is a strong-hitting player with a big serve and effective forehand. "But she does that thing where she leans over and stretches for her backhand instead of getting her feet right," commented C********. "She had some moments, but they were only moments." It also looks as though she could get herself in better physical condition.

Daniela Hantuchova

C******** was particularly impressed with rising teen sensation Hantuchova, whom she adopted as a favorite in qualifying. "She is tall but very willowy with thin long arms and legs. She moves lightly around the court and wallops the ball off both wings. I would say the backhand is the stronger of the two, but she hit forehand winners too."

However, C******** spotted some areas for improvement. "I notice that her game is upright. She doesn't bend those long legs to get down over her backhand and it causes errors on that wing. Also her game is a bit on the delicate side. She hits some marvelous winners, but the ball seems a bit light... not heavy like the regular WTA girls hit it." And it seems that the youngster still lacks the steady nerves in the clutch. "She didn't play the big points well at all," lamented C******** about her new fave. "She actually double faulted on match point of her loss to Rita Kuti Kis."

"Hantuchova's hair is cut in long layers," noted C********, who is always attentive to fashion details, "and is shaped short around her face and tapering to nape lenght in the back. It's a nice medium brown with some sun streaking." She has an impressive baseline game, which has allowed her to post some solid results early in her young career

Lina Krasnoroutskaya

Another teen sensation, the former world junior champion is already considered a star of the future. C******** could see why. Yet another tall Eastern European girl, Lina impressed C******** with her "star power". "She walked out onto the court in a sprayed on pale mauve sleeveless top and navy shorts with flared legs. No logo on the clothing, no logo on her shoes either. The logo was painted over.

Lina won her qualifying match fairly easily, and "looked to be using this match as a little practice session," noted C******** . "She seemed to be working on her serve and coming into the net. When she got in trouble in a game, she stopped doing those things and went back to her usual game," which is hitting hard, deep groundstrokes.

Tatiana Poutchek

Tatiana Poutchek, out of Belarus, is another impressive member of the Eastern European teen brigade. "She has long blond hair and is pretty in a 'girls who play field hockey', healthy sort of way," judged C********. She also plays with plenty of emotion. "She slams her racket and talks to herself and yells at herself and smacks her thigh with her racket so hard you can hear the sound sitting far away." Be careful Tatiana, that can get dangerous!

Ana Paula de los Rios

Finally, C******** was charmed by one of the younger figures on the WTA Tour, 5-year-old Ana Paula de los Rios. No, don't worry, the WTA has not relaxed its age restrictions yet. Ana Paula is the daughter of Paraguayan player Rossana de los Rios. The little girl has become something of a tour mascot, and is constantly around her mom even when she practices and plays. During one practice session Ana Paula was scooping up balls for her mother, and C******** was amazed at the girl's fearlessness. Rocket-like shots coming off her mom's racquet were whizzing past the girl, sometimes very close to her head. But little Ana Paula didn't flinch, and calmly ignored the fusillade as she continued to scoop up balls. When she got bored with this labour, the delightful little girl would run to her father Gustavo and play with him for a while, before returning to watch her mother close-up.

Talk about getting some serious tennis immersion in one's tender years! This girl has tennis in her blood, and I confidently predict that Ana Paula de los Rios will be the 2016 Roland-Garros champion.



You may read previous Mr. Ed columns by clicking here.

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