For our final "Mr Ed" of the year, we check out the future stars at the big season-ending junior tournaments in the Sunshine State. Not to neglect our established pros, we head down to Argentina to see that fists as well as rackets were swinging, and then scoot over to Australia to dissect one of the oddest coaching changes in some time.
I have seen the future, and it is Russian!
The highlight of the last month of the year was a series of three big junior events in Florida, constituting a chance to size up the future stars of the professional ranks. The circuit began with the Eddie Herr Classic in Bradenton, before swinging to Miami for the team competitions, the Sunshine and Connelly Cups, and winding up with one of the world's most prestigious junior competitions, the Orange Bowl. If the results of these events are any indication of the future, we will see Russia continue its d
evelopment into a tennis powerhouse in the next decade.
Russia was particularly strong on the girls' side. Three of the semifinalists and both finalists were of Russian nationality. The title match tomorrow will see Svetlana Kuznetsova, the 2nd seed, do battle with compatriot (and defending Orange Bowl champion) Vera Zvonareva. The dynamite Kuznetsova-Zvonareva combo had led Russia to the Connelly Cup title just last week. Regardless of the outcome, it appears that the 16-year-old Kuznetsova, a native of St. Petersburg, has done well enough to clinch the ju
nior #1 title for 2001.
Notwithstanding the successes of these Russian up-and-comers, much of the buzz around the Florida tourneys has been centered on a slender 13-year-old phenomenon named Tatiana Golovin. Already a "girl of the world", Tatiana is a Moscow native who has lived in France and now trains in Florida at the Bollettieri academy. The kid acquitted herself very well this month against girls sometimes five years older. At the Eddie Herr, Golovin reached the quarterfinals and appeared to have the top seed Eva Birnero
va on the ropes with a 6-3, 4-1, 40-15 lead. However, the youngster's inexperience showed and she contrived to lose the match. Again at the Orange Bowl Golovin impressed, trouncing the highly-regarded American Ally Baker 6-1, 6-2 before giving the excellent Zvonareva all she could handle in a 4-6, 7-6 (7-3), 6-3 loss. Definitely, Tatiana Golovin bears watching in the years to come.
Not to be outdone, the more lightly-regarded Russian boys also came up with some fine showings down in Florida. They made it a clean sweep of the team cups by surprisingly taking the Sunshine Cup. The leader of the Russians was the unheralded Pavel Ivanov, who went undefeated during the competition. Ivanov is an 18 year old out of Novosibirsk who is coached by his dad, and whose favourite player is Marat Safin.
The boys' Orange Bowl was supposed to feature the battle for number one between U.S. Open junior champion Gilles Müller, a big-serving lefty from Luxembourg, and Yugoslavian prospect Janko Tipsarevic, the Australian Open junior champion. But the expected showdown fizzled, as both lost in the early rounds. Müller, who led the standings going into the Orange Bowl, has clinched the #1 title for 2001.
The surprise of the Orange Bowl was an unknown 17-year-old Argentine named Juan Mónaco. Unknown, because this was his first junior tournament! Mónaco, who has been training in Spain at the Emilio Sánchez academy for the past year, has elected to bypass the junior circuit, preparing for his pro career by training diligently and entering lower-level professional events. "I came here because it is a great tournament and very good players come here," Juan told Juniortennis.com. "I have never played w
ith the ITF guys before."
Mónaco's opponent in the Orange Bowl final tomorrow will be the kid who is regarded as the future of Swedish tennis, European junior champion Robin Söderling. The 17-year-old Söderling has not only excelled at the junior level: he has made his mark on the ATP circuit, by winning a first round match against Paraguayan Ramón Delgado as a wild card in Stockholm two months ago.
Fists fly in Argentina
Many of the top pros are already starting to prepare for the coming season by competing in exhibition tournaments in various parts of the world. These tourneys are often called "meaningless", but don't tell that to Guillermo Coria!
Coria, a superbly talented 19-year-old from Argentina, was participating in an exhibition tournament called the Torneo Argentino in Buenos Aires. According to the Argentine daily Clarín, Coria, during his semifinal match against José Acasuso, became upset with Acasuso's coach Horacio de la Peña, whom Guillermo felt was trying to disconcert him. "Stop bothering me!", Coria was heard to yell at De la Peña during the match.
Clarín reports that after the match, which incidentally was won by Acasuso, Coria and De la Peña crossed paths in the dressing room and began throwing punches. A barefoot Agustín Calleri, trying to pull them apart, got a toenail ripped off for his trouble. This caused Calleri to retire from his semifinal match the next day.
Notwithstanding the locker room fireworks, it is important to note that this was Coria's first match play since August, when he injured his wrist playing football. The talented young Argentine excelled on clay in 2001 before his injury, notably winning a tournament in Chile and reaching the semis of the Tennis Masters Series - Monte Carlo. It will be interesting to follow Guillermo Coria's progress in 2002.
Hewitt's strange coaching change
Finally, it would be difficult not to comment on the most peculiar coaching change of the year.
Darren Cahill had rightfully been given much of the credit for guiding 20-year-old Australian Lleyton Hewitt to the loftiest spot in the ATP rankings. Shockingly, just after Australia's loss to France in the Davis Cup final, it was made known that Hewitt and Cahill are no longer a team, and that Hewitt will henceforth be coached by Jason Stoltenberg.
When we read the bland comments by both parties issued by their press people, we suspected that there was more to the split than met the eye. Sure enough, reports in the Australian and British press revealed that a conflict between Cahill and Hewitt's parents precipitated the breakup. Fingers are being pointed particularly at Lleyton's omnipresent father Glynn, and speculation was that Mr Hewitt had become jealous of the tight and successful bond that had formed between his son and Cahill.
The last time we can remember a number one player splitting from his coach takes us back to 1998, when Marcelo Ríos split with Larry Stefanki just after Stefanki had guided the Chilean to the summit. Again, paternal instincts may have been to blame, as it is felt that Marcelo's father Jorge insisted on the breakup.
Since that time, Ríos has never been the same player. Hewitt, according to reports, was in tears when he learned of his mentor's departure. We will be watching to see how the speedy Aussie reacts at the Australian Open next month.
See you in 2002 for another exciting year of tennis. Happy holidays to all!