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Surprise semifinalist Qualifier Voltchkov downs Black to advance
Posted: Wednesday July 05, 2000 01:48 PM
WIMBLEDON, England (AP) -- Vladimir Voltchkov is following in John McEnroe's footsteps. The 22-year-old from Belarus beat Zimbabwe's unseeded Byron Black 7-6 (7-2), 7-6 (7-2), 6-4 on Wednesday to become the first qualifier since McEnroe in 1977 to reach the semifinals at Wimbledon in the open era. Ranked only 237th, Voltchkov had no chance of joining most of the other players as they warmed up for Wimbledon by playing tournaments in Halle or London. Instead, he got there by preparing on synthetic grass. That's all there is back home in Belarus, where he learned to play on a court set up for workers at a car factory. "We're practicing on synthetic grass there," said Voltchkov, who was taken to the factory and introduced to tennis by his father, Nicolai. "It is different, but there's nothing to choose from. We have those courts, and that's where I get ready for the natural grass." McEnroe is not the only legend that Voltchkov is trying to copy. No former Wimbledon junior champion -- Voltchkov won in 1996 -- has progressed as far since Stefan Edberg in 1987. Despite a modest career, Voltchkov hasn't been overwhelmed by the storied All England Club. He has never been in the semifinals of any ATP Tour event. In fact, he's only played 11 ATP tournaments, spending most of his time on the Challenger circuit. Until Wimbledon this year, Voltchkov had played just 36 matches in his career, more than half of those in Davis Cup. Thirteen of his 16 career singles victories entering Wimbledon came in Davis Cup competition. Although the going has been tough, he was encouraged by the success of his Davis Cup colleague Max Mirnyi, and even more by players from the former Soviet Union such as Yevgeny Kafelnikov and Andrei Medvedev. "A lot of people used to tell me that my technique is a little bit like Kafelnikov's," said Voltchkov. "Of course, they [Kafelnikov and Medvedev] always brought me good motivation. When you see guys from the former Soviet Union do really well, of course it motivates you as well."
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