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Ready for Wimbledon
Posted: Wednesday June 21, 2000 09:09 AM
Currently ranked No. 42 in the world, 19-year-old Alexandra Stevenson is looking to make another run at Wimbledon. She made history last June when she advanced to the semifinals at the All England Club as a qualifier. Check out Stevenson's diaries each month on CNNSI.com. June 20, 2000Eastbourne, England I am playing on my beloved grass now. It was a rough spring on the clay -- the surfaces were all red clay, but different. Some were soft and some were hard. I preferred the soft because it let me set-up for my shots better. I came out of the red clay season winning two matches in four tournaments. I traveled to Barcelona, Berlin, Rome, Strasbourg, and Paris. In Barcelona I trained at Emilio Sanchez' Open Academy. One of his coaches, Angel Jiminez, traveled the clay season with me. I learned from the best clay-court experts and I can see a difference in the way I am seeing the court and playing the points. My team is still intact -- my mom, Nick Bollettieri, Brian Gottfried and me. Nick only comes to the Grand Slams, and I train at the IMG Academies in Bradenton, Fla. with him. Brian is my new coach on the road and at home. It's great to have the knowledge of Nick and Brian on my side. Brian was once in the top three in the world and won two Wimbledon doubles and three French Open doubles championships while playing on the ATP Tour in the 70s and early 80s. He was president of the ATP Tour and cared about the game and preserving the history. Brian met up with my Mom and I in Surbiton, England.
My grass tournament play doesn't have the results that I had last year -- though I lost in the first round at Surbiton in 1999 and third round in 2000. At Birmingham I went out in the first round in three sets to Shinobu Asagoe from Japan. She played the court just right with low hits and short backswings. At Eastbourne I lost to Anne Kermess of Luxembourg in three sets. I feel I'm playing better than I played last year. My volleys are solid, my groundstrokes are sound, and my serve has a lot of rhythm. I'm ready for Wimbledon. Brian and I are working hard in Eastbourne. I am going to play in the Devonshire Plate, an event much like backdraws in the juniors. If you lose in the first round you are invited to play again against other players who have had the same fate. It gives us all more grass time. Lilia Osterloh from Ohio is playing doubles with me and we qualified into the main draw. I am on my way to play the first round right now against Natasha Zvereva and Anna Kournikova on Centre Court. My favorite city was Rome. How strange it is to suddenly be in the cities I have studied in my history classes. Every day my Mom and I found a different monument or ruin to visit. And the restaurants on the crowded streets were the special surprise with their fresh vegetables and pastas. I loved the stores and the Italian designers and the shoes! At last I found size 11.
I have been on the road since May 2. We have had our "Goldie Hawn" moments. Life with my Mom is never dull. But, mostly it has been about learning on the court, resting, eating, training, and watching everything so I can learn how to win and how to be a professional. Life is not glamorous, but there are moments of brilliance -- like playing in front of a happy centre court crowd. I've enjoyed meeting the fans and giving my best effort on the court for them. There is a lot of waiting and playing out here. You play, you wait, you play. And the weather reports become your new best friend. In school, if it rained, the teacher seemed more relaxed, unhurried. Out here, everyone gets nervous when the skies cloud over. Some players handle it and others seem affected by the waiting when it rains. I'm reading a lot because there isn't any American television. I read anyway, but in the evening instead of a TV program I open a new book. We live in hotels and bookstores out here. I visit museums and old churches. I study the cities and their architecture. I signed an autograph for Sir Cliff Richards, the singer. It is his 60th birthday. My mom and Brian had to tell me who he was -- and Brian reminded us that he sang for the Wimbledon crowd during a long rain delay. I wouldn't mind singing for the crowd. I love everything about Wimbledon. I have been counting the days until my arrival through the big black gates. Everything has been improved. New locker rooms, new player lounge. I'm going to play with American Justin Gimelstob in mixed doubles. I have my games ready -- monopoly, cards, scrabble, backgammon -- and my armor on to fight for my place in the history books. I am looking forward to the sunlight and the grass and Alan Mills, the grand Wimbledon tournament referee who will assign my first court. -- Alexandra
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