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Post by janie on May 17, 2005 19:07:58 GMT -5
The lovely and talented Sania Mirza returned to WTA action this week in Strasbourg. Sadly, she lost in Q Rd 2 to Evil Vak. She qualified for the doubles, playing with one of those miscellaneous and interchangeable ova's. Too bad they drew the top seeds in Round 1, so Sania will likely be on the road to Paris a little sooner than planned.
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Post by janie on May 18, 2005 6:22:31 GMT -5
Revenge! Board fave Dally may not be Indian or Indonesian, but she kindly took out Evil Vak today. ;D
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Post by Brinyi on May 18, 2005 6:24:17 GMT -5
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Post by Brinyi on May 18, 2005 11:51:01 GMT -5
Dea gets a shot in the arm in U.S. collegiate career Sports News - May 16, 2005 Bruce Emond, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
National tennis' loss was the University of Washington's gain when Dea Sumantri accepted a full scholarship to its tennis program three years ago.
Currently the 18th ranked women's singles player in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the Bandung-born player has been ranked as high as fifth and was twice an All-American in singles.
Along with head coach Patty Fendick McCain, she is credited with helping make the Huskies one of the leading teams in women's collegiate tennis.
First contacted by McCain in 2000 when she was a top junior player competing with Angelique "Angie" Widjaja, Dea passed on the offer.
"Angie and Dea were the two most promising juniors, and I think Angie improved because of the competition," said former top 20 player Yayuk Basuki, whose husband Suharyadi coached Dea and recommended her to McCain, a friend from the women's tour.
"If Angie was a bit more talented (physically), Dea was smart at playing the game."
McCain tried her luck again two years later.
This time, tired of the grind of early morning practice sessions, long distance travel on the satellite tournament circuit and laid low by injury, Dea was ready to try something different.
"I didn't really like that type of life (as a touring pro), it's not easy at all, traveling by yourself or even with a coach," Dea said by phone from Seattle last Thursday. "That's especially so when the teenage phase, puberty, is tough."
Like Angie, also from Bandung and a frequent doubles partner in her junior days, Dea was the youngest in her family, with three older brothers. Her parents were initially reticent to let her go to the U.S.
"My dad asked me if it was worth it to give it all up to go to the States, and I said, 'how would I know if I don't try?' My parents have been very supportive."
After her teen years when tennis was her all-consuming focus, she has thrived on the Seattle campus -- she calls it her "one-stop for happiness -- from the enjoyment of competing on a team to making friends.
"It was the best thing that ever happened to me," said Dea, now a 22-year-old senior business administration major in marketing and sales with a 3.5 GPA.
As her results attest, striking the right balance has also been good for her game.
"I've become more developed in my personality and character. I've started to realize that I play so much better when I feel motivated from the inside."
McCain, herself a successful player for Stanford in the 1980s, has also been an inspiration. Dea speaks in superlatives about her coach.
"She does a terrific job in molding someone into a better tennis player, helping them imagine that they can go that far. She's so amazing, intelligent, a really smart woman."
The coach, known for believing that winning in the game of tennis can be broken down into a geometric equation, is equally liberal in her praise for her player.
"Dea has helped raise this program to a completely new level," she told the Seattle Post-Intelligencer in April.
"The standard she has set with her work ethic and her passion for the game ... not only is she an exciting player to watch because she's a shot maker, but she just brings droves of people out because she makes everyone feel part of the experience.
"She makes them feel like they're going through it shot for shot with her. She plays with humility and is thankful for them."
Studying abroad has opened Dea's eyes to inequality, including in gender. Differences in prize money between the sexes is galling to her.
"We eat the same amount of food, we spend the same amount of days on the court toreach the final, but the money is different."
Dea, who will graduate in December, will say goodbye to collegiate tennis in June when her eligibility ends, but she still has a few weeks left to play.
Named the Northwest Region's Senior player of the year earlier in May, she will compete for the third straight time in the NCAA singles championships in Athens, Georgia, on May 23-28.
Dea, who visits Indonesia once a year, said she missed her homeland -- "my family, friends, the food, and it's so cheap" -- but will remain in the U.S. after graduating to work.
Despite her successful college career, Dea doubts she will follow the path of Lisa Raymond, Laura Granville or Fendick McCain in trying out the pro tour once again.
"I am ready to take the next step in life, try a new challenge but I don't see myself playing the pro tour," she said, adding that she respected Angie and Wynne Prakusya for sticking with the tour.
"If you don't have to wake up at 5 a.m. every morning, if you can find happiness in so many other forms, then why would you?"
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Post by janie on May 18, 2005 14:46:46 GMT -5
head coach Patty Fendick McCain Patty!!!
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Post by janie on May 18, 2005 14:49:21 GMT -5
And Dea is right. Anyone who eats the same amount of food deserves the same prizes!!!
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Post by Brinyi on May 18, 2005 15:40:52 GMT -5
I should ask for a raise. I had a big lunch!
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Post by Brinyi on May 18, 2005 15:43:39 GMT -5
She's cute! ===>
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Post by janie on May 18, 2005 15:52:53 GMT -5
I should ask for a raise. I had a big lunch!
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Post by janie on May 22, 2005 17:56:15 GMT -5
rhz of wtaworld posted this happy for Winnie the Prakoo fans: "She just clean sweeped twice in a row! winning singles and doubles in Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam, a $25,000 tournament. She also won singles and doubles at a $10,000 tournament last week in Tarakan, Indonesia. She is coming back slowly by entering these smaller tournament. "Hopefully she will be back where she belong!! in the Top 100"
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Post by Brinyi on May 23, 2005 22:34:01 GMT -5
rhz of wtaworld posted this happy for Winnie the Prakoo fans: "She just clean sweeped twice in a row! winning singles and doubles in Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam, a $25,000 tournament. She also won singles and doubles at a $10,000 tournament last week in Tarakan, Indonesia. She is coming back slowly by entering these smaller tournament. "Hopefully she will be back where she belong!! in the Top 100" Wynne the Prakoo, woohoo!
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Post by Brinyi on May 23, 2005 22:35:14 GMT -5
Sania treads a cautious path ahead of Open
PRESS TRUST OF INDIA
Posted online: Tuesday, May 24, 2005 at 0055 hours IST
NEW DELHI, MAY 23: Still to achieve peak fitness, India’s Sania Mirza has adopted a cautious outlook about her chances in the French Open being played in Paris.
The 18-year-old, who returned to competitive circuit after a six-week injury induced layoff at the Strasbourg Open last week, also knows that playing on the slow clay courts at the Rolland Garros was not her forte.
And to make matter’s difficult for the first Indian woman to get a direct entry into the main draw of any Grand Slam event, Sania will be facing 30th-seed Gisela Dulko of Argentina, who is considered to be a clay court specialist.
“Clay is not my surface. So beating clay court specialist Dulko on her favourite surface will be a tough task but I’m ready to give it all I have,” Sania said from Paris.
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Post by janie on May 24, 2005 6:45:12 GMT -5
Yeah, it's an unfortunate draw, but on the other hand, it's a great challenge for Sania, and as the underdog, I hope she will be able to play without nerves.
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Post by janie on May 24, 2005 7:11:02 GMT -5
1-5, not so good so far!
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Post by Brinyi on May 24, 2005 8:13:47 GMT -5
Well, I'm sure she gave it all she had! And since Gisela is ordained to reach the round of 16, I can't complain.
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Post by janie on May 24, 2005 8:23:29 GMT -5
Well, I'm sure she gave it all she had! Are you saying that Sania "left it all on the court"? Good luck in Double Dames, Sania. (I assume she's playing?)
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Post by Brinyi on May 24, 2005 8:34:32 GMT -5
Yes, her partner is the evil Chak.
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Post by Brinyi on May 24, 2005 10:45:29 GMT -5
Indian Mirza's historic outing ends in defeat
PARIS, May 24 (Reuters) - Indian Sania Mirza's historic appearance at the French Open ended in first-round defeat on Monday, when she went down 6-3 6-3 to Argentine 30th seed Gisela Dulko.
Mirza gained celebrity status in her homeland when she became the first Indian woman to reach the third round of a grand slam tournament at the Australian Open.
She followed that up by becoming the first Indian to win a WTA title in Hyderabad earlier this year.
In a landmark year for the teenager, she achieved another distinction when she became the first woman representing India to gain a direct entry into a grand slam tournament at Roland Garros.
She failed to cope with Dulko's baseline power, however, and her cameo performance at the claycourt event lasted only 77 minutes.
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Post by Brinyi on May 24, 2005 12:59:45 GMT -5
Poor fatigued Dally.
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Post by janie on May 24, 2005 13:43:43 GMT -5
Poor fatigued Dally. That's her excuse for 06 16?
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Post by janie on May 24, 2005 13:45:16 GMT -5
Yes, her partner is the evil Chak. Oh, well. Chalkie couldn't help it if she had to beat Paolita to a pulp. Sounds like a cool doubles team, thanks for the info.
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Post by Brinyi on May 24, 2005 15:07:28 GMT -5
I have come to the conclusion that Vak, Yak and Chak are all evil.
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Post by vaiva on May 24, 2005 16:09:27 GMT -5
Is that a right place to sob for D A L L Y.? The smilies are back, I can see. But no smilie. Blah, I can only see them but non work
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Post by Brinyi on May 24, 2005 16:11:01 GMT -5
Yes, we have to type them out. A few glitches remain.
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Post by janie on May 24, 2005 18:19:15 GMT -5
Wow, a vaiva sighting!!!
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Post by janie on May 24, 2005 18:19:57 GMT -5
Wow, I just noticed my karma is up to zero!
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Post by Brinyi on May 25, 2005 11:48:53 GMT -5
The Chak (RUS)/Sania Mirza (IND) def. Kristina Brandi (PUR)/Nana Miyagi (JPN) 6-2 6-3
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Post by janie on May 25, 2005 14:33:15 GMT -5
What, now Chak is no longer evil? :angel:
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Post by janie on May 27, 2005 7:01:55 GMT -5
Sania and Evil Anna out of the doubles today. oh well!
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Post by Brinyi on May 27, 2005 7:52:14 GMT -5
I blame the Chak!
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