<Steve's Weblog>

Steve's Weblog

An incurable tennis addict, Steve Flink has been following the game since 1965, the year he first went to Wimbledon and the U.S. Championships. Flink is a Senior Correspondent for Tennis Week Magazine, a publication he joined in 1992. From 1972-82, he put his photographic memory to use as a statistician for CBS, NBC and ABC. He has been a consultant and writer for the International Tennis Hall of Fame since 1994 and is a member of their Nominating Committee. Steve is the author of The Greatest Tennis Matches of the 20th Century. Flink's recall of match history is unsurpassed.

Thursday, October 19, 2006

Jelena Jankovic

This 21-year-old Serbian took the U.S. Open by storm and could well have made it to the final. She squandered a set and 4-2 lead against Henin-Hardenne in the semifinals, and was seemingly overcome by the occasion as she conceded the last ten games to drop that contest. But Jankovic’s stirring run to the penultimate round--- she cut down No. 9 seed Nicole Vaidisova, No. 6 Svetlana Kuznetsova and No. 4 Elena Dementieva along the way--- was a tribute to her growing potential as a big time player. Her big hitting game is backed up by admirable court sense and a willingness to come forward and finish off points assertively at the net. She has the brain to match her brawn.

Jankovic will inevitably suffer through some growing pains as she seeks to find a place for herself among the elite in her sport, but the view here is that by the middle of 2007 she should be on the border of the top five in the world. She has the right mentality to be a champion, and Jankovic will surely make her presence known in the women’s game over the next three to four years. Look for her to win one major in the coming year.


0 Comments:

Post a Comment

<< Home