Young Russians Rise Tennis Ranks
W I M B L E D O N, England, July 2, 2004 -- As she strokes her way into tennis history as the third youngest women's singles finalist at Wimbledon, 17-year-old Maria Sharapova of Russia symbolizes an odd fact of life: As an émigré from the former Soviet Union at an early age, she is straddling two cultures and two nationalities.
"No, I'm still Russian," Sharapova replied today when asked if she feels more American than Russian in mentality. Sharapova hails from Siberia but now lives in Bradenton, Fla., where her father took her in 1995 to train at a top tennis academy.
Sharapova isn't alone.
Dmitry Tursunov, a 21-year-old Russian who lives in Granite Bay, Calif., arrived at age 12 in Sacramento, where his father found a coach to train his talented son.
Tursunov hasn't broken through the men's ranks in the same way as Sharapova, but he did score the first big upset of the 2004 Wimbledon Championships by thrashing his native country's brightest star, Marat Safin, 4-6, 7-5, 6-3, 7-6 (7-1).
Oddly enough, the stories of his victory over Safin, the 2001 U.S. Open champion, focused not on Tursunov but on Safin, a finalist in the 2004 Australian open.
After the match, Safin complained that he found it so difficult to play on grass that he might never again make a serious attempt to win Wimbledon (a threat he later withdrew and for which he apologized).
When Tursunov appeared again, winning a five-set match against Sargis Sargsian of Armenia, the tennis world was looking the other way. One reason is that the match was a marathon that lasted four hours and one minute, ending as darkness closed in.
After a day of big matches at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, no one noticed, but it was a remarkable match. Tursunov trailed 4-1 in the final set, yet refused to buckle and methodically worked his way back to victory, 6-3, 7-6 (7-3), 3-6, 4-6, 15-13.
"I thought of stretching it out and going for the record books," Tursunov joked later in an interview with ABC News, admitting that getting off the court as a victor became more important as the evening wore on.
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