Sprem on way up
The tide of talent sweeping into the WTA Tour from central Europe is about to wash another sensation ashore. Eurosport''s Gregory Lanzenberg gives us the lowdown on Karolina Sprem. While the Croat''s name may not ring any bells just yet, the 19-year-old gave notice of her massive potential by pushing Venus Williams to the brink of an upset in the German Open.
Road to Roland: Doc, give it to me straight!
WTA Berlin: Venus give up, huh!
When you look at three key elements, Sprem has all the makings of a top five player.
First of all, her happiness on the court:
Sprem is having the time of her life on court and you can tell by watching her pumped up when she is playing against anyone.
Secondly, she possesses a major weapon - the double-handed backhand - which can work miracles, and bringing immediately to mind the power generated by another Balkan teenage prodigy, Monica Seles.
Venus Williams appeared lost at sea, dropping the first four games as a red-hot Sprem sprayed winners to all corners of centre court. Before the stunned crowd could catch its breath, the unseeded Sprem was walking to her chair with the first set in her pocket, 6-2.
The rest of the match followed a well-trodden path.
Williams drew on all her big-match experience to somehow claw her way out of trouble, winning 2-6 6-3 6-4 to wrap up her first-career Berlin final berth.
But in the face of the former world number one''s onslaught, Sprem never gave up, pushing Williams to deuce regularly.
And that brings up the third key element: Fear!
Fear is what makes a tennis player win or lose and the way Sprem began the match against Williams was the same way Seles or Agassi start theirs: Play each points as if they are match points, play them at 100% regardless of who is on the other side of the net.
It is a mirror image of watching Hingis play for the first time at the U.S. Open. Hingis played against Jana Novotna in the second round and crushed the 1998 Wimbledon champion without doubting for a second she would win.
Unlike most players, Sprem began her tennis career at the age of nine and only turned pro in 2001 - late when compared to the majority of her peers who were smacking forehands from the age of five.
But the 19-year-old had her ''breakthrough season'' last year with a rapid leap from world number 273 to 59, which points to another remarkable factor: Sprem is improving very quickly.
The fact she is yet to win anything is due to her late start, but she''s making up for lost time as she reaches the age where the Williams sisters, Clijsters and Henin-Hardenne began to make headlines.
Do not be surprised if you see Sprem reaching the Roland Garros quarters or going even further because she will be playing in Paris the same way she played her match against Venus Williams: No fear!
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