Kimiko Rises Again
WTA官網前兩天有一篇關於伊達復出的詳細報導，
文中提到伊達的丈夫之前一直鼓勵她復出，
然後伊達也是參加了一些表演賽後發現自己還是很愛網球，
還有她在AIG賽後還會再參加三個的ITF挑戰賽。
（剛特地查了ITF的比賽時間表，今年還有4個挑戰賽在日本舉行，
兩個是25K、另兩個分別是50K和75K）
值得注意的是如果她排名分數夠而體力又足夠的話，她會參加明年澳網會外賽啊！
最後她提到這次復出其實不太管輸贏了，只要高興就好，
但當然希望能讓大家重新注意日本網球，也希望能激勵更多的人！
http://www.sonyericssonwtatour.com/3/newsroom/stories/?ContentID=2658
（內文還有影片）
TOKYO, Japan - This decade there has been another Japanese woman making the
headlines back home, but in the 1990s it was Kimiko Date who led her nation
in the tennis world, winning seven singles titles on the Sony Ericsson WTA
Tour and making it all the way up to No.4 in the rankings. She retired aged
26 at the end of the 1996 season, but now - nearly a dozen years later - she
has come back for a piece of the action, and is enjoying every minute of it.
No other Japanese player has achieved the same level of success - at least in
singles - as Date did in the first phase of her career. In addition to her
seven titles she had 18 wins over Top 10 players (including one over a
reigning world No.1, beating Steffi Graf in Fed Cup play in 1996) and spent
153 non-consecutive weeks in that elite herself. She reached the semifinals
at three of the four Grand Slams and was a two-time quarterfinalist at the
other. The only other Japanese player near the same level of success is Ai
Sugiyama, who has been as high as No.8 in singles (although she has made it
to No.1 in the world in doubles).
On September 24, 1996, Date announced she would retire from the Tour at the
end of the season. After an early exit at the season-ending Championships to
a 16-year-old and on-the-rise Martina Hingis, she indefinitely stepped out of
the limelight. She certainly kept herself busy in the years that followed,
however.
"I had a lot of pressure on me during those years, and I was too young for
it," the soft-spoken Japanese said. "After I retired I didn't play too much
tennis, but I continued to do sports. I ran the London marathon in 2002 and
was really happy about it, because I finished in three hours and 27 minutes,
which is a good time for me. I was doing pilates too. I still enjoyed
challenges, just different ones."
During the break she also married German race car driver Michael Krumm, hence
the name change. Krumm, who races in Japan, encouraged his wife to come back
to professional tennis, and it eventually worked.
"My husband was always talking about motorsports and kept telling me I could
try playing tennis again. I played some exhibition matches against Steffi
Graf and Martina Navratilova last year, and it made me want to play even
more. I enjoy exhibitions a lot, but it doesn't really matter if you win or
lose them, and I really wanted to compete seriously. So I started practicing
seriously again and this year I decided I'd return to professional tennis."
Date Krumm's first event back came in May at Gifu, Japan, one of the bigger
ITF Circuit events out there. She was awarded a wildcard into qualifying and
was an overwhelming success, making it through qualifying and to the final of
the main draw, losing to current Top 50 player Tamarine Tanasugarn in three
sets; she also won the doubles title. Date Krumm's fire was stoked from that
week and she would pick up three singles titles on the ITF Circuit during the
summer.
"I was very surprised in myself," she said. "I was gone for almost 12 years.
I thought I would lose many times when I came back but even in my first one
back I did so well. I couldn't have imagined that success before the
comeback."
In September she played her first Tour-level event of the year as a wildcard
into the qualifying at the Toray Pan Pacific Open. She won her first two
matches - including a head-turning win over Top 50 player Casey Dellacqua -
before falling one round short of the main draw, losing to Canada's
Aleksandra Wozniak.
"Women's tennis is much tougher now than it was before. There is a lot more
power and the players are tougher. Mentally I'm still at their level though.
I need more time to practice with the newer players, otherwise I won't get
used to their power. But beating a Top 50 player definitely gave me belief I
can still compete with them. I just need more practice to feel comfortable at
this level again."
Date Krumm will play the second Tour event of her comeback at the AIG Japan
Open Tennis Championships in Tokyo, then round out the rest of the season on
the ITF Women's Circuit. In 2009, she'll be heading to Australia.
"I have three more tournaments in Japan this season, and then we'll see if my
ranking will get me into Australian Open qualifying. I haven't decided on
anything after that. It depends on my body, but I'm really going to work
hard. I'm getting a lot of attention in Japan but I'm really just trying to
concentrate on my tennis."
One thing is certain: Date Krumm isn't motivated by expectations or anything
external. She is back to enjoy her tennis, as well as see if she can still do
it.
"This time, win or lose, I'm just trying to enjoy it. I'm going to have more
fun. And I think this will be good for Japanese tennis too - I hope I can
bring some attention back to Japanese tennis, and maybe even inspire a few
people, too."
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