[新聞] Golden oldies thrive in qualifying
From http://www.rolandgarros.com/
Golden oldies thrive in qualifying
By Ian Chadband on Friday 20 May 2016
With a combined age of 70, Radek Stepanek and Daniela Hantuchova each qualify
for another Roland-Garros adventure.
Daniela Hantuchova is in with a win, staking a spot in the main draw.
Spring in Paris has evidently put a new bounce in the step of a couple of
golden oldies with Radek Stepanek and Daniela Hantuchova qualifying for yet
another Roland-Garros adventure here on Friday.
As the 37-year-old Stepanek beamed after successfully negotiating his final
round of qualification with a straight sets win against an opponent 17 years
his junior, he admitted: “It’s great. It makes me feel 25 again!”
Between them, the two thirty-somethings have played in 25 French Opens and the
way they breezed into the main draw on Friday suggests they still have the
wiles and wherewithal to be opponents definitely worth avoiding in the first
round for those with serious ambitions here.
Stepanek disposed of the promising Japanese 20-year-old Yoshihito Nishioka 6-3,
6-2 with some comfort, unleashing 22 winners and sending down eight aces, and
sounded ebullient about his chances of enhancing the record he achieved last
year.
“I was told I was the second-oldest after Jimmy Connors to win in the main
draw last year. I’ve already been the second oldest to win in the Masters
series in Madrid this year and now I’m following him in a Slam,” beamed the
Czech, who will face No.2 seed Andy Murray his 13th appearance in the main draw
at Roland-Garros.
“It’s great to be mentioned with names like Jimmy Connors but the first thing
is that I’m happy with the way I’ve played and the way I’ve come back after
my injury.”
Hantuchova, at 33, may be a few years behind Stepanek but she still outdoes him
for appearances here, and she’ll be looking to make the last 16 as she’s done
on four previous occasions.
Following him on to a packed Court No 14, the Slovakian beat American Jennifer
Brady 7-6(2), 6-4 for her 14th crack at the main draw since she turned up here
in 2001 as an 18-year-old with a big fanfare and an even bigger future. Her
reward is a first-round showdown with French wildcard Virgine Razzano.
After defeating the 21-year-old Brady, who’s ranked 25 places above her,
Hantuchova gave a fist pump of delight, suggesting just how much making it into
a Grand Slam still means to distinguished and experienced campaigners like
these two.
Especially to Stepanek, who admitted afterwards there were times when he was
struggling with the sciatica nerve problem which led to a deterioration of the
muscles in his right leg that he feared for his future in the game.
'There were times I thought it was hopeless, but I never stopped believing'
“I’ve been through a lot in my long career and there were times that I
thought it was hopeless, the question marks were getting bigger and bigger but
I never stopped believing,” he said.
Talking of 30-somethings, Dustin Brown will also be a welcome attraction in the
main draw after the flamboyant German beat his compatriot Daniel Brands 7-6(1),
6-3.
With the 31-year-old, you never quite know what you’re going to get. Now down
to 117 in the rankings, the dreadlocked one hadn’t won a match for three
months before this week yet in January he had defeated Gilles Simon and, of
course, no-one has forgotten his defeat of Rafa Nadal at Wimbledon last year in
a hurry.
Just to ensure the more senior players weren’t all getting their own way, the
20-year-old Czech prospect Katerina Siniakova, who won the girls' doubles title
here three years ago, set up her second main-draw appearance with 7-6(2), 6-1
win over Spain’s experienced Silvia Soler-Espinosa, who advanced to the main
draw as a lucky loser. Four players from the Men's qualifying draw advanced as
lucky losers.
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