The Dream Continues For the Dazzling Dutchman
The Dream Continues For the Dazzling Dutchman
Verkerk's Cinderella run continues in Paris.
Even Martin Verkerk wouldn't have dreamed two weeks ago that he would
wind up in the final at Roland Garros. After all, this is the 24-year
-old Dutchman's first time playing on the red clay in Paris.
But Verkerk has defied all expectations, overpowering Argentine Guill-
ermo Coria 7-6(4), 6-4, 7-6(0) in Friday's semifinal to reach his first-
ever Grand Slam final. Verkerk was simply ruthless against the young
Argentine, smashing 19 aces during the closely fought match.
Throughout the match, the unseeded Dutchman showed no signs of faltering,
taking chances in the two tie-breaks, which proved pivotal to his victory.
After the match, Verkerk broke down on court and wept. "With this result,
I changed my tennis life around from a nobody to probably somebody who
achieved something in tennis," Verkerk said.
The affable Verkerk attributed his success to diligent training over the
past year. But he said it's hard for even him to believe that hard work
would pay off like this. ""I cannot explain this," he said. "This is a
dream. This is actually a little bit of a joke."
Prior to his heroics in Paris, Verker had fallen in the first round at
the only two other Grand Slams he's played, last year's US Open and this
year's Australian Open. But over the past two weeks, he defeated the
likes of No. 11 seed Rainer Schuettler and former Roland Garros champion
Carlos Moya to take his place in the final.
Verkerk now meets Juan Carlos Ferrero in the final.
WHAT THE PLAYERS SAID:
Verkerk:
About crying on court after the match
"I think it's not so good for me to talk about why it came, because I
think then I'm gonna cry again. But I'll try to explain it. It's like
this, you have your family with you there, your coach. I mean, if you
[twice] want to quit the game because you think you're not mentally
strong enough, your father who...puts his life in me, my coach, and
all those things. With this result, I changed my tennis life around
from a nobody to probably somebody who achieved something in tennis."
"I was crying and all the emotions what I just explained. Your whole
life goes by, the hard work, the cramping on the court at practice,
the running because I don't really enjoying running because... I prefer
just to hit the ball and let the other guy run."
About Coria
"He's a fit guy; he's quick; he runs so well. But I was serving really
big, so he can run what he wants, but if you serve really big, it's
difficult to get the ball back."
"In the first set, he was playing an unbelievable high level. I was
struggling actually, but I played a good tie-break so I won the first
set. In the second set, I was better I think. In the third set, I had
chances, he had chances. I played an unbelievable good tie-break and
that made the difference."
About reaching the final
"I cannot explain this. This is a dream. This is actually a little bit
of a joke. I don't know any more what happened to me."
"The thing is I'm playing well, so the main thing is I'm working really,
really hard. they always said it comes one day, and this is the day."
"One year ago, I had difficulty volleying, it was difficult to run and
I had a weak forehand. I had only a backhand and a serve. But noow I
served the whole tournament well. If you work hard, eat good, sleep
good, work out, are physically in the gym. something like this can
happen...maybe not like this, because this is too much maybe."
"I can beat Moya and Coria, so why can't I beat Costa or Ferrero...It
will be really, really tough. Sunday I'll focus on the match, try to
beat those guys. If they're better, they're better. I'm going to work;
I'm going to focus myself. I'm not happy yet."
Coria:
About throwing his racquet and hitting a boy
"I threw the racquet to hit the ball, but it flew out of my hands and
this is why I felt badly for the next few points.
"It was really bad luck and I didn't mean anything by it and I apologized
for it three or four times. It was not at all my intention to do any
harm with the racquet, but I threw it."
About being aced 19 times by Verkerk
"He had many, many aces, one after the other. This is why I lost my
rhythm. When he was serving, I was under great pressure because I knew
I had to return the ball because otherwise I wouldn't be able to break
his serve."
"I wasn't able to hit the ball on many points because it came over very
strongly."
"I think when we were 4-4 at 15-40 in the second set, I took a risk and
I didn't have his luck when he took risks. It's very difficult to play
someone who hits the ball and serves the way he does. You never really
know where his ball is going to go because you don't have the time to
see where he's hitting."
"It's very dificult to play a player like Verkerk who's very strong and
calm about it. He has a very angled serve and that's why he's able to
take risks and hit so accurately."
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