Baltacha bit part ends

Published on Sunday 30 June 2002 01:00

IT HAD to come to an end eventually. Despite the positivity she has talked so frequently about, no-one really believed she could go all the way, but the travesty is that when the curtain fell on what has been an amazing Wimbledon for 18-year-old Elena Baltacha, it was Henmania that dealt the most brutal blow.

One set down and battling hard to break her opponent Elena Likhovtseva in the 10th game of the second to take it to a deciding set, the Kiev-born Scot was disturbed by the cheers of the courtside supporters reacting to news that good old Timmy had managed to do something spectacular on Centre Court. If looks could kill.

The umpire called for quiet, but there was a general ripple of noise and a tension on court that failed to subside until England’s favourite won the third set of his match. By that time it was too late for the longest-surviving British women in this year’s singles competition.

In the calm of the post-match interview room, Baltacha tried to dismiss it as a factor. But it was no coincidence that from that moment on she lost her grip on the contest, finally succumbing 6-4, 7-6.

Her concentration shot, she lost the game, allowing Likhovtseva to level the score at five-all. Her coach Alan Jones, and certain members of the public whose minds were still on the match being slugged out before them on No2 court, urged her to “stay calm” and “dig in”, but she was fighting a loosing battle.

Unfortunately, unlike Thursday when Baltacha had taken the match to 32nd seed Amanda Coetzer, the only person she was beating up now was herself. Bitching at her mistakes and narked that she had wasted the early break in that set, dropping her own serve in the seventh game to allow Likhovtseva to come back at her and take advantage of the crowd’s rumblings, she tightened up and it was all over.

Jo Durie, who along with Jones coaches the youngster and is predicting great things for Baltacha if she continues to progress at her current rate, warned early on that this was the big test for her. Mentally, the home support and vocal crowds were not something she has had to contend with. The pressure and the weight of expectation was a new burden, and as the match started to ebb away from her, the anger and frustration visibly mounted.

It was a shame, because for most of the encounter she had more than matched the Russian in tennis terms and in mind game silliness, proving strong enough to keep herself focused as she waited an eternity for her opponent to even appear on court. Thereafter, there were more toilet stops than a primary school bus outing and a degree of shoelace tying Greg Rusedski would be proud of.

It had been a poor start by Baltacha. One of the most impressive weapons in her arsenal, her serve, let her down. We witnessed a lengthy opening game in which she saved one break point before eventually double-faulting to gift the girl who beat her 7-6 7-5 at Eastbourne last week a crucial early break.

A feisty type of player with a winning mentality, if not quite the game to match it yet, Baltacha threatened Likhovtseva’s serve a couple of times throughout the set, but despite the encouragement from the crowd, including a number of Scottish voices who probably never believed they would ever have anything worth shouting about at Wimbledon, she just couldn’t nail the vital shot when it mattered.

A lot of that had to do with the Russian. A decent player, she produced a splattering of the baseline strokes that ousted No5 seed Kim Clijsters in the previous round, and forced the Scot all over the court. “She’s a very good player,” conceded Baltacha. “In patches I played really well, and I just kept on thinking just to keep fighting, just to keep on digging in, which I did. But at the end of the day I didn’t win.”

And she did plug on all the way to the final ball in the second set tie-break. But again her serve deserted her at a most inopportune time. First up in the shoot-out, she squandered the chance to take the lead, and although she mini-breaked back to stay in touch at 1-2, she lost her next two serves. In fact the only two points she could muster in the tense decider materialised on the Russian’s serve.

It was a sad way to end a week that has forced her name to the forefront of British women’s tennis and allowed her to generate an enthusiasm for the sport with a colourful personality and a brave style of play. The fact she is far from the finished article is the most appealing aspect.

Like Henman when he first appeared on the scene, looking all new and shiny and full of hope alongside ageing British has-beens such as Jeremy Bates, it is the promise of what Baltacha may do in the future that has captured the imagination of a nation desperate for home success at this most famous of grand slam tournaments.

“I’ve had a brilliant time this week,” she said. “I’ve learned a lot of things. I know there’s still lots and lots of things to improve on, but I’m really excited. I’m really looking forward to the future. This week’s definitely given me a boost.”

The women’s game is becoming boringly predictable thanks to the wham-bam antics of the Williams sisters, the oldest of whom woke herself up after a sloppy first set to steamroller Canadian Maureen Drake 5-7, 6-2, 6-1. Despite the progression of both Monica Seles and Justine Henin, who defeated Ai Sugiyama and Myriam Casanova 4-6, 6-1, 6-4 and 6-4, 6-4 respectively, only Jennifer Capriati seems capable of challenging the Williams’ domination. In those circumstances, Baltacha has provided a welcome distraction this week.

Next week, though, it’s back to reality and a low-key tournament at Felixstowe. As this year’s finalists take to Centre Court, Baltacha will have her nose pressed to the grindstone. She is a hard worker with the type of booming serve that is needed in the modern era. This isn’t her year for Wimbledon greatness, but an apprenticeship at places like Eastbourne and Felixstowe will serve her well, and the biggest positive is that she knows it.

Centre Court may still be the turf of Venus, Serena and Co, but at least – for one week only – centre stage was hers.