St. Petersburg Times: August 27, 1996: US Open
Russian Anna Kournikova, coach Nick Bollettieri's latest prodigy, won her first match in Grand Slam play. The 15-year-old beat Ludmila Richeterova of the Czech Republic 7-6 (7-4), 6-3.
St. Petersburg Times: September 3, 1996: Hingis mad, then gets even
...Hingis' toppling of Sanchez Vicario was the only noteworthy ripple in the completion of women's fourth-round matches. Everything else was expected: Top seed Steffi Graf ran off much talked-about amateur and Nick Bollettieri product Anna Kournikova 6-2, 6-1; former Lipton Championships finalist Judith Wiesner crushed little-known Rita Grande 6-0, 6-3; and seventh-seed Jana Novotna wore out 17th seed Karina Habsudova 6-2, 6-0...
"Well, I am very emotional, especially on the court," said Hingis, who failed to serve out the match at 5-3. "And it's very difficult against Arantxa, so if you lose (controversial points), she never give a point back. I just tried to play my best. I'm lucky that I could come back."
Luck, of course, had nothing to do with Graf's shelling of Kournikova, another 15-year-old. Graf, seeking her fifth Open title and second in a row, whaled away with 23 winners to Kournikova's seven, ending the young Russian's moment in the sun in a brisk 51 minutes. Despite the score, it was by far the best result for Kournikova, so she could only be encouraged, especially after having to win qualifying matches to get into the main draw.
"I learned that I could be out there and play those players," she said. "It was really good for me, good experience." Graf advances to the quarterfinals against Wiesner, while Hingis draws Novotna.
| Anna Kournikova News Archive: |
Anna Kournikova pages at quickfound.net:
|
This page's URL is: http://sports.quickfound.net/kournikova_1996_news.html