40-year-old Date-Krumm to face Venus at Wimbledon - 亞網 Tennis

yahoo特別為伊達首輪贏球寫了篇專題文章。
伊達今天在溫布頓取得睽違15年的勝利！
她上一場在溫網的勝仗是在1996年八強擊敗皮姐，
然後在四強經典一役中苦戰三盤打了兩天(中間因雨停頓)不敵最後冠軍Graf。

伊達成為溫網史上年紀第二大贏得單打會內賽勝利的選手，
年紀第一大是老娜幾年前47歲高齡復出單打晉級溫網第二輪。

伊達下一輪將會碰上大威，這場很大機會安排在中央球場比賽，
希望伊達好好打，享受在球場的每一刻！

老女人加油！！

WIMBLEDON, England (AP)—Fifteen years after reaching the semifinals at
Wimbledon, and three years after coming out of a long retirement, Kimiko
Date-Krumm won another match Monday at the All England Club.

The 40-year-old Japanese veteran was the first player to reach the second
round at this year’s tournament after a 6-0, 7-5 win over British wild card
Katie O’Brien.

Her last Wimbledon win came against Mary Pierce in the 1996 quarterfinals.
She then lost to eventual champion Steffi Graf 6-2, 2-6, 6-3 in a
rain-affected match—the last of her three appearances in the semifinals of a
Grand Slam.

“Of course I remember 1996, in the Centre Court I played against Steffi and
it was darkness. I played two days with her,” Date-Krumm said. “It was a
big, big memory for me. Then after 15 years I won the first round, and it’s
already miracle.”

A big part of the reason for the long gap between wins is that Date-Krumm
spent 12 years in retirement, from 1996 to 2008. Since returning, she has
twice lost in the first round.

With five-time champion Venus Williams her next opponent, Date-Krumm might
not have much chance of reaching the third round—but she could at least get
to step on Centre Court again.

“First time to play against Venus. She’s of course good player, especially
on grass,” Date-Krumm said. “So for me it’s nothing to lose. I hope I can
enjoy to play even (if) I win or lose.”

Since returning to the tour, Date-Krumm has become the second oldest player
to win a WTA title (in Seoul) and last year became the oldest finalist
(Osaka).

At 40 years and nine months, Date-Krumm is the third oldest woman to win a
singles match at Wimbledon, and the second oldest in the Open era after
Martina Navratilova—although she doesn’t rate her chances of beating the
nine-time champion’s record of 47.

“No. I think it’s impossible,” she said, before laughing as she realized
that her 47th birthday wasn’t as far away as she originally thought.

Williams, at 31, is having to get used to being older than most of her
opponents these days, but the roles will be reversed against Date-Krumm.

“I thought it was amazing when she came back,” Williams said. “I watched
her results. She’s been playing so well. I always root for her actually.

“I know this has always been a really good surface for her, especially with
the game that she plays. So I definitely won’t take anything for granted,
because I’ve seen that she’s taken out a lot of top players since she’s
been back. I’m looking forward to it.”

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