伊達公子創溫網歷史 - 亞網 Tennis

這篇好長，來寫一下重點。

一、伊達公子成為開放年代闖進溫網第三輪年紀最大的女球員，
之前紀錄由當時39歲的Virginia Wade在1985年創下的。

二、在四大滿貫闖進第三輪年紀最大的紀錄保持者是Renee Richards，
她在1979年闖進美網第三輪時已經45歲，所以如果伊達下輪獲勝，
將成為在四大滿貫闖進16強中年紀最大的球員，但她下輪對手是小威。

三、今年籤表128位會內賽球員中，有59位在伊達首度亮相溫網時(1989年)還沒出生XDD

四、小威說她年紀很小時看過伊達的比賽，然後這是她們生涯首度交手。

伊達加油加油！！

Williams up next for 42-year-old Date-Krumm

LONDON (AP) -- Kimiko Date-Krumm is one of the few women still on the tour
that Serena Williams remembers watching when she grew up.

On Saturday, 17 years after Date-Krumm reached the semifinals at Wimbledon
and 11 years after Williams won her maiden title there, the two finally play
each other for the first time.

The 42-year-old Japanese star on Thursday became the oldest woman to reach
the third round at the All England Club since the Open era started in 1968 by
beating Alexandra Cadantu of Romania 6-4, 7-5. Her reward: a match against
Williams, the defending champion and five-time winner.

''I watched her play when I was super young, growing up,'' said the
31-year-old Williams, a veteran in her own right who now plays one of those
rare matches in which she faces someone far older than she is.

The American beat 19-year-old Caroline Garcia of France 6-3, 6-2 to extend
her winning streak to 33 matches. To win a 34th straight, she expects to have
to get through a lot of long rallies against an opponent more than twice the
age of the one she just defeated.

''Doesn't matter how hard you hit it, she sees the ball and gets it back,''
Williams said. ''She has great hands, a wonderful great volley, comes to net
a lot, which on grass can be tricky. And she plays really flat too, so the
ball stays really low.''

Date-Krumm broke a record held by Virginia Wade, who reached the third round
in 1985 at 39. According to the WTA, she is now the second-oldest woman to
reach the third round of any Grand Slam in the Open era, after Renee Richards
at the 1979 U.S. Open.

''I'm very happy to be in the third round, especially since I love Wimbledon
and have many good memories here,'' Date-Krumm said. ''I think it's amazing.
I cannot believe it. But this year I skipped a lot of the clay court season
so I could focus on the grass. And luckily this year I didn't play a seeded
player in the first round because most of the time I did. It's working. I'm
very happy.''

Date-Krumm is also the second-oldest player to have won a match at Wimbledon
after Martina Navratilova, who was 47 when she reached the second round in
2004.

She took a 12-year break from tennis before returning in 2008. The last time
she advanced to the third round at Wimbledon was in 1996, when she lost in
the semifinals to Steffi Graf.

Date-Krumm still has vivid memories of that match, when she won the second
set before the match was halted overnight because of a previous rain delay.

''And then the next day when I'm on the court, Steffi came back to normal and
then she was so strong I had no chance,'' she said.

Against Williams, Date-Krumm hopes her legs won't let her down.

''I need to try, just try my best,'' she said. ''I hope I can stay more than
one hour, one hour half. Try my best. She's so strong. It's very difficult to
beat her''

Date-Krumm made her Wimbledon debut in 1989, when 59 of the 128 players in
this year's main draw had not yet been born.

''I have so much respect for her,'' said Williams, who herself became the
third-oldest woman in the Open era to win a Grand Slam tournament when she
captured this year's French Open. ''I think she's so inspiring to be playing
such high level tennis at her age. And she's a real danger on the grass
court, I know that. I definitely will have to be ready.''

Earlier this week, Date-Krumm said she was unimpressed by the way tennis had
evolved since she started, criticizing players who relied too much on power.
She thinks Williams is a formidable player, though.

''She's so strong. It's very, very difficult to beat her,'' Date-Krumm said.
''I played with Venus here two years ago, and this year in Miami. But, of
course, there's a big difference between Venus and Serena. Serena has more
power and more speed. She has more confidence. She has more everything. I
just need to try my best on the court and we'll see.''

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