The Pressure Must Come Off

Washington, Harkleroad, Bartoli, Liu get perspective
Ferreira gives up in LA; Venus’ new dress

By Matthew Cronin
tennisreporters.net

Susan Mullane/Camerawork USA

Harkleroad gets bounced by Venus.

FROM THE BANK OF THE WEST CLASSIC – Before Mashona Washington and Venus Williams dazzled the crowds, it was an anti-angst Wednesday in Palo Alto. It began with Ashley Harkleroad after her loss to Jelena Kostanic, who says she has new perspective on her career after sitting on the sidelines for four months nursing a torn ligament in her elbow. She also has a new coach – Patricia Tarabini – and no longer is engaged in Alex Bogomolov. Believe it or not, the teen was hating life at times last year when she was rising up the charts. Now being forced to qualify for Tier II tournaments, "Pebbles" is much happier.

"Before, when I was ranked No. 35, I didn’t enjoy it," she said. "Now I’m very happy and enjoying everything about the game and life. That’s when you know it’s a matter of time before you work way up again. As long as you’re enjoying yourself and you’re happy, you play well. Before, I put a lot of pressure on myself. When I lost I took it as the end of the world and when I won I never gave myself credit. I was always worrying or thinking about the next day. You can’t do that. The first year on tour is always a learning experience. I realized what I'm going to do the next time around and its going to be a different story. I need to enjoy being out there, the nervousness, the pressure. If something stupid or bad happens to you have to learn to laugh it off and not go overboard. This time around will be a lot different. FYI: Harkleroad still thinks she has Top 25 stuff.

Another 19-year-old, France’s Marion Bartoli, had a somewhat bizarre 6-1, 6-4 win over against Russia’s Elena Likhovtseva after she nearly squandered a 6-1, 5-0. Her serve is a bit of wreck, but she spun some in during the last game and the Russian framed away.

Susan Mullane/Camerawork USA

Marion is lighter and evolving.

"I thought she was going to retire because she was giving up on every point," said Bartoli. "She was double faulting, missing a lot; it was very strange. It’s hard to play against someone like that. Then I was afraid to close the match out and she began to play better. Fortunately, I got my serves in during the last game."

Bartoli suffered a hip injury when she slipped on grass at a tournament in Birmingham the week before Wimbledon, but says she at full health again. Like Harkleroad, she says she has a new view on her career. She’s lost 30 pounds due to a new diet that doesn’t include loads of sweets.

"It wasn’t good for me to eat like that because I was carrying to much weight and hurting my knees," she said. "I’m feeling great and trying not to play without expectations and putting pressure on myself. I’m enjoying it a lot more."

The same can be said for one of the tour’s true grinders, the 28-year-old Mashona Washington, who reached her first WTA Tier II quarterfinal by beating old Challenger-level foe Marissa Irvin 6-1, 3-6, 6-3. The younger sister of '97 Wimbledon finalist Malivai, Washington has been pressing for a breakthrough for the past decade, but is just now on the verge of cracking the Top 100. She’s a lucky loser here and has made the most of her chances. Like with the 19-year-olds, it’s all about taking the pressure of registering the Ws off her head that has mattered most.

"It was a matter of mentality before and losing focus during matches," said Washington. "I had to learn that everyone hits great shots and makes mistakes, but you have to move on to the next point. I always knew I had the ability and the strokes and that I was fit enough. I’ve always been the first player to get on the practice court and the last one to leave. But I didn’t’ believe in myself enough. This year, I said the hell with it, I’m just going to get out there, give it my all and if I lose, I lose."

Top seed Venus Williams brought out a new white dress for her opening match against Lindsay Lee-Waters. It didn’t fit quite right (Ms. Williams may have dropped five pounds or so doing wind sprints in the Florida heat the past two weeks) and she was frequently pulling up her straps, but the skirt portion of it had fans talking. With slits coming up the sides, it looks somewhat like Serena’s Wimbledon edition.

"Hers is a pleated cut, mine I call a handkerchief cut," said Venus, who wiped out Water 6-1, 6-1. "Hers is a great design, but I like mine, too."

BTW: Serena is trying to convince Venus to co-buy a teardown house with her in West LA. Serena already owns a condo in Beverly Hills.

Two-time NCAA champ Amber Liu hasn’t decided whether she should go pro yet. She says that at summer’s end, she’ll go with her gut, but she’s aware that if she doesn’t turn pro in the fall, there’s no reason to do so after her junior year either. She’s improved a fair amount and has Top-50 stuff, but she’s a smart economics majors who loves the Stanford lifestyle and hanging out with her friends. She’s not yet enamored with the idea of grinding on the sometimes-lonely tour, even though she knows she has nothing left to prove at the collegiate tennis level. Plus, she’s not convinced she can make enough money or be an impact player. She’s says her decision will be a lifestyle one and from the sound of her voice, it appears she’ll stay in college. But that’s just a hunch from a onetime PoliSci major and we could never figure the Econ folks out.

© Mark Lyons

Wayne is about to pack it in.