Читать книгу Laura Robson - The Biography - Tina Campanella - Страница 9
ОглавлениеWhile most British teenagers were catching up with school friends in the playground and recounting what Santa had brought them for Christmas, Laura was on her way to do battle in Eastern Europe.
Since the 1970s, when the women’s professional tennis tour began, one of the main ways in which it has changed is in the nations who have dominated the rankings. Early on, it was the Americans who governed the leader board, which was no surprise, seeing as the WTA (Women’s Tennis Association) itself was founded by an American – former world No. 1 Billie Jean King.
Rosie Casals, Nancy Richey, Tracy Austin, Chris Evert and Jennifer Capriati – these iconic Americans were at the top of their game and other countries struggled to topple the USA’s reign of tennis glory.
But, in more recent years, a tidal wave of Eastern European talent has swept through the female tennis circuit, and with their height and power they have proved to be formidable new foes for other tennis-playing nations…
In 1952, former Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin put his government’s propaganda department in charge of Russian sports. It was decided that the younger generation had to be fit enough to protect the motherland, and a nationwide system of physical education was implemented to that end. But to a large degree it was also a propaganda tool, designed to show the superiority of the Soviet Union’s communist approach to society through their dominance of competitive sports.
Its main benefit was that all children were given an equal opportunity to play such sports and to be trained to a high standard. But there were frightening drawbacks: mandates were set among coaches to produce high-quality athletes – and if they failed to do so they might face serious consequences.
In the 1970s and 80s, their strict, factory-style training methods produced a steady stream of sporting stars, as the Soviet Union ruthlessly tried to prove they could compete with the disapproving West.
While America and the West believed in freedom and choice as the path to success, the Eastern bloc’s enforced and focused training methods certainly produced results. Superior players like Martina Navratilova were a product of their almost brutal training regime, which stole childhoods, and made whole generations of children miserable and fearful.
However, Anna Kournikova believes that it was actually the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991 that signalled the beginning of the real Eastern European tennis takeover.
‘We always had amazing tennis schools and clubs in Russia, it’s just that the opportunities never were really there when it was still the Soviet Union for them to travel,’ she says.
Money was also at the heart of the issue.
While the rest of the world’s players were pulling in thousands of pounds in prize money, those in the Soviet Union never saw the financial fruits of their labours – because all winnings went straight to the government.
In January 1988, Russian tennis player Andrei Chesnokov stunned the tennis world by saying that he was on a $35-a-day allowance from the then Soviet Tennis Federation.
At the time, he was on his way up from 50th in the world, having just had successful weeks at Wellington and Sydney, where he had finished runner-up both times and should have received $30,000 in prize money.
‘When I was at Orlando, the prize money was $75,000 and I got $630,’ he later told a reporter. ‘Can you believe that?’
Chesnokov, along with female player Natalia Zvereva, were the first to bravely question the system, and finally decided to stand their ground – and keep their prize money.
It was a dangerous form of defiance, which caused waves in Moscow. ‘When she returned… the Soviet Sports Committee met with her and told her that she would have to hand over the cheque if she wanted to go and play any more tournaments,’ says Chesnokov.
After the fall of the Iron Curtain, suddenly there were opportunities for great wealth. Spurred on by the potential for fame and riches, young females in Eastern Europe were immediately committed and dedicated to their respective sports, displaying the rigorous work ethic that was handed down to them from the Soviet system.
‘I was the first post-Soviet-era player to leave Russia, and practise in better circumstances, in a better environment,’ says Kournikova, who trained with Nick Bollettieri in Florida. ‘Once kids and parents saw what I did, they realised that there was that opportunity.’
By 2004, the ‘ova’ era, as it was nicknamed, had produced three Grand Slam winners in one year: Anastasia Myskina won the French Open, Maria Sharapova conquered Wimbledon and Svetlana Kuznetsova took the title at the US Open.
Their focus was both unswerving and unnerving – and for Laura, facing Eastern Europe’s most up-and-coming players on their home turf would certainly prove to be a challenge. But it was one she rose to admirably.
She reached the quarterfinals of the Slovak Junior Indoor Tournament in Bratislava, beating Poland’s Paula Kania and Russia’s Anna Arina Marenko, before losing to the Czech Republic’s Tereza Bekerova.
Next, Laura made it to the quarterfinals of the DHL Cup, played in the Czech Republic – beating Czech Klara Koprivova, Slovakian Zuzana Luknarova and Czech Monika Tumova, before losing to Zarina Diyas from Kazakhstan. These were impressive wins, made even more so by the cool and calm way in which she dealt with her eventual defeats.
Laura was a passionate girl – keeping her emotions in check didn’t come easy to her at all. But she was beginning to learn to control them.
In February, back on British soil, Laura had a decision to make. Wimbledon 2008 was approaching and she would be aiming to enter the girls’ singles tournament – as a Brit. But, despite speaking with a Home Counties accent and having spent her most formative years in England, Laura was still technically Australian.
Although she has never commented directly on the subject, it is thought that she was determined to gain a British passport before tennis’s most high-profile and best-loved tournament, so that she could represent the country in which she had lived for most of her life. However, a 2008 article that appeared in the Daily Telegraph hinted at a slightly more cynical reason.
‘Some tennis experts believe the move will allow her to become a tennis sensation in a country which has failed to produce a genuine Grand Slam contender for years,’ wrote journalist Rob Davies.
The article also quoted a tennis insider as voicing this opinion: ‘Some are saying that because of the poor state of British women’s tennis, the people who are looking after Laura’s career believe she will do better as a big fish in a small pool.’ The person added: ‘Her earnings potential as a future British No. 1 is huge and she could very well go on to earn more than £10 million from tennis and sportswear endorsements.’
Whatever the reason, her father, Andrew, officially applied for British citizenship and was successful. Laura followed suit and legally became a British citizen.
In June, with Wimbledon just days away, Laura entered the Roehampton Junior tournament, generally accepted to be the Wimbledon junior warm-up event. Onlookers watched in amazement as she breezed past Martina Borecka, USA’s Mallory Burdette, Australia’s Johanna Konta, fellow Brit Naomi Broady and Holland’s Lesley Kerkhove, to secure a place in the final against top-class junior Melanie Oudin.
It was during this match that onlookers stood up and took notice of the unseeded and unknown Robson – even though she eventually lost against the American girl. Every serve and stroke was mesmerising, imbued with a competitive desire that made the atmosphere tense and the stakes feel infinitely high.
It was after this match that journalist Mike Dickson uttered his prophetic words: ‘You do realise this is probably the last normal week of your family’s life…’
Wimbledon was coming and Laura was gunning for glory.
