[the cat]

I think so. And it's not just one or two. Russia has more like five to ten very good junior girl prospects. Such as Dinara Safina, Maria Sharapova,<br />Svetlana Kuznetsova and Maria Kirilenko, among others. Now you have to put Vera Douchevina into the mix. Vera, in very impressive fashion, won an 18u title last week, beating three top ten players in the process. That was very impressive, indeed! Vera recently turned 15. So she is very young. And being 1,78m tall and weighing 59 kg gives Vera tremendous size and range. She probably is a diamond in the rough! I've probably left a few girls off my list of top Russian junior girl prospects. But the bottom line is this: Russia is producing more good junior girl prospects than any other country, including America. Why is Russia producing so many good junior girls, when such a small percentage of Russians play tennis?

P.S. - I was going to add that the Russian girls are the most attractive, too. But that sounds sexist, so I won't add it. Hey, I'm trying to be politically correct!

P.P.S. - Is Vera Zvonareva still considered a top prospect? Last year Vera won the Orange Bowl 18u title. But this year, Vera has had a dissapointing year. So I was wondering if she is still a top prospect. Maybe the Russian posters would know. Is Vera Zvonareva still a top prospect?

[ November 19, 2001: Message edited by: the cat in the hat ]

[ November 19, 2001: Message edited by: the cat in the hat ]</p>

 

[TheBoiledEgg]

Vera's had a pretty disappointing year and hasn't made progress up the WTA ( maybe this is cos her rank was boosted quite a lot by one win over Elena Bovina in Moscow)

She can redeem herself if she helps Russia to success in the Connelly Continental Cup , that tourn is held in much higher esteem than any individual event.

Vera is a bit lightweight when it comes to the crunch , pretty effective but when it comes to the mixer .... she finds it hard.

as for the juniors ...... just see my signature , I've had my eyes on Vera Douchevina for the last 2 years or so.<br /> she still hasn't played on WTA (well no pts anyway)

look out for Vera's partner in crime , Dasha Chemarda ( 9 months older) but no less a talent.

There are quite alot of others on the way too , we might lose Eugenia Linetskaya to Belgium but we wont miss her. She will probably be the next Belgian in top 100.

[ November 19, 2001: Message edited by: TheBoiledEgg ]</p>

 

[Martian KC]

No question you guys do. I like most of them too. <img src="wink.gif" border="0">

 

[Randy H]

I would say they're right up in the top level, if not the very best, especially considering how much depth in talent the Russian squad has. You could take out their top 3 or 4 juniors, and put the next few into their team competition and they'd still have a shot at winning, which I think says a lot.

 

[CB]

I agree with you the cat in the hat.<br />Russia really has the best junior squad of these years.. <br />Svetlana Kusnetsova is such a talented girl, if she has a very agressive-style of play, she displays brilliant future. Same to Dinara Safina, still a bit imature.

I hope those girls don't become just a tennis promise or a junior talent, like Miriam D'Agostini.<br /> <img src="graemlins/sad.gif" border="0" alt="[Sad]" />

 

[Guest]

<img src="graemlins/lick.gif" border="0" alt="[Lick]" /> <img src="graemlins/bounce.gif" border="0" alt="[Bounce]" /> <img src="graemlins/lick.gif" border="0" alt="[Lick]" />

the oppurtunity for the players i THINK has gone way up. with the succcess of those like kournikova, whod want to stop a girl from playing tennis?? and they all want it so bad. that article that cat in the hat sent me gave some more insight into all this (why are there so many excellenet russians emerging) though it was written a year or two ago and focused on players who are currently working theirstuff on the wta (bovina, lina k, etc...) it can also be applicable even more to the present in my opinion.

depth depth depth, key to russias success i think

 

[TheBoiledEgg]

We got pretty good strength and the talent keeps coming thru.

We're not the only country that's got very good juniors.

3 countries spring to mind , Russia , Czech Rep and Slovakia.

The three have dominated junior team events for last 5-6 years.

 

[the cat]

Eggy, Russia usually performs well in the Connelly Cup. Why weren't they entered last year? And why is Russia producing so many good junior girl tennis players, when so few Russians even play tennis? Is it the Kournikova factor? By that I mean do Russian parents view Anna K. , her tennis and her fame, as a way for their daughters to possibly become somebody important or well known?

 

[TheBoiledEgg]

We didn't qualify last year simple as that , only Galina Voskoboeva was available , others due to injuries and being a year younger were caught a bit short.<br />It's a pretty hard comp without your best.

Tennis is seen as a way out by lots of parents , see the world , to give their kids a better life. Sure Anna has had her influence but Yevgeny also got the ball rolling.

There are new clubs opening and not only in Moscow so the # of girls coming thru will be more and more quality.<br /> Its fierce competition in clubs , all trying to beat each other and only best succeed.

 

[the cat]

Thanks for the info, Eggy. Does Vera Douchevina move to the head of the Russian junior class, after whipping an excellent field last week and winning the title? And Eggy, why has Vera been moved along slower than most of the other Russian junior girls? She hasn't even played a junior grand slam yet. Right?

 

[TheBoiledEgg]

give her time , she's only just turned 15.

Svetlana Kuznetsova & Dinara Safina hadn't played one until this year.

Vera will be right up there with the others.

 

[matthias]

i think the russian juniiors are the best, but it is a hard way from junior to senior tennis but i´m sure few russian will survive and then russia rule the tennis world!