[Jem]

What a superb tournament for Maria Vento. Not so recently, I was thinking it might be time for her to give it up and go find something else to do. It just goes to show what perserverance can do for a person. This is the kind of result that will give her the ranking points necessary to forge ahead for one more year with something to show for her work. Congratulations to her -- I'll be rooting for her in the semifinals.

It's nice to see her putting Venezuela back on the tennis map!

 

[antonella]

It's nice to see her putting Venezuela back on the tennis map!

When exactly was Venezuela ever ON the tennis map???

 

[wtn_amanda]

Milagros Sequera made it to the semi finals of rg in mixed dubs with aussie partner Jorden Kerr

 

[rated_next]

Well done Maria

 

[disposablehero]

She can't beat Kim. But she might just face her.

 

[Alberto]

it's quite nice see Maria Alejandra in a Tier II semis!!

VAMOS

 

[SM]

was that sarcasm that she cant beat kim? if she can get to face her beating nadia jelena and jen all within the same week i would say she very well could beat kim!!

but i think her run is gonna end against capriati, i doubt she will keep her level of play up..

 

[patricktav2003]

Iam SO HAPPY FOR HER! she deserve it BACK TO BACK OVER TOP PLAYER OF THE MOMENT! REALLY NICE ALEJANDRA she is one of my fav !!!go ahead vento

 

[2ace2]

Yup, she really deserves it, and she's one of my faves too. I've been wishing for good results a long time and now they're finally there
Great!

 

[Dymension]

Yeah, well done Maria

 

[LucasArg]

It is great for her to have reached the semis of a tier II after qualifying

Does anyone know what will be her ranking after this week?

 

[PointBlank]

good job maria

 

[brunof]

Yes, very good. Top 100 here she comes!

 

[Jem]

Antonella,

It's true Venezeuela hasn't produced many great players, but there have been a couple that stand out for me. A decade or so ago, Nicolas Peiria (sp.) was the top male junior in the world, but his pro career never panned out very successfully. Long before that, in the 1970s, there was a young Venezuelan female, Marlin Noriega, who showed great promise and received a lot of press as the next Tracy Austin. But alas, she never panned out either.

When I added that bit about Venezuelan tennis to my first post, I was actually thinking about a Colombian player of some notoriety from the 1970s -- Isabelle Fernandez.