Kimiko Date-Krumm at AO 2013

[vive le beau jeu !]

みんな さん こんにちは !

no thread about her ?



she's in the 3rd round at 42 years old ! i think it's remarkable...
(ok ok... 3, 2, 1, 0... until some of you say what a joke the WTA tour is... but still !)

even navratilova didn't do this, did she ?
(what could be the record ?... mustard are you into girls too ?)

3rd round vs jovanovski (21 years old !)... ganbatte !

Dream run continues for 42yo Date-Krumm
Thursday, 17 January, 2013
By Darren Saligari

Crouched over, ready to receive, 42-year-old Kimiko Date-Krumm looks like she's waiting for the starter's gun to set her off on a marathon.

Thankfully she didn't have to run any marathons today with the heat in Melbourne topping 39C.

The Japanese veteran would have been very pleased to get out of Thursday’s second-round match in straight sets, a 6-2 7-5 victory over former world No.11 Shahar Peer of Israel.

The oldest woman in the draw, much has been made of Date-Krumm's first-round victory - her first in Melbourne since 1996. She was a semifinalist here back in 1994, that year Steffi Graf, the top seed, defeated her and went on to win the final.

Now when Graf and Date-Krumm speak, the former world No.1 German encourages her friend to hang up her racquet and start a family, but Date-Krumm isn't ready for that just yet.

It says a lot about Date-Krumm's longevity. Despite retiring and returning 10 years later, she's still capable of handing out a lesson or two.

An early break in the first set proved to be the perfect start for crowd favourite Date-Krumm. The diminutive Japanese chaser is a master at turning her opponent's pace on her.

She did this to perfection in the seventh game as she effected yet another break to comfortably take the opening set 6-2.

The second set was more of an arm wrestle as Date-Krumm and Peer traded breaks with alarming regularity. In all there were seven breaks of serve for the set as the sun beat down on the players.

"I was leading 3‑0, then she come back 4‑3 up, and then I had the big pressure," Date-Krumm said.

"It was a big challenge for me because my body, after when I was leading 3‑0, suddenly something big and strong on my back or something happen, and I felt so heavy my body and I couldn't move. But I tried to push myself."

Despite Peer getting the second set back on equal terms, Date-Krumm had one last trick up her sleeve; a stunning crosscourt backhand winner the final treat for the loyal crowd who braved the heat to watch the match on Court 6 and Date-Krumm didn't disappoint, closing out the match to keep her dream alive.

from: http://www.australianopen.com/en_AU/...402778646.html