Urszula Radwanska of Poland is swiftly following in the formidable footsteps of her older sister Agnieszka, the 2005 girls’ champion, in rising up the ranks in junior tennis. She displayed her exceptional talent on Court 17 today against Tamaryn Hendler of Belgium, quickly winning the match 6-1, 6-1.
In the opening round match, she was fortunate to break in the first game as back-to-back net cords ensured she took an early lead. For today at least, not only superior skill was on her side, but luck too.
The 14-year-old Belgian from then on was outclassed by Radwanska, who was too strong for the Nick Bollettieri prodigy. She used her experience of reaching last year’s semi-final to counter-attack with deep aggressive groundstrokes and to put pressure on the slower second serves of Hendler.
In virtually every game, the younger Belgian was yet again on the receiving end of a barrage of attacking patterns of play. She was constantly moved around the court at will by the 2006 semi-finalist.
At 5-1, Hendler had to hold or face losing the set but then the rain came. This allowed her to join her coach for some advice and to receive a high five from her brother before play resumed.
The 16-year-old Radwanska was 15-0 ahead at the restart and quickly won points on the Belgian’s serve, earning three set points. She only needed one to take the set 6-1.
The second set followed a similar pattern, as Radwanska continued to dominate. She wrapped up a first round victory, taking the set 6-1. Her sister Agnieszka was on Court 14 in the ladies’ doubles with Michaella Krajicek and also won comfortably.
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