Croatia's New Export Is Female Tennis Stars By Jonathan C. Randal
Washington Post Foreign Service
Saurday, June 21, 1997; Page B3 ZAGREB, Croatia, June 20With four players in the NBA, soccer stars galore performing with major Western European teams, Olympic medals for water polo and handball, and Goran Ivanisevic ranked No. 3 in men's tennis, sports prowess long has been a male preserve in highly macho Croatia. But that was before the springtime exploits of two teenagers set local hearts and minds throbbing with the idea that Croatia could quite possibly produce world class women's tennis champions. Mirjana Lucic, 15, won the first tournament she entered, the Croatian Open in Bol, in early May. Her win as a first-time player at a WTA event may be unprecedented. She also was the youngest player to win a WTA event since Jennifer Capriati's victory in Puerto Rico in 1990 at age 14. Lucic went all the way to the final at her next tournament, the Strasbourg Open, before losing to Steffi Graf. Lucic, who had to go through qualifying rounds for both tournaments, fought with a blend of skill, calm and tenacity rare in a player so young. Cold-eyed professionals concluded that only WTA rules barring players younger than 16 from participating in Grand Slam eventsincluding the French Open and Wimbledon, which begins Mondayslowed Lucic's ascent to the top. No such restrictions stopped 19-year-old Iva Majoli, who breezed to her first Grand Slam victory at the French Open in Paris during a 1-hour 19-minute final, depriving world No. 1 Martina Hingis of her 38th straight victory. | |
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