Thursday, August 23, 2007

Chakvetadze talks, and she's worth hearing

If you have The Tennis Channel, don't miss the new "Center Court" interview with Anna Chakvetadze. Chakvetadze, who is charmingly amusing, talks about her fitness problem, about not liking to be compared with Hingis (one of her chidhood idols), and about coaching during matches. She dispels the "fact" that she does not have a coach; she has frequently had one, but not one who travels with her. And, she says, she would not want a coach to come onto the court in between sets. "I like to stay alone and think alone about my game."

Chris Myers made such a big deal about how "difficult" it is to pronounce her name. He couldn't stop talking about it. Chakvetadze says this is a problem in the United States and in France. This whole affair puzzles me. I spotted Chakvetadze a long time ago and started following her career because I thought she was going to be somebody important. I learned how to pronounce her name the first time I ever saw her. It is easy to pronounce unless you are a total idiot. But Myers, like the ESPN commentators, has to go on and on about how hard it is. At least he asked her how to pronounce it, which is more than the ESPN comentators do.

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