The $50,000 Tevlin Challenger currently going on at Tennis Canada headquarters in Toronto features players from both ends of the career spectrum – veterans hoping for one last good kick at the can and youngsters who are bright-eyed and ambitious.
Among the former at this week’s event is No. 212-ranked Aniko Kapros of Hungary, 26, the 2000 Australian Open junior champion who was as high as No. 44 in the world in 2004.
Joining her are No. 229 Alexandra Stevenson of the United States, 28, who was No. 18 in 2002 and a Wimbledon semi-finalist in 1999, as well as No. 261 Mirjana Lucic of Croatia, 27, also a 1999 Wimbledon semi-finalist and a former No. 32 in 1998.
The declines of Kapros, Stevenson and Lucic can serve as cautionary tales for the emerging generation of young players.
Elisabeth Abanda, 15, of Laval, Que., is just starting out on the women’s circuit after winning the Canadian under-14 and under-16 titles in 2008, and the under-16s and under-18s in 2009.
On Tuesday at the Tevlin Challenger, wild-card entrant Abanda was on the brink of a major breakthrough when she held a match point against No. 7 seed Madison Brengle of the United States. Under some pressure during the rally, Abanda missed a backhand on the match point at 5-3 in the final set and eventually lost 6-2, 5-7, 7-5 to the No. 165-ranked Brengle, 19.
She will now concentrate on junior tournaments for the rest of the year, including the Eddie Herr and Orange Bowl events in Florida next month, and hopes to play the qualifying for the Australian Open juniors in January.
Abanda, whose parents are from Cameroon, speaks fluent French and English, as well as a dialect from Cameroon. She is well aware of the greatest player to come from that country – 1983 French Open champion Yannick Noah. “His home in Cameroon is close to my mother’s and he speaks the same language as my mother,” she said.
As talented as she is, Abanda may not even be the most promising player in her own household. Her younger sister Francoise, 12, is viewed by some as an even better prospect.
Being sisters and being black, the Abanda girls have long ago become accustomed to being compared to Serena and Venus Williams.
When asked to name her tennis idols, Elisabeth said, “I like Kim Clijsters. I started to like her after her comeback at the US Open. I think what she did was great. And I also like players who have strong characters – like Maria Sharapova and Serena Williams.”
Currently No. 149 in the International Tennis Federation’s Junior Girls rankings, Abanda said she aims to be in the top 40 by the end of next year.
AD-IN
Vavara Lepchenko of the United States will not get a chance, this week in Toronto, to extend her amazing streak of "6-0'' sets. After a run of five ‘bagels’ in a row on her way to winning the title at the $50,000 Challenger in Phoenix, Arizona, last weekend, the second-seeded Lepchenko has pulled out of the Tevlin Challenger because of a left foot injury.
Word around the tournament is that next year it will be a mixed event, with a $15,000 men’s Futures being added. It will one of two $15,000 Futures events staged back-to-back in Toronto.
