NEW DELHI, Jan 23: It was a bright, sunny Christmas Eve in 1988. A chubby 12-year-old girl from Coimbatore was walking away from the cowdung courts of Fateh Maidan, Hyderabad, after a 3-6, 4-6 semi-final loss in the under-12 nationals. But she was still smiling. Her father, walking ahead, seemed unconcerned, almost as if he knew it was just the beginning of a long haul. Today, almost 10 years later, that picture of Nirupama Vaidyanathan somehow fits.After her pathbreaking three-set win over world No 89 Italian Gloria Pizzichini in the first round of the Australian Open on January 19, Nirupama has become the first Indian woman to win a Grand Slam main draw match in the Open Era. That she lost in the second round yesterday is but a footnote.
Till about two years ago, `KV' as she is called by friends, was better known as KG Ramesh's cousin. Not any longer. Ramesh, an ex-India No 1, who still plays the domestic circuit, was for long the undisputed clay court `wall' in Indian tennis. Starting at the age of
six, Nirupama was, for a while, coached by her father, a former first class cricketer and a lawyer by profession. Then her brother took over. Nirupama's double fisted backhand has always been a talking point beyond the tramlines. That bread and butter stroke practised by the entire family -- Nirupama, brother K V Ganesh, and cousins K G Ramesh and K G Suresh -- is what got people talking a decade ago in Hyderabad when she upset Chandigarh's Sahiba Chadha on the way to her first National semi-final.
But that is not her only weapon. In fact she is still probably the only girl who hits such an effective forehand with an extreme semi-western grip.
Though KV quit academics after her Class 12 exams, she never let school interfere with her education. She roughed it out for about three years before moving to the promised land, with Dave O'Meara, formerly with Leander, as her coach. The results are showing.
The results are showing; she's moving better, getting to the net, and using her single-handed backhand
volley more often. But deep down she knows it's not enough.
But for now, she is still hunting for a sponsor despite being the first Indian woman to crack the top 150 (she was ranked 134 last July). But for now, she is still hunting for a sponsor despite being the first Indian woman to crack the top 150 (she was ranked 134 last July).
Nirupapama Vaidyanathan's Factfile
Born: On Dec 8, 1976 in Coimbatore
Height: 5'7; Weight: 60 kg
Plays: Right-handed
Achievements: Career high WTA ranking is 134 in singles and 129 in doubles she did not even have a ranking in May '95); first round win over Gloria Pizzichini at the 1998 Australian Open made her the first Indian woman to win a match at Grand Slam. Best performances include wins over Sabine Hack, Petra Schwartz, Wiltrud Probst, Zilke Meier, Laura Golarsa, Maria Antonio Sanchez (all of whom had been in the top 40 at least once in their careers).
Tournament Records
Titles: Singles and doubles
at the $25,000 Challenger in Bad Gogging, Germany Nov 11-17, '96. Doubles at the $25,000 Challenger in Stuttgart, Germany partnering Seda Noorlander. Doubles at the $25,000 Challenger in Poitiers, France partnering Olga Barabanischkova. Won all 4 gold at the '95 South Asian Federation Games (including the team event, individual singles, doubles and mixed doubles events)
Finalist: In singles at the $25,000 Challengers held at Spoleto, Italy and Bilbao, Spain in Summer '96
Semi-finalist: In singles at the Bronx GHX Classic held in Bronx, New York in July '97. In doubles at the $75,000 challenger in Salt Lake City, Utah, 1997, partnering Meilen Tu
Year-end rankings: 1994: No ranking; 1995: 340; 1996: 189; 1997: 196
Copyright © 1998 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.
