Mara's endeavours as seen by the Trento newspaper "l'Adige"

TRENTO

Games like this make history. They decide a career and go down in the records. This time Mara Santangelo of Trento had promised it. After losing 6-3 7-5 in Dubai last February, in the other eventful tournament on the fast ground of the WTA professional circuit, against the Serbian player Jelena Jankovic, world-ranking no. 9 and an emerging 21-year-old, the athlete had guaranteed she was going to make the attempt.

And, good as her word, the world champion, who will defend her title against China in April at Castallaneta in the Fed Cup, came up with a historical performance on the fast court of Miami, in Florida, in the event with total prizes of 3 million 450 thousand dollars, considered the fifth most important in the world after the four slams of  Melbourne, Paris, Wimbledon and New York.

The 26-year-old of Cavalese reached the eighth finals after going under by 2-6 2-5. Here Mara found exceptional resources, mental and physical, enabling her not to repeat the opportunities missed last year with another two of the top ten: in the US Open against no. 1, the French player Amelie Mauresmo, when she was ahead at the third set by 2-0 and ball for 3 to 0, and at the Stuttgart tournament when she wasted three match balls against no. 8, the Russian Dinara Safina, resulting in a bitter defeat.

Santangelo, availing herself of serves equal to the occasion and a very intelligent management of the competition in her anticipatory strikes, made a comeback, profiting from a slight weakening of her rival. Mara caught up with the Serb with 5-5 and then brought the match to the tiebreak, prevailing by 7 to 3. In the second set Jankovich reacted with 3 to 2, but Santangelo was confident and motivated to the extent of rising to 5-3 on the rival’s serve, procuring three match balls which the no. 7 of the tournament had a struggle to annul in a long game.

Did Santangelo see once more the ghosts of a lost opportunity at the change of court? Not at all. The world-ranking no. 36,  her Roman temper forged by the tenacity of Trento, served and at 30-all obtained her fourth match ball. Then 40-all and the fifth match ball but this time Mara was implacable and caused another famous head to roll after that of the no. 12,  the Russian Anastasia Myskina, in September 2006 at New Haven. From lucky loser to surprising winner.

This time Santangelo shows more security, more maturity. Her next obstacle is world-ranking no. 11, twenty-year-old Anna Chakvetadze from Moscow, an athlete who has won this year with the top ten Petrova and Schnyder. But the quarterfinals are not off-limits for Mara, if she shows the character she exhibited with Jankovic...

Stefano Parolari