shley Harkleroad's naïveté
launched her into the spotlight when she wore a skimpy outfit for her first
match at last year's United States Open. Although she is not entirely bothered
by the comparisons to Anna Kournikova, who is not only known for her looks but
was also ranked in the top 10 for a while, Harkleroad views her racket as more
than an accessory.
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Harkleroad, 17, can't escape being attractive, but she will dress more conservatively for this trip to the Open and hopes what people notice is her game, which overpowered Lubomira Kurhajcova, 6-1, 6-3, in the finals of the GHI Bronx Tennis Classic yesterday at Crotona Park.
Not only did Harkleroad have to win four matches in scorching heat to win the tournament, she also had to win four qualifying matches in scorching heat because her ranking (198) did not put her in the main draw.
"She could play two more sets, three more sets easy," said her coach, José Luis Clerc, shaking his head in amazement. "Every morning I ask her, `How do you feel?' She says, `I feel O.K.' Now, most people would be sore, their legs would hurt. Not her. So I ask, `Are you human?' "
Harkleroad laughed. She is most definitely human. She was embarrassed by the stir her tight, stomach-baring outfit caused at last year's Open.
She was nervous to start with, then she felt uncomfortable on the court because of what she was wearing.
"I was only 16," she said. "I was a little girl out there playing. When I tried it on, I didn't think it was that bad. Now my mother looks at everything I'm wearing. She's going to make sure everything's perfect."
On the court, Harkleroad has put herself in the hands of Clerc, a former top-five player from Argentina who had no plans to become a coach until a chance encounter with Harkleroad three months ago at Saddlebrook Tennis Club outside Tampa, Fla. He saw her hit and made a few helpful comments. Harkleroad then called him and tried to persuade him to coach her, and after she visited him in Miami, he agreed.
Clerc, remembering the hard times he gave his coaches, was won over not by Harkleroad's talent but by her genuine desire to work at her game. In his prime — he finished in the top 10 each year from 1980 to 1983 — that is what he was known for, his work ethic.
"She makes it easy," he said. "We work for six hours and after six hours she asks me, `Can we hit a couple more balls?' You don't have to push her. You have to say, `Please stop.' "
At Saddlebrook, Harkleroad would occasionally hit with Mardy Fish, who won the men's final yesterday, beating Denis Golovanov of Russia, 1-6, 6-1, 7-5. Fish and Harkleroad had practiced a bit together here, and she called to congratulate him after his match.
"She's a very good player, so I'm not surprised she beat the players here," Fish said. "But to win eight matches in this heat, that's a great feat for her."
Since working with Clerc, Harkleroad has tinkered with all parts of her game. She riddled Kurhajcova with pinpoint ground strokes, and her quickness never deserted her in the heat. She tracked down all but the best of Kurhajcova's shots.
"I can go to the Open feeling pretty confident," Harkleroad said. "I think a lot more players know who I am, they know my name, so that's a good thing."
And this year, it should be for the right reasons.