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RAVIPAN PAVASUTHIPAND
Upon completion of her fourth round victory over Jelena Jankovic at Wimbledon, Tamarine Tanasugarn officially cemented her place in history by becoming the first Thai tennis player to make it to a Grand Slam quarter-final.
Written off by many after a long period of struggle with injuries and loss of form, Tamarine completed a remarkable turnaround this summer by winning a grasscourt event in Holland and making her first ever quarter-final appearance at the All England Club.
With our country's other best-known tennis star Paradorn Srichaphan still absent, Tamarine's timely resurgence gave Thai tennis fans a reason to celebrate once again.
Although hopes were up for Tamarine to do well at Wimbledon following her winning form in Holland, few had expected Tamarine to get past Jankovic.
I have to admit I was one of the majority who didn't give her much of a chance against the Serbian star.
Tamarine had reached this very same stage six times in the past and had never managed to progress. Every time this was the stage where she ended up playing one of the top seeded players and every time she fell short.
This time, though, it was different. Tamarine proved her victory in Den Bosch was no flash in the pan and she's playing some really good tennis at the moment.
In the quarter-finals Tamarine came up against eventual champion Venus Williams and put up a brave fight. In the end she left the court with her head held high after giving the American a considerable amount of trouble before being beaten.
Over the last two years, Tamarine had struggled to get results and, because of her drop in the rankings, had to play in smaller tournaments.
Since the beginning of the year, though, it seemed her hard work had started to pay off. She had a couple of good results in Japan and then came the grasscourt season.
Looking at where she is now in term of rankings (world No 37), it is a remarkable turnaround for a player who once almost dropped out of the world top 150.
I caught Tamarine appearing on a local talk show programme by chance on Monday night and couldn't help but admire her character and attitude.
At one point during the interview she was asked by the talk show host how she felt about her recent success. Tamarine humbly said she was so proud because she had put in a lot of work to get back and that she's just glad that it's all working out for her now. Her father who was with her on the show must be proud.
As for talk of retirement, Tamarine said she sees no reason to walk away now and that she will continue playing for as long as her body holds up.
With the Olympics coming up next month, it is just a shame that Tamarine cannot make it to the Beijing Games. The Thai star found her form a bit too late and did not receive a wild card for the event. Seeing how well she is playing at the moment she would have been one to watch in Beijing.After turning pro 14 years ago Tamarine is probably coming into the best form of her career and I hope that she can keep this up for as long as possible.
At 31-years-old, Tamarine set a record for being the oldest Wimbledon quarter-finalist this year.
It is also proof that age is no barrier if you have the work ethic, determination and passion for the sport.
It was reported that Serbian world number three and Australian Open champion Novak Djokovic will take part in this year's Thailand Open which will be held in our city of Angels in September. Russian star Marat Safin and Australian Open finalist Jo-Wilfried Tsonga of France will also join battle.
For all those who still remember last year's unpleasant situation - when all the big stars such as Rafael Nadal, Djokovic and Andy Roddick pulled out of the event for one reason or another - I suppose we must keep our fingers crossed that no mysterious injuries happen to any of these big names just before the start of the tournament.
Ravipan Pavasuthipand is Assistant Sports Editor, Bangkok Post. She can be reached by email at: ravipanp@bangkokpost.co.th
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