Shy Russian girl turns serious on tennis court

MIAMI – Valeria Solovieva is a shy and petite 12-year-old, not the type of player who would strike fear in the hearts of opponents.

Once she takes the court, that’s another issue.

Solovieva won the girls 12-year-old final of the Junior Orange Bowl Tennis Tournament, beating Belgium’s Tamaryn Hendler, 6-1, 6-2, at Salvador Park in Coral Gables, Fla.

It was a significant victory for the girl from Saratov, Russia. She defeated Belgium’s top-ranked 12-and-under player and avenged a 6-1, 6-3 loss to Hendler last month in the third round of the Eddie Herr International Junior Tournament in Bradenton, Fla.

But all the emotion Solovieva showed was a faint scream after she won the match.

“I feel normal,” Solovieva said Wednesday. “For me, I just try to play like I play all the time.”

Solovieva won the first game, holding Hendler to one point. After dropping the second game to Hendler on a fault, she won out the rest of her games in the first set.

In the second set, she broke another 1-all tie by winning games two, three and four. She won the fifth game of the second set on a double fault by Hendler.

In the sixth, it reached deuce twice before Solovieva nailed a hard, two-handed volley down the left sideline. Hendler returned it into the net.

“She had a good topspin, good consistent game and good footwork,” said coach Andrei Kozlov, who coaches Solovieva at the XL Tennis Academy in Delray Beach. “Mentally, she was strong.”