King pins down Camille:: Indiatimes - Sport

King pins down Camille::Indiatimes - Sport~~~

Since she lost in the final round of Australian Open qualifying last month, seventeen-year-old Vania King has been in Japan, Thailand and now India. She qualified to reach the main draw last week in Thailand and this week, with a 141 ranking, earned a spot in the main draw without having to hit a ball. She destroyed veteran Nicole Pratt 6-0, 6-1 in the second round, and in the quarterfinals dispatched Camille Pin, who had upset top seed and national heroine Sania Mirza in the previous round. This story, in very colorful language, (King's groundstrokes are described as "solid as a bison's behind) details that win and the struggle she had in closing it out in two sets.

Sick for days, King retired in her semifinal match today against nemesis Mara Santangelo of Italy, the third seed, trailing 5-0, but I doubt it was an Henin-Hardenne situation. She also was playing doubles this week and forced to retire in Friday's semifinal after one set due to the same illness.

As disappointing as it must be for King to lose a chance at her first WTA final, she (and her father, apparently with her in India) must be very proud of her progress in the past six months. The sooner a player can free herself from the Futures treadmill the better, and King's willingness to travel outside the U.S. to do it has paid off for her.