Leighton Ginn - The Desert Sun - February 3, 2008
http://www.mydesert.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080203/SPORTS07/802030320/1141/news01

LA QUINTA - A drug suspension took away two years of Sesil Karatantcheva's budding tennis career, but you won't hear a hint of bitterness or anger from the 18-year-old who still maintains her innocence.

Karatantcheva is playing this week in the Charlie M Desert Classic, her second tournament back from the longest suspension on the women's Sony Ericsson WTA Tour after testing positive for nandrolone.

Karatantcheva reached today's final at the La Quinta Resort & Club, where she will face Sandra Kloesel. On Saturday, Karatantcheva defeated Viktoria Kutuzova 6-1, 3-6, 6-4.

While she's been gone, Karatantcheva has seen her peers like Nicole Vaidisova, Ana Ivanovic and Jelena Jenkovic, players she use to beat, ascend to the top 10.

"I don't think about it. I'm living a second life. I feel like a newcomer again," Karatantcheva said. "I haven't played, I don't have a ranking. For me, it's just going all over again. I forgot I was No. 35, my past life, my past tennis career. It's starting my second tennis career, which is good. Not a lot of people can do that. It's the second tennis career. Normally you stick with the first tennis career. I'm different."

Anyone expecting a bitter, angry woman will be disappointed. The 18-year-old from Bulgaria laughs easily and speaks animatedly, although she tries to watch what she says.

When speaking about her suspension, Karatantcheva speaks matter of factly about the incident.

"I was accused of doing things I didn't do," Karatantcheva said. "I don't think I deserved the biggest punishment in women's history. I don't think I did anything wrong, or took anything to deserve it.

"But I took my two years, they're over. Now I'm back. I'm ready to enjoy it and do what I'm suppose to."

Karatantcheva's attorneys contend her supplements were contaminated.

As for the appeals process, Karatantcheva said she was disappointed at her first set of lawyers who represented her at the tribunal.

"They did nothing. That was a bad thing. They did very bad work, even though I paid them. They didn't go through any of the papers," Karatantcheva said. "I would have done better."

After the tribunal, Karatantcheva got new lawyers for the arbitration.

"But once the tribunal gives you a punishment, it's almost 90 percent sure they will confirm it," Karatantcheva said.

The suspension came when Karatantcheva's career was about to take off. At the French Open, Karatantcheva defeated Venus Williams to advance to the quarterfinals as a 15 year old.

"It was a big moment for me," Karatantcheva said. "Until that moment, I had good results, but nothing to put me in the spotlights."

It was at Roland Garros where Karatantcheva tested positive.

When Karatantcheva began serving her suspension, the first week was tough.

"Then I just started practicing like normal, working on my game," Karatantcheva said. "Time went quickly. It was like yesterday when I found out I had two-year ban. I was crying, thinking 'What am I going to do? This is a long time.' Then I turn around, and I've been practicing and time has passed. It wasn't as tough as I thought. I actually thought it was easy, very easy."

Being off the tour for two years, Karatantcheva has no ranking points, making it tough for her to get into tournaments. In her first tournament back from suspension, she had to play an opportunity tournament to get into qualifying of the USTA Pro Circuit event in Surprise, Ariz.

Then Karatantcheva needed to win three qualifying matches to get into the main draw. In all, Karatantcheva won 11 matches to take the title at Surprise.

"The emotions kept me high through the whole tournament. I knew everyone expected me to do good. But then, no one really expected me to do anything good," Karatantcheva said.

"It was a great tournament for me. I will never forget this tournament. I made so many great friends there, (including) the tournament director, John Austin, I will stay in touch with him for I hope the rest of my life. He gave me a chance that I will never forget. The family I stayed with, it was great. Those are my best memories in a very long time."

Karatantcheva still has that same precocious spirit as the 14-year old who make her WTA debut in 2004 at the Pacific Life Open. Karatantcheva beat Alexandra Stevenson in her first match, and then upset No. 25 Magui Serna.

"Indian Wells was one of those things you remember, and you look at it and you put a smile on your face," Karatantcheva said. "I was 14 and I was very excited. At that point, I didn't know what it took to become the best. I was there, but I wasn't."

Karatantcheva is hoping she can play well in La Quinta and catch the eyes of the Pacific Life Open organizer and earn a wild card. Steve Simon, the tournament director, said they have eight for the main draw and six for qualifying.

He certainly remembers Karatantcheva's debut in 2004.

"We knew she was a rising talent when we first had her here for her first wild card," Simon said. "She played well here, and it was Maria (Sharapova) where she had the famous match on Stadium 2. Right there, we knew she had a lot of spunk and personality. She came onto the scene with a thundering roar."

As for what Karatantcheva is planning for the rest of the year, she said she's not looking too far ahead. But Karatantcheva does want to make a personal statement with her play.

"I want to prove myself again, that whatever I accomplished back then was based on my skills and not something I did or took," Karatantcheva said. "That's my main goal."

by Maria Dimitrova
http://www.standartnews.com/en/article.php?d=2008-01-13&article=12393

She is only 18 years old, but has an outstanding biography. They used to call her Steffi Graf of Bulgaria. Experts predicted she would become one of the top ten tennis players of the world. She climbed up to 35th place in the World Tennis Association (WTA) ranking list, beating Venus Williams, Elena Likhovtseva, Eleni Daniilidou. She said she would even "kick Maria Sharapova's butt". But, alas, a positive doping test took her off the scene for two years. She appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in Lausanne, excusing the high nandrolone levels in her body by a pregnancy she did not even know about. They didn't believe her and so Sesil had to take the punishment. Nonetheless the two years spent out of tennis courts did not break the charming girl's spirit. Her lively sense of humour is quite noticeable in the interview she gave especially for The Standart over the telephone from Surprise, Arizona, where she won a Wildcard Event- Sesil, will you please tell our readers something more about your stay in the USA?

- For now my stay here is nothing special. I mostly stick to practice for I have to go through qualifiers for the tournament in Arizona.
- What's the feeling of being on the court again?
- It's an incredible feeling. I've been dreaming of this moment for two years now, but what I feel now very much surpasses my dreams.
- How did you feel during your first match after the expiration of your ban?
- Honestly, I was very tense. When I started playing, however, I felt an adrenalin rush and the pleasure came soon after that.
- The US federation did no allow you to participate in the Tampa Bay tournament. Could you please tell us something more about that?
- It was in the very last moment that they told me the organization committee had some financial difficulties. For this reason, the US federation took all wild cards.
- Were you aware that the comeback wouldn't be easy? What was the greatest difficulty that you had to overcome?
- I've never been afraid of difficulties, and that's why I've never found it hard to overcome them. Health is the most important. If we have it, we can overcome and live through just about anything.
- You have signed a contract with German tennis managers. Will they be arranging your future participations?
- We can say so. They are responsible for helping me with the applications for tournaments and my participation in them.
- You have a new tattoo. Is it a sign of a new beginning?
- After they banned me from the court, I needed only two days to make up my mind about the tattoo. I wanted something that was both beautiful and unique. My tattoo represents a fairy. I still believe in miracles.
- I suppose, one of your best memories from your career is your victory over Venus Williams. And what is the memory from the court that you want to erase from your mind for good?
- I cherish good memories of all my wins. Of my bad memories I do not want to erase any, because they serve as earmarks for me.
- Not long ago, a doping control team visited you unexpectedly in Plovdiv. How many times did they test you for doping substances over these two years? Did you expect any special attitude towards you, now?
- They did not visit me in Plovdiv, but at my home. This was the first checkup after the ban. I am not worried about the other's attitude towards me.
- Not before long you told journalists that you had a German boyfriend. How do you sustain your relationship?
- God bless the mobile phones! I think that all these writings about my personal life are more than enough. I'll only say that when there is will, there always is a way.
- Is love a helper or an obstacle in a sports career?
- It helps you lose your head over the guy you love and prevents you from finding it again.
- What's the sharp lesson that you learnt from this ban?
- I learnt I should always use condoms.
- What counsels does you father give you now? In what way do they differ from the ones he used to give you in the past?
- His tips are the same. He is very exacting.
- What are our chances to do well at the Fed Cup?
- We have a strong team and I believe we'll do well.

By Andrew Baker

Tradition demands that at Wimbledon there emerges a cadre of blonde teenage females of eastern European descent, great talent and fearsome unpronounceability. Last year was Maria Sharapova's opportunity to shock and delight in equal measure. This year it may be the turn of the girl that tennis fans are already calling Special K.

The nickname is certainly a help, as it indentifies 15-year-old Sesil Karatancheva as a feisty character, and does away with the need to battle with her surname.

What's so special? The Bulgarian reached the quarter-finals at the French Open on her debut, defeating Venus Williams and three other vastly more experienced players en route, before giving Russia's Elena Likhovtseva an almighty fright while having one foot in the semis.

Furthermore, Karatancheva is inclined to speak her mind, in English acquired from listening to Spice Girls tracks, which makes a refreshing change when players - particularly young players - tend to talk in the manner of American shopping-mall announcers.

She was born in Sofia, but her game was raised in the United States, as yet another product of Nick Bollettieri's academy in Florida. That only came about as a result of Special K's irrepressibility. She was playing in an Under-14s tournament when she saw the celebrated coach striding around and buttonholed him.

"Excuse me," she said. "Hi, I'm Sesil and can you come and watch me play?"

"No, I'm busy," Bollettieri replied.

"Please, come and watch me," Karatancheva pleaded, adding the clincher: "I'm good."

Bollettieri sent a lieutenant along; the Bulgarian was indeed good, and by the end of the day she had her scholarship. "I was so young and devilish at the time," she said. "I mean, you really could not say no to me."

Are you getting the mood? Karatancheva has adopted the Spice Girls' mantra, "Tell me what you want, what you really really really want", and her answer is: "I want the lot, and as soon as possible".

Karatancheva has the blonde good looks that will inevitably invite comparison with the erstwhile teenage Special K - Anna Kournikova - but there is clearly a competitive urge within her which the Russian perhaps lacked.

This is directed, in particular, at the most notable recent, teenage, blonde, Bolletieri product: Maria Sharapova. Karatancheva is already notorious for the remark she made last year before a match against the glamorous Russian, when she pledged to "kick her butt". It seems that there had been a minor altercation during training, and Karatancheva has since put the spat down to youthful high spirits. But this could be a rivalry which will run and run. Should she defeat Britain's Amanda Janes in the first round she is then likely to meet Sharapova.

A typical Bollettieri graduate, Karatancheva is strong on both flanks and has a serve of surprising power given her slight frame. She is quick, and while her results suggest that she may be best suited to clay, as her physique develops she is likely to become a force to be reckoned with at Wimbledon.

For one so forthright in interview mode, and so apparently confident on court, if Karatancheva lacks a quality at the moment it is self-belief. She had a place in the semi-finals all but in her grasp at Roland Garros, leading by a set, 4-3 and 30-0 but then...

"I don't really think I believe in myself," she said afterwards, with trade-mark honesty. "I think things just happened too fast for me. I don't think I'm really prepared for this. So I just, I think, need more time."

What refreshing candour. Karatancheva has worked out that at this stage in her fledgling career, her talent is in advance of her mental ability to cope with it, so she finds herself in match-winning positions against players she does not believe she can beat.

Against Williams, the American was playing so badly that Karatancheva had no time for nerves and was presented with the match. But in the quarter-final, Likhovtseva - previously beaten by the teenager this year - could see the moment when the confidence wavered, and seized her chance.

"I was kind of feeling like I was 10-years-old again," Karatancheva admitted. "I was happy, then I was sad again. Then I was happy, then I was sad. It was a lot of emotions and that's not really good if you want to be up there as a professional. I need more experience, so I'm just going to keep playing."

Since Paris, Karatancheva has given herself a break from tournament tennis, playing instead with friends at a club in Germany. She will miss out on acclimatising to grass, but on the other hand she will be out of the limelight and under no pressure. She could have got a wild card into Edgbaston on the strength of her performances in Paris, but this is the way she prefers to prepare for her first visit to the most famous tournament in the world.

"It's not that I don't want to play," she said at the time. "I do, but I really need a break right now. I'm just going to be there and just be Sesil."

Coming soon to a court near you, with the makings (I apologise) of a serial winner: Special K.

By Jerome Pugmire, AP Sports Writer

PARIS (AP) -- Fifteen-year-old Sesil Karatantcheva was almost too scared to win. In the future, her opponents are more likely to be terrified by the speedster.

The Bulgarian's first name rhymes with special and her last name is so long she may come to be known as Special K.

She beat four-time Grand Slam winner Venus Williams in the third round and advanced to the quarterfinals of the French Open on Sunday after defeating Emmanuelle Gagliardi 7-5, 6-3.

The straight-sets score didn't reveal the anxiety she felt.

"I was basically scared to win," she said. "Just the thought of me being in the quarterfinals in Paris was just too scary for me. I guess the pressure really is getting to me. I hope for the quarters I'll be more relaxed."

Reaching the final eight of a Grand Slam hit her so hard she fell to the court, lay on her back and clasped both hands over her face as the weight of her achievement sank in.

Gagliardi wasn't surprised and predicts future stardom for Karatantcheva, the junior champion at Roland Garros last year.

"There are a number of very young players emerging and she's one of the best ... very, very promising," Gagliardi said.

"She hits very strongly, it's so difficult to beat her for speed," she added. "I tried as much as possible but I couldn't manage. You have to run so much to put her in a difficult position."

Karatantcheva now faces No. 16 Elena Likhovtseva of Russia, who beat last year's runner-up and No. 4 seed Elena Dementieva 7-6 (3), 5-7, 7-5.

Karatantcheva took Williams by surprise -- she'd never even heard of her before their match.

Others, like Wimbledon champion Maria Sharapova, did their homework before facing her. Sharapova recently acknowledged she had been very wary of facing Karatantcheva in the first round of the Australian Open. Sharapova won that match 6-3, 6-1.

Karatantcheva has reached her second quarterfinal of the season, having lost to Patty Schnyder of Switzerland on a hardcourt at Gold Coast, before the Australian Open.

"I do believe I can play a lot better," Karatantcheva said. "I don't know where that is going to take me but wherever it is, I'm already happy enough."

Karatantcheva speaks English fluently, learning the language from listening to Spice Girls songs, then practicing it while training at the Nick Bollettieri Tennis Academy in Florida. She was best known before this tournament for a comment she made last year at age 14. Before a match against Sharapova, Karatantcheva pledged to "kick her butt" because of a perceived slight during training.

Karatantcheva later characterized the remark as youthful indiscretion.

These days, Special K is making a name for herself and making it hard for friends and family to reach her.

"I'm not even answering my phone," she said. "I had 20 missed calls yesterday. A lot of people are very happy for me, a lot of kids, a lot of adults.

By Christopher Clarey
New York Times News Service

PARIS — Venus Williams said she had neither seen nor heard of her 15-year-old opponent, Sesil Karatantcheva, before playing her in the third round of the French Open on Friday. But Karatantcheva had seen and heard plenty about Williams. She had watched her Grand Slam victories on television, even in the early years, when Williams sported colorful beads in her hair.

"I wanted to buy them right after I saw her," Karatantcheva said. "Took my mom to the fashion studio and said, 'I want this on my hair.' So you know, that's definitely the player I will always remember."

After what happened on the red clay of Roland Garros on Friday, Karatantcheva is now firmly lodged in the memory bank of Williams, her one-time idol.

The 11th-seeded Williams played one of her least-convincing matches, spraying ground strokes and hitting her once-fearsome first serve with little force or conviction in the decisive set. And Karatantcheva, a quick and powerful Bulgarian who is ranked 98th, kept enough of her composure to record the biggest victory of her very young career, 6-3, 1-6, 6-1.

"I definitely don't think that it was the Venus Williams I watched on TV," Karatantcheva said. "But for me, honestly, I did give what I could give. I was running. I was just doing everything possibly I could. So I like that I won, no matter what."

When her last backhand had struck the net, Williams flashed a bright smile as she shook her overjoyed opponent's hand and said, "Good match." But afterward, she was as curt and morose as Karatantcheva was chatty and effervescent, resisting any suggestion that it was time to rethink her approach to her faltering career by hiring a coach other than her parents.

She has not been past a quarterfinal in a Grand Slam event since reaching the final at Wimbledon in 2003. Though she did snap a six-match losing streak against sister Serena in the quarterfinals in Miami this year, she lost in the next round to Maria Sharapova. Williams won a clay-court warm-up event in Istanbul the week before the French Open for her first tournament victory in more than a year, but the world's top players were not entered in the event.

"I think that I'll continue on my path," she said.

Her path leads her next to the grass of Wimbledon, where she won the title in 2000 and 2001. But her reservoir of confidence under pressure clearly remains low. How else to explain her inability to keep the ball in play down the stretch? How else to explain that after playing a fine second set to get even, she went adrift again as Karatantcheva kept the ball deep and waited for Williams to make mistakes?

It did not take long.

"I saw Venus play in the first two rounds, and I thought she was going to go out before she got to Sesil," said Akis Paipetis, the former Greek touring professional who has been helping coach Karatantcheva for the past two months. "I was, in a sense, happy she got to the third round, because I knew she was going to be vulnerable. The plan was, no matter what happens, give Venus one more chance to hit that ball no matter what. She's going to get nervous."

Serving at 1-3 in the third set, Williams lost the game with a double fault and three unforced errors. She finished with 52 unforced errors, and in the final set, she won just 4 of 15 points off her first serve, once considered the most fearsome in the game.

"I think she played well definitely, but I also felt like if I just played 10 percent better, I'm going to win this match easy," Williams said. "It's obviously great for her, but at the same time, I felt like, wow, you know, I kind of beat myself."

Other top women came close to doing the same but muddled through Friday. The fourth-seeded Elena Dementieva of Russia, a finalist here last year, double faulted 17 times in her 6-3, 4-6, 6-3 victory over Akiko Morigami. The No. 1-seeded Lindsay Davenport won, 7-5, 4-6, 6-4, against the bespectacled Frenchwoman Virginie Razzano. It was Davenport's third consecutive three-set match, and it was full of unlikely errors, shaky serves and dark mutterings between points. If not for Razzano's 15 double faults, Davenport might have already been booking her practice courts on grass.

She produced just enough to stay here but not nearly enough to make her the favorite in her next match against the resurgent Belgian Kim Clijsters.

"I'm pretty amazed I'm still in given how I feel I've been playing," Davenport said. "Gives me a laugh, I guess."

Clijsters, the former No. 1 player who has made a successful comeback from a major wrist injury, has beaten Davenport in their past six matches, all on hard courts.

"I have a tough time playing her on my favorite surface, let alone my least favorite," Davenport said. "Hopefully things start to click at some point, and I feel a little better about my ball control."

Women's tennis is awash in precocious teenagers with big shots, personalities and multicultural backgrounds. The undisputed leader of the group remains Sharapova, the 18-year-old Russian who, like Karatantcheva, has trained at the IMG-owned Bollettieri Tennis Academy in Bradenton, Fla.

Last year, when Karatantcheva received a wild-card berth into the event in Indian Wells, Calif., and was set to play Sharapova in the third round, she minced no words, even if she did not get them quite right. "I'm going to kick her butt off," she said.

Sharapova won in three sets and then won again in the first round of this year's Australian Open. Karatantcheva has since toned down her predictions but remains a lively interview. Describing her first wide-eyed trip to the United States, at age 11, she said, "Today, Bulgaria, Tokyo or America, it's the same thing. You know, you catch the plane, and you go. But then it was a big emotion. I remember I was looking at the palm trees like they were bears."

Once upon a time, she was wide-eyed about Venus Williams, too. But now, she is into the fourth round of the French Open at Williams's expense, and the Americans, who already have no men left in this event, now have only two women left: Davenport and the unseeded Marissa Irvin, who will also not be favored to win her next match, against the 2004 U.S. Open champion, Svetlana Kuznetsova of Russia.

L. DAVENPORT/S. Karatantcheva 6-3, 6-2
(source: teamwta.com)

THE MODERATOR: First question.

Q. When you go home, you can say you won eight points in a row from Davenport. Is that something you can take away with you?

SESIL KARATANTCHEVA: No. I think it's a good match. I think so. I mean, uhm, I'm 15. So, you know, obviously there's a lot of things to work on. I mean, if it didn't have a lot of things to work on, then I probably wouldn't be here. Probably, you know, probably wouldn't even be like top hundred. Probably already be No. 1 if everything was perfect and I didn't have any mistakes. I think I need time to work on things and just get, you know, going.

Q. What kind of things?

SESIL KARATANTCHEVA: Technically serve mostly, frontly, No. 1, serve. So, yeah, serve is the one thing that I think I should work on mostly.

Q. You seem to have improved your serve a great deal since last year. Last year you weren't serving very forcefully at all. Today you had a serve at 111 miles an hour. Pretty good jump up.

SESIL KARATANTCHEVA: I think I've always had like the power, you know, the serve to go fast. I don't think I really ever had the consistency. So I think that's something I should need to work on because, you know, I have power, but if I don't have consistency, then I don't really have anything.

Q. Any nervousness going up against the world No. 1 the first time?

SESIL KARATANTCHEVA: The thing is, I was a bit. I was a bit. But it's just that, uhm, I was -- I wasn't really nervous, I was just a bit nervous. In fact, I got more nervous once I lead at 2-1. It was like, "Holy crap, I'm leading. What the hell is wrong here?" So, you know, I mean, you know, it was kind of a shock for me, you know. I really never had this experience before. So it's just kind of like, you know, I didn't really know what to do with my lead. You know, I once felt calmer, you know, when she was leading. I mean, I'm learning. I'm learning. Obviously, I think it's a good experience, match, and I'm just looking forward to the Nasdaq.

Q. Did Lindsay anything to you after the match?

SESIL KARATANTCHEVA: Oh, yeah, she was really nice. She said, you know, "Keep it up." I mean, I'm just happy.

Q. What are the rules now? Can you play a whole schedule now or are you still too young?

SESIL KARATANTCHEVA: I can play -- the last tournament I can play is Wimbledon, and then I have three weeks off till I turn 16. So I probably play World Team Tennis for those three weeks. I think, yeah, almost a full schedule.

Q. Who are you going to play for? What team?

SESIL KARATANTCHEVA: I don't know. Whoever picks me. I still don't know who pick me. Hope I get picked.

Q. We enjoyed you greatly last year. I think you enjoyed it, too. I asked Sharapova before if she remembered your match. She said she's played a lot of matches, didn't remember. You remember last year, what you said you were going to do to her, what you almost did to her?

SESIL KARATANTCHEVA: I don't really remember everything.

Q. You said you were going to kick her ass.

SESIL KARATANTCHEVA: Yeah, I remember most of it, yes. Well, you know, what, it's just, as I said, the last time, I was 14. And, you know, as I said, it's better that I did it then and not now. So, you know, it's just a thing that you need to go through to get to the point where I am now. So I'm not -- I don't really feel sorry for anything I did or whatever happened, you know.

Q. I'm not saying you should.

SESIL KARATANTCHEVA: I just think it was a good lesson in every kind of way, good way, bad way. You know, it's just kind of this thing that I look back now, I'm like, "You know what, it's a good experience to go through." And I don't think I would have been the person today if that wouldn't have happened then, so I think it was a pretty cool thing.

Q. What experience do you take away from this match?

SESIL KARATANTCHEVA: Definitely that I'm just -- I never really think that I kind of fit yet in those Top 10 players. But after the match, I think that, you know, as my bracelet says, "Impossible is nothing." I don't think it's really impossible things. I think, you know, as long as what you are out there for and what your goals are, I think you can get to, you know, whatever you're aiming for. So, you know, I just think that, you know, as long as you believe in yourself. I personally think that the thing I took out of this match is that I just think you should believe in yourself more and that, you know, there's nothing that you can't do.

Q. Did you choose those words for your bracelet?

SESIL KARATANTCHEVA: No. Actually, I like it because I got it -- it's from adidas. I got it because they're cool words actually.

Q. You played a woman today who has been a model for gracious mannerly conduct. When you grow up, do you ever expect you'll be like her?

SESIL KARATANTCHEVA: I'm sorry, like who?

Q. You played a player today who has been a model of gentle behavior. Do you think when you grow up you'll ever be like her?

SESIL KARATANTCHEVA: I hope so. I think she is -- I think she's a young woman to be looked at. I think that, you know, everything she's done - and still does - you know, I think just something that all our little kids, young, you know, should look at it because I think it's really nice to have a person like her up there, you know, just nice and positive on the court and off the court. I think it's just a good person to look at.

Q. When you watched Sharapova win at Wimbledon last year, were you thinking, "I had her down a set at Indian Wells"? Did you flash back to that? She went from here to winning the Wimbledon title in about three months.

SESIL KARATANTCHEVA: I don't really look at it that way. I kind of looked at it, you know, if you look at the match back then, I don't think I played my greatest tennis and I don't think she did either. I think it was just kind of match, you know, of what said what and what did what before that. I don't think either of us played, you know, the best tennis of our lives. That's why, you know, the match kind of got tight in the beginning and everything. So I'm not really sorry for that. I don't really flash it back because it's not really like my best game ever, so I can't really look at it. But, uhm, in a matter that I won the first set and I was leading, yes. You know, a lot of people say this win could have changed your whole life. But, you know, I don't think one win can really do this. I mean, if it was one win, then probably, you know, why would you aim for the first place or why would you try to win a whole Grand Slam? I think it's just all those one wins that you win and gets you to a point, I think that's more important, beating one player, and fall behind.

Q. Have you ever seen her in a hotel lobby or talked about this?

SESIL KARATANTCHEVA: No.

Q. Are you still working closely with Nick?

SESIL KARATANTCHEVA: Yeah. I work in the academy. I work with my dad now, too. I work with -- you know, I'm just getting ready, you know, working my way through.

Q. Last year Nick was talking about going on the road with you. Is he still traveling a bit?

SESIL KARATANTCHEVA: He's coming to Miami. So, I mean, it's Nick. I don't know what his plans are. But, you know, I hope he does come.

By Richard Pagliaro

Sesil Karatantcheva has the power to push buttons. When she's not on the court at the IMG Nick Bollettieri Academy swinging her racquet, the Bulgarian-born Karatantcheva keeps her fingers busy tapping the cell phone that hugs her head like a devoted earring and engaging in her second-favorite past time: talking.

"Talking is my life! Don't even joke about it," Karatantcheva says with a good-natured laugh of a girl doesn't take herself too seriously. "The cell phone is everything — I don't even joke about that — it's my connection to everything and everyone."

Confessing "being quiet is not an option", Karatantcheva continues to communicate her status as a skilled player on court. Restricted to playing a limited tournament schedule under the WTA Tour's age-eligibility rule, the 15-year-old Karatantcheva qualified for both the 2004 U.S. Open and the Australian Open in January and has cracked the top 100 this year.

The 90th-ranked Karatantcheva started the season by winning three qualifying matches to reach the main draw of the Gold Coast tournament. She scored one of her most impressive professional victories with a 6-2, 0-6, 7-6(3) win over Russian veteran Elena Likhovtseva to reach the Gold Coast quarters before falling to eventual-champion Patty Schnyder.

Playing an aggressive baseline game boasting an accurate two-handed backhand, sound competitive spirit and a strong sense of self belief, Karatantcheva has been touted as a promising prospect by both fellow pros and coaches. Though her professional career is less than a year old, Karatantcheva already has wins over Magui Serna, Alexandra Stevenson, Anne Kremer and Sania Mirza. She has received a wild card into this month's Pacific Life Open at Indian Wells and will follow that tournament with her debut at the Nasdaq-100 Open on Key Biscayne.

Karatantcheva's candor is slightly reminiscent of the young Martina Hingis, who seldom confronted a question she wasn't willing to answer. Whether she can hone her expansive tennis talent to become a top 10 player remains to be seen, but in an age when automaton-issued responses have become common place in post-match press conferences (if you had a dollar for every time a player uttered the dreaded "I just need to play my game" you could afford appearance fees necessary to lure the entire top 10 to your local tournament and still have enough cash left over to hire noted tennis fan Carlos Santana to perform the national anthem) Karatantcheva's willingness to speak her mind is refreshing.

It was her mouth — in addition to her prodigious talent — that gained Karatantcheva international attention last March.

The then 14-year-old Karatantcheva fired her first shot at Maria Sharapova before the pair even stepped on court for a highly-anticipated third-round clash of teenage titans at the 2004 Pacific Life Open last March. Asked to assess her chances of knocking off the 16th-seeded Sharapova, Karatancheva, who was ranked 278th at the time, didn't exactly deliver her declaration of intent with the subtlety of a drop shot.

"I'm saying I can kick her (butt) off," Karatantcheva said after her second round upset of 25th-ranked Magui Serna. Believing Sharapova ducked her at practice match at the Nick Bollettieri Academy in Bradenton, Florida, Karatantcheva was fired up for the match. "I was like, `Whatever. I'm going to get you.' "

The retribution remark may be the type of brash proclamation that is more WWF than WTA. But for one set, the 14-year-old looked like she was going to walk the walk that went with the talk as Sharapova was struggling with her serve and wasn't doing much better with her service returns. But in the end it was the then 16-year-old Sharapova who had the final word, scoring a 3-6, 6-3, 6-2 victory.

She lost the last point, but Karatantcheva left the court believing she had made a point with her performance.

"It would feel even better if I would have won," Karatantcheva said. "But I proved that even at 14, you can still fight with the big ones and that I have a lot more to do. I can say that people are waiting for me to play my next tournament. They're excited about it. I'm excited myself."

The girl who learned to speak English by listening to the Spice Girls is intent on growing into a successful competitor on the pro circuit. Asked to identify the area of her game she need to improve, Karatantcheva showed signs of maturity in her response.

"I need to grow up. I just need to grow up as a person," she said. "I don't think I need to grow up in my tennis game as much as I need to grow up in a professional kind of way and the way that I approach every point and every game and I'm working hard to do that."

In this interview, Karatantcheva discusses her current form and her future goals.

Tennis Week: Sesil, as you prepare to play Indian Wells and Miami, how do you feel you're playing right now and how do you feel about the state of your game in general?

Sesil Karatantcheva: The year started pretty well for me in getting to the Gold Coast quarterfinals. Losing (to Patty Schnyder) there was not the best match I could have played, but I had a good start and I am just training and working hard now and getting ready for Indian Wells. So I feel pretty good overall. Obviously, I feel I have nothing to lose going into these tournaments. I'm only 15, I'm still gaining a lot of experience, and I just feel really positive and ready to go on the court. I'm excited to play and I'm looking forward to these tournaments.

Tennis Week: How did you get started in tennis in the first place? Do people in your family play?

Sesil Karatantcheva: The funny thing is I wasn't really interested in tennis when I was younger. None of my family were tennis players. My father was a rower and my mother was a volleyball player in Bulgaria, but they weren't tennis players. Tennis wasn't really my goal as a kid.

Tennis Week: What did you do like to do when you were growing up?

Sesil Karatantcheva: I was just a normal kid. I loved playing with my Barbies and I loved to just jump around a lot (laughs). You know, normal kid stuff that all kids grow up doing. I had a lot of energy. My father wanted to be a tennis player himself when he was a kid so it was his dream growing up. He was interested in it and that kind of got me interested.

Tennis Week: Growing up in Bulgaria were the Maleeva sisters influential? Did you follow their careers? Is tennis popular in Bulgaria now?

Sesil Karatantcheva: I was born in '89 so I don't remember Magdalena's older sisters as much. But Magdalena was very popular and of course she still is popular in Bulgaria. I train in Florida a lot, but I live in Bulgaria and definitely consider myself Bulgarian. I get most of my support from my father, of course IMG and the Bollettieri Academy. I definitely feel my country is trying to do what it can to show very positive support for the sport. I can't say tennis is more popular than soccer in Bulgaria, but hopefully it's getting there.

Tennis Week: You strike me as a very energetic, extroverted, outgoing person. You're not afraid of expressing yourself. Was that always your personality?

Sesil Karatantcheva: Being quiet is not really an option for me (laughs). I'm not a quiet a person at all — any time of day — except maybe at night time. Yes, I've always been outgoing — being quiet is definitely not an option for me. I love being around people and I just love talking to people. I like to relax when I'm not doing anything special, but when I do something or go out I like talking to people.

Tennis Week: You speak English so well. How did you learn the language?

Sesil Karatantcheva: I picked it up from the Spice Girls. I didn't know much English, but the Spice Girls were hip back then so they were one of the only things I listened to growing up. It was mostly Spice Girls, 24/7 (laughs). I started traveling and learned more. I never had problems talking to people or asking questions.

Tennis Week: What areas are you focusing on improving this year?

Sesil Karatantcheva: I need to grow up. I just need to grow up as a person. I don't think I need to grow up in my tennis game as much as I need to grow up in a professional kind of way and the way that I approach every point and every game and I'm working hard to do that.

Tennis Week: The qualifying matches at majors can be some of the most hard-fought, competitive matches young players play. You qualified for the U.S. Open last August and you qualified for the Australian Open in January. What kind of mentality do you take out on the court for those qualifying matches?

Sesil Karatantcheva: To be honest with you, in Australia I was kind of disappointed to be in qualifying. I wanted to be in the main draw so I was like "Damn it, I've got to get through these qualifying matches to get into the main draw." But I kind of looked at the bright side of playing qualifying — I get to play these three extra matches and get extra points so that's actually a good thing. The mentality coming out might be a little bit "what's wrong here that I'm in qualifying..." but it motivates you to win so you can get into the main draw.

Tennis Week: You won three matches in straight sets in qualifying and were rewarded for your efforts by drawing the Wimbledon champion, Maria Sharapova, in the first round. What was that experience like?

Sesil Karatantcheva: The disappointing thing was I really didn't play that well in that match. I was a bit nervous. It was a first-round match on the Vodafone Arena against the fourth ranked player and there was a big crowd. I had just came out of qualifying playing on an outer court where there were five people watching from the stands. Now, I was on Vodafone Arena and everyone was watching. So I was a bit nervous and I didn't play my best, but that's part of getting experience.

Tennis Week: What is the most rewarding aspect and what is the toughest part of being a professional tennis player at such a young age?

Sesil Karatantcheva: Now it seems everyone is starting to expect more of you and those expectations and getting experience are part of the game and part of growing up. I'm 15 so I know I've still got a lot to learn, obviously. The most fun for me is the traveling and meeting people and seeing places. I love traveling. Playing tennis is a lot of hard work. People see the matches, but they don't always realize all the hard work you put in during practice. Don't get me wrong, I love it and it's fun — as long as you are winning (laughs). I love the traveling and playing and I love a lot of the things connected to playing tennis. The sad part is you have to sacrifice things in your life to play professional tennis. Whether it's your time, your personal life, time with your family, friendships, being away from home, you know you have to make sacrifices. But that's part of life, I guess, you need to give in order to get anything.

Tennis Week: How do you spend your time on the road when you're not playing tennis?

Sesil Karatantcheva: Talking (laughs). I like doing a lot of things, reading and talking are two of the things I do most.

Tennis Week: So when you don't have a racquet in your hand, we'll find you with a cell phone in your hand?

Sesil Karatantcheva: Talking is my life! Don't even joke about it (laughs). The cell phone is everything — I don't even joke about that — it's my connection to everything and everyone. Every other second, it seems like I'm on the cell phone. Hey, it's 2005 every teenager can't live without a cell phone (laughs).

Tennis Week: Several players and coaches I speak to say you have talent and a lot of potential. What's your goal for this season and beyond and what do you believe your potential is?

Sesil Karatantcheva: You know a lot of people say I'm talented and see that I have talent. But I don't think anyone realizes how many hours I spend on the court working on my game. It's not all about talent, you have to work for it. I believe in working hard. If you believe in yourself, have confidence in yourself, work hard and give 100 percent to what you do, I believe you can accomplish your goals — not just in tennis but in life. I think I am working, training and sweating out there to try to reach my goals. I'm not saying it's just going to click overnight and I'm going to be right at the top right away. If you had asked me that a year ago I probably would have told you a ranking I wanted to reach. But things are not as they seem at first and as I've gotten more experience playing I have a better idea of what it takes to get better and I'm trying to do what it takes. I like my game and I like myself (laughs) so that helps.

Tennis Week: What is your favorite surface? What tournament are you most excited about playing this year?

Sesil Karatantcheva: You know, I can't really say I have a favorite surface. I'm open to all of them and want to play well on all of them. I do really want to play the French Open this year. I wasn't allowed to play it last year (at 14, she was too young for the main draw) and I'm definitely looking forward to playing it this year. I'm confident playing on clay.

Tennis Week: What is the most valuable lesson you've learned from playing the Tour the past year?

Sesil Karatantcheva: To keep my mouth shut sometimes (laughs). I like to talk and sometimes I get in trouble when I talk. I don't really regret what I've said in the past. I'm not sorry for anything I've said because I don't think I've said anything that bad or that I did anything that was wrong or stupid. I say what I believe and I believe in myself.

Tennis Week: In an individual sport like tennis, confidence is so crucial. So I respect that fact you clearly have confidence and a strong sense of self belief.

Sesil Karatantcheva: Yes, I have a lot of confidence. If you ever need some confidence just call me and I can send you some (laughs).

Tennis Week: I'm in a bit of a confidence crisis right now and could really use some — can you Fed Ex me some confidence?

Sesil Karatantcheva: Sure, we can do that. I'll Fed Ex you some confidence. It'll help you. You'll see.

It was little more than two years ago, at the Eddie Herr juniors on the grounds of the Bollettieri Tennis Academy in Bradenton, and Sesil Karatantcheva -- the very same playful and mischievous Bulgarian teenager who once threatened to kick Maria Sharapova's butt -- walked up to Nick Bollettieri, and this conversation ensued:

"Excuse me," she began. "Yes?" said Bollettieri. "Hi, I'm Sesil and I'm 13 and can you come and watch me play?" "No, I'm very busy." "Please come watch me. I'm good."

She badgered Bollettieri until he finally sent her to a court with one of his coaches. A half-hour later, she had a scholarship to the academy, and her career was on the way.

"I was so innocent and so devilish at the same time," Karatantcheva explained, smiling, as we sat talking at the BallenIsles tennis courts in West Palm Beach a month ago. "I mean, you could not really say no to me. If I asked you to do something, it would be impossible for you not to do it."

No one in women's tennis has a smile this sly. Few players, if any, can match Karatantcheva's playfulness. And she'll be approaching top 20 by the end of this year. She's that good.

She's got some distance to make up, though she'll move from No. 133 to perhaps 120 on Monday after her quarterfinal finish last week at Gold Coast, Australia. She had hoped to get straight into the Australian Open, but it now appears she'll have to qualify.

OK. "Whatever," as she would say. She won three matches to qualify at Gold Coast, then defeated No. 43 Maria Elena Camerin and No. 24 Elena Likhovtseva before losing to Patty Schnyder, who is No. 14.

Karatantcheva also is facing the WTA's age-restriction rules, though that has been relaxed a bit this season. She can play nine tournaments, and if she reaches No. 50 she can play additional tournaments by going through a WTA Tour program designed to test her maturity to handle a fuller schedule.

Oh, she's mature, all right. And garrulous. We talked about the Sharapova incident that occurred at Indian Wells last March. Both train at Bollettieri's, and according to Sesil, Sharapova, who went on to win Wimbledon, ducked out of a practice match.

"I'm going to kick her butt off," Karatantcheva told reporters after defeating Magui Serna in the second round at Indian Wells. Sharapova won 3-6, 6-3, 6-2.

"Let's just say I learned my lesson about what I should say and what I should not," Karatantcheva now says. But she's smiling when she says that. "I should be very careful where I say it," she added, laughing.

She's about 5 feet 8 and growing. She's exceedingly athletic and quick around the court. She has technically beautiful ground strokes, and there's no question about the physical part of her game. Bollettieri is plugging in the mental factor.

Sesil travels with her father, who looks like someone's bodyguard and who speaks little English, unlike his daughter, who can regale you for hours. "When I came to the U.S. in 2000 to play the Eddie Herr, my English was very messed up," she said. "I was mixing sentences, places, words, leaving everything in a big mess.

"But eventually I got a lot of American friends, and if I didn't know something, I'd ask. Plus, I was listening to a lot of music, and that's a good way to learn English."

On a tour bursting with fresh revenue after signing a six-year, $88 million sponsorship deal with Sony Ericsson, Karatantcheva becomes yet another attractive personality to go with the Williams sisters and Sharapova.

Serena and Venus, whose games have slipped as they have gone through a succession of injuries and distractions, are trying to stay fit enough to climb back up to No. 1 and 2, and Sharapova, at No. 4, already is almost there.

Yet there are more coming attractions, and Karatantcheva and Nicole Vaidisova of the Czech Republic, both 15 and both training at Bollettieri's, are two teenagers that must be followed this season.

"We're good friends, and we're both just starting out. It's good to know someone who is in your shoes, who knows what you feel like," Sesil said.

The only time they have played was in the final of a small tournament just before the 2004 French Open. "I won. You want to win badly, and you do everything you can to win. But out of the court, that has nothing to do with life on the court," she said.

"After the match, we were just chilling and talking, laughing because we both got leather jackets for reaching the final. Mine was orange and hers was purple. We never talked about the match. We're just two teenagers talking about stupid stuff."

Vaidisova, who turns 16 on April 23, had an earlier start in professional play and already is at No. 75. Karatantcheva, who turns 16 on Aug. 8, stepped up her professional play after winning the 2004 French Open juniors.

Somewhere along the way she's going to play Sharapova again. I doubt she'll be ready to do any derriere kicking for a few months, but who knows? If confidence can take you halfway there, she's already into the second set.

Mike Henry Tennis

BRADENTON - When you're constantly busy with tournaments, practice and physical training - not to mention studying and being a normal teenager - nutrition can be found in a banana dipped in peanut butter.

But 15-year-old Bulgarian teenager Sesil Karatantcheva's focus switched from food to play when she learned Friday's hitting partner had asked for a return engagement at 10 a.m. today.

On the main court at the Nick Bollettieri Tennis Academy.

Karatantcheva jumped up and down and laughed in delight because her partner is Bradenton's Tommy Haas, winner this year of the U.S. Men's Clay Court Championships and the Mercedes-Benz Cup.

"I still don't know what to say," about Haas' request, Karatantcheva said. "I'm, like, shocked. It makes me feel more confident. I'm very honored."

Her reaction was genuine, yet Bollettieri says his protege has long had a strong belief in her ability.

Two years ago, Karatantcheva lost in the first round of the Girls 18s at the Eddie Herr International Junior Tennis Championships. She also met Bollettieri courtside as he worked with students.

"I'm right here by the phone, and she's right there, and it's crowded. I think we had 300 or 400 people around the court," Bollettieri recalled.

"She came up to me and said, 'I'm very good. Can you take a look at me?' I said 'I'm sorry, I don't have time.' She came back again. 'But I'm good. You are making a mistake.'

"So you know what I did the next morning? I took her inside (to watch her hit), and in 30 seconds I told all my coaches, 'This girl is going to be great.' ".

Six months later, Karatantcheva, who trains periodically at the NBTA, won the French Junior Girls Championship.

Since then, she's been playing professionally on the International Tennis Federation and Women's Tennis Association circuits while being home-schooled by her father, Radoslav, a former Bulgarian rowing champion.

Karatantcheva won an ITF tournament last year in Shenzhen, China, and has risen to a No. 127 world ranking. She reached the third round of the Indian Wells WTA event in March, losing 3-6, 6-3, 6-2 against Maria Sharapova.

Bollettieri is convinced Karatantcheva's name will be rolling off the tongues of American fans before long.

"Tommy Haas said it - she's very competitive. She has great wheels, man. And a great attitude. She's not afraid to hit the ball, and she's beginning to get a little spin for control."

Bollettieri said Karatantcheva and 15-year-old Nicole Vaidisova, who won the Vancouver Women's Open last summer, could develop into the next Sharapovas.

After hitting with Haas, Karatantcheva leaves with her father for Palm Beach Gardens and a $50,000 tournament that begins Monday, the same day as the Eddie Herr Girls 18s main draw.

"I am a kid technically," she said, her guileless smile proving the point. "I'm definitely not different than anyone here. I'm one of the players."

But she's traveling in real good company.