Tammy still fired up despite Wimbledon exit
Tamarine Tanasugarn says she is still enjoying tennis despite age catching upon her. The 36-year-old Thai suffered her latest setback when she was bundled out in the doubles third round at Wimbledon on Monday.
Pairing up with Croatian Dajarija Jurak, Tammy lost to eighth seeded Hsieh Su-wei of Taiwan and Peng Shuai of China 6-4 6-4. The end to her All England campaign came 10 days after she failed to make it through Wimbledon singles qualifying.
Tammy has a dismal record in singles this year on the WTA Tour, having never been past the first round. Despite her below-par performances, the former world No 19 says her passion for the game is still high. She plans to take a few weeks off at home in Bangkok before playing both singles and doubles during the US hard-court season.
“I have no other plans but to keep on playing, even in the singles. I still enjoy the game and I find it even more challenging at this stage,” said Tammy, winner of four WTA titles, and now the second-oldest player on the Tour after 42-year-old Kimiko Date Krumm of Japan.
“I will keep competing until my body says no. My age means I have to stay physically strong and fit to keep up with the young players.”
There was better Wimbledon news for Wishaya Trongcharoenchaikul, who became the first Thai boy in many years to win a match at All England when he ousted Thomas Collautti of Great Britain 7-6 (7-1) 5-7 6-3 in the first round of the junior singles.
“It wasn’t a good day for me, perhaps because I was a bit nervous. Luckily I kept my cool and stuck to the game plan. My rival was playing well and put me under constant pressure,” said the 18-year-old Davis Cup player. Wishaya next meets 10th seed Johan Sebastien Tatlot of France in the second round.
