By Matthew Cronin
tennisreporters.net

Susan Mullane/Camerawork USA

Iris Ichim is moving into make-or-break year.

After spending 3 hours and 34 minutes in her 4-6, 7-6 (5), 7-5 upset of 10th seed Vojislava Lukic of Yugoslavia at the Orange Bowl, retiring in her doubles match after two hours and some serious icing of her sore legs, Iris Ichim was believing in herself again.

Believing that she can now close out tight three setters, believing that her rigorous conditioning programs is paying dividends, believing that her decision to turn pro at age 18 is a sound one.

"That match was ridiculous. It seemed like four hours," said Ichim. "That's the type of match that I couldn't win earlier this year. I was cramping in the second set but I told myself that there was no way I was going to quit. She gets everything back, but I knew that the match couldn't be any worse than my training sessions.

Ichim, from the starstruck town of Beverly Hills, Calif., who reached the 18s Super Nationals semis, decided to go pro at the US Open, a somewhat risky move. While Ichim's results have been solid, she hasn't been lapping up the ITF field like Belgian Kristen Flipkens has, but USTA High Performance coach Debbie Graham still thinks she has a chance to make it.

"Maybe Iris didn't produce the results she wanted to, but she's in the best shape I've seen her," said Graham. "She's been steadily progressing but when you go pro at 18, you have a lot of catching up to do. There are girls on the circuit who have been playing pro since 16. It's very tough."

Even though Ichim is just 18, USTA High Performance coach Eliot Teltscher believes 2004 will be a make or break year for her. She's worked herself into tremendous shape under coach Henry Hines, but she still has to leap over the numerous mental hurdles that will confront her in the pros.

Graham agrees. "She's very strong and her attitude is great, but whether she can get some wins next year is going to say a lot about her future. But you know she's going to put in the work."

It's closing that been a problem for Ichim, who at Nationals, lost a tremendous three-setter to Sasha Podkolzina. "That was an other one of those matches when I couldn't find a way to win," Ichim said.
But Ichim says she hasn't let her defeats get her down, which is why against Lukic, she pulled it out when the pressure points came. "I played aggressive, but patiently, too," Ichim said. "Everyone told me she'd get everything back and she did. But, I kept fighting. Now I've had my breakthrough."

Ichim isn't satisfied with merely just reaching the Orange Bowl round of 16. She wants to win the whole shebang. "Exactly," she said. "I feel like I've improved a lot. I lose to close match to Michela Krajicek at the French and I played Flipkens okay last year. I haven't been blown out by anyone."

FROM THE CAMPUS TO THE TOUR
Ichim knows she's not taking the common route, though. Other US athletes who match up fine with her like Podkolzina (Cal), Teresa Logar (Stanford) and Anne Yelsey (Stanford) have gone the college route. Both USC and UCLA were after her, but Ichim – who has Romanian roots – has had circuit dreams dancing in her head for a long time.

"I've always wanted to turn pro," said Ichim, who signed with the agency Sports Plus. "It was a tough decision but one I believed in."

Ichim committed to playing ITFs this year, which is probably a good thing. Of the last 10 winners of the 18s Super Nationals at San Jose, only Laura Granville, the '98 champ, has managed to consistently stay out of the minor leagues.

"The ITFs are the competition where we bring kids to prove their mettle," said Graham. "We don't have any girl totally dominating right now, so it's those players who actually make the effort go out there and test themselves who will be better off."

Ichim won't head Down Under in January, but will play satellites in Futures in Florida. She's already grabbed a wild card into Memphis in February and hopes to get one into Indian Wells. She's confident that she will stick as a pro.

"I need to improve how I attack the short ball and get better control of my forehand, but I'm confident I'll keep getting better" she said. "I'm really excited about next year."

Other U.S. 18s who performed at Orange Bowl to watch who will stay in the juniors in '04 are Mary Gambale, Vania King and Jessica Nguyen.

"They need to see what they are made of," Graham said of King and Nguyen. This year, King (sister of Duke standout Philip) continued to make progress and took her first trip as a player abroad.

"We consider her one of our top players," said Graham. "She has great court sense and feel for the ball and hits very smooth. We need to get her to play more ITFs and see where she stands see."
Nguyen had her best year to date, beating Logar twice and winning Muterspaw. "Jessica had a great attitude this year and improved her forehand" Graham said. "She's also gotten stronger and listens very well."

Zalameda, Glatch, Hansen show most promise
Unlike Ichim, there are players who are chomping at the bit to go to college, like LA's Riza Zalameda, who won the Super National Hard Court doubles with Yelsey. Zalameda, who also won Sectional singles, has accepted an early scholarship to play for Stella Sampras at UCLA.

In December, Zalameda's long-term commitment to the serve-and-volley and one-handed backhand paid off, when the Beverly Hills high student won the CIFs by trouncing two highly-ranked players: King and Lindsay Nelson.

"She really believes in herself now," said her father and teaching pro coach, Rollie. "She's mentally gone to another level. She can chip and charge now off second serves and comes in all the time. She can hit the [Pat] Rafter-like slice. While other players have the same style of game, she can actually raise her level. It's scary how good she's become."

Courtsey of Easter Bowl

Alexa Glatch stands tall among peers.

Another player to watch at Orange Bowl is Newport Beach, Calif.'s Alexa Glatch, who won the Easter Bowl 14s in resounding fashion and has reached the quarters of the Orange Bowl 16s. On Thursday, she defeated fellow SoCal Sarah Fansler 4-6, 6-3, 6-3.

"She's taller than most of her peers, so she can impose herself," Graham said. "While she's not as technically sound as some other players, she can bounce balls over their heads. "A lot of people have a hard time believing that she's going to go far because she has such a big loop on her forehand, but her groundies are big and she has impeccable timing," Graham, said. "She has a lot of stick on the ball and she's still growing."

Glatch isn't the only 16s who's been impressive in Florida: both Lindsay Burdette and Jennifer Stevens posted victories on Thursday.

Down in the 14s, it's Brentwood School's Logan Hansen who's turning heads. Hansen will turn 14 in January of '04 and made a splash early in 'O3 playing ITF's in Europe. According to Graham, she could be The One - Neo version of course. "Logan is head and shoulders is the best '90' in the country," said Graham. "She's physically better and plays with a lot of confidence. She's taller than other girls and strikes the ball really cleanly. She reminds me of Lindsay Davenport at that age. She has something extra on the ball."