Kimiko Date Krumm

*ITF Cagnes-Sur-Mer: Krumm retired in her match with Yakimova

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http://www.itftennis.com/procircuit/tournaments/women's-tournament/info.aspx?tournamentid=1100026494

Date Krumm is dead right imo:

Kimiko Date Krumm says that today’s players have styles that are too uniform.

"Martina Navratilova had the serve and volley and the touch for net play but now when you look at the young players, their styles are all the same. It's only power, big serve, and then bam, bam, bam - no tactics," Date-Krumm said.
"Before it was mainly defensive styles. Martina (Navratilova) had her leftie serve and volley game; Steffi Graf had a superb backhand slice and big forehand; Gabriela Sabatini had more spin; Arantxa Sanchez did also, she ran very fast and was mentally tough. Martina Hingis had a lot of talent, she's not a big player, not a lot of muscle and her tennis was all about touch. For Asian players today, she's a good model. She didn't have the power but she was very smart. Back then most players had a good serve but they were still very different. Now they are all almost identical."

Date-Krumm, who reached a career high ranking of No. 4 in 1995, says that if 22-time Grand Slam champion Graf made a comeback, she could be No. 1 again. Graf is 42 years old.

"Yes I think so," said No. 113-ranked Date, who plans on playing another one to two years. "And why? Well because tennis is not only power and not only age. Yes, of course this generation of players need power. But to win Grand Slam titles you need mental toughness and experience. In matches there are many turning points and she still knows how to win, how to play these big moments."

World Tennis Magazine.

Kimiko Date Krumm says 2011 will be her last year on the Tour.

In her latest blog entry, Japanese veteran Kimiko Date Krumm has detailed that she has been back practising after a severe ankle injury back in Thailand over a month ago sidelined her for a fair few tournaments.

"At the moment, my play is not so bad, but I still have to get better at feeling everything on the court. My mind needs to be focused now. I'm not sure how my ankle will cope under the stress of a game situation as opposed to just training, but we will see.", she said.

Date Krumm plays inconsistent Hungarian Melinda Czink in the first round tomorrow, the lefty herself having just returned from a short lay-off also due to fitness problems.

Date Krumm has pulled out of the Malaysian tournament next week citing the same ankle injury that she sustained a couple of weeks ago whilst playing.

Kimiko Date-Krum has been handed a wildcard into the Auckland tournament.

She replaces New Zealand's Sacha Jones who withdrew with an injury.

News story:

TOKYO: Former world number four Kimiko Date-Krumm, enjoying a comeback after more than a decade in retirement, was selected on Monday for Japan's Fed Cup squad for the first time in 14 years.

The 39-year-old will be joined by Ayumi Morita, Rika Fujiwara and Yurika Sema in the squad bound for February's Fed Cup Asia-Oceania regional qualifying tournament in Kuala Lumpur, the Japan Tennis Association said.

"It has yet to sink in that I am going to carry the national flag," Date-Krumm said. "But I hope that Japanese tennis will move forward and I want to contribute to the team."

Japan's Fed team head coach Takeshi Murakami said it was possible that Date-Krumm would compete in both singles and doubles.

She is the oldest player in the team and her world ranking - 69th - is now the highest among Japanese women following the retirement of Ai Sugiyama at the end of this past season.
Fujiwara is the youngest at 19.

"In either singles or doubles, or even on the bench, I want to help create a great atmosphere," said the veteran player.

The Asia-Oceania Group I round robin will split eight squads - Taiwan, Indonesia, Japan, Kazakhstan, Korea, New Zealand, Thailand and Uzbekistan - into two pools.

The winners of each pool will clash for a berth in the second-tier World Group II relegation-promotion play-offs.

Date-Krumm reached the world number four spot in 1995 before retiring a year later after finding the pressure of life on tour too much.

After her comeback in 2008, she lost to Denmark's Caroline Wozniacki, then 18, in the first round at Wimbledon in June this year.

But in September, Date-Krumm chalked up her first tournament victory in 13 years, which made her the oldest winner of a WTA event since Billie Jean King in 1983.

She triumphed at the Korean Open, an event on the second-tier WTA International Tournament.

Date Krumm defeated Bojana Jovanovski in the final of the Toyota ITF event to claim another title, undoubtedly making her Comeback Queen number two behind US Open victor Kim Clijsters.

Kimiko Date Krumm has received the second wildcard into next week's first-running of the Bali Tournament of Champions, reward for a great effort this season by the 39 yo comeback queen who lifted a WTA title in Asia just a month ago.