TENNIS in DEPTH.

A 37-year-old financial consultant from Chile who became the first transsexual to compete in professional women’s tennis since Renee Richards in the late 1970s and early 1980s, has told how she was encouraged to play by the American’s story.

Andrea Paredes also disclosed how she has suffered from years of discrimination in her own country, “as they are not very advanced in Chile”. “I’ll get more comments in Chile after this tournament, but I’m tough. I’ve had to be.”

Paredes, who was born Ernesto, had a sex-change operation in 2000. She was intrigued to hear about Richards, who was born Richard Raskind, had an operation to change sexes, was initially blocked by the American tennis authorities from playing at the US Open, and then successfully sued them through the Supreme Court to have the ban overturned. A year after her first appearance, Richards made the quarter-finals of the grand slam in America.

The International Tennis Federation said that they cleared Paredes to play after they were shown documentation of her operation and hormone treatment.

Three years after Ernesto became Andrea, she learned about Richards. “I had the sex-change operation in 2000, after a lot of psychiatric and psychological tests. I heard about Renee Richards in 2003, and it was sometime in 2004 that I thought about the possibility that I could one day play a professional tournament,” Paredes said in an interview after her appearance on the clay courts of the Parque Roca. Although Paredes lives and trains in Chile, she travelled to more liberal Argentina to make her first appearance. “I’ve got a financial consulting business that gives me a lot of time to play tennis. I live and train in Chile. I have suffered discrimination and comments in Chile, as they are not very advanced in Chile with their mindset. They discriminate against transsexuals and gays, that sort of thing. I will probably get more comments when I get back to Chile after this tournament, and I think I’m probably going to have to fight with the tennis federation in my country. I don’t think I will hear good things. But the comments won’t bother me,” said Paredes.

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Alisa Kleybanova’s title defense came unstuck at the BMW Malaysian Open on Thursday, when the No.3 seed was beaten by dangerous but mercurial Michaella Krajicek. Former No.1-ranked junior Krajicek, currently ranked No.150 in the world, dispatched the 21-year-old Russian in the last of the second round matches, 36 64 63. “I think I actually served well throughout the match, except for a patch near the end of the first set when I couldn’t put a first serve in,” said Krajicek, who had chances for a double break in the final set but ultimately only needed the one.

“It’s a long time since I’ve beaten someone in the Top 20, so I’m really going to enjoy this win,” added the former world No.30. “I’ve been playing well lately and to finally win two matches in a row at a WTA event and reach a quarterfinal is a first step. I’ll take it one match at a time.”

For her part, Kleybanova was philosophical about relinquishing what was her maiden trophy. “It’s quite a disappointing day for me,” said Kleybanova. “But I’ve got to give credit to Michaella… she played well, served very steady today and played well on the important points. She deserved to win the match. “I got a title here last year, this time it didn’t go so well, but I like to play in Asia and strange as it may sound, I like the heat,” Kleybanova added. “So I hope to come back next year and go further in the tournament.”

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Better than Wimbledon, the US Open, the Australian Open or Roland Garros, the overwhelming outpouring of emotion by both the players and the partisan fans leaves those other events far behind. And for those who would even suggest that the Davis Cup is out-of-date, and needs to revamped, then it must be assumed that they did not witness this latest event or they have an ulterior motive behind their suggestion. Maybe it’s because the USA, Australia and the UK, the three former powerhouses of tennis, are unlikely to have a competive team in the foreseeable future, that they want to change the format.

Viktor Troicki was the hero as Serbia won the Davis Cup for the first time in their history on Sunday. After Novak Djokovic had seen off Gael Monfils to level the final in Belgrade at 2-2, Troicki beat Michael Llodra in straight sets to seal the trophy for the hosts. The world number 30, a surprise late replacement for Janko Tipsarevic for the final rubber, ran out a comfortable 6-2 6-2 6-3 winner as Llodra struggled with his game. Troicki’s success sent a partisan home crowd into wild celebrations.

Troicki, who had disappointed in Saturday’s doubles rubber which France won to take control of the tie, responded with arguably the finest match of his young career as he revelled in the home support and outplayed a French opponent ranked seven places higher than him. The mood inside the Belgrade Arena had already been stoked after an emotional 6-2 6-2 6-4 win from Djokovic, who wore his heart on his sleeve in typical style. But it is Troicki, rather than the world number three, who will be remembered as the man who delivered Serbia their first Davis Cup crown after his stirring performance.

Both men were late replacements for the final rubber – Llodra coming in for Gilles Simon – and they showed early signs of nerves. However, it was Troicki who drew first blood with a break of the Llodra serve in the third game. He continued to cause his opponent problems, often coming up with a pass as Llodra tried to get to the net. Having lost the first set too easily, Llodra launched a fightback at the start of the second, opening a 2-0 lead. However, errors soon returned and he lost the next eight games to all but end France’s chances of winning a 10th Davis Cup crown. A double fault handed Troicki a double-break lead in the third set and although there was a minor slip-up from Troicki – he lost his serve in the following game – there was no denying the Serbs. Troicki clinched the historic victory with a superb backhand winner on the return of serve to write his name into Serbian folklore.

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France will take a 2-1 lead into the last day of the Davis Cup final after a stunning doubles comeback in Belgrade on Saturday. Hosts Serbia looked set for victory in the vital doubles rubber when they opened a two-set lead but the French pair of Michael Llodra and Arnaud Clement fought back for a memorable 3-6 6-7 (3/7) 6-4 7-5 6-4 triumph. It leaves them needing to win just one of Sunday’s two reverse singles matches to claim the trophy.

Nenad Zimonjic and Viktor Troicki, who suffered their first defeat as a duo in Davis Cup play, started well enough but the latter in particular struggled as the French raised their game. Serbia blew break points on Clement’s serve to regain command in the fourth set and paid the price as the French levelled the match as Troicki cracked on serve in game 11. And they immediately took control of the final set, breaking Zimonjic this time for the first time in the match. Despite the Serbs forcing two break points in the eighth game of the set, they could not take their chance and the French pair were soon celebrating after four and a half hours on court.

Novak Djokovic is due to take on Gael Monfils – a player he has never lost to – in the first of Sunday’s matches, with Janko Tipsarevic slated to play Gilles Simon in what could be the decisive final rubber.

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The draw for this weekend’s Davis Cup by BNP Paribas Final has thrown up an intriguing first day’s play with Gael Monfils set to get proceedings underway against Janko Tipsarevic at 2pm local time. Monfils, who is unbeaten in Davis Cup singles rubbers so far this year, will be looking to get his side off to the perfect start, but he will have to overcome Serbia’s semifinals hero, Tipsarevic. The charismatic Serbian claimed two vital points for his country against the Czech Republic in the Belgrade Arena and his opponent is hoping the pressure of the home crowd could work to his advantage. “I know Janko,” said Monfils. “He will be very nervous because he plans to come out first on the court in front of the Serbian crowd. It will be tough for him. I will try to be very relaxed and just play my game.”

The second singles match tomorrow sees Serbia’s No. 1 Novak Djokovic up against France’s Gilles Simon. There was much speculation about who Guy Forget would pick as his team’s No. 2 and it looks like he has opted to rest Michael Llodra for what could be a pivotal doubles rubber on Saturday in favour of former Top 10 player Simon. Asked for the reason behind his decision, Forget said: “It’s always a tough choice to choose someone because you let someone down. I expect Gilles to play a great match against Novak. I expect Michael to play great doubles with Arnaud [Clement]. They’ve done so many times in the past. “In my opinion, that was the best choice for the French team. The Sunday matches probably will count. That leaves me probably some more options doing it this way.”

And Djokovic didn’t seemed surprised by the French decision to go with Simon in the singles, hinting that the Serbian team had expected Forget to make that particular call. “That’s what we kind of expected,” Djokovic said. “Regardless of who I play, I have to be on top of my game. It’s the finals of Davis Cup. Everybody will try to perform their best and everybody will have a lot of motivation to play great tennis in these three days.”

With so little to choose between the two teams, it is expected that this tie could go to a third and final day. If that is the case all eyes will be on the match-up of the No. 1’s. Djokovic is scheduled to play Monfils first on Sunday and there’s no doubt that this will be a crucial rubber in the outcome of the tie. Should proceedings go to a decisive fifth rubber, Tipsarevic will have to repeat his heroics of the semifinals once again in front of an expectant home crowd.

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As the tennis season draws to a close, all eyes turn to Belgrade this weekend for what should be a thrilling Davis Cup Final between Serbia and France. On paper, this year’s Final should be one of the closest in recent memory. First-time finalist Serbia boasts the highest-ranked singles player in the shape of world No. 3 Novak Djokovic, who looked in good form at the ATP World Tour Finals last week, reaching the semifinals before losing to eventual champion Roger Federer on Saturday. But French captain Guy Forget has an enviable strength in depth from which to pick his team. France has no fewer than seven players in the Top 50 and is not lacking in experience with players like Arnaud Clement and Michael Llodra among the ranks.

With so little to choose between the two sides, it may well come down to the all-important doubles rubber on Saturday and Nenad Zimonjic’s timely win at the end of year finals at the O2 will do wonders for Serbia’s confidence. Zimonjic won his second end of year doubles title alongside Canadian partner Daniel Nestor with a 76(6) 64 victory over Mahesh Bhupathi and Max Mirnyi in the final. A likely doubles partnership for the French would see the two most experienced players, Clement and Llodra, on the team named alongside one another. Llodra is expected to play both singles and doubles this weekend given he has yet to lose a rubber in 2010. Joining him in the doubles could be Clement, who has been given a rare opportunity to feature in his first Davis Cup Final at the age of 32. What better way to give himself an early birthday present (he turns 33 on 17 December) than to finally play a rubber in the final having been cruelly denied on two previous occasions? Clement was nominated in the French team to play in the Davis Cup Finals in both 2001 and 2002, but on both occasions he was replaced at the last minute by Cedric Pioline and Paul-Henri Mathieu respectively.

France will be looking to Gael Monfils to continue his fine run of form that saw him finish the season strongly, so much so that he is now the away team’s top-ranked player having overtaken his compatriot Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, who is unavailable due to a lingering knee injury.

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Italy retained their Fed Cup title as Flavia Pennetta beat Coco Vandeweghe of the United States 6-1 6-2 in San Diego to clinch the match. Down 2-0 from the first day’s singles, the USA stayed alive in the contest when Melanie Oudin beat Francesca Schiavone 6-3 6-1. But teenager Vandeweghe had little to offer against Pennetta and she strolled to victory to give Italy their third title in five years. “It never changes, it’s still the same feeling,” Pennetta told Sky Sports 3. “It’s really exciting. It’s going to be with you all your life. It’s really nice. “It’s amazing to win a match like this. I am very happy, the team is very happy.” Pennetta was actually a break down early on as she made a sluggish start with a double fault from the world number 23 handing her opponent the game. But the Italian fought back from 40-0 down in game two and eventually broke back after seven deuces. That proved to be a pivotal moment as Pennetta romped through the set, taking it 6-1.

A break for Pennetta in the first game of the second set was the last thing 18-year-old Vandeweghe needed and, though she subsequently held a couple of service games to give the home fans something to shout about, the result was never in doubt. Pennetta added: “I was feeling really good on the court, I was focused on my game. “Yesterday was difficult and I just tried to enjoy it a bit more.”

Earlier, Oudin, playing in place of Bethanie Mattek-Sands, who lost against Pennetta yesterday, stunned French Open champion Schiavone with a gutsy performance. The players traded breaks early in the first, but Schiavone, ranked seventh in the world, fell apart in the second half of the set and never recovered as Oudin bravely went for her shots.

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Teenager Coco Vandeweghe will kick off the Fed Cup final for the USA with a singles match against Francesca Schiavone. The 19-year-old, ranked 114th in the world, will open things up against World No 7 Schiavone as the US look to take Italy’s title. Bethanie Mattek-Sands will follow the youngster onto court as she faces Flavia Pennetta in the second singles rubber of the opening day. Schiavone will then face Mattek-Sands in Sunday’s first rubber before Vandeweghe meets Pennetta and the doubles encounter of Liezel Huber and Melanie Oudin v Sara Errani and Roberta Vinci concludes the match.

Italy captain Corrado Barazzutti is confident his team can stage a successful defence of their title. In a repeat of the 2009 final, the Italians will be aiming to claim their third Fed Cup crown in five years against a US side who have not lifted the trophy since 2000. The United States suffered a humiliating 4-0 whitewash in last year’s showpiece in Reggio Calabria, but hold home advantage this time around with the contest taking place in San Diego. Yet Barazzutti does not think that will work against his Italy team once the contest gets under way. “The victory in 2006 was the first Fed Cup in our history, and last year’s success was confirmation this is the best team in the world,” he said. “Not only that, this team has grown individually. Schiavone won at Roland Garros and is firmly established in the top 10, Flavia Pennetta claimed doubles success at the prestigious Masters event in Doha, Roberta Vinci recently won a tournament while Sara Errani has confirmed herself as a consistent solid player. “To establish yourself in a sport is the hardest thing, but they have done it.”

The United States will start as underdogs in the absence of the injured Williams sisters. It will be a tall order for a team in which Mattek-Sands, at number 58, is the highest-ranked player, but captain Mary Jo Fernandez has warned against writing them off. “You don’t just sign up and say they are ranked much higher so they are going to win,” said Fernandez. “We have seen upsets in the past. They’re experienced, accomplished and are a great team, but if we execute our game plan and play well then we can win.”

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