Artigo sobre a tenista portuguesa no Roseville Press Tribune, uma pérola do nosso amigo Feliciano em http://michellelarcherdebrito.blogs.sapo.pt/ .
" Michelle Larcher de Brito is just 14, the age when most teenagers are longing for a driver's license or searching for a summer job. No word on the driver's license, but Larcher de Brito won't have to worry about finding summer employment. The Portuguese phenom trounced Mashona Washing-ton 5-1 in women's singles, helping the Sacramento Capitals (3-2) secure a 25-11 victory over Houston on Wednesday. It didn't take long for Larcher de Brito to win over the crowd in her home debut. She overpowered Washington with a barrage of powerful groundstrokes, drawing a chorus of applause and the praise of her coach, Wayne Bryan. "Goodness gracious," Bryan chuckled. "All the veterans and me were on the bench just going, 'Woah.' She stays on the baseline and just drills the ball." Larcher de Brito joined the WTA Tour in February and made headlines by upsetting Meghann Shaughnessy, the former No. 11 player in the world, at the Sony Ericsson Open. She made her Capitals' debut Tuesday at Newport Beach, where she teamed with veteran Elena Likhovtseva in women's doubles. Larcher de Brito and Likhovtseva played women's doubles again on Wednesday, defeating Wash-ington and Bryanne Stewart 5-3.
The doubles win came with a few hiccups, however. The Capitals led the set 3-0 but dropped game four after Larcher de Brito double-faulted with the game tied at 3. Afterward, she admitted her doubles game needs a little polish. "I definitely think I'm a better singles player," she said. "I feel good about my groundstrokes, and my movement is pretty good, running up and down the court." Any minor miscues from the doubles set were all but forgotten after Larcher de Brito dominated Washington in singles. She won the first four games in thrilling fashion, notching 4-3 victories in each one. "I guess I played good," she said. "I won, and got the crowd going. It was nice." Team captain Mark Knowles also played his first home match of the season. Knowles, the 2007 French Open doubles champion, posted victories in men's doubles and mixed doubles. Sam Warburg won a hotly contested men's singles set against Jan Michael Gambill, a 5-4 victory decided by a tiebreaker. Warburg won the nine-point tiebreaker 5-4 after Gambill doubled-faulted on the final point. Next action for the Capitals is today at 7:30 p.m., when they play host to the St. Louis Aces. "
The doubles win came with a few hiccups, however. The Capitals led the set 3-0 but dropped game four after Larcher de Brito double-faulted with the game tied at 3. Afterward, she admitted her doubles game needs a little polish. "I definitely think I'm a better singles player," she said. "I feel good about my groundstrokes, and my movement is pretty good, running up and down the court." Any minor miscues from the doubles set were all but forgotten after Larcher de Brito dominated Washington in singles. She won the first four games in thrilling fashion, notching 4-3 victories in each one. "I guess I played good," she said. "I won, and got the crowd going. It was nice." Team captain Mark Knowles also played his first home match of the season. Knowles, the 2007 French Open doubles champion, posted victories in men's doubles and mixed doubles. Sam Warburg won a hotly contested men's singles set against Jan Michael Gambill, a 5-4 victory decided by a tiebreaker. Warburg won the nine-point tiebreaker 5-4 after Gambill doubled-faulted on the final point. Next action for the Capitals is today at 7:30 p.m., when they play host to the St. Louis Aces. "
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