Romania may have a new Nastase

13 April 2012

Romania last made its mark on Wimbledon's Centre Court when Ion Tiriac twitched his bushy moustache - but there is a renaissance afoot which may have uncovered the heirs to Boris Becker's former manager and his ex-doubles partner, the great Ilie Nastase.

Florin Mergea, who emulated newly crowned Wimbledon champion Roger Federer by landing both the boys' singles and doubles titles, benefited from a development fund established in 1985 by a donation from the Wimbledon Championships.

Coached by his father, also called Florin, the teenager from Craiova was selected for the scheme due to his talent and the fact that he was not as financially well off as some of his peers.

His doubles partner, Horia Tecau, has flourished through a contrasting avenue, having already been picked up by sports management giant IMG, after joining the Nick Bollettieri Academy in Florida.

With a huge serve already in his armoury, the 18-year-old from Brasov and his singles champion partner helped see off the British challenge of Andrew Murray and Tom Rushby in the doubles semi-finals.

The gap in skill, temperament and also physical development, was apparent in a straight-sets victory.

Florencia Mihai, of the Romanian Tennis Federation, pulls no punches in saying: 'Firstly I think we have more naturally gifted players. Or maybe we are better at uncovering them. 'Secondly it must be down to the coaching. Are they hungry? I am sure of it. They do not get that much money from the Romanian federation because there is not much to go round, but they are supported.'

While Florin and Horia are doing the rounds of television and radio interviews on their return from Wimbledon, Belgium is heralding the arrival of another tennis starlet.

Girls champion Kirsten Flipkens has come through the same Flemish tennis federation as Kim Clijsters, on whom she models herself. The gift of a watch from the two-times French Open finalist has also helped spur on the 17-year-old, who was once told she may be too short to succeed.

Flipkens, who is the same height as Justine Henin-Hardenne, at 5ft 5in, said: 'I see the watch Kim gave me as a kind of talisman. I've known Kim for a long time now and one of the most important things I've learned from her is modesty.' Quite.

MORE ABOUT

Commonwealth Games

Romania may have a new Nastase

Read More