Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, July 30, 1993 TAG: 9307300127
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-4 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: SCOTT BLANCHARD STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
And she's still on the move, having reached the quarterfinals of the $10,000 USTA Women's Circuit of Roanoke tennis tournament.
Sixteen-year-old Anne Miller left her hometown of Midland, Mich., during her sophomore year of high school in April, transplanting herself into Nick Bollettieri's well-known tennis school in Bradenton, Fla.
She was the No. 2-ranked 18-under player in the country, she had reached the U.S. Open junior tournament quarterfinals as a 14-year-old and she pretty much had run out of competition in Midland. So she called Bollettieri and, soon enough, was beckoned to Bradenton. Only . . .
"As it got closer and closer to going down, I got hesitant because I got scared of leaving," Miller said. "There was a point where I said, `No, I don't want to go,' because I was so scared."
Her parents squeezed her: You made the decision to go, so at least try it. Still, other doubts crept up.
As a 15-year-old, she said, "I always knew I would never go to one of the tennis academies. I'd get burned out. I was dead-set against it."
However, since April she has made the final of a $10,000 USTA tournament in Columbia, S.C., and Thursday she beat Great Britain's Michele Mair 6-2, 6-2 to reach the final 16 at Hunting Hills Country Club.
The Bollettieris, she says, "are about the best tennis parents I could imagine."
She goes to the academy's private school from 7:40 a.m. until 12:30 (no breaks, she said), taking routine things such as English, science, geometry and Spanish. After that comes about three hours of practice. She used to worry there would be no social life, no time after tennis.
But Bradenton is 10 minutes from the Gulf of Mexico shoreline, and Miller's tanned-and-peeling nose is a hint she doesn't get sun only on the tennis court. Nevertheless, Miller seems more likely to have a racket in hand than a bottle of tanning lotion.
Greg Hill, a staff coach at the Bollettieri school, praises Miller's work ethic and competitiveness. Miller said hitting balls for three or four hours no longer is the big deal it seemed to be when she was 15, and her powerful game attests to her investment.
"She just hits a very, very hard ball," said Hill, in Roanoke watching Miller and another student, Sabine Haas of Germany, who lost Thursday. "She has tremendous pace on her groundstrokes."
She will need at least that to navigate her way through the bracket this week. By staying in contention Thursday, she retained a U.S. presence in an increasingly international tournament. When play began Thursday, nine countries were represented among the final 16 players; Japan and South Africa each had three.
Miller was the only American left after Thursday's play. Fifteen-year-old Marissa Catlin of Clearwater, Fla., was the last American to fall, losing 6-4, 6-0 to South Africa's Mareze Joubert in the last match of the day. Miller, the fifth seed, and fourth-seeded Vanessa Webb of Canada are the only seeded players remaining.
Catlin's mother, Mary Sue, said her daughter, who was born in Richmond and lived there until she was 5, was the top-ranked 14-under player for 1992 and has skipped the 16-under division to play against 18-under competition. Last week, her mother said Marissa was sixth in the 18-under national clay-court championship in Memphis, Tenn.
Like Miller, Catlin has forsaken go-to-class high school for correspondence courses while she works toward the time she will turn professional.
Miller doesn't know whether she will turn pro before going to college. She plans to let her play answer the question.
"I have two years until I graduate from high school," she said. "I'll see how I can do in the pros.
"It's so much different in the pros. All the girls have so much experience. [But] I'm feeling more and more comfortable, getting used to playing matches. Hopefully, I can do well here."
by CNB