Sprem, the woman who brought Venus down to earth

Bruce Emond, The Jakarta Post/Nusa Dua, Bali

Karolina Sprem peppers her rapid-fire English with the adjective "unbelievable", and it's the most fitting description to describe the signature victory of her career.

Her shock win over Venus Williams on Center Court in the third round of Wimbledon last year lifted her from the mass ranks of the WTA Tour's career journeywomen.

The Croatian did not come out of nowhere -- then aged 19, she was the world number 30 and had enjoyed an excellent European claycourt season, including taking Williams to three sets in Berlin. But landing the biggest scalp of her career, in the hallowed amphitheater of the game and with the added drama of a score mixup, made headlines around the world.

If not quite a household name today, she has certainly earned a footnote in tennis history for causing one of the biggest upsets in the tournament's history.

"This match will stay in my head for the rest of my life, because it's the first important match in my life. You're playing on Center Court against Venus, she has won the title two times and reached the semifinals so many years, a court where she feels at home. It's unbelievable," Sprem told The Jakarta Post on Friday at the Wismilak International.

The Berlin match -- she led 3-0 in the final set before losing -- was encouraging to her as she walked out onto Center Court in the late afternoon.

"I knew I could play good against her, but this was on grass, it's so fast and she has a bomb (of a serve), so I just wanted to do my best. But it was a great match, with all the people and everything"

Sprem, who stands 1.74 kg but is of slight build, stood her ground against Venus, running down balls in long, exciting rallies and often coming out the winner. She won the first set in a tiebreaker, and the second evolved into a tense seesaw battle with the crowd cheering her on.

Then came the second set tiebreaker and THAT point.

At 1-2, she served out, Venus parried it back and Sprem hit it into the open court. The confused umpire incorrectly gave the Croatian a point for 2-2. She went on to win the tiebreak 8-6.

"After the match, the press showed me it on television and asked me, 'how come you didn't know the score?' But when you're on court, all you're thinking about is winning the tiebreak and the match ... And with all the people, you get so into the match ...

"Come on, this is Wimbledon, if the referee doesn't know the score, if Venus doesn't know the score ... all I knew was that I served and then the ballboys gave the balls to Venus ..."

It was bad luck for the American, she says, but she does not think about the "what if" of that extra point. She notes that the American also said that one point does not make the difference to the conclusion of a match.

The Croatian media went wild after the win.

"I didn't think it was such a big deal. It was good to win, but it would have been better to win the final," said Sprem, who ended up losing in the quarterfinals to Lindsay Davenport. "And then this year I went back, and realized that I had to defend my (ranking) points, there were so many, and it was a lot of pressure."

After a fourth round run at the Australian Open, she fell sick earlier this year with a viral infection.

"It's unbelievable. I always get sick at Miami, Charleston, Amelia Island (U.S. claycourt tournaments in the spring), it must have been something in the food or something."

Her weight plummeted from 61 kg to 54kg in two months, and she could not practice much because she had no energy. Of course, her results suffered; at Wimbledon, she lost to Thailand's Tamarine Tanasugarn in the first round.

The media back home -- which applauded her Venus upset only a few months before -- suddenly turned on her.

"They were really critical, and it's not nice when your family is reading this. You don't know how to think, how to react. I was not so into tennis like I had been before, with all these things going on around me. It's tough when you're in this situation for the first time."

Sprem, who will turn 21 on Oct. 25, does not want to be the one-hit wonder who ends up as a puzzler of a Trivial Pursuit question. Her favorite player is Mary Pierce, who has overcome her fair share of injury problems to enjoy a resurgence now.

She said her weight was back up today; she is working with leading American trainer, Pat Etcheberry, who also trained Justine Henin-Hardenne.

In Bali, Sprem, now ranked 86, lost in the first round in a tight three setter to Germany's Anna-Lena Groenefeld, the world number 31, but she was happy with her progress.

"I got to the Australian Open fourth round, but I didn't know how I was winning the matches. Here I feel comfortable with the ball, knowing what to do when I go out on court," said Sprem, who reached her first doubles semifinal in Bali with Francesca Schiavone.

"I'm coming back to the feeling like I had at Wimbledon last year."