Somewhere, Yanina Wickmayer’s father is smiling.
In one of the more bizarre turn of events I’ve heard of lately, Justine Henin withdrew from playing for the Belgian Federation Cup team before their tie versus Estonia tomorrow after she broke her left pinky while trying to catch a ball at net during practice. Belgium captain, Sabine Appelmans, explained how it happened: “She was at the net and the ball came over. She didn’t know whether to volley it. Instead, she took it with her hand and broke her finger.”
After x-rays revealed the finger was indeed broken, Henin’s withdrawal opened the door for alternate Yanina Wickmayer to step into her place. Wickmayer’s father, Mark Wickmayer, went on record a few weeks ago in Le Soir newspaper questioning why Henin wanted to play for Belgium in the first place. He said, “Why does Justine want to play? Because the match is taking place in Belgium? To look after her popularity in Flanders? If she’s there again next year to go to Russia or the Czech Republic, then I’ll present her with my apologies.”
Wickmayer herself said she was willing to sit on the bench to cheer the team and that it didn’t matter who played as long as Belgium won. She now gets her chance in the second singles match after Kim Clijsters takes on veteran Kaia Kanepi in the first singles rubber. No word yet on who will play doubles for Belgium as Henin was listed to play with Kirsten Flipkens.
Wickmayer In the Middle of Superstars Henin/Clijsters (Imagellen)
Despite her “No. 3″ status in Belgium after the two superstars Clijsters and Henin, Wickmayer herself is ranked No. 12 in the world, one notch away from Kim Clijsters. Wickmayer, who lost a tough fourth round match at the Australian Open to Henin, certainly displays enough grit and firepower to be a future top 10 if not top 5 player. Whether one believes her father’s statements that the rest of Belgium ignores them, playing for Fed Cup may finally give Wickmayer the recognition in her country she’s been waiting for, even if she doesn’t get top billing just yet.
And you thought the U.S. Fed Cup team had solidarity issues.
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