Karatancheva Has Her Say After Victory

The newest reality show hit the WTA on Saturday with a blast of teenage trash talk: Sesil Karatancheva, Unplugged.

On the outskirts of Indian Wells Tennis Garden, over on Court 5, the Bulgarian was facing a 3-5 third-set deficit. But the 14-year-old rallied and beat Magui Serna of Spain, 6-4, 2-6, 7-5, in the second round of the Pacific Life Open.

The giddy youngster took a few bows, a la Andre Agassi, in front of a crowd that included tournament director Charlie Pasarell, who marveled at her calmness under pressure.

That turned out to be the warm-up act.

In the interview room, she vowed to kick the rear end of her next opponent, 16-year-old Maria Sharapova of Russia. And that wasn’t the precise words she used, repeating the sentiment several more times for the stunned reporters and her coach, Nick Bollettieri.

Apparently, Karatancheva thought Sharapova had ducked a scheduled practice match recently at the Bollettieri Tennis Academy in Florida. Sharapova disagreed with that assertion.

“If she’s too scared to come out on the court -- her problem,” Karatancheva said. “I was like, ‘Whatever. I’m going to get you.’ Even then I said, ‘I’m going to meet you soon.’ She can’t call it off this time, that’s for sure.”

Maybe that’s why her T-shirt had boxing gloves on it and the words, “California Knockout.”

Karatancheva was asked whether she had seen Sharapova at Indian Wells. “Yes, I did,” she said. “Not really charming. Not really charming. Not really charming. That’s what I can say, not really charming.”

Said Sharapova: “She’s a young player. You know, sometimes that’s just what happens. It doesn’t bother me at all. I know who I am inside of me. I just can’t wait till Monday just to play.”

Serna is ranked 25th, one spot behind Sharapova, and dismissed some of the hype around the 14-year-old. “I agree, she has a good backhand, but that’s it,” Serna said. “Not a good serve. She plays well, obviously. From my opinion, it’s nothing special.”

Bollettieri obviously thinks differently and indicated there was a chance the family would challenge the WTA’s Age Eligibility Rule.

She turns 15 on Aug. 8 and won’t be able to play in any more WTA tournaments until then, although the eligibility issue is being revisited.

“She’s too young and she’s got to learn not to say too much,” he said. “She’s got to learn to be like Andre [Agassi] and sit back a little bit.... She boasted a little too much. She shouldn’t have.”

Still, she had reporters laughing out loud with her comments. Among them:

* On learning to speak English: “I know, I am really talkative right now. Listening to the Spice Girls, 24/7, trust me, you learn it quick.”

* On her mother: “She always like, ‘We need to go get your hair cut, girl.’ She would talk about shopping, everything else except tennis. I’m like, ‘Mom, I’m a tennis player. I’m not a model.’ If you want something else, you have my dad for it.”

* On her lack of support from the Bulgarian Federation: “Our culture is a very special one. People do not want you to succeed.... They’re not, ‘She’s from Bulgaria, let’s go, she can make it.’ They’re, ‘I hope she breaks her knee so she doesn’t make it.’ I like my country because I’m born in it. But I go there only because my family is there and because it’s just still my country. But the people are not nice.”