Kimiko Date-Krumm warns Caroline Wozniacki of marathon ramifications

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  • Tough: Date-Krumm said competing in a marathon affected her hormonal balance.

    Kimiko Date-Krumm was impressed by Caroline Wozni­acki’s phenomenal timing at the New York Marathon but says she is worried the Dane could suffer in the aftermath of completing such a strenuous race.

    Date-Krumm, who at 44 is still competing on the WTA tour and is ranked No115 in the world, com­peted in the London Marathon in 2004 during her 12-year break from tennis and had clocked a remark­able three hours and 30 minutes.

    Wozniacki bested the Japanese’s time, crossing the finish line in 3:26:33 in New York, and while Date-Krumm is thrilled for the former world No1, she shared some troubling details about her health following her own marathon expe­rience.

    “She beat me (my time),” a laugh­ing Date-Krumm told Sport360° on the sidelines of the Al Habtoor Ten­nis Challenge in Dubai, where she made the second round yesterday.

    “I spoke with her I think at the US Open and she asked me ‘what was your time?’ and I explained a little bit. She was so excited to talk about the marathon.

    “It was an impressive time – first time is not easy.

    “I hope she didn’t get injured because it’s big, big damage after that. For me after the marathon my hormone balance was broken, my menstrual cycle was completely disrupted, so I hope that she is not like that.”

    Another player that has definit- ely impressed Date-Krumm is her compatriot Kei Nishikori, who has risen to No5 in the world and beat Andy Murray on Sunday on his ATP World Tour Finals debut.

    Nishikori made history when he became the first Asian male to reach a grand slam singles final at the US Open last September and Date-Krumm, who made three major semi-finals in the 1990s, says it’s remarkable how someone of his size (178cm, 74kg) can do so well in today’s game.

    Asked about how Japan reacted to Nishikori’s US Open run, she said: “It was crazy, a little bit too much but I can imagine because I did it before. It’s good for Japanese tennis.

    “And now he’s No5 in the world. In the men’s game. He’s not 180cm or 190cm, he’s not big, doesn’t have big muscles, but he has so much tal­ent and it’s amazing.”

    Date-Krumm however is not too thrilled with the state of the women’s game in Japan.

    “In Japan we only have synthet­ic grass courts and we don’t have many hard courts and our players only play in Japan, small ITF tour­naments $25k, sometimes $50k and it’s not enough,” she said.

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