Selasa, 22 Februari 2011
Kamis, 03 Februari 2011
WTA Tour: Back To Square 0
“It is safe to say an end of another era is approaching fast for the WTA Tour.”
Serena Williams is injured. Venus Williams is injured. Justine Henin retired again for good. Maria Sharapova’s shoulder not working. And Kim Clijsters continuously threatening to retire.
The WTA Tour once again faces one of its most dismal situations with the top ladies not doing so well. With no big raising stars on the way, things need to be moving soon or it’s going to be another year worth forgetting.
When Na Li stepped out on the court and then later lost to Kim Clijsters, people saw her as the next big thing in tennis; at least in China’s tennis. We shouldn’t forget that Li is 28 years old.
The Chinese is no spring chicken, and while it was a great tennis story to begin the year, other headlines will be in question the rest of the way. Serena and Venus, Sharapova, Clijsters, and…who else?
Serena and Venus make headlines more about their injuries than tennis, and Clijsters is always saying today is her last day, this year is her last, and she can stop anytime if her family says so. Sharapova is not doing any better with her bad shoulder.
Henin celebrated her one-year comeback story with another retirement. I hope this time the Belgian will retire for good because tennis can be cruel to your body and health.
She would do better settling down with a family and kids than coming back once in awhile and injuring parts of her fragile body as it seems. Amelie Mauresmo, Lindsay Davenport, Monica Seles, Mary Pierce, Martina Hingis, Jennifer Capriati…these players sure as hell aren’t going to make a comeback.
It is safe to say an end of another era is approaching fast for the WTA Tour. The Williams Sisters will end their career soon and Clijsters already said 2012 will be her last; if she lasts that long.
There are a flock of new players coming out of the tour leaded by Caroline Wozniacki, but most of these players have the game but are just not ready to do anything with it. They are succumb to the big moments and that is understandable in this day and age of tennis.
There won’t be any Hingis anytime soon with the power game of today. Sharapova was the next best thing to a Hingis’ headline but injury took that away.
While the WTA Tour still has some breath left at this moment, the future looks really bleak. There is still light at the end of the tunnel, but this tunnel seems to be hundred of thousand miles long.
Djokovic and 2011
Novak Djokovic played really well at the Australian Open this year and he definitely earned the title by knocking down Roger Federer and Andy Murray back-to-back. So there is no arguing he is the only person on the men’s side with a chance to win the Grand Slam this year.
People were talking about Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer, but Djokovic knocked that down the hole. Nadal’s knee gave out on him and Federer could not pull another comeback.
The rest of the year will be really interesting because Federer will look to take revenge on Djokovic. Murray will try to erase the “choker” image and Nadal will surely rise up again at the French Open.
The dirt at Roland Garros will be Djokovic’s enemy because he has had problems with his breathing there in many occasions. Nevertheless, the Serb can play on the clay and will no question have a great chance to win there.
With Nadal’s knees always in questions and Federer’s ups and downs, who knows what will happen at the French Open. Murray has not been playing well on the clay either and will be focusing most of his attention on Wimbledon.
This is not to say Murray has no desire to do well at the French Open. The Scot will keep his head together, and it a must, with Juan Martin del Potro recovering and chasing after him.
Del Potro will be another threat looming for Nadal and Federer beside Djokovic this year. The Argentine still needs some time to heal but it will be a battle once he is once again fit and ready to battle.
The Fab Five will once again be the ones to watch. But let’s not forget about the other minor players like Andy Roddick, Gilles Simon, Marin Cilic, and Milos Raonic, to name a few.
Of all the upcoming stars outside of Del Potro and Cilic, Raonic has the most to offer in the game with his serve and groundstrokes.
The Canadian will be a dark horse if he can keep it together.
But then again, isn’t this something every player has to do at a slam? Keeping it together until the very end.