Indian Wells 2012: A Fearsome Flu and Fresh Faces
It’s been a weird few days at Indian Wells with a ferocious flu taking down scores of players, trainers, and even journalists, while new American talent has been breaking through to the final few days of action in the California heat. The stomach viruses’ victim count so far is estimated at approximately 30, including stars Vera Zvonareva and Gael Monfils.
The flu’s latest casualty? American wild card Jamie Hampton, 22, who couldn’t deal with the cramps and fatigue. She retired during the third set versus World No. 5 Agnieszka Radwanska. It’s too bad; Hampton seemed to find her game despite trailing 3-0 in the final set. She enjoyed the momentum by taking the second set 6-4. Ultimately, illness proved too much. Hampton should leave feeling proud. Ranked No. 99, she’s making a serious breakthrough into the big leagues and the third-round is a quality advance. Hampton took out former World No. 1 Jelena Jankovic in round one and Jarmila Gajdosova in the second.
Said Hampton: ”At the end of the second [against Radwanska] it hit me and I knew it was coming. I knew it wasn’t going to be pretty.” And this type of thing has happened in the past for the up-and-comer; she’s suffered from cramps five times already in her young career, forcing her to quit the match. Yet she says she “hydrates and eats the right way, according to a Ticker post on Tennis.com. A visit to a specialist is in her future, which is a good call for a player who can definitely do major damage if she keeps the fuel going for further upward trajectory.
Bowing out in another close match was the No. 32 seed and New Jersey-native Christina McHale. The giant killer — think Cincinnati 2011 and my shameless self-promotion here — added Petra Kvitova to her list, taking out the World No. 3 in round two. The 18th-seeded Angelique Kerber, the surprise 2011 US Open semifinalist, however, proved to be a little too much to handle, edging past the 19-year old 6-3, 3-6, 7-6(4). McHale, although not quite as new a face as Hampton, summons the fresh and hopeful feelings of where American women’s tennis is going in a time of crisis. The Williams sisters aren’t getting any younger, and their typical absence at Indian Wells this week always makes it even more pronounced. Regardless, expect a top 20 ranking for McHale by the year’s end (if not by the time Roland Garros rolls around).
In other WTA news, Ana Ivanovic has pushed past the stomach bug and her own insecurities, downing former World No. 1 Caroline Wozniacki in straight sets with her huge forehand. The No. 15-seeded Serb might finally be ready to go on a roll and reclaim her rightful place in the Top 10 after confidence issues sapped her game post-Roland Garros victory 2008.
On the men’s side, American Ryan Harrison, 19, has advanced to the final 16. He’s had huge success at Indian Wells in the past, advancing to the fourth round last year after securing a solid win over Canadian Milos Raonic (before losing to Roger Federer in straights). This year, it’s been more of the same. He took out Guillermo Garcia-Lopez just like in 2011, while also claiming solid wins over Viktor Troicki and Flavio Cipolla. Up next: the No. 13 seed Gilles Simon, who’s entirely beatable if Harrison can keep calm and not let the Frenchman’s tricky counter-punching style unsettle his power.
Despite Loss, Jovanovski Poised for Future Success
Bojana Jovanovski has proven that she’s one to watch in the coming months. Ranked 58th, she recently gave world number two Vera Zvonareva a fight in the Australian Open’s second round. With powerful strokes on both sides and a strong fighting spirit, Jovanovski handled herself like a future top ten player. She lost to the Wimbledon and US Open finalist in three sets, 2-6, 6-3, 6-1.
As the youngest player in the top 100 at age 19, Jovanovski came into the Aussie Open with some solid wins to begin 2011. She advanced to the semifinals at Sydney, beating Kaia Kanepi, Aravane Rezai, and Flavia Pennetta (all ranked inside the top 30) in straight sets. Jovanovski lost to the eventual champion Na Li of China.
If she can improve her fitness and get more experience as the season progress, the third-ranked Serb — after Jelena Jankovic and Ana Ivanovic — will be an even greater threat.
Watch below for a fun interview of Jovanovski from Brisbane earlier this year.
Schnyder Signals Potential Retirement for 2011
Veteran Patty Schnyder discussed the possibility of retirement this year after losing her Australian Open first round match to Lesya Tsurenko. Suffering from bronchitis, the former top ten player, now ranked 44th, did not win a set. She lost 6-3, 6-2 to the 157th-ranked qualifier from Hungary.
Schnyder recently told reporters — probably in her post-match interview — that “I haven’t made any commitments beyond the next one or two months. I’ll play Fed Cup against Israel and then Doha and Dubai. After that I don’t know.”
Schnyder, whose best major result came at the 2004 Aussie Open when she reached the semifinals, has had a difficult couple years at the biggest events. After making it to the quarterfinals at both the French Open and US Open in 2008, she has failed to get past the third round since.
In 2010, she did not play the Australian Open for the first time in 13 consecutive appearance. After losing in the first round at both Roland Garros and Wimbledon, Schnyder got to the third round at the US Open. There, she was a heartbeat away from advancing to the fourth round against Yanina Wickmayer, having held match points. In the end, however, Schnyder lost 7-6(5) 3-6 7-6(6).
With these recent, relatively lackluster results at majors, she has seen a dip in the rankings. Having ended the year in 2005 and 2006 in the top ten, Schnyder finished 2010 ranked 41st.
Regardless, she did enjoy two runner-up performances last year in the smaller tournaments at Budapest and Linz. Schnyder lost to Agnes Szavay and Ana Ivanovic, respectively, in those finals.
Fun to watch with her loopy, left-handed shots and ability to hit beautifully-placed winners at tricky angles, it would be sad to see her hang up the racket. In a sport that now places so much emphasis on power, especially on the WTA tour these days, Schnyder will be missed if she does decide to retire. At age 32, she’s been a professional for over 17 years.
Watch below for a fun video of Schnyder and Daniela Hantuchova playing some “street tennis” in Linz last year.
Federer, Ivanovic, and Oudin Win; Italy Takes Second Straight Fed Cup Title
It’s the end of the season, but a lot is still happening on the tennis circuit on both the ATP and WTA tours. For the men, Roger Federer beat Novak Djokovic in three sets to take his fourth title in Basel. He won 6-4, 3-6, 6-1 in the Swiss Indoors final against the Serb in the rematch of last year. In 2009, Djokovic defeated Federer, which made the victory that much better for the hometown player.
“It’s great to have won it after losing last year. It reminded me of last year’s match, but [this time] I got off to a great start in the third set,” said Federer. Added to that, the win allowed Federer to exact revenge over Djokovic after a painful loss in the semifinals of this year’s US Open during which the Serb overcame two match points against the struggling Federer. “The 29-year-old Swiss improved to 12-6 lifetime against Djokovic, and 3-1 this year,” writes an Associated Press article.
Moreover, “Federer is 4-4 in finals this year after winning titles at the Australian Open, Cincinnati Masters and the Stockholm Open,” continues the article regarding his season statistics.
Federer looks to be in strong form going into the Paris Masters tournament. There, he will be the top-seeded player as Rafael Nadal pulled out of the event due to a shoulder injury.
For the WTA tour, Ana Ivanovic defeated Alisa Kleybanova of Russia 6-2, 7-6 (5) in the finals of the Tournament of Champions. The win means Ivanovic finished the season inside the Top 20. According to an Associated Press article, “The 23-year-old Serb captured her second title in three weeks to move back into the Top 20 for the first time in more than a year, having dropped to a low of 65 in July.” This sends a strong message to the rest of the field as the tour winds down and thoughts go toward the 2011-2012 season.
Can Ivanovic continue her fine form and become a real threat during the big tournaments once again? I’ll say that her upward trajectory continues through to the beginning of the year nicely, and she’ll hover around the Top Fifteen in the world for the first few months.
And speaking of a resurgence, the United States’ Melanie Oudin kept the Fed Cup team alive with a surprise victory over Italy’s Francesca Schiavone, this year’s French Open champion and the seventh-ranked player in the world. Oudin, ranked 67th, shocked the tricky, veteran Italian 6-3, 6-1 to give the United States a point in the tie, which was held in San Diego. It was her first win over a Top Ten player this season.
While the win shows that Oudin cannot be written off to perform under pressure and also makes her look good for next season, the United States lost to Italy in the Fed Cup final after Flavia Pennetta ousted the young CoCo Vandeweghe 6-1, 6-2.
Without Serena and Venus Williams, the United States team faced especially tough competition. Oudin looked great in her match, but it shows that Italy played the bigger points better in their second Fed Cup title over the Americans in that many years. It’s an improvement for the US team to win a point, they lost 4-0 last year. They did well to make it this far, and next year will prove to be their time to shine (with a little help from the Williams sisters?).
Ivanovic Stuns Schnyder to Win First Title in Two Years
Ana Ivanovic is back.
While it wasn’t at the largest of tournaments, her 6-1, 6-2 win against Patty Schnyder at the Generali Ladies proves she regaining the confidence and the game that took her to number one just a couple of years ago. Interestingly enough, the Generali Ladies title was her last victory in 2008 before the French Open champion started faltering. This time, Ivanovic looked dominant for the first time in awhile, failing to lose a set throughout the tournament.
At the same time, praise should be given to the veteran Schnyder, who has had a strong season. She made it to a final earlier in the year and has proven that her technical game still holds up well to many of the more physical players on tour. Schnyder has also had success at the Generali Ladies tournament in the past, advancing to the finals twice before in 2005 and 2007.
Schnyder simply couldn’t handle Ivanovic’s spot on execution. She failed to hold serve until the second set when Ivanovic led 5-0. “Respect for Ana, there was nothing in it for me. She took the balls so early and placed them so well,” said Schnyder of Ivanovic’s play.
With the win, Ivanovic also sees a boost in her ranking to 26th in the world, up three spots from the previous week. Schnyder, meanwhile, finds herself at 43rd, up from 47th.
If Ivanovic and Schnyder can keep up the form in 2011, they should be interesting additions to a field that’s getting stronger by the month. That is, if everyone can keep their injuries in check. Most notably: Serena and Venus Williams. That, however, is another story for another time.
Schnyder Saves Match Points, Meets Ivanovic in Final
Patty Schnyder saved two match points in her match against Andrea Petkovic to make it to her second final this year. She advanced in a tough 6-2, 4-6, 7-5 battle after “serving at 4-5, 15-40 down in the deciding set against Petkovic,” according to a recent Associated Press article. Schnyder has made it to the finals at the Generali Ladies tournament twice before in 2005 and 2007. Both times, however, she failed to win the tournament. This time around, it’ll be just as difficult as Ana Ivanovic routed Roberta Vinci 6-3, 7-5 to make her first final in 19 months.
In fact, Ivanovic’s last WTA tour title came at the Linz tournament in 2008. Will she prove to everyone that she’s truly back with a win against Schnyder in the final? A lot seems to be pointing to just that result. First, Schnyder had a much more difficult time in her semifinal match. Therefore, she’ll be the more tired of the two and less physically fit. Second, while the career head-to-head between Schnyder and Ivanovic is locked at 4-all, Ivanovic has won the last four meetings in dominating fashion. Therefore, Ivanovic has the confidence (and the record) to win.
Regardless, I’m not so sure that the match will be decided in such a lopsided manner this time around. Schnyder’s season has been stronger and before the semifinals, she ousted her opponents in a decisive manner.
In short, I predict that Ivanovic claims her first title of the year in three sets.
Wozniacki Claims World Number One Spot from Serena
With a string of wins taking her to the finals in Beijing, Caroline Wozniacki has surpassed Serena Williams in the rankings to helm the WTA tour. To get the world number one ranking, Wozniacki needed to advance beyond the third round in Beijing. She did after winning 6-3, 6-3 over Petra Kvitova, the player who knocked her out in the fourth round of Wimbledon earlier this year.
Although Serena has been dominant this year in terms of Grand Slam wins — she won both the Australian Open and Wimbledon titles — a foot injury has kept her out of play since the third major. Comparatively, Wozniacki advanced to the quarterfinals of the French Open and made the semifinals at the US Open. Wozniacki also has 11 career titles to her name, including five titles this year. Additionally, she won the US Open Series, the event leading up to the year’s final major. This consistency shows she has what it takes to eventually take home a major title and that she wholly deserves this latest distinction to an already impressive list of accomplishments at such an early age.
In Beijing, Wozniacki looked particularly strong with wins over Ana Ivanovic and Shahar Peer most recently. Next, she faces Vera Zvonareva, who’s been having a sensational season of her own, including making two major finals at Wimbledon and the US Open this year.
I predict that nothing’s going to stop Wozniacki in the final against Zvonareva. She’s on a mission to not only hold on to her ranking, but also to prove that she’s number one for a reason. I’d say watch out to the rest of the field: Wozniacki’s success on tour has only just begun.
