Azarenka’s Collapse – What It Means for Tennis
With a fiery personality, a big game, and a desire to win, Victoria Azarenka looked poised to make a deep run at the US Open, if not win it all together. The 10th-seeded Azarenka, however, fell to an opponent other than Gisela Dulko in the major’s second round. She, instead, succumbed to a phantom culprit: the combination of energy-sapping heat, humidity, and — quite probably– a physically debilitating tennis schedule.
Now, the debate about tennis’ long season — from January to November — has been raging for a while now. More recently, John McEnroe expressed some controversial concerns that the women in particular “should be required to be in less events,” garnering criticism from many.
While I believe the comments were demeaning, there’s truth to what he’s saying. I think, however, that it isn’t just the women John McEnroe should have targeted. The men, too, — think (last year’s) Rafael Nadal, Juan Martin del Potro, and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga to name a few — are suffering. Injury shouldn’t be so prevalent on tour, and it certainly shouldn’t get to the point where promising young players collapse on court.
Instead, the season’s schedule needs some trimming. Cut down the required number of events, allow professional play to end sooner, and do what it takes for health and player safety — not fan enjoyment and corporate satisfaction – to reign the WTA and ATP tours. By consolidating the schedule, creating higher energy men and women combined events, and weeding out tournaments that aren’t garnering fan support, everyone benefits.
A lot is being done in the tennis world to solve these problems, I’m not saying there aren’t steps being taken. In fact, in January, Novak Djokovic, Nadal, and Roger Federer stated the desire to curb the Davis Cup, cutting down some weeks from the schedule in the process. Maybe this isn’t the best solution — Davis Cup is a heavily grounded tradition in tennis. The problem is: Since then the topic has been somewhat of an elephant in the room. It shouldn’t take such an extreme case, such as Azarenka’s dramatic retirement, to get the conversation really going with purpose.
Let’s hope the remainder of the US Open — and the rest of the season – survives without this scary manifestation of a harsh (and physically daunting) reality that professional tennis players of both sexes sadly face.
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Venus, Tsonga Win; Azarenka Ousted
On the first day of the 2010 French Open, Venus Williams and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga posted wins in varying fashion – Venus won quite convincingly against her opponent, the crafty veteran Patty Schnyder, while Tsonga slid past the German Daniel Brands. On the flip side, Victoria Azarenka continued a poor streak of play, losing to Gisela Dulko quite handily.
Williams beat Schnyder 6-3, 6-3, a strong showing for the first round, especially against such a strong player like the Swiss, who considers clay her best surface. Venus played a focused match, hitting her shots and not being afraid to really hit the ball. The only part of her game that let her down was the serve, which should become controlled as the tournament continues. If she can continue the strong form and continue to attack and move forward, I foresee Venus going very deep into the tournament as previously predicted. When Venus is on, there’s no stopping her. Unless of course the opponent is Serena Williams. However, the younger sister will have a tough time of getting past the semifinals, where she’ll likely meet her rival, Justine Henin of Belgium.
Contrasted to Venus’ success was Azarenka’s 6-1, 6-2 loss at the hands of Dulko. Injury has very much to do with her streaky play. With a result like that, it probably would have been better for Azarenka to simply retire. However, it’s nice knowing that she has the morals to fight it out on the court. There’s a real strength of character to her decision. That said, she did miss her press conference, getting fined as a result. Hopefully, Azarenka can get her fitness and mind back in the game and show the exceptional form that took her to the quarterfinals of the last three Grand Slams.
On the ATP side, Tsonga won in a five-set battle against the German Brands, 4-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6- 7 (2), 7-5. Also plagued with injury and fatigue, the result isn’t as much of a surprise. According to a recent Associated Press article, Tsonga has been having issues with his back, explaining the result. With the day off, look to see Tsonga regroup and win his next round more handily.
Williams Sisters Secure Wins Easily; Serbians Suffer in the Sun
Photo Credit: Lionel Cironneau/AP
Serena Williams and Venus Williams handily fended off two difficult second round opponents to advance. Serena looked particularly sharp against the powerful 20-year-old, Petra Kvitova, while Venus dispatched the mother, Sybille Bammer after a tough test in the second set.
The results are telling of what’s to come in the tournament’s future for the sisters. Serena’s intensity certainly is not the question. When is it ever? Then again, Venus, who was impressive in the first set against Bammer lost concentration as she so often does. This focus issue does not bode well in the second week of a Slam, especially one in which heat and fitness are key to winning.
That said, I’m sticking by my guns and predicting that Serena keeps her composure into the finals. However, it does not look like a sister semifinal will occur. Venus can get through the next round against Australia’s Casey Dellacqua, who’s been having a nice repeat of her 2008 Sunny Slam success, along with a probably fourth round match against the tenth-seeded lightweight, Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland. Venus leads their head-to-head 4-1, including a 6-1, 6-2 win over the tricky counter puncher in the quarterfinals of the 2009 Wimbledon Championships. The run will most probably end at the racquet of Caroline Wozniacki, the recent US Open finalist, whose focused is almost always assured. Wozniacki is ready to shine under the big stage, and prove to the tennis world that she’s confident enough to snap her four straight defeats at the hands of Venus, all of which ended in two sets.
Now for news on the Serbians. There were big hopes for Ana Ivanovic coming into this Slam, while Jelena Jankovic continued to fly under the radar. Both former number ones failed, continuing their streaky success after topping the ranking charts. Ivanovic bowed out in an epic 6-7(6), 7-5, 6-4 loss to Gisela Dulko in the second round, and her compatriot’s run came to a close in the third round against the Ukranian Alyona Bondarenko, 6-2, 6-3.
In terms of the Australian Open, Ivanovic’s loss opens the draw up nicely for Victoria Azarenka, securing an anticipated quarterfinal match against Serena. In Jankovic’s quarter, meanwhile, the surprise Wimbledon finalist Marion Bartoli might have the potential to make some noise. Dinara Safina and Maria Sharapova’s slayer, Maria Kirilenko, loom in the background in the bottom of the draw, too.
The question is: Can the Serbs get back to a competitive level at the Slams? While I don’t see either hoisting up a trophy, especially in the next three events, there’s a long year ahead of the two for better or for worse.
Noteworthy News Links:
“Ivanovic out; Williamses, Djokovic win in Melbourne” by the Associated Press
“No big deal, says Jankovic after Aussie Open loss” by Agence France-Presse
