Safina’s Talk of Retirement: A Thing of the Past?
So, apparently, Russia’s Dinara Safina contemplated retiring after the embarrassing 6-0, 6-0 loss to Kim Clijsters at this year’s Australian Open. Big deal, right? I mean, these days, the ladies are either injured — think the Williams sisters — or they’re, well, finished — think Elena Dementieva and Justine Henin.
She recently told reporters that “After Australia there was a moment I came to Moscow for the Fed Cup. I said to my mom [Rausa], ‘I’m retiring. I said, ‘I don’t want any more of this.” Apparently, momma Safina helped talk her daughter out of the decision, although the two don’t usually talk tennis.
Safina continued, “That moment I felt like [mom] was the person who knows me. That I could really speak it out what I have deep inside, and that was the thing with her. I knew it would also hurt her, but I cannot keep it anymore inside. So I went to her. She was the closest one for me.”
After that, the Cinderella story happens, and Safina finds herself in the third round of these year’s Indian Well tournament. She’s had modest success on the hard courts of Cali, making it to the quarters both in ’06 and ’09. Now, her play here is pretty impressive for a woman who hasn’t put together two consecutive wins since September.
With Sam Stosur up next, the 108th player in the world will face a tough test. After being on the brink of retirement and with nothing to lose, however, an upset might just be in store.
For more on Safina’s win over Daniela Hantuchova, click here.
Petra Kvitova: The WTA’s Next Big Star?
With her recent straight sets win over the newest world number one Kim Clijsters in the Paris final, Petra Kvitova looks sharp. Her game is big, her form is on, and the 20-year old has the results to prove the hype.
Currently ranked a career-high 18th (and on an upward trend with the win in Paris), Kvitova made the quarterfinals of the Australian Open this year, reaffirming her semifinal showing at the 2010 Wimbledon as something more than a fluke. She took out Sam Stosur in the Sunny Slam, before falling to Vera Zvonareva a couple rounds later as the tournament’s 25th seed. She also started the year with a bang, winning the Brisbane title over Andrea Petkovic. A title in Hobart in 2009 rounds off the successes of her young career.
In a WTA that’s had some recent problems with intensity, spurred on by Serena Williams’ foot injury, the retirements of Elena Dementieva and Justine Henin, a slew of world number ones that went without a major, and more, this year’s Australian Open proved a welcome contrast. With Na Li representing China in the event’s final and strong play from up-and-comers, like Kvitova, the tour looks poised for a bright present, and a brighter future.
Kvitova seems to symbolize that future.
For a sampling of her play, check out this clip from the Aussie Open third round below.
Serena Williams to Play Exhibition: Why Tennis Needs Her Now
Serena Williams needs to get better, quickly. Skipping out of the last couple majors with a foot injury sustained after her win at Wimbledon in July, it’s been long enough.
And not only for the purposes of her own career — Serena recently dropped out of the top ten for the first time in about four years –, but also to resuscitate the current state of American tennis. Andy Roddick didn’t do too hot at the Aussie Open, neither did Sam Querrey or John Isner on the men’s side. For the women, there’s sister Venus, who retired in the third round and is currently sidelined with injury after hurting her hip during her second round match against Sandra Zahlavova. US Open sensation Melanie Oudin continues to disappoint, too, with a first round loss at the Australian Open.
It’d be nice to get the WTA-dominating force that is Serena back on the big stages. Kim Clijsters pretty much owns that role now in unchallenged fashion. Remember, she dropped just one set at the Sunny Slam and that came in the final against Li. Justine Henin’s retirement also leaves more room for the Belgian to keep conquering competition.
But, apparently, things are starting to look up for the younger Williams sister as she’ll be (potentially) playing in March at a Nike exhibition with other big names Maria Sharapova, Roger Federer, and Rafael Nadal. United States Fed Cup captain Mary Jo Fernandez also said Serena would be available to playing in a possible April tie. Given her track record, I wouldn’t count on it, although she’d needs to be around for two to play in the 2012 Olympics.
The real thing is: We need Serena at majors again. Sure, this year’s Australian Open was a feel-good story featuring the lovable mom Aussie Kim triumphing over Chinese sensation Li Na in a high-stakes, historic match. The whole tournament, however, wasn’t the same without Serena. Plus, who wants to keep a Grand Slam singles title count at an unlucky number 13?
Also, Serena’s absence is making mother Oracene antsy. She recently went Twitter-crazy, writing, “Will some one tweet me who is in the final on the women’s side?” and after getting the answer, “Thank you I hope Na is not to nervous to kick some butt,” among many other comments. Poor Oracene, she wouldn’t have to stoop to that level. If only she should could just enjoy her daughters’ success at majors.
Well, the drought continues, but let’s hope for not much longer. When March rolls around, let’s see an in-shape Serena on court, who’s back to stay.
A Letter to Henin After Her Shocking Retirement
I recently contributed to the blog Tennis Served Fresh. Here’s an except of my work about Justine Henin’s retirement.
Dear Justine,
What happened? You’re retiring, again? After everything you’ve been through, you’re letting an elbow injury prevent you from playing for good? Fine. It’s not like any other big name players are sidelined right now. Oh, wait. Sorry, Serena and Venus….
To read this story in its entirety, see here.
Australian Open Predictions 2011: WTA Tour, Week Two
With the final four women set, it’s time to revise predictions for the 2011 Australian Open tournament’s future path on WTA tour. Here’s a look at the last women standing.
Previously predicting “Henin to face Venus and Clijsters against Zvonareva in the final four,” it’s been injury making this reality far from possible. While Henin suffered what she recently announced as a career-ending elbow injury (more on that to come) in the third round against Svetlana Kuznetsova, Williams retired versus Andrea Petkovic, who defeated Maria Sharapova in straight sets, in the third round, too. Of course, the competitors to advance in lieu of this two champions couldn’t be more talented. The world number one Caroline Wozniacki and last year’s semifinalist Na Li have been dominant so far in their respective runs to the final four.
For the semifinals, here are my picks.
Wozniacki versus Li:
Both players have hit their way to the semifinals in fine form. Wozniack dropped just one set — against Francesca Schiavone in the quarterfinals — and Li hasn’t lost one yet. Their overall career head-to-head (counting exhibitions matches) leaves them at 2-2 with Wozniacki winning the last meeting in a Hong Kong exhibition earlier this year. In a major, however, Li won their only meeting in straight sets at last year’s Australian Open in the fourth round. That should give her some confidence going in this match. Plus, she hasn’t lost a match this year, and I see her powering through the world number one to make her first major singles final.
Bottom Line: Li defeats Wozniacki in straight sets to advance.
Zvonareva versus Clijsters:
In the bottom half, which I predicted correctly, the world number two and world number three will face in a rematch of the 2010 US Open final. There, Clijsters’ experience paid off. She won 6-2, 6-1. With a head-to-head also in Clijsters’ favor at 6-3, they have played a number of three set matches together. Although not at their highest level throughout this tournament, Clijsters hasn’t dropped a set and Zvonareva lost only one in her match versus an up-and-coming Bojana Jovanovski. They’ll both bring their big games to the semifinals where Clijsters will find the form that has won her three US Open titles.
Bottom Line: Clijsters beats Zvonareva in straight sets.
In the Finals:
Clijsters and Li have a competitive history in their past, which should show in the Australian Open final. Li beat the Belgian in their last meeting earlier this year in the Sydney final although it initially seemed that Clijsters was in control. It will, however, be her first Grand Slam final.
Hisense’s Dead Spot and Wozniacki’s Wacky Personality
It’s been an intense few days at the Australian Open with chaos and comedy abound. Agnieszka Radwanska’s racket snaps (see below), Kim Clijsters jokes about pregnancy with Tom Woodbridge, last year’s finalist Justine Henin bows out to Svetlana Kuznetsova in a straight sets upset, and much more.
To begin, a dead spot was found on Hisense Arena as Maria Sharapova and Julia Goerges got ready to start play. With tournament staff in a frenzy, the players retreated back to the locker room, awaiting a fix to the curious on-court dilemma. It all came across pretty comical as none of the ESPN commentators could quite figure out what to make of the ball, which — when dropped — died completely. In the end, however, workers drilled small holes, trapped air was released from the court, balls bounced once more, and play resumed.
See below for a clip of the ball being dropped, and not bouncing at all.
Clijsters and Henin Shed Light on Future Plans
For the Belgian champions Kim Clijsters and Justine Henin, more tennis lies in their futures after successful comebacks in the last couple seasons. While Clijsters plans to keep playing for the next four years, Henin hopes to add an eighth major title to her collection.
Winning the last two US Open, Clijsters has made it clear that her family comes first. She recently told reporters, “So as long as it’s all going well and [our daughter] Jada’s not obligated to go to school we’ll try to keep it going. But if the family is not happy living this lifestyle then it’s an easy choice for me to hang them up.”
Photo: Didier Mossiat; Justine Henin and Kim Clijsters pose after the 2004 Australian Open final.
Married to the retired basketball player Brian Lynch, Clijsters continued, “I think in any girl’s life [motherhood] makes a big difference and it has the same in mine. I really feel I have a good balance and I feel that is the most important thing.”
Compatriot Henin also has clear goals for the future. With a surprise retirement at the top of the WTA tour in 2008, Henin returned in 2010, citing Clijsters’ success as a major inspiration. She quickly made a splash on tour by advancing to the finals of the Australian Open, losing to Serena Williams in three sets.
Henin told reporters — as Maria Sharapova did recently — that winning another major title would essentially be her best. She pulled out of the remainder of the season after sustaining an elbow injury at Wimbledon. Henin said, “With everything I know now that I didn’t know two years ago, and after fighting against this injury, it would be a bigger achievement than what I did in the past. That’s going to be my motivation and my challenge now and my fuel. After everything I passed through and my break of two years, I came back, my injury, I changed a lot of things in my team, also, physical coach, physio, everything…Physically, I’ve been working pretty good in the last few months, so that gives confidence, and I’m sure it’s going to be more mental than anything else.”
As the season kicks off, both seem poised for continued success. Ranked number three, Clijsters could soon return to number one in the world, while collecting numerous titles. With three US Open’s, however, it’d be nice to see her broaden her major titles. For Henin at number 12, she’s made it clear that a win at Wimbledon would be a dream come true. If Henin can fully recover from her nagging injury, anything’s possible. With the Sunny Slam just around the corner and past play that suggests the sky is the limit, both have futures that seem to shine pretty bright.
Henin Still Hurting as 2011 Season Starts
Justine Henin recently said that she’s not feeling “100 percent” going into the 2011 season, joining a struggling Serena Williams, among others.
The news comes as Henin has been off the tour after sustaining an elbow injury during the summer. Like Serena, Justine hasn’t played a WTA tour event since Wimbledon.
An ESPN article captures the following thoughts by Henin: “It is six months since the injury and I can’t say I am 100 percent. I am working very hard on it and I spend two hours every day on my rehabilitation. When we heard about the serious injury there were concerns about the future of my career as it was pretty serious. Now step by step I can improve, but it will probably take a few more weeks and maybe months before I can be 100 percent.”
Henin is taking a supposedly “realistic” view of her chances at this year’s Australian Open, an event she reached the final of last year. There, she lost to Serena in three sets. Henin said it “has been a difficult year.” She continued, “I started the season pretty well, but then physically it has been pretty difficult.”
She’s looking ahead to the future, although that might not be necessary.With Serena out and Venus also struggling, there’s definitely room for some surprises at the Aussie Open, which never fails to shake things up to start the year. Plus, it’s the former world number one Belgian (no, not Kim Clijster) we’re talking about, and she’s always a factor in any event she enters.
I see Henin getting into the second week of the Sunny Slam, whether she’s “100 percent” or not.
Click here for more about Henin’s recent comments.
Also, watch the video below for highlights of Henin’s match against Serena in the 2010 Australian Open final.
