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.
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.
Federer, Soderling Win Australian Open Warm-Ups
Roger Federer and Robin Soderling won their Australian Open warm-up events, beating Nikolai Davydenko and Andy Roddick, respectively, in straight set matches. Federer beat Davydenko 6-3, 6-4 in Qatar to become the first player ever to win the event three times, while Soderling defeated Roddick 6-3, 7-5 at the tournament in Brisbane.
With the Australian Open starting next week, the wins should help boost both players’ confidence. For Soderling, ranked fifth in the world, the added confidence could prove highly beneficial to his play at the year’s first Grand Slam tournament. Until now, he hasn’t advanced past the second round — his worst result by far. Last year, he lost in the first round to the unseeded Marcel Granollers in five sets. With another final at Roland Garros under his belt and quarterfinals at Wimbledon and the US Open, he’s poised to make a move in Australia.
For Federer, however, he’ll need to not only sustain his current level of play, but do even better to match last year’s win over Andy Murray in three sets. I think Federer has an excellent chance to get to the finals again this year. He’s been playing some exceptional tennis these past few months, including his win at the Barclay’s year-ending event. Plus, with two quarterfinals and a semifinal showing at his last three majors, there’s no questioning just how much Federer wants the victory.
Too add to his possible success at the Sunny Slam, Rafael Nadal hasn’t been feeling well recently. The top-ranked Spaniard succumbed to Davydenko in the Qatar semifinals 6-3, 6-2 (although he later won the doubles championship in straight sets with partner Marc Lopez). While Nadal is likely to recover in time for the Open, every detail counts when a rivalry is as intense as his and Federer’s.
In other results, Stanislas Wawrinka and Petra Kvitova won their tournaments, too, to begin the 2011 season with a bang.
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.
Clijsters Wins Second Straight US Open Title
For the second time in two years and her third time overall, Kim Clijsters of Belgium won on tennis’ biggest stage: the US Open. She beat Vera Zvonareva handily in a 6-2-, 6-1 drubbing. In fact, the match didn’t even last an hour. Clijsters closed out the shaky Zvonareva in only 59 minutes.
Along with her $1.7 million in prize money for notching the victory, Clijsters took home an additional $500,000 for taking second place in the US Open Series, a tune-up for the year’s final major. During the series of tournaments, Clijsters defeated Maria Sharapova in Cincinnati.
On Clijsters’ way to the win, she breezed through a tough section of the draw, including defeating strong players as Wimbledon semifinalist Petra Kvitova and a resurgent Ana Ivanovic in straight sets. In the quarters, she faced a tougher challenge in the French Open finalist Sam Stosur, who she beat in three sets: 6-4, 5-7, 6-3. In the semifinals, she faced Venus Williams, also needing three close sets to advance: 4-6, 7-6 (2), 6-4.
Clijsters is a joy to watch with her powerful shot-making, her counter-punching defensive skills, which she switches so quickly in between points, her finesse, and famous splits. Plus, off-court, her manner shines just as brightly. Clijsters is a true champion, and it’s impressive how successful she’s been this past year.
Regarding Zvonareva, does anyone get the feeling that a comparison between her and the three-time Grand Slam finalist Dinara Safina might be in order? She’s done well to make to two consecutive finals, but if her mental game doesn’t raise another notch, she might find herself in the same position as her currently suffering compatriot.
Granted, she’s faced Serena Williams and Clijsters in her two final showings, but in both she was easily hit off the court. After beating the top seed Caroline Wozniacki in the semis 6-4, 6-3, it looked like the final would be more dramatic play-wise. Zvonareva, however, mentally checked out mid-match — she chucked her racket, got down on herself angry, and double-faulted away the final — in an ugly kind of drama.
And so, congratulations once again to Clijsters for an excellent tournament. It’ll be interesting to see how the world number three finishes the season, especially at the year-ending championships in Doha at the end of October.
Schnyder Teams with Klemenschits in Istanbul
Patty Schnyder and Sandra Klemenschits make for a compelling story as the third-seeded pair at the Istanbul Cup. Schnyder, who’s potentially retiring after this year, is out of the singles, but looked strong with Klemnschits in their first round match. The duo won over Johanna Larsson — the player that defeated Schnyder in singles — and Tatjana Malek in two sets, advancing 6-3, 6-4.
Klemenschits made news not necessarily for her doubles play, although she did win 20 titles on the ITF circuit, but more so for the cancer that took the life of her doubles partner and twin sister Daniela in 2008.
Seeing both players come together in doubles must be a special thing to watch. I hope they go far in the tournament.
Here’s a recap of some of the highlights on the WTA tour at both the Istanbul Cup and in the US Open Series tournmanet at Stanford:
- Wimbledon semifinalist Tsvetana Pironkova continues to be a rollercoaster ride on tour after her amazing run. She lost to Anastasia Rodionova 6-1, 3-6, 6-2.
- The Latvian teenager Anastasija Sevastova, who beat Petra Kvitova in the first round, was ousted from Istanbul with a three-set loss to Vera Dushevina, 6-3, 6-7 (8), 6-2.
- At the Stanford tournament, Sam Stosur reached a career-high ranking of 5 in the world after beating American qualifier Christina McHale in two sets. Stosur advanced with her 6-1, 7-5 win.
- Agnieszka Radwanska and Yanina Wickmayer both needed two sets to advance. Melanie Oudin, however, needed a tough three-setter to close out Aleksandra Wozniak of Canada. The teenage Oudin eked through 6-7 (6), 7-5, 6-3.
