Kvitova Star of 2011

Petra Kvitova Wimbledon Final 2011

The end of year WTA Championships have offered up some fresh faces as the semi finalists have now been decided.

Victoria Azarenka, despite her loss in the final round robin match, had already secured top billing in the White Group, and with her stunning recent form appears ready to take a major step in a huge event.
Never having been past a semi-final at Grand Slam level, the Belarussian should still have the firepower to dispense with Vera Zvonareva and proceed to the final in Istanbul.

Vera made it through as the second ranked player in the Red Group, only on a countback - one win and two losses hardly inspires thoughts of the Russian star advancing further.

If truth be told, the best performed player of the trio of single match winners was Poland's Agnieszka Radwanska, whose comeback win against Zvonareva was full of merit, and the straight sets loss to Petra Kvitova should at least have been a three setter considering Radwanska led 5-1 in the first.

The other semi final is the marquee match of the two based on performances so far.  Czech Wimbledon champ Kvitova has been almost frightening in her attack on ball and opponent, and has yet to lose a set.
She faces reigning US Open champion Australian Samantha Stosur, who defeated her nemesis Maria Sharapova at the 10th attempt in straight sets, stumbled against the Azarenka freight train, but then destroyed hapless Li Na for the loss of a single game.  The Chinese girl failed to hold serve the entire match.

The winners of the last 2 Grand Slam titles fighting for a place in the final.  Kvitova must start the favourite, and head to head record gives her the advantage as well, leading that 2-0, including what was at the time a surprise victory when they met in the Australian Open earlier this year.  What Kvitova will not be able to do as easily in this match is to physically dominate.  The wins she has had have come against players without the power factor in their games - Wozniacki, Zvonareva and Radwanska.

As Stosur showed against Serena Williams in the US Open final, power is a major component of her game.  However, the Aussie will need to be sharp on her back hand wing, and continue displaying the variety of slice and spin that has complemented her forehand weapon and brought such success post Wimbledon this year.

The fact that Petra is a left hander throws another variable into the equation - Stosur's damaging off forehand will be collected by Kvitova's forehand in most instances, and the Australian needs to be wary of feeding this too much.

Overall, I believe that Stosur has the potential to win, but that Kvitova is the more likely given current form and how they match up against each other.

Kvitova would most likely face Azarenka in the final, and my prediction there is that Petra will win (repeating the semi final result at Wimbledon), and despite not finishing the year ranked number one, will have earned the title of Player of the Year.

Novak makes it a 2011 Triple

The final Grand Slam tournament for 2011 in terms of Mens Singles produced its share of upsets along the way - Ferrero's epic triumph over the 7th seed Monfils and Donald Young's wins, including that over 14th seed Wawrinka, propelling him into the second week to the loud approval of American fans.  The same fans in high spirits as both John Isner and Andy Roddick strode into the quarter finals, Roddick erasing some of the memories of a lousy year dogged by injury and erratic form.

However, in the wash up, we had a repeat of the Roland Garros semi final line-up - the top 4 seeds again displaying the significant gap between them and the rest of mens tennis.  Again like in Paris, it was the Novak and Roger semi that would capture the world's attention and for all the right reasons.  At the French, Federer performed at a level unseen (even from the great man himself) in mens tennis for many a Grand Slam tournament, and it took that level to be able to overcome Djokovic.

In New York this year, it appeared that Roger would thwart the Serbian's attempt to win his third major in 2011 after capturing the opening 2 sets in vintage style.  One of many changes to the Djokovic game has been his resiliance, and instead of accepting the trend of the match, he used his skill and tenacity to reshape the match and take it to another level, turning pressure straight back to the Swiss star.  Very quickly, this semi final had been tied up at 2 sets apiece and momentum clearly with Novak.

Roger came again and should have won the match - he had a break of serve and was leading 5-3 and 40-15 on serve.  One magical forehand blast from Djokovic to save a match point swung everything around once more, and this was the last momentum shift - Federer could give no more.  Novak had found a way home, and into the US Open final again.

Nadal meanwhile had a relatively straightforward ride into the big one after proving yet again that his game is more complete than an improved Andy Murray.

And so the world's top 2 ranked players fought out the final, as they had at Wimbledon a couple of months earlier.  Although the scoreline suggests a similar domination by Djokovic, this final was anything but dominated from game to game.  The 2 sets to love advantage was obtained through managing to outlast the Spaniard in the important points, but the competition for the points was intense and far tighter than on the grass at Wimbledon.

That Nadal fought back to win the third set tie breaker, after Djokovic had failed to serve out the match leading 6-5, was credit to the fighter within him, and also reward to the crowd who deserved a great final, considering the rain interruptions that the tournament had experienced.

Djokovic sustained a back injury that didn't seem to hamper his court movement but clearly impacted his serve - in days gone by he may have retired in a match given similar circumstances, but this year he worked within the constraints, slowed his serve markedly but placed it well enough to retain it as a strength - Nadal began to miss the lines and Djokovic continued to hit winners.  A four set winner, 3 majors for the year, and 10 titles altogether, including 6 finals wins over Nadal in the process.

The season from heaven may not have finished in calendar terms but the top players often assess their years following the US Open, and Novak could stop right here and claim his year to be one of the all time best.  Only the team glory of Davis Cup means as much to Djokovic, but individually he has proved to be the dominant force in the mens game for 2011. 

My European Curse

Yes my recent tennis trip abroad has just now felt it's impact in the most negative manner at Flushing Meadows - at least for the successful female winners of the tournaments I attended.

Kvitova & Bartoli - finalists at Eastbourne
 but making early exits from US Open

I had the pleasure of witnessing Li Na triumphing at Roland Garros, and at the US Open she fell in the first round, a straight sets victim of Romania's Simona Halep, and a continuation of her poor form since the French Open.

Eastbourne was a grass court delight for France's Marion Bartoli, but the eighth seed was turned into French toast in round two by American Christina McHale, who is making a habit of taking top ranked players to the cleaners. (just ask the world's number one). Again the result achieved in the minimum required number of sets.

After Eastbourne it was more grass court action to provide my tennis fix at the All England Club, and one of the highest of highs came with the Wimbledon victory achieved by Petra Kvitova from the Czech Republic.  New York did her no favours either, with another Romanian, Alexandra Dulgheru dispatching her without any bother in the first round shock of shocks.

However, the biggest surprise of all has been the fact that New York managed to host the US Open at all, and on time, considering Hurricane Irene had just belted the place.

Some things stay the same though, and Serena continues to shine in Arthur Ashe stadium.  As too does Federer, Nadal and the dominant player of the year Novak Djokovic.  Andy Murray is flexing his tennis muscle very early in proceedings, and home town hero, the other Andy, even won a match. Roddick has had a lousy year, and his position as American number one male player, previously without contention, has been lost to a resurgent Mardy Fish.  Fish opened the tournament and did it emphatically with a straight sets mauling of unfortunate German Tobias Kamke, leaking only 5 games in the process.

As much as I'd love to be in New York at the moment, I am enjoying the extensive coverage in the early hours in Australia, damaging though it tends to be to my sleeping pattern.  Speaking of Australians, we currently have one through to the second round of mens singles, Bernard Tomic, the youngest player in the draw.  Three women are still standing - 9th seed Samantha Stosur already into the third round, and Jarmila Gajdosova and Jelena Dokic with second round matches hoping to join her there.

The last Grand Slam tournament is alive and well, tempered by the absence through injury of defending champion and 3 time winner Kim Clijsters, and the withdrawal through illness of Robin Soderling and Venus Williams from the mens and womens draws respectively.

Serena Superior - as if there was a doubt!

Serena at Wimbledon this year

It is quite remarkable to consider how quickly Serena Williams has returned to the very top of women's tennis, even for her.  After a year off the circuit, two grass court tournaments away from home (one just outside of London a little bigger than the other) served her sufficiently for an all out assault once she jumped onto the hard courts back in the States.

It does not matter that this remarkable athlete was unseeded at Stanford, and required the sensible provisions of a protected ranking to enter the draw. (I think the organisers may have squeezed her in irrespective!).  The better player of the two outstanding tennis siblings thrives on meeting the top players early in a draw, as shown in 2007 when she dominated the Australian Open after returning from injury ranked 81 in the world.

Stanford 2011 was an absolute clinic as Serena established her credentials once again as the preeminent female tennis player on the planet when fit, and one of the top few sportswomen across the entire spectrum.  The victims included Wimbledon finalist Maria Sharapova, thrashed in the quarter final, Wimbledon semi finalist Sabine Lisicki for the loss of just 3 games in the semis, and Marion Bartoli in straight sets in the final (sweet revenge for having lost in the 4th round to the French player at Wimbledon)

With a ranking now back to 80, the Rogers Cup Premier 5 event in Toronto beckoned for Serena, and the form continued pretty much unabated.  The worry for the top ranked players in the world was that the US Open is near, and the younger Williams ranked 80 would be unseeded and therefore a potential first or second round opponent at Flushing Meadows.  Well Serena has torn that scenario to shreds in Canada.

Despite losing the first set to both Zheng Jie and Lucie Safarova in the third round and quarter final respectively, SW never lost her composure and had deep reserves of talent to draw on to ensure victories and a showdown in the semis against 4th seed Victoria Azarenka.  This, potentially her biggest test, was a walk in the park as she shot down the young Belarusian star in two awesome sets.

Samantha Stosur, who had found some long overdue form and confidence to reach the final, ran into a rampant Williams who proceeded to trample all over the Australian 6-4 6-2 and leap to 31 in the world, guaranteeing a seeding for the final Grand Slam tournament of 2011, with even more points to gain in Cincinnati before then.  This is of slight relief to the Wozniackis and Zvonarevas of the world, for they will not have to meet Williams until the third round at the earliest in New York.  Still that is too early.  With Serena in the form of the moment, there is not a single female holding a tennis racquet that can lay legitimate claims to favouritism in any match against the American.  

Simon impresses post Wimbledon

Frenchman Gilles Simon is an accomplished player as evidenced by his history as a top ten player for 12 months consecutively from October 2008 to October 2009.  Injury and inconsistency throughout 2010 saw the ranking drop as low as 52 before ending the year around the 40 mark.

Gilles Simon at the French Open 2011

This year has seen the revival of his career - Simon is an exciting player to watch in full flight and his performances at the French Open capped off an excellent comeback into the world's top 20.  He won in Sydney, made the quarters in the Miami Masters event before retiring against Federer, and bowing out to Soderling in the 4th round at Roland Garros was no disgrace.

A third round exit at Wimbledon should be placed in context also, given that he lost the first two sets in close tie breaks, and his opponent was the ever dangerous floater in the draw - Juan Martin Del Potro. 

First outing after the grass courts was in Stuttgart where a tough 3 setter went to Spain's Albert Montanes, a disappointing but not totally unexpected result given the ability of his opponent on the surface.

However one week later, still in Germany, the Hamburg tournament presented Gilles with his finest collection of wins for the year - following a bye in the first round, he proceeded to knock over Stakhovsky and Nieminen (both around the top 50) before 3 set wins over the tournament's top seed Gael Monfils, 4th seed Russian Michael Youzhny, and in the final world number 14 and 3rd seed Spain's Nicolas Almagro.

With the tournament triumph, Simon is now back to 11 in the world, and is every chance to be within the top ten by the time the US hard court season swings into gear.  Another demonstration of how commitment to a responsible training discipline invariably will see the best players return to their rightful place in the rankings after injury, because talent is not lost overnight.



Back from Overseas and reporting again

Apologies for the delay in correspondence since the Wimbledon finale but then you probably needed a rest from my constant ramblings.
Back in Australia, I'm paying particular interest to the cycling event which happens to be finishing in Paris where I just spent a wonderful part of my trip, but I of course cannot miss out on the important events in the world of tennis now that those minor tournaments in London and Paris have been done and dusted.

Davis Cup ties were played seemingly straight away with Spain charged with an away challenge to overcome the USA, something it would have to achieve minus one Rafael Nadal.  Such is the depth of Spanish mens' tennis,  they could have dragged a trainee matador from a third rate bull fight to play singles and still the Americans would have only the Bryan brothers doubles partnership as a start up favourite to win a match.

Australia battled through another stage in its attempt to make it back to the World Group, and with Bernard Tomic continuing to shine from his Wimbledon form, the Aussies remain alive and have earned the right next to meet Switzerland (which I found out last night is the country with the longest name to not contain any repeated letters).

Robin Soderling continues to dominate all the smaller tournaments he plays, the most recent of these being his home comp.  If only he could convert that winning form - 4 titles this year alone - into significant results at grand slam and masters level.

Not only the Spanish men are dominating the tennis rankings at present but the girls are in fine touch too - Maria José Martínez Sánchez and Anabel Medina Garrigues, who have had enjoyed doubles success together of late, both won singles titles subsequent to Wimbledon which puts each of their rankings into the top 40, and as they approach 30 years of age, the trend for women to play career best tennis as they mature continues.

Italian Roberta Vinci defeated Australian Jelena Dokic prior to Wimbledon on grass, and backed that result up with another title in Palermo, Sicily - she also won the doubles with fellow Italian Sara Errani.

Novak now a Grass Master

Even given the wonderful success that Novak Djokovic has enjoyed this year, especially the four Masters final victories over Rafa Nadal on hard court and clay, the edge for the potentially classic 2011 Wimbledon Final still was the Spaniard's, earned legitimately through his four finals and two wins on this very court.

My heart was with Djokovic because he was the last man who could exact revenge for what Nadal did to Roger in Paris but my wallet suggested the extremely talented Spaniard in four maybe five close sets.

I had one thing correct in the opening stages - it indeed was tight.  Novak served first and confidently placed the first game on the board.  The ground strokes from both players was no less than you would expect from the two best players in the world, and service comfortably held all the way to 4-4.  One thing was noticeable though.  Djokovic was playing from the baseline while Nadal swung from a metre behind.  This gave the Serbian more options for placement of his shots and created greater margin for error on any wide swipes cross court from the Spaniard.  Nadal's all round class managed to cover for this in his first four service games, but after Novak once again held serve to lead 5-4 and place the scoreboard pressure heavily on Rafa, the problems of court positioning caught up with the champ, and he surrendered a 30-0 lead with some uncharacteristic errors, a combination I'd suggest of Djokovic consistency and Nadal mental lapse.  The shot to lose serve and set would normally be a forcing shot to the Serbian forehand demanding an effective response; instead it meekly floated out and the first time finalist led 6-4.

Not only did Djokovic now have a set lead and momentum, he had the first serve in the second set and could again place the pressure on Nadal to play catch up tennis, providing his solid serve maintained it's reliability.  Well it took some time and effort but Novak won his serve to take the 1-0 lead in the second set, and then it became Nadal to fall victim again to errors thrown in just when ill advised.  As Sharapova had done in her final, a number of Nadals's mistakes came from desperately going for winners and instead finding the net.  2-0 to Djokovic and this now deserved to be analyzed as vastly more serious than the Murray poor start that Rafa experienced in the semi final.  He could feel himself being pushed up against the ropes and copping lefts and rights to the body, most of them scoring punches.

Although Novak raced to 3-0, Rafa needed quickly to register in his head that this was just a single serve break, and also realise that he was the defending champion and could mount comebacks of the grandest style.  Maybe he did understand these things, but his opponent clearly did not allow the understanding to be translated into a scoring comeback.  The placement of the Serbian serve was immaculate, and limited the Spaniard in what damage he could inflict with his potentially lethal returns.  Despite Rafa holding his serve, it still became 4-1 to Novak with huge importance on the next Nadal serve if this set had any chance of changing it's direction from east to Serbia all the way south to Spain.

Djokovic sensed his chance to grab a double break, and with some generosity from Rafa early  in the game, then ripped some returns to set up a break which virtually sealed the set.  Rafa knew the score well enough not to fight the impossible in the next game, and Novak rolled through to take a two set lead 6-4 6-1.  The Spaniard was saving any reserves he had for a three set masterpiece that he now required to display to the shocked fans if a third Wimbledon were to come his way today.

Vitally, for the first time today, Rafa had first serve in a set.  Taking full advantage of this he raced through the game to take a lead in a set for the first time 1-0.  Some of the regular Rafa could be seen in the brief microcosm that was this game and fans had a feeling that perhaps a famous comeback could be underway.
For the first time, the Serbian ice man showed signs of a melt down as his shot making went astray, and coupled with some luck with the net that Rafa enjoyed all match, the break occurred, and it was the Spaniard now with a lead and a break and the crowd fully behind this mini comeback that most wanted to develop into a five set classic.

For awhile Novak stay with Rafa, still a break of serve behind but knowing he had the sets on the board and any slip by the Spaniard could mean disaster, but a mirror image of the second set developed with Nadal growing in confidence by the minute, his shots finding the mark as they should, and the antithesis the case for Novak.  Whether or not this was just a drop of concentration from the Serb was irrelevant.  Two things were happening - Nadal was emerging from a rut into the dangerous player we know he is, and Djokovic was becoming the victim.

The second break of serve came as almost a relief in hindsight because it put beyond doubt where the third set was going to be assigned and Novak could once again devote himself to a single set where he would have first crack at serving.  If solid on his own serve, then ultimately Rafa would be serving to stay alive.  So 6-1 Rafa the third and the crowd erupted, now assured of four sets between these warriors and possibly even a fifth.

Novak opened proceedings in the fourth and with every ounce (I should use the imperial measure whilst in London) of care held his serve to place the first morsel of scoreboard pressure on the Spanish star.
Nadal faltered immediately with a double fault followed by an unforced error and then some out of this world returning by Djokovic confirmed the break and a 2-0 lead.  The Championship was so close he could almost taste it.

Rafa took the simmering saucepan away when he broke straight back for 1-2 and held firmly for 2-2.

What could the Serb do in this pressure cooker situation?  Hold serve may be a good place to start, and this he did and did again, as did his adversary, and the crowd was holding its collective breath awaiting the next shift in course in an amazing final.

All the while we were captivated by not just the drama of a final at Wimbledon between the best in the business, but by the almost unprecedented ability of two players to turn shots that appeared to be winners against them into damaging return threats in their own right.  Never has such desperation been converted into brilliance on such a regular basis by two players in the one match.  Nadal does it time and again in matches against hapless opponents but today both were doing it and we were the paying beneficiaries.

Almost unexpectedly at 3-4, Rafa stumbled.  It happened at the worst possible moment of the match, because serving second any lapse after the sixth game would give Djokovic the opportunity to serve out the match.

No guarantees of course when serving for such a prize but apart from a very nervous first point, Novak did the job like a champion should, and the new World Number One confirmed that position by unseating the former number one on the biggest stage of them all - Wimbledon.

Djokovic in four entertaining sets 6-4 6-1 1-6 6-3 and this rivalry could be the one in men's tennis for years to come.   One thing is certain - Nadal will be back fighting harder to regain his former position.