BASEL, SWITZERLAND – NOVEMBER 02: Roger Federer of Switzerland in action in his match against Jarkko Nieminen of Finland during day three of the Swiss Indoors at St Jakobshalle on November 2, 2011 in Basel, Switzerland. (Photo by Harold Cunningham/Getty Images)
MELBOURNE, Jan 24 (Reuters) – The shock loss of her big sister Venus has given Serena Williams added incentive to win this year’s Australian Open.
Venus was knocked out of the tournament by unseeded Spaniard Carla Suarez Navarro on Thursday, leaving Serena to shoulder the family’s title hopes alone.
Serena avoided a repeat of her sibling’s defeat when she eased her way into the fourth round on Saturday with a 6-1 6-4 win over China’s Peng Shuai but said her sister’s loss was still on her mind.
“It obviously increases my motivation and my desire to win, hopefully to do better,” she said.
Serena, Australian Open champion in 2003, 2005 and 2007, has won each of her three matches this year in straight sets but is still not happy with her form.
She went straight back to the practice courts immediately after her second round win over Argentina’s Gisela Dulko and did not have it all her own way against Peng.
After racing through the first set in just 31 minutes, the American quickly found herself 3-1 down in the second before rallying back to win five of the last six games and seal victory.
“It was definitely a lot better than my second round but I’m still trying to work on some things and hoping they’ll come together,” she said.
“I started making more errors and then I lost my serve a couple times. Then I think I put too much pressure on myself and the next thing I know I was down.
“I hit some wild shots on my backhand so that was kind of crazy, so I’m feeling a little rusty, for whatever reason.”
Serena’s next opponent is Victoria Azarenka of Belarus, a woman eight years her junior but an opponent the American is wary off after she captured her first WTA title in Brisbane this month.
“I’ve been watching her. She’s been around for a while,” Serena said. “Obviously she’s young and desperate to win and hungry, all the qualities that it takes to be pretty good.”
The longest season in sports begins this week, as the tennis world commences its grueling, 11-month, inter-continental slog in search of prize money, ranking points and Grand Slam glory.
The new year has a lot to live up to. After all, 2008 gave us no less than the greatest match ever played as Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer traded blows across Wimbledon’s historic lawn.
There was the retirement of a phenomenon, with tiny Justine Henin calling time on her glittering career in order to seek a level of personal happiness to match her professional success.
As we look ahead to 2009 there is plenty of uncertainty, but also much anticipation. With a restructuring of the men’s tour and exciting rivalries at the top of both the men’s and women’s game, tennis fans should have a steady supply of intrigue to tide them through the year.
Here are the big questions and story lines that mark the start of the new season:
1. Will Nadal’s body hold up?
It always was going to take something spectacular to topple living legend Roger Federer from the No. 1 spot that he had come to regard as his personal property.
Rafael Nadal provided it in 2008, compiling an extraordinary season that sealed the young Spaniard an eternal place in history and lit up one of world sport’s great rivalries. Nadal became the first man since Bjorn Borg in 1980 to win the French Open and Wimbledon in the same year, then went on to win an Olympic gold medal.
However, by the end of the year his body once again was in pieces, forcing him to miss the Davis Cup final and raising fresh concerns about his health.
The 22-year-old’s ferocious style of play places a huge strain on his body, but two things may save him: a bigger first serve and a new ground game that involves him stepping further into the court to hit winners instead of just wearing opponents down from behind the baseline. Both measures, masterminded by coach and uncle Toni Nadal and embraced by the player, should shorten the amount of time he has to spend on court.
2. How will the ATP’s new order affect men’s tennis?
The new year brings a dramatic revamp of the men’s tour and ranking system. There now are four tiers, with the four Grand Slams yielding the most points (2,000 for a win), followed by eight Masters tournaments (1,000 for a win), 11 third-tier weeks worth 500 ranking points and 39 or 40 bottom rung “250” events.
In an attempt to increase player participation in key tournaments, stars who skip any of the eight Masters events without a valid reason face suspension and a loss of bonus money. This could cause friction between players and the Tour, and bring the matter of what is a legitimate injury and what isn’t into sharp focus.
3. Who will step up to fill Henin’s shoes?
Justine Henin’s sudden retirement last year opened up the top of the women’s game, and no one has stepped forward as a clear dominant force.
Jelena Jankovic ended the year at No. 1, but there has been little performance difference among the top six. No. 9 Maria Sharapova should play a much heavier 2009 schedule after returning from injury while 12th-ranked Caroline Wozniacki is a fast-emerging 18-year-old with a big game and model looks.
Venus and Serena Williams may not play enough tournaments to claim the top spot, while Dinara Safina, Elena Dementieva and Ana Ivanovic all have designs on establishing themselves as queen of the court.
4. Will the Big Three become a Big Four?
Roger Federer’s dip – by his own ludicrously high standards – allowed Novak Djokovic to emerge as a force in 2008. Djokovic begins the new season just a handful of points behind Federer at No. 3 as he prepares to defend his Australian Open crown.
But there is another man who looks poised to breathe down the necks of Nadal, Federer and Djokovic: 21-year-old Scot Andy Murray.
Murray enjoyed a superb run late last year, winning two Masters Series titles and reaching the U.S. Open final while displaying newfound fitness levels built by an intense program under the guidance of two full-time physical trainers.
The reason he appears to be the only player capable of breaking the Big Three’s monopoly is that he is not scared of them, having beaten Federer four times out of six and toppling a tired Nadal in the semifinals at Flushing Meadows.
Murray has the chance to pick up a mountain of points at the Aussie Open later this month, having lost in the first round there last year.
5. How motivated are the Williams sisters?
Venus and Serena clearly are the most accomplished players in the world. However, with a swath of off-court interests ranging from business to fashion design, tennis is far from being the sole priority in their lives.
Don’t expect the sisters to sweep through the Grand Slams – indeed, Venus has not won a major other than Wimbledon since 2001. She again will be a heavy favorite on the London grass in the summer, while Serena will be hungrily eyeing the Australian Open and U.S. Open titles.
But how much longer can they play at a high level? When his girls were still in their teens, Richard Williams said he wouldn’t be surprised if they retired by their mid-20s. Venus now is 28 and Serena 27, so there might not be much more left from them.
DOHA, QATAR (TICKER) —Venus Williams took a major step toward winning the WTA Championship for the first time in her career.
The world No. 8, Williams won her opening match at the season-ending Sony Ericsson Championships, managing a 7-5, 6-3 victory over second-seeded Dinara Safina in Tuesday’s Maroon Group round-robin play.
Williams is hoping to become the first American to win this $4.55 million championship event that features the world’s top eight players since her sister, Serena, accomplished the feat in 2001.
Williams managed to keep her Russian opponent off-balance with her strong serve and capitalized on Safina’s mistakes, which included eight double faults.
Safina had trouble with her serve throughout the match, failing to get her first serve in less than half the time. Safina’s inability to keep her serve in play allowed Williams to convert five breaks.
Williams, who has not participated in this event since 2001, was also able to get herself out of trouble as she saved 6-of-8 break points.
A five-time Wimbledon champion – including the last two years, Williams had four aces.
In the other group, Jelena Jankovic posted a 6-3, 6-4 victory over fellow Serb Ana Ivanovic on Tuesday in White Group play.
The 23-year-old Jankovic regained the top spot in the rankings last month following a title at Stuttgart. But Jankovic, the runner-up at this year’s U.S. Open, will be hard-pressed to remain No. 1 at this event.
Coming off an opening-round loss last week at Zurich, Jankovic played efficiently against Ivanovic, who lost for just the second time in eight meetings between the players.
Jankovic did not commit a double-fault and converted a break in each set during the 89-minute match.
Ivanovic, the world No. 4, had not lost to Jankovic since the 2006 season, a string of five matches.
The other round-robin winner in Tuesday’s White Group play was Vera Zvonareva, who cruised past fellow Russian Svetlana Kuznetsova, 6-2, 6-3.
Zvonareva needed just under 80 minutes to dispatch the mistake-prone Kuznetsova.
The world’s sixth-ranked player, Zvonareva overcame six double-faults by converting four breaks, including three in the opening set.
Kuznetsova, the world No. 7, yelled at herself throughout the White Group match.
Serena Williams, the U.S. Open champion, and Russian Elena Dementieva are in the Maroon Group and were the only two participants not to play Tuesday.
The past two World Championships were held in Madrid, where recently retired Justine Henin was victorious both times.
PARIS, Oct 27 (Reuters) – Marat Safin, one of the most colourful figures in tennis, said on Monday he was considering his future in the game after his first round loss at the Paris Masters Series.
“I need to enjoy my life without tennis, I will see if I continue,” the 28-year-old Russian told reporters after losing 6-0 7-6 to Argentine qualifier Juan Monaco.
“I need to think it through. I will see, it was too intense these last three years. We will see. I have no pressure, nothing to show, nothing to prove.
“If I feel like I want to continue to play, I will. If not, it will be over. For the moment, I just need to rest.”
Safin, who reached the world number one spot following his U.S. Open victory in 2000, is widely regarded as one of the most gifted players on the tour.
However, he won only one more grand slam tournament, the Australian Open in 2005, which was the last of his 15 titles overall, as he squandered career opportunities due to a hot temper and, more recently, injuries.
Safin, who has been out of the top 10 since January 2006, has a propensity to throw matches away and Monday’s encounter with Monaco was no exception.
The Russian, who lies 31st in the ATP rankings, had already lost the first set and smashed a racket on the court when the clock ticked past the 20-minute mark.
DOUBLE FAULTS
He then served four double faults in the opening game of the second set as Monaco opened a 2-0 lead. The Russian broke back to level to 2-2 but lost the tiebreak 7-4 and stumbled out of a tournament he has won three times.
“I had my opportunities but unfortunately it was a bit too late already because the guy started to play well and started to feel much more comfortable on the court,” said Safin.
“I didn’t take my chances, that’s why the score is 6-0 7-6.”
Safin will not improve his position in the rankings and it is no secret he does not feel comfortable with the situation.
“It’s a little bit uncomfortable to find yourself in the top 10 for many years and (then) to find yourself ranked 70th and 30 and 50 and outside of the hundreds,” he said.
“It’s not really a comfortable position.
“I’ve been struggling throughout my career with injuries, left and right,” he added, referring to knee injuries that hampered his 2005 and 2006 seasons.
Although he does not yet know whether he will play professional tennis next year, Safin already knows where he will spend his holidays.