Novak Djokovic is busy winning Down Under but at home, politicking continues between his father and Serbian federation president Bobo Zivojinovic.
Last year, Srdjan Djokovic announced he would be fielding candidates for election to the board of the federation, an attempt to get support to build a national tennis centre. But despite such efforts, Zivojinovic was re-elected as president of the federation this week. He promised to focus "all our efforts towards building the National Tennis Centre."
Zivojinovic also said that Novak would not play the opening round of Davis Cup this year, having led the team to victory last season. The decision was about scheduling, not politics, insisted Zivonjinovic.
"Novak will be missing from the Davis Cup team for the tie against India as he will be preparing for the US tour which he played really poorly two years ago," said the newly re-elcted president. " Also, there is no need to have a player like him on the team. We can do without him against India. I have no doubt this has nothing to do with Djokovic snubbing me and refusing to play for the Davis Cup team.”
Update courtesy Tennis.com ticker
Thursday, January 27, 2011
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
Ivanovic, Safina suffer hearbreaking losses
Two women, once on top of the tennis world and now struggling to return to the game’s elite, exited the Australian Open on Tuesday evening suffering contrasting defeats, further delaying and, perhaps derailing, their comeback efforts. While Ana Ivanovic, looking leaner and fitter than she has been in recent years, was being beaten by Russian Ekaterina Makarova in the Hisense Arena in a thrilling third set, Dinara Safina was being bludgeoned by consensus favorite Kim Clijsters next door at the Rod Laver Arena. The two women will now pack their bags from Melbourne and head to their next tournament destination hoping and praying for some good form and maybe some good luck as well.
To be fair to Ivanovic, she has managed to get herself out of the freefall that Safina currently finds herself in. In 2008, Ivanovic was the new darling of women’s tennis – winning her first Grand Slam in Paris and ascending to the world #1 position. Injuries and the pressure of living up to her top billing soon saw her spiral down the rankings. The losses and tears became all the more frequent. But not giving up hope, Ivanovic struck a purple patch towards the end of 2010 – winning 2 of her last 3 events of the year (13 of her last 15 matches) and climbing back from #65 to inside the world’s top 20. Many picked her with an outside chance to go all the way in Melbourne in a draw left wide open by the absence of an injured Serena Williams. But an abdominal strain during the Hopman Cup ten days ago meant Ivanovic would be fighting her own fitness concerns heading into Melbourne. Still, she started off strong on Tuesday winning the first set 6-3. Makarova, a left hander who qualified and went on to win the Eastbourne Championships last June, fought back to take the second 6-4. When Ana surged ahead 3-1 in the third, many of her fans must’ve heaved a sigh of relief. But not Makarova. Instead, she put her foot on the accelerator, and managed to break back. Reeling under the pressure serving at 4-5, Ana went down triple match point but saved every one of them - holding serve for 5-5. One more match point at 5-6 and 7-8 were also saved by the Serb; each save ending with an even more desperate fist pump. The Russian, however, kept the pressure on while Ana seemed to be playing on the backfoot. Makarova reached double match point again at 9-8 and this time she needed only one to complete a thrilling victory in 2 hours and 37 minutes. The loss is certainly a setback for Ana who was hoping a good result in Melbourne would launch her return to the world’s top 10. Ana appeared positive in her post match conference, “This match, this loss is tough. But I had a lot of positive things come out of this match. I really stay positive throughout the whole match. I gave my best. That's all I can ask for.
You know, today she was better. All credit to her. But, uhm, I still have lot of room to improve and lot of things to build on. And I certainly still believe I can get back to top 10, and I believe I can do it in this year.” It will certainly be interesting to see how she rebounds from this loss in the next few months.
The woman Ana beat for her first and only Grand Slam title in Paris 2008 was none other than Safina herself. And while Ana’s stock was plumetting in 2009, Safina's was quickly rising. She reached 3 Slam finals between the French Opens in 2008 and 2009, beaten each time in straight sets by her opponents and her nerves. In spite of that, she managed to attain the world #1 ranking in April 2009. The relentless questioning of her top billing by the sports media only added to her nerves; and coupled with a serious back injury and a severe loss of confidence, Safina now finds herself in the midst of a free fall that she admittedly does not know how to get out of. She lasted all of 45 minutes against Clijsters on Tuesday and was unable to win a single game off the Belgian – losing 6-0, 6-0 and winning only 16 points in the encounter. This on the back of a 6-0, 6-1 drubbing at the quirky hands of top 20 Frenchwoman Marion Bartoli in Hobart last week– and Safina is now in the midst of a five match losing streak. She is down to #75 in the rankings and after failing to defend her points from Melbourne last year where she reached the 4th round, Safina is expected to drop to around #115 in the next WTA rankings. She could rely on wild cards to compete in bigger events for the rest of the year or take a step back and play the lower rung events in an attempt to win her confidence back. I’m not sure which the right answer is. Neither does Safina. Speaking in her post match conference, Safina said, “ If I would know the answer, I guess I would do different things. I don't know. I didn't know how to win a point. Basically came to this thing. I didn't know. I was sitting in the changeover and I was like, okay, at least how can I get a chance to hurt her? There was nothing that I could hurt her. . I've been doing two months of pre season. I'm fully motivated. I practiced hard. I cannot say that I didn't practice hard.
But I guess something was not right. I don't know. I have to figure out the answers. But first week, okay, was bad luck against Yanina. She played some good tennis. It was 6 1 in the third. It was close. But to lose two tournaments in a row 6 Love, 6 1, 6 Love, 6 Love. It's really to scratch the head and to think what the hell I'm doing. It's not that I don't want. I want. There's no doubt about. I want to come back and I want to play better. But now to find answers how I can come back.”
One can only hope that Ana and Dinara will get that winning feeling back. They are too nice, as people, and too good, as players, to be languishing among the also-rans in a sport that is overdosing on personalities but lacking on star peformers. Two other women with compelling storylines also lost on Tuesday. Mirjana Lucic, back in the top 100 after spending years in wilderness, was beaten 4-6, 2-6 by pretty Romanian Sorana Cirstea while 40 year old Kimiko Date-Krumm nearly pulled off another incredible upset, letting go of a 4-1 final set lead over world #14 Agnieska Radwanska, who finally won 6-4, 4-6, 7-5. There was some reason to smile for the sentamentlaists though as Alicia Molik pulled off a 1-6, 6-3 8-6 win over Roberta Vinci, an Italian ranked nearly 100 places higher than Molik’s current rank of #134. The Australian, also struggling to get back to her former glory days after injuries sent her into premature retirement, has fond memories of Melbourne Park. It was here in 2005 that she upset Venus Williams en route to a quarter-final finish and a top 10 ranking. And it will be here on Thursday that she will hope to upset the applecart once again when she takes on the seeded Russian Nadia Petrova in what is likely to be a headlining evening session encounter. That encounter should likely kick off 24 hours after Jelena Dokic plays her second round match at the Rod Laver Arena tomorrow evening against Barbora Strycova. Dokic, once ranked as high as #4, has struggled in the past with an abusive father and crippling depression that made her drop out of the game for a few years in the mid-2000's. She will now be hoping for a repeat of her magical 2008 run when, as the 187th ranked wild card entrant, she marched on to the quater-finals and was beaten by Safina herself. Every win in Melbourne for Molik and Dokic will go a long way in re-establishing themslves as legitimate top 100 players; and hopefully will serve as a remider for Safina... that sometimes you have to fall really hard before you can rise again.
To be fair to Ivanovic, she has managed to get herself out of the freefall that Safina currently finds herself in. In 2008, Ivanovic was the new darling of women’s tennis – winning her first Grand Slam in Paris and ascending to the world #1 position. Injuries and the pressure of living up to her top billing soon saw her spiral down the rankings. The losses and tears became all the more frequent. But not giving up hope, Ivanovic struck a purple patch towards the end of 2010 – winning 2 of her last 3 events of the year (13 of her last 15 matches) and climbing back from #65 to inside the world’s top 20. Many picked her with an outside chance to go all the way in Melbourne in a draw left wide open by the absence of an injured Serena Williams. But an abdominal strain during the Hopman Cup ten days ago meant Ivanovic would be fighting her own fitness concerns heading into Melbourne. Still, she started off strong on Tuesday winning the first set 6-3. Makarova, a left hander who qualified and went on to win the Eastbourne Championships last June, fought back to take the second 6-4. When Ana surged ahead 3-1 in the third, many of her fans must’ve heaved a sigh of relief. But not Makarova. Instead, she put her foot on the accelerator, and managed to break back. Reeling under the pressure serving at 4-5, Ana went down triple match point but saved every one of them - holding serve for 5-5. One more match point at 5-6 and 7-8 were also saved by the Serb; each save ending with an even more desperate fist pump. The Russian, however, kept the pressure on while Ana seemed to be playing on the backfoot. Makarova reached double match point again at 9-8 and this time she needed only one to complete a thrilling victory in 2 hours and 37 minutes. The loss is certainly a setback for Ana who was hoping a good result in Melbourne would launch her return to the world’s top 10. Ana appeared positive in her post match conference, “This match, this loss is tough. But I had a lot of positive things come out of this match. I really stay positive throughout the whole match. I gave my best. That's all I can ask for.
You know, today she was better. All credit to her. But, uhm, I still have lot of room to improve and lot of things to build on. And I certainly still believe I can get back to top 10, and I believe I can do it in this year.” It will certainly be interesting to see how she rebounds from this loss in the next few months.
The woman Ana beat for her first and only Grand Slam title in Paris 2008 was none other than Safina herself. And while Ana’s stock was plumetting in 2009, Safina's was quickly rising. She reached 3 Slam finals between the French Opens in 2008 and 2009, beaten each time in straight sets by her opponents and her nerves. In spite of that, she managed to attain the world #1 ranking in April 2009. The relentless questioning of her top billing by the sports media only added to her nerves; and coupled with a serious back injury and a severe loss of confidence, Safina now finds herself in the midst of a free fall that she admittedly does not know how to get out of. She lasted all of 45 minutes against Clijsters on Tuesday and was unable to win a single game off the Belgian – losing 6-0, 6-0 and winning only 16 points in the encounter. This on the back of a 6-0, 6-1 drubbing at the quirky hands of top 20 Frenchwoman Marion Bartoli in Hobart last week– and Safina is now in the midst of a five match losing streak. She is down to #75 in the rankings and after failing to defend her points from Melbourne last year where she reached the 4th round, Safina is expected to drop to around #115 in the next WTA rankings. She could rely on wild cards to compete in bigger events for the rest of the year or take a step back and play the lower rung events in an attempt to win her confidence back. I’m not sure which the right answer is. Neither does Safina. Speaking in her post match conference, Safina said, “ If I would know the answer, I guess I would do different things. I don't know. I didn't know how to win a point. Basically came to this thing. I didn't know. I was sitting in the changeover and I was like, okay, at least how can I get a chance to hurt her? There was nothing that I could hurt her. . I've been doing two months of pre season. I'm fully motivated. I practiced hard. I cannot say that I didn't practice hard.
But I guess something was not right. I don't know. I have to figure out the answers. But first week, okay, was bad luck against Yanina. She played some good tennis. It was 6 1 in the third. It was close. But to lose two tournaments in a row 6 Love, 6 1, 6 Love, 6 Love. It's really to scratch the head and to think what the hell I'm doing. It's not that I don't want. I want. There's no doubt about. I want to come back and I want to play better. But now to find answers how I can come back.”
One can only hope that Ana and Dinara will get that winning feeling back. They are too nice, as people, and too good, as players, to be languishing among the also-rans in a sport that is overdosing on personalities but lacking on star peformers. Two other women with compelling storylines also lost on Tuesday. Mirjana Lucic, back in the top 100 after spending years in wilderness, was beaten 4-6, 2-6 by pretty Romanian Sorana Cirstea while 40 year old Kimiko Date-Krumm nearly pulled off another incredible upset, letting go of a 4-1 final set lead over world #14 Agnieska Radwanska, who finally won 6-4, 4-6, 7-5. There was some reason to smile for the sentamentlaists though as Alicia Molik pulled off a 1-6, 6-3 8-6 win over Roberta Vinci, an Italian ranked nearly 100 places higher than Molik’s current rank of #134. The Australian, also struggling to get back to her former glory days after injuries sent her into premature retirement, has fond memories of Melbourne Park. It was here in 2005 that she upset Venus Williams en route to a quarter-final finish and a top 10 ranking. And it will be here on Thursday that she will hope to upset the applecart once again when she takes on the seeded Russian Nadia Petrova in what is likely to be a headlining evening session encounter. That encounter should likely kick off 24 hours after Jelena Dokic plays her second round match at the Rod Laver Arena tomorrow evening against Barbora Strycova. Dokic, once ranked as high as #4, has struggled in the past with an abusive father and crippling depression that made her drop out of the game for a few years in the mid-2000's. She will now be hoping for a repeat of her magical 2008 run when, as the 187th ranked wild card entrant, she marched on to the quater-finals and was beaten by Safina herself. Every win in Melbourne for Molik and Dokic will go a long way in re-establishing themslves as legitimate top 100 players; and hopefully will serve as a remider for Safina... that sometimes you have to fall really hard before you can rise again.
Monday, January 17, 2011
Advantage Sania!!
For a while in the beginning of their first round match, Sania Mirza seemed to be playing at her very best – swinging her forehand with carefree abandon and snapping her wrist for powerful winners - while her opponent, the seven-times Grand Slam champion Justine Henin was scrambling furiously around the baseline and struggling to handle the pace of Mirza’s shots. The 24 year old Indian broke Henin on her first two service games to go up 3-1 in the first set and even had two chances on her own serve to go up 4-1 - losing the second of those chances when a winning backhand she hit was called out but was actually shown to be in when Sania challenged the call - she lost the point when it was replayed and then the game. Slowly but surely, Henin used her exemplary skills to get back into the set breaking Mirza at 4-4 thanks to two double faults from her opponent. Sania is not known to be the best player under pressure but it was she who staved off a set point on Henin’s serve at 4-5, 30-40 to break back for 5-5. Sania then went on to hold serve and broke Henin again to win the first set 7-5, in 60 minutes, much to the delight of the small Indian contingent on the showcourt Hisense Arena but to the surprise of most others there.
Henin started the second set strong, breaking for an early 2-0 lead. But Sania did not wilt. She broke back for 2-2, playing tennis far more superior than her #145 ranking might suggest. In her next service game, she built a 30-0 lead but another double fault and three unforced errors quickly gave the break back to Henin, who then held for 4-2. With Henin serving at 4-3, the two engaged in a pivotal game. Multiple break points for Sania. Henin saved them all. Multiple game points for Henin. Sania saved them all. Watching it, you could almost sense that the match would hinge on the outcome of this pivotal game. Henin finally managed to hold on for 5-3 and then broke the Indian again to win the second set 6-3 in 44 minutes.
The Belgian also started the third set strongly, racing to a 3-0 lead. Sania managed to stem the rot and hold to get on the scoreboard but was unable to put much of a fight thereafter as Henin won the next three games to complete a hard fought 5-7, 6-3, 6-1 victory in 2 hours 12 minutes.
There’s plenty of positives for Sania to take away from this match. For two sets, she managed to stay toe-to-toe with Henin, trading groundstrokes with one of the most versatile and powerful players on tour. More importantly, she was able to go head to head with Henin on several backhand to backhand rallies as well. In her post match interview, Henin had this to say about her opponent, “Well, I was ready it could be a tough match because she's not a qualifier like maybe the others, as she has been in this type of situation. She has been in the top 30, I think. She can play a very solid tennis. So the beginning wasn't that easy for me. She was playing high rhythm, not a lot of mistakes at the beginning, and it was tough for me because I was running a lot. To get into the match, that wasn't the perfect situation for me to come into the tournament.” Surely, a good sign for Sania’s game and confidence,. If only she improved her serve, 9 double faults in total in this match, Sania would be winning many more matches. Having won three matches to qualify, she probably got the toughest draw possible against Henin, one of the leading contenders for the title here in Melbourne, in spite of not having played on the tour since an elbow injury at Wimbledon last June. Sania has now won 10 of her last 12 matches on tour in the last 45 days, including 5 matches in 2011 - 2 in qualifying at the WTA event in Auckland and the three in qualifying here. Last year, thanks to a wrist injury, a controversial wedding to Pakistani cricketer Shoaib Malik, and months of inaction, she had to wait until July for her fifth win on tour. And with only 2 points to defend from now until June, the Indian should be back in the top 100 soon provided she is able to remain healthy. Her efforts in Melbourne this week will fetch her 65 ranking points – good enough to take her back to around #130 from her current ranking of #145. After completing doubles duty in Melbourne, where will play in the mixed and is also paired with Renata Voracova in the women’s doubles, Sania will move to the WTA stops in Pattaya and Dubai as she continues her quest to get back into sport’s higher ranks. Both cities have been happy hunting grounds for her in the past and with a strong Indian expat crowd to cheer her on in both venues, Sania will be hoping to gain enough points to ensure she gains direct entry into the next two Slams of the year and silence some of her critics who wrote her off following her injuries and marriage last year. Justine Henin moves into the second round but it’s certainly advantage Sania for now.
Henin started the second set strong, breaking for an early 2-0 lead. But Sania did not wilt. She broke back for 2-2, playing tennis far more superior than her #145 ranking might suggest. In her next service game, she built a 30-0 lead but another double fault and three unforced errors quickly gave the break back to Henin, who then held for 4-2. With Henin serving at 4-3, the two engaged in a pivotal game. Multiple break points for Sania. Henin saved them all. Multiple game points for Henin. Sania saved them all. Watching it, you could almost sense that the match would hinge on the outcome of this pivotal game. Henin finally managed to hold on for 5-3 and then broke the Indian again to win the second set 6-3 in 44 minutes.
The Belgian also started the third set strongly, racing to a 3-0 lead. Sania managed to stem the rot and hold to get on the scoreboard but was unable to put much of a fight thereafter as Henin won the next three games to complete a hard fought 5-7, 6-3, 6-1 victory in 2 hours 12 minutes.
There’s plenty of positives for Sania to take away from this match. For two sets, she managed to stay toe-to-toe with Henin, trading groundstrokes with one of the most versatile and powerful players on tour. More importantly, she was able to go head to head with Henin on several backhand to backhand rallies as well. In her post match interview, Henin had this to say about her opponent, “Well, I was ready it could be a tough match because she's not a qualifier like maybe the others, as she has been in this type of situation. She has been in the top 30, I think. She can play a very solid tennis. So the beginning wasn't that easy for me. She was playing high rhythm, not a lot of mistakes at the beginning, and it was tough for me because I was running a lot. To get into the match, that wasn't the perfect situation for me to come into the tournament.” Surely, a good sign for Sania’s game and confidence,. If only she improved her serve, 9 double faults in total in this match, Sania would be winning many more matches. Having won three matches to qualify, she probably got the toughest draw possible against Henin, one of the leading contenders for the title here in Melbourne, in spite of not having played on the tour since an elbow injury at Wimbledon last June. Sania has now won 10 of her last 12 matches on tour in the last 45 days, including 5 matches in 2011 - 2 in qualifying at the WTA event in Auckland and the three in qualifying here. Last year, thanks to a wrist injury, a controversial wedding to Pakistani cricketer Shoaib Malik, and months of inaction, she had to wait until July for her fifth win on tour. And with only 2 points to defend from now until June, the Indian should be back in the top 100 soon provided she is able to remain healthy. Her efforts in Melbourne this week will fetch her 65 ranking points – good enough to take her back to around #130 from her current ranking of #145. After completing doubles duty in Melbourne, where will play in the mixed and is also paired with Renata Voracova in the women’s doubles, Sania will move to the WTA stops in Pattaya and Dubai as she continues her quest to get back into sport’s higher ranks. Both cities have been happy hunting grounds for her in the past and with a strong Indian expat crowd to cheer her on in both venues, Sania will be hoping to gain enough points to ensure she gains direct entry into the next two Slams of the year and silence some of her critics who wrote her off following her injuries and marriage last year. Justine Henin moves into the second round but it’s certainly advantage Sania for now.
Sunday, January 16, 2011
Sharapova unconvincing in first round win
2008 champion Maria Sharapova kicked off a packed opening day at the Australian Open but was unconvincing in a straight sets first round victory over the Thai veteran Tamarine Tanasugarn. The Russian started the match looking anxious and serving five consecutive faults. After dropping her first service game, she managed to regroup and win the next seven games in a row as Tanasugarn herself looked a bit lethargic while moving around the court. Sharapova's serving woes dogged her throughout the 79 minute encounter in which she served a total of 10 double faults. She dropped her serve twice in the early part of the second set as Tanasugran rallied for a 3-1 lead. However, the Russian again managed to steady herself and win five games on the trot to complete a 6-1, 6-3 victory.
Sharapova, who also served 5 aces, got in 57% of her first serves in and won 75% of the points on her first serve but only 28% of the points on her second serve. The world's highest earning sportswoman in 2010 has struggled to recapture her winnng form and lethal serve since undergoing shoulder surgery in 2008 which saw her miss 9 months of action on the WTA tour. The Russsian will no doubt need to improve her game, especially her serve, as she progresses through the draw in Melbourne, with a potential blockbuster showdown with Venus Williams looming in round four.
Sharapova, who also served 5 aces, got in 57% of her first serves in and won 75% of the points on her first serve but only 28% of the points on her second serve. The world's highest earning sportswoman in 2010 has struggled to recapture her winnng form and lethal serve since undergoing shoulder surgery in 2008 which saw her miss 9 months of action on the WTA tour. The Russsian will no doubt need to improve her game, especially her serve, as she progresses through the draw in Melbourne, with a potential blockbuster showdown with Venus Williams looming in round four.
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
STAR GAZING in the AUSSIE OPEN QUALIFYING DRAW - PART 2
The women’s qualifying draw in Melbourne this year is littered with former junior stars attempting to achieve the same level of success on the women’s circuit and former stars hoping to reclaim their spot among the game’s elite. 96 players, including 7 Aussies, will kick off the action tomorrow hoping to win 3 matches and snatch one of the 12 main draw spots on offer. Here is a list of some of the women my eyes will be on in the next few days.
19 year old Coco Vandeweghe, currently ranked #115 is the top seed in qualifying. The 6 ft 1 inch American has abundant talent – big serve and booming groundstrokes - but is still to struggling to achieve results on a consistent basis. Vandeweghe won 2 ITF titles in 2010 and reached the quarter-finals of WTA events in San Diego (beating Zvonareva and Dulko) and Tokyo (beating Rezai) but may find her hands full in her very first match against Aiko Nakamura. The 27 year old Japanese has been in the top 50 in 2007 and reached the 3rd round in Melbourne in 2006 & 2007 but is on her way back from injury which saw her sit out 14 months between August 2009 to October 2010.
Two more players to look out for in Vandeweghe’s section are 15 year old Russian Irina Khromacheva, a wild card recipient and 21 year old Sesil Karatantcheva, born in Bulgaria but now playing for Kazakhstan. Tennis fans will remember Karatantcheva from a few years ago when she beat Venus Williams on her way to the quarter-finals of the French Open in 2005 and reached her career-best ranking of #35. In January, 2006, the ITF issued a two-year ban on her after two positive drug tests for nandrolone. While Karatantcheva has claimed she was pregnant at the time of one of the tests, another laboratory carried out a pregnancy test on her urine sample, and it tested negative. Karatantcheva returned in 2008 but has been unable to break back into the big time.
Two former top 30 stars will play each other in a marquee first round match. Germany’s Sabine Lisicki, still only 21 years old, has been to the quarter-finals of Wimbledon in 2009 as she reached #22 in the rankings but an ankle injury last year means she is now down to #156 and will have to win 3 matches just to enter the main draw. Her opponent in round one is 22 year old Michaella Krajicek, once ranked as high as #30 and also a former Wimbledon quarter-finalist but now struggling at #143 after suffering wrist & knee injuries in 2008.
In that same section is 18 year old Kristyna Pliskova, the 2010 Wimbledon junior champion. Pliskova won her first ITF title in May 2010 in Kurume, beating her twin sister Karolina 5–7, 6–2, 6–0 in the final. She won’t have to worry about playing her sister again in qualifying as Karolina, also 18 and the 2010 Australian Open junior champion, is in another section of the draw. One major hurdle in Karolina’s path could be Germany’s Anna-Lena Groenefeld, a former top 15 player and quarterfinalist at the French Open in 2006 but now ranked in the 150’s after dealing with well-documented issues caused by her former coach Font de Mora and the ensuing weight gain.
One billion eyes will firmly be on Sania Mirza. The 24 year old Indian has a 7-6 record in the main draw at Melbourne and is coming back from a career-threatening wrist injury. The Indian, seeded 24th, won the Dubai ITF Challenger in December beating 3 top 100 players including world #40 Julia Georges and will be hoping to continue her good start to the new season.
Two former world #14’s will also battle it out in round one. Russian Elena Bovina has been a quarterfinalist at the US Open in 2002; reached the 4th round in Melbourne and Paris in 2003 and 2005 respectively; and has also scored wins over champions like Henin, Capriati, Davenport, Myskina, Petrova, and Venus Williams. But the 27 year old has struggled since suffering a right shoulder injury in 2005 and a right foot injury in 2007 and has been unable to capture her earlier form. Her opponent in round one is Greece’s Eleni Daniilidou, ranked in the 160’s now following a knee injury in 2008. Daniilidou has been as far as the 4th round in Melbourne (2003), Wimbledon (2002) and the US Open (2004).
The winner of that match could face another veteran – 35 year old Luxembourg native Anne Kremer. The former world #18 is currently ranked #198 and is also a member of the Democratic and Liberal Youth in Luxembourg. She ran for the Democratic Party in the 2009 election to the Chamber of Deputies of Luxembourg but finished 15th on the DP list and was thus not elected. Kremer has been to the second round of the tournament proper in Melbourne six times, the last being in 2008 and has moved back up nearly 400 places in 2010 rankings.
Several other talented juniors who are expected to be among the sports headliners are also in the draw. 17 year old Croatian Ajla Tomljanovic has moved nearly 800 places in the last 2 years to her current ranking of #168. 20 year old Dutch girl Arantxa Rus is a former world #1 junior and winner of the 2008 Australian Open junior title but stuck at #139 in the WTA rankings. And both will be hoping to make some nosie Down Under.
Sloane Stephens and Noppawan Lertcheewakarn are in the same section which means only one of them can possibly qualify for the main draw. Stephens, a 17 year old African American is ranked #201 (also up 800 spots in the last 24 months), has won the last 3 Grand Slam Girls doubles titles. She also qualified for Indian Wells in March 2010, where she defeated Lucie Hradecká in the first round and then lost a closely contested match against the defending champion Vera Zvonareva. Lertcheewakarn is 19 years old and amongst Asia’s brightest hopes, being a former world #1 junior and winner of the Wimbledon junior title in 2009. She also qualified for the WTA event in Auckland last week.
Urszula Radwanska, sister of current world #14 Agnieska, is also a former top-ranked junior and winner of the 2007 Wimbledon girls' singles title. Now at the age of 20, Radwanska is ranked #193, down from #62 in August 2009 after undergoing a spine surgery in early 2010. She returned to action in August and won an ITF title in October and reached another ITF final in November. In the same section is 18 year old Brit, Heather Watson. Currently ranked a career high #142, Watson is now the youngest member of the top 150 after reaching her first WTA quarterfinal in Auckland last week. The Brit has won one major title at the 2009 US Open Juniors. Her game is often likened to Martina Hingis and she has been praised by Nick Bollettieri for her "Amazing footwork.” According to Nigel Sears, head of women's coaching at the Lawn Tennis Association, Watson possesses "a complete game", with a massive amount of variety including the consistent use of a one-handed backhand slice, volleys and angles.
So there you have it. The action gets underway tomorrow in Melbourne. For 12 of the 96 women, this could be the start of something big. The rest will have to wait another year for their moment in the scorching Melbourne sun.
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19 year old Coco Vandeweghe, currently ranked #115 is the top seed in qualifying. The 6 ft 1 inch American has abundant talent – big serve and booming groundstrokes - but is still to struggling to achieve results on a consistent basis. Vandeweghe won 2 ITF titles in 2010 and reached the quarter-finals of WTA events in San Diego (beating Zvonareva and Dulko) and Tokyo (beating Rezai) but may find her hands full in her very first match against Aiko Nakamura. The 27 year old Japanese has been in the top 50 in 2007 and reached the 3rd round in Melbourne in 2006 & 2007 but is on her way back from injury which saw her sit out 14 months between August 2009 to October 2010.
Two more players to look out for in Vandeweghe’s section are 15 year old Russian Irina Khromacheva, a wild card recipient and 21 year old Sesil Karatantcheva, born in Bulgaria but now playing for Kazakhstan. Tennis fans will remember Karatantcheva from a few years ago when she beat Venus Williams on her way to the quarter-finals of the French Open in 2005 and reached her career-best ranking of #35. In January, 2006, the ITF issued a two-year ban on her after two positive drug tests for nandrolone. While Karatantcheva has claimed she was pregnant at the time of one of the tests, another laboratory carried out a pregnancy test on her urine sample, and it tested negative. Karatantcheva returned in 2008 but has been unable to break back into the big time.
Two former top 30 stars will play each other in a marquee first round match. Germany’s Sabine Lisicki, still only 21 years old, has been to the quarter-finals of Wimbledon in 2009 as she reached #22 in the rankings but an ankle injury last year means she is now down to #156 and will have to win 3 matches just to enter the main draw. Her opponent in round one is 22 year old Michaella Krajicek, once ranked as high as #30 and also a former Wimbledon quarter-finalist but now struggling at #143 after suffering wrist & knee injuries in 2008.
In that same section is 18 year old Kristyna Pliskova, the 2010 Wimbledon junior champion. Pliskova won her first ITF title in May 2010 in Kurume, beating her twin sister Karolina 5–7, 6–2, 6–0 in the final. She won’t have to worry about playing her sister again in qualifying as Karolina, also 18 and the 2010 Australian Open junior champion, is in another section of the draw. One major hurdle in Karolina’s path could be Germany’s Anna-Lena Groenefeld, a former top 15 player and quarterfinalist at the French Open in 2006 but now ranked in the 150’s after dealing with well-documented issues caused by her former coach Font de Mora and the ensuing weight gain.
One billion eyes will firmly be on Sania Mirza. The 24 year old Indian has a 7-6 record in the main draw at Melbourne and is coming back from a career-threatening wrist injury. The Indian, seeded 24th, won the Dubai ITF Challenger in December beating 3 top 100 players including world #40 Julia Georges and will be hoping to continue her good start to the new season.
Two former world #14’s will also battle it out in round one. Russian Elena Bovina has been a quarterfinalist at the US Open in 2002; reached the 4th round in Melbourne and Paris in 2003 and 2005 respectively; and has also scored wins over champions like Henin, Capriati, Davenport, Myskina, Petrova, and Venus Williams. But the 27 year old has struggled since suffering a right shoulder injury in 2005 and a right foot injury in 2007 and has been unable to capture her earlier form. Her opponent in round one is Greece’s Eleni Daniilidou, ranked in the 160’s now following a knee injury in 2008. Daniilidou has been as far as the 4th round in Melbourne (2003), Wimbledon (2002) and the US Open (2004).
The winner of that match could face another veteran – 35 year old Luxembourg native Anne Kremer. The former world #18 is currently ranked #198 and is also a member of the Democratic and Liberal Youth in Luxembourg. She ran for the Democratic Party in the 2009 election to the Chamber of Deputies of Luxembourg but finished 15th on the DP list and was thus not elected. Kremer has been to the second round of the tournament proper in Melbourne six times, the last being in 2008 and has moved back up nearly 400 places in 2010 rankings.
Several other talented juniors who are expected to be among the sports headliners are also in the draw. 17 year old Croatian Ajla Tomljanovic has moved nearly 800 places in the last 2 years to her current ranking of #168. 20 year old Dutch girl Arantxa Rus is a former world #1 junior and winner of the 2008 Australian Open junior title but stuck at #139 in the WTA rankings. And both will be hoping to make some nosie Down Under.
Sloane Stephens and Noppawan Lertcheewakarn are in the same section which means only one of them can possibly qualify for the main draw. Stephens, a 17 year old African American is ranked #201 (also up 800 spots in the last 24 months), has won the last 3 Grand Slam Girls doubles titles. She also qualified for Indian Wells in March 2010, where she defeated Lucie Hradecká in the first round and then lost a closely contested match against the defending champion Vera Zvonareva. Lertcheewakarn is 19 years old and amongst Asia’s brightest hopes, being a former world #1 junior and winner of the Wimbledon junior title in 2009. She also qualified for the WTA event in Auckland last week.
Urszula Radwanska, sister of current world #14 Agnieska, is also a former top-ranked junior and winner of the 2007 Wimbledon girls' singles title. Now at the age of 20, Radwanska is ranked #193, down from #62 in August 2009 after undergoing a spine surgery in early 2010. She returned to action in August and won an ITF title in October and reached another ITF final in November. In the same section is 18 year old Brit, Heather Watson. Currently ranked a career high #142, Watson is now the youngest member of the top 150 after reaching her first WTA quarterfinal in Auckland last week. The Brit has won one major title at the 2009 US Open Juniors. Her game is often likened to Martina Hingis and she has been praised by Nick Bollettieri for her "Amazing footwork.” According to Nigel Sears, head of women's coaching at the Lawn Tennis Association, Watson possesses "a complete game", with a massive amount of variety including the consistent use of a one-handed backhand slice, volleys and angles.
So there you have it. The action gets underway tomorrow in Melbourne. For 12 of the 96 women, this could be the start of something big. The rest will have to wait another year for their moment in the scorching Melbourne sun.
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Tuesday, January 11, 2011
STAR GAZING in the AUSSIE OPEN QUALIFYING DRAW - PART 1
For Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and other top tennis players, the Australian Open gets underway in Melbourne on Monday. Federer and Nadal will both be chasing history; the Swiss seeking to win a record 17th Slam to further pace himself ahead in the race to all-time greatness while Nadal will be bidding to become the first men's player since Rod Laver to hold all four Slams at the same time. Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray and Robin Soderling might have different things to say about that.
But for another 128 players, the Australian Open gets underway on Wednesday as the qualifying tournament begins. 128 players will seek to win 3 matches to grab one of 16 coveted spots into the main draw of the year's first Grand Slam. The qualifying draw of any Slam always presents an eclectic mix of players – young newcomers hoping to breakthrough at a major event and get noticed; former stars who have fallen from the top rung of world tennis battling back from injury or poor form; and local hopes riding on the wild cards of tournament organizers aiming to maximise the opportunity presented to them. All of them aiming to follow in the footsteps of John McEnroe who went from the qualifying draw at Wimbledon in 1977 straight into the semi-finals. As I scanned through this year's draw, here are some of the names that caught my attention and who I will be following closely over the next few days.
23 year old Slovenian Blaz Kavcic is the top seed in qualifying and would be hoping a pull-out by someone in the main draw will send him straight into next week's tournament proper. Kavcic, currently ranked #100 (highest rank #96) made his Grand Slam debut at Melbourne last year as a qualifier losing to Wayne Odesnik in round one and also reached the 2nd round in Paris, besides winning 3 challenger titles in Aug-Sept 2010. He is coming off a quarter-final appearance in the ATP 250 event in Chennai last week. But he has a few hurdles in his section of the draw. Kavcic takes on Australian youngster Benjamin Mitchell in round one. Mitchell is considered to be one of Australia's most encouraging prospects, having reached the final of the boys singles at Wimbledon 2010.
Seeded to meet Kavcic in the third round is 25th seed Ilija Bozoljac, currently ranked #152 (highest rank #101). The 6 ft 4 inch Serb is best remembered for his entertaining 2nd round match against Roger Federer at Wimbledon last year where he qualified and has also reached the 2nd round in Melbourne in 2007.
Seeded second is Simone Bolelli, the 25 year old Italian currently ranked #107. Bolelli has been ranked as high as #36 only two years ago and has been to the second round in Melbourne in 2008 and 2009. A famous name lurking in his section is 31 year old Chilean Nicolas Massu. The 2004 Olympics singles & doubles god medallist is now ranked a lowly 186, far away from his peak of #9 in 2004. Also in the same section is Brydan Klein, a controversial 21 year old Aussie – currently ranked #215. Klein reached the second round in Melbourne in 2009 and won 3 ITF Futures and reached 4 more finals in a row towards the end of 2010 – which saw his ranking move from 416 to around 200. The 2007 Australian Open boys' singles champion has been in the news for the wrong reasons; getting suspended for six months in 2009 for calling a South African opponent a "kaffir" and allegedly spitting at his coach and another player during a tournament in Eastbourne, England. Despite saying he was remorseful, the Perth baseliner stumbled into more trouble in New Zealand last month. In losing to German Sebastian Rieschick, Klein reportedly threw his racquet repeatedly, swore and had a running verbal battle with courtside photographers. These altercations cost Klein a chance to compete in the wild-card play off among Australians in December but his ranking is high enough to ensure him a spot in the qualifying draw.
A name to watch out for in the coming years is Grigor Dimitrov, nicknamed G-Force. The 19 year old Bulgarian, seeded 3rd in qualifying and ranked #108, has been labelled the next Federer since capturing the Wimbledon and US Open junior titles in 2008 and was earlier coached by Federer's former caoch Peter Lundgren. In between August and September 2010, Dimitrov won three straight Challenger titles and reached one more final. Dimitrov will have to contend with Austrian veteran Stefan Koubek, his projected third round opponent in qualifying. Koubek, seeded 19th and currently ranked #133, was ranked as high as #20 in 2000 and has been a quarter-finalist in Melbourne in 2002. Last year, he qualified and went on to reach the 3rd round.
25 year old Aussie Chris Guccione, one of 12 locals in the draw, is making his way back after seeing his ranking drop from #67 to the low 300's following an Achilees injury which saw him lose 10 matches in a row between August 2009 and July 2010. The 6ft 7inch Aussie had played 6 Australian Opens in a row from 2004 to 2009 reaching the second round in 2004 and 2009 but had to rely on a wild card to get into the qualifying event this year.
Swiss Marco Chiudinelli has not been able to replicate his remarkable 2009 season which saw him make the second-biggest ranking jump of any player in Top 100, climbing over 700 positions from 2008 and won him the Most Improved Player award in 2009. Chiudinelli,29, is currently ranked #115, down from a career-high #52 in February 2009 and is showing good form, having qualified in Doha last week before losing to good friend Federer 6-7, 5-7.
Austria's Andreas Haider-Maurer, seeded 7th and ranked #118, is coming off a strong end in 2010 – qualifying for his first Grand Slam in New York before losing to Robin Soderling in five tough sets and reaching the finals of the ATP event in Vienna in October losing to countryman Jurgen Melzer. In his section is 18th seed Nicholas Mahut. The Frenchman will forever be known for his 11 hour match against John Isner at Wimbledon last year. Currently ranked #132, Mahut has been as high as #40 in 2008 and is coming off a decent perofrmance at the Hopman Cup where he further endeared himself to the public thanks to this stunt http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PQ15RJYtfp0
Israeli Amir Weintraub is currently at a career high # 270 and you may want to follow him only for this http://www.menstennisforums.com/showthread.php?t=17495 Weintraub also won 4 ITF futures last year.
27 year old Luxembourg native Giles Muller is seeded #11 and is currently ranked #122. At his peak in 2005, Muller stunned Any Roddick in three tiebreaks in round one of the US Open in 2005 on his way to achieveing a peak ranking of #59 and also went on to reach the quater-finals at Flushing Meadows three years later. Muller is also showing good form having reached the finals of a Challenger last week in Australia and also made 4 finals in in the lower-rung events in 2010.
Big things were predicted for Frenchman Josselin Ouanna when he beat Marat Safin 10-8in the fifth set in the second round of the French Open in 2009. However, Ouanna has struggled to make the next step. His ranking of #154, down from #88 in 2009, is only good enough to earn him the #27 seed in the qualifying draw.
Big things were also predicted for Donald Young. In 2005, Young won the Australian Open junior title at age 15 and became youngest year-end World No. 1 in junior rankings at 16 years, 5 months and in 2007, he captured Wimbledon junior title. But Young has struggled to transition into the men's game and has been criticized for sticking to his parents as coaches. In 2008, he maanged to climb to #73 in the rankings, but he has not been able to hold on to his top 100 ranking. Currently ranked 129, the 21 year old Young will be hoping for a repeat of 2010 when he qualified for the year's first major and reached the second round before losing to Lleyton Hewitt. Someone he will need to watch for in his section is 28th seed Marc Gicquel. The Frenchman, ranked high as #37 in 2008, is now down to #155 and at 32, he is probably on his last legs but still capable of competing with the likes of Young.
And big things are also being predicted for 20 year old Candian Milos Raonic, by no one less than Nadal himself. The 26th seeded Raonic qualified for the ATP event in Tokyo in the fall and lost a close match to Nadal 64 64 in the second round, following which Nadal commented, "He can become a very good player. I don't know when, but he will be very close to the top positions.” Raonic is currently ranked a career-high #153 having jumped more than 800 places in the rankings in the last 24 months and in Kuala Lampur became the third different Canadian to reach the quarter-finals or better in an ATP World Tour tournament since 2000.
A good result in qualifying for any of the 128 players could be a launching pad into tennis' big events in 2011 and would also provide them a big paycheck. First round losers in Melbourne are guaranteed A$20,000 which would go a long way in ensuring their survival on the expensive grind that is the professional circuit for a few months atleast. As these guys hit the courts in Melbourne tomorrow. I'll be back with a look at the womens qualifying draw and some of the new names trying to establish themselves and big names trying to re-estbalish themselves in the world of tennis.
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But for another 128 players, the Australian Open gets underway on Wednesday as the qualifying tournament begins. 128 players will seek to win 3 matches to grab one of 16 coveted spots into the main draw of the year's first Grand Slam. The qualifying draw of any Slam always presents an eclectic mix of players – young newcomers hoping to breakthrough at a major event and get noticed; former stars who have fallen from the top rung of world tennis battling back from injury or poor form; and local hopes riding on the wild cards of tournament organizers aiming to maximise the opportunity presented to them. All of them aiming to follow in the footsteps of John McEnroe who went from the qualifying draw at Wimbledon in 1977 straight into the semi-finals. As I scanned through this year's draw, here are some of the names that caught my attention and who I will be following closely over the next few days.
23 year old Slovenian Blaz Kavcic is the top seed in qualifying and would be hoping a pull-out by someone in the main draw will send him straight into next week's tournament proper. Kavcic, currently ranked #100 (highest rank #96) made his Grand Slam debut at Melbourne last year as a qualifier losing to Wayne Odesnik in round one and also reached the 2nd round in Paris, besides winning 3 challenger titles in Aug-Sept 2010. He is coming off a quarter-final appearance in the ATP 250 event in Chennai last week. But he has a few hurdles in his section of the draw. Kavcic takes on Australian youngster Benjamin Mitchell in round one. Mitchell is considered to be one of Australia's most encouraging prospects, having reached the final of the boys singles at Wimbledon 2010.
Seeded to meet Kavcic in the third round is 25th seed Ilija Bozoljac, currently ranked #152 (highest rank #101). The 6 ft 4 inch Serb is best remembered for his entertaining 2nd round match against Roger Federer at Wimbledon last year where he qualified and has also reached the 2nd round in Melbourne in 2007.
Seeded second is Simone Bolelli, the 25 year old Italian currently ranked #107. Bolelli has been ranked as high as #36 only two years ago and has been to the second round in Melbourne in 2008 and 2009. A famous name lurking in his section is 31 year old Chilean Nicolas Massu. The 2004 Olympics singles & doubles god medallist is now ranked a lowly 186, far away from his peak of #9 in 2004. Also in the same section is Brydan Klein, a controversial 21 year old Aussie – currently ranked #215. Klein reached the second round in Melbourne in 2009 and won 3 ITF Futures and reached 4 more finals in a row towards the end of 2010 – which saw his ranking move from 416 to around 200. The 2007 Australian Open boys' singles champion has been in the news for the wrong reasons; getting suspended for six months in 2009 for calling a South African opponent a "kaffir" and allegedly spitting at his coach and another player during a tournament in Eastbourne, England. Despite saying he was remorseful, the Perth baseliner stumbled into more trouble in New Zealand last month. In losing to German Sebastian Rieschick, Klein reportedly threw his racquet repeatedly, swore and had a running verbal battle with courtside photographers. These altercations cost Klein a chance to compete in the wild-card play off among Australians in December but his ranking is high enough to ensure him a spot in the qualifying draw.
A name to watch out for in the coming years is Grigor Dimitrov, nicknamed G-Force. The 19 year old Bulgarian, seeded 3rd in qualifying and ranked #108, has been labelled the next Federer since capturing the Wimbledon and US Open junior titles in 2008 and was earlier coached by Federer's former caoch Peter Lundgren. In between August and September 2010, Dimitrov won three straight Challenger titles and reached one more final. Dimitrov will have to contend with Austrian veteran Stefan Koubek, his projected third round opponent in qualifying. Koubek, seeded 19th and currently ranked #133, was ranked as high as #20 in 2000 and has been a quarter-finalist in Melbourne in 2002. Last year, he qualified and went on to reach the 3rd round.
25 year old Aussie Chris Guccione, one of 12 locals in the draw, is making his way back after seeing his ranking drop from #67 to the low 300's following an Achilees injury which saw him lose 10 matches in a row between August 2009 and July 2010. The 6ft 7inch Aussie had played 6 Australian Opens in a row from 2004 to 2009 reaching the second round in 2004 and 2009 but had to rely on a wild card to get into the qualifying event this year.
Swiss Marco Chiudinelli has not been able to replicate his remarkable 2009 season which saw him make the second-biggest ranking jump of any player in Top 100, climbing over 700 positions from 2008 and won him the Most Improved Player award in 2009. Chiudinelli,29, is currently ranked #115, down from a career-high #52 in February 2009 and is showing good form, having qualified in Doha last week before losing to good friend Federer 6-7, 5-7.
Austria's Andreas Haider-Maurer, seeded 7th and ranked #118, is coming off a strong end in 2010 – qualifying for his first Grand Slam in New York before losing to Robin Soderling in five tough sets and reaching the finals of the ATP event in Vienna in October losing to countryman Jurgen Melzer. In his section is 18th seed Nicholas Mahut. The Frenchman will forever be known for his 11 hour match against John Isner at Wimbledon last year. Currently ranked #132, Mahut has been as high as #40 in 2008 and is coming off a decent perofrmance at the Hopman Cup where he further endeared himself to the public thanks to this stunt http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PQ15RJYtfp0
Israeli Amir Weintraub is currently at a career high # 270 and you may want to follow him only for this http://www.menstennisforums.com/showthread.php?t=17495 Weintraub also won 4 ITF futures last year.
27 year old Luxembourg native Giles Muller is seeded #11 and is currently ranked #122. At his peak in 2005, Muller stunned Any Roddick in three tiebreaks in round one of the US Open in 2005 on his way to achieveing a peak ranking of #59 and also went on to reach the quater-finals at Flushing Meadows three years later. Muller is also showing good form having reached the finals of a Challenger last week in Australia and also made 4 finals in in the lower-rung events in 2010.
Big things were predicted for Frenchman Josselin Ouanna when he beat Marat Safin 10-8in the fifth set in the second round of the French Open in 2009. However, Ouanna has struggled to make the next step. His ranking of #154, down from #88 in 2009, is only good enough to earn him the #27 seed in the qualifying draw.
Big things were also predicted for Donald Young. In 2005, Young won the Australian Open junior title at age 15 and became youngest year-end World No. 1 in junior rankings at 16 years, 5 months and in 2007, he captured Wimbledon junior title. But Young has struggled to transition into the men's game and has been criticized for sticking to his parents as coaches. In 2008, he maanged to climb to #73 in the rankings, but he has not been able to hold on to his top 100 ranking. Currently ranked 129, the 21 year old Young will be hoping for a repeat of 2010 when he qualified for the year's first major and reached the second round before losing to Lleyton Hewitt. Someone he will need to watch for in his section is 28th seed Marc Gicquel. The Frenchman, ranked high as #37 in 2008, is now down to #155 and at 32, he is probably on his last legs but still capable of competing with the likes of Young.
And big things are also being predicted for 20 year old Candian Milos Raonic, by no one less than Nadal himself. The 26th seeded Raonic qualified for the ATP event in Tokyo in the fall and lost a close match to Nadal 64 64 in the second round, following which Nadal commented, "He can become a very good player. I don't know when, but he will be very close to the top positions.” Raonic is currently ranked a career-high #153 having jumped more than 800 places in the rankings in the last 24 months and in Kuala Lampur became the third different Canadian to reach the quarter-finals or better in an ATP World Tour tournament since 2000.
A good result in qualifying for any of the 128 players could be a launching pad into tennis' big events in 2011 and would also provide them a big paycheck. First round losers in Melbourne are guaranteed A$20,000 which would go a long way in ensuring their survival on the expensive grind that is the professional circuit for a few months atleast. As these guys hit the courts in Melbourne tomorrow. I'll be back with a look at the womens qualifying draw and some of the new names trying to establish themselves and big names trying to re-estbalish themselves in the world of tennis.
For more of my articles, visit my Facebook page and click on LIKE to ensure you receive regular updates..
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Sunday, January 2, 2011
WILD CHOICE FOR WILD CARD
The wild card in tennis tournaments is a prerogative of the tournament
director and officials to ensure home players, young newcomers and
players coming back from injury or a break can directly enter the main
draw. And there is a lot of behind-the-scenes wheeling and dealing
that goes into the decisioning of the wild card awardees. Sports
managers, tournament sponsors and tournament directors all like to
have a say in the final selection – which often means that not all
deserving candidates make the final cut. Organizers of this year's
Chennai Open have awarded their three wild cards to world no. 21
Stanislas Wawrinka (more than deserving considering he is a big draw
for the fans and also reached the Chennai finals last year), 18 year
old local hope Yuki Bhambri (again deserving given that he is India's
brightest young talent by far in the men's game) and surprisingly
Rohan Bopanna.
Not many eyebrows have been raised at the decision to award Bopanna a
wild card given that he is a top doubles player (having reached the
final of the US Open men's doubles in August) and also won the
deciding fifth rubber in India's Davis Cup victory over Brazil,
upsetting then world no. 75 Ricardo Mello a few months ago in Chennai
itself. But scratching deeper might give one a different perspective.
Bopanna is currently the ninth highest ranked Indian on the ATP list
and excluding Davis Cup, he played a total of 7 singles events last
year, finishing with a 7-7 record on the tour, highlighted by
qualifying for the Halle grass court championships in June. Bopanna
started the 2010 ranked 83 in doubles and with the success that he has
had with Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi, he is going to find it even tougher
this year to concentrate on singles. Given that and his age (at 30,
his best days as a singles player are probably behind him), and you
probably think that the third wild card could have been given to a
more deserving candidate.
India's #2 ranked player on the ATP rankings is Karan Rastogi, at 24
six years younger than Bopanna, and ranked 332 in the ATP rankings,
nearly 300 places above Bopanna. Rastogi finished 2010 with a 41-21
record and had missed 18 months in 2008-09 after undergoing back
surgery. He went from unranked in October 2009 to his current ranking
of 332, winning 2 ITF futures besides reaching the finals of three
others – and ended the year reaching back to back finals in the ITF
Futures in Nigeria winning the last of them.
Another overlooked candidate is 23 year old Vishnu Vardhan, currently
ranked 386 in the ATP rankings. Vardhan finished the year with a 37-19
record, having reached 2 ITF Futures finals in 2010 and 3 more semi
finals including one at the Uzbekistan Challenger.
Both Rastogi and Vardhan are better singles prospects and a wild card
into the main draw could have given them the same boost that it gave
Somdev a couple of years ago. Somdev ranked # 202 in January 2009
made maximum advantage of his wild card as he marched on to the final
that year and is today India's top player at 108, having peaked at #95
a few months ago. Hence, the decision to give this opportunity to a
doubles specialist seems surprising to say the least. Rastogi and
Vardhan both had to go to the qualifying draw where Rastogi lost in
the first round while Vardhan was beaten in the second round today
(you need to win 3 matches to qualify the main draw). The two will now
continue to grind the lower rungs of the world tennis circuit while
Bopanna will move to the main ATP tour pit stops to focus on his quest
for Grand Slam doubles glory. The players have their priorities
right. Unfortunately for them, the tournament organizers do not.
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director and officials to ensure home players, young newcomers and
players coming back from injury or a break can directly enter the main
draw. And there is a lot of behind-the-scenes wheeling and dealing
that goes into the decisioning of the wild card awardees. Sports
managers, tournament sponsors and tournament directors all like to
have a say in the final selection – which often means that not all
deserving candidates make the final cut. Organizers of this year's
Chennai Open have awarded their three wild cards to world no. 21
Stanislas Wawrinka (more than deserving considering he is a big draw
for the fans and also reached the Chennai finals last year), 18 year
old local hope Yuki Bhambri (again deserving given that he is India's
brightest young talent by far in the men's game) and surprisingly
Rohan Bopanna.
Not many eyebrows have been raised at the decision to award Bopanna a
wild card given that he is a top doubles player (having reached the
final of the US Open men's doubles in August) and also won the
deciding fifth rubber in India's Davis Cup victory over Brazil,
upsetting then world no. 75 Ricardo Mello a few months ago in Chennai
itself. But scratching deeper might give one a different perspective.
Bopanna is currently the ninth highest ranked Indian on the ATP list
and excluding Davis Cup, he played a total of 7 singles events last
year, finishing with a 7-7 record on the tour, highlighted by
qualifying for the Halle grass court championships in June. Bopanna
started the 2010 ranked 83 in doubles and with the success that he has
had with Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi, he is going to find it even tougher
this year to concentrate on singles. Given that and his age (at 30,
his best days as a singles player are probably behind him), and you
probably think that the third wild card could have been given to a
more deserving candidate.
India's #2 ranked player on the ATP rankings is Karan Rastogi, at 24
six years younger than Bopanna, and ranked 332 in the ATP rankings,
nearly 300 places above Bopanna. Rastogi finished 2010 with a 41-21
record and had missed 18 months in 2008-09 after undergoing back
surgery. He went from unranked in October 2009 to his current ranking
of 332, winning 2 ITF futures besides reaching the finals of three
others – and ended the year reaching back to back finals in the ITF
Futures in Nigeria winning the last of them.
Another overlooked candidate is 23 year old Vishnu Vardhan, currently
ranked 386 in the ATP rankings. Vardhan finished the year with a 37-19
record, having reached 2 ITF Futures finals in 2010 and 3 more semi
finals including one at the Uzbekistan Challenger.
Both Rastogi and Vardhan are better singles prospects and a wild card
into the main draw could have given them the same boost that it gave
Somdev a couple of years ago. Somdev ranked # 202 in January 2009
made maximum advantage of his wild card as he marched on to the final
that year and is today India's top player at 108, having peaked at #95
a few months ago. Hence, the decision to give this opportunity to a
doubles specialist seems surprising to say the least. Rastogi and
Vardhan both had to go to the qualifying draw where Rastogi lost in
the first round while Vardhan was beaten in the second round today
(you need to win 3 matches to qualify the main draw). The two will now
continue to grind the lower rungs of the world tennis circuit while
Bopanna will move to the main ATP tour pit stops to focus on his quest
for Grand Slam doubles glory. The players have their priorities
right. Unfortunately for them, the tournament organizers do not.
For more of my articles, visit my Facebook page and LIKE it..
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