Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Another view on the Serena/Jelena debate
For those who read my column last week about Jelena Jankovic being so close of reaching the world #1 ranking without actually winning a grand slam event, there was an interesting interview done for FoxSports with Justine Henin's former coach, Carlos Rodriguez."I have a lot of respect for the other players, but outside of the Willamses and Sharapova, the rest are still really poor," Extreme view? Maybe a little. But I do not disagree really. It's a little tough on Ana Ivanovic who won the French Open, but then again defending her is also tough these days as she's been playing terrible tennis for about 4 months now. "I think Ana can do big things, but she needs more maturity," Rodriguez said. "It's very difficult for a player to learn what to do when she's in trouble. Ivanovic is not able to have a Plan B or C to solve the situations, and she loses complete control. The coach can help with this, but in the end, it's up to the player to find for herself what possibilities will work. The coach can only help you to a certain point."
And then, Carlos was spot on about both Maria Sharapova ("She showed that she's able to dominate, but it's not a question of once in a while, it's a question of regularity and the only way she can do it is to concentrate 100 percent on her tennis," Rodriguez said. "If Maria doesn't do that, she's never going to find the consistency throughout the year. In tennis, to be a champion, you have to choose to do everything you have to succeed in your sport. I think today Maria is unable to do so.") and Serena Williams ("Serena has the quality, and everything she needs mentally and physically to do it she has," Rodriguez said. "But is she going take care of herself and prepare to go into action? If she does that, I think Serena has another two or three great years left.").
Is it just me or is this assessment spot on? I mean, I think it's a great analysis of what's wrong with women's tennis right now. Obviously, if players that are still of age of playing like Clijsters, Henin, Capriati, Hingis, Pierce, etc would still be on tour, this would be a very different situation....
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
Serena or Jelena...who deserves it?
An interesting race is being played out on the WTA tour as the two top players battling for the world #1 are both seen by many as being undeserving of the world #1 ranking.
On one side, lies the current #1 Serena Williams, who has played 11 events so far this year, and although she has withdrawn so many times with health issues, she has been rock solid in a few events such as the US Open that she won about one month ago. But many regard Serena's on and off playing as not being a good enough effort to deserve the world #1 ranking.
On the other hand, Jelena Jankovic, the world #2 that has played 17 events (a significant difference) and is closing in on the top ranking (she probably will have a shot in a couple of weeks or even earlier), but her critics mainly talk about her inability to perform in the grand slams. While reaching the final in the US Open certainly gave her a lot of help in that regard, it is always regarded by many fans as a bit strange when a player reaches the #1 ranking without winning a grand slam title.
In my opinion, the way the rankings currently works is fine as they give very different ways to reach the top spot, and with all players knowing the system, they can adapt their games and calendars depending on their priorities (slams vs #1 ranking)....
Monday, September 15, 2008
Ana looking to strike back
Ana Ivanovic is looking to get back where she was only a few months ago? Remember when in June, Ana won her first ever grand slam title in Paris and became the first ever Serbian to be ranked #1 in the world? Seems so long ago now doesn't it?
Following that, Ana had a surprise early exit against Jie Zheng in Wimbledon and then suffered losses to world #94 Tamira Paszek in Montreal and world #188 Julie Coin at the US Open, hardly what we would expect of a world #1. And indeed, she did lose her #1 ranking..!
Ana suffered from injuries without any doubt, probably a bit too much pressure on herself as well. And it certainly was tough for her to see it slip away so quickly.
“I really struggled to accept it because that was my dream for a long time and just as I achieved it this thing happened. I have been number one so I believe I can be there again."
“Being number one is a great reward but if you asked me at this moment what I would rather do, it’s win another grand slam before I become number one again.”
But Ana is now back as she is the #2 seed in the upcoming Toray Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo, see the main draw here.
Thursday, September 11, 2008
What we're working on!
Well, I'm back from New York, had a terrific US Open and have LOTS to work on for the next few months! Here are a few of the thing we will be working on:
-Set up the new design
-Move to a completely (or almost) database driven website which will give flixibility and speed in updates!
-Work on subsections such as BuyTennisPhotos.com, Tickets section, etc.
-Get a lot more activity on the message board
-Get this blog to be as active as possible and hopefully start to recruit new bloggers
-Etc, etc, etc
Please feel free to send us suggestions, etc!!
Wednesday, September 03, 2008
US Open Day #5-6
