Archive for the ‘Female Players’ Category
Women’s Final
Women’s Final
Heavy strapping or no heavy strapping, Serena Williams demonstrated just why she is at the top of the rankings by beating Justine Henin in the final yesterday 6-4 3-6 6-2.
Henin was planning to take her first open title since her return from an 18 month long retirement, in a very similar vein to Kim Clijsters’ achievements at the US Open in 2009. She fell foul to the strength of Williams, after making a promising start. It soon became obvious that it was not only Serena’s strength which was going to get her the points, but her serve. The big serves came exactly when she needed them, getting her out of a couple of sticky break point situations. Henin struggled to capitalise on her opportunities and fell behind. Even when she was level at 4-4 in the first set, she could not get a firmer grip on the direction of the set, and Serena took it with some more frighteningly powerful serves.
In the second set, it appeared that Henin was back. This was the tennis that had got her - as a seedless, rank-less, returning player - to the finals. Henin played some superb back-to-back games, clawing her way back onto the scoreboard. On the other side of the court, Serena’s play became a bit heavy. Still, no-one doubted there was a battle on Henin’s hand to keep Williams under control. Henin played a beautiful hold game, and broke Serena to take the second set.
Everybody took a moment for a breather, players and audience alike. The decid more »
Henin to face Serena
I think it would be stating the obvious to point out the nice symmetry Henin’s path through the Australian Open has had with Clijsters’ epic return at the US Open. She finds herself in the final of the Australian Open, unseeded, and up against the world number no. 1 for the Open title. It promises to be a showdown.
Henin’s match against Zheng was short and not all too sweet from Zheng’s point of view. Zheng failed to get an upper hand on the Belgian, only managing one game in what was basically a demolition derby on the part of Henin. This confidence and power will be her greatest women about up and coming opponent, a player who didn’t exactly get the world no. 1 spot by playing nice.
Henin looked like she had never been away, and if Kim Clijsters hadn’t warmed us up to the possibility of such a miraculous turn, her advancement through the tournament would be even more astounding. It seems unlikely she will shy away from the challenge of ousting Williams to get to the title; in fact she seemed to be revelling in it.
Serena Williams had a bit of a trickier time with her semi-final opponent, Li Na. Na of China was hardly a pushover for the world no. 1, taking the score line to 7-6 7-6. Williams’ brutal strength appeared to be her ticket to a win, as well as some smart tennis that belied the heavy strapping on their thigh.
As for the tone of this promising final? Well, there is certainly an old rivalry between the two. They have played more »
Day One: It begins again
Women’s French Open Draw Wide Open
With all the talk over the past few weeks about Nadal’s drive to make it five, there has been very little said about the women’s side of the tournament.
And while there is no doubt that the men’s side is the more interesting of the two at the moment, the French Open is the major that the Williams sisters have the greatest trouble winning, and this along with there being no real standouts makes for a fascinating fortnight.
The Williams’ Record At Roland Garros Is Not Great
Between them Venus and Serena Williams have won a total of 17 Grand Slam singles titles…but just one of those was at the French Open in 2002 when the pair met in the final, with Serena claiming victory on the day.
This is obviously their least favourite major, and for the rest of the field this will be an encouraging thought.
The Rest Of The Field Is Vastly Inexperienced
Of the current top 15, there are just two women apart from the Williams sisters who have won a major - defending champion Ana Ivanovic and Russian Svetlana Kuznetsova. The only other major winners in the tournament are Amelie Mauresmo and Maria Sharapova.
Mauresmo’s form has been less than spectacular, and Sharapova might have been considered a chance if she had been able to make her comeback from injury a few months ago as opposed to a few weeks ago.
Ana Ivanovic has steadily dropped in the rankings ever since her French Open win more »
Double The Excitement
Corny title, I know, but the doubles tournament for this Australian Open has been an exciting one. Both the men’s and women’s finals were an interesting affair; the Bryan twins won their third Australian Open title, their final set a testimony to their talent as they won all of the last six games. With a style and flair so often associated with the Bryan brothers, the duo regained their position as world number one when they qualified for the final this year.
Doubles match are delightfully exhausting to watch, with a fast pace and the power of four players barely contained inside the court. The finals match was no exception. Mahesh Bhupathi and Mark Knowles (No. 3 pair) started out well against the Bryan brothers, their serve and accuracy helping them to steamroll the first set in 27 minutes. But the Bryan duo’s dynamic game soon emerged from the rocky start, and took the next two sets to finally triumph.
There was another siblings double pair who were on fire in the final round; Serena and Venus Williams won their eighth Grand Slam doubles title when they beat Daniela Hant more »
