By Tania Tchea
June 23rd 2008 @ 7:50am
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Adieu Paris, ‘Allo London
Pick those strawberries and churn that cream… It’s Wimbledon time. Grand Slam time for any tennis lover is a treat and with the French Open and Wimbledon being so close in calendar proximity, we are clearly spoilt.
If anything, the two weeks between clay and grass allow us to celebrate the title holders of Roland Garros whilst speculating about the next Wimbledon champions. Now that we’ve bid adieu to Paris, it is time to say ‘allo to London.
With Justine Henin out of the picture and mixed results from some of the top players of late, the women’s draw may welcome a new victor this year.
The two Serbian women of Ana Ivanovic and Jelena Jankovic have done for Serbia what Henin and Clijsters did for Belgium. Both have similar styles of game, centred on fitness, footwork and force.
Ana (coming off her French Open win) must aim to keep her unforced error count low; Jelena needs to serve more consistently. In saying this, each has achieved excellent results over the past year at a Grand Slam level and you can expect more of the same here.
The uncustomary exits of the Williams sisters in France (particularly for Serena) will do little to curb their enthusiasm given their liking to grass.
It would be foolish of us to discount these two power hitters. They share 6 Venus Rosewater Dishes and not surprisingly, will arrive in London at short odds to win. Whilst Venus returns as the defending champion, her flimsy second serve and current form may impede a smooth run into the second week. Nonetheless, her past record at the Tournament makes it difficult for us to go past the older Williams sister on her favourite surface and arguably, at her favourite event.
Having lost her number one ranking to Ivanovic, Sharapova will likely seek redemption from being knocked off the mantle. Maria will be a solid contender as long as she doesn’t succumb to the yips – particularly in reducing the number of double faults and unforced errors.
Her performance at the French was not pretty and luckily for her, the loss to Safina has allowed preparations for the grass court season to begin early. Expect Maria to be sharp come June 23.
The Russian brigade is ever prominent now. Led by Sharapova and Kuznetsova, other women such as Chakvetadze, Petrova and Dementieva will be keen to impress. Speaking of Russians, the dark horse of the women’s draw is Dinara Safina. Her finals look at the French Open will certainly give her a confidence boost, as she strives to better her mental toughness in closing out matches.
This is questionably the defining attribute that separates the champions from everyone else and Marat’s little sister has struggled to do this in the past. Positively, the come-from-behind triumphs over Sharapova and Dementieva on clay are experiences she can draw from. Wimbledon is not her favoured event however who knows what this talented Muscovite can achieve post-Roland Garros.
The aforementioned women are your obvious choices for the title but do expect competition to be fierce. Past champion and the much-adored Lindsay Davenport is to return from her stint on the sideline and the likes of Amelie Mauresmo and Svetlana Kuznetsova are sure to be a threat, regardless in which part of the draw they get placed. Meanwhile, the name Krajicek is synonymous with The Championships – we are talking Michaella and not Richard.
Despite a terrible first half to ’08 (with her singles record being 0-10), she will be eager to prove that her ‘surprise packet’ status (for reaching the quarter finals in 2007) was not a fluke.
Additionally, look out for the much-improved Aussie Casey Dellacqua, Estonian Kaia Kanepi, last year’s Wimbledon finalist Marion Bartoli and serial pest (in a tennis sense) Patty Schnyder.
Wimbledon commences on June 23.
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James said | June 23rd 2008 @ 2:33pm | Report comment
Awesome article Tania!
I reckon that Serena is gonna be hard to beat despite not playin a tournament before Wimbledon.
christina said | June 23rd 2008 @ 2:50pm | Report comment
Hi Tania! I see your a new writer for the roar, welcome to the team! your witty banter and observations made this article well worth the read-cant wait for wimbledon and holding out for your next article!
Michelle Fatima said | June 23rd 2008 @ 3:00pm | Report comment
I AGREE!
Womens tennis is a highly under-rated sports and often gets in the headlines for all the wrong reasons such as fashion dos and dont’s.
It is really refreshing to see a journalist interested and above all passionate about women in Tennis. Although the quality is not always the greatest, we have to show our support to all the aussies out there. After all, they’re the ones who are carrying the flag for us… what ever happened to that kid Lleyton Mr C’mon???
Lynn said | June 23rd 2008 @ 3:22pm | Report comment
I’m really looking forward to Wimbledon – Thanks for the rundown Tania!
Reckon we’ll all be having some late nights for the next two weeks!!!
Emily said | June 23rd 2008 @ 3:44pm | Report comment
Excellent article! Keep ‘em coming!
Daniel said | June 23rd 2008 @ 3:54pm | Report comment
Great article. Looking forward to Wimbledon. The depth is certainly there in the womens draw. Many great potential match ups.
I agree, the Williams sisters can never be counted out, especially Venus the defending champion.
Casey should do us proud flying the flag for the aussies.
Daniel
Mickles said | June 23rd 2008 @ 4:05pm | Report comment
Tania, your article is ACE and I had a BALL reading it. Couldn’t agree more – the Serbs will be a SMASH HIT!
hehe. Seriously enjoyed reading your stuff, I’ll be subscribing immediately.
Love to read more.
Theary said | June 23rd 2008 @ 4:40pm | Report comment
Very interesting article Tania … go the Aussies!
Harry said | June 23rd 2008 @ 4:47pm | Report comment
As this well written article shows, the womens will be very interesting.
Go Rafa for the mens!
Senthan Bala said | June 23rd 2008 @ 4:51pm | Report comment
Hi Tania
I think women’s tennis over the years has really come of age. We’ve seen some excellent players like Hingas, WIlliams Sisters, Davenport, Henin, Clijsters and Sharapova. Ana and Jelena are the next instalment of stats to hit the courts and its very exciting to see woman’s tennis have such a berth of players it has fostered over the years.
But just to touch on Michelle’s comment that women’s tennis has been under rated; the reason why i think the sport hasn’t been as compelling as the men’s tournament is that the games in grand slams are two sets rather than three. I guess this is a debate that has raged for many years but, the sheer endurance, stamina and passion you get from three sets in the grand slams, just does not compare to 2.
Having said that, I cannot wait for Wimbledon.
Sanrio said | June 24th 2008 @ 8:58am | Report comment
Its great to see your enthusiasm in the heart of the game and not just for the glamour of women’s tennis. Your article brought back memories to the 1996 Wimbledon finals i.e. Krajicek and Washington (my fave player). Cant wait to see what Michaella brings to the courts following her brother! Great article.
Vasily said | June 24th 2008 @ 6:07pm | Report comment
Wow.
Very Impressive article.
Shoemin said | June 24th 2008 @ 8:39pm | Report comment
Fantastic write-up Tania! Enjoyed the opening lines and seeing such passion and enthusiasm for the sport. I’m looking forward to reading more of your articles.
Frankii said | June 24th 2008 @ 10:23pm | Report comment
Good article
Stefanie said | June 26th 2008 @ 7:18pm | Report comment
Fantastic article Tania!
Very informative and interesting at the same time!
Will be going for Ana!
Josh said | June 26th 2008 @ 10:43pm | Report comment
Yeah I tend to agree. The womens game has been something I used to steer clear of, but lately its really become much more interesting. Great points about Dinara Safina.
CX said | June 28th 2008 @ 10:20am | Report comment
Well written article! Very charismatic.
Spiro Zavos said | June 28th 2008 @ 5:45pm | Report comment
There’s something reassuring about tennis on grass, with players in whites. It’s as the game should be. The players, men and women, seem to respond as well to the courtliness and class of the officials and the surroundings. Wimbledon is the tennis equivalent of The Masters. I notice that it is being marketed as The Professionals, a sort of reference I would guess to The Masters. This is the tennis tournament that is the best fun to watch. And the Hewitt – Federer match is a beauty to take the tournament into its second week.
Bayden Hammond said | June 29th 2008 @ 5:17pm | Report comment
Nice work Tania! I’ve always loved your sharp, witty writing – great to see it up here!!
S-J Johnson said | June 30th 2008 @ 9:48pm | Report comment
Very nicely written snapshot – love your work!