Quantcast
nodot nodot
Pro Tennis Showcase
October 27, 2009

Subscribe to Match Reports

Pro Tennis Showcase Archive

Player Profile Index (Men)
Player Profile Index (Women)

Contact Tennis Server

Tennis Server
HOME PAGE

Do You Want To Be A Better Tennis Player?

Then Sign Up For A Free Subscription to the Tennis Server INTERACTIVE
E-mail Newsletter!

Tom Veneziano You will join 13,000 other subscribers in receiving news of updates to the Tennis Server along with monthly tennis tips from tennis pro Tom Veneziano.
 
Best of all, it is free!

Tennis Features Icon TENNIS FEATURES:

TENNIS ANYONE? - USPTA Pro John Mills' quick player tip.
 
TENNIS WARRIOR - Tom Veneziano's Tennis Warrior archive.
 
TURBO TENNIS - Ron Waite turbocharges your tennis game with tennis tips, strategic considerations, training and practice regimens, and mental mindsets and exercises.
 
WILD CARDS - Each month a guest column by a new writer.
 
BETWEEN THE LINES - Ray Bowers takes an analytical and sometimes controversial look at the ATP/WTA professional tour.
 
PRO TENNIS SHOWCASE - Tennis match reports and photography from around the world.
 
TENNIS SET - Jani Macari Pallis, Ph.D. looks at tennis science, engineering and technology.
 
MORTAL TENNIS - Greg Moran's tennis archive on how regular humans can play better tennis.
 
HARDSCRABBLE SCRAMBLE - USPTA pro Mike Whittington's player tip archive.
 
TENNIS EQUIPMENT TIPS.

Tennis Community Icon TENNIS COMMUNITY:


Tennis Book, DVD, and Video Index
 
Tennis Server Match Reports
 
Editor's Letter
 
Become a Tennis Server Sponsor

Explore The Tennis Net Icon EXPLORE THE TENNIS NET:

Tennis News and Live Tennis Scores
 
Tennis Links on the Web
 
nodot
Pro Tennis Showcase Banner
 
Green Dot
 
Tennis Warehouse Logo
 
Green Dot

 
nodot
2009 WTA Sony Ericsson Championships
October 27, 2009
Editorial by Jane Voigt.


 

Jane Voigt Photo
Jane Voigt

Doha Day One
 
October 27, 2009 -- Although the men's side of professional tennis doesn't finish up for another four to six weeks, the women are poised to take a break after the WTA Sony Ericsson Championships come to a close on Sunday in Doha, Qatar. The men might play harder and faster, and draw capacity crowds. However, leave it to the women player representatives working in conjunction with the WTA to develop an effective road map -- plan for success -- that satisfies fans with dandy entertainment and satisfies players with income and down time. Happy faces all around, for the most part.
 
No doubt, these women are entitled to and have earned their well-deserved vacations, as do all major sports' figures. Most tennis players have labored diligently since December 2008, when they began to train for tournaments in Australia, for example, Auckland, Sydney, and Brisbane, which precede The Australian Open. From summer Down Under to stops spread worldwide, the women travel full time to compete for ranking points. After The U. S. Open has drained players' tanks and the air here turns distinctively fall, the eight women at the top of the ranking heap land in the emirate of Qatar, which resembles a tiny thumb extending off Saudi Arabia along the Persian Gulf. The Qatar Tennis Federation has hosted the year-ending championships for three years now. This year is its last chance to host the event. Next year... Istanbul, Turkey.
 
Seems almost mysterious and delightful to consider the combination of culture and sport along the road map of the WTA Tour. However, when all you know about a city is the hotel you're registered in and the practice schedule times, the magic dims. Yes, these women check out the cities. However, their job is winning tennis matches. The day-in and day-out demand burns physically and mentally. As economists say, there's no such thing as a free lunch. Work hard, play hard. Rest peacefully when you can.
 
Here are the eight women competing at the 2009 WTA Sony Ericsson Championships, in order of ranking: Dinara Safina, Serena Williams, Svetlana Kuznetsova, Caroline Wozniacki, Elena Dementieva, Victoria Azarenka, Venus Williams, and Jelena Jankovic. Two women are on standby, in case of injury or an unforeseen mishap forces one of the eight to retire from the tournament: Vera Zvonareva and Agnieszka Radwanska. The defending champion is Venus Williams.
 
Interestingly, this tournament will decide who is number one in the world. Will it be Safina? Or, will it be Serena? These women have been on each other's trail, and at each other's throats with catty comments, over the course of the year. Fittingly the top spot comes down to this tournament. One hundred fifty ranking points separate Safina and Williams. It's a small margin for such heavy hitters.
 
The women have been divided into The Maroon Group and The White Group, the colors representing those of Qatar. Players for each group were drawn at random, but a keen eye must see that the Maroon Group is laden with the stronger stars: Serena Williams, Venus Williams, Elena Dementieva, and Svetlana Kuznetsova.
 
In the White Group are Dinara Safina, Caroline Wozniacki, Jelena Jankovic, and Victoria Azarenka. These aren't 'weak' players, but let's face it Serena Williams is 45-12 for the year and has 11 major titles. Big sister Venus has 7 majors and is 36-13 for 2009 (not her best year). Kuznetsova has 2 major titles and is 42-14. Dementieva is 54-16 for the year with no Grand Slam titles, but is appearing in her ninth year-end competition -- more than any player here. Compare that to the White Group and the discussion pretty much comes to an abrupt halt.
 
However, no one really can predict an outcome of a tennis match let alone a tournament. Last year Venus Williams surprised the field with her victory, as did Vera Zvonareva with her runner-up finish. Serena Williams traditionally has not done well at the year-ending championships. However, several tennis pundits and the majority of tennis fans from around the world agree that she will dominate in Doha, walking away with the title, the number one's crown, and $1,550,000.
 
The first part of the week is a round-robin format, where each player meets each women of their group once. Match wins and losses, plus game scores are tallied along the way. The top two from the White and Maroon Groups then advance to the semifinals, where the number one from Maroon plays the number-two finisher from the White Group and vice versa for the corresponding first and second-place players. The finals are set for Sunday, November 1.
 
In today's first round-robin match Victoria Azarenka defeated Jelena Jankovic 62 63. The nineteen-year-old Azarenka blasted into 2009, but slowed as the season dragged on. She won three titles, the one from Miami the most coveted for the teen from Belarus. Jankovic qualified for Doha last week, which made the Serb happy but left her somewhat tired-looking on court today. Azarenka wasn't in the mood to play Jankovic's extended rally strategy, but hanged tough when JJ moved her opponent to every nook and cranny of the hard court. Azarenka might be the surprise of the week, if her stamina stays steady. She looked mighty winded a couple times today, which has undermined many a match for her this year.
 
Venus Williams was going to make it a short afternoon against Elena Dementieva and could have, had she converted one of two match points held in the second set. But the tables turned ever so slowly for the elder Williams as her footwork, timing and serve went off enough and opened the door for Dementieva to come from a set and a break behind to win 36 76 (6) 62. Dementieva is one of the fittest women on tour. When she closed the second in a tiebreak, smart minds visualized a 'W' by the Russian's name.
 
Serena Williams and Svetlana Kuznetsova battled. Their groundstrokes were forceful and carried a message. Williams wasn't going to let up. Neither was Kuznetsova. Serena wanted revenge for her loss to the Russian in the semifinals at The French Open. Svetlana wanted to drive home the fact the she won that major. In the end, Williams' will won out. Kuznetsova had the first set on her racquet in the tiebreak, but unforced errors foiled her attempt to take the lead -- always a better position when playing Serena. Again unforced errors hobbled Kuznetsova in the second set, and Williams serve filled in when absolutely necessary. She won 76 (6) 75.
 
Tomorrow from Doha, The White Group makes its move.
 

 

Green DotGreen DotGreen Dot

Player Profile Index (Men) | Pro Tennis Showcase Archive | Player Profile Index (Women)

SUBSCRIBE TO THE TENNIS SERVER PHOTO FEED

join our mailing list
* indicates required

All Tennis Server photography is copyrighted by the photographer and/or the Tennis Server, and all rights are reserved. You may not copy these images without permission. While you are welcome to create hyperlinks to Tennis Server web pages, you may not embed these images into other web pages or blogs without permission. To request permission, please use this contact form. Please be sure to clearly indicate exactly which photograph(s) you are requesting permission to use, as terms and conditions will vary depending on the photographer and the photograph.


 

nodot
nodot
Google
Web tennisserver.com
nodot nodot
The Tennis Server
Ticket Exchange

Your Source for tickets to professional tennis & golf events.
 
SAI Team Tennis Tournament Tickets
 
Dallas Open Tickets
 
Delray Beach Open Tickets
 
ATX Open Tickets
 
BNP Paribas Open Tickets
 
Miami Open Tickets
 
Credit One Charleston Open Tickets
 
US Men's Clay Court Championships Tickets
 
Wimbledon Tickets
 
Infosys Hall of Fame Open Tickets
 
Atlanta Open Tickets
 
Mubadala Citi Open Tennis Tournament Tickets
 
National Bank Open Women's Tennis Canada Tickets
 
National Bank Open Men's Tennis Canada Tickets
 
Western & Southern Open Tickets
 
Winston-Salem Open Tickets
 
US Open Tennis Championship Tickets
 

 

Popular Tennis books:
 
Winning Ugly: Mental Warfare in Tennis-Lessons from a Master by Brad Gilbert, Steve Jamison
 
The Best Tennis of Your Life: 50 Mental Strategies for Fearless Performance by Jeff Greenwald
 
The Inner Game of Tennis by W. Timothy Gallwey
 
Most Recent Articles:
 
October 2022 Tennis Anyone: Patterns in Doubles by John Mills.
 
September 2022 Tennis Anyone: Short Court by John Mills.
 

 

 

 

"Tennis Server" is a registered trademark and "Tennis Server INTERACTIVE" is a trademark of Tennis Server. All original material and graphics on the Tennis Server are copyrighted 1994 - by Tennis Server and its sponsors and contributors. Please do not reproduce without permission.

The Tennis Server receives a commission on all items sold through links to Amazon.com.

 

Tennis Server
Cliff Kurtzman
Editor-in-chief
791 Price Street #144
Pismo Beach, CA 93449
Phone: (281) 480-6300
Online Contact Form
How to support Tennis Server as a Sponsor/Advertiser
Tennis Server Privacy Policy