30 posts categorized "October 2011"
 by Pete Bodo
It's hard to imagine that certain records will ever be broken. There's Pete Sampras's six consecutive years as the year-end No. 1, a record at which every player from now on will only have one reasonable shot at surpassing. How about Roger Federer's 237 consecutive weeks at No. 1, starting in February of 2004? And it's hard to conceive of a woman duplicating Martina Navratilova's dominance at Wimbledon: she won the title nine times, but just as impressive she was in the final 12 times, including nine times in a row.
You can add Caroline Wozniacki's accomplishment to that list, now that she's guaranteed to finish No. 1 no matter what happens this final week in Bali, at the Tournament of Also Ra—er, Tournament of Champions. It's hard to imagine any woman capturing the No. 1 ranking two years in a row without having won a single Grand Slam event.
It took unusual if not inexplicable or Act-of-God circumstances to make that possible, chief among them an astonishing combination of week-in/week-out consistency by Wozniacki and a concomitant inability to deliver the goods at the most propitious—and appropriate—of times. That is, at the biggest and best of events, first and foremost the four Grand Slams.
And it isn't as if Wozniacki accomplished her record this with smoke and mirrors. Part of the credit, or blame, for her status goes to her rivals—Serena Williams, for being unable to compete for long periods (usually due to injury); Maria Sharapova, for her inability to overcome the after-effects of a shoulder injury; Li Na, for sputtering out at all but the major events; Kim Clijsters, for failing to play frequently enough, and also suffering injuries. . . You can go on with the list, but you get the drift.
Wozniacki managed to retain the No. 1 ranking because she was extremely reliable in typical tour events. She won six titles in 2010 and 2011, and won one more match this year than last (she was 63-17 for 2011) with the same number of losses. Yet her major rivals closed the gap between No. 1 and the rest of the field significantly.
Petra Kvitova, now No. 2, trails Wozniacki by a mere 115 ranking points (that's the equivalent of a round-of 16 finish at a Premier 5 event), despite playing three fewer tournaments. And it's that close because the 21-year-old Czech won two of the five biggest events on the calendar: Wimbledon, and the just-concluded WTA Championships in Istanbul—the grand finale featuring the eight best players. Kvitova didn't run out of steam, and she didn't run out of luck. What she seemed to have run out of was time.
Where was Wozniacki at the finish line in Istanbul? Sidelined before the round-robin stage was completed, mostly because she was crushed by Kvitova in her first match, 4 and 2, and outlasted in three sets by the other semifinalist to emerge from her group, Vera Zvonareva.
In the majors, Wozniacki fared much better, but she was still an unconvincing No. 1. She was a semifinalist twice, taking losses to Li Na (Australian Open) and Serena Williams (U.S. Open)—and note that neither of those women went on to win those events. Granted, Wozniacki was the victim of bad luck at the French Open, where mercurial Daniela Hantuchova caught fire and blasted her off the court (much like Hantuchova might have destroyed anyone else on the day), 6-1, 6-3. The biggest, most painful loss—and blown opportunity—for Wozniacki was the round-of-16 defeat in Wimbledon at the hands of Dominika Cibulkova. The winner was no veteran, having a career day, a la Hantuchova, nor a dangerous talent on the cusp of a career year, a la Li. It was a close, three-set match in which Wozniacki failed to step up.
As if she doesn't have enough to think when contemplating the upcoming year, Wozniacki also has Victoria Azarenka breathing down her neck. Azarenka is almost exactly a year older than Kvitova and Wozniacki, who are both 21. Azarenka finished just 965 points behind Wozniacki; that's the equivalent of a title at a Premier Mandatory event—or just 35 ticks shy of Grand Slam semifinal points. Azarenka played 21 events, one fewer than Wozniacki and two more than Kvitova. In the Top 10, only one player played more tournaments than Wozniacki and Zvonareva; that was Marion Bartoli, who logged a staggering 28 events (I think Bali might boost her to 29). Wouldn't you love to have her frequent flyer miles?
So it's pretty clear that the posse is catching up with Wozniacki, although she still leads Kvitova 3-2 in head-to-head meetings and has a comparable 4-2 lead on Azarenka. But. . . Kvitova is just 21, and while just one of their confrontations happened this year—at the WTA Championships—she won on the two biggest occasions—the other one was Wimbledon, in 2010.
It's also clear that while everyone will start fresh in Australia in about two months time, Wozniacki and her rivals are in dramatically different shoes. Wozniacki will be looking to create momentum, while Kvitova and Azarenka will be attempting to build on the momentum accrued at the end of this year. Wozniacki did not just finish in disappointing fashion; she was downright lousy, given her ranking and what steam she seemed to gather when she recovered from a summer swoon to win New Haven and make the semis at the U.S. Open. After that last major, Wozniacki was a tepid 5-4 for the rest of the year. The defeats leading up to the WTA Championships can't be termed quality losses, either. She lost to No. 43 Kaia Kanepi in Tokyo, and in Beijing it was to No. 26 Flavia Pennetta.
So it looks like the main story line in the WTA as 2012 gets underway will be the hunt for the No. 1 ranking. Whatever else happens, we know that Wozniacki, while admirably consistent, failed to truly consolidate the year-end No. 1 ranking she gathered up in 2010. Had Wozniacki won a major, or two of the five main events (as did Kvitova), she would have laid to rest all those futile but understandable speculations about the degree to which the ranking reflected the reality. But it's good to keep in mind that Wozniacki can't be held accountable for the other women failing to strip her of that ranking.
The prospects for Wozniacki will be daunting: She will have more than three times the number of ranking points to defend than either Kvitova or Azarenka in the first three-plus months of next year. And chances of Wozniacki coming up with a magic bullet—or anything as lethal as a regular bullet—are slim. When you consider the growing conviction that she needs to play with more purposeful aggression, that she might benefit from flattening out her forehand in order to make it more of a tool with which to dictate, that she hasn't really found the coach who can take her game and attitude to that elusive next level. . . when you take all that into account, it becomes clear that she will have her work cut out.
No matter what happens, though, nobody can take her record away, and it's unlikely that we'll see any woman duplicate it any time soon. Which may be a good thing.
Mornin'. Like many others in the northeastern U.S., I'm gazing out this morning at meadows and mountain ridges covered in eight inches of. . . snow. The nor'easter went through yesterday as predicted. It was a bracing, exciting experience - the way Big Weather always is, until you realize you actually might freeze (drown, get blown off a cliff, have a massive oak fall on your head, etc. . . .). This is still October, but I was able to take cowboy Luke snowspeeding behind the ATV already.
But I know that's not what you're interested in right now. Soon Petra Kvitova and Victoria Azarenka will square off for the WTA Championships title - the winning of which is always a good omen. Just check how the first-time winners of the championships (which is what either young lady playing today will be) did the year after they triumphed.
I'm liking Kvitova's chances. While I think Azarenka could hit her way to a Grand Slam title (or two, or three), her game really is one-dimensional, and a really first-rate player can really get grooved against her. Is there a player out here whose game cries out for greater. . .variety? But then, those lapses of Kvitova's are troubling. You take your foot off the neck of a really good player after having planted it there and you're really asking for trouble. That begs the question; are the main contenders this week in Istanbul really blue-chip players, or just very good ones exploiting the atypial WTA vacuum at the top?
Whatever happens today, this WTA Championships leaves me feeling Istanbullish. It has been an enormous success and a great advertisement for women's tennis - at least as far as fan interest and ambiance goes. The Turkish fans are, from what I saw in the semis yesterday, an astute, agreeable audience. I look forward to reading Doug Robson's thoughts on all this later on the home page. Watching the matches, you would have thought this was one of the small handful of really well-established WTA events (a la Brisbane, Indian Wells, Miami, Rome, etc.)
Anyway, enjoy the final. I'll be back tomorrow.
-- Pete
by Jackie Roe, TW Social Director
Hi gang. Tonight’s Deuce Club will be short and sweet since I’ll be glued to the tube tonight (see #2 below). Here’s a list of possible discussion topics to get things moving; feel free to comment on any or all of them or to go in a different OT direction entirely.
Consider the following:
- WTA YEC: Who do you predict will win the whole shebang? Have any fashion observations you’d like to share (of either the ladies’ kits *or* their, erm, questionable draw ceremony threads)? Forgive me if you’ve already been through this in a previous post—I haven’t been able to check in in ages.
- World Series Game 7: What a riveting series. Ordinarily, you’d be hard pressed to ever find me supporting the Rangers or the Cards (especially the Cards—Cubs fan here, ‘member?), but I’ve been transfixed since the first game and now feel deeply invested in the outcome. Last night’s epic Game 6 had me yelling, clapping, gasping as if it were a Federer final. We can only hope that tonight’s game reaches comparable dramatic heights . . . and may the best team win! If you plan on watching, who are you rooting for? (I must also add that this postseason has reinforced my love for baseball and my belief that it’s the greatest sport on earth. Agree/disagree?)
- Halloween: Are you dressing up? I’m not big on the holiday, but I had a random hankering to find a ridiculous (read: not your typical “trampy [fill in the blank]”) costume this year. Snoopy was my first pick. Too late to get something together now, but it’s the thought that counts . . . ?
Enjoy, and have a great weekend, TWibe!
 by Pete Bodo
It tells you something when one of the main stories emanating from Istanbul at the start of the WTA Championships was about "grunting," although we're long past the stage where that word adequately describes the assortment of shrieks, cries, and barnyard-worthy noises produced by the the lungs of today's WTA stars—and their underlings.
After the first day of play in Istanbul, world No. 1 Caroline Wozniacki told reporters (without naming names): "I think there are some players who do it (grunt) on purpose. They don't do it in practice and then they come into the match and they grunt. I think they [officials] could definitely cut it. If you grunt really loudly your opponent cannot hear how you hit the ball. Because the grunt is so loud, you think the ball is coming fast and suddenly the ball just goes slowly. In tight moments, maybe the grunt helps them with getting less nervous."
First off, let's get our terminology right: there are two-schools of vocalization in the WTA, the grunters (a la Francesca Schiavone) and the shriekers (a la Victoria Azarenka, who copied her shriek from Maria Sharapova—and don't let her tell you any different). I don't think the well-known players in either camp do it "on purpose" to throw off an opponent, although I can see where a struggling journeywoman might attempt something like that. But it's still off-putting, and I'll bet dollars to donuts that many more quiet players (a la Sam Stosur, or Li Na) find the vocalizations irritating and borderline unsporting than we know.
It's hard to tell, though, because the WTA players are very careful about criticizing their peers, lest they be perceived as snitches—or find themselves on the wrong side of some powerful stars. Did you see where it took Stosur all of two months to take a position on the Serena Williams outburst that marred the U.S. Open final? Stosur recently told Britain's The Guardian newspaper that she found it very hard to "stay cool" when the other people sharing the center court (Williams and her antagonist, chair umpire Eva Asderaki) were involved in such a "tense exchange." Stosur had avoided taking a position on Williams's freak-out, but she now says of the situation: "It definitely wasn't nice."
Maybe in another three or four years she'll admit that she hates having to listen to Sharapova''s orgasmic ululations?
The WTA is hiding under the desk on this issue, but it's one that just keeps growing—and growing. Apprised of Wozniacki's comments (and she wasn't by any means the first to express such sentiments), WTA CEO Stacey Allaster lamely—and defensively—retorted, "The guys are grunting as well, it's not unique to women's tennis."
Memo to Ms. Allaster: Not a single fan (to the best of my knowledge) has complained about grunting in the men's game; nor have any of the more voluble grunters' peers. Could it be because the fans recognize the difference between a grunt that is the natural outcome of effort, with a modest timing component as well (which is how it all starts for everyone), and the use of sound as a weapon with which to mark the court as your own territory (in other words, to intimidate), convey an inflated sense of your physical power and determination and maybe, just maybe, make life a little more difficult for your opponent in the ways Wozniacki suggested?
Memo No. 2 to Ms. Allaster: A tremendous number of fans think the grunting on the WTA is a hideous practice that actually ruins the spectating experience. Then there are the legions of potential tennis fans who, while channel surfing, are so put off by the sounds of the women that they can't take tennis seriously.
As Samantha Stosur's coach David Taylor told The Age the other day: "I hate it (grunting). You can't believe how many members of the general public come up to me and say 'It is great that Sam won [the U.S. Open] because she does not scream.'"
Upon reading this, Ms. Allaster probably would accuse me of being unenlightened—a regular old-fashioned sexist. But that's too convenient a defense, and I'm happy to let the evidence and testimony of players and fans (of either sex) speak for themselves. Bottom line: A significant—and growing—number of fans and players find the sounds of the WTA irritating at best, truly off-putting at worst.
I'm not very encouraged by the way Allaster (who admits to an increase in complaints) tackles this issue, which is one that won't go away. She said, "It needs to [start] with the junior players. . .It just comes down to education. They have to determine how they want their brand to be."
Okay, the habits players adopt do start at an early age, and I wouldn't underestimate how obsessively the shriekers, moaners and grunters would cling to their leather-lunger rights. Shut Azarenka up, and if her ranking drops I guarantee you'll see a huge lawsuit. The big stars can't be shamed into doing the right thing; the emperor's new clothes and all that. The only way we'll see change is if the rank-and-file non-grunters get together (this off-season would be a good time) to let the WTA know that they're not going to take it anymore. Warn the shriekers and grunters that they have to tone it down or be disciplined under the same hindrance rule that laid Serena low.
But education? Sheesh. How much "education" does it take to convince a kid that out-of-control screaming is not cool?
And lastly, what's this nonsense about the players determining "how they want their brand to be"?
Last memo to Ms. Allaster: You are the CEO of the WTA Tour. I humbly suggest that this means the WTA would like you to figure out how the brand ought to be, to take the point in controversial issues. And I can't imagine anyone in his or her right mind wants the brand to be. . . "Banshee."
 by Pete Bodo
It looks like the WTA has hit a home run with its decision to play its prestigious year-end championships in Istanbul, Turkey. Tournament organizers have already told TENNIS.com correspondent Doug Robson that the final four days are a sellout. So it will be interesting to see what kind of spin the WTA will put on the extravaganza once the dust settles.
Will the WTA emphasize the great depth of the women's tour, what with streaking Agniezska Radwanska and first-time Grand Slam champs Petra Kvitova (a painfully shy 21-year-old) and veteran Sam Stosur all still in with a chance as of the final day of round-robin play? Perhaps the outfit will stress the star power of emerging young players like still-Slamless-but-already-famous Caroline Wozniacki and Victoria Azarenka. The WTA might even suggest that the success of Istanbul shows that the women's tennis can stand on its own two legs, no longer a quadra-ped depending on the Williams sisters, Kim Clijsters and Maria Sharapova.
The real roots of the WTA's success in Istanbul are less obvious and only tangentially related to the state of women's tennis. To take the WTA Championships as a measure of the health of women's tennis, or international interest in the WTA game, would be a serious mistake. That's because the organizers in Turkey have gone out of their way to accomodate the WTA, and to ensure that its season-ending finale is a big hit. The reason? Turkey wants to host the Olympic Games of 2020. In order to be taken seriously by the International Olympic Committee, Turkey must demonstrate (among other things) that it can successfully stage large-scale international events.
The recently built, cavernous, multi-use Sinan Erdem arena (capacity: roughly 23,000, but downsized by half to enhance the tennis viewing experience) where the championships are underway has already successfully hosted the FIBA international basketball championships. If this tennis event also comes off without a glitch and gets adequate international attention, it will enhance Turkey's hopes to host the Olympics (for more on that, see my column over at ESPN). In a sense, the WTA championships bring to mind that still controversial term, "too big to fail." You can bet that Turkey (for the state is always heavily involved in the Olympic effort, except in nations so advanced and wealthy that individual cities can compete successfully) is going to do everything in its power to make the championships a huge hit.
In his piece the other day, Robson reported that about 8,000 fans were present at Tuesday's 5 PM opening match of the event. Does anyone really believe that the takeaway is that Turkey is choc-a-bloc with tennis-starved fans, dying to pay professional-grade ticket prices to attend the first match of a big tournament? I know that Marsel Ilhan, Turkey's first top 100 ATP player, has made tennis a sport of interest in Turkey, and is right up there among the half-dozen most recognizable athletes in Turkey (or that's what Ilhan and his coach, Can Uner, told me when we visited at the U.S. Open). But it's a long way from there to pack a huge stadium with fans paying what might be called competitive prices.
But don't get me wrong. There's nothing really "wrong" with any of this. Turkish officials poured a reported $42 milllon into the WTA coffers to make this championships happen, and in the end the sport of tennis wins (at least in the short term), Turkish tennis fans win, the WTA wins, and Turkey's Olympic committee wins. It's all business, and business done well, it appears.
However, the success of the WTA in Istanbul proves nothing about the allure of the WTA game because the common benchmarks (paid attendance, sponsor contributions, and television revenues) are all skewed, compromised by the motives and methods of the host. The only thing a successful Championships will prove is that the organization has a vehicle (the Championships) that can be a very useful tool on the international playing field of public relations (just ask Doha, where the Championships were held in the three previous years).
It beats a poke in the eye with a sharp stick, but the WTA would be unwise to draw any larger and more tennis-specific conclusions than that about it's Turkish success.
by Bobby Chintapalli, Contributing Writer
It’s Day 4 in Istanbul, where the stands are full, the temps are pleasant, two qualifiers are out of the event (Caroline Wozniacki was eliminated, Maria Sharapova withdrew) and two others are in the semifinals (Petra Kvitova and Victoria Azarenka). Today’s action will determine the other two semifinalists based on a brain-hurting assortment of rules and numbers and wins and losses. Here’s a list of matches and, once again, a few numbers on and words from those playing them.
Matches
1) WHITE GROUP: Li Na vs. Samantha Stosur → Stosur leads 5-0
2) RED GROUP: Petra Kvitova vs. Agnieszka Radwanska → Kvitova leads 2-0
3) WHITE GROUP: Marion Bartoli vs. Victoria Azarenka → Azarenka leads 7-1
The current standings are here, and they’ll be updated throughout the day.
Qualification Update
This is from the WTA website:
—RED GROUP: Kvitova has already qualified from the Red Group. Both Zvonareva and Radwanska could be the group's second qualifier—if Radwanska wins just a set against Kvitova on Friday, Radwanska qualifies; if Radwanska loses to Kvitova in straight sets on Friday, Zvonareva qualifies.
—WHITE GROUP: Azarenka has already qualified from the White Group. The second qualifier will be either Li Na or Sam Stosur—they play each other on Friday and the winner of that will move through to the semifinals.
Numbers
0: Number of sets lost here by Petra Kvitova and Victoria Azarenka. Yesterday both clinched a spot in the semifinals. The two were oddsmakers’ favorites going into this event.
1: Number of alternates playing today. That’s Marion Bartoli, who’s stepping in because Maria Sharapova pulled out.
3: Number of Grand Slam singles winners playing today. That’s Li Na, Petra Kvitova and Samantha Stosur. With Maria Sharapova out, they’re all the remaining Slam winners in the field.
7: The number of aces Petra Kvitova served in yesterday’s win against Caroline Wozniacki. It was the most any player here served in any one match.
8: Agnieszka Radwanska’s career-high ranking (and her ranking this week). That makes her the only qualifier who has never been in the Top 5.
10: The number of Top 10 wins Petra Kvitova earned this year. That’s more than any other player.
72: Li Na’s career singles win percentage. It’s the highest among those playing here today.
80: Victoria Azarenka’s first-serve percentage in yesterday’s win against Li Na. It was the best by any player in any match here.
94: Number of career singles matches lost by Petra Kvitova. That’s fewer than anyone else playing here today. She’s the only one among the 10 active Slam winners with that number in the double digits.
426: Number of career singles matches won by Marion Bartoli. That’s more than anyone else playing here today. In this year’s field only Vera Zvonareva has won more (452).
Words
—Petra Kvitova is happy she beat Caroline Wozniacki, but she doesn’t think it was all her: “Actually, it was like she wasn’t okay. This looks like she didn’t move very well how she can.”
—And did you know Petra Kvitova said this? “[Sometimes] it’s tough to play against Caroline because we are good friends…”
—Everyone’s been talking about the crowd in Istanbul. The fact, you know, that there is one. It’s been great to see, hasn’t it? Victoria Azarenka thinks so too: “Yeah, the crowd is amazing. I think that’s what we’ve been really missing in the last couple years, the good crowd, the good support. You really want to go out there and show good tennis... I mean, for the first year I really enjoy being here.”
—Victoria Azarenka has looked pretty excited after winning matches here, celebrating with an energetic, if slightly odd, ritual that involves sticking her tongue out. She was asked why she seemed so “pumped up” and she responded with a question first: “Have you never seen me play before? I’m always pumped up… Once you get that feeling that you won, you kind of relax, and you just let all your emotions out, because during those hour and a half you really have to keep yourself together.”
—A few players were asked who they consider the player of the year. Li Na gave an answer, and that answer was Maria Sharapova: “I always think she’s tough, like doesn’t matter if she was like win first set or she lose first set. I mean, if you see the body language, she always fighting on the court.”
—Li Na was also asked whether she and her coach/husband always talk about tactics during coaching visits or whether conversation turns to topics like, oh, dinner: “Oh, come on. He never say that on court.”
—Samantha Stosur thinks the courts have gotten faster, and that’s just fine by her: “The first few days it was nearly impossible to hit a winner…”
—After losing to Victoria Azarenka, Samantha Stosur was asked about two controversial topics in one question: “You were obviously were involved in a well-documented incident in the U.S. Open final with Serena. How much more difficult is it when a player shouts out, Come on, sort of as you’re trying to lunge for the ball than when you’re playing someone who is making a noise after each shot, as is always the case with this opponent today?”
—You can’t be sure this came from an Agnieszka Radwanska transcript (it did), but you darn well know it didn’t come from a Jelena Jankovic transcript: “Actually, my shoulder is pretty good. I’m not complaining.”
—Agnieszka Radwanska said she’s playing an in-form Petra Kvitova, one of the favorites if not the favorite now, but she said more too: “I’m gonna do my best tomorrow. I’m gonna fight like hell...”
by Bobby Chintapalli, Contributing Writer
With money, ranking points and vacation looming and with crowds watching (finally), the ladies play on in Istanbul. As Day 3 kicks off, here’s a look at today’s matches, as well as a few numbers on and words from those playing.
Matches
1) WHITE GROUP: Victoria Azarenka vs. Li Na → Li leads 4-1
2) RED GROUP: Caroline Wozniacki vs. Petra Kvitova → Wozniacki leads 3-1
3) RED GROUP: Vera Zvonareva vs. Agnieszka Radwanska → Radwanska leads 3-2
The current standings are here, and they’ll be updated throughout the day.
Qualification
The following update is directly from today's WTA match notes:
WHITE GROUP: Victoria Azarenka will advance to the semifinals if she defeats Li Na. The other qualifier will be determined on Friday.
RED GROUP: Petra Kvitova will advance to the semifinals if she defeats Caroline Wozniacki.
RED GROUP: Caroline Wozniacki will advance to the semifinals if she defeats Petra Kvitova in straight sets.
RED GROUP: The loser of the Agnieszka Radwanska vs. Vera Zvonareva match will be eliminated.
Numbers
1
Caroline Wozniacki’s year-end ranking for the second year in a row, as confirmed yesterday. By finishing at the top for consecutive seasons, she joins “a revered group of seven WTA legends” (as the WTA press release put it). All the big names are there, except perhaps Serena Williams. (Serena has been year-end No. 1 twice—she’s the only other active player who has—but not consecutively.) Wozniacki must step it up at the Slams, but if her critics get too upset about her Slamless reign, they should also blame the players who’ve been unable to pry Wozniacki from her throne. Again.
2
The number of players who’ll be in next weekend’s Fed Cup final in Moscow between Russia and the Czech Republic. They are Petra Kvitova and Vera Zvonareva. The official ITF team nominations were announced yesterday, and naturally, both made the cut. Their preparation for one last event, a team event that puts a different kind of pressure on them, could make them work harder here to hone their games for the battle ahead.
4
The number of doubles finals Victoria Azarenka reached this year, all with Maria Kirilenko. They won at Madrid and Stanford, lost at Australian Open and Toronto. The two barely missed the final spot in the doubles event here; they were in fifth place in the points race (and not just because it rhymes).
5
The number of players competing today who’ve won at least one match here. That leaves one player who hasn’t—Agnieszka Radwanska, who did little but win the rest of the month.
6
The number of wins Agnieszka Radwanska has against Top 5 opponents this year. That's more than any WTA player except Sam Stosur, who earned her sixth win here.
15
The number of matches Petra Kvitova won this year at hard/indoor tournaments. She lost none.
34
Petra Kvitova’s year-end ranking last year. It’s the lowest among the 10 players who made it to Istanbul. That includes the alternates: Marion Bartoli was ranked No. 17, and Andrea Petkovic was ranked No. 32.
74
Caroline Wozniacki’s career win percentage in singles matches. It’s the highest among those playing today. Her win percentage this year is, at 80.5 percent, better than everyone in Istanbul. (Kvitova’s is a close second with 80.3.)
1.3 million
The amount, in dollars, that Vera Zvonareva had earned at the WTA Championships before this year’s event started. That’s second only to Maria Sharapova, who had earned $2 million. Qualifiers Li Na and Petra Kvitova had earned nothing; this year marks their first appearance here.
Words
—Caroline Wozniacki, asked whether she was tired after playing two days in a row, especially when she’d be also playing today: “No, I like to play long matches. I like to give the crowd a little bit for their money. (Smiling.)”
—An interesting question posed to Li Na: “Maria obviously kind of took Thomas Hogstedt from you. You have now beaten her twice. Does that give you extra satisfaction?”
—You know it’s a Vera Zvonareva transcript when you spot these lines: “I’m always confident in myself. I always believe in myself.”
—Likely half of Victoria Azarenka’s presser focused on grunting. It started with this question: “I know this has come up before, but Caroline Wozniacki has said a few things about the noise that people like yourself and Maria make. She says that some players do it deliberately, and she wishes they would stop. Has the tour mentioned this to you, anyone from seniority spoken to you about this issue?”
—Asked what she’d do if an opponent complained specifically about her and presumably mid-match, Victoria Azarenka struck a defiant note: “I would just say, Mind your own business, I guess. I hope you can beat me. That’s it. (Smiling.)”
by Bobby Chintapalli, Contributing Writer
As we kick off Day 2 of the WTA Championships in Istanbul, here are a few numbers—odds and ends, really—on the players in action today. But first let's look at today’s matches and standings:
The Matches
1) Red Group: Samantha Stosur vs. Victoria Azarenka → Azarenka leads 4-0
2) Red Group: Maria Sharapova vs. Li Na → Sharapova leads 5-3
3) White Group: Caroline Wozniacki vs. Vera Zvonareva → Tied 4-4
The Standings (Red Group)
Petra Kvitova → 1-0 (2 sets won, 0 sets lost)
Caroline Wozniacki → 1-0 (2 sets won, 1 set lost)
Agnieszka Radwanska → 0-1 (1 set won, 2 sets lost)
Vera Zvonareva → 0-1 (0 sets won, 2 sets lost)
The Standings (White Group)
Samantha Stosur → 1-0 (2 sets won, 0 sets lost)
Victoria Azarenka → 0-0
Li Na → 0-0
Maria Sharapova → 0-1 (0 sets won, 2 sets lost)
The Numbers
1
The ranking spot we love to discuss and discuss again. You know the one, Caroline Wozniacki’s ranking spot. Maria Sharapova’s the only other qualifier who’s been No. 1, but only Wozniacki has finished the year there before. If she does it again this year—a strong possibility—she’ll be the only active player apart from Serena Williams to do it twice. Not bad company to keep in the tennis numbers department, is it?
2
The number of players in the WTA Championships from Russia, the only country boasting two qualifiers. They are Maria Sharapova and Vera Zvonareva, who have more than nationality in common. They five Championships appearances, the most among those here, and are tied for third (along with Svetlana Kuznetsova) among all active players. They are, less impressively, also the only two qualifiers who haven’t won a Slam or a Premier Mandatory tournament this year.
4
The number of years Vera Zvonareva has finished in the Top 10, the longest active streak. (Meanwhile, Petra Kvitova and Li Na will finish there for the first time.)
16
Victoria Azarenka’s age the first time she played Sam Stosur, her opponent today. It was at New Haven qualifying in 2005, and Azarenka was playing only her second WTA event. She beat Stosur 6-1, 6-3.
21
Caroline Wozniacki’s age. It's also Petra Kvitova’s, but Wozniacki is younger by a few months and is the youngest in this year’s field. (The youngest-ever qualifier was Jennifer Capriati, who was just 14 in 1990.) It turns out 21 was an especially good age to be this year. Players aged 21 won more singles titles than those of all ages except 20 (some of the same players at different points in the year). Group the two ages together, and these young ladies won nearly a third of all singles titles this year.
29
Li Na’s age. It makes her the oldest player in this year’s field. Sam Stosur, the second-oldest player, is a whopping—it’s tennis, after all—27.
59
Sam Stosur’s career win percentage. It’s the lowest among the players here.
80
Maria Sharapova’s career win percentage. It’s the highest among the players here. It’s also about the same as Caroline Wozniacki’s and Petra Kvitova’s win percentages this year.
By TW Contributing Editor Andrew Burton
Morning, all.
The WTA Championships in Istanbul get underway today, with matches between Petra Kvitova and Vera Zvonareva, Caroline Wozniacki and Agnieszka Radwanska, and Maria Sharapova and Samantha Stosur opening the round-robin stage.
The first four players make up the Red group; Sharapova and Stosur are joined by Li Na and Victoria Azarenka in the White group. You can expect a lot of Istanbul coverage on TW in the next few days from a long time WTA maven.
There are three weeks before we'll know the eight who'll make it to the ATP World Tour Finals in London. This week, St. Petersburg and Vienna host 250 tournaments: Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Juan Martin Del Potro are the two top seeds in Vienna, and Gilles Simon and Janko Tipsarevic are the highest ranked players in St. Petersburg (Simon is already out after a three-set loss to Mannarino).
Five players have already qualified for London (Djokovic, Nadal, Murray, Federer and Ferrer). A lot of players could theoretically claim one of the last three spots, but Tomas Berdych, Mardy Fish and Tsonga, who currently occupy the 6, 7 and 8 slots in terms of points earned in 2011, are in the strongest positions to do so. Tsonga has earned 2790 points, more than 400 points ahead of Nicolas Almagro in the 9th position.
I've been taking a look at the qualification level for the ATP year-end championships over the last decade. I'll likely have more to say on this in a later post, but it's striking that in recent years the number of points required to make the final eight has come down. In 2009, Fernando Verdasco made it to London with 3300 ATP Ranking Points -- I reckon that the number eight player after Paris may have a lower total.
I'd be interested to know who you think will make it to the WTF, as well as who you think will do well in Istanbul. Will Stosur and Li snap out of their post first-major funks? Will the "Caro Generation" sweep, or will veterans take the top slots? Who'll join the ATP Five, and who'll rule the WTA Eight? As always, enjoy today's tennis!
By Andrew Burton, TennisWorld Contributing Editor
Morning, all.
It's finals day in Europe: we have WTA finals in Luxembourg and Moscow, and ATP finals in Stockholm and Moscow. By the time you read this, Sunday's premier sporting event will be in the books: the Rugby World Cup Final in Auckland, New Zealand. It's 2:18am in the morning in Calgary as I write this post, and the pride of New Zealand, the All Blacks, have just gone over for their first touchdown, against the all white French (hence today's title). We have a few Aussies in the Tribe, but I don't know if we have any Kiwis among our regulars. (Late update: as at 4am, the All Blacks prevail, 8-7. Quite a scrap. Congratulations to New Zealand fans, commiserations to French fans).
If I told you we'd have an all-Serbian final today, I reckon you'd have Ivanovic and Jankovic pencilled in. But although these two have played ten times, they've never met in a final, and they aren't playing today. And it's an ATP final, not a WTA one. Ok, so we're talking Novak Djokovic and... nope, Djokovic is still recuperating from the back injury sustained in the Davis Cup tie against Argentina.
So, step forward Janko Tipsarevic and Viktor Troicki, Moscow finalists. Each man has one ATP title to his name: Tipsarevic's first came a few weeks ago in Kuala Lumpur, while Troicki is actually defending champion in Moscow. Whichever match takes your eye today, enjoy the tennis!
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