|
2009 Tennis Preview: Maria Sharapova, Fed Cup, Dubai, BNP and Sony
by Nadya Vlassoff
 The Australian Open is behind us, the number one rankings have been secured, and the rest of the tennis season looms ahead as we volley through February. The women’s Federation Cup is in full swing with the 4 semi-finalist countries already selected: Italy, the Czech Republic, Russia, and the United States. All four are itching for the chance to take home the glory for their team, their country and for themselves. The Fed Cup and the men’s Davis Cup are about national pride rather than individual star power. It’s one of the few tournaments, excluding the Olympics, when a player plays for their home and their people rather than for prize money and ranking points. Russia, the defending champions are expected to repeat, with a heavily favored team that includes Svetlana Kuznetsova, Anna Chakvetadze and new rising star Alisa Kleybanova, one of the breakout stars at the Aussie Open this year.
Fed Cup is a great event where home grown talent is showcased on a global stage. But after all, these ladies have not trained for camaraderie in a worldwide theatre. Serbia is not even in the picture, although they have two of the top ten female tennis players in the world, and Venus and Serena Williams did not even join the American team for this leg of the tournament. The semis will be played in April but for now the women and the men are back to what they do best, playing hard and winning big.
The new 2009 schedule no longer includes Tier tournaments. Instead it has been split into Premier and International tournaments. New venues that cater to the expansion of tennis as a global sport have been added in Madrid to cater to the increasing Spanish arsenal on clay courts. An improved tournament selection of 20 premier tournaments, more rest time between said tournaments to decrease player fatigue, and in increase in prize money have all been factors in the restructuring of the ATP and WTA tours. Players will be expected to commit to the tournaments and in return they have a chance at bigger purses and better matches as the selection process has now become more exclusive.
Here is a look at what we expect in the upcoming year:
The return of Maria Sharapova
 2008 could not have ended worse for the Russian superstar who was sidelined from Wimbledon on to the rest of the season. Sharapova missed the Olympics after desperately making the Russian Fed Cup team the last two years simply so she could qualify for Beijing only to pull out due to her shoulder injury. Maria was unable to defend her title in Melbourne and has seen her ranking plummet from number 1 to 17, all in the last year. Maria Sharapova is over 6,000 points behind current number 1, Serena Williams. But it appears that Sharapova is finally healthy and ready to be back on court, decimating her opponents.
With an already weak field in front of her, save for a select few like Serena and Australian Open finalist, Dinara Safina, Sharapova has to focus on her serve in order to win. Next up for Maria is simply the hope for a win, but getting there is only half the battle. If she can handle the court as well as she handles her acceptance speeches then the tennis world can breathe a sigh of relief as one of the sport’s biggest stars returns to her rightful stage.
The Barclay’s Dubai Tennis Championships
 One of the biggest and most expensive tournaments of years past, the Barclay’s Dubai Tennis Championships has long been a testament of the very best players on tour. Unlike the slam events that have draws of over 100 players, this premier event has a select, 32-player draw for the top women and the men.
The women begin play on February 16 and the men compete a week later. This year all the top female stars will be ready with Maria Sharapova, Venus and Serena Williams, Ana Ivanovic, and Jelena Jankovic all set to compete. In the men’s draw, Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer, Andy Roddick, Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray and Gilles Simon are all gunning for a chance to be in the final. Big players and even bigger money. Let the bloodbath begin.
BNP Paribas Open and the Sony Ericsson Open
 BNP Paribas and Sony Ericsson set up the first half of the American hard court season. With a combined $9 million in prize money, these tournaments pose a big challenge to the 96-player draw since they are played back-to-back under blazing hot sun and sizzling conditions. All players on the WTA tour who commit to the event must attend, and those in the top 10 risk suspension if they pull out. The newly renamed BNP Paribas Open (formerly known as the Pacific Life Open) is up first, starting on March 9 in Indian Wells, California, followed immediately by the Sony Ericsson Open in Key Biscayne, Florida. Just like in Melbourne, the hard courts cater to big servers and heavy hitters.
Spain’s new star Fernando Verdasco has a chance to do very well in both tournaments with his improved hard court game. But Verdasco faces big competition in countryman, Rafael Nadal and the rest of the men’s top 10 ready to serve him off the court. For the women, it is time for Ana Ivanovic to redeem herself after her embarrassing third round loss in Melbourne. Ivanovic is a slam champion and comes in as the defending champion at Indian Wells, and hopefully this time she can do better than walking off the court after another disappointment. All eyes will be fixed on Serena Williams who won in Florida in 2008 as well as Serbian star, Novak Djokovic who is eager to shake his reputation as a player who can’t handle the pressure or the heat. This might be your last chance Novak. The court is set to sizzle and your competition is hungry.
With the big names all ready to go, 2009 is shaping up to be an extremely lucrative year, players and tournaments alike. The women’s tour, which has been heavily criticized for not producing much consistency in the last month, looks to the return of one of its most dangerous competitors, Maria Sharapova. The ATP tour is stronger than ever with the king of the court, Rafael Nadal, cementing his number 1 ranking, and the rest of the tour waiting to dethrone him. Expect blood, sweat, and tears and more than a few surprises in 2009 because with these players, anything goes. Serve’s up.
|
