Serena and Azarenka, wait please…
As women’s tennis continues to evolve, it’s becoming remarkably difficult for great champions such as Serena Williams and Vika Azarenka to come back from a long hiatus and catch up with a younger, fresher and more determined competition. Indian Wells was one of the most anticipated events on the WTA calendar thanks to Serena’s and Vika’s comebacks, but the two veterans will have to tremendously improve their form if they want to climb back to the top of the rankings.
Azarenka looked far from the all-around tennis player she once was. Vika used to be outstanding from both defensive and attacking positions, but at the moment she seems to be in trouble as soon as her opponents increase the intensity and rhythm of the rally. The Belarus played a decent match against Heather Watson, who has been going through a series of poor performances this year. The second round against Sloane Stephens was a completely different story. Sloane is the type of player that usually struggles with motivation in the early rounds of a tournament, so a blockbuster clash with Vika was exactly what she needed to recapture her best tennis, while Azarenka couldn’t raise her level and compete against a top player. Vika started playing better towards the end of the match, but unfortunately that was too late.
Serena Williams won two matches against Zarina Diyas and Kiki Bertens. Playing against a living legend was a very intimidating experience for Bertens, who ended up shanking and mishitting many balls throughout the match. The third-round clash against Venus showed the difference between a player that is used to competing on a regular basis and a player that is still very rusty. Serena lost in two sets without giving her sister too much trouble, except for the end of the second set when Venus got tight while closing out the match. Serena is still far from her best form but has been showing some substantial progress compared to the exhibition that she played against Ostapenko three months ago. Nevertheless, Serena’s progress wasn’t enough to defeat Osaka in the first round of the Miami tournament this week.
Indian Wells started with the big storyline concerning the comeback of two great champions who are now mothers, but it ended with the novelty of two 20-year-old rising stars that reached the final. Osaka and Kasatkina might represent the new generation that is taking over the older generation, even if it is too early to jump to a conclusion. We will have to wait and see if the veterans can strike back without incurring into physical problems – which have been derailing Sharapova’s comeback – or outside factors like in Azarenka’s case.
How good is Amanda Anisimova?
Amanda Anisimova was born in New Jersey from Russian parents on August 31, 2001. Last year she was the No. 2 junior player in the world after capturing the girls’ singles title at the US Open. At 16 years of age, she reached the round of 16 in Indian Wells upsetting Parmentier, Pavlyuchenkova and Kvitova in straight sets. She eventually lost to Karolina Pliskova. The match that Anisimova won against an inconsistent player like Kvitova shouldn’t be considered as a real test. Kvitova is perfectly capable of losing to lower ranked players as well as dominating the best players in the world. It all depends on her ups and downs.
In Indian Wells, Petra’s mediocre performance certainly devalued Amanda’s win. The match that Anisimova lost to Pliskova was certainly more valuable, as Karolina is a more consistent player than Petra. Even if the young American ended up losing, she certainly gave the Czech a tough second set.
Before playing back-to-back players from the Czech Republic, Amanda also defeated Pavlyuchenkova, who hasn’t had a great season so far but is certainly a top-30 mainstay on the WTA Tour.
Despite her young age, Anisimova is 5’ 10” tall and has a very mature body, which enables her to generate enough power and compete at the highest level. She also has a pretty good touch that she can showcase with a few drop-shots. Time will tell if these impressive results are due to superior talent or only great precociousness.
Osaka and Kasatkina, brilliant, classy and with strong personalities
Naomi Osaka and Daria Kasatkina have certainly gained in popularity by reaching the final in the “fifth Slam” at Indian Wells. They are both part of a new wave of young players born in 1997. Besides Osaka and Kasatkina, the 1997 quintet also includes Bencic, Ostapenko and Konjuh.
It is difficult to point out who the true leader is for now. They all have a fantastic opportunity to become part of the WTA elite. In 2016 Bencic reached the final in Montreal after defeating Serena and three other top ten players; in 2017 Ostapenko shocked the tennis world winning at Roland Garros and now in 2018 Osaka and Kasatkina contested the Indian Wells final.
Ana Konjuh is the only player that is yet to achieve some stunning results, but she’s the youngest of the five – she was born in December 1997 – and was also sidelined with two arm surgeries. When she was able to play injury-free, Konjuh was ranked No. 20 in the world.
Kasatkina is a finesse player that loves to engage in a tactical battle with her opponents. In the Indian Wells final, she was probably too concerned about Osaka rather focusing on her own game though. She tried to unsettle Osaka with softer and loopier shots, which clearly didn’t work as the Japanese was hitting winners from every corner of the court. At that point, Kasatkina struggled to find a different solution to Osaka’s power and ended up committing too many unforced errors, especially on the forehand side.
Osaka captured a very prestigious tournament prevailing over quality opponents such as Sharapova, Radwanska, Vickery, Sakkari, Pliskova, Halep and Kasatkina. She was able to manage her power and use it to her advantage, allowing herself to play with big margins thanks to her vastly improved fitness. She also served superbly and that enabled her to dominate the rallies right from the start.
(Article written by AGF from ubitennis.com. Translated by T&L Global – Translation & Language Solutions – www.t-lglobal.com )
