Kim says her injured hip is fine but can it survive 7 matches?
MELBOURNE – After Caroline Wozniacki began to weep in pain in the third set of her 3-6, 7-5, 6-2 loss to her good friend Agnieszka Radwanska in the Sydney quarters, it became pretty clear that despite the WTA’s admirable lengthening of the off season, that the injury bug has grown to killer bees type proportions. Consider this: we are now just 12 days into the 2012 season with the always delightful and super important Aussie Open just two days off and four popular players with Slam winning potential have been hurt: Wozniacki, Maria Sharapova, Kim Clijsters and Serena Williams. Throw in two other top 25 players, Sabine Lisicki and Julia Goerges (who has been sick, not injured) and keep in mind that No. 10 Andrea Petkovic and seven-time Grand Slam champion Venus Williams have already pulled out of AO. We may as well be speaking in mid summer, when it seems like almost every WTA player has been struck with one injury or another.
As this trend continues, it’s clear to me that it’s not the length of the season that’s the main culprit, it is that players must be training the wrong way and not doing the right kind of injury prevention work. I said much the same to Sania Mirza, Melanie Oudin and Jill Craybas in Melbourne while we were chatting in the dining room on Friday. I’m not sure if players are practicing too much, hitting the track too much, lifting weights too much or are simply not in tune with their bodies, but wouldn’t it be nice some time this century of we could go into one Slam without pulling out a full, 10-by-14 inch emergency room chart?
Wozniacki has been a remarkably healthy player over the past two years, but the rest of the lot has not. In all probability, at least half of the aforementioned may play Melbourne at less than 100 percent and the feeling here is that if any of them drop below 90%, they will virtually have no chance to win the tournament because none of them — and that includes the remarkable Serena — has shown over the past that she can win a major if she’s not almost completely fit. And there is no way in creation that Caro is going to survive the first week of the AO if her left wrist still hurts and she cannot employ her major weapon, her two-handed backhand. Kim says she fine and I’m sure that Maria and Serena will more or less indicate the same, but the proof will be in their performances.
Which brings us to the four women who contested the Sydney semis: Petra Kvitova, Li Na, Victoria Azarenka and Radwanska. All of them are capable of winning the AO, which is obvious in the case of reigning Wimby and RG champs Kvitova and Li, but no so obvious in the case of semi-youngsters Azarenka and Radwanska. Neither of those women has been able to put together more then five terrific matches at a major, but they have been on tour long enough to be able to do so now and if you think that they don’t sense an opportunity in Melbourne with their fellow elite players aching you are kidding yourself. Li, who reached the final last year, can also sense a major chance ahead, and while Kvitova has been downplaying her march to No. 1, she has as many physical weapons than anyone on tour now. But she was unable to withstand the very competent Li in the semis, who is still a smarter player than she is? Possibly, but that contest is going to be very tight. Azarenka then hit through Radwanska in match where Aga was unable to spin her around and then survived Li, which puts the Belarussian in prime contention for the AO title. But we all know that Sydney is not Melbourne and Vika has yet to show she can physically last seven matches in a major. But her weapons are certainly there.
Before Julien Benneteau and Jarkko Nieminen stormed their way to the Sydney final (despite their good qualities that is not at A-list attraction), US veteran Bobby Reynolds took down John Isner in three sets, a heartening result for the hardworking Reynolds. but not a very positive one for Big John, who could have used another match or two before the AO. In Auckland, Philip Kohlschreiber bested Ryan Harrison 4-6, 6-4, 6-3, not a bad loss for the US teen, but the type of win he needs over a player of the German’s caliber. Oliver Rochus will face David Ferrer in the final there. This is the week before Slam ATP, right?
In my view, Isner and Mardy Fish have the best chances to go deep at the AO, provided that Andy Roddick doesn’t all of a sudden rediscover his 2009 form. If he does, I might change my mind, but A-Rod has played so little over the past six month that it’s hard to get a read on him.
BTW Reynolds good work in Sydney meant that he would not be able to play the Aussie Open singles as he’s not ranked high enough to get into the main draw, has missed the qualies, and I believe he has eased up all of his special exemptions.
That’s too bad.
In Hobart, Yanina Wickmayer seems to have found her form again and took out Shahar Peer (7-6(1) 6-3 Young German Mona Barthel is having a terrific run and bested countrywoman 4-Angelique Kerber 6-0 7-6(6), Recall how tough Wickmayer played Justine Henin at the AO two years ago?
Anna Chakvetadze reached the quarters, which is a heartening sign. We will really see shortly if the Russian is even close to back to her top 5, 2007 form. Top 50 would do it for me as A-Chak has had a very tough go of it over the past four years. The touch player Chakvetadze was “baby Hingis: before Radwanska really hit the scene.
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