The wrong road to the title: Azarenka struggles with Motivation

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Vika has hit bump in the road mentally.

BY MATT CRONIN

ISTANBUL – It is only the second day of the year-end Championships and we are already hearing about players experiencing burnout and looking forward to vacation next week. The season is a grind, whether it’s been shortened or not, but that kind of talk should be left until the final weekend, not the second day of the fifth most important event of the year when eight of the world’s best players are on site.

Victoria Azarenka, who went down rather quietly to Jelena Jankovic in straight sets, kicked the discussion off. She said much the same last year after her loss to Maria Sharapova in the 2012 semis, with complaints that  she was nicked up. But now she feels fried, even though she has only played 51 matches this year, the least of anyone in the field. Yes, she has been injured at times as well as sick, but she should be able to get her head right for one week before she can take two months off.

But it doesn’t seem like she’ll be able to.

“I think it’s pretty obvious,” she said of how she is struggling to get motivated. “It’s just the bad road, and I have to go through that, because it didn’t happen to me in a long, long time. It’s been a long year.  It’s been a tough year.  It’s been tough two years, so that consistency I have been playing with, it’s sometimes difficult to keep all the time. Everybody goes through tough moments in his or her career, and the important thing is how you come out of it. I just need to battle right now as much as I can.”

Yes she does and given how much mental progress she’s made over the past two years, she should be able to find a way to suit up in her armor and give it a real go against Li Na, who is more than capable of knocking her out of the Championships on Friday. But the Belarussian seems to be having a lot of issues.

Her struggles with injury and illness this year weren’t massive, but the knee and hip injuries she sustained at Wimbledon did set her back some and then the virus she caught in Tokyo seems to have affected her mood, which isn’t uncommon for anyone, but she’s well enough now and needs to make a rapid attitude readjustment. That is, if she cares to.

If anyone has noticed, as well as she played during the US Open Series (except for the third set in in the US Open final against Serena), she is having tremendous trouble holding her serve since Wimbledon. She’s lost pace, accuracy and her kicker isn’t hopping very high. Her camp says she’s having technical issues and that her  injuries have not affected her serve, so then clearly she’s lacking confidence.

Win or lose or lose against Li, Azarenka needs to show the world just why she has been called a great champion. She needs to pull out a brand new shovel, spike into the ground and begin a big dig.

“Definitely it’s tough, in the end of the year to play against the best players, because every match you have to go and dig deep, and sometimes your motivation is not there enough to know the capacity, how deep can you dig,” she said.  “It’s tough for everybody I’m not going to sit here and say that I feel perfectly, but you play back‑to‑back matches.  It’s a little bit tiring, and all the things put together, it makes your body tired. Just mentally tough right now, tough to get things started a little bit.”

Serena Williams says that she can empathize with Azarenka, but she’s 2-0 after her straight set win over Aga Radwanska. She said that she didn’t travel to Istanbul to mail it in. “You’ve just got to decide if you want to or not,” she said.

Serena will face Petra Kvitova in the last match on Thursday night. Kvitova is the 2011 champ and super confident indoors, but defending titlist Williams will be the sternest test she’s faced with a roof over her head in a long time.

Li Na will face Jankovic in the opening match. Here’s my recap of her win over Sara Errani

Radwanska, who is 0-2, will play the second match against Angie Kerber. After the Championships she is going to go on vacation to the beach with her younger sister Urszula. Aga Radwanska and Kerber played a  marathon last year in Istanbul. If  the elder  Radwanska wants to survive another one, she cannot afford to be thinking about which style of bikini she’ll be wearing when she heads south next week.

Federer makes a move in Basel

Any win is a good win for Roger Federer these days, but that’s not the same thing as a good performance. Reaching the quarterfinals of his local event in Basel with a 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 win over No. 48 Denis Istomin, he gave the hometown crowds a first-hand look at why their man has had so many problems this season.

Each Federer match in the last few months has been closely watched for signs of either imminent turnaround or permanent stagnation, and this latest contest did little to settle the speculation. His error-prone play early on contrasted with his fight and improved form by the end of the up-and-down contest, leaving only uncertainty about what the next round will bring.

The packed stadium was quickly quieted as Federer began the match moving sluggishly and struggling his wayward forehand, allowing an emboldened Istomin to take the first set. But the 17-time Grand Slam champ did slowly find some rhythm, producing two statement winners — a Rafa-like curving forehand and topspin backhand down the line — to go up 4-2 in the second and announce to the roaring crowd that he had finally arrived.

The defining battle took place early in the third, with Federer missing chances to break in the first game and then finding himself down 0-40 on his own serve before Istomin produced four straight unforced errors to hand back the initiative. Federer also obliged with a few shocking errors, including a missed smash and lurching put-away forehand at net, but managed to hang on to what would be the longest and most significant game of the match.

From that point on, Federer’s shoulders opened up and his opponent’s slumped. Istomin, with one day’s less rest between matches, appeared to be tiring and won only one more game — even though Federer served at only 44 percent during the set.

It may not have been pretty but the win did leave Federer looking a lot better in the Race to London. With his nearest rivals Stanislas Wawrinka and Richard Gasquet both out in the first round and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Milos Raonic not playing, Federer is now in 7th place in the year-to-date standings. Winning a couple more matches this week would give him a big boost in his attempt to qualify for the year-end event. But he’ll have to play better — or least more consistently — to do it. A 3rd round match against Baby Fed, Grigor Dimitrov, could be in the cards. – Kamakshi Tandon

 

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TEB BNP Paribas WTA Championships-Istanbul : Can anyone stop Serena?

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(L-R) Sara Errani of Italy, Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland, Petra Kvitova of Czech Republic, Serena Williams of USA, Victoria Azarenka of Belarus, Li Na of China, Jelena Jankovic of Serbia, and Angelique Kerber of Germany pose with the Billie Jean King trophy for the official photo of the TEB BNP Paribas WTA Championships-Istanbul (Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images for WTA).

 

By Matt Cronin

ISTANBUL – There is no title run that is inevitable before it is played, but Serena Williams comes into the TEB BNP Paribas WTA Championships-Istanbul perhaps as a heavier favorite than she has been at any time during her storied career.  She hasn’t lost a match since the Cincinnati final when she went down No 2 Victoria Azarenka in a third set tiebreaker, but she ended up getting revenge on the Belarusian in the US Open final and then trounced the field in Beijing.

She leads the tougher Red Group, which also includes Agnieszka Radwanska, whom she owns; Petra Kvitova, who plays her tough but has yet to beat her; and Angelique Kerber, who has beaten her once. Sure No. 2 Azarenka has a chance against her should she get out of the White Group that includes Li Na, Sara Errani  and Jelena Jankovic, but she is going to have to play at much higher level than she did in the third set of their US Open clash.

Radwanska has played Williams tight on occasion, but does not seem to bring the same confidence level to the court against her than she does against most of other players. In fact, the former Wimbledon finalist appears to be saying her chances against her are very slim.

“We have a couple matches, different matches, but, for example, the match in Toronto, I guess it was really, really close, and just a few points I was away from those two sets,” the Pole said. “So I think it was one of the best matches we played against each other.  So against her you really have to play 100%.  If not, it’s really tough. She’s dictating everything from the beginning of the match, and served very good also, return is also very powerful and always going forward. It’s very tough to stay in the game and really running, really far from the baseline. I think against her you really have to try to, play aggressive from the beginning of the match.  If you start too slow it’s not good.”

Kerber is one of the few players have beaten Serena in the past 18 months, having taken her down in the 2012 Cincinnati quarters, but says she can only “hope’ to play at that level again. The strong-legged left-hander is an excellent defensive player and can also produce a fairly high level of offense, but has a tendency to get negative against top players and there is no way she can beat Serena unless her belly is full of self-belief.

Kvitova is 0-4 against Williams, but did take her to 7-5 in the third set in a defeat in Doha earlier this year.  That was the first time she really thought she had a chance to beat her. She did not, but at least she matched big strokes with her and hurt her with her often wicked left-handed serve.

“It was really great match for my side, and I was very close to win the match but I didn’t,” she said.  But it’s okay.  I think that I can improve my game too, and, I think it was for the first time when I really knew that I can really play her and any chance to beat her.  I don’t think that I’m really like mentally down for right now when I have her in the group.  So I’m looking forward.”

Li Na appears to have the kind of game to be able to upend Williams: a strong first serve, bullet returns, hard groundstrokes and a load of experience. But Serena seems to beat her to the punch every time out including in the US Open semis, where she butchered her in the first set and then took a well played second set.

“Even I lose her in the US Open, I still feel if I, how you say, like I said at US Open, because the match I lose to myself; is not lose to opponent.  Doesn’t matter who against me the time, the day; I already lose the match. So, yeah, at least I learn something. I still learn every day. If I have chance to play against her again, I wish I can doing [just as] well.”

Serena constantly talks about how she respects every opponent and does not under estimate them and really, you have to believe her given that she has lost only a handful of matches all season long. She realizes that she is the favorite, but does not want to deal with that tag every time out, but of course she wants to be the leading lady, too. Indoors, with her serve and in great health, she has more weaponry than any other player in the field. Clay is the only surface, which sometimes troubles her, and she did win Roland Garros this year, so at least in 2013 she’s been the most accomplished player on the soft stuff too. Outside of the absent Maria Sharapova, she knows that she will have to confront at least four of the world’s best player to win the crown.

“I’m always considered a favorite in a tournament,” she said. “ I don’t think about it.  I don’t like it, but I don’t hate it.  You know, it’s better to be considered a favorite.  I also do well when I’m considered the underdog.  I never consider myself a favorite because every opponent I play has a chance to do really well.”

Other than defending her title, Williams does not have a tremendous amount to play for. She does not need this title or positive momentum going into next year. But she is performance oriented and thinks she can better herself each time out. Perhaps that she has kept herself head and shoulder above the field.

“What I think is great about it is I’m still looking to improve, and what I learned most about this year is I have a lot of room for improvement, and talking with my coach over it, I’m so excited for next year just to take my game to a new level,” she said.

Tuesday Order of Play, starting at 5 PM Istanbul time

Azarenka vs. Errani,

Williams vs. Kerber

Radwanska vs. Kvitova

 

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WTA Post US Open review and the Race to Istanbul

 

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Serena smoked Li in New York, but can China’s top player rise up at the Premier tournament in Beijing?

There are currently 13 players with a decent chance to make the season ending WTA Championships in Istanbul, October 22-27.  Two players have already made it, No. 1 Serena Williams and No. 2 Victoria Azarenka. Third ranked Maria Sharapova, who has been contending with bursitis in her right shoulder, is as of this point doubtful to recover in time. No. 7 Marion Bartoli has retired.

Assuming Sharapova does not play, at least for this week that leaves nine players with decent shots for the final six spots. No. 11 Sloane Stephens is just one spot out if Sharapova and Bartoli don’t play, while Nos. 12-15 Angie Kerber, Sabine Lisicki, Caroline Wozniacki  and Simona Halep have a lot of ground to catch up but have outside shots  if they put up great results during the next three weeks.

Three big tournaments begin next week, with Tokyo, Beijing and Moscow ahead.

1. Serena Williams: The world’s best player was both heartened and relieved when she won the US Open by racing past Azarenka in the third set. Now the rest of her year is all gravy as she managed to win two Slams this season. When Serena is playing loose, she is super dangerous, as it’s been when she has been tight this season that she has suffered losses. She says she’s planning on playing Beijing (she rarely plays in Asia so the proof will be in the pudding), but she will no doubt be motivated to defend her title in Istanbul and show the rest of the elite players that the 32 year old plans on ruling the tour until she finally puts her rackets down.

2. Victoria Azarenka: Despite a few injuries this year, the Belarussian’s fitness has improved overall: she is much stronger and faster specimen than she was say even three years ago. But the drop in her level after she stole the second set from Serena in New York was troubling. While she has shown that she has the game to best Williams, she has yet to beat her at major. Two wins over her older rival in Beijing and Istanbul would serve her very well heading into 2014.

3. Maria Sharapova: She was told to take two to three months off to cure her shoulder after Wimbledon, but she didn’t,  played Cincinnati and practiced all the way up until he US Open, so it’s hard to see her injury fully healing by the time the first ball is tossed up in Istanbul. But…she is stubborn and misses competing so if she doesn’t feel like she’s putting her 2014 at risk, she may show up and play. It’s doubtful, but she can’t be totally ruled out just yet.

4. Agnieszka Radwanska: Even if she wins Korea on Sunday, is that enough reason to think that she can go on another brilliant fall run like she did in 2011 when he won Tokyo and Beijing back to back? No it isn’t. At this point, her 2013 is a disappointment: as good as Ekaterina Makarova can be there is no reason the Pole should have lost to her at the US Open, much less going down to Sabine Lisicki at Wimbledon. If she doesn’t start to schedule more smartly and learn to peak at the big events, she’ll never win a major.

5. Li Na: Sure, she played Serena very tough in the second set of her 6-0, 6-3 loss to her in the US Open semis. But to have a bagel hung on her by a player whom she has pushed so far before in a Slam semifinal? That shows just how mentally fragile she is. Her coach, Carlos Rodriguez must fully realize by now that he does not have another super mentally tough player in his stable like he did with Justine Henin.

6. Sara Errani: She admitted at the US Open that she is having massive trouble contending with the expectations that are put on top players, hence her 6-3, 6-1 loss to her countrywoman Flavia Pennetta. In some ways she was already overachieving, so what chance does Errani have to keep up a top-10 level without her legendary fight? A very slim to none one.

7. Petra Kvitova: For whatever reason, I keep expecting the tall and powerful Czech to make a push at No. 1 and then she gets sick again and lets down at another major, like she did in her 6-3, 6-0 loss to Alison Riske in New York. [And that’s not a typo, the 6-0, 6-3 score seems to be popular figure coming out of New York]. If Kvitova continues to contract a virus every few months, she’ll never win another big title. If she can get healthy for an extended period, then she’ll be a threat again. But I am taking a full-on wait- and-see approach when it comes to her now.

8. Marion Bartoli: She has retired, at least for now, but the real stunner would be if she never attempts a comeback after all the attention on her dies down.

9. Jelena Jankovic: “JJ” will surely go to the ends of the earth to gain what she believes is to be a deserved spot in the final eight club. She has shown flashes of her former No. 1 play at times this season, but she evaporated quickly in her 6-3, 6-0 loss to Li at the US Open. She may no longer be a considered to be a consistent threat to the super elite, but she will be occasionally based on pride alone.

10. Roberta Vinci: The Italian is a very decent, but not a great hard court player who may have the Fed Cup final more on her mind than reaching the Championships in singles. She and Errani are a lock for the doubles, so perhaps she’ll focus on helping boost her friend’s confidence level during the Asian swing. However, Sharapova and Bartoli won’t play she is sitting at No. 8, so for her to completely fall out, the likes of Stephens, Kerber, Lisicki and Wozniacki are going to have to make substantial pushes.

11. Sloane Stephens: The youngest player in the top 15, the 20-year-old Stephens finds herself only 104 points behind Vinci for the final spot assuming that both Sharapova and Bartoli don’t play. Even if Sharapova does, she is only 99 points behind Vinci, which gives her a clear shot.

Stephens played Serena close in the first set of her 6-4, 6-1 loss to her rival in New York, but let down in the final game of the set and then lost focus in the second. She almost has enough game to play with anyone, but she does go on mental walkabouts, which is a no-no against the veterans.

She is seeded No. 9 in Tokyo, opening against Voegele, possibly facing junior rivals Genie Bouchard or Monica Puig in round two, and maybe Jankovic (should she get past Laura Robson) in the third round. Should she face and best JJ, she will pick up 100 points on the Serbian. Then she may have to play Azarenka in quarters in a rematch of their Aussie Open semifinal. Sloane’s week ahead sounds very challenging, and very fun.

12. Angelique Kerber: Does anyone recall that the German lost a third set tiebreaker to Suarez in New York, who then went on to be double bageled by Serena? Angie looks tough on the outside, but hasn’t shown much elite resiliency this season. She needs to loosen up and start playing more aggressive.

13. Sabine Lisicki: The ace-bombing German has done little since her Wimbledon heroics as she is struggling to stay in lengthy points on hard courts. She is capable of making a push, but she needs to be more patient and not get so anxious in big matches.

14. Caroline Wozniacki: The Dane is currently ranked No. 8, but she is defending 835 points from her fine fall play in 2012, so she is going to have to play just as well or better to make it. However, the most important thing for the Dane is to keep working on finding her elite level again, which she did not show in the third set of her loss to Camilla Giorgi in New York.

15. Simona Halep: The young Romanian caught fire this summer, but may have overplayed. She’s a terrific ball striker, but still needs to mature. She is 535 points behind Vinci so she is going to have to really catch fire again.

 

 COMING MONDAY: ATP POST US OPEN/DAVIS CUP REVIEW AND THE RACE TO THE WORLD FINALS IN LONDON

 

WTA Championships Racket reaction: Sharapova over Radwanska

Serena on fire

Serena has only lost four matches in 2012

 

FROM THE WTA CHAMPIONSHIPS IN ISTANBUL,

Who

Jack Sock won his first big Challenger title.

Novak Djokovic

The Serbian seems very gung-ho on seizing the No. 1 ranking back from Roger Federer and played with a lot of confidence with his back against the wall in his 5-7 7-6 6-3 win over Andy Murray in the Shanghai final. Of the five match points he faced, Djokovic ripped forehand winners on three and forced two errors off the Scot

Who needs to do what heading to WTA Championships?

Maria fell in Tokyo to Stosur, but still has chances to end her year on a high note