With Serena Williams completing the "Serena Slam" and moving on to the US Open for the "Calendar Year Slam", it is safe to say she is having one of the greatest seasons of all time. But, it hasn't always been easy for Serena at tennis' major championships. There have been ten separate times this season when Williams has been either down a set point in the first set, down at least one break in the third set, or down a set (and possibly a break). Let's take a look back at Serena's greatest escapes at majors this season.
Australian Open
vs. Vera Zvonareva (R2): Broken in two of her first four service game in the match, Serena Williams struggling greatly on serve during the first set of her Second Round encounter with Vera Zvonareva, a former world number 2 in the world. However, even as she took the break lead against Serena, it was more due to Williams playing poorly than Zvonareva conjuring even near what she once was. Vera eventually took a 5-3 lead in the match and had three set points on Serena's serve, all of which were missed opportunities. She then, in the 5-4 game, got to 30-0 on her own serve, but lost four straight points to not only lose the game, but in hindsight, the match. For Zvonareva didn't win a single game from 5-3 up (losing 7-5, 6-0). However, for quite some time in the first set, Vera Zvonareva had Serena Williams in deep trouble.
vs. Elina Svitolina (R3): This was a match no one saw coming. Broken in three of her first four service games, Serena Williams was lifeless in a 6-4 opening set to young riser Elina Svitolina. Svitolina was even up 0-30 on Serena's serve in the first game of the second set, but at that point, something clicked and Serena made the turnaround that the world would know much better in the coming months. Williams only dropped serve one additional time in the rest of match, losing only two games total, and beat Elina Svitolina 4-6, 6-2, 6-0 to get to the Australian Open Round of 16.
vs. Garbine Muguruza (R4; apologies for the lack of accents): This match was Serena's toughest match of the tournament, and considering how she won only four games in her previous match with Muguruza, the stakes for this match were even higher. While the first four games of the match went on-serve, Serena was broken in the fifth game of the match and was subsequently broken in the seventh game of the match, as well. The glaring stat in the first set for Serena was that she was 0/6 on break chance opportunities in the first set, while Muguruza was 2/3. She had more chances, but just couldn't break Muguruza's hard, body serves. What did this all mean? Serena lost yet another set to Garbine 6-2. And while Williams' game rose in the second set, she still couldn't break away from Muguruza until the eighth game of the set, where Serena broke to 15 and held her next service game to win the set. In the third set, with Muguruza up 1-0, Serena had to save six break points in order to hold. And from there, Williams imposed her game, taking five of the last games of the match to win the match 2-6, 6-3, 6-2.
French Open
vs. Anna-Lena Friedsam (R2): In a "here we go again" match for Serena fans, Williams struggled again in an early round of the French Open. She held in only 50% of her service games, being broken three times to lose the first to Anna-Lena in what was looking like it could be the shock of the tournament. But, like any match when Serena is losing, Williams' game was lackluster and not close to how she played to win the Australian Open and Miami earlier in the season. Friedsam even had two break points in the first game of the second set, but couldn't convert. Even then, Serena just couldn't seem to break Anna-Lena's spirit. The second set was on serve even at 4-3 in the second set, with Friedsam to serve. That's when Serena pounced, winning a tough break of serve and serving out the set to 30. The third set was all but inevitable, with Serena breaking in the first game of the set. And when Anna-Lena did not convert her two break points in the second game of the set, the match was essentially over. Down 3-5, Friedsam was broken once more to lose the match 5-7, 6-3, 6-3.
vs. Viktoria Azarenka (R3): This match was the closest-call of the tournament, not only because of how the scoreline looked at one point, but because of how Serena was playing. This was a match where Serena was playing pretty well, but yet still was a couple games away from losing. Azarenka served the ball beautifully in the first set, only being broken once, and going 2/2 in break point opportunities to take the first set 6-3 against Serena. Playing well would not be good enough for Williams, she would need to raise her level even higher. And for much of the second set, that just didn't happen. Serena was broken in the third game of the second set, and Vika even got the scoreline up to 6-3, 4-2, needing just two holds to win the match. However, a break to 30 got the match back on serve, and Serena broke again in Vika's next service game to win the second set 6-4. But, Azarenka did not waver, breaking Williams in the first game of the third set and holding to love to go up 2-0. From 2-0 on, Serena raised her game to an un-playable level, only losing four points in her final three return games, and coupled with a rise in the level of her service games, won six straight games (beating Azarenka 3-6, 6-4, 6-2).
vs. Sloane Stephens (R4): This match was another very close-call for Serena, as she was one game away from losing it. Williams was lifeless in the first set, not even coming close to breaking Stephens, and dropping three of her first four service games. The first set of this match was the worst Serena played all tournament, and it seemed for a little while as if Williams was a bit disinterested in the match. And when Stephens held to take a 6-1. 5-4 lead, there were questions in my mind as to whether Serena would be able to hold in that tenth game. Williams came through, however, holding a tense game to 30, and then only losing two points in her next two games to take the second set 7-5. And when Serena saved two break points down 0-1 in the third set, the end seemed near for Sloane. Stephens was broken a couple service games later, and then once more to end the match. The final score: Williams wins 1-6, 7-5, 6-3.
vs. Timea Bacsinzky (SF; to be referred to solely as Timea in this post): Fighting a terrible illness, Williams had a very tough time with Timea in this scintillating semifinal matchup. After a few holds to start the match, Williams was broken to 40 in a tense game to go down 3-2. And while Serena would get another chance to break down 4-5 in the first set, she could not convert and Timea took the opening set by a score of 6-4. With how sick Serena looked, there were questions in my mind, at least, as to whether or not she would continue. And when Williams was broken in a long deuce game to go down 3-2 in the second set, the end seemed all but inevitable. However, perhaps being so far down and sick allowed Serena to really hit out and not worry about the pressure of winning a grand slam anymore, as Williams did not lose another game in the match. Serena won 4-6, 6-3, 6-0.
vs. Lucie Safarova (F): A still-sick Serena Williams played a tense Final against Lucie Safarova. Williams broke Safarova quickly to take a 3-1 lead and did not give the break back for the rest of the set, winning it 6-3. And when Serena got the double break lead in the second set to lead 4-1, her 20th grand slam was seemingly in hand. But, nerves got the best of Williams for the moment and Safarova broke twice (and was not broken) to take a 5-4 lead in the second set. Even when Serena broke Lucie's serve once more to take a 6-5 lead in the second set, she could not grab the opportunity and lost the second set in a tiebreak, 7-6(2). And when Safarova broke Serena's serve in the first game of the third set and easily hold the game after, it seemed for a moment as if Lucie would be the one holding the trophy a little while later. However, Williams would not be denied, breaking the Safarova serve in every return game for the rest of the match (going 3/4 on break points) and not facing a break point herself to win the match 6-3, 6-7(2), 6-2 and capture her 21st major championship.
Wimbledon
vs. Heather Watson (3R): Like the Safarova match at the French Open, this match seemed to be in hand for Williams until things got interesting in the second and third sets. In the first set, Serena only lost three points on serve and broke Watson two times to take a very easy, straight-forward set 6-2. And for the first two games of the second set, she had no serving problems either, only losing a couple points in the two games she served. However, she couldn't break Watson and was promptly broken herself in her third service game of the set to 40. And while she broke Watson right back, Serena never looked comfortable on the court, allowing the raucous crowd to get to her head. She struggled to serve in her next service game, and a couple games after that, was broken to 30. This gave Watson a 5-4 lead, which she made good on, winning the set in a tense final game. Watson used that momentum to take a 3-0 lead in the second sets, which put her three games up on Serena. However, upon blowing two game points in the fourth game of the set to give Serena one break back, the ending seemed inevitable for Watson. She eventually went down 4-3, and the crowd seemed dejected. However, out of nowhere, Serena lost her next game on serve to love, and Heather even got within two points of the match on two different occasions (both 40-40), but could not hold on to her serve, as Serena broke in one of the tensest games I have ever witnessed as a tennis fan/blogger. From there, Serena would not be denied as she closed out the match with a hold and a break. Serena Williams wins, 6-2, 4-6, 7-5.
vs. Viktoria Azarenka (QF): If Serena Williams thought she was in the clear after the win against Watson, she would be mistaken, as Viktoria Azarenka had other plans. In the first set, the margins were super thin, as Azarenka was playing some of the best tennis of her life to break Serena in the fourth game of the set and then manage to hold on to that break lead for the entirety of the set and win 6-3. Serena Williams was playing good tennis, but good wouldn't be enough to take down a fired-up Vika. So, Serena had to dig deep for the rest of the match, because even as she raised her level, Azarenka's level refused to dip. On serve in game five of the second set, Vika had a break point at 30-40, but just couldn't manage to break, as Williams barely escaped. And that game certainly was on Vika's mind for a little while longer, as she couldn't manage a hold for the rest of the set and lost it 6-2. And after being broken for a 2-0 lead in the third set, it seemed as if Azarenka's run at Wimbledon was basically over. But, Vika still fought. Viktoria Azarenka was not broken for the rest of the match, and despite incredible serving from Williams still had a break point down 3-5 in the final set. She couldn't convert it, however, and after a couple more incredible serves by Serena, the match was over. Serena won it 3-6, 6-2, 6-3.
Serena Williams has had an unbelievable season. She is more than doubling up the point total of number two in the world, Maria Sharapova, and playing at a level of tennis previously unheard of so late in her career. But, there were many times this season where the "Serena Slam" (and chance for the "Calendar Year Slam") could have easily been stopped, and this post shows just how deep Serena Williams had to dig to accomplish all that she has this season.
Tuesday, July 28, 2015
Thursday, July 23, 2015
Appreciating Bjorn Fratangelo
It isn't easy on the ATP Challenger Tour. The lack of prize money causes players on the Challenger Tour to struggle having enough money for food, let alone the travel costs that have players in far-flung locations across the world for little reward. Therefore, when a player starts to make a breakthrough and busts out of the tennis purgatory that is the Challenger Tour, it can be all the more rewarding, for both the player and his fans.
Bjorn Fratangelo is making that breakthrough as we speak. Currently ranked number 123 in the world, just one spot away from tying his career best at number 122 in the world. He is currently in the Quaterfinals of Binghampton, which is his tenth Quarterfinals appearance for 2015, a year in which he has already won a Challenger, and has finally announced himself to be a possible ATP World Tour mainstay in the years to come. It's time to start appreciating players like Bjorn Fratangelo.
Although he is just 22 years of age, Bjorn Fratangelo has been around professional tennis for quite some time. He was playing qualifying matches for ATP Futures events as early as in 2009, but never quite made any traction in Futures events through the 2009 and 2010 seasons. Bjorn never even made the Quarterfinals of a Futures even during this time frame, and had a main draw win only once. This might have disappointed some, caused some players to perhaps say that tennis wasn't the right path to pursue, but Fratangelo marched on. Hard work would pay off, but just not at the moment.
2011 was where Bjorn started to make traction in the professional tennis ranks. In April of 2011, Fratangelo won multiple main-draw matches at a Futures event for the first time, and did even better in the following Futures event that he played. A tournament after making his first Futures quarterfinal, Bjorn Fratangelo made his first Futures Final, losing to Brian Baker, but proving that he can play tennis at a professional level. And while the rest of the year saw Bjorn make only one Futures quarterfinal, the foundation of his career had been laid.
2012 and into2013 were the years in which Bjorn solidified himself on the ATP Futures Tour. 2012 saw Bjorn make 7 Futures Quarterfinals, a Futures semifinal, and yet another Futures final, this time losing to Tennys Sandgren. This Final appearance was arguably a better tournament for Bjorn than his previous Final, though, as he didn't drop a set until the his Final match. If 2012 was a Futures Tour rise, then 2013 was a peak. He made at least the Futures Tour Quarterfinals in all but two tournaments, made the Final of two tournaments,and finally won his first three ATP Futures Tour events. But, because 2013 was the pinnacle of Fratangelo's Futures Tour career, this also meant that he would be embarking on a scary journey: qualifying for Challenger events.
Upon summiting the ATP Futures Tour, any male professional tennis player has a decision to make. Futures event winners can only get a maximum of 35 points, whereas ATP Challenger Tour winners get a minimum of 80 points, more than double that of the biggest Futures tournaments. In addition, Challenger winners can receive 125 points at the biggest events, over triple than the largest point totals that a Futures tournament can provide. The problem is, if a player doesn't succeed at Challengers, where the quality of players is much higher than those at the Futures level, then the decision to play on the Challenger Tour can be a disastrous one. For instance, a First Round loser (let alone losing in qualies) gets the player 0 points and only 440 Euros, still barely enough to live on.
So, during much of the 2013 year, and throughout 2014, Bjorn was trying to balance this dilemma. After having his great successes at Futures tournaments for most of the 2013 season, upon losing in Futures event in Holland, Fratangelo played exclusively on the ATP Challenger Tour for the remainder of 2013 (besides US Open qualifying) and through much of the beginning of the 2014 year (playing one Futures event and also in ATP Houston qualies). However, Bjorn did not have much success at this time in Challenger Tour events. During this time span, Bjorn made two Challenger Round of 16s, and one Challenger Semfinal, neither which occurred in 2014 (he didn't win a Challenger match until late in the season).
When Fratangelo lost yet another main draw match at the 2014 Tallahassee Challenger, meaning that he still hadn't won a Challenger match since 2013, Bjorn made the mature decision to go back to the ATP Futures Tour. Fratangelo was a model of how to handle his career. He made every every effort to try to take the next step to the Challenger ranks, but upon repeated poor results, which was crippling to both his financial situation and his ranking, he put his pride aside and made the correct decision to go back to the Challengers, try to get his ranking up, and leave the Futures again as an even better player.
And after winning his fourth Futures title of the season, Bjorn jumped up to the Challenger Tour again, this time with much better results. Fratangelo made the Quarterfinals in two of the four challengers he finished the year with, and continued his success into 2015 with repeated good results, and even a win at the Launceston Challenger, beating Hyeon Chung in the Final. Considering Chung is currently number 78 in the world, this was a huge win for him. Frantangelo has recently made his second ever Challenger Final, losing to Elias Ymer, and his currently in the Quarterfinals of the Binghampton Challenger with a real shot to win the entire tournament.
One could even see Fratangelo's rapid maturation today. Earlier this season, Fratangelo played Frances Tiafoe, a fast-rising player (personally one of my favorites), but also a player who is distracting to play against, as he is very demonstrative on court and can easily distract opponents with his tomfoolery. And Bjorn clearly let Tiafoe's antics get to him earlier in this, losing meekly in straight sets.
Today, however, Fratangelo would not be denied. After losing the first set to Tiafoe, Bjorn dug his heels in and grinded out a very tense three-set win. Even upon losing his break lead in the third set, Fratangelo tuned Tiafoe out and focused in, breaking Frances soon thereafter and holding a tight service game to win the match. This time, Bjorn Fratangelo did not crack. This time, Bjorn Fratangelo rose to the challenge.
It's players like Bjorn Fratangelo that are to be appreciated. Hard-working, mature, and ready to take on any player in his way, Fratangelo has worked his butt off to get from struggling at Futures events to thriving at Challenger tournaments.
Bjorn Fratangelo is on his way to the ATP World Tour.
Bjorn Fratangelo is making that breakthrough as we speak. Currently ranked number 123 in the world, just one spot away from tying his career best at number 122 in the world. He is currently in the Quaterfinals of Binghampton, which is his tenth Quarterfinals appearance for 2015, a year in which he has already won a Challenger, and has finally announced himself to be a possible ATP World Tour mainstay in the years to come. It's time to start appreciating players like Bjorn Fratangelo.
Although he is just 22 years of age, Bjorn Fratangelo has been around professional tennis for quite some time. He was playing qualifying matches for ATP Futures events as early as in 2009, but never quite made any traction in Futures events through the 2009 and 2010 seasons. Bjorn never even made the Quarterfinals of a Futures even during this time frame, and had a main draw win only once. This might have disappointed some, caused some players to perhaps say that tennis wasn't the right path to pursue, but Fratangelo marched on. Hard work would pay off, but just not at the moment.
2011 was where Bjorn started to make traction in the professional tennis ranks. In April of 2011, Fratangelo won multiple main-draw matches at a Futures event for the first time, and did even better in the following Futures event that he played. A tournament after making his first Futures quarterfinal, Bjorn Fratangelo made his first Futures Final, losing to Brian Baker, but proving that he can play tennis at a professional level. And while the rest of the year saw Bjorn make only one Futures quarterfinal, the foundation of his career had been laid.
2012 and into2013 were the years in which Bjorn solidified himself on the ATP Futures Tour. 2012 saw Bjorn make 7 Futures Quarterfinals, a Futures semifinal, and yet another Futures final, this time losing to Tennys Sandgren. This Final appearance was arguably a better tournament for Bjorn than his previous Final, though, as he didn't drop a set until the his Final match. If 2012 was a Futures Tour rise, then 2013 was a peak. He made at least the Futures Tour Quarterfinals in all but two tournaments, made the Final of two tournaments,and finally won his first three ATP Futures Tour events. But, because 2013 was the pinnacle of Fratangelo's Futures Tour career, this also meant that he would be embarking on a scary journey: qualifying for Challenger events.
Upon summiting the ATP Futures Tour, any male professional tennis player has a decision to make. Futures event winners can only get a maximum of 35 points, whereas ATP Challenger Tour winners get a minimum of 80 points, more than double that of the biggest Futures tournaments. In addition, Challenger winners can receive 125 points at the biggest events, over triple than the largest point totals that a Futures tournament can provide. The problem is, if a player doesn't succeed at Challengers, where the quality of players is much higher than those at the Futures level, then the decision to play on the Challenger Tour can be a disastrous one. For instance, a First Round loser (let alone losing in qualies) gets the player 0 points and only 440 Euros, still barely enough to live on.
So, during much of the 2013 year, and throughout 2014, Bjorn was trying to balance this dilemma. After having his great successes at Futures tournaments for most of the 2013 season, upon losing in Futures event in Holland, Fratangelo played exclusively on the ATP Challenger Tour for the remainder of 2013 (besides US Open qualifying) and through much of the beginning of the 2014 year (playing one Futures event and also in ATP Houston qualies). However, Bjorn did not have much success at this time in Challenger Tour events. During this time span, Bjorn made two Challenger Round of 16s, and one Challenger Semfinal, neither which occurred in 2014 (he didn't win a Challenger match until late in the season).
When Fratangelo lost yet another main draw match at the 2014 Tallahassee Challenger, meaning that he still hadn't won a Challenger match since 2013, Bjorn made the mature decision to go back to the ATP Futures Tour. Fratangelo was a model of how to handle his career. He made every every effort to try to take the next step to the Challenger ranks, but upon repeated poor results, which was crippling to both his financial situation and his ranking, he put his pride aside and made the correct decision to go back to the Challengers, try to get his ranking up, and leave the Futures again as an even better player.
And after winning his fourth Futures title of the season, Bjorn jumped up to the Challenger Tour again, this time with much better results. Fratangelo made the Quarterfinals in two of the four challengers he finished the year with, and continued his success into 2015 with repeated good results, and even a win at the Launceston Challenger, beating Hyeon Chung in the Final. Considering Chung is currently number 78 in the world, this was a huge win for him. Frantangelo has recently made his second ever Challenger Final, losing to Elias Ymer, and his currently in the Quarterfinals of the Binghampton Challenger with a real shot to win the entire tournament.
One could even see Fratangelo's rapid maturation today. Earlier this season, Fratangelo played Frances Tiafoe, a fast-rising player (personally one of my favorites), but also a player who is distracting to play against, as he is very demonstrative on court and can easily distract opponents with his tomfoolery. And Bjorn clearly let Tiafoe's antics get to him earlier in this, losing meekly in straight sets.
Today, however, Fratangelo would not be denied. After losing the first set to Tiafoe, Bjorn dug his heels in and grinded out a very tense three-set win. Even upon losing his break lead in the third set, Fratangelo tuned Tiafoe out and focused in, breaking Frances soon thereafter and holding a tight service game to win the match. This time, Bjorn Fratangelo did not crack. This time, Bjorn Fratangelo rose to the challenge.
It's players like Bjorn Fratangelo that are to be appreciated. Hard-working, mature, and ready to take on any player in his way, Fratangelo has worked his butt off to get from struggling at Futures events to thriving at Challenger tournaments.
Bjorn Fratangelo is on his way to the ATP World Tour.
Tuesday, July 14, 2015
Bucharest Gives Sorana Cirstea a Chance to Revitalize Her Career
*Note: The blog, after undergoing a small suspension due to the writing of my novella, "Homeless and Silent", which you can find on amazon here, is back. The novella very affordable, 99 cents without Kindle Unlimited and free with Kindle Unlimited. It's written in an unconventional style and uses stream-of-consciousness elements. Enjoy!
It seems like just yesterday Sorana Cirstea was on top of the tennis world. The tournament was WTA Toronto, one of the biggest tournaments on tour outside of the Grand Slams, an event in which almost all of the top players regularly enter. After Cirstea's breakout tournament win in Tashkent over Sabine Lisicki in 2008 and French Open quarterfinal run in 2009, Toronto provided Cirstea the perfect opportunity to bring her game back to the level it was at a few years back, if not soar higher. Toronto was the time when Sorana's middling career could take off once more.
The 2013 WTA Toronto was the tournament of Sorana Cirstea's life. Cirstea made the Final of the tournament, and while she lost to Serena Williams, it was an unbelievable run from a largely unheralded player. The players that Cirstea beat made the feat all the more impressive. Sorana beat Caroline Wozniacki, Jelena Jankovic, Petra Kvitova, and Li Na all in succesion. This included beating Jankovic and Li Na in straight sets. Considering that all of these players have, at least, made a major Final, it was almost inconceivable that Sorana Cirstea could pull this off. But, she did, and in August of that year, shortly after the Toronto run, she reached her career high ranking, number 21 in the world. The bad news for Sorana? It was all downhill from there.
Cirstea couldn't maintain the momentum she sustained in Toronto. She rounded out the 2013 season without making even the Quarterfinals of another event and went on a four-match losing streak to end the season, only winning one set in that span. In fact, Sorana only won three matches from the time she won her semifinal in Toronto until the end of the year. For a player with so much hope and promise, thoroughly deserved given the caliber of players she beat in Canada, this was very disappointing.
And it didn't get much better for Cirstea in 2014. She started off the year on a three-match losing streak (seven-match losing streak overall), meaning that she didn't even get a win (or even a set)until after the Australian Open. There were only two occasions in 2014 when Sorana could even put together two wins in a row (excluding Fed Cup), and the French Open was the last time all year that this occurred. WTA Montreal (the tournament switches between Toronto and Montreal every year) was a full-blown disaster for Cirstea as she lost in the First Round, and a ton of the points from her 2013 run fell off, meaning that her ranking went down the tubes. Cirstea ended 2014, like 2013 on a four-match losing streak.
2015 for Sorana has been poor, as well. She hasn't had a main-draw win in a WTA Tour-level event all season and has lost in qualifying for both the French Open and Wimbledon. Cirstea actually started this year on a six-match losing streak, which means she was on a ten-match overall losing streak including 2014. And while she finally won two matches in a row in her quarterfinal run in her previous tournament, Contrexeville, Cirstea desperately needs points. Sorana Cirstea is currently ranked number 161 in the world.
So, what does this all have to do with WTA Bucharest this week? Well, Bucharest is a Romanian tournament and Cirstea, being Romanian, received a wild card into the main draw, meaning that she didn't even have to remotely consider the possiblity of playing qualifying matches to get into her home-country tournament. Having the wild card gives Cirstea a nice platform to attempt to at least partially regain her 2013 Toronto form and get valuable points. At number 161 in the world, Cirstea is stuck playing qualifying matches at the majors, so a run in a tournament like Bucharest, which is a WTA-level event but not a high profile one, can allow Sorana to perhaps win a few matches and get her ranking closer to 100, which is around the place she needs to be to avoid slam qualies.
Her First Round opponent in Bucharest, Sesil Karatantcheva, is also very beatable. Sesil is currently on a three-match losing streak, and with the crowd thoroughly behind Sorana, oddsmakers only have Sorana as a slight underdog in the match. And while it isn't a cakewalk draw, Sorana can avoid the top two seeds until the Semifinals if she keeps winning. Perhaps Cirstea's home-country tournament could be yet another turning point in Sorana's career. It is important to note that, at 25, Cirstea has a lot of time to turn her career around, and a couple wins at a tournament like this could be exactly what she needs.
Sorana Cirstea has proven to the world before that she has what it takes to play with some of the best players in the world. It takes serious guts to come from a set down to a player of Sabine Lisicki's caliber and have the mental strength to take a third set tiebreak to win a WTA Title. It's also true that to make the Quarterfinals of a major, you have to have serious talent and mental fortitude. And tennis fans won't ever forget Cirstea's unbelievable run to the WTA Toronto Final.
WTA Bucharest could be the tournament that revitalizes the talents and mental strengths that once made Sorana such a formidable player. Playing in front of her home-country fans, the strain of having to potentially qualify gone from her mind, with a very winnable First Round match in front of her, it wouldn't be very surprising to see Sorana rise to the challenge once more.
It wouldn't be shocking to see a small WTA tournament in Bucharest, Romania revitalize Sorana Cirstea's career.
It seems like just yesterday Sorana Cirstea was on top of the tennis world. The tournament was WTA Toronto, one of the biggest tournaments on tour outside of the Grand Slams, an event in which almost all of the top players regularly enter. After Cirstea's breakout tournament win in Tashkent over Sabine Lisicki in 2008 and French Open quarterfinal run in 2009, Toronto provided Cirstea the perfect opportunity to bring her game back to the level it was at a few years back, if not soar higher. Toronto was the time when Sorana's middling career could take off once more.
The 2013 WTA Toronto was the tournament of Sorana Cirstea's life. Cirstea made the Final of the tournament, and while she lost to Serena Williams, it was an unbelievable run from a largely unheralded player. The players that Cirstea beat made the feat all the more impressive. Sorana beat Caroline Wozniacki, Jelena Jankovic, Petra Kvitova, and Li Na all in succesion. This included beating Jankovic and Li Na in straight sets. Considering that all of these players have, at least, made a major Final, it was almost inconceivable that Sorana Cirstea could pull this off. But, she did, and in August of that year, shortly after the Toronto run, she reached her career high ranking, number 21 in the world. The bad news for Sorana? It was all downhill from there.
Cirstea couldn't maintain the momentum she sustained in Toronto. She rounded out the 2013 season without making even the Quarterfinals of another event and went on a four-match losing streak to end the season, only winning one set in that span. In fact, Sorana only won three matches from the time she won her semifinal in Toronto until the end of the year. For a player with so much hope and promise, thoroughly deserved given the caliber of players she beat in Canada, this was very disappointing.
And it didn't get much better for Cirstea in 2014. She started off the year on a three-match losing streak (seven-match losing streak overall), meaning that she didn't even get a win (or even a set)until after the Australian Open. There were only two occasions in 2014 when Sorana could even put together two wins in a row (excluding Fed Cup), and the French Open was the last time all year that this occurred. WTA Montreal (the tournament switches between Toronto and Montreal every year) was a full-blown disaster for Cirstea as she lost in the First Round, and a ton of the points from her 2013 run fell off, meaning that her ranking went down the tubes. Cirstea ended 2014, like 2013 on a four-match losing streak.
2015 for Sorana has been poor, as well. She hasn't had a main-draw win in a WTA Tour-level event all season and has lost in qualifying for both the French Open and Wimbledon. Cirstea actually started this year on a six-match losing streak, which means she was on a ten-match overall losing streak including 2014. And while she finally won two matches in a row in her quarterfinal run in her previous tournament, Contrexeville, Cirstea desperately needs points. Sorana Cirstea is currently ranked number 161 in the world.
So, what does this all have to do with WTA Bucharest this week? Well, Bucharest is a Romanian tournament and Cirstea, being Romanian, received a wild card into the main draw, meaning that she didn't even have to remotely consider the possiblity of playing qualifying matches to get into her home-country tournament. Having the wild card gives Cirstea a nice platform to attempt to at least partially regain her 2013 Toronto form and get valuable points. At number 161 in the world, Cirstea is stuck playing qualifying matches at the majors, so a run in a tournament like Bucharest, which is a WTA-level event but not a high profile one, can allow Sorana to perhaps win a few matches and get her ranking closer to 100, which is around the place she needs to be to avoid slam qualies.
Her First Round opponent in Bucharest, Sesil Karatantcheva, is also very beatable. Sesil is currently on a three-match losing streak, and with the crowd thoroughly behind Sorana, oddsmakers only have Sorana as a slight underdog in the match. And while it isn't a cakewalk draw, Sorana can avoid the top two seeds until the Semifinals if she keeps winning. Perhaps Cirstea's home-country tournament could be yet another turning point in Sorana's career. It is important to note that, at 25, Cirstea has a lot of time to turn her career around, and a couple wins at a tournament like this could be exactly what she needs.
Sorana Cirstea has proven to the world before that she has what it takes to play with some of the best players in the world. It takes serious guts to come from a set down to a player of Sabine Lisicki's caliber and have the mental strength to take a third set tiebreak to win a WTA Title. It's also true that to make the Quarterfinals of a major, you have to have serious talent and mental fortitude. And tennis fans won't ever forget Cirstea's unbelievable run to the WTA Toronto Final.
WTA Bucharest could be the tournament that revitalizes the talents and mental strengths that once made Sorana such a formidable player. Playing in front of her home-country fans, the strain of having to potentially qualify gone from her mind, with a very winnable First Round match in front of her, it wouldn't be very surprising to see Sorana rise to the challenge once more.
It wouldn't be shocking to see a small WTA tournament in Bucharest, Romania revitalize Sorana Cirstea's career.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)