The World No.1 surely is far away from living her best tennis season. Including the stunning third round defeat she faced at Wimbledon, Serena hasn’t managed once to reach at least the quarter finals at a major event this year.
(PhatzRadio / USA Today) —- WIMBLEDON, England — What’s wrong with Serena Williams? Can Petra Kvitova seize the momentum from Wimbledon?
Are the standouts from of the younger set like Genie Bouchard and Simona Halep ready to go one step further? Will the old guard like Li Na, Maria Sharapova and Victoria Azarenka hold them off?
“I think there’s a lot of opportunity there now that Serena has not played as well as she has the last couple of seasons,” says Fed Cup captain Mary Joe Fernandez.
Coming off one of her best seasons, top-ranked Williams has looked ordinary for much of 2014, particularly at the Grand Slams. The 32-year-old has failed to get past the fourth round in any of the year’s first three majors.
Whether ill, mentally fried or some combination thereof, her fragile state of mind took center stage during a bizarre doubles match last week where she appeared listless and disoriented.
“She’s No. 1 in the world,” said Fernandez of the 17-time Grand Slam champion. “Let’s not get too carried away. Let’s see how she plays in the summertime. To me if she plays her best she’s still the favorite, but she hasn’t been able to produce her best.”
That can’t be said for Kvitova, who steamrolled Canada’s Bouchard 6-3, 6-0 in Saturday’s Wimbledon final with the kind of power tennis many expected on a more regular basis when she won her first All-England Club crown three years ago.
The 24-year-old Czech has struggled with the heat and the hardcourts in New York — she has never gone further than the last 16 — but she appears more relaxed and better anchored to make a deeper run.
Halep, 22, the French Open finalist, and Wimbledon runner-up Bouchard, 20, continue to make big strides considering both were outside the top 25 a year ago. Now firmly entrenched in the top 10 at No. 3 and No. 7, these all-surface young guns are primed to keep pressing their elders.
Australian Open champ Li and French Open winner Sharapova will look to get back in the groove after disappointing Wimbledons.
Ditto Azarenka, who lost to Williams in the last two U.S. Open finals. Sidelined much of the spring by a foot injury, the 23-year-old from Belarus should start to regain her form on her favored hardcourts.
Still, no one looks like they will be a dominant force. Kvitova’s win in London marks the fourth consecutive year that titles at the opening three majors have gone to different players.
Tennis: Several possible women’s title contenders at U.S. Open is a post from: PhatzRadio.com
