Bad Day at the Office for Venus and Novak
Yesterday at the 2009 French Open, Venus Williams lost the first set 6-0 to Agnes Szavay and then the second set 6-4. Today, Novak Djokovic lost in three straight sets to Philipp Kohlschreiber. Both Szavay and Kohlschreiber played very well and definitely deserved the wins. However, Venus and Novak also clearly were not on their games, especially in the beginning of the matches. Venus has never won the French Open, but she came into this
year’s tournament seeded third and coming off her strongest twelve months in years. Djokovic has been considered the second pick by many to win the French Open this year after his strong play during the clay court season where he lost in two finals to Rafael Nadal and won the title at his “home tournament” in Belgrade, Serbia. Nonetheless, any player can still have a slightly off day and lose to a talented player ripe for a major upset. Given these surprising losses, one appreciates even more the consistency of both Rafael Nadal (he’s won four consecutive titles at Roland Garros) and Roger Federer who has reached nineteen straight (and still counting) Grand Slam semis or better… It may sound like a cliché, but as Maria Sharapova, Serena Williams and Roger Federer have shown so far at the 2009 French Open, you need to find a way to win when you are not playing your best, especially in the dangerous early rounds of a Grand Slam such as the French Open. No one (usually) wins a Grand Slam title without struggling through one tough match.
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