2010: (What a) Year Ahead in Tennis
2010 promises to be a year in which there will be major comebacks and exciting new faces emerging. Roger Federer and Serena Williams begin the year as the top-ranked players, but each will face several serious challengers for the Number One ranking. Rafael Nadal has a
lot of points to defend in the first few months of the year, but at the same time, Rafa can clearly become the dominant player again if he finds his form and stays healthy. At the same time, Novak Djokovic seems to be primed to win his second Grand Slam title in 2010 if he can retain the form which he showed after the U.S. Open. Juan Martin del Potro has a game which makes him dangerous on all surfaces, similar to returning Argentine compatriot, David Nalbandian, and with one Grand Slam title already under his belt, del Potro should be a threat at every Slam in 2010. Finally, Andy Murray was everyone’s pick to win a Grand Slam in 2009 and he didn’t even reach a final. 2010 will be an important year in Murray’s career for him to show he can defeat all the best players during a two-week Grand Slam.
On the women’s side, Serena Williams played some of her best tennis the past couple years and it may be tough for her to maintain that momentum while also staying healthy through the entire season… but Serena remains a threat at every Slam. Given the comebacks of former multiple Grand Slam champions, Kim Clijsters, Justine Henin and Maria Sharapova, there are several players who should challenge for Grand Slam titles including Caroline Wozniacki, Dinara Safina, Jelena Jankovic, Svetlana Kuznetsova, Venus Williams, Victoria Azarenka, Elena Dementieva and Ana Ivanovic. It’s also likely that the Number One ranking will change hands again a couple times during this season. As always on the women’s Tour, staying injury-free will be one of the main factors affecting the performance of most of these top players.
Finally, one hopes that tennis will have a “quiet year” off the court with no more news stories regarding doping suspensions or tirades at linespeople. Perhaps some lessons were learned in 2009 and the news from tennis will be all about what transpires between the lines. Unless of course, it’s news that a player has walked down the aisle or had a couple twins!
On the women’s side, Serena Williams played some of her best tennis the past couple years and it may be tough for her to maintain that momentum while also staying healthy through the entire season… but Serena remains a threat at every Slam. Given the comebacks of former multiple Grand Slam champions, Kim Clijsters, Justine Henin and Maria Sharapova, there are several players who should challenge for Grand Slam titles including Caroline Wozniacki, Dinara Safina, Jelena Jankovic, Svetlana Kuznetsova, Venus Williams, Victoria Azarenka, Elena Dementieva and Ana Ivanovic. It’s also likely that the Number One ranking will change hands again a couple times during this season. As always on the women’s Tour, staying injury-free will be one of the main factors affecting the performance of most of these top players.
Finally, one hopes that tennis will have a “quiet year” off the court with no more news stories regarding doping suspensions or tirades at linespeople. Perhaps some lessons were learned in 2009 and the news from tennis will be all about what transpires between the lines. Unless of course, it’s news that a player has walked down the aisle or had a couple twins!
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