Post-U.S. Open Glory Days
It’s that time of the tennis year when some top tennis pros are scrambling for extra points in order to qualify for the season-ending championships and/or a better year-end ranking to help their seeding at the 2011 Australian Open. At the same time, many male
players were involved in the Davis Cup semis and World Group Playoff matches this past weekend. Looking ahead, most players will simply be focused on grabbing some extra ranking points and cash before the season finishes between late October and early December depending on whether one is playing on the WTA or ATP Tour and/or in the Davis Cup final between Serbia and France.
For the women, Caroline Wozniacki will be chasing the possibility of reaching the top ranking while others such as Samantha Stosur and Francesca Schiavone will seek to cap off "career years” by making an appearance in the WTA Tour Championships. Others such as Vera Zvonareva will seek to finish off their “career year” on a high note as well. Meanwhile, former Grand Slam champions such as Maria Sharapova, Svetlana Kuznetsova and Ana Ivanovic will continue to search for their best form from past years in the rest of their matches this season to boost their confidence heading into the New Year. Of course the lingering question will be when/if Serena Williams will play a match, let alone the Federation Cup final before the real off-season “vacation” begins.
On the men’s side, it would be nice for Roger Federer to win a title or two heading into the off-season while Rafael Nadal should focus on maintaining his fitness! Novak Djokovic seems to be rounding into form again, but he faces a long final quarter with the Davis Cup final in early December in Belgrade. Andy Murray on the other hand, should be working hard to end the year with some significant match and tournament victories. For example, winning the ATP World Tour Finals in London would be a great send-off to his pre-Australia break.
It may seem like the dog days of autumn on the pro tennis tours, but there is still much to play for besides prize money and ranking points. Gaining a bit of confidence coming off some strong late-season results can be a big boost to a player heading into the heavy training days of the post-vacation off season.
For the women, Caroline Wozniacki will be chasing the possibility of reaching the top ranking while others such as Samantha Stosur and Francesca Schiavone will seek to cap off "career years” by making an appearance in the WTA Tour Championships. Others such as Vera Zvonareva will seek to finish off their “career year” on a high note as well. Meanwhile, former Grand Slam champions such as Maria Sharapova, Svetlana Kuznetsova and Ana Ivanovic will continue to search for their best form from past years in the rest of their matches this season to boost their confidence heading into the New Year. Of course the lingering question will be when/if Serena Williams will play a match, let alone the Federation Cup final before the real off-season “vacation” begins.
On the men’s side, it would be nice for Roger Federer to win a title or two heading into the off-season while Rafael Nadal should focus on maintaining his fitness! Novak Djokovic seems to be rounding into form again, but he faces a long final quarter with the Davis Cup final in early December in Belgrade. Andy Murray on the other hand, should be working hard to end the year with some significant match and tournament victories. For example, winning the ATP World Tour Finals in London would be a great send-off to his pre-Australia break.
It may seem like the dog days of autumn on the pro tennis tours, but there is still much to play for besides prize money and ranking points. Gaining a bit of confidence coming off some strong late-season results can be a big boost to a player heading into the heavy training days of the post-vacation off season.
|
