Sports Then and Now

Maria Sharapova loses to Zheng Jie of China at Indian Wells tournament.

Justine Henin goes down to defeat in straight sets in her second round match! Top-seeded Svetlana Kuznetsova loses her opening salvo!  Feisty Chinese player Jie Zheng clobbers favored Maria Sharapova!

Kim Clijsters is sent packing by Alisa Kleybanova in a 3rd round thriller!  Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez ousts the No. 3 seed Victoria Azarenka!

It is like watching the air burst from a balloon, allowing the deflating latex to spiral around the room once in a final spurt of glory before coming to land limp and lifeless on the turf.

So go the WTA’s top seeds as well as those “come-back” players expected to win at the BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells.

To set the proper mood for this much-anticipated Masters Series event, top-ranked Serena and Venus Williams boycotted the tournament for the ninth consecutive year. Dinara Safina pulled out early with a persistent back injury.  That propelled world No. 3 Svetlana Kuznetsova into the top spot as the No. 1 seed as action got underway.

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Venus Williams remains at the top of the women's tennis power rankings.

The Williams sisters are absent from the so-called “Premier Mandatory” event at Indian Wells as usual. (Not sure why? check out JA Allen’s recent article.) However, their absence did not prevent them from retaining the top two spots in our biweekly power rankings, though they are sure to lose their grip after the BNP Paribas Open concludes.

The Top Ten

1. Venus Williams (Last Power Ranking: 1; WTA Ranking: 5); Last Four Tournaments: Acapulco [Winner], Dubai [Winner], Australian Open [Quarterfinalist], Doha [Finalist]; Power Ranking Points: 426

Venus Williams has been on fire since Australian Open. In a stretch of about two weeks, she won back-to-back titles at Dubai (Hard) and Acapulco (Clay), and then captured the Billie Jean King Cup at Madison
Square Garden. One can not help but wonder what will happen if she participated in this year’s Indian Wells event. Read the rest of this entry →

At the Indian Wells Masters Series Tennis Tournament in 2001, Venus Williams pulled out of a semifinal match against her sister Serena Williams just 4 minutes before the match was scheduled to get underway. The enthusiastic crowd, assembled and anxious to see the dynamic duo take the court, were upset and booed the sisters.

The match was to be televised, carried nationally by ESPN2.  When Venus and her father, Richard Williams, entered the stadium the next day to watch Serena in the final against Kim Clijsters, they were booed, as was Serena all during her match.

Even as Serena held the championship trophy aloft, the crowd voiced their displeasure with the Williams sisters, feeling that Venus’ withdrawal was a contrived way out of a difficult match for the close-knit family.  The crowd felt deceived and let down.  They let everyone know the extent of their displeasure.

To view the subsequent crowd reaction click here.

Was the crowd wrong?  Yes.  Players retire due to injury all the time.  To accuse Venus of this action was unjust.  At the time the Williams sisters were a rarity in the world of professional tennis.  They were both top-notch exciting tennis players capable of beating anyone else on tour.

Venus accepts the runner up trophy while Serena wins the Wimbledon Championship Trophy in 2003

But their matches against each other often lacked the fire of their matches against other professionals. Venus seemed far too tender and she rarely defeated Serena in the big finals, except at Wimbledon.  In those days there were often subtle comments made in certain media quarters, hinting that the outcome of their matches was pre-ordained.

It was, of course, all stuff and nonsense with no foundation.  It is not even logical that the sisters would engage in such subterfuge because there was no compelling reason to do so.  Sisters compete. From the day they are born until the day they die, sisters vie for attention and the top spot.  It is human nature.  Most siblings are life-long competitors.

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Not one, but two Masters tournaments, the firsts of the year.

The only ATP events of the month, both centered in the sunshine of the United States.

These are the last hard courts before spring ushers in the clay. No more of the artificial, punishing surfaces until the tour heads back to North America in late July. Many, indeed, will postpone their transfer from the all-too-brief grass season until August.

So it is little wonder that Indian Wells and its Miami sister two weeks later draw the big names, the big crowds, the big coverage.

Indian Wells, in particular, is set like a sapphire in the Californian desert, a jewel in the tennis crown. More people soak up the tennis at this tournament than anywhere outside the Grand Slams.

It’s a place drenched in blue, wholly in tune with its watery origins. This most favored stop on the tennis tour, attracting the very best from both the ATP and WTA tours, offers a serene mountainous backdrop, cloudless skies, dry heat, clear air. It’s as close to paradise as wealth can bring to the desert.

More than 300,000 flock to the Indian Wells Tennis Garden. It overflows with tropical flowers, trees, and fountains, and the courts themselves sit like miniature Aegean Seas within their grass-green surroundings.

The pale violet and blue peaks of the distant Santa Rosa range provide a glorious setting as this oasis bursts into flower with a bouquet of wonderful prospects. Read the rest of this entry →

Frenchman Gael Monfils who won the BMW in 2007 is known for his pure athleticism on court.

The French love it in Sunrise, Florida.  Since the tournament’s inception in 2004, a dozen top-ranked Frenchmen have participated in the BMW Tennis Championship Tournament, some coming back year after year.

The reasons they keep returning –– great competition, outstanding hospitality, appreciative crowds and hope for a great springboard into the rest of the season.

In 2007 a young up-and-comer Gael Monfils of France won the BMW Tennis Championship trophy, defeating Andreas Seppi of Italy in the final 6-3, 1-6, 6-1. Monfils’ pure athleticism and power made him a crowd favorite as he worked his way through the draw.

Monfils followed this triumph in Florida with a trip to the finals of the Hypo Group Tennis International Tournament in Poertschach, Austria where he lost to Argentine Juan Monaco.  During the semifinals at Poertschach, Monfils upset Lleyton Hewitt, seeded No. 4, having previously dismissed the No. 2 seed Andy Roddick in the 3rd round of this French Open tune-up event.

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Thomaz Bellucci's left-handed forehand is already a formidable weapon.

Things a tennis player ought to have by age 22:

Overpowering forehand: Check.
Safe, consistent backhand: Check.
Heavy, effective serve: Check.

Lean but stout build (a la Novak Djokovic): Check
At least one tour title: Check
Deep run in a major: Uhm …

Currently No. 32, Brazil’s Thomaz Bellucci is one of the least-known players in the world’s top 50. That has the potential to change — and soon — but whether or not it does will largely depend on factors other than his physical gifts.

The tools are there, and have already been demonstrated in the young Brazilian’s two career titles, last year at Gstaad in August, then in February in Santiago. Of these two clay court wins, his result in Switzerland would have to be considered the more impressive in terms of volume, as he came through qualifying to win seven matches and take his first title.

Though rather fortunate that the very tough German Nicolas Kiefer withdrew after winning the first set from Bellucci, the young Brazilian scored several impressive wins in the process: He topped the No. 2 Swiss Stanislas Wawrinka fell in the first round, then Russia’s mini-Nadal, Igor Andreev in the semis, and finally German Andreas Beck in the final. In doing so, he added his first tour title to his six Challenger wins. Read the rest of this entry →