The Tennis Year So Far
By Barry Flatman
WHEN THE NEW YEAR DAWNED BACK IN JANUARY, THE ATP WORLD TOUR WHICH RUNS MEN’S TENNIS TOOK AN EDUCATED GUESS AND BASED ITS NEW PUBLICITY CAMPAIGN ON THE FOUR STAR PLAYERS OF THE MEN’S GAME, WAITING CROUCHED ON THE STARTING LINE OF A RUNNING TRACK, READY TO SPRINT INTO ACTION.
Most respected observers expected Roger Federer to come blazing out of the blocks first, determined to recapture the No.1 slot that had become his own personal property but how wrong they were. Instead it was the three young lions, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Britain’s own Andy Murray that made the pace.
Many champions of yesteryear awaited the upcoming outdoors and in with huge expectation. Bjorn Borg, champion six times at the French Open and five times in a row at Wimbledon enthused: “It could well be the most exciting year for a very long time.”
“We have had some great rivalries; Sampras and Agassi, Edberg and Becker, and more recently Federer and Nadal. But now there are four of them in the mix and all of them are capable of winning the really big titles. I’m a real fan these days and it stands to become a very, very special year for tennis.”
For Nadal, the first few months of the calendar were merely a continuation of his sensational form of 2008 which unseated Federer from his accustomed top position. Nobody was too shocked when the man from Majorca again won the French Open but he surprised many by adding the Wimbledon title. After all, no player had managed to so successfully make the tricky transition from clay to grass since Borg. But for Nadal that was just the start and for good measure he added an Olympic gold medal in Beijing. January’s Australian Open provided another stunning final and once more it was Rafa who took the prize.
Djokovic, the dashing young Serb who finished last year victoriously in Shanghai with the tour’s calendar ending finale the Tennis Masters Cup in his grasp, took a while to get into his stride and had initial problems coming to terms with a new racket. He finally got things together with a big win in Dubai. However, it was Murray that really underlined his position as a true contender for the big prizes with some stunning results.
Murray registered early year victories over both Federer and Nadal, winning titles in Doha, Rotterdam and an exhibition event in Abu Dhabi that paid lucratively but didn’t count when it came to the world rankings. A brief health scare, when the young Scot was forced to pull out of Britain’s Davis Cup team with a virus that first troubled him in Australia, temporarily interrupted the success story but Murray was soon back to full fitness.
By common consent, the big American event staged off the coast of Miami on the wind buffeted outcrop of Key Biscayne is the unofficial fifth Grand Slam tournament and Murray registered the biggest title of his young career when he proved too strong for Djokovic.
Despite celebrating the worldwide acceptance of equal prize money, the women’s game has been forced to accept second billing for a long time and the prolonged absence from the tour of Maria Sharapova, battling to overcome a shoulder injury, has not helped. But the battle to hold the No.1 spot on the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour since the retirement of Justine Henin a year ago has been intense.
This year alone, nobody has managed to hold on to top spot for very long. First there was Jelena Jankovic, the outgoing Serb who caught the British tennis public’s imagination as she seemed to publicly flirt on court with Jamie Murray on the way to the Wimbledon mixed doubles title a few years back. Then Serena Williams reclaimed top spot on the back of an emphatic title victory at the Australian Open. Next it was Dinara Safina, the tall Russian destroyed by Serena in the Melbourne final but on top by virtue of consistency over the course of a year.
Tennis-wise, 2009 has all the ingredients to be totally fascinating. As ever, it winds around the world, from the Arabian desert to down under in Australia and to some of the most spectacular spots in the United States before an annual tour of Europe’s hot spots; Monte Carlo, Rome, Madrid and Paris. But nowhere is brought more into focus than the months of June and July in Britain with Wimbledon, which remains the most prestigious tournament in the world. Bring on the big matches.
