Jelena Jankovic

In the Homestretch...

March 31, 2008

As the Sony Ericsson Open draws to a close, it remains difficult to predict who will win this season’s third Tier I* tournament. Just like in previous events, the women’s draw has been muddled by quite a few surprises.

Bowled over by hungry young players looking to move up in the rankings, several seeded players were dismissed in the early rounds. Case and point: Marion Bartoli (9th) of France was eliminated in the second round by 17-year-old Danish player Caroline Wozniacki (43rd). Meanwhile, Nicole Vaidisova (12th) of the Czech Republic and Polish rising star Agnieszka Radwandska (17th) also fell in round two, to Alisa Kleybanova (83rd) of Russia and 15-year-old Michelle Larcher De Brito (255th) of Portugal, respectively.

Serbian Ana Ivanovic (2nd), who won the Pacific Life Open in Indian Wells just over a week after she had confirmed her participation in the 2008 Rogers Cup presented by National Bank (July 26 – August 3 at Uniprix Stadium), was defeated in the third round by a player who isn’t exactly an up-and-comer but who is just as motivated as any youngster to climb in the rankings: American Lindsay Davenport (32nd). At 31 years old, tennis' newest Mom reached the quarter-finals in Indian Wells, proving that she still has a place amongst the world’s best.

Jie Zheng of China, Dinara Safina of Russia, and Kaia Kanepi of Estonia have also been enjoying great runs in Miami. Zheng, who is ranked 174th on the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour rankings, ousted Nadia Petrova (14th) of Russia (withdrawal) and Amélie Mauresmo of France (24th), and Safina showed Lindsay Davenport the door to reach the quarter-finals of a Tier I tournament for the first time since doing so in Moscow in October 2007. As for Kanepi (61st), to everyone’s surprise, she eliminated Alona Bondarenko (21st) of Ukraine and Patty Schnyder (11th) of Switzerland.

The bottom of the draw is therefore wide open as only one of the top four seeds – Jelena Jankovic (4th) of Serbia – remains. However, the situation in the top half of the draw is quite the opposite: Justine Henin (1st), Svetlana Kuznetsova (3rd), Venus (6th) and Serena Williams (8th) are all still very much alive.

As a result, it has become difficult and even somewhat risky to say with any certainty whose name will be etched on the winner’s trophy. However, there is one obvious conclusion: the era in which the sport was dominated by only a handful of players has come to an end... which makes for great tennis all around!

* Doha, Indian Wells, Miami, Charleston, Berlin, Rome, Montréal, Tokyo, Moscow.