Over the next two weeks, as the new season begins and the Australian Open nears, our panel of writers and editors will debate the five burning questions on each tour.
ED MCGROGAN, Senior Editor: Yes. The Big Four’s collective armor was pierced more so than ever before in 2014, but the quartet still rules the sport. But as great as they’ve been for tennis, what more can they really give us? I’m not asking for more; it’s a simply testament to their dominance. And as painful as it is to admit, it can get somewhat repetitive.
The WTA offers up much more unknowns at the moment. What’s next for Simona Halep? Can Petra Kvitova win a Slam besides Wimbledon? Belina Bencic, Aleksandra Krunic, Caroline Garcia: Which youngster will emerge from this promising pack? We could have asked any of these questions in this discussion.
While a classic match involving Nole, Rafa, or Roger can scale to greater heights, in terms of day-to-day intrigue, I give the WTA the edge.
PETER BODO, Senior Writer: The women might end up being more entertaining than the men this year’s Australian Open—nay, at all tournaments. But then, that isn’t necessarily a good thing, not unless you put drama above demonstrations of consistent excellence. “Entertaining” isn’t synonymous with “great” or even “artful,” after all.
The problem for the WTA is that nobody but Serena Williams has functioned at a sustained level of excellence over an extended period of time. The ladies may not need their own Big Four, but that’s the flip side of all the competitive events and matches we saw from the WTA in 2014.
In that regard, it was a shame to lose former No. 1 Victoria Azarenka to injury last year. She once looked like a player who could hit and sustain a high level of play to match and challenge Williams. She may do that yet, but I’m not expecting it at the first Grand Slam event of the new year.
