by Pete Bodo
Mornin'. I just wrote a post for ESPN on how, suddenly, the WTA is hot. Who woulda thunk it, just a few months ago, when there was still weeping and gnashing of teeth over those convoluted story lines involving Serena Williams (and sister Venus as well, albeit to a lesser extent), Maria Sharapova, the ever-puzzling Justine Henin.
But here we are, just one Slam into the new year, and the WTA is getting all kinds of love, most of it deserved.
I mentioned in yesterday's post how the Aussie Open women's final trashed the men's event in the ratings war, even though neither tour put forth its A-team when it comes to star power (in fact, on paper, the men's final was a more intriguing spectacle between more evenly-matched opponents).
Then we had that striking news that the WTA Top 10 is comprised of women from 10 different nations. That's a kind of marketing coup. It underscores the theme that only soccer rivals tennis as "the world's game," and suggests that tennis is flourishing on an international scale, even if it means absolutely nothing when it comes to the actual quality of the product. And did you notice that Israel's Shahar Peer is No. 11, so the women are 11 for 11, until No. 12 Serena Williams spoils the narrative to join her sister as a U.S. player in the top dozen.
These are facts to which everyone can relate, and they can bring a smile to your face. Other factors also have helped the stock of the WTA skyrocket. Kim Clijsters is a much-loved figure, especially in the Anglo world, and she finally got the job done, winning a major other than the U.S. Open. And she did it in the nation that embraced and adopted her some years ago. No matter how you cut it, it's a nice story.
Then there's Caroline Wozniacki, an attractive, very appealing, fully dedicated No. 1. She was one stroke away (perhaps) from meeting Clijsters in the final; so, while that first Grand Slam title remains a goal, Wozniacki proved that she's a deserving No. 1 and intends to soldier on much like she did through all of 2010.
The details about Wozniacki and Clijsters reassert some sense of order in the WTA, and the theme going forward will be, Can Caroline keep Clijsters from becoming the dominant WTA player? Serena may have something to say about all that when she returns to the fray, and that's fine—it will invite a three-way narrative (at the least). It will not be an easy assignment for Serena, not with all those clay court tournaments and the French Open coming up.
Then there was Li Na, and the way she stole everyone's heart, and almost snatched up the women's singles trophy in Melbourne as well. And Francesca Schiavone, too. Ultimately, the first Grand Slam of the new year provided some of the best and most competitive women's matches we've seen in a long time. So the WTA is off to a great start for 2011, but I think there's more to it than that. I don't see an ongoing transition here. I see a ship that's sailed. A game that's moved on. A new era.
The WTA has rested on its laurels this week, giving us time to absorb all these doings. It's not at all a bad time to hold a Fed Cup tie (or Davis Cup, in my opinion), given that the vast majority of competitors are operating on at least two weeks rest (Clijsters is the obvious exception). It's a pity Fed Cup isn't more broadly popular, because these five quiet days leading up to the Fed Cup engagements give the WTA time to take a victory lap, crowned by a weekend intended to show its 10 for 10 international appeal. So let's take a look at the Fed Cup World Group match-ups:
!Beth USA at Belgium
This is the other big victory lap of the weekend, the homecoming of Kim Clijsters. She will now have to convince her anxious countrymen that she was just kidding about all that "Aussie Kim" stuff—just telling the wallabees what they want to hear because her heart belongs—d'accord!—to Belgium.
Clijsters will open the tie against the USA's Melanie Oudin, who's played exactly two competitive WTA matches thus far this year, losing to the same player (Klara Zakopalova of the Czech Republic) in the first round at both Hobart and in Melbourne.
Oddly enough, Kim Clijsters, who also played only two tournaments Down Under, met a player twice as well. She fared slightly better than did Oudin. Li Na upset Clijsters in the Sydney final, but Clijsters got her revenge in the Australian Open championship match. Somehow these details add up to a pretty good take on what the U.S. is up against in this tie. The other singles players are former U.S. Open semifinalist Yanina Wickmayer of Belgium and the USA's Bethanie Mattek-Sands, who made the final at Hobart but suffered a disappointing loss in the first round of the Australian Open.
Wickmayer was a finalist in the first WTA event of the year (Auckland) but she nosedived after that, winning just one tight three-set match in two tournaments. She may be vulnerable, and Mattek-Sands is an excellent competitor. It's hard to envision an Oudin first-rubber win, but if Mattek-Sands can snatch away the second match and...forget it.
Despite the great team spirit and solidarity of the USA squad, it looks pretty hopeless. A Belgian sweep is possible.
Czech Republic at Slovak Republic
I really like the look of this Czech Republic team, and here's a bold prediction: This team will go all the way and win the Fed Cup this year—provided Petra Kvitova remains healthy and chooses to participate.
Back when these two nations were one ("Czechoslovakia"), the entity won the Fed Cup five times, and did it without the services of the greatest Czech player of all-time, Martina Navratilova. She escaped from Czecho early in her career and was granted asylum in the U.S. The Czechs relied instead on the likes of Helena Sukova, Hana Mandlikova, Jana Novotna and others, and they often got the job done. Of course, when the original Czech nation broke up, their tennis rosters also split. The Czech Republic hasn't won a title since the split of 1994. The Slovaks, though, salted one away in 2002.
Dominika Cibulkova, the highest ranked Slovak (No. 27) is 0-1 against Kvitova but 2-0 against Lucie Safarova, who's ranked just three places below Cibulkova. The lowest ranked of all four singles players is the best known of the group, No. 32 Daniela Hantuchova. She's dangerous and unpredictable, capable of hitting anyone off the court or, more commonly these days, stinking up the joint.
Kvitova is a rising force in the WTA. She has a solid stablemate in Safarova, and Kveta Peschke, the 35-year old doubles specialist currently ranked No. 3 in that discipline. I like the Czechs, 3-2.
France at Russia
This is a meeting of quality teams that have had a big impact on Fed Cup in the not too distant past. France made the final four times (and won twice) between 1997 and 2005, and while the team misses the retired Amelie Mauresmo, it has good momentum going into World Group play. The French narrowly defeated Germany in the playoffs round (in Frankfurt) when Alize Cornet and Julie Coin won the final, decisive match, the doubles.
Russia, however, has been a new millennium superpower, winning the title four times in five years, beginning in 2004. And before that, Russia lost in the final four times. Given that Svetlana Kuznetsova is in resurgence and Maria Sharapova—the highest ranked player in the tie at No. 13—has been injury-plagued but can still be overpowering, it's hard to envision Alize Cornet and Virginie Razzano winning two of the four singles matches.
But hey, Cornet is 1-0 against Kuznetsova and Razzano is 1-3; Sharapova has played just one match against either of the French women (she beat Razzano). The lack of a clear H2H advantage, and a skimpy recent record of meetings, might make a difference—but not as much as it would if the tie were in France. I don't see any way Russia loses this one.
!Cesca Italy at Australia
It pains me to write this because I'm a huge fan of the Italian women and the Fed Cup mojo they've developed. Punching well above its weight, Italy has won the whole shooting match three times between 2006 and 2010, and the team that performed those mild miracles is intact: Francesca Schiavone, Flavia Pennetta, Sara Errani and Roberta Vinci.
However, the Aussies are awful good at these Cup thingys, and they're due for a real break-out. Given that there's no chance at all that the Davis Cup men of Oz will step up, it's all on the girls. Francesca Schiavone is ranked No. 4, one place higher than the Aussie star Sam Stosur. Schiavone had a fine Australian Open, while Stosur's ended on a bummer (unable to handle the expectations of her countrymen, she failed to make her No. 5 seeding and played a disappointing match in the third round, losing to Kvitova). So this looms like a great chance for Stosur to earn back some respect and to get her gradually rising game back on track.
Jarmila Groth, the Aussie No. 2, got off to a good start this year (it included an upset of Stosur at Brisbane; she also won just the second tour-level title of her career, at Hobart) and that could make all the difference in this tie—if the Aussies have anything like Italy's sense of solidarity and camaraderie. I'm looking for the Aussies to show their pride and fighting spirit on the heels of a disappointing Grand Slam.