Wimbledon - Reed: Women's tennis in doldrums

Eurosport - Fri, 03 Jul 12:55:00 2009

Eurosport-Yahoo! blogger Simon Reed believes women's tennis is at a low point thanks to the Williams sisters.

Williams sisters Venus Serena - 0

Women's tennis has been in the doldrums recently, with the presence of the Williams sisters required to give tournaments any prestige.

I am optimistic that at the end of the year things could improve and return to a competitive environment, but at the moment the American duo are dominant.

Women's tennis is riding a bad wave at the moment. By next year, however, that wave will be on the rise again: it tends to be a cyclical process.

What has happened to the women's game since Justine Henin retired is the Williams sisters have been left to control proceedings.

Maria Sharapova will be a threat when she recovers fully from injury and Kim Clijsters will return to provide a test, but I am not sure about Jelena Jankovic or Ana Ivanovic.

There is still no doubt in my mind that Serena Williams is the number one player in the world, except possibly on grass where her sister Venus is slightly better.

The rest of the women are, I am afraid, quite a long way behind the pair.

I have always thought that when the Williams sisters are fit, they are easily the best players in the women's game, and today proved that.

The two semi-finals were not a surprise at all, with only the superb performance of Elena Dementieva giving us an exciting match.

I expected the Russian to succumb to nerves once more, but to her credit she did not - and it was a fantastic encounter.

Dinara Safina's world number one ranking is a bit deceptive, given that she has never won a Grand Slam, but it is certainly not her fault that the system is like that.

Some people are criticising her for the fact that she should not be there, but she is consistent on the Tour; to blame her is ridiculous.

Safina has clearly had better results than everyone else this year to achieve that ranking, but I think the system should be changed to reward Grand Slams more.

The weighting of the points system must be more heavily in favour of those players, like the Williams sisters, who perform on the biggest stage.

It is weird that Serena could potentially win the Australian Open and Wimbledon, yet still remain in second spot: that cannot be right.

Safina has never been any good when playing on grass courts, and it was frankly surprising that she even made it this far in the tournament.

I could see her drubbing today coming from a mile off, and it would have been the same if she had been playing Serena instead of Venus.

Safina is simply not a good mover on grass courts, but I would not be surprised if she came back at the US Open and proved a major threat.

---

Looking ahead to the women's final on Saturday, I may have to switch horses.

I am not one to change my mind very often, but I am moving towards Venus Williams for the title instead of Serena.

I have backed Serena to win the tournament all the way through in an all-Williams final, but the way Venus played today, you would be a brave man not to back her.

It is impossibly difficult to call with the way they are both striking the ball.

I think people are wrong to suggest that it may be a boring final, because I actually believe that it could be very exciting indeed.

Because the Williams sisters have been around for so long, people are now able to associate with one more than the other, and they have very distinct supporters on either side.

Any alternative to this final could well have been a disaster, with either Safina or Dementieva freezing on the big stage, and that would have been a complete nightmare.

An all-Williams final is probably the best draw possible, and let us hope that it is as exciting as the first semi-final was today.

Simon Reed / Eurosport

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  1. Bry A, you seem to be making a joke of this forum or­ the issue at hand. I now await a real contribution from­ you on the topic.

    From Huddy N, on Fri 3 Jul 8:04PM

  2. At the age that the Williams are now I think­ they've become wiser and more matured. They­ certainly prefer the slams (the big ones). You­ can't blame them though because it's all about­ record and making history. They are certainly­ interested in these rather than being number one.­

    They will be better remembered for the history they­ make and records they set than being number one. In­ all, credit must be given to them because I doubt if­ the other players will be able to attain the standard­ that is being set by the Williams sisters.

    Talk about­ Navratilova, Chris Evart, Steffi, B. Jean King etc you­ always remember the records they set more than their­ being number one during their playing days. We­ can't blame Venus and Serena for the kind of focus­ they have now.

    From Joshua, on Fri 3 Jul 8:02PM

  3. what's all the fuss? Reed made some fair comments,­ even saying the Williams sisters are dominant at the­ moment, He's only speaking the truth that there­ isn't much else going on among the women, though­ Dementieve played better tennis than Williams. In a­ game likt that luck plays its part and williams got it.­ Someone had to say about all these European number ones­ each year that get blown out. anyone who diagres with­ Reed , well so be it but stop playing the bloody racism­ card every time someone talks about anything involving­ black people. Seems we aren't allowed to say­ anything truthfull or have an opinion. If Wimmledon had­ arranged it so they couldn't meet in the final­ imagine the bloody fracas that would have been raised­ by all you people using race as your argument when­ someone says something different than you. Next time­ read all of the article dont just pick out bits to­ satisfy your own vanity

    From Drifter, on Fri 3 Jul 7:53PM

  4. Reed, whatever you say women's tennis needed the­ Williams sisters. It no lie that they alone have­ revolutionised women's tennis. In fact, I'm­ afraid when retire, women's tennis is going to be­ as boring as it used to be before them. They have so­ much improved the quality of tennis beyond measure just­ as Real Madrid did in Spain when it bought all the best­ players in the uropean league. Other teams had to work­ really hard to compete with Real Madrid. It is just the­ same; all the player in the women's circuit will­ have to work hard if they want to compete with the­ Williams sisters. Reed I think the word­ "doldrum" is too heavy not to mention the­ "return to competitive environment. Seriously, how­ cmpetitive can the game be? All the player in the­ women's draw have an equal chance of winning­ Wimbledon. It just depends on their individual desire,­ fitness and the hard work they put into their­ preparation for the big stage. Long live the Williams­ Sisters.

    From SB, on Fri 3 Jul 7:44PM

  5. Certainly the Williams are the best the world can offer­ now. They've stayed long enough and have been able­ to fend off oppositions. They pick their tournaments­ and achieve the results they need to be the best.­ Justin, Kim and even Sharapova have not been able to­ maintain the momentum that is needed to keep them at­ par with Venus and Serena. In the same vain the up­ coming ones have not been able to match what the­ Williams offer to female tennis.

    I think the female­ players need something special in order to dethrone the­ Williams sisters.

    From Joshua, on Fri 3 Jul 7:44PM

  6. I am surprised by the first line of the article. Is­ tennis worse or better with the Williams sisters? Is­ women's tennis at a low point or perhaps is it a­ case of there being no single dominant player in the­ game, in the rankings and slams

    The William sisters,­ while no longer at the top of the rankings, have shown­ that they still have the hunger and tenacity to win at­ Grand Slams. They can now afford to cherry pick which­ tournaments they will play. Being at the tail end of­ their careers their focus has changed. Maybe in the­ past it was about being number 1. I think now its about­ the Slams. They need to make sure when the Slams come­ around they are fully fit and ready to compete, and­ win!

    I believe the Williams have good reason to­ carefully manage their calendar as risks of injury­ increase. Serena's match with Elena was highly­ entertaining and good advertisement for the ladies.­ Dinara is a very good player but now needs to back up­ her ranking with a win in grandslam. - BTM

    From Bruce, on Fri 3 Jul 7:43PM

  7. Certainly the Williams are the best the world can offer­ now. They've stayed long enough and have been able­ to fend off oppositions. They pick their tournaments­ and achieve the results they need to be the best.­ Justin, Kim and even Sharapova have not been able to­ maintain the momentum that is needed to keep them at­ par with Venus and Serena. In the same vain the up­ coming ones have not been able to match what the­ Williams offer to female tennis.

    I think the female­ players need something special in order to dethrone the­ Williams sisters.

    From Joshua, on Fri 3 Jul 7:41PM

  8. Mr. Bry 214 you claim that no one is challenging the­ Williams well you seem to have forgotten that Serena­ was trashed at the Roland Garos by who? Kutnesova and I­ have said it times without number Kutnesova and­ Dementieva are two people playing the Williams hard,­ Venus also lost out of the Roland Garos at the second­ or third round this year, Serena only won in Australian­ open she was trashed in all the other tournaments, so I­ ask you and Mr. Reed what do you guys want? You want­ the Williams not to come to any Grand Slams because you­ want the female tennis to be what? Dead I guess. the­ Williams are very good in grass and hard court they are­ not so good in clay more ever there is room for the­ rest of the ladies to go and improve so that they can­ beat the Williams. I think Female tennis will die if­ the Williams are no longer playing, go and ask Lawn­ Tennis tournament Sponsors they will tell you that a­ Tennis tournament without the Williams and Sharapova is­ not a tournament.

    From stine147, on Fri 3 Jul 7:31PM

  9. Christ almighty the women in the final look more butch­ than the men

    From joe g, on Fri 3 Jul 7:30PM

  10. Serena is a Fashion Cow

    From tom h, on Fri 3 Jul 7:28PM

  11. Reed has never loved Federer and has never supported­ him. He would rather support a kangaroo than support­ federer. LOL!

    From Pooks, on Fri 3 Jul 7:27PM

  12. Simon Reed, you are great deceiver, the devil's­ mouth. Andy Murray is out and I hope you will drop your­ lying tongue as well. What you write has no real­ insight and is full of lies. What would u say again­ about Murray? Stop writing anything in the future.

    From Pooks, on Fri 3 Jul 7:26PM

  13. @215: yes my comment still stands, ONE competitive­ match out of MANY does not mean the William sisters are­ being challenged.

    From Bry A, on Fri 3 Jul 7:20PM

  14. So mr Reed, Roddick has no chance?
    And Tommy­ had?
    AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

    THE DROUGHT CONTINUES!

    From bulls_on_parade_7, on Fri 3 Jul 6:50PM

  15. Disappointingly shocking is the first response that­ comes to mind after reading this Simon Reed/Eurosport­ commentary. Please Simon get back to what is nearer­ the centre of professional (objective) sports­ journalism and leave the edge of the game where an­ abyss of prejudice and narrow subjective emotional­ responses threaten to undermine the confidence of the­ sport and our athletes. You would have to eat back the­ first four paragraphs of your article if you would­ attempt to convince me that you were focusing on the­ quality of the game or players’ game in general. The­ point is this; all the players in the opens have equal­ opportunities to reach the top. The Williams’ are­ just playing really great tennis at the moment and so­ they have made it thus far. So rather than reacting in­ a way that discredits international tennis, Wimbledon,­ all the majors or the Williams’, please throw in­ something positive to keep the game flying high.

    From Huddy N, on Fri 3 Jul 6:39PM

  16. The name of the game is "Health" and­ "Fitness" , that is how you win in tennis! We­ have seen the williams lose when they are not fit, but­ this year they are in tip top shape. It's there­ season!

    From Pearlina K, on Fri 3 Jul 6:35PM

  17. bricerod - comment 183
    Oh dear me!
    You could not be­ further from the truth; i am not even going to­ entertain your highly offensive remark - apart from the­ fact that you owe me one ENORMOUS APOLOGY!!!!!!!

    From cameron w, on Fri 3 Jul 6:26PM

  18. sanchez.santos
    Thank you!
    I do enjoy reading you!

    From cameron w, on Fri 3 Jul 6:19PM

  19. 214. Alright, since you are Reed's interpreter, you­ appear to be countering either your points, or­ Reed's points. First you approve of­ Dementieva-Williams as competetive, and then you­ retreat to say that no one challenges the Williams. Is­ Dementieva so unhuman not to recognised as a potential­ threat?

    From asefras, on Fri 3 Jul 6:07PM

  20. I think what Reed is talking about is the quality of­ the tennis being played. If most women could give the­ Williams Sisters a match like Elena did yesterday, no­ one would be complaining, but the problem is the­ Williams sisters have it waaay too easy the way they­ breeze through opponents and no one seems to be able to­ challenge them much. Thats why no one complains about­ Federer- Nadal, how many one- sided Federer- Nadal­ matches have you seen besides the 2008 FO? Probably­ none, but I'll run out of fingers counting the one­ sided matches I've seen featuring the Williams'­ vs. the rest of the women. Thats why the issue really­ lies, THE QUALITY OF THE MATCHES. Plus, I don't­ think anyone has a problem with the Williams', even­ if it was two Russians, dominating, we'd still have­ the same article. I'm sure if most women would rise­ up to the occasion like Elena did, it'd be much­ better, even though they don't win, at least the­ sisters will be challenged, thats what most people­ want. Of course its not really the William's­ sisters fault, but the rest of the women who really­ need to just be free and put up a good fight when­ playing them.

    From Bry A, on Fri 3 Jul 5:50PM
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