Caroline Wozniacki proved to be one of the biggest
disappointments of the Australian Open and her wait for a first Grand Slam
title goes on - she hasn't even been in the final of the last five tournaments.
Debate on her ranking is sure to return with even more
ferocity, because both Kim Clijsters and Serena Williams clearly showed they can
win Majors whenever they really want to.
Yet the current world number one cannot seem to do the same.
That said, she played at a good level despite some worries during
the first two weeks of the year.
Switching racquets in January, coupled with some bad results,
left some people worrying about her form, but Caroline reassured us by playing strongly
in Melbourne until her match point against Li Na.
Her insistence on waiting and the flaws in her offensive
game are not fatal against some players - but not when facing the best in the
world.
We always seem to end up at the same conclusion with her: Caroline
wins a lot of matches because she's very steady and is a great counterpuncher,
but she also has to work on being aggressive if she wants to win that, so far
elusive, first Grand Slam.
Justine Henin
called it quits for a second time during the tournament in Melbourne, but
nobody seemed to care.
Struggling with her right elbow since a fall at Wimbledon,
she finally decided to give up, considering that the injury will prevent her
from returning to the highest level.
In the other disappointments, again we find ourselves ruing
how poorly Samantha Stosur plays
when she's at home.
The Australian lost against Petra Kvitova in the third round
in a match totally dominated by the Czech.
Struggling with old demons, Stosur was never able to fully
relax and so played a tense game which didn't allow her to compete at this high
level.
Maria Sharapova
is still trying to complete her comeback to the top but again she was a shadow
of her former self.
Now coached by Thomas Hogsteadt, she is yet to be as
convincing as she was before her shoulder injury and surgery.
Ousted by the
excellent Andrea Petkovic, who overpowered her throughout the entire match, we
can only continue to wonder how much she's involved in her tennis career now.
Victoria Azarenka
has not improved for a year now. Her ranking is the proof, as are the results in
a tournament where she lost far too early again, against Li Na in the fourth
round and in a match in which she was beaten at her own game: playing fast from
the baseline.
Venus Williams
was forced to pull out against Petkovic because of a thigh injury sustained a
day earlier during her touch match against Sandra Zahlavova.
She wasn't looking in good shape anyway and, given that she
looked a little overweight, had probably not trained enough. That's very
unusual for her but it proves she was lacking training during the off season.
Jelena Jankovic
lost in the second round in two sets against Shuai Peng and continues to show
that she's a long way from the number one player she once was.
Match of the
tournament
We were lucky enough to witness an outstanding match during the
2011 Australian Open: an incredibly even match-up, high in emotional intensity
and filled with suspense and broken records.
The battle between Francesca Schiavone and Svetlana
Kuznetsova had everything.
Without wanting to make the comparison, there are many
similarities between this match and the clash at Wimbledon between Mahut and
Isner.
The Melbourne epic broke the record for the longest Grand
Slam match, but the quality of the game was even more striking for me.
The third set, which ended at 16-14 after three hours of
play, was played at an amazing level.
Francesca would have brought back many people to women's
game with this match, as well as her run at the French Open.