Serena Williams is the ‘One’ to chase Down Under…
By Louise Belcourt
The first tournament of the year (or the end of the year) is amongst us at the Brisbane International in Australia, with Serena Williams leading an all star women’s cast.
6 of the top 10 women’s players in the world have ventured down under to be the first to raise a trophy in 2014. This includes world number 1 Serena Williams (USA), world number 2 Victoria Azarenka (BLR) and world number 4 Maria Sharapova (RUS).
It will be an ominous task for the field of 32 to topple the world number 1 seed Serena Williams. With 17 grand slam titles (second only to Steffi Graf in the modern era), and 11 titles in 2013 including the French and US Opens, Williams has come to Australia hungry for even more success. “I can’t stop. I love it. I love being out here. I love competing. It gives me something to do, and I just love the competition. So for me, it’s just about motivating myself and trying to reach new goalsâ€.
The end of season break meant a well earned rest for the 32 year old in Florida. Forgoing last year’s exotic adventure to Mauritius she stayed home to train with her father and long time training partner Sascha. “Well obviously I love working with my father. For me, he’s the most unbelievable coach in the world.†Staying in Florida also allowed Williams to spend time on her business, including interviewing for the CEO of her Aneras fashion line. “For me, it’s all about business and removing a lot of emotion and seeing black and white. I definitely think I’m a tough interviewer, but I also think I’m just a real person, and everyone can see that“. Serena will be all tennis business as she aims to stamp her authority before the first grand slam of the season that starts in Melbourne on Monday 13 January 2014.
Looking to break the dominance of Williams will be world number 2 Victoria Azarenka (BLR). Coming off a recent straight sets victory over Williams in Thailand in an exhibition match, Azarenka would love to snatch back the number 1 ranking in 2014. Having won only 3 titles in 2013, she would like to redeem the end of year form slump that saw her lose out in the round-robin play in the season ending WTA championships in Istanbul. Azarenka is on the easier half of the draw that excludes Williams and Sharapova, and is hoping to at least finish the tournament after pulling out of the 2013 tournament with a sore toe.
The number 3 seed Maria Sharapova is also looking to be competitive in this year’s tournament, after having withdrawn from the Brisbane tournament in the last 3 years. Since June 2013 she has only played 3 matches, after a right shoulder injury that saw her pull out of the US open and season ending WTA championships. “I’ve played with an injured shoulder for a while, so it was really important for me to take that timeâ€. Finally feeling healthy and with a new team, Maria is fired up to face the best of women’s tennis even after such a great career. “You have to realize that the decisions you make, you have to make them selfishly in this business to be better, to know what’s right for you, because time goes really fast. I think we all grow in different areas and learn a lot about ourselves and our games“.
With the women’s top 2 seeds Williams and Azarenka having a bye the first round, Sharapova will kick start her campaign Monday evening.
So will the dominance of Serena Williams continue in 2014? Barring injury I believe it will.
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A re-charged Roger touches down in Brisbane
By Jayita Belcourt
He may not have finished the season on the highest of notes, but world # 6 Roger Federer was clearly in fine spirits as he touched down in Australia this weekend in preparation for his debut at the Brisbane International.
Admitting that 2013 had been a touch year, the optimistic 32 year old expressed his hopes for a much better season with greater intensity and injury-free.
“I was lacking fitness with all the set-backs I had,†Federer shared.
“I still finished 6th in the world which is unbelievable for me after all the problems I hadâ€.
“Hopefully feeling better this year, I can have a better seasonâ€.
Deeply reflective, the Swiss maestro gave no clues of an early retirement and believes it is his defying nature and ingrained ‘balanced’ perspective to life that catapulted his will to continue in the sport despite the year’s upsets.
“Tennis is very important, but it is not everything. Especially when you have family you realize that,†he shared.
“As crazy as it might sound, I actually quite enjoyed all the set-backs I had and trying to find a way out of itâ€.
“The most difficult part was not knowing how to get out of it for those selective few days or maybe couple of weeks where I was like ‘I don’t know exactly what to do yet, but let’s just be patient here and keep working hard and success is going to come back’.â€
With 17 major grand slam titles to his name, success is no stranger to Federer. But one has to wonder whether his optimism at life is purely a fairytale for 2014. With the likes of Djokovic, Nadal and a bunch of young guns on the rise, can the Fed Express bring home a few more crowns’ to add to his bountiful collection?
Only time will tell, but for the moment, it seems Roger is content with the joys of being a tourist and catching up with the Aussie ‘locals’. Venturing to a nearby wildlife sanctuary,
Federer fed some kangaroos and held a five-year old koala in front of a packed media crowd. Describing the experience as pretty cool, it seems the down time and integration with the Australian culture resonates with the champ.
“At the end of the day, Australia is very niceâ€.
“The people are very friendly and I love being here. They love their sports. I think people really I hope that I can play well and enjoy myself,†he reflected with a glimmer of hope in his eyes.
“I’ve had a really good practice these past one and a half months. I’ve had a really good rest as well. So I’m mentally really recharged and my body feels really good as well which is very important going into the yearâ€.
And on that note, I think we all aspire to see the maestro weave his magic at least one more time and maybe inspire a generation or two in what’s possible… For is there anything more beautiful than witnessing the rebirth of an eagle that so elegantly and poetically soars with grace.
(Photo credits: Gerry ‘G-Rocks’ Nicholls)
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Scoop Malinowski · December 30, 2013 at 12:42 pm
Federer is as compelling now as ever before. With Edberg in his corner and new motivations to do better this year than last, I am really looking forward to watching Roger play. He is basically telling everyone last year was bad luck so watch out the real Roger is coming back.
Scoop Malinowski · December 30, 2013 at 12:44 pm
Very interesting dynamic with Serena Maria and Dimitrov triangle. Maria is almost flaunting Dimitrov in Serena’s face now. I read that Maria and Dimitrov played last night one after the other. You just know Serena is going to make Maria pay for this on the court 🙂 Wonder if Grigor will sit in Maria’s box for the Serena match which is slated for the SF?
Louise Belcourt · December 31, 2013 at 7:35 pm
I don’t recall Maria sitting in Grigor’s corner last year when she staying in Brisbane after withdrawing with an injury.
I don’t think they want to get Serena angry, Maria struggles enough winning sets off Serena as it is.
Scoop Malinowski · January 1, 2014 at 9:14 am
That’s a good idea Louise, to not provoke Serena’s rage lol. Flaunting Dimitrov in her face at this tourney though just might qualify for irritating Serena’s sensitivities. Maria better be ready for a thrashing in the SF. Dimitrov doesn’t seem like the sort who would sit there in the box anyway. I will never forget when journo Richard Pagliaro said on Tennis Channel that “Hey I’m a grown man, if Serena came at me like she did at the lineswoman, I’ll admit it I’d be scared too.”
Bryan · January 2, 2014 at 6:06 pm
Everyone will once again predict Serena wins the AO as they do every year and Vika will win just like the last two years, becoming the first woman to win 3 AO in a row since Steffi Graf.
Vika needed the break to get back in shape. Her fitness was weak throughout the fall because she had nagging minor injuries.
Scoop Malinowski · January 2, 2014 at 7:00 pm
Jankovic could be a factor also Bryan. Really want to see Sloane step it up and see what Halep can do. Also impressed by Jamie Hampton. Venus is looking pretty sharp right now too. Sharapova has her new team maybe she will show a new dimension.
Louise Belcourt · January 4, 2014 at 9:03 am
I liked the look of Jankovic in her semi-final loss to Azarenka. She was really in control of the match when she was bitten/stung by some unknown Aussie bug (plenty of pests down under!). From that point on she seemed to get tired, her first serve percentages went down, and she let Azarenka back into the match. She said in her press conference “I slowed down and I stopped moving and lost this intensity, which she took advantage of.” “As the match went on she was going on top of me and I was going down. Overall it was a tough match, and I think we both battled. It was close until the end.”
It could have been the intense heat, but I know she can trouble the top 4 players on her day. Although beating Serena would be a tall ask, as her serve is so much better than Azarenka’s. Not to mention how powerful Serena’s been hitting the balls against Maria and Victoria, and her defensive skills have been unbelievable. Serena’s definitely been working hard with her Dad in the off-season!
Scoop Malinowski · January 4, 2014 at 4:30 pm
TOugh luck for JJ with the bug Louise. I agree, JJ is a dangerous player when at her best, when she really WANTS it. I think she plays her best when she does all her drama queen stuff but she refrains from doing it most of the time lately. JJ is a former world number one, so easy to forget, I would love to see her upset the applecart.