This Week In Tennis: Miami Open Review

Serena’s Dominance

After a successful comeback campaign in Indian Wells, Serena Williams returned to a tournament, which the Williams family has dominated for the past 15 years. Serena entered the Miami Open as the two-time defending champion, and undefeated on the season (excluding the two losses in Hopman Cup). The world number one breezed through her first three matches, never losing more than three games in a set. However, Serena’s next two matches were anything but straightforward. Against both Sabine Lisicki in the quarterfinals, and Simona Halep in the semifinals, Serena was pushed deep into the third-set. During these matches, it became evident that Serena was facing two opponents, the person on the other side of the net, and herself.

After careful analysis, the most surprising facet about these victories was not Serena’s ability to overcome an uncharacteristic amount of unforced errors; rather, it was her ability to win relying so heavily on her second serve. The world number one consistently served under 50% of first serves throughout the tournament. What does that say for the field that even when Serena gets less than half of her first serves in players still cannot beat her? As the old saying goes, a player is only as good as their second serve. This statement epitomizes why Serena Williams has been the most dominant player of this generation, and possibly ever.

In the final, Serena had a first-serve percentage above 50%, and as a result, she defeated her opponent in under an hour, 6-2 6-0. The rest of the WTA players should take note of Serena’s performance. In order to become an elite player, you must be able to win matches when having to rely on her second serve. Serena’s performance during the Miami Open might not have been the cleanest we have seen out of the 19-time Grand Slam champion. However, her performance proved that even at 33 years of age, she is still as dominant as ever.  

The WTA’s New Rivalry

In a previous blog post, I mentioned the lack of a rivalry in the women’s game. With Azarenka being in and out of the game the past years due to injury, and Sharapova’s inability to  beat Serena, there has not been a player since Justine Henin who truly challenges the world number one. However, after the Miami Open semifinals, I think the WTA found their new rivalry.

Over the past two seasons, no player has improved their game more than Simona Halep. At the start of 2013, the Romanian was the 47^th player. In this week’s WTA rankings, Halep is perched at No. 3 in the world. The progression over the past few seasons for Halep has been steady and fruitful. Last season alone the Romanian (1) reached her first Grand Slam final, (2) won the biggest title of her career (Doha), (3) reached a career-high No. 2 in the WTA rankings, (4) qualified for the WTA Finals, and (5) beat Serena Williams for the first time. Moreover, the manner in which Halep defeated Serena revealed the potential for the next rivalry in women’s tennis.

If Halep’s victory over Serena revealed the potential, their semifinal match at the Miami Open all but confirmed the rivalry. The contrasting styles of the two players: Halep with her calculated aggressiveness, and Serena with her fearless aggression, have all the makings of an intriguing rivalry. Serena won the opening set of the encounter using her forceful groundstrokes and unmatchable power. However, Halep was able to force a deciding set because of successful point construction and unwavering focus. In the end, Serena may have came out the victor; but the real winner of the matchup was women’s tennis. Serena Williams has gone quite some time without having a formidable opponent push her to the limit. Based on what tennis fans witnessed in last Thursday’s semifinal, there is a challenger worthy enough to go toe–to-toe with one of the game’s greats.

Disarray at the Top

Outside of the Top 5 players, the 2015 season has been a struggle for the women ranked between six and ten. Lets that a look at the disarray at the top of women’s tennis:

Sixth-ranked Ana Ivanovic had a resurgent 2014 season. The Serb reached her first Grand Slam quarterfinal since the 2012 U.S. Open, captured four singles titles, and got back into the Top 5 in the world. In 2015, Ivanovic has a 9-6 record, suffering early losses at the Australian Open (1^st Round), Indian Wells (3^rd Round) and Miami (3^rd Round). The cause for Ivanovic’s struggles this year is due a loss in confidence. The former word number is not showing the fearless aggression she showed throughout last season. In addition, her serve is slowly becoming a liability again. Can Ivanovic turn her season around as the women transition to the red clay? If she can regain some of the confidence from 2014, then yes she can.

Last year, Eugiene Bouchard was the breakout star on the WTA Tour. The seventh-ranked Canadian won her first singles title, made the semifinals or better at three of the four majors, cracked the Top 10 and qualified for the WTA Finals. Everything was looking up for the 21-year-old Bouchard; however, it appears that expectation has set in. After defending a majority of her semifinal ranking points from last year’s Australian Open, Bouchard has only won 2 matches in three tournaments since. At 21 years of age, Bouchard is still getting accustom to the pressures of being a top player. Entering this season, I expected somewhat of a drop-off in the young Canadian’s play due to inexperience. However, Bouchard’s champion-mentality could help her overcome the incredible amount of pressure she faces.

Out of the players ranked in the lower half of the Top 10, nothing has been more shocking than the inconsistent play of world number nine, Agnieszka Radwanska. Consistency has been the cornerstone of Radwanska’s game ever since she burst onto the scene in 2007. However, Radwanska’s 2015 results have been anything but consistent. After the Miami Open, her record is a mediocre 9-8, with no quarterfinal appearances in 6 tournaments played. The inconsistent play could be attributed to the offseason acquisition of Martina Navratilova. During her 3^rd round match in Miami, Radwanska was indecisive of which game plan she wanted to implement: the more aggressive style Navratilova is trying to incorporate; or the counter-punching style she is more accustom to playing. If Radwanska wants to one day win a Grand Slam title, she must play a more aggressive-brand of tennis. When you play an aggressive-style of tennis, the downside is a higher number of unforced errors. Furthermore, the transition in Radwanska’s mindset could be the cause of the inconsistency. The question then becomes, will the consistency return once she becomes more comfortable playing with an aggressive mindset, or will she sacrifice the aggressive mindset altogether and revert to her old mindset for the sake of consistency?

Additional News and Notes

• Carla Suarez Navarro cracks the WTA Top 10 for the first time by virtue of reaching the final of the Miami Open. Suarez Navarro becomes the 3^rd Spaniard in WTA history to reach the Top 10.
• After withdrawing from the Premier Mandatory Events in Indian Wells and Miami, Petra Kvitova will return to the court to play in next week’s Fed Cup semifinals. The Czech sited exhaustion as the reason for skipping both tournaments.
• Both Venus and Serena Williams will represent the U.S. Fed Cup team in their World Group Playoff tie against Italy. In February, the Williams Sisters led the U.S. squad in a 4-1 victory over Argentina to qualify for the playoff. The best-of-five event will take place next week in Brindisi, Italy.