The US Open Series
Heats Up
Final two weeks will determine the Series winners
Tennismates.com
By: Nick Nguyen
Monday - August 15, 2005. With two more weeks to go, this year US Open Series has brought out the glories, injuries, and comebacks for some players. So what other surprises, beside from players withdrawals, are in store for the players and fans for the next two weeks?
On the women’s side, it has been nothing but injuries; from toes to shoulders, while on the men’s side, well, it hasn’t been an injury-free summer season either.
Last week JPMorgan Chase once again was the tournament to determine the new Number 1 player in the world for the women. Two years ago, Kim Clijsters took the top spot from Lindsay Davenport after defeating Davenport to win the title.
Sharapova didn’t have to win the title to get the top spot from yet again Davenport. All she had to do was get to the semifinal and the top spot would be hers. But her attempt to be the 15th player in history to be Number 1 derailed, not from another player’s hands, but from injury.
She was one match away from knocking Davenport out of the spot, but was forced to retired against Daniel Hantuchova in the quarterfinal of the JPMorgan Chase with a strained chest muscle. But Sharapova, who along with Venus Williams, withdrew from the Roger Cups on Sunday, needs not worry as it has been projected that she will be the new and also the first Russian player to be ranked world Number 1 when the ranking is released on August 22 because some of the points will fall off of Davenport’s ranking because of her title run last year at Cincinnati.
Clijsters went on to win the JPMorgan Chase’s title beating Hantuchova, 6-4, 6-1. She also regained the lead on the US Open Series standing from Pierce with 125 points. Mary Pierce, Ai Sugiyama, Hantuchova, and Patty Schnyder follow right behind Clijsters.
Injuries haven’t been that kind to the men either, though it has been better on most part than the women.
Andre Agassi has fought through his recurring injuries to take the top spot on the Series standing even though he lost to Rafael Nadal, who also had been battling injury of his own, on Sunday at the Rogers Masters in Toronto. With the 6-3, 4-6, 6-2 win against Agassi, Nadal is behind Agassi on the standing with 100 points. Agassi is only five points ahead and probably will not maintain the top spot after pulling out of the Cincinnati Masters at the last minute.
Right behind Agassi and Nadal are Greg Rusedski, Andy Roddick, and Robby Ginepri.
Who could have thought that players like Ginepri, Pierce, and Sugiyama would have been able to make the list, but thanks to their great wins and the wave of injuries to the top players on both the WTA and ATP tours, they did.
This week, the men travel to Cincinnati for the Western & Southern Financial Group Masters, while the women head to Toronto for the Rogers Cup. Cincinnati will be the last stop for the men and will determine the leader for this year Series, but for the women, next week Pilot Pen Tennis will be the last tournament.
Thus, the heat is on for the men this week in Cincinnati as player like Roger Federer, who is returning from injury, tries to gather as many points as positive for the spot on the standing.
On the women’s side, players like Serena Williams and Justine Henin-Hardenne, who are also returning from injuries timeout, will aim to stop Clijsters from extending her lead on Series standing.
Federer will try to get some confidence as he heads into defending his US Open’s title. For Svetlana Kuznetsova, Elena Dementieva, and Lleyton Hewitt, the coming weeks will be a test of persevere as they gather as much confidence as they can before the US Open.
Kuznetsova, last year US Open champion, and Hewitt, last year runner-up, have had nothing but a dismal summer as neither has managed to play up to their potentials. Dementieva best result so far has been the semifinal of the JPMorgan Chase where she went down to Hantuchova in straight sets.
As the US Open approaches, this last two weeks will bring out the best of the best and the last one standing will also probably be the last one standing when it comes to injuries.
With so many injuries plaguing the men and women’s field, the coming weeks will be important for them as they try to maintain their health and strength as they get ready for the last Grand Slam of the year.
There are some storylines that will stand out during the US Open along with some unanswered questions that will be brought forth.
Some of the unanswered questions will be:
With no Russian Slam winner this year after three slams, are the Russians over and out?
After what is already a great US Open Series run, will Kim Clijsters finally win her first Grand Slam and throw away The Grand Slam Final Choking-Queen award?
Can Andy Roddick serve aside his nemesis Federer for his second US Open title?
Which player, if any, will win two Grand Slams this year? (The fight will be between Henin-Hardenne, Serena and Venus Williams, Federer, Safin (if he plays), and Nadal).
But perhaps the most important question is:
Will the ATP and WTA work together after the US Open to derive up a plan to solve this injury epidemic before next year Australian Open?
Press Contact:
Nick Nguyen
Nick.Nguyen@tennismates.com
Phone - 408-903-9513
Fax - 866-803-5321