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Saturday May 30, 2009

Tennis briefs

WHEN Justine Henin became the first woman to retire as the No. 1 player, it was the end of a generation.

Since then, five players have shared the top ranking, but only Serena Williams has really threatened to be the dominant player on tour.

“I think the tour needs someone, a leader,” said Henin. “We don’t find this leader for now, but there is a lot of confidence, I guess, that young players are going to come on the tour and push the older ones.”

Besides Williams, Maria Sharapova, Ana Ivanovic, Jelena Jankovic and Dinara Safina have spent a spell at No. 1 since retired last May. Neither Jankovic nor Safina has won a major title.

“I think for Safina, it’s maybe the time for her to go to the next step,” said Henin, a seven-time Grand Slam champion who won the last three titles at the French Open before she retired.

JUAN Martin del Potro is ranked No. 5, is considered an up-and-coming star at age 20, and might just be on his way to a lengthy stay in Paris.

And the Argentine is getting very little attention.

That’s because the four players ranked ahead of him earn the bulk of the buzz: No. 1 Rafael Nadal, No. 2 Roger Federer, No. 3 Andy Murray and No. 4 Novak Djokovic.

“It’s OK with me,” del Potro said after reaching the third round at Roland Garros for the first time. “I try and play my matches, and then, you know, have the top four for this tournament. That’s OK if the press has decided to focus on the top four.”

Sania Mirza has become engaged to a business scholar from her hometown of Hyderabad but has no plans to retire from competitive tennis, domestic media reported yesterday.

The 22-year-old Mirza is a youth icon in a nation starved for sporting success after she became the first Indian to win a WTA tour title and break into the world’s top 50 in 2005 but has struggled to live up to early expectations.

The pair were unlikely to tie the knot in the near future, however, as her 23-year-old fiance Sohrab Mirza planned to pursue higher studies, reports quoted family members as saying.

MARION Bartoli complained about her opponent’s entourage after losing in the second round.

The 13th-seeded Bartoli lost to Tathiana Garbin of Italy 6-3, 7-5 on centre court.

“When I made unforced errors, her team would shout,” Bartoli said. “It’s not sportsmanlike. They’re Italians.”

Bartoli also criticised the red clay at Roland Garros.

“It was the slowest surface on earth,” she said.

“It was so cold, freezing out there. The balls were stuck on the strings of the racquet.” — AP


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