Saturday night at the Australian Open will give fans of women's tennis a dream match. Serena Williams and Justine Henin have 18 total major wins combined (Williams with 11, Henin has 7) and can give the women's game its first three set final since the 2006 Wimbeldon final when Henin lost to Amelie Mauresmo 2-6,6-3,6-4. Since then, the last 13 major tournaments have seen dominant performances by the top players in the game against other top ranked players. The women's game has some parody but not enough to compete with the men. With the emergence of Chinese players Li Na and Zheng Jie as well as the return of Kim Clijsters, the women's game has gotten some more players to contend for major titles but until women's tennis has a great three-set match that is entertaining and filled with suspense, and until that happens the women will not compare to the men.
Take last year's Wimbledon final between Andy Roddick and Roger Federer that went to a 16-14 fifth set as an example. That match gave men's tennis fans a match featuring someone other than Nadal playing Federer and showing that the top player is vulnerable and that someone other than the top two players in the world can win each major.
The women on the other hand have seen Serena vs. Venus Williams too many times and those matches have not been as competitive as any Federer-Nadal final. This final needs to have the same excitement and drama around it just like last year's Wimbledon men's final.
To put women's tennis back on the list of exciting international sports, Serena Williams and Justine Henin both need to bring their best to the table and give their audience in Melbourne and around the world a match to remember and if that happens, it could be a very exciting season for women's tennis, especially in the majors.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment