My visit to WTA Paris Indoors 2014 (Open GDF Suez)

So, I’ve enjoyed the Open GDF Suez so much in the last two years I decided to attend for a third year in a row!  In 2012 and 2013 I witnessed a German winner but that wasn’t to be this year.

But like 2012, there was a special occasion.  That year, a special exhibition took place to commemorate 20 years of the tournament.  This time a commemoration to honour Wimbledon champion Marion Bartoli, in a special presentation made by WTA Chief Executive Officer Stacey Allastar.

 

I stuck to the format of attending quarterfinals day on Friday and the final on Sunday.  Friday had some interesting matchups.  The first match took place between 2012 champ Angelique Kerber and Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova of Russia.  I knew it was going to be a good match and could go to three sets.  Anastasia was someone I identified in my preview of the 2012 season to be a talented player who could challenge at the top of the game.  Since then Anastasia has not progressed as quickly as I would have thought but what we now know is that it is perfectly normal for players to mature and play their best in their mid 20s as opposed to their teens as so often happened in previous decades.

The match started with Kerber taking a 4:1 lead early on but Pavlyuchenkova got the break back to level.  However, at 5:5 Kerber broke again and served out the set for 7:5.  It was a good set but Pavlyuchenkova made too many errors and was unable to punish Kerber’s 2nd serve delivery consistently.

Pavlyuchenkova did manage a break early in the 2nd set and held serve impressively throughout to take it 6:3; she served quite a few aces and was the more enterprising player.  The tactics were also interesting, trying to get Kerber stretched out wide as often as possible to hit winners into the open space.

The 3rd set was keenly contested with both players holding serve until Pavlyuchenkova got the break to serve out the match at 6:5.  Kerber managed to break right back to take the match to a deciding tiebreak.  As the tiebreak was about to commence my mind was immediately drawn to what commentator and ex player Frew McMillan said in 2001.  During the famous US Open quarterfinal between Sampras and Agassi, Frew said that in a tiebreak the player with the bigger serve usually wins.  With that in mind I immediately thought that Pavlyuchenkova would take it as she had been serving better all match and Kerber has been struggling on 2nd serve in recent times.  That proved to be the case as Pavlyuchenkova ran away with the tiebreak and Kerber made some uncharacteristic errors at critical moments, betraying a lack of confidence she has been suffering of late when matches have got close in the 3rd set.  Pavlyuchenkova deserved to take the match, a good come from behind confidence booster.

Marion Bartoli

The next match on was Maria Sharapova and Kirsten Flipkens of Belgium.   The first time I saw Sharapova play was in Wimbledon 2004 when she beat Daniela Hantuchova in the 3rd round that day.  I knew she would win Wimbledon but didn’t expect it to be that year.  Meanwhile it was the first time I would watch Flipkens live.  

Well, this was one of the easiest victories Sharapova would have had in a long time.  Flipkens was just too over reliant on the slice backhand, a throwback to previous generations, like Vinci, but unlike Vinci has a two handed backhand but has no confidence to use it, which is very unusual.  The final score was 6: 2 6:2 and as the saying goes, nothing new to see here…

The 3rd match was the first of the evening session between Alize Cornet and Andrea Petkovic.  It was good to see Petkovic after so many injuries in the last couple of years, as she tries to re-establish herself as a top class player. 

Petkovic raced to a 4:0 lead in the first set and was hitting the ball as hard as I’ve ever seen a player hit the ball off the ground, looked like it would be a quick match.  But then Petkovic got visibly nervous when serving for the set at 5:2 and Cornet started to make a comeback.  The first set ended up in a tiebreak and despite two set points, Petkovic contrived to lose the tiebreak.  

In the 2nd set, Cornet got the break late on and served for the match, where she held two match points at 40:15 playing well, then the wheels came off big time and after a series of deuces, got broken to level the set at 5:5.  Then serving to stay in the set, Cornet was broken again and that was it, 7:5 to Petkovic.  Having watched tennis for over 20 years, Cornet is one of the most up and down players I think I’ve seen play live.  

At that point, I decided to take my leave as I was “tennised out” and was mentally not prepared for another wacky races set of tennis where each player hands the initiative to the other on an almost point by point basis.  Another thing worth mentioning, maybe I was in need of some food and drink but throughout the match, unless my eyes were deceiving me, there were some very dubious decisions going on, where the ball looked in but called out and vice versa.  It would be an idea for Tournament Director Amelie Mauresmo to consider installing Hawkeye.  It’s a prestigious tournament and what Hawkeye does is make the Umpire and Officials raise their game as their decisions can be challenged by the players. 

I would hear later on that Cornet took the match 6:3 in the deciding set.

On finals day, the officials moved the singles final to be played first followed by the doubles final.  I wonder if that was because last year’s semifinalist Kristina Mladenovic made it through to the doubles final.  The final saw Sara Errani again for the second year in a row, having lost to Mona Barthel in straight sets in 2013.  In Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova she would play another final against a player who likes to make the play and make things happen. Both finalists came through tough three set semifinals.

Pavlyuchenkova got an early break and was playing very well.  But Errani came back from 40:15 at 3:1 down with the most amazing retrieving you will see, side to side, saving smash after smash and forced Pavlyuchenkova into errors which not surprisingly made her very cross.  After a series of games in a row Errani served out the first set 6:4 with some good play of her own, especially using the drop shot and then pass at net combination.  

Errani got an early break in the 2nd set but was visibly tiring and Pavlyuchenkova was able to take advantage and really upped her serving, winning six games in a row to take it 6:2.  In the 3rd set Errani got an early break again and despite the obvious tiredness, it did look like she was about to win her first premier WTA title.  However, Pavlyuchenkova seemed to believe she could turn the match around, and that’s exactly what she did with brilliant shotmaking.  Perhaps she knew all the running Errani was doing wasn’t helping and she needed to keep hitting the ball into the corners. 

Pavlyuchenkova broke back for 3:3 and held her serve for 4:3.  At which point she broke Errani again and impressively served the match out to win her first premier WTA title.

What impressed me most was Pavlyuchenkova’s adjustment to her tactics.  As I mentioned before, Pavlyuchenkova was hitting a lot of smashes throughout, coming to net to force the action but Errani kept getting them back with high lobs which incredibly never quite touched the roof or lighting fixtures (which would have meant her losing the point).  But in the 3rd set, Pavlyuchenkova started to let the ball drop a little and hit drive volleys instead into the open space, giving herself a bit more time to wrong foot Errani on a number of occasions.  It was nice to see a player thinking about how to change things around.  

The remainder of the crowd who stayed saw an entertaining doubles match.  Pesche and Greonefeld came from a set down to beat Mladenovic and Timea Babos in a champions tiebreak, Stacey Allastar stayed to help dish out the trophies.  And that was that for another year!

Recapping the 2014 Australian Open

The 2014 Australian Open has proved to be the most interesting in many years, resulting with two first time winners.

Yesterday’s ladies final between Li Na and Dominika Cibulkova was an intriguing match, and had Cibulkova sneaked the first set tiebreak, it could have well have been a surprise victory.  But in the end Li’s greater experience and incredible shot making ability saw her take the 2nd set 6:0.  The victory speech was probably the best part of the night, classic Li Na and as BBC commentator Jonathon Overend said, a post tennis career of stand-up comedy would not look out of place!

Today’s mens final between Warwinka and Nadal proved just as intriguing.  The big question was always going to be how Warwinka would deal with the nerves of being in his first major final and play a guy who he never even took a set off in twelve tries, a very tall order indeed.

But as the first set developed it was clear Warwinka was ready to have a go at Nadal. What Warwinka had going for him was that he is a vastly experienced player and was able to use that to his advantage even though being in a major final was a new experience.

The interesting thing here is that Warwinka employed the sort of tactics against Nadal which we haven’t seen for some years.  Back in the mid to late 2000s Nadal always had great trouble on hardcourts at slams losing to Blake, Youzhny and Del Potro at the US Open, Fernando Gonzalez and Tsonga at the Australian Open.  The memo was that when playing Nadal you went for big shots, you used the backhand down the line, you went for big serves all the time, you really attacked his 2nd serve with big returns; in essence you played the big game with conviction and no letting up of intensity.

Until Nadal injured his back in the 2nd set, this is exactly what Warwinka was doing  in terms of tactics and conviction.  Warwinka was hitting some really big 1st serves, and really bold 2nd serves on the line and in the corners, really keeping Nadal off rhythm, something that was great to see as this is a form of tennis that has been lost in the last five years or so.  

After taking the first two sets, it almost turned into a video nasty for Warwinka, the extensive treatment and pain killers kicked in which allowed Nadal to move better in the 3rd set, slowing his serve down to get it in. Warwinka’s level dropped alarmingly as he grappled with how to deal with the situation, taking too much pace off his shots meant him conceding the 3rd set.  But I always felt that with Warwinka serving first in the 4th set, he had to hold serve and he would break Nadal’s serve.  He didn’t handle it too well the first time he got the break but got the job done when serving for the title.

It was a fitting way to end the Australian, perhaps the most intriguing grand slam tournament for many years with none of the big players winning the mens event, and with Li’s triumph in the womens event, a winner from Asia Pacific! We also have to go back to 2008 when Djokovic and Sharapova won the Australian Open to find two first time winners at the event.   

This sets up the rest of the 2014 tennis season beautifully.

Previewing the 2014 Australian Open final (ladies)

In its long history, the Australian Open has a tradition of throwing up surprise finalists.  And that has proved to be the case in 2014 with Stan Warwinka of Switzerland making the mens final and Dominika Cibulkova making the ladies final.

Cibulkova will play Li Na of China in a final that guarantees a first time winner of the event from either China or Slovakia.  For Slovakia, it would be a first as Slovakia have lived in the shadows of the Czechs for such a long time.  Cibulkova is indeed the first major finalist since Miroslav Mecir got to a US Open final back in the late 1980s when he lost to Ivan Lendl. Daniela Hantuchova got to the semifinal of the Australian Open in 2008 but lost out to Ana Ivanovic (that match being famous for Ivanovic’s “squeaky” sneakers).

Meanwhile Li has already played in two Australian finals and lost both to Kim Clijsters and Victoria Azarenka in 2011 and 2013, each time in three sets.  Li will see this as a great opportunity and will go into the match as the favourite.  Cibulkova is an unknown quantity and it is impossible to gauge how she will handle the occasion and the nerves in her first major final.  If Cibulkova lets the occasion get to her it will be very quick match in Li’s favour.  

What Cibulkova does possess is an incredible fighting spirit which she demonstrated against Maria Sharapova in the 4th round.  Cibulkova also knows that she is not facing Serena Williams in the final and that is already a leveller in the eyes of not just the players but the watching public.

This could give Cibulkova the inspiration to really have a go at Li and give a good account of herself.  Li will also be aware that the pressure will be on her to deliver the goods and for coach Carlos Rodriguez to validate his position as one of the very best coaches in the womens game today.

I predict Li Na to take the final in straight sets, but would not be surprised if there were to be an upset on Saturday night. 

Where are the girls? by John Cavill

Over the past few years I have noticed a massive decline in girls playing tennis and when I go to local club level tournaments, there are very few competing. If I am only to look at our club coaching programme I notice that there are only about 20% girls.

The concern for woman’s sports is regularly asked but there is no simple answer and governing bodies / sporting organisations have been confounded by this issue for a while. Boys and girls sport at primary school is virtually identical but then a large number of girls decide to ‘opt out’ before secondary school. Girl’s involvement also decreases at a more rapid rate than the boys through their teens and beyond. But why?

There are many potential reasons why girls drop out of sport but surveys have shown that sport is seen by society as turning ‘boys into men’ and that it is a significant form of male socialisation. Sporting prowess gives males a status amongst both male and female peers where girls receive the message from an early age that boys play sport and girls watch them. This message is reinforced in many different ways when you look at media attention e.g. David and Victoria Beckham, Louis Hamilton and Nicole Scherzinger and so on. 

Although modern times are pushing girls’ sports, in the past it was frequently argued that girls shouldn’t play football and other ‘traditional’ male sports as they may get hurt. In junior schools girls are allowed to compete with the boys but once at secondary school age, they are not.

The media plays a huge role in social acceptance and trends and the lack of media coverage for women’s sport limits girl’s opportunities to discover more about women’s sporting achievements and denies many young women of ‘sporting’ role models. Tennis has an advantage over many other sports as Women are seen as respected top athletes by everyone, so it should be more appealing to girls to take up the sport. With the lack of TV coverage, this further decreases female athlete’s opportunities to attract sponsorship, but again, the opportunity in tennis for women is far better than most sports.

Women do want to be active and statistical evidence indicates that women are more likely to be active in non-organised activities and a more interested in playing sport for fun and to make friends. Studies also reveal that girls will consistently tend to underestimate their performance and not look at themselves as excelling in comparison with their male peers. With a lack of confidence in their own abilities, this can lead to girls avoiding situations where their lack of competence could be exposed. Females are more concerned about their eating, body weight, appearance and dieting than males, which can become obsessive during adolescence and there are many uniforms in sports or school that further make them feel more self conscious. Again, in tennis, women can dress in some very feminine clothes while performing...another benefit our sport has over team sports like football.

Family also plays a big part in whether a female will continue to play sport as girls who have parents involved in sport are more likely to continue their involvement than those whose parents are inactive. Social acceptance is very important and if a girl feels a lack of confidence in their skill level or appearance then this can be confounded in the way that their peers treat them in school or at the club. When you look across the school playground you will tend to see the boys taking up the largest amount of space playing sport or games, so girls tend to keep in smaller areas.

Hopefully some of what I’ve mentioned will resonate with you but why should girls play sport? Sport and physical activity provides physical, social and psychological benefits including:

·         Improved self esteem

·         Assertiveness

·         Confidence

·         Pride

·         A more positive body image

·         Leadership skills

·         Independence

·         More social contacts

·         Reduced risk of osteoporosis when over 50 years old through building up bone mass

I think there are two areas to look at when discussing the reduced number of girl’s sports participation and they are the reasons for dropping out of sport AND not playing in the first place, which could be different. Factors like peer groups or social values, enjoyment and other priorities and confidence all play a part.

So what are the solutions to these issues and who is responsible for addressing them? In a modern world sport must be sold right and communicated in a medium that is gratefully accepted by girls. The use of social networking, positive imagery on promotional material, advocates of women’s sport and equal publicity of women’s international teams / events can all help. At club level the clubs should be ensuring that girls have the opportunity to compete within their own age / ability groups to help make them feel more comfortable able competing. Making sport fashionable is important, so sports manufacturers designing flattering clothing will attract girls. 

So what can clubs do to get more girls playing and staying in the game? I believe that it is much easier to get females playing sport if they start early, so giving them the opportunity is key. Forming good school links with clubs will also help girls feel familiar with that transition to the club if they know the people involved before. Females love social events, so anything that can be arranged around the club to bring people together will help. I think that teenage girls should also be encouraged to take on responsibility, for example, assisting in coaching sessions or organising events so they have ownership. If every girl in the club introduced a friend to the club, then immediately the numbers will go up, so an ‘introduce a friend night’ could be organised. Girls can feel pressure when asked to compete so maybe some cardio tennis or fun drill sessions could be organised to target them or to just have female only sessions. If you can use modern technology like forums or facebook to get the girls interacting, then social events, newsletters, special sessions etc can be regularly discussed to bring people to the club.

I hope this article has gone some way to explaining some of the trends, reasons and observations as to why there aren’t many girls playing sport, including tennis, but also given you food for thought as to how this can be addressed to make for a better future.

John Cavill runs Tennis Works, a tennis developmental and resource company.  For more information check out http://www.tennisworks.net/