The Year in Tennis 2011
The ATP World Tour Finals in London ends an eventful year of tennis for the men. Federer defeated Tsonga in three sets (6:3, 6:7 and 6:3) after a hard-fought final match and, with the win, managed to achieve an unbelievable record of 70 tournament titles in 100 finals. He is now also the first player, who has won the season finals six times. THis is an incredible triumph which one could have doubted that Federer was capable of only a few weeks ago, this being his first year without a Grand-Slam title since 2002. He came close to success at all the Grand Slams, but the competition among the men was incredibly intense.
That being said, 2011 was definitely Djokovic’s year, who stacked up a record of 69 wins in his 73 matches. Among the 10 titles are the Australian Open, Wimbledon and US Open, in which he played undeniably outstanding tennis on highest level. However, at the tournaments in Basel and London his spectacular but grueling season definitely had a noticeable effect on his game.
Though Nadal won the French Open against Federer, his only three tournament wins were limited to clay, certainly his best surface, and towards the year end, and a long and intense tour, he was also showing signs of fatigue.
The upcoming break should help the Top 4 players, including Murray, who had a fantastic Fall but is currently injured, to regain their strength for the 2012. In 6 weeks, it starts all over again with the Australian Open and I can imagine that Federer’s three tournament titles at year-end will give him some confidence for the upcoming season – also, by the way, an Olympic year. I am looking forward to seeing if Djokovic will be able to continue to perform at such a high level and maintain his top position. I am also curious to see if the Top 4 will continue to dominate the finals.
The Ladies‘ Grand-Slam winner list in 2011 tells the story of year which the lacked a dominating presence on the WTA tour: There were four different winners, three of them claiming the title for the first time. Li Na made tennis history at the French Open by being the first Asian champion in history. Her triumph was definitely one of the highlights of the year.
The Czech Petra Kvitova is definitely one of the year’s exciting newcomers with six tournament titles, including Wimbledon and the WTA Championships in Istabul. Also Samantha Stosur won her first big title at the US Open after defeating Serena Williams in straight sets. It would be great for women’s tennis if Serena Williams continues to find her way back to form in 2012 as well.
Another great story was Sabine Lisicki. She won two tournaments in Birminham and Dallas, reached the semifinals in Wimbledon and worked her way up in the rankings in a short time from rank 218 to rank 15. A great achievement for the German player who could also feel pride in the accomplishments of compatriots like Petkovic, who is the first German player in some time to rank in the Top 10, Görges and Kerber, semi-finalist at the US Open, who also showed great improvement and already have me looking forward to the upcoming season.
I was sorry to hear about the former number 1 Justine Henin, who had to withdraw from a great career with seven Grand-Slam titles for good due to a persistent elbow injury. Her talent and personality will be missed on the tour. Although Wozniacki ended the season as number 1 for the second time, her first Grand-Slam title still eluded her this year. So it remains to be seen if the women’s tennis will again produce a season with a broad top field and thus many winners. In any case we can hopefully look forward to another season with outstanding tennis and the additional highlight – the Olympic Games in London.
Nice analysis Steffi,, agree with US Open final, it was like some sort of ‘bionic’ tennis, just amazed of how many ‘unreturnable’ balls were kept in play by both Novak and Nadal. Still believe the match took a physical toll on both and might be responsible for their winding down towards the end of the year. Also, good to see the Fed back in form reminding that when you are a Federer or Graf, one handed backhand still has its place.
On th women’s side, sincerely hope that Kvitova can keep up her winning form and thirst for titles for 2012. High time for the youngsters to step up.
2012 will be almost 24 yrs since you won the ‘Golden Slam’, and still waiting for someone to repeat that feat, seriously, 24 yrs back!!!!!, feels like a lifetime and makes me look old except that you were still in your teens when you did that.
Great analysis! I enjoy your blogs on tennis! It’s nice hearing from you, a former Top player, about today’s tennis. Thanks for taking the time to write about it and I will look forward to your perspective in 2012!