Tennis Talk

by Savannah

I first heard about TPTB investigating Caroline Wozniacki's retirement during her match yesterday. She was up 7-5, 5-0 and had had medical treatment during the match. I thought that it was just Caro's way of saying she needed to rest up for Doha.

Thanks to Karen, a frequent poster here, for setting me straight. This article appeared in the Canadian Press and is excerpted below.

Who retires when they're leading 7-5, 5-0?

Caroline Wozniacki did that Tuesday in Luxembourg, against Anne Kremer of, you guessed it, Luxembourg.

And the circumstances behind it could potentially lead to a whole lot of interesting drama.

We we watching much of this on a livestream. And after running her hooves off retrieving in the first set with no apparent problem (other than the fact that she had to work so hard to come back from a break down against a lucky loser nearly 15 years her senior), Wozniacki had the trainer come out at 5-5, and she got a massive wrap put on her upper left leg.

We warn you that at this point, it's all hearsay. It really could be absolutely nothing, a misunderstanding. But it's a pretty major topic of debate on all the tennis chat boards.

Wozniacki won five straight games from 5-5, even if it was obvious she was in some distress.

Her coach/father, Piotr, came out when she was leading 3-0 in the second set for a coaching consult.

The coaches are miked for these things by the WTA. But since so many of the players and coaches speak languages we don't speak, it's typically not too productive to listen in.

But someone who understands Polish was apparently listening, a bettor on the Betfair web site.

At 3-0, the Betfair wagerer posted that Wozniacki had told his daughter to play two more games, call the trainer again, then retire. "Let them have some joy," Papa Wozniacki allegedly said – meaning that, since he clearly had already decided his daughter wouldn't play her next match in Luxembourg anyway, because of the injury (preferring to save herself for the year-end championships next week), might as let the crowd enjoy the local go one more round.

We assume his intentions were honorable, even if he wanted to make sure his daughter got it to 5-0 – just so there would be no "doubt" in anyone's mind that she would have won anyway, and that they were doing an honourable thing. And, in the process, humiliate Kremer a little, since she failed to even win a game after the injury to her opponent first came to light.

It's something that is done sometimes at the amateur level, if you're injured, or if for some reason (travel) you can't stay for the next match. But not always. And this isn't amateur hour.

With all the money being wagered online, and tennis's ongoing battle against match-fixing and all the rest – prohibiting laptops in arenas (like people can't do it on their smart phones), posting signs all around the players' areas, frowning on players tweeting ANY kind of information about health or other issues –- the implications are major.

If someone who understands Polish hears that, given the odds at the time, and places a big bet on Kremer, they could get a serious windfall when it's paid out (which it was, on Betfair at least, to my understanding). Several posters on the betfair.com forum are boasting about the cash they hauled in.

Stacey Allaster has a lot on her plate right now doesn't she? Caro and her father always speak Polish when she receives on court coaching. In today's world you always have to assume that while most would not understand what you're saying someone, somewhere will and if the facts are born out here this is a serious issue for the WTA.

Federer and London

The other big news is that Roger Federer (see I can type out his name) may skip the ATP WTF in November. Yahoo reports the following:

The world No. 1 took time off after his defeat to Juan Martin del Potro at Flushing Meadows to rest up and spend time with his young family, yet was expected to return for the Paris Masters and the year-ending ATP Tour finals in London.
However, rumors out of Switzerland have suggested that Federer is considering keeping a low profile until January in order to be fully fresh and ready for 2010.
It would be a controversial move if Federer decided to skip the Tour finals, and one that would likely bring sanctions from the ATP unless he could prove he was injured. Rafael Nadal, then atop the rankings, pulled out last year.
Federer's year has been outstanding but it is understood he has made regaining the Australian Open crown his first priority for next year.

We'll just have to see won't we?

WTA YEC Update

Jelena Jankovic has qualified for Doha. The completed field is as follows:

SINGLES

[1] Dinara Safina

[2] Serena Williams

[3] Svetlana Kuznetsova

[4] Caroline Wozniacki

[5] Elena Dementieva

[6] Victoria Azarenka

[7] Venus Williams

[8] Jelena Jankovic

[ALT] Vera Zvonareva

[ALT] Agnieszka Radwanska

DOUBLES

[1] Cara Black/Liezel Huber

[2] Venus Williams/Serena Williams

[3] Nuria Llagostera Vives/Maria José Martínez Sánchez

[4] Rennae Stubbs/Samantha Stosur

Dinara Safina will be ranked Number 1.