I'm still surprised at the controversy regarding the decision by the folks at Tennis Canada to follow the rules and not grant a Main Draw Wild Card to media darling Ana Ivanovic who is currently ranked about #65 in the world. Why am I surprised this controversy rages on? I don't remember hearing much of an outcry when the AELTC juggled the men's rankings this year. To judge by the volume level you'd think the world of tennis as we know it was falling down around our heads. It's not.
As one tennishead said Ana is playing as if she is still a top ten player. She is not playing the International level tournaments to try and get her ranking up and when she's in a Main Draw she has yet to go deep.
To cite a very recent example James Ward of Great Britain was granted a Wild Card into the ATP Atlanta Main Draw due to some kind of quid pro quo between the USTA and the LTA. I actually watched some of the "match". I put match in quotes because all I saw was Mardy Fish having a practice hit. If Ana is shoe horned into the MD in Montreal we could see a similar "match".
I don't usually have anything too positive to say about Tennis Canada but in this case I'm glad to see them holding their ground so far. There is always the chance that with Serena Williams withdrawal things could change.
1 1 Williams, Serena USA 8475
2 2 Jankovic, Jelena SRB 5900
3 3 Williams, Venus USA 5606
4 4 Wozniacki, Caroline DEN 5555
5 5 Stosur, Samantha AUS 4890
6 6 Dementieva, Elena RUS 4670
7 7 Clijsters, Kim BEL 4510
8 8 Schiavone, Francesca ITA 4285
9 9 Zvonareva, Vera RUS 3965
10 10 Li, Na CHN 3756
Serena's ranking is secure until the US Open. I've seen Serena play with injury before but if the healing is not complete by then lt's hope she does what's best for Serena and not for the tour.
Stan Wawrinka dismissed his long time coach and is now being guided by Peter Lundgren.
2 comments:
My thoughts:
They should have been doing this to Ana a long time ago. She should have taken the route of Sharapova who did not consider herself too much of a diva to go out there and play lots of low level events where the top ranked player was perhaps No. 135. She went out there and rebuilt her game, won her little measly titles, collected her measly prize money that she did not need, but she needed to build confidence and that is what she has. So much so that she is being touted as being a contender for the US Open (*whispers* even though she has not beaten a top 40 player all season long), but I digress.
Serena is damned if she does and damned if she does not. She plays all these tournaments, turns up injured, some nobody gets a win and she is considered done. She manages her schedule, goes in and wins a tournament, she is maligned for not supporting the Tour. Many forget that she plays both singles and doubles at the majors.
Many players are encouraged not to play a lot of tournaments in order to prolong their careers. Others are taken to task for not playing enough tournaments and blasted for not supporting the Tour. I am glad that Serena does not listen to either voice.
There are even the haters who are speculating that she failed a dope test. As if.
Murray and his girlfriend are on vacation. Can these people not be left in peace to relax without their pictures being blasted all over the internet.
Hey Savannah, I'm with you on the Ana thing. What I do hope is that the snub will light a fire under her to really get things right with her game.
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