The WTA Championship is the female equivalent of the World Tour Finals.
There is no mens tennis to carry this event.
The most expensive ticket costs £7.
That is all.
Tuesday 25 October 2011
Monday 10 October 2011
Dinara Safina - Bottler
The phrase bottler comes from old Cockney rhyming slang. Bottle and Glass meant arse, and to lose ones bottle meant to lose ones arse. Or shit themselves as it was. Today, we celebrate a particularly spectacular bottler, Dinara Safina.
A few years ago Dinara Safina, like Caroline Wozniacki now, was world number 1 in women's tennis. She managed that without winning a Grand Slam. Now for a number of reasons being the WTA number 1 isn't an indicator that you are actually the best player. It is still clear that the proper number 1 is "Serena Williams when she tries", closely followed by "Kim Clijsters when she isn't injured". These are rare events, so the likes of Ana Ivanovic (now ranked 20) and Jelana Jankovic (slamless, now ranked 13) have also graced the number 1 spot. Women's tennis is full of botters, to the extent most matches resolve around who will bottle the least. However Safina's bottling was more severe, and her decline more swift, that she deserves to be blogged about.
Bottling the French Open in 2008
Safina had been just out of the top 10 at the end of 2006 and 2007 but was more well known for being Marat Safins brother at this stage. Then, in May 2008, she went on an impressive run at a clay tournament in Berlin beating Henin (and prompting her to retire), Serena Williams and Elena Dementieva. At the French Open, she knocked out world number 1 Maria Sharapova in the 4th round, then beat Dementieva and Kuznetsova. She was to face Ana Ivanovic in the final.
Having reached the final, Safina promptly lost all of the bottle she had appeared to show in earlier rounds. She was broken immediately and was soon 4-1 down. A mini revival (i.e. Ivanovic lost her bottle) got the scores to 4-4 before she promptly folded like the folding device Sheldon invented in the Big Bang Theory and was broken again, losing the first set 6-4. The second set is a masterclass in double faults and unforced errors and she loses in straight sets. Still, plenty of people lose their first final and time was on her side...
Somebody lets Safina handle the boat for a second
Bottling the Olympics in 2008
Safina kicked on from the French open defeat, and had a solid rest of 2008. She lost in the semi-finals at the US Open to Serena Williams but picked up Tier 1 titles at Montreal and Tokyo. She finished the year ranked 3. At Beijing, she beat world number 1 Jelena Jankovic in the quarter finals and home favourite Li Na in the semis. In the final, she faced Elena Dementieva. She had already beaten her 3 times that year and was unbeaten in 15 matches.
In the final, Safina folded like a chair specifically designed to fold. She took the first set easily before frustration took over. She served 17 (SEVENTEEN) double faults, threw her rackets and hit balls into the stand. She was broken in the final game of the second set after a 'string of errors'. She then went a break down in the third set after serving three double faults in one game, before losing after a game which included two double faults and four unforced errors.
Safina is left with the simple task of parking the airship
Bottling the Australian Open 2009
2009 began with a final defeat in the Hopman Cup. She then lost in the final at Sydney the next week to Dementieva. At the Australian Open, Safina showed resolve to come back from two match points down in an early round, before breezing through to the final yet again.
The final followed a familiar pattern. A mere 22 minutes after starting, Safina was 6-0 down. At the start of the second set Safina breaks and there is hope for a match. It does not last as Serena Williams wins it 6-2 for a match that lasts less than an hour. As an aside, Nadal and Federer play for 4 hours and 23 minutes for five incredible sets in the mens final. Serena picked up the same amount of pay. An absolute disgrace.
Somebody lets Safina look after their house as they are away for the weekend
Bottling the French Open in 2009
Safina recovered from the embarrassment in Australia, and the embarrassment of picking up the same cheque as Federer for doing far less work at a far worse standard, to eventually make it to world number 1. She went to the French Open as number 1 seed and only lost five games en route to the quarter finals. Whether this was because womens tennis is horrifically lacking in depth, or because she was on top form, is up for debate. She duly reached the final and was once again facing a large and totally undeserved paycheque.
Safina faced Kuznetsova in the final. Serving at 4-5 (on serve) in the first set, she is promptly broken and that is that. For good measure, she even chucks in a double fault on match point. Kuznetsova duly wins her second grand slam, brining the total number of grand slams she has won that I only found out about while writing this blog to two.
Safina takes the wheel
Bottling Retirement
Safinas career went downhill very quickly. The rest of 2009 was solid enough, though she did not make any more Grand Slam finals. In the final tournament of the season she had a chance to finish year end number 1, but withdrew injured. She lost to a 40 year old at the French Open and by June 2010 she had lost 5 straight matches and was out of the top 20. She finished the year ranked 62. 2011 did not get any better. At the Australian Open, she lost 6-0 6-0 to Kim Clijsters. She was the first ever former number world number 1 to lose 6-0 6-0 at a Grand Slam Event. The match took 44 minutes. Safina still took home the same amount of money as Lleyton Hewitt, who lost 9-7 in the 5th set to Nalbandian in 4 hours and 48 minutes.
Towards the end of 2011 she announced her retirement. Or at least her brother did. It turned out her back injury had just caused her too many problems and she was going to call it quits. However she couldn't even retire without choking like George Bush on a pretzel. The very next day she declared she hadn't yet made her mind up and needed time to think. She declared she would let people know but doubts remain she is capable of that without bottling things further.
A few years ago Dinara Safina, like Caroline Wozniacki now, was world number 1 in women's tennis. She managed that without winning a Grand Slam. Now for a number of reasons being the WTA number 1 isn't an indicator that you are actually the best player. It is still clear that the proper number 1 is "Serena Williams when she tries", closely followed by "Kim Clijsters when she isn't injured". These are rare events, so the likes of Ana Ivanovic (now ranked 20) and Jelana Jankovic (slamless, now ranked 13) have also graced the number 1 spot. Women's tennis is full of botters, to the extent most matches resolve around who will bottle the least. However Safina's bottling was more severe, and her decline more swift, that she deserves to be blogged about.
Bottling the French Open in 2008
Safina had been just out of the top 10 at the end of 2006 and 2007 but was more well known for being Marat Safins brother at this stage. Then, in May 2008, she went on an impressive run at a clay tournament in Berlin beating Henin (and prompting her to retire), Serena Williams and Elena Dementieva. At the French Open, she knocked out world number 1 Maria Sharapova in the 4th round, then beat Dementieva and Kuznetsova. She was to face Ana Ivanovic in the final.
Having reached the final, Safina promptly lost all of the bottle she had appeared to show in earlier rounds. She was broken immediately and was soon 4-1 down. A mini revival (i.e. Ivanovic lost her bottle) got the scores to 4-4 before she promptly folded like the folding device Sheldon invented in the Big Bang Theory and was broken again, losing the first set 6-4. The second set is a masterclass in double faults and unforced errors and she loses in straight sets. Still, plenty of people lose their first final and time was on her side...
Bottling the Olympics in 2008
Safina kicked on from the French open defeat, and had a solid rest of 2008. She lost in the semi-finals at the US Open to Serena Williams but picked up Tier 1 titles at Montreal and Tokyo. She finished the year ranked 3. At Beijing, she beat world number 1 Jelena Jankovic in the quarter finals and home favourite Li Na in the semis. In the final, she faced Elena Dementieva. She had already beaten her 3 times that year and was unbeaten in 15 matches.
In the final, Safina folded like a chair specifically designed to fold. She took the first set easily before frustration took over. She served 17 (SEVENTEEN) double faults, threw her rackets and hit balls into the stand. She was broken in the final game of the second set after a 'string of errors'. She then went a break down in the third set after serving three double faults in one game, before losing after a game which included two double faults and four unforced errors.
Bottling the Australian Open 2009
2009 began with a final defeat in the Hopman Cup. She then lost in the final at Sydney the next week to Dementieva. At the Australian Open, Safina showed resolve to come back from two match points down in an early round, before breezing through to the final yet again.
The final followed a familiar pattern. A mere 22 minutes after starting, Safina was 6-0 down. At the start of the second set Safina breaks and there is hope for a match. It does not last as Serena Williams wins it 6-2 for a match that lasts less than an hour. As an aside, Nadal and Federer play for 4 hours and 23 minutes for five incredible sets in the mens final. Serena picked up the same amount of pay. An absolute disgrace.
Bottling the French Open in 2009
Safina recovered from the embarrassment in Australia, and the embarrassment of picking up the same cheque as Federer for doing far less work at a far worse standard, to eventually make it to world number 1. She went to the French Open as number 1 seed and only lost five games en route to the quarter finals. Whether this was because womens tennis is horrifically lacking in depth, or because she was on top form, is up for debate. She duly reached the final and was once again facing a large and totally undeserved paycheque.
Safina faced Kuznetsova in the final. Serving at 4-5 (on serve) in the first set, she is promptly broken and that is that. For good measure, she even chucks in a double fault on match point. Kuznetsova duly wins her second grand slam, brining the total number of grand slams she has won that I only found out about while writing this blog to two.
Bottling Retirement
Safinas career went downhill very quickly. The rest of 2009 was solid enough, though she did not make any more Grand Slam finals. In the final tournament of the season she had a chance to finish year end number 1, but withdrew injured. She lost to a 40 year old at the French Open and by June 2010 she had lost 5 straight matches and was out of the top 20. She finished the year ranked 62. 2011 did not get any better. At the Australian Open, she lost 6-0 6-0 to Kim Clijsters. She was the first ever former number world number 1 to lose 6-0 6-0 at a Grand Slam Event. The match took 44 minutes. Safina still took home the same amount of money as Lleyton Hewitt, who lost 9-7 in the 5th set to Nalbandian in 4 hours and 48 minutes.
Towards the end of 2011 she announced her retirement. Or at least her brother did. It turned out her back injury had just caused her too many problems and she was going to call it quits. However she couldn't even retire without choking like George Bush on a pretzel. The very next day she declared she hadn't yet made her mind up and needed time to think. She declared she would let people know but doubts remain she is capable of that without bottling things further.
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