All sports at international level are fierce, challenging and incredibly unpredictable (at least through the players’ eyes) but tennis just may be the most unpredictable of all. This dead-on game is all about the current game. Not the previous game, not the coming; the current game.
The volatility of Tennis
The ratings at the end of each season and the standings of the players all change with each another match. You may be the World No. 1 at one season, taking over all the charts and cheers but its one game and everything changes.
Venus Williams; just the name alone is enough to give shivers out. She is playing this US Open unseeded for the first time since 1997. After leaving the Wimbledon this past June in just the fourth round, she is now giving it all she got in the US Open. She once ruled the court and won every game she played. Her matches were flawless, very few errors, and her energy was unsurpassed. She may still be playing with the same energy and game, but it’s now her opponent who can change things around.
The other Williams was once on the World No. 1 spot. An injury later, she made her comeback unseeded and from the No. 1 she is now placed at No. 21. It will take all the more effort and many more wins till she grasps her favorite position in the sport she loves.
Sharapova, just barely made it into the next round of US Open defeating Heather Watson. Just a while ago she won the Cincinnati Open but she is now struggling with just the initial rounds of the US Open.
The supreme winner to a grand slam was Petra Kvitova. She won the Wimbledon in June all proud and deserving. Being the first Asian to win such a slam, her fan followers have all the more been increasing as this sport popularizes for Asians as well. Kvitova however was defeated by Alexandra Dulgheru and has now crashed out of US Open. She was with Wimbledon till the last day and now is out of the US Open in the opening day itself.
It’s been 11 tournaments and almost a year that Roger Federer has set his hands on the 1st place trophy. Once a World No. 1, he is now pushing hard to make his 5-time Open Champion a 6th one.
The men of course have equal, if not more, challenges to meet. With players like Djokovic, Nadal, Federer all fighting for their wins, the competition is fiercer than ever.
There are upcoming, fresh and more energetic players from each corner or the world in fierce battle to snatch the crown off of someone else. Though there still are honorary players such as the Williams sisters, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal who are still in the game business, they are constantly tormented by the fact that any day, their spot will be taken by someone else. Perhaps this is the game rivalry that makes the players work harder and make the games every more thrilling but nevertheless the fear exists.
Amidst personal issues, on-court rivalry, psychological tensions, media attractions, practices, and the addition of new players to the game, there are those established players trying to keep their identity. Only they know the feeling of losing their game to a newcomer (and vice versa!)
Tags: Game, Maria Sharapova, Novak Djokovic, Petra Kvitova, Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer, Sports, Tennis, US Open, Venus Williams
