Serena Williams has certainly staked her claim at the top of the women’s’ game after reclaiming her No1 ranking from Dinara Safina after the 2009 US Open. The latter part of the season usually sees players drop their intensity and look forward to the prospect of a holiday. The Sony Ericsson Championships in Doha was more an exhibition of the consequences’ of over playing than a showcase of the best in women’s tennis.

Despite this, Serena Williams looked the freshest of the crop and came through some tough conditions with strapping on her thigh to win the singles. Elena Dementieva said after her 2-6 4-6 defeat, “She’s too good for me” Serena has accelerated her pace at the top of the women’s’ game, it’s reported, with the aid of Power Plate.

“On tour, playing back-to-back matches is tough on your body. Being ready the next day is the difference between winning or losing. If I can accelerate the recovery and healing process, I have a definite advantage. With my Power Plate®, I have that advantage,” Williams says.

Talk of Williams prowess at the Australian Open was accompanied by assurances that she will be around for a few years to come and I wonder if we will see her accelerate away from the rest of the field, or will they match the pace and keep up with her?

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After the Australian Open, I cannot help but notice patchy opinions and comparisons of the great players, that in my attempt to analyze the differences.

Kim Clijsters:

Ranking when retired: 4

Retired / Comeback: May 2007 / Mid 2009

1st tournament: QF defeated by Safina

2nd tournament: 3rd round by Jankovic

3rd tournament: Champion

Playing style: Baseline basher / deep ground strokes

Pressure: no expectations

Justine Henin:

Ranking when retired: 1

Retired / Comeback: Mid 2008 / Jan 2010

1st tournament: Final defeated by Clijsters

2nd tournament: Final defeated by Williams

3rd tournament: ?

Playing style: Variety with precision

Pressure: Huge pressure to replicate Kim

If by looking at the facts, Kim has come back strong as first appearance in grand slam, but far from it that Henin is less impressive in the second tournament only.  No doubts Clijsters’ form was seemingly better when she played in US open but her style of playing is probably easier to pick up in a shorter timeframe backed with strong physical training, as opposed to Henin’s style which needs to come with time to tune in the accuracy of each shot in her complexity of game plan.

On the other hand, Clijsters came back without much expectation of winning as a wildcard by others, as such that with her brilliance she stormed everyone by surprise when she reached the final and passed through Serena.  By the time Henin arrived to Australian Open, all eyes were on her to make the same progress.  But mind you, then everyone on tour was alert on this potential dangerous wildcard, with Serena especially increased additional training on the morning of their final.

Not to mention the road to QF in the first week was especially testing for Henin to beat very strong and upcoming players, than those of Clijsters on route to US open’s 2^nd week.  The winning of the final often depends on who your opponent is.  Caroline, the first time finalist compared to Serena, who flourishes and plays her best at final.

The pressure on Henin was, thus far from anyone could bear, being known and kept advertised as the former number 1 to do a miracle on her second tournament back.  With that mental and physical torture, how she was able to still stay focused and at ease with herself and played with such sparks on court, that in itself speaks volume.

And what about Williams when everyone seems to be showering praises that she is greatest ever?  Who could remember when Williams came out from injuries in 2004, it took her some time, actually years to recover her form and regained number one again in September 2008 after Henin retired.

Then, given the magnificent runs of the two Belgians, why is everyone urging them to be at the top of rank again within a year?  My only answer is that if people are longing to give the number one to someone more worthy?  Or purely women’s tennis was at such a stale stage that people are yearning for some quality games and change of hands at the very top?

Be patient, and there time will tell (and it is too early to tell), if any one of the Belgians will be able to return to top form consistently in the coming years and if Williams will not be threaten by them.  My bet is, Henin has the mind and body to come back stronger than ever.

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• Kim Clijsters and Justine Henin Turn Down Fed Cup – February 4, 2010
• Kim Clijsters Wins the US Open Womens Singles Title over Caroline Wozniacki – September 14, 2009
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• Is Womens Tennis Getting Strong From The Return Of Kim Clijsters? – September 7, 2009
• Kim Clijsters Ready To Return To The WTA Tour – July 14, 2009

Kim and Justine

As the news broke that Kim Clijsters and Justine Henin would not be competing for Belgium in the February 6-7 Fed Cup tie against Poland many fans on the forums questioned Kim and Justines’ tenacity. Clijsters, who fell to Nadia Petrova in the 3rd round of the Australian Open 0-6 1-6 had let it be known that she “needs a fresh period to build up training” to “make it impossible to compete in the Fed Cup.” said the Belgian federation. Henin, the Australian Open finalist had already stated that it is too early in her comeback to play a best of five series.

Many fans have expressed anger at a lost opportunity to see these two women compete, but both women have expressed their desire to continue playing tennis on their own terms. Their respective returns to competition have already seen a grand slam victory and grand slam runner-up, deepening the field in the womens’ game. Both players know how gruelling the tour can be and will be looking to enjoy their time in competition. Avoiding injuries will be paramount if the best is yet to come and given their results in their 2.0 Grand Slam debuts, the future is bright.

For those fans hungry to see more of Justine, her next outing will be Indian Wells. Kim’s next match will be The Billie Jean King Cup at Madison Square Garden on 1st March.

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• Is Womens Tennis Getting Strong From The Return Of Kim Clijsters? – September 7, 2009

p.s. Good luck to Roger Federer and Andy Murray tomorrow in the Australian Open Mens Singles final for 2010.

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The Tennis Times would like to send out a big congratulations to Samantha Stosur who won her first career WTA tour title at the 2009 Japan Open. Sam is from the same place as me back home in Australia and we played all the same tournaments when I was a junior, so its great to see a fellow Aussie doing so well.

The final match in Japan Sam defeated No. 24 ranked Francesca Schiavone 7-5 6-1 to take home the title.

Stosur was quoted at Sony Ericsson WTA Tour, “I’m very, very pleased to win my first title after losing five previous finals. It has been a personal goal for a while, so I’m glad to have achieved it and it’s the perfect way to finish my year in singles. My next goal is to reach the Top 10, for which I would need to play like today every day.”

Stosur had been on a downward trend the past three years, being ranked No. 29 at the end of 2006, No. 46 at the end of 2007, and No. 49 at the end of 2008. Currently ranked No. 13, she has made a good turn around and her goal of reaching the Top Ten certainly seems possible.

You can see more of Stosur’s career stats at Sony Ericcson WTA Tour.

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Nevertheless, congrats to the 19-year-old Wozniacki for making the finals and becoming the first Dane, man or woman, to reach the finals of a Grand Slam in the Open Era.

Congrats to Kim Clijsters the 2009 US Open Womens Singles Champion

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Womens Tennis has just got a lot worse for me. Serena Williams at the US Open was pretty much a disgrace to Womens Tennis after being defaulted from her semi-final against Kim Clijsters. Here is the incident and the after match interview. Whats your thoughts?

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Here is a quick breakdown of the US Open prizemoney is for 2009:

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Andy Murray has entered the debate over the value of the tennis world rankings by questioning the Williams sisters’ interest in tournaments outside the grand slams.

The rise of Russian Dinara Safina to No 1 has raised the question of whether it is justifiable for a player without a grand slam title to be on top. Serena Williams has won three of the last four grand slam women’s singles titles, however she only stands at No. 2 in the WTA Tour standings. Men’s world No. 2 Murray, who has also still yet to win one of the four top tournaments in tennis, believes there would be little merit in raising the points on offer at the Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon and US Open just to ensure the winners of those events have a better chance of topping the rankings.

Murray understands why the issue is being discussed, and why there are varying views, but he is convinced the ranking systems as they stand have plenty of merit.

The Scot said:

“Do you not agree that it’s important for the top players like Serena to turn up at the other big events? “Tennis (has) an 11-month calendar. If you have ranking points which are too small for Serena to turn up at some of the smaller events, then all of a sudden the whole calendar is completely pointless and she can turn up — which is probably what she wants to do — at the four slams and play, and then not play for the rest of the year. And I think you have to be rewarded for consistency, and her consistency in slams is great, but in the other tournaments I don’t think it is.”

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