Getty
The world has come to an end. Victoria Azarenka has won the Australian Open 6-3, 6-0 over Maria Sharapova and risen to No. 1 in the rankings. I said she could never do it, and then she went and made a liar out of me.
I give her props for getting out of her own way and allowing her talent to rule the day. Easier said than done, to be sure, but she did it.
The match was a yawner. After dropping the first two games of the match behind nerves, she only lost one more game, leaving an erratic Sharapova looking like it was her first Slam final instead of the other way around.
Azarenka did say before the match that Petra Kvitova had shown the way and she was determined to emulate the performance of the Czech in her first Slam final against the three-time Slam champion.
Getty
Sharapova, who had moved much better around the court throughout the event, played the final with glue stuck on the bottom of her feet. In the semifinals, Kvitova, who hits harder and flatter than Azarenka, could barely get the ball by the Russian. But in the final, Sharapova was never in position to get a good strike on her shots, most of which landed short or in the middle of the court, allowing Azarenka to control the match.
The last five Slams have been won by 5 different women, the last four Slams by 4 new major champions. According to those who know better, this is the first time in history the holder of each Slam title is a first-time winner.
On Monday, Azarenka will sit atop the rankings, becoming the first player in history to leapfrog the second spot to get there, Kvitova will remain at No. 2, Sharapova will move up a spot to No. 3, and after 67 weeks, Caroline Wozniacki will fall to No. 4. Perhaps our very own *b* was right. Wozniacki's run at the top sans Slam title served as a correction to the truckload of points Justine Henin's first retirement voided from the current system.
So, now that Azarenka has broken through and the WTA has a legitimate world No. 1, when is it going to get a compelling rivalry?
No comments:
Post a Comment