Posted by Tom Perrotta, TENNIS.com
The Australian Open begins on Sunday in the United States, and for the first time in at least five years, I'm looking forward to the women's tournament more than the men's. Sure, I'm interested to see if Roger Federer can move one major closer to Pete Sampras, and maybe he'll have a more difficult time than usual now that he has a stomach virus and a new surface to contend with. Maybe this year he'll actually lose a set. Maybe.
On the women's side, the potential for drama is much greater. Justine Henin has a chance to not only seal her place as the best player in the world this season, but to become one of the game's all-time great players. Serena Williams, last year's champion, played second fiddle to Henin the rest of the season and once again has a score to settle. Venus Williams (rumored to be engaged to boyfriend/pro golfer Hank Kuehne) breezed past Maria Sharapova in a recent Hong Kong exhibition and might be right behind Henin in the favorites category. Sharapova has slumped since winning the 2006 U.S. Open. Can she become No. 1 again? Can new stars Ana Ivanovic and Jelena Jankovic improve upon their stellar 2007 seasons? Last year's darlings from Serbia won over fans with solid play and lots of smiles, but they'll need to win, and win big soon, to keep everyone's attention. (Jankovic's recent hamstring injury might hurt her cause.)
Any one of those six women has a realistic shot at the title, but there's another contender whose story is even more compelling: Lindsay Davenport. The 31-year-old American had her first child last year and is 18-1 with three titles since returning to the tour last fall. Davenport wasn't exactly forced into retirement -- not many pros, save Martina Navratilova, contend for titles after age 30. Now Davenport says she would like to play next season as well. Her former coach, Robert Lansdorp, is surprised that she's come on so strong so soon.
"It's very surprising to me how she is able to do it after such a long layoff," Lansdorp said in a recent conversation. "She is probably more relaxed now. When she is playing well, she is awfully good because she hits the ball so solid. Ivanovic is great, but she cannot keep it up like Davenport can. She can just keep pounding the ball."
Women's tennis has had a rough time the past five years, mostly because of injuries and the lack of a real leader -- someone everyone can chase and measure herself against, someone like Federer. Not anymore. Henin is the clear No. 1. The Williams sisters are healthy and hungrier than they have been in a while. Sharapova is as relentless as ever, and there are several youngsters (Agnes Szavay, Tamira Paszek, Agnieszka Radwanska and Alizé Cornet, to name a few) on the horizon. If the top players remain healthy -- and play the tournaments they are supposed to play -- we could see some fine matches in Australia and during the season in general.
Before the year is out, maybe Davenport can convince Kim Clijsters that you can mix tennis and family and do just fine.
