Fast, predictable results the rule in early rounds
By Greg GarberNEW YORK -- Winning, quickly and cleanly, is the goal of every tennis player. In a game of grinding attrition, less time on the court almost always means more: more wins, more money, more longevity.
| The eight 2005 U.S. Open women's quarterfinalists have played only one set more than the minimum 64. (No. 7 Justine Henin-Hardenne was 3-0 in 6 sets until losing -- in straight sets -- to No. 12 Mary Pierce on Monday night.) | |
| Player | Result |
| No. 1 Maria Sharapova | 4-0 in 8 sets |
| No. 2 Lindsay Davenport | 4-0 in 8 sets |
| No. 3 Amelie Mauresmo | 4-0 in 8 sets |
| No. 4 Kim Clijsters | 4-0 in 8 sets |
| No. 6 Elena Dementieva | 4-0 in 9 sets |
| No. 9 Nadia Petrova | 4-0 in 8 sets |
| No. 10 Venus Williams | 4-0 in 8 sets |
| No. 12 Mary Pierce | 4-0 in 8 sets |
Why, then, was Lindsay Davenport sitting in the interview room at the U.S. Open on Monday overtly wishing for a close match?
"I'm hoping for another opportunity and a close match to hopefully play my best tennis again and see what happens this time," Davenport said.
Davenport, it must be noted, played only five matches between Wimbledon and the U.S. Open and is trying to play herself into championship shape after suffering a back injury. She has buzzed through her first four opponents, losing only 18 games and averaging 58 minutes per match. The 6-0, 6-3 result that sent her into the quarterfinals came against Nathalie Dechy, the No. 15 seed.
Always a truth-teller, Davenport could have been speaking for all of the tennis community. Through the eighth day of the fortnight here at the National Tennis Center, the women's draw has been more predictable than ever -- which is saying something.
The only seeds missing from the quarterfinals are No. 5 Svetlana Kuznetsova, the defending champion who was bounced in the first round, punctuating a miserable year, and limping No. 8 seed Serena Williams, who lost to her sister, No. 10 Venus Williams, in a match that surprised few. No. 7 seed Justine Henin-Hardenne lost on Monday, but she fell to a seeded opponent, No. 12 Mary Pierce -- in straight sets.
The eight players who reached the quarters had played 65 sets, just one over the minimum. No. 6-seeded Elena Dementieva was the only one to briefly take her eye off the ball; in the third round, she dropped the second set to Anna Chakvetadze, 6-4.
Historically, there have been a dozen or so women, at most, capable of winning a Grand Slam event. In the men's game, where the talent pool is deeper, there are probably 50 players with some kind of chance. The experiences of the two top seeds underline the women's top-heavy game.
Maria Sharapova has lost only 12 games in four matches. Roger Federer lost 16 games to Fabrice Santoro in his second-round match alone. Federer won in three sets, but Santoro taunted him throughout with a dizzying array of funky shots. Santoro is, for the record, ranked No. 76 among ATP players.
The top men have been tested early and often. No. 4 seed Andy Roddick was knocked out in the first round by No. 68-ranked Gilles Muller. No. 2 seed Rafael Nadal was banished by No. 49-ranked James Blake. No. 6 Nikolay Davydenko and No. 9 Gaston Gaudio are long gone and No. 3 Lleyton Hewitt was stretched to the five-set limit by Taylor Dent.
Only six of the men's top 16 seeds reached the Round of 16 as expected. Meanwhile, 12 of the women seeded among the top 16 reached the same destination.
"The more things change, the more they stay the same," said Peter Bodo, the longtime contributor to Tennis Magazine. "The depth, overall, has changed exponentially in women's tennis. But at the top, it's still thin."
Bodo, who writes an insightful daily online diary, doesn't see things changing.
"You'll always have these discussions until every woman has a big weapon," he said. "There's not enough power in the women's game for them to do what's got to be done. Depth, to a degree, is a function of power."
Predictability -- cynics would call it protecting the top players -- is good for business. Four years ago, the International Tennis Federation changed the way Grand Slams seed their draws by expanding the number of seeded players from 16 to 32. The idea was to avoid those awkward, random meetings between the top 16 seeds and the next 17 players. This way, the top 16 seeds don't see a seeded player until at least the third round.
"You used to have a lot more unknown or really tough battles in the first few rounds," Davenport noted last week. "I think that took away a lot of it.
On the plus side, there are six former No. 1 players still in the mix. Now that the first week is over, there are some compelling matches to look forward to, starting with Tuesday night's matchup between Kim Clijsters and Venus Williams.
"If you go outside the top 40 or 50, there's not tons and tons of girls that are really challenging the top players," Davenport said. "On the men's side, obviously, you have some upsets once in awhile. Hopefully, women's tennis will get there to where there's a lot of depth, one through one hundred."
Greg Garber is a senior writer for ESPN.com.
