By Anil John
Doha: Pride, glory, a spot in the fabled folklore of tennis and the small matter of finishing the year as the world’s top ranked player. And yes, the winner’s cheque worth $1.55mn would be just fine.
There will be simply too much at stake for Serena Williams and Dinara Safina when they play out the final episode of their very public rivalry this year in the season-ending Sony Ericsson Championships beginning at the Khalifa Tennis Complex today.
The stage could not have been set more delicately, or even dramatically, as Safina once again displaced Serena as the world’s number one player in the official WTA rankings yesterday, just a day before the six-day battle royale in Doha.
It’s something that would have got the American’s blood boiling even though she did a fine job keeping her emotions to herself yesterday unlike in the past when she simply couldn’t restrain herself from questioning the Russian’s credentials as the world number one. In Serena’s opinion a player does not deserve that status if she has no Grand Slam titles against her name, no matter how consistent she has been in other tournaments. It’s like a Formula One driver winning the world title after consistently finishing second or third in every race.
But although Serena has a point, it’s not the complete point, because unlike Formula One, tennis is a sport that is played each week of the year until early November when the season comes to a close. And consistency has to be rewarded, especially in this age of professionalism where pressures from various quarters can have a damaging effect on a player’s performance.
Safina deserves credit for that. Ever since she broke into the professional league as a 15-year-old, she had to first deal with the pressures brought by the fact that she was the kid sister of the flamboyant Marat Safin who became the world’s top player before the age of 21 when he thrashed Pete Sampras in straight sets to win the US Open in 2000, the same year his sister had turned pro. Inevitably, the tennis world had turned its attention to Safina, with the media following her every move and comparing her to her big-hitting superstar brother at every given opportunity. The fact that Safina successfully managed to deal with such issues by keeping her focus on the game and later went on to emulate her brother as the world number one – the first brother-sister pair in history to do so – is an achievement that deserves praise, not derision. Serena had been the most vocal of Safina’s critics, but yesterday she refused to get involved in the issue again, perhaps mellowed by all the negative publicity and the possibility of a ban following her foul-mouthed rant at a female referee at this year’s US Open.
When asked about her number two ranking yesterday, she said she preferred to focus on her own game.
“I’m just really happy to be here andto be able to compete, be involved in such a great tournament,” said Serena. “You know, a lot of people didn’t make it, so I’m happy to be here.”But Safina, who was also asked about the issue, swatted away the criticism, apparently fed up of people doubting her abilities.
“I don’t care anymore. They can say whatever they want,” said the 23-year-old. I have been in three Grand Slam finals and I’ve been in two semis. Last year I was winning every tournament and they were asking me why I’m not No. 1.
“This year I became number one, there is no Grand Slam. It’s not that I don’t want to win a Grand Slam. But you’re not a robot that you can play a 100% all the time.”
Safina also had the Russian brigade behind her with Svetlana Kuznetsova and Elena Dementieva voicing support for her. “I think Dinara deserves it. She’s there because she played the final of French Open, the final of Australian Open,” said double Grand Slam winner Kuznetsova.
“The criticism is always going to be there. There are people who cannot sit and just concentrate on their own life.” Dementieva, the Olympic gold medallist, also praised her compatriot.“She’s the one who has won a lot of big events this season, and she was in the Grand Slam finals a couple of times. She worked very hard to get to the No. 1 position, and we have to respect this. She is very close to winning a Grand Slam title.” Safina had been found wanting in Grand Slams, apparently struggling to cope with the pressure with her emotions getting the better of her. She could win just three games against Serena in the final of the Australian Open, was thrashed in straight sets by Kuznetsova in the French Open decider and was upset by the little-known Petra Kvitova in the third round of the US Open. And yesterday she admitted she had to have more control over herself.
“Of course, I know this. Some things I’m like this, I’m too open. It’s very bad, I know. Many people don’t even have to say how I feel, I can show them. This thing I have to learn. I think I have improved compared to how I was before. Before, before stepping on the court, I could say already if I have a bad day or good day. This is, of course, something that I have to change myself. Only I can control it, nobody else. Everybody says this. But this is my decision to change it or not. I guess I have to change it.”
The eight players in the competition are divided into two groups and the top two will qualify for the semi-finals, but when it comes to Safina and Serena the equation is really simple. Safina has 7731 ranking points as of now, just 155 points ahead of Serena who has 7576, and with both of them way ahead of the others in the line-up, the number one position will be decided between them. Each victory in the round robin stage fetches 160 points.
But there’s no doubting the fact that the pressure will be on Safina. Last year she lost all her three matches in Doha, but the fact that she is in an easy group this time with the Williams sisters in the other group, could well work out to her advantage. |
