This is the second article in a series of articles discussing the upcoming Australian Summer of Tennis——check out the first article here.
With the release of the entry lists for the Australian Open in the past month, now is a time appropriate as any other to look ahead to the first grand slam of the new season. There are many unseeded players this year who may truly pose a great challenge to others in claiming the title, as well as players who may use this tournament to help regain confidence and form after sustained injury, making the upcoming slam a fascinating mix of juniors and veterans alike.
Time to Recover
Before looking at the competition at this event, it is worth noting the three players who have decided not to enter this year because of injuries: Petra Cetkovska (CZE—#58), Laura Robson (GBR—#920) and Vania King (USA—#111). Cetkovska has been a relatively quiet entrant into the top 100, having only reached this milestone when she was 23, which is relatively late for a tennis player. Since then, she has been in and out of the tour due to various injuries and unfortunately has not competed on the WTA since the US Open due to a hip injury. Similarly, King has not had a good year in 2014, having to pull out of numerous events due to injury and also pulled out of her last event with a hip injury. On the other hand, Laura Robson has made the decision not to play the Australian Open as she feels that she’s ‘starting all over again,’ and has decided to play ‘all (her) favourite challengers’ as a part of ‘a smart schedule.’
Coming Back on Tour
A number of players have been injured for a while and are now returning to the tour with protected rankings, a ranking based a players first few months of injury, and these rankings allow previously successful players to smoothly make the transition back onto the tour after recovering. A number of notable women have decided to use their special rankings for the 2015 Australian Open, and these include former world number two, Vera Zvonareva and Bethanie Mattek-Sands, who has recently recovered from hip surgery in April. In a new rule change by the WTA this year, protected rankings are now allowed to be used for two grand slams, rather than just one, which was the case last year. As a result Zvonareva has been allowed to use her protected ranking again this year after having used it for the previous Australian Open, where she lost to Dellacqua in the first round 2-6, 2-6.
Earning One’s Keep
As well as this, a number of wildcards have already been announced by various tennis associations as a result of their reciprocal agreements with Tennis Australia. The players who have received these wildcards so far are Oceane Dodin (FRA—#177), Daria Gavrilova (RUS—#234), Kai-Chen Chang (TPE—#409) and Irina Falconi (USA—#112). All four of these competitors are at different stages of their career, and have qualified for these wildcards in different ways. Dodin, who is ambidextrous, has recently emerged as a new up-and-comer over the past few weeks, winning four titles and wins over numerous top 100 players. The Frenchwoman has been very successful on quicker courts, such as grass and carpet surfaces, and will most likely be able to succeed on the medium-fast courts at Melbourne Park. Both Kai-Chen Chang and Irina Falconi have previously been ranked in the top 100 early on in their careers but have made a strong return, with Falconi winning her wildcard based on her results at American ITF events in the offseason, whereas Chang won hers because she was victorious at the Asia-Pacific Wildcard Playoffs this month. Similarly, Gavrilova, who will be representing Australia rather than Russia at the upcoming Open has won the national playoffs and has been awarded a wildcard as well.
Unseeded and Looming
There are many unseeded players in the entry list who have a significant chance at a deep run at the Australian Open or possibly even claim the title, including the former champion Victoria Azarenka as well as Kaia Kanepi (2012 Brisbane Champion), Elena Vesnina (2013 Hobart Champion), Mona Barthel (2012 Hobart Champion) and Daniela Hantuchova (2008 AO Semifinalist). These players have all proven that they are capable of successfully competing on this surface and will be dangerous opponents for their seeded counterparts.
Whilst Victoria Azarenka is currently ranked #31 and would therefore technically be seeded, she is defending a number of points at Brisbane, and as discussed in my previous article, she could end up unseeded for the Australian Open. As with any previously injured player, it is rather difficult to determine how they will perform once they are competing again, and this is no less true of Azarenka. The Belarusian was rather unfit at the last few tournaments she participated in and it will be interesting to see how she performs at Brisbane this year.
Another player who has had great success at the Australian Open is Daniela Hantuchova, who is currently ranked #63 and has reached the semi-finals here at Melbourne Park before in 2008. Since then, however, she has failed to reach the second week of a grand slam due to unfavourable draws and a general lack of form. However, Hantuchova is now being coached by Carlos Rodriguez (the former coach of Li Na) and should provide invaluable assistance to her in attempting to reach her first ever grand slam final.
Three other lesser known challengers who have regularly performed well in January are Kanepi, Vesnina and Barthel. All three have won at least one warm-up event before the Open and all have games which are able to play consistently yet aggressively on this surface and it is this style of play which should enable to them to perform well at the upcoming event, even if they have not done so in the past. Over the past two years, all three women have been performing their best ever at the grand slams and it would not be surprising if any of these three women are able to make a deep run in Melbourne next year.
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