Is there a curse on first-time Grand Slam champions? – Part Four: Francesca Schiavone
So we have seen three most recent let-downs in the current year, naming Li Na, Petra Kvitova and Samantha Stosur. A general school of thought exists which believes that such huge victories in Grand Slam events followed by losses shortly afterwards is typical of the WTA (Women’s Tennis Association) players.
One must look into the past to find out any real pattern among WTA players. Let’s take a look over the past 15 years to see if there is anything to this curse and how the women tennis players have performed after winning a Major for the first time.
Currently holding the 12th spot in the WTA rankings, Francesca Schiavone became the first ever Italian woman tennis player to win a Grand Slam tournament at Roland Garros in 2010. She was seeded 17 at that time and it was hardly expected that the Italian would beat a number of top class contestants to claim her first ever Major title at the French Open at the age of 30.
The Italian veteran is well known for her attacking style of playing and her powerful one-handed back hand. Schiavone has four WTA championship titles to her name, which include the all-prestigious Roland Garros as well.
Schiavone took off the year 2010 as the world number 17 and made it to the semi-final of the very first tournament she played in Auckland. She lost to Flavia Pennetta in the semi-final clash and then suffered a first round exit in Sydney, before entering the Australian Open. The Italian veteran was outplayed in the round of four by Serena Williams of the United States to end her Grand Slam campaign.
The Italian kept losing in second and third rounds of most of the tournaments after the Grand Slam Down Under, until he finally got her hands on a championship title, defeating Roberta Vinci in the final at Barcelona. Schiavone’s title win was immediately followed by a number of poor performances in most of the events she took part in.
The Italian entered the French Open field as the number 17 seed and went on to defeat some top class contestants, including Li Na, Maria Kirilenko, Caroline Wozniacki and Elena Dementieva before facing Samantha Stosur in the final of the Grand Slam event. Stosur was seeded at number seven at Roland Garros and she was stunned by a magnificent performance by Schiavone, who wrapped up the contest in straight sets, 6-4, 7-6(2), to claim her first Major title.
It was the curse which took Schiavone right after her Grand Slam victory and she suffered humiliating opening round defeat in a WTA event in Eastbourne. She then went on to play the second Grand Slam tournament of the year, the Wimbledon Championships and was outplayed by the world number 56 at that time, Vera Dushevina, in the first round match.
Schiavone’s poor run continued in the later tournament, suffering early round exits in most of them before going to the US Open. She played much improved tennis this time round and made it all the way to the quarter-final round but again choked in the big match against Venus Williams. She made it to the quarter-finals of three more tournaments in the remaining season and finally ended the year at number seven in the WTA World Rankings.
Schiavone reached the final of Roland Garros in 2011 to defend her title but lost to the new champion, Li Na. Her inconsistent performances have dropped her to number 12 in the current WTA season and it appears that it is now too late for the 31-yearr-old Italian to bag another Grand Slam title.
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