Sara Errani; a mere fluke or a deserving Top-Tenner? (Part Two) – Tennis Special
Only few understand how tough it becomes for tennis player to play singles matches along with the tiring doubles encounters. Sometimes players have to play two or even three matches in a single day if they take part in both categories
in a particular tournament. To maintain such level of fitness and still keep gathering championship titles is certainly a feat for which Errani deserves a salute.
The 25-year-old has been absolutely phenomenal in the doubles events and claimed the Grand Slam title at French Open with Vinci this summer. She rides a formidable 45-7 winning record for the season so far and leads the list of
teams striving to reach the season-ending grand finale, the WTA Championships. American veteran duo of Liezel Huber and Lisa Raymond fall second while Andrea Hlavackova and Lucie Hradecka of Czech Republic are at number three in the race. Among such experienced
contenders in the field, Errani and Vinci lead the table with significant points’ difference from all the others to follow.
Coming back to her singles performance this season, Errani took off the current season from Auckland and finished as the quarter-finalist at the WTA event there. She slipped to the 48 spot before entering the first Grand Slam tournament
of the season, the Australian Open. The Italian surprised everyone with her amazing hard-court skills and went all the way to the quarter-final of the Grand Slam Down Under for the first time. She was ousted by the Czech number one, Petra Kvitova in twin sets,
6-4, 6-4, in the round of eight but her ranking soar to number 34 after such unexpected run.
After a semi-final run at Monterrey, Errani entered the WTA clay-court swing to have a chance of playing on her favourite red surface. She took part in the joint event in Acapulco and won her maiden title of the season by defeating
her fellow compatriot, Flavia Pennetta, in the final. Her expertise didn’t work out in the hard-court Masters Series tournament like Indian Wells and Miami Masters and she suffered defeats in her opening matches.
Turning back to the red dirt in Barcelona, the Italian clinched her second clay court title of the season by dumping the third seed Slovak, Dominika Cibulkova in the final showdown. Her third championship victory on her favourite
playing surface came in Budapest and she reached the world number 24 mark after that. Madrid Masters and Rome Masters didn’t prove successful ventures for Errani and she entered the French Open as the number 21 seed contestant.
Errani had her best Grand Slam run in Paris and she defeated the likes of Ana Ivanovic, Svetlana Kuznetsova, Angelique Kerber and Samantha Stosur to beat all the odds and reach her first ever Major final. Her dream run was brutally
massacred by the Russian beauty queen, Maria Sharapova, who defeated her 6-3, 6-2, to deprive her off her first Grand Slam glory.
She win another clay-court championship in Palermo later this season to make it four on the red dirt but her performance on the grass and hard courts has not been that much convincing. Her weak return game doesn’t allow her to
catch up pace on the faster grass and hard courts. This is the only reason she has been criticised recently.
Errani has made her name as a brilliant clay-court player but to stay in the Top-10, she must play equally well on all sorts of surfaces in the coming future.
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are the writer's own and in no way represent Bettor.com's official editorial policy
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