With the tennis season drawing to a close after the Barclay’s ATP World Tour Finals, a cursory look over the past year is only to be expected. While tennis fans had plenty of reasons to be grateful for the 2010 season, such as
Nadal’s completion of a career Grand Slam with his first US Open victory and Caroline ‘Sunshine’ Wozniacki’s ascension to World No. 1, there were a few instances that cast a shadow over what would have otherwise been a glorious tennis year.
Serena Williams & her 'injured' foot: although a great deal of scepticism and doubt has surrounded the strange story of the former World No. 1’s injury, a seeming invention that has gone unexplained, the fact
remains that there is no real evidence to prove otherwise. It is not therefore, the American pro’s fault that she missed all but six tournaments in the last year. However, it is still disheartening to see the player vanish from the courts especially after
her superb show at the 2010 Wimbledon.
The Fall of Nikolay Davydenko: this Russian tennis pro kicked off 2010 as a formidable contender for the Australian Open, yet he has ended the year almost forgotten. Although the Grand Slam titles have never been
his strong suit, this year signaled an all time low for the player who could not manage to get his act together for the fall season. Given that these lesser tournaments are normally his domain, Davydenko’s decline is regrettable.
WTA Players & their injuries: this is reminiscent of the Williams sisters and their continued absence from the Indian Wells tournament, where they were allegedly subjected to racial slurs. They have made it a point
to skip the tournament, despite the fact that the WTA has now made it compulsory. The WTA players seem to be chronically susceptible to injuries. Even though their tour season has been shortened and the top players have it much easier, they still fall victims
to illnesses and exhaustion (case in point, Victoria Azarenka at this year’s US Open). It’s regrettable that there is nothing much anyone can do about this.
Federer followers complaining about media disparagement: this year, Federer fans seem to have taken it upon themselves to decide that the media is on an anti-Maestro rampage. While some not-so-knowledgeable sources
may claim this, the fans have made it a much bigger issue than necessary. Speculations abound that this was because Federer was not as dominant as he usually he is for much of this season. He seems to have lived up to those rumours as well, seeing the way
he ended the season.
The GOAT arguments: The Greatest of All Time, or the GOAT debate, has been on the top of every tennis follower’s list this year. While everyone enjoys a round of discussion about players and their dominance, discussion
boards and forums have taken it over the top this year. While the Roger Federer vs. Pete Sampras debate is still plausible and acceptable, the comparison between Rafa and the Maestro is downright farfetched. As Nadal himself admitted, a comparison is at this
stage ridiculously premature, since Nadal has to win seven more Grand Slams and play for five more years before he reaches the Swiss legend’s level. It’s high time to give the GOAT up for a while.
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