Tennis in 2010: Top Ten Matches of the Year (Part I)
This year was an eventful one in the world of tennis, as players completed significant records and the World Number 1 mantle changed hands on both the Women’s Tennis Association and the Association of Tennis Professionals. Roger Federer and Serena Williams
began the year as World Number 1s, and dropped out of the top spot to give their positions up to Rafael Nadal and Caroline Wozniacki respectively. Federer finished the year as World Number 2, while Serena stands at World Number 4.
However, this was only a fraction of the many developments, victories and losses which made 2010 a highly eventful year. Let’s take a look at the top ten performances of 2010.
Wimbledon Championships, title match: Serena Williams defeats Vera Zvonareva
Russian tennis pro Vera Zvonareva did not have the best year in 2009. She was plagued by a troublesome ankle injury, which resulted in subsequent surgery which kept her down for most of the year.
However, the player made a spectacular comeback in the year 2010. The Wimbledon Championships were her stage, and she announced to all spectators that she had returned to the same form which took her to World Number 5 prior to her 2009 injuries. Before 2010,
she had never moved past the fourth round of a Grand Slam event.
Despite her superb form and performances, the prospect of facing Serena Williams cannot have been easy for Zvonareva. The Russian player is known for her meltdowns under pressure, and meeting the reigning World Number 1 on the grass courts of the All England
Club was not an easy challenge for Zvonareva. She succumbed to her already fragile mental state.
Williams had never faced Zvonareva on grass courts, but luck was on her side – it seemed as if she could do no wrong. The American player served powerfully and fired off long, deep ground strokes to completely sideline Zvonareva. Williams did not give her
opponent any opportunity to make it back into the match, and took away the Wimbledon Cup in 67 minutes. The final score line was a straight sets victory at 6-3, 6-2.
Serena Williams broke Zvonareva’s serve thrice, and did not face a break point on her own serve throughout the match. The match was yet another indicator of Serena’s total dominance as World Number 1; she won the Wimbledon Cup without dropping a single set
throughout the event. Serena set yet another record at Wimbledon, where she served the most aces at 89 in a Grand Slam.
This is the fourth time that Serena Williams took away the crown at London, giving her back to back wins in 2009 and 2010. This was also her 13th Grand Slam, taking her over tennis great Billie Jean King on the list of Grand Slam champions. Players
ahead of her on this list are Martina Navratilova and Chris Evert (at 18 each), Helen Wills Moody with 19 titles, Steffi Graf with 22 and Margaret Court with 24 Grand Slam victories.
However, soon after this victory, Serena Williams sliced her foot open on broken glass and sustained severe injuries to her foot. After surgery, she was forced to miss the rest of the season as well as the upcoming Grand Slam at Melbourne. The consequence
of her injury is the loss of the World Number 1 position.
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