Tennis special edition: Top ten greatest surprises in 2010 – Part I
This season has been filled with a great variety of surprising moments in the game of tennis.
Not only did the former world number one Serena Williams from the United States of American skipped the year’s final major, the United States Open in New York as a result of her foot injury, but Juan Martin del Potro was also sidelined for nearly most of
the year due to his wrist injury.
Apart from injuries, a young Danish sensation, Caroline Wozniacki also achieved her career high ranking of world number one, whereas Andrea Petkovic is not only the highest ranked player from Germany, but in fact she is among the top forty players on the
tour.
The Grand Slam tournaments in 2010 were quite unpredictable, as they had some of the most unexpected runner-ups and champions like the French Open as no one expected Francesca Schiavone to finish as Roland Garros champion.
Here, Bettor.com takes a look at the top ten greatest surprises on both ATP and WTA tour this season.
10. Juan Martin Del Potro skips most of 2010
The Argentinean tennis ace Del Potro grabbed every one’s attention after his win at the United States Open in New York last year, during which he got the better of both Roger Federer as well as the current number one Rafael Nadal.
Not only did Juan end the last year ranked as number five in the world by ATP but in fact he was also the youngest contender in the ATP top ten list, the number one Argentinean as well as the highest ranked contender on the tour.
Apart from the Flushing Meadows, Del Potro captured two other trophies as well back in 2009 and was also a runner-up at the Masters 1000 tournament held in Canada and the Barclays event in London.
It looked at that time as if the sky was the limit for the tennis new star, however, after a poor start at the year’s first major, the Australian Open in Melbourne, it became crystal clear that Juan was not contesting at his top level of the game.
The six foot six Potro after his Aussie appearance went through a wrist surgery as a result of which he stayed away from the tour for most of the season afterwards.
He didn’t even recover to defend his title in New York and thus his ranking dropped down to as low as number thirty six in the world.
9. Spain kicked out in quarter final round of the Davis Cup 2010
Of course Rafael Nadal was not playing and Fernando Verdasco had played a lot of tennis going into the final eight tie versus France, however still none predicted the two-time defending winner to bundle out so soon.
The Spanish team has been dominant in the Davis Cup competition for the last whole decade. During that period they have not only triumphed on four occasions but in fact they were also the finalists back in 2003.
The French side, on the other hand, has not been in the title battle of the Davis Cup ties since 2002 and they had not outlasted Spain in the annual event since 1923.
The biggest surprising clash in the tie highlighted Michael Llodra and Julien Benneteau who got the better of Fernando Verdasco and Feliciano Lopez to seal win for their country, France.
Fernando and Feliciano had been virtually undefeated in the Davis Cup doubles clashes for the past few seasons; however, the French player did well to triumph in the clash in four sets in the end.
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