Top 20 breakthroughs in professional tennis circuit this year: Last Part – Tennis Special
1. Sara Errani (Italy)
It is very rare to see an above-40 ranked player qualify for the title match of a Grand Slam event. Perhaps that is the reason why Sara Errani comes at number one in my list of Top-10 breakthroughs of the 2012 tennis season.
Starting off the running circuit as a 45th ranked contender, the Italian youngster is having a dream run on the tennis courts at the present. Her persistent hard work and dedication towards the game broke her in to the
elite Top-10 WTA Premier Rankings and she is currently holding the world number eight spot. The 25-year-old crafty Italian suddenly rose to the scenario with some stunning victories against the superior-ranked opponents and backed it up with some championship
titles under belt.
She has been on the WTA Tour for quite some years now but the real turning point in her career came at the Australian Open this year. Errani cruised through the initial rounds of the Grand Slam Down Under to reach the quarter-final
draw but unfortunately, lost to the former Wimbledon champion, Petra Kvitova, in twin sets, 4-6, 4-6.
A semi-final appearance in Monterrey further improved his confidence and she entered the clay court tournament in Acapulco, Mexico, with a strong resolve. Errani is well known as an excellent player on the red dirt and she proved
her clay-court tennis skills once again by winning the WTA championship title against her compatriot, Flavia Pennetta.
After a couple of dismal runs on the hard court event at Indian Wells and Miami, Errani returned on her favourite playing surface in Barcelona. She outclassed Dominika Cibulkova, 6-2, 6-2, to lift her first WTA championship title
of the running season. The Italian carried on winning roll on red dirt and conquered another title in Budapest, defeating Elena Vesnina, in the final matchup.
Madrid and Rome mega events didn’t yield anything special for the 25-year-old Italian but she was all prepared for the Grand Slam campaign at Roland Garros. Errani outmuscled Casey Dellacqua and Melanie Oudin in the initial rounds
of the French Open before igniting a series of upsets in the tournament. She surprised the former world number one, Ana Ivanovic, Russian veteran Svetlana Kuznetsova, German number one Angelique Kerber and the then world number six, Samantha Stosur, have an
explosive entry in her first Grand Slam final. Luck didn’t favour Errani in the biggest match of her career and she poor lost to Maria Sharapova, 3-6, 2-6, to squander the golden opportunity.
Her rankings rocketed to world number 10 after the French Open and she further strengthened it up with another title victory at Palermo. Errani’s Cinderella story continued in her US Open and she stunned everyone once again to
reach all the way to the semi-finals of the last Grand Slam event of the season. Errani was outshined by the eventual champion, Serena Williams, in the round of four.
A title match appearance, followed by a semi-final run at Grand Slam tournaments clearly show that her rise in the Top-10 rankings is not a fluke and she deserves to be rated among the best in business. Errani had four WTA titles
this year and her current form will certainly yield her even more in the coming season.
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