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Ranking Dilemma The women’s rankings are a farce, or so many believe with Dinara Safina ruling the roost without having won a major event to date. In contrast Serena Williams, the current Australian Open and Wimbledon champion, who is currently defending her US Open title, is ranked one spot below the Russian.
As the US Open gets under way, Safina is only rated fourth favourite behind both the Williams sisters and the Olympic champion, her compatriot Elena Dementieva, and, on the form she showed in her opening match, she may well see her odds lengthen. What is even more incredible is, even if Safina loses early at Flushing Meadows, she will leave New York as world number one, regardless of whether Serena Williams, the favourite, successfully retains her title. The argument is that the rankings reflect a player’s
consistency and in that area, Safina has been the dominant player but should
a series of ‘minor’ events, events which the public (unless |
you are a local to it) don’t have any affinity with or knowledge of, be allowed to overshadow the successes earned at the majors which do generate word-wide appeal and interest. Safina fans will argue that their idol does the work around the tour while the Williams sisters just turn up, so to speak, to the majors. In other words, they should also put in the miles and accrue the ranking points on offer throughout the year, and not just turn up to mop up the majors. Needless to say, Serena Williams has not been slow in claiming she is the true World No1, despite what the WTA Tours computers currently confirm week after week.
But her challenge has started badly as she had to come back from a set down to defeat the world number 167, an 18 year-old from Australia, Olivia |
Rogowska, 6-7(5),6-2,6-4 in an opening round match which lasted two-hours and 35-minutes. There was a certain amount of relief as she came off court having seen a 5-3 lead evaporate in the first set, and then recovering from 0-3 in the third. All this was in direct contrast to the smooth progress she maintained throughout the French Open where she hardly dropped a game to make the final where she eventually lost to fellow Russian Svetlana Kuznetsova. Following her victory over the inexperienced Aussie, Safina said: "That was a very tough one. I made it tough but I made it into the second round and that's a positive thing because tomorrow is another day, another chance to step on the court and play a better match. “I didn’t break any rackets and I didn’t get any warnings so that is already positive.” She will need to be even more positive if she is to change people’s views and be accepted as true world number one. Dinara
Safina picture by Fotosports International Serena
Williams picture by David Horton 2nd
September 2009 |
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One
thing which will help Safina’s cause, is winning the US Open and at least
then stifling the cries that no player should be on the top rung of the ladder
without a major title on their playing CVs, as did Jelena Kankovic before
her, and even Kim Clijsters (who did win the US Open eventually) before that!