Tennis Players to Watch in 2007, Part Two
Posted by Aaress Lawless on Dec 27, 2006 | Print | Email | Bookmark | Free Subscription
This entry is part four of a four-part series previewing the 2007 Sony Ericsson WTA Tour tennis season. You can find the entire series by clicking here.
With the start of the 2007 Sony Ericsson WTA Tour season only days away in New Zealand and Australia, now is the perfect time to take one final look at the tennis players to watch next year.
Shahar Peer
The nation of Israel is often looking for silver linings underneath dark clouds, and they have found one in the form of 19-year old Shahar Peer. The winner of the 2004 Australian Open girls title, Peer burst into the top fifty in 2005, and only improved her game and ranking in 2006 with three more titles.
What to Look for in 2007: Now just inside the top twenty on the rankings, Peer’s Achilles heel is her temperament on court. However, if she can learn to control her emotions on court, 2007 may prove to be her best season yet on Tour.
Tatiana Golovin
Consistency, thy name is Golovin. France’s No. 3 player has been a consistent competitor on the tour for three seasons, and believe it or not, she is only eighteen years old. She just completed a hat-trick of seasons ending inside the top thirty, but has still not found a way to win a title. Her hopes for a big breakthrough at the NASDAQ-100 Open in Miami last spring were dashed when a freak accident in the semifinal against Maria Sharapova denied her a spot in the Tier I final.
What to Look for in 2007: If Golovin is able to stay injury-free in 2007, I would look for her to capture her first title in 2007, and give Marion Bartoli a run for France’s No. 2 spot.
Samantha Stosur
It is not often that a doubles specialist makes the cut in singles players to watch, but Australia’s Samantha Stosur is not your average doubles player. She is co-ranked at No. 1 on the doubles rankings, alongside of her playing partner Lisa Raymond, and fortunately for Australia, Stosur has her sights set on not just the doubles court.
What to Look for in 2007: Samantha is just 209 points shy of cracking the top twenty in singles, and a strong showing next month at her home Grand Slam may be good enough for her to solidify her position as a consistent singles player.
Aravane Rezai
Another talented youngster rising through the rankings from France, Aravane has a power game that could threaten even the heaviest hitters on tour. Her precise - and lethal - two-handed backhand propelled her to the fourth round at the US Open, in only her third appearance in the main draw of a Grand Slam.
What to Look for in 2007: Hopefully Rezai can settle any remaining differences with the French Tennis Federation, as I would hate to see a repeat of a Damir and Jelena Dokic debacle. Controversies like this only serve to hurt a player’s performance, and if she can put this behind her, a spot in the top thirty by the end of the year may be hers for the taking.
Vania King
Seventeen year-old Vania King has the hopes of an entire nation on her back as the United States’ future on the WTA Tour looks increasingly bleak. Only two American women won singles titles in 2006, but King was one of them in her maiden year as a pro.
What to Look for in 2007: Vania is currently lingering just outside of the top fifty on the rankings, but if she successfully makes the transition from juniors to pros, keep your eye out for the Star-Spangled Banner flying proudly in the near future.
Kaia Kanepi
It had been a long time since someone came into Kim Clijsters’ house and pushed her around on her own turf, but last fall, Kaia Kanepi nearly ousted the crowd favorite and former world number one in the final at the Gaz de France Stars. Kanepi did go on to lost the third and deciding set in that final, but not before making people take notice. A couple of more wins at Challengers in the fall handed Kaia her first ever season-ending finish in the top-seventy.
What to Look for in 2007: Kaia still has a long way to go before cracking the top fifty, but if she stays focused and keeps working hard, a year-end ranking inside the top thirty is not out of the question.
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Alsacienne | Dec 27, 2006 | Reply
Hej Aaress,
merry Christmas first of all, or to be politically correct as an American Friend reminded me, happy holidays.
Good list of players to watch, but I’d definitely add Zvonareva. Okay, we know she can be good, but I think she has an excellent year in front of her now that is seems she has learned to control her temper somewhat. And what do you think of Olga Poutchkova, Agnieszka Radwanska and Chan Yung-Jan? On the not-so-young 2006 ranking rockets Severine Bremond and Martina Mueller?
I’d also be interested in your opinion about some of 2006’s underperformers: Anna-Lena Groenefeld, Lucie Safarova, Maria Kirilenko?
Bonne année 2007!
Aaress | Dec 27, 2006 | Reply
Hi Alsacienne!
I hope you and yours had a wonderful holiday - I sure did, but it does feel good to get back in the saddle after a couple of days of rest.
Good thoughts on Zvonareva - it would be great to see her get back to her old form and at least reach the top fifteen again.
I’ve not seen Chan Yung-Jan compete, so much of what I know about her is limited to other people’s opinions. I have to confess, I had no idea that she was ranked so high!
2006 will be a good test for Agnieszka and Olga, and we should see by the end of the season if they are capable of being solid contenders or perpetual journeywomen.
The top-twenty players are fairly entrenched right now, and Radwanska and Poutchkova are going to find that it may turn out to be harder to stay in the top fifty or sixty than it was to reach it.
I love watching the “old-timers” on the Tour like Bremond, Craybas, and Likhovtseva win because it proves that pro tennis is a game for mature and experienced veterans, not just hot-shot teenagers. Bremond had a fantastic season in 2006, and I really was glad to see her compete on the Tour circuit and not hop around the globe playing Challengers to grab ranking points. She played week-in-and-week out against the top players, and in my opinion, really earned her spot in the top forty.
Oh yes - the underperformers! I’d have to give the award to Groenefeld . . . although I seriously was starting to wonder about Petrova during the summer. Groenefeld ended 2005 well and I thought that she would have a huge chance of breaking through in 2006, but her game self-destructed by Wimbledon. Injuries played their part in her woes during the summer/fall, but I think her confidence is probably close to an all-time low and trying to win without confidence is like trying to play tennis using a racquet with broken strings.
Speaking of underperformers - what are your thoughts on Nathalie Dechy?
momofan | Dec 27, 2006 | Reply
Nathalie Dechy — beats Amelie (then world No. 1) in the second round of Eastbourne, breaking my heart in the process, and then goes on to lose in the first round of Wimbledon THE VERY NEXT WEEK!
Apart from her stellar 2005 AO performance, I don’t think she’s done much since then, which is a real shame, since I really like her.
Brant | Dec 27, 2006 | Reply
Dechy has been such a disappointment since the 2005 Australian Open, and even then I think she had a fairly easy road to the semifinals (only facing tough opponents in Myskina and Schnyder).
I also think Gisela Dulko had a terrible year. She has never had the game to upset the top players, bu falling out of the top 40 showed that she is really struggling with her game as of late.
I think Stosur, Radwanska, King and Gajdosova will have huge ranking boosts next year and be the stand out players to break through (as far as I’m concerned Chakvetadze, Jankovic, Vaidisoca and Ivanovic “arrived” into the games elite in 2006!
Alsacienne | Dec 28, 2006 | Reply
On Dechy:
It was great to see Nathalie do so well in early 2005 but I am not surprised she’s not there any longer. Lacks that special something to be honest, and I doubt she is young enough and motivated enough to really change her game. I don’t know if any of you watched the France-Italy Fed Cup tie but watching Dechy and Penetta slug it out was almost painful. And Penetta certainly was the more inspired player (even though I think she will find it difficult to get back into the top 20, too).
On Dulko:
pity for her, really, but lack of motivation if you ask me. I watche dher practice with Jankovic at Strasbourg last year and Jankovic was the more motivated player by far. Now that we know how Jelena described her state of mind during that time what does that tell us about Gisela? You need to work you behind off to stay up there…
Gajdosova… will be interesting
and I always cheer for the veterans especially Ai Sugiyama!
Alsacienne | Dec 28, 2006 | Reply
And thats so much for you extensive answer, Aaress!
Happy new year, bonne année, guten Rutsch to everyone!
Aaress | Dec 29, 2006 | Reply
My pleasure, Alsacienne! As you know, I love discussing tennis, and your comments always add to the discussions so much here at OTB.
I agree with you on Nathalie - she is slumping pretty badly, but she does have time to fix the quirks in her game and try to regain her form.
France has the potential to be a tennis powerhouse, second only to Russia, if players like Bartoli, Dechy, Golovin, Bremond, and Rezai continue to progress up the rankings.
Aaress | Dec 29, 2006 | Reply
Sorry momo - that was a tough blow, but apparently Amelie did get the final word in on that one.
I just wish Amelie will quit handing away bagel sets like spare change to her opponents next season. Her loss to Maria at the US Open was nothing less than a disaster.
momofan | Dec 29, 2006 | Reply
AAGGHHH! Don’t remind me Aaress, please! I can’t tell you how many times I’ve ridden the Momobagelcoaster, only to fall of and plunge 10,000 ft!! Yikes!
I hope 2007 brings much better fortune in THAT regard!