TennisGirl comments:
TennisGirl, Serena has said that she is feeling great headed into Fed Cup tomorrow, and as long as her serve holds, she should have an easy time getting past Caroline Maes and Kirsten Flipkens. Plus, it sounds like her retirement at Charleston was primarily out of concern for possibly making the injury worse.
Nexty writes:
Also, I would like to ask you what you think about Amelie’s campaign for Roland Garros?
Nexty, thanks for sending that picture of Anastasia at Fed Cup this week. Myskina has been off the Tour for so long that I was starting to wonder if we were going to see her back any time soon. The Russian Fed Cup squad is a close-knit bunch and it is great to see her out hitting a ball or two with the team.
She is probably using the hitting practice as a chance to see how well her foot is holding up, especially before making an official return. At this point, I’ve not heard anything about her hopes of returning by Roland Garros, but we should know more in the next few weeks.
As for Amelie, I believe it all depends on how well she is able to bounce back from her surgery. She has resumed practicing and with Roland Garros still a good month away, she may be able to regain her old form after she plays a few matches. Personally, I think this year might be an easier one for her in Paris because she is not heading in as a major contender for the title. Unlike previous years, no one is “expecting” Amelie to win the Championship and that could make her a very, very dangerous floater in the draw.
TennisGirl and Nexty, thank you for your questions this week! Everyone, feel free to offer your opinion on these topics or else strike up another conversation below. Have a great weekend and enjoy Fed Cup!
I dont’t know if you think like me, but i really belived that Serena withdrew in Charlston because she was going to face her sister.And as Venus’s ranking is pretty far from good, she would have let her sisters win if she lost against Venus it would sound real…so retiring (and not losing) before was the best thing for her…that’s why I didn’t doubt about her participation in Fed Cp tie….
For Amelie do you think she should play Warsaw??? because I think that only playing Belin and Rom isn’t enough….
But why do you see her as a non favouritd???
Venus and Serena have been slated to play each other in early rounds twice in the last month or so – never materialized. We all know they hate playing each other, but I’m not convinced that Serena pulled out just because of Venus.
Serena’s keeping a close eye on her body right now and winning Miami took a lot out of her. She has the two biggest titles of the year in the bag and I don’t think we’ll see her jeopardizing her chances of winning Roland Garros – especially as she’ll need to be at 100% to beat Justine.
I’m okay with Amelie’s schedule because she does not need to do much too soon. As you know, clay competition is more grueling the other surfaces and she’ll need to slowly build herself back up to her old level – and playing too much before Roland Garros is probably not a good idea for anyone.
I see her as a non-favorite just because she has not done anything so far this season to lead us to believe that she’s capable of finally winning. Last year, I thought she had a chance after the Australian Open, but apart from winning her diamond racquet, she’s been less than spectacular and spent more time injured or recuperating than anything else. Plus, if Venus, Serena, and Justine remain healthy – they will be the players to watch in Paris.
What do you think? Do you think this is the year that she will finally breakthrough on her home turf?
As the year pass, I doubt more and more in her ability to win in Paris… Last year, after losing to Vaidisova she went out the court saying: ”maybe you should count on me anymore when it come sto clay”…It’s definitly not her favourite and best surface but she’s not bad as she already won in Berlin and Rome… But you the french mentality is always the same: the french cannot handle the pressure… the french always want everything right now… just like with Richard Gasquet…
I wish the elections were during Roland Garros so she would get less attention than every year
Maybe they understood that they should stop but we will see that…
Serena and Venus both have done a good job in Fed Cup so far, so Serena must be feeling better.
Thank you for posting my comments.