Schiavone – One Slam Wonder or Genuine Contender?

Francesca Schiavone was 2010′s feel-good story of the year. To casual sports fans, she did not even register on the Richter scale (in fact she probably still doesn’t). Even casual tennis fans would have been hard-pressed to describe her as anything other than “Italian, about number 30 in the world, never really won much…” Even the die-hards would have struggled to name her two tournament wins prior to the 2010 season (Bad Gastein 2007, Moscow 2009).

And then it all came together. After a decade spent in the top 50 but outside the top 10, the diminutive, ever-smiling 30-year-old from Milan cooked up a perfect storm in the first half of the year. Fourth round of the Australian Open, a Fed Cup win over Ukraine and then her third title, on the Barcelona sand. A 6-0, 6-2 thrashing of Lucie Safarova in the Fed Cup semis at the Foro Italico should have heralded a fine “home” tournament but her Roman holiday came to an early end when she fell to eventual (and shock) winner Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez.

This was a mere blip however in the irresistible rise of Francesca Schiavone. Roland Garros was around the corner, and the time was ripe. The returning Justine Henin was short of match practice, Kim Clijsters was absent, Serena and Venus don’t really “do” clay (ditto Maria Sharapova) and the Russian red dirt revolution of 2009 was very much ancient history, with Svetlana Kuznetsova and Dinara Safina plummeting down the rankings. Not that this should take anything away from Schiavone’s victory. She defeated Na Li, Maria Kirilenko, future world No.1 Caroline Wozniacki and former French Open finalist Elena Dementieva en route to the final, then battled tooth and nail against another surprise package-turned-top ten stalwart Sam Stosur on the final Saturday.

The match ebbed this way and that, particularly in the second set when the Australian led 4-1 only for Schiavone to break back then hold as she twice served to stay in the set at 4-5 and 5-6, curling aces deftly into the corners. And then came that tie-break. When destiny called Francesca picked up the phone, whipping those forehands of hers where her arm seems to move at the speed of light (watch her carefully next time she plays…), haring into the net and volleying with aplomb. Moments later the breaker had been secured 7-2 and with it the first ever Grand Slam title for an Italian. And after destiny came calling, it was Silvio Berlusconi’s turn next as Schiavone was handed a cellphone while still on court with her country’s president on the line!

The usually bubbly Schiavone was sublime after the match, saying: “I always dreamed I could do it and I always believed in myself – not in trophies or tournaments, but in myself. It means that everyone has the chance to be who they want to be and do everything in their life, because this is what happened to me.” A press conference to melt the hearts of even the most cynical journalists…

And what of 2011? Will she return to the ranks as it were, and go back to being a Fed Cup stalwart (with an exemplary 24-15 record carved out over a decade) and merely a lower seed at the Slams? Was 2010 the exception that proves the rule? I think not. She reached the final eight of the US Open in August and if she can remain focused (right after the French Open, she had two weeks of photo-shoots and phone calls topped off by a first-round defeat Wimbledon), then she is among the favorites to retain her Roland Garros crown. All she has to do is believe in herself.

Francesca Schiavone is another player to watch in 2011

Drew Lilley

Follow Drew throughout the season on twitter.com/DrewLillley