posted Sep 16, 2007

Paula Radcliffe can come back after having a baby and be on top of her form very quickly, so it's not that surprising that Davenport should recover form and fitness quickly, is it?
I'd say it says more about her strength and skill than about the weakness of the women's game.

I'm trying to think of other women in other sports who've done the same. Any thoughts?

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posted Sep 16, 2007

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Does anyone seriously see that happening in the mens game?
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I think it's safe to say we'll never see a man coming back from having a baby to win a tournament

It is fairly damning of the WTA tour though. I'd argue that at the very top level the quality is as high or higher than it ever was, but the depth is sadly lacking at the moment.

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posted Sep 16, 2007

"I think it's safe to say we'll never see a man coming back from having a baby to win a tournament "

Y'know, I knew SOMEONE was going to post that! I might have known.......

On the Radcliffe front, she didn't retire with an injury, then have the kid, then saunter over and win straight off.

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posted Sep 16, 2007

I think we should play down the baby part. The main issue is that she can come back from a year off and immediately beat 2 players in the top 10. It is a similar issue to Serena Williams winning the Australian with no match practice. Fortunately Venus has realised that dedication and effort is required and I do not think that right now either Lindsay or Serena could challenge Venus and Justine who are the best 2 players in the world right now.

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posted Sep 17, 2007

I can't decide if Davenport winning the title really does show up the WTA or not.

The WTA has always had players come back and do well very quickly - let's face it this isn't anywhere near as impressive as Seles's post stabbing return where she swept through the draw to win the Canadian Open and made it all the way to the final where Graf stopped her - up to that point Seles hadn't even lost a set!

Why are we surprised that Davenport has done so well - in fitness terms she had the baby 4 months ago so there was plenty of time to get into shape and let's face it if Lindsay relied on her fitness to win matches she would have retired years ago.

In many ways Lindsay is probably fitter than usual as she has been away from the daily grind of the tour giving all those niggling injuries that players suffer from a chance to heal - quite often in these WTA comebacks we see them hit the buffers once they get back into the grind of the tour and the injuries start piling up again.

Also it's not really a surprise in terms of lack of match play - after all Lindsay has been on the tour for the last 15-16 years! There is probably no one currently in either the mens or the womens game more experienced at winning matches. And Lindsay has made a career of winning these kind of small scale tournaments - after all she has over 50 titles but only 3 are slams. Also a bonus is that she had no pressure or expectations on herself so she probably went out and just enjoyed herself - lets face it she must be fresher than the likes of Jankovic & Hantuchova who are coming to the end of a long season. And beating Jankovic was a surprise but then Jelena is back to her insane schedule - looked ropey in her previous match and has been vulnerable to silly losses all year. Beating Hantuchova was no shock - she has a 7-0 H2H and Hantuchova is a head case who couldn't even beat Davenport when she held match points!

All in all it's not the best sign for the WTA but it's not as bad as it may look at first and it's only Bali after all - not exactly a major tournament!

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posted Sep 17, 2007

Good thoughtful post GS2

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posted Sep 17, 2007

Much ado about nothing....

ianmoores comments highlights the situation. It's little different from Serena coming back from injury to win the Australian.

Supporters of women's tennis have never claimed that women are better tennis players than men. And, yes, no man could come back from a similar layoff to win a similar title.

but the appeal of the women's game lies in the unpredictability of who's going to win the title, and that it goes beyond the nexus of the top two (i.e. Federer and Nadal). Supporters of men's tennis will watch men's tennis, and supporters of women's tennis will continue to watch women's tennis....

Davenport's win is not going to change that!

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posted Sep 17, 2007

Agree Mike the unpredictability does add a dimension - I really didnt think Henin would win the US.

It is a bit more of an open race than the men's game - though I wish some of the new wave would get rid of the collywobbles when they play.

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posted Sep 18, 2007

funny that, davenport comes back and wins a title, and wta is slated - hingis comes back wins 2 Tier Is, 3 grand slam quarters, top 6 and wta is slated, Canas comes back beats federer twice and gets to Indian Wells final, yet is heralded, what's the difference?

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posted Sep 20, 2007

I my opinion on the subject of S. Williams and Davenport, they are both exceptional tennis players and that should not be used to disgrace the woman's game!

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