BENGALURU: IN men’s singles, Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray have had the lion’s share of Grand Slam singles titles in the last 16 years. That the ‘Fab Four’ have won 54 out of last 62 majors is evidence of their sheer domination.
Now, compare that to women’s tennis, since 2016, eight different players have won the Grand Slam singles titles. The fact that there have been 18 different champs in the first 19 meets on the WTA Tour in 2019 alone indicates that the days of domination of 2-3 players are over. After Serena William’s maternity break in 2017, only Naomi Osaka has been able to win two Majors.
As women’s tennis heads towards democracy, former World No 1 Arantxa Sanchez Vicario believes it makes tournaments unpredictable. “Earlier, you could pick 2-3 players who you knew could win. It’s wide open. It’s good for the game and helps more players coming up,” said the owner of 10 Grand Slam titles.
While the lack of dominance might open the tournaments to different possibilities, is it something to do with the pressure of expectations? Apart from Serena (Wimbledon 2016), in recent times, no one has been able to defend their Grand Slam crown.
Vicario, during her time too, had to face a similar situation when she won the French Open in 1989 at just 17. Players of the current generation may too be victims of extreme pressure. The Spaniard believes it’s important to cope with pressure.
“In tennis, you do well one year and then you have to better that next year. It is easier to go up but harder to maintain that level and even more difficult to stay at the top. I was the first female Spaniard to win the French Open. It was a big change as the whole country was watching. But after that they expected me to win everything and to be No 1 straight away. To handle that is not easy when you are young. That’s why some players work with psychologists to deal with that pressure,” she said.
Japanese youngster Osaka might need that advice. She also has an additional problem to contend with because clay is not her favourite surface.
Thus, like every other tournament this year, it could be anyone walking away with the title. Vicario believes the defending champ Simona Halep is more equipped to win. However, the Romanian hasn’t been at her best since winning in Paris last year.
“It’s an unusual situation but I think in a Grand Slam anything can happen. Though it’s hard to pick a winner, Halep will be one of the favourites to do well there as she plays really well on clay. But expectations are really high for her and to deal with the pressure is not easy,” said Vicario, who is also the event ambassador of the TCS World 10K event, which will take place on Sunday.