It takes just 48 hours for the women’s tour to wrap up the first hard-court season in Miami and get the clay stretch started in Charleston. That’s the right idea, as far as keeping the spring momentum going, but it’s too fast a turnaround for most of the top players. Victoria Azarenka and Maria Sharapova took the week off, and even the ultra-dedicated Caroline Wozniacki and Agnieszka Radwanska finally had to admit that the Family Circle Cup was a forehand too far this year.
Before the tournament gets any farther ahead of us—it's already into the second round—let’s take a look at who did make the trip and what they’re chances are at one of the WTA’s biggest women’s-only events in the States. I apologize in advance if, by the time you read this, some of the players mentioned are already on their way to the airport. They're playing as we speak.
Family Circle Cup
Charleston, S.C.
Green Clay
$740,000; Premier
With Radwanska's withdrawal, the top seed left in Charleston is Sam Stosur. A couple of years ago, this is where Sam began a clay-court run that took her all the way to the French Open final. In 2012, she comes into the event after a tough but not too discouraging loss to Serena Williams in Miami. Stosur begins her tournament against Jamie Hampton, a young American who has shown promise this spring, and who won a close match over countrywoman Sloane Stephens in the first round. Stephens may have the bigger upside of the two, but she’s been losing a lot of close ones lately. For now, I’ll go with the optimistic, “You have to learn all the different ways you can lose before you can win,” line that a helpful coach told me once. It was, for better or worse, true.
Also in Stosur’s section is Venus Williams, a wild card this week. I guess, with her illness, we’ll never be sure how much Venus is going to be able to give from one match to the next. If she wins her first round here, she gets Jelena Jankovic.
In the next quarter, Venus’s sister Serena also opens her tournament today, against Elena Vesnina. Serena is obviously the big draw, as she begins what will hopefully be an injury-free push toward the majors and, seemingly more important in her mind, the Olympics, this summer. (It’s amazing how things have turned around for tennis at the Olympics. We used to think the players didn’t care; now it’s the big motivation for a lot of them). Serena has had her ups and downs in Charleston. She won it in 2008, lost the final to Justine Henin in 2003, but has had to withdraw due to injury twice. The second-highest seed in her quarter is Sabine Lisicki, though it's Yanina Wickmayer, who beat Vania King this morning and Kim Clijsters last week, who may be the more dangerous player.
The other half of the draw is quieter—except, perhaps for Vera Zvonareva, the fourth seed, who had the most epic of her epic meltdowns here a few years ago, one which, I believe involved her kicking a couch. Bartoli, Zvonareva, Pavlyuchenkova and Safarova are the top four seeds on this side, which means that a lot of players have a shot at a surprise run to the final. One of those who won’t make it is another young American who has been suffering close losses of late, Christina McHale. She went out to Aleksandra Wozniak of Canada 6-4 in the third yesterday.
Also: Melanie Oudin qualified and took a set from Anabel Medina Garrigues yesterday before going down 6-0 in the third. I hate to say it, but I think that’s progress.