by Pete Bodo
The WTA year is long over, and the ATP provided us with plenty of fodder for thought over the past few weeks. And we still have an intriguing Davis Cup championship tie coming up — one that I wouldn't concede to host Spain quite as easily as some other fans or pundits. But let's use this slow news day to pass out some Thumbs Ups/Thumbs Downs based on the entire WTA year.
The other day, some comment posters took exception to the fact that I characterized Rafael Nadal as a "loser" in 2011. I understand their complaint; perhaps I should have noted that I was using that term in a relative way — anybody who wins a major or has a Top 10 ranking (never mind No. 1 or 2) is, by definition, a big winner. Still, Nadal started the year as No. 1 — and a dominant One at that — but he fell, fast and hard. He dropped to No. 2 and lost all six of his meetings with the new No. 1, Novak Djokovic. And Rafa kind of disappeared after the U.S. Open. We won't even get into the negativity and disillusionment that so often filters through his recent comments. So in the big picture, Nadal had a tough, sobering, unexpectedly problematic year, and he lost a lot more ground than he gained (or held).
Keep that in mind as we dole out these "awards." They're not based on overall performance against the rest of the field but on our legitimate expectations and the players' own natural desire to progress, fill in the blanks, plaster over the holes, and maximize their talents. We'll do them in order of ranking, starting with the No. 1, but leave out some players about whom not much needs be said.
!Thumbs_downNo. 1 Caroline Wozniacki — She's become the spokesperson for that offshoot of the Occupy Wall Street movement — Occupy No. 1. For the second year in a row she finished No. 1 without having won a Grand Slam title. And that hasn't happened ever before. Look, her consistency is admirable and not all that common a virtue these days in the WTA. Also. Wozniacki earned her ranking the clean, hard way. So give her credit for that. But this year she just added credence to the argument that she's No. 1 mostly be default, rather than through gift and grit. And it's not just that she hasn't won a major. That's not really a deal breaker in and of itself. It's that she's failed to lift her game to the appropriate level (of a No. 1) at the majors.
!Thumbs_upNo. 2 Petra Kvitova — We all knew what kind of talent she had, so her bolt to the top is hardly surprising. Shy, reticent, and gangly, Kvitova barely turned 20 when she beat Maria Sharapova to bag her first Grand Slam title — Wimbledon, no less. But what I liked even more was the way rebounded from the shock of winning that first major to close the year in a way that invites comparison with the effort Roger Federer recently mounted. I believe she demonstrated that she's in it to win it. Every week. Gut feeling here is that she'll be No. 1 by the time the early hard-court season is over.
