Winner takes it all?

For me, the third Grand Slam of the year was about Barbora Strycova, a Czech player who mostly goes under the radar. Our focus is often distracted by Pliskova and Kvitova and we often fail to acknowledge other excellent Czech players. Vondrousova is another example of this. Journalists merely report that Barty ran over Vondrousova to win the French Open title. Instead, they should have been impressed that Vondrousova was the first teenager in a decade to reach a grand slam final (Wozniacki 2009 US Open) and the first teenager in 12 years to make it to the French Open final (RG) (Ivanovic 2007). It is also an impressive leap to go from having only 1 WTA title to her name in 2017 pre-injury comeback, to being a grand slam runner-up. Vondrousova is an amazing player to look out for in tournaments and is still only just 20 years old so should have plenty of years ahead of her on the tour. What 19 year old male tennis player has managed this in recent years? When the women’s game had a few dominant players, they were criticised for lacking depth in their game but it is fine when the men’s game has the same winners and finalists. Yet this clearly shows the men’s game has lacked depth for a long time so they shouldn’t be distracting off this problem with protracted 5 set matches which are neither epics nor hard-fought. These matches are merely strung-out to appear as though this makes them better than the women’s two or three set matches. No, on the contrary, 5 set matches are easier because you have more time to change the momentum of a match and it gives a player more experience of match-play. Thus the women are under greater pressure to seal the win quickly. They have to maintain a higher level of play consistently with no lapses because the match can end in the blink of an eye. So a winning position can slip away and turn into a loss all too quickly. Whereas in a 5 set match, a loss of concentration or a dip in energy/fitness is easier to regain, even if it lasts for a set or two. The winner of a 5 set match is merely the person who can pace himself well rather than having any particular better technical tennis skills than their opponent. It is very arrogant for the men’s game to then argue they should be paid more simply because they are wasting time on court playing a match that could have been won hours earlier. Since grand slams are more widely televised, it is unfair to allow men to do 5 sets which takes up more air-time. If testosterone is such a miracle hormone, then why does it take almost all male players in the history of the game so long to peak at an older age? Surely young teenage boys, in their first flush of testosterone (which peaks at 17-19 years old), should be strong enough to beat men whose testosterone levels are on the wane and have had years of injury and fatigue on the tour? 

To return to Strycova, she is a seasoned pro who was in her 17^th Wimbledon and was not someone anyone would have predicted as reaching the semi-finals in the singles and winning the doubles (with Hseih), so taking her to world number 1 in the doubles. Congratulations are in order for such achievements!  

Strycova credits her success in part to her mental conditioning which is a vital ingredient for all athletes. Having said that, her all-court game is beautiful to watch. She is quick around the court, can hit the ball from anywhere to anywhere, mixing it up with drop-shots, acute angles and spins. Strycova both serves well and returns well and is hard to read. There’s never a dull moment with her on court. She wears her heart on her sleeve which makes her great to watch and very entertaining.

This is what sport is about. Appreciating various types of successes, not just adopting ‘the winner takes it all’ mentality. Strycova inspires me. She made Wimbledon 2019 thrilling because she makes you play every shot and round with her so your heart is in your mouth as you will her on! Here she was, unseeded, yet made it to the last 4 in singles! As if that wasn’t enough, she won the doubles with Hseih and became world number 1 in the doubles! I’d say this was a very successful Wimbledon!   

On the brink of retirement from the game, Strycova found her second wind. She is, in my opinion, too young to retire. Peschke, a fellow Czech player, is playing doubles on the main tour in her 40’s.  Netball players still play at the top level of competition at 40 which, given the game is fast and furious and a semi-contact sport, is admirable. Quite a few of the netball players are mothers with babies/very young children who have returned to competition in a matter of months so there is no reason for the WTA tour not to cater for young mothers on the tour. Speaking of which, congratulations to Lucie Safarova who is expecting her first baby! I’d love to see her back on tour one day because she is such an incredible athlete and player.