Women's tennis more exciting than ever
Posted: Friday August 28, 1998 09:08 AM
Has women's tennis ever been in a healthier state player-wise ?
The strength-in-depth is greater than at any time I can remember.
That's why the U.S. Open women's singles event promises to be one of the most fascinating ever.
Just think of it. Swiss Miss Martina Hingis topping the seeds in defense of her title; last year's runner-up Venus Williams bringing her athleticism and power to bear in the hope of going one step further than 12 months ago; the tour's in-form player Lindsay Davenport finally looking to make that Grand Slam breakthrough; Ana Kournikova aiming to show there's much more to her than a pretty face as she bids for her first professional title of any kind and Monica Seles attempting to put the cap on what's been a remarkable resurgence in the face of personal tragedy.
And let me not forget Wimbledon champion Jana Novotna, French Open champion Aranxta Sanchez Vicario, Venus's younger and equally talented sister Serena and former Grand Slam winners Conchita Martinez and Mary Pierce.
Then there's perhaps the most intriguing story of all. Steffi Graf back at the U.S. Open after a year or more of injury torment.
Is Graf fit enough to contend for the title? Does she still have the desire to add to her glittering collection of Grand Slam prizes? Will failure signal the end for the one-time undisputed Queen of the Court?
It's all so unanswerable until the tournament unfolds. It's all so fascinating.
Gone are the days on the women's circuit where we had to wait for the quarter finals, or maybe even the semis, to get a captivating clash of stars.
Now, with the likes of Serena Williams, her fellow teenager Mirjana Lucic, former French Open champion Eva Majoli and France's Sandrine Testud lurking outside the seeds, there's always the potential for some intrigue and an upset or two before the last 16.
Once upon a time, it was processional for the big guns of women's tennis.
Margaret Court or Billie Jean King waltzing through to the final in the sixties and early seventies, Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova storming towards a title showdown in the late seventies and early eighties, Graf and Seles taking over thereafter - followed by a couple of years in the nineties where Graf (with no Seles to push her after that infamous stabbing) and Hingis (with no Graf to challenge because of various personal and injury problems) dominated on their own.
Of course, these dominant duos were occasionally split by the odd Evonne Goolagong, Virginia Wade, Tracy Austin or Sanchez Vicario sighting. But only enough to hold off the Monopolies Commission.
No, it was only in that last eight of a major that the sporadic match or so might ignite some interest. Then the semis would, almost always, be worth watching. But only almost.
Now we have a wide open field ready to serve up some of the finest U.S. Open women's singles offerings the game has ever seen - right from the very first round.
I, for one, won't be waiting for week two to tune into the women's competition. The captivating mix of the comeback gals, the teen brigade and the dogged veterans have seen to that.
| 
