My French Disillusion

After the early defeats of Kim Clijsters, Ana Ivanovic and Caroline Wozniacki, I have put all my faith in Victoria Azarenka, who became many people's top contestant for the Suzanne Lenglen cup. As the Belorussian showed amazing form lately, winning two consecutive titles and losing just one match since Miami (i.e. to Petra Kvitova in the Madrid final), I genuinely believed this could be her year. Although she experienced some medical issues which forced her to retire from Stuttgart and Rome, she came out swinging at Roland Garros progressing to the quarterfinals without losing a set. She had played some Slam quarterfinals before, but for whatever reasons she couldn't pass this stage. Facing such a wide draw, I was really expecting Victoria to go all the way this time. Even though her opponent, Chinese Na Li, has beaten Azarenka in 3 of their 4 previous meeting, this was definitely Victoria's chance to break her habit. She failed to take it though, losing it in straight sets. Li, who is currently experiencing a surprising dream run on the French clay, looked solid throughout the match, breaking decisively in the 12th game to seal a 7-5 first set win. She recovered from an early break in the second to win it even more convincing, 6-2. Azarenka is left to meditate on yet another missed opportunity, while Li is turning a great season into an exceptional one.

Unfortunately, the series of disappointments didn't stop here. Turning to the women's doubles tournament, both my favourite duos suffered early loses. While Dulko & Pennetta's chances were hindered after the Argentinean retired from her singles match due to injury, Azarenka & Kirilenko looked set to capture a great claycourt season by winning their first Grand Slam together. Both teams lost in the quarterfinals stage, Dulko/ Pennetta to red-hot Elena Vesnina & Sania Mirza, while the latter to experienced Lisa Raymond & Liezel Huber. After their great performances, I would have liked the hot duo to get a much deserved Slam. They should fancy their chances at next week's Wimbledon, where they can finally fulfil their dream. This defeat makes Azarenka my biggest disillusion of this year's French Open. She started the week with such great odds both in singles and doubles, but she failed lamentably.

The men's doubles tournament added up to the disillusion, as the top seeds Mike and Bob Mike suffered a shock semifinal defeat at the hands of Colombian Juan Sebastian Cabal and Argentinean Eduardo Schwank. After a tight first set which was won 7-6 by the South American duo, the Bryans looked to have regained control storming to a double break 3-0 second set lead. It all came tumbling down though when the Americans lost focused, allowing their opponents to take 6 consecutive games. It marks a rather disappointing end to what has been an excellent claycourt season for the Bryan twins.

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Doubles Dismay

The beginning of this year has been a topsy-turvy ride for the best doubles teams. It's true that both Pennetta/ Dulko and the Bryan brothers confirmed their supremacy when it most mattered by winning the first Grand Slam title of 2011, but, except for that, they both faded badly.

Let's take a look at Flavia Pennetta and Gisela Dulko first. They are the current co-number 1s and they seem by far the strongest team on the tour. In the last 12 months, they are the pair that won most titles, and they do own two of the most important ones, i.e. WTA Doubles Championships and the Australian Open. However, by one reason or another, except for their performance in Melbourne, their season has been catastrophic. A shock first round exit in Sydney, a second round defeat in Indian Wells and, just a couple of days ago, a quarterfinal loss in Miami where they were the defending champions. Are the poor results due to a lack of motivation or is the duo starting to lose its main strength, namely its dynamic? I really hope the explanation does not lie in the latter factor, as I really like this team and I want to see it do great. Penneta is amid my favourite players and her partnership with the Argentinean fills in a gap in women's doubles. Since Martina Hingis and Anna Kournikova retired in early 2000s, the doubles tour was kinda dull. No team was able to really hit it big with the crowds. Therefore, by brings in some much needed excitement, Dulko & Pennetta are stepping in the Hingis/ Kournikova footsteps and they are becoming an instant fan's mania. If we do not count the Williams sisters, I think they provide the best example of synergy  And it's even more than this. The magnetism is present, the bond is powerful, the funny and enjoyable part is also there, plus they are both young and sexy. Their future looks bright. If they manage to make full advantage of their advantage, this duo can really rule the world.

Moving on to the top males contestants, the Bryan brothers seem to follow a similar pattern. They are co-ranked no.1 and they won basically the most important titles since last summer, i.e. the US Open, ATP Doubles Championships and the Australian Open. However, in the rest of the tournaments they've entered this year, their results failed to impress. They've started 2011 strongly by making the final in Sydney, where they were beaten by Lukas Dlouhy / Paul Hanley, and then they've captured the Melbourne trophy in impressive fashion by defeating Bhupathi/ Paes in the last act. However, ever since, they've suffered a first round loss in Acapulco, to Travis Parrot / Filip Polasek, and two second round defeats in Indian Wells, to eventual champions Dolgopolov/ Malisse and in Miami, to Marach/ Tipsarevic. Even so, I do not worry that much about the American twins as they proved they are capable of bouncing back, especially in the most important moments. It would be great if they could show more consistency, but I strongly feel they are the dominant force in males' doubles. If they can replicate their previous two seasons, they will probably retain their position atop of the rankings for a long period of time.

photos: GETTY IMAGES