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A New Grand Slam Champion - Page 3

© Michael Cecilio

Nevertheless, their time has come, especially for Serena, who has shown the world that she is here to stay and will continue to go after these Grand Slam championships for many years to come. Similarly, Venus would probably say to herself that if her sister can do it, so can she, and she may actually draw confidence into her game from the fact that her sister has won a major.

The changing of the guard has arrived
The period from 1997-1998 marked a significant transition on the WTA tour. It was a time when the composition of the tour was changing, where new faces were being introduced and the old faces were not as single-handedly dominant as they were earlier in the decade. It was a period when the old guard was taking on the challenge of the new guard, and when both generations seemed to find a lot of success at different points in time.

1999, or at least post-Wimbledon 1999, has seen a consolidation of what very well may be the beginning of the future on the WTA tour. We have seen the arrival of young and exciting players, and we have also witnessed the retirement of some of the greats of the former generation. However, it is Martina Hingis, Lindsay Davenport, Venus Williams and Serena Williams who may in fact become the four most dominating players on the tour in this next era and currently are ranked 1, 2, 3 and 4 on the WTA tour, respectively. Sure, they will have their challengers, most notably in Monica Seles and Mary Pierce, next on the rankings list at 5 and 6, and possibly Anna Kournikova, Barbara Schett, Amelie Mauresmo and Mirjana Lucic in the near future. But right now, the top 4 look to be the current and future best, and each of them showed why they are touted as the best players on the tour by reaching the semi finals of the US Open this year.

US Open excitement
The US Open plodded along predictably in the first week of the championships. There were a few minor upsets in the tournament, namely 8th seed Jana Novotna in the third round, and 6th seed Amanda Coetzer in the first round. But even then, these girls did not lose to just anybody. Novotna lost her match to former Australian Open finalist Anke Huber. Since the French Open where she sustained a serious ankle injury, Novotna has not been the same player since, and she has been visibly hampered in terms of her movement, which has been an essential part of her serve-volley game. In fact, it was this loss at the US Open which sent Novotna into retirement. Amanda Coetzer lost to the erratic but talented Irina Spirlea in straight sets. Coetzer had had a great summer season, but could not find her range against big-hitting Spirlea, who is best known for her altercation with Venus Williams two years ago in the US Open semi finals.

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