Iga Swiatek’s threats, Caroline Garcia’s seeing double and Ons Jabeur’s army descends on Texas – WTA Finals diary
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Updated 03/11/2022 at 09:56 GMT
Reem Abulleil’s latest diary entry from the WTA Finals in Fort Worth starts with Martina Navratilova weighing up Iga Swiatek’s biggest challengers for the season-ending title, with the 18-time major champion also pondering how long the world No. 1 can dominate the sport. Abulleil also catches up with fans of the ‘Minister of Happiness’, Ons Jabeur, the popular Tunisian who “empowers women”.
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Who could stop Iga?
On the back of a dominant 2022 campaign, world No. 1 Iga Swiatek is understandably the top contender for the WTA Finals crown this week in Fort Worth.
Still, there are seven women behind her ready to do whatever it takes to stop her, and Martina Navratilova weighed in on Wednesday, naming a few players she feels could be the biggest threats to the Pole’s quest for the title at Dickies Arena.
“[Aryna] Sabalenka can hit anybody off the court, but I think the ball is just not bouncing high enough for her here, but she’s always dangerous,” 18-time major champion Navratilova told reporters in Fort Worth at a luncheon organised to raise funds for the WTA Charities Champions for Change initiative.
“[Caroline] Garcia is playing awfully well, she’s got a big serve that pays off here and she knows how to keep the ball low and come in and take the time away, so if she plays her best tennis, I think she can bother Iga.
“Maria Sakkari as well, she’s got the kind of game, because she moves really well and the low ball doesn’t bother her, she gets down there pretty well. So those would be my picks maybe.”
‘She looks like she’s covering two courts’
Garcia, who kicked off her campaign in Fort Worth with a win over Coco Gauff on Tuesday, is next up for Swiatek as round robin action for the Tracy Austin Group resumes on Thursday.
The Frenchwoman is the only player in the WTA Finals singles field to have posted a win over Swiatek in 2022 – a three-set victory on clay in Poland.
“When she has time to do her things, she is very complicated,” said Garcia of Swiatek.
“She changes direction so well, she moves very well on court with her sliding, she looks like she's covering two courts when you cover only one. So she's very impressive, especially on the hard court since the beginning of the year, doing so well at 21 years only.
“So yeah, we'll have to recover well from today, prepare my match very well, take the good positive things I did in Poland and, and try to put it, match my game style. So that's the most important for me.”
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Navratilova also notes how special Swiatek’s movement is on the court, as she listed the top seed’s biggest strengths.
“Great technique, great footwork, she’s really quick, she takes these quick steps on this court particularly, you really need to get set for your shot, because it doesn’t give you much pace and the ball bounces low, so you really have to be set for your shots,” explained Navratilova.
“And her footwork is exemplary, rarely do you see her off-balance. She stretches better wide than anybody, both backhand open stance, she’s doing a spread eagle and she could still hit a good shot on a full stretch.
“It’s just really hard to find openings against her. Her serve has improved, her first serve is bigger. Her second serve is still attackable but she was hitting some good kick serves the other day as well, so I think she’s improving every aspect of her game. Watch out, she’s dialled in.
“She’s covered all the bases basically, she’s doing everything right, she’s the ultimate professional and that’s what it takes these days.”
The American legend can see Swiatek continuing next season as well.
“There’s no reason not to, if she physically stays fit, if she’s eager, as long as she wants it, there’s no reason for her to slide backwards, the rest of the field will have to catch up to her,” added Navratilova.
Next big rivalry in women’s tennis?
Navratilova and Chris Evert formed the greatest rivalry in the history of women’s tennis, facing off 80 times in the 1970s and ‘80s.
A fierce rivalry has yet to be established among the current crop of top WTA players and Navratilova hopes that can change soon.
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Asked what rivalry she’d like to see come to life, she said: “I wish that Ash [Barty] was still playing, imagine Iga and Ash going at it, how fun would that be?
“And Ons [Jabeur], there’s so much variety within the game on the women’s side; it’s great to see the different personalities and styles coming together.
“It’s not just the big-babe tennis, which there’s nothing wrong with it, it’s still there, they’re hitting the crap out of it.
“We’re not going to get Ash and Iga; Coco Gauff coming up, she’s definitely a contender for multiple Slams in the future. We’ll see how much she progresses.
“It could be Iga and Coco, but Ons might have something to say about that too, so we’ll see. Right now it’s Ons and Iga, No.1 and No.2, that’s the rivalry.”
‘Jabeur empowers Tunisian women’
As Jabeur always says, “Tunisians are everywhere”, and that statement rings true, even in Fort Worth, Texas.
Tunisian flags were scattered around the stands at Dickies Arena as the world No.2 clinched a crucial three-set win over Pegula to keep her chances of making the WTA Finals semis alive.
Many Tunisians travelled from all across to Texas to catch their ‘Minister of Happiness’ live, including Kenza Belaid, a UTA student, who drove in from Arlington to watch her favourite player make history at the WTA Finals.
Belaid received a Fulbright scholarship this year to study quantitative finance at University of Texas at Arlington and much to her surprise, the WTA Finals arrived at her doorstep, giving her the chance to watch Jabeur – her favourite player – in person for the first time, thousands of miles away from their home in Tunisia.
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Jaberu's mom (c) and sister (r) with a fan (l)
Image credit: Eurosport
“I’m a big tennis fan, especially of Ons. My Google Chrome and all the ads on my laptop were showing that the WTA Finals are here. I said 100 percent I have to go to Ons and support her. I am here, I live in Arlington, it’s like 20 minutes away, so I felt like it’s kind of duty that I came and support Ons,” said Belaid, who walked up to Jabeur’s mother and sister, congratulated them and asked for a photo after Wednesday’s match.
Belaid has been following Jabeur’s entire career and says seeing other Tunisians in the stands here in Fort Worth made her feel like home.
“What does Ons mean to Tunisians? You mean besides her being our Minister of Happiness? I really believe that she empowers women and she represents a huge symbol of determination and perseverance and that Tunisian women are able to reach their goals and dreams if they set them from a young age. She has taught us to never dream small, we have to always dream big,” said Belaid of Jabeur.
“It’s very important for me to find all Tunisians here, I feel like I’m home when I’m around her. This is my first year in Texas and she came here, this was an opportunity I definitely wasn’t going to miss.”
Stats of the day
- Jabeur becomes just the fourth African woman to win a match at the WTA Finals, joining Sally Hudson-Beck (1972), Laura Rossouw (1973) and Amanda Coetzer (1993 and 2000).
- Sakkari’s win over Sabalenka on Wednesday was the Greek’s third top-10 win of the season.
- Sakkari now owns 39 tour-level victories in 2022 – her career-highest tally in a single season.
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