Season 4 Wrap

dav6789 · Season 4 Wrap

Season 4 has just been completed on the FTL tour. It has been totally dominated by Vanessa Child and Yodavitch, yet a surprising turn of events have led to them being displaced at the top of the world rankings.

The year began as always in Australia. As usual, the players were gearing up for another year and trying to get an early advantage over the rest by doing well at the Australian Open. The new race ranking system was introduced at this time, causing many to rearrange their schedules to focus more on the larger events. Vanessa Child was the world number 1, having had a fantastic end to Season 3 winning the US Open, Federer Masters Cup and a series of Indoor tournaments. Wimbledon Champion Jennacourt was the world number 2, followed by PSALT, who reached two Grand Slam finals and lost in the epic Masters Cup final just weeks before the new year. Other players lurking around were John Edelstein, the Australian Open Champion, the new French Open Champion J-man and the rest of the highly competitive top 10.

Phobe began the year brightly by winning the New Zealand International, a popular warm-up for Melbourne. She had clearly put away her disappointment of not making the Masters Cup, and forgotten about others saying she didn’t belong in the top 10. She came through a high quality draw in Auckland, winning all her matches in straight sets, including wins over dav6789, Tricatrina and J-man. At another popular warm-up, Sydney Tennis, Yodavitch continued his campaign to return to the top after numerous injuries. He had convincing wins over PSALT, Stroganoff and leftys_rock on his way to the title. stevos14 emulated dav6789 by sweeping the Christmas Island and Smashnova titles for the perfect start to the year. The Australian Open was a huge surprise for the tennis world. There were early round upsets for Vanessa Child, Jennacourt and PSALT. Season 1 Champion Yodavitch quietly made his way through the draw as an outsider and eventually reached the final with a 5-7 6-4 6-4 win over Bizet. He faced dav6789 in the final, who had also been playing superb tennis. He thrashed in-form opponents Phobe and Sarahginia, before winning an exciting semi-final against J-man 6-4 5-7 7-6. Yodavitch won the final 6-3 6-3 to the surprise of the Melbourne crowds, and completed the perfect start to the year, achieving a 9-0 record from his first two events. Tennis was looking to be exciting in the next few months with Yodavitch in-form and dav6789 poised to go even higher in the rankings.

The first Tier 1 of the year was plagued with upsets, with only 2 seeds reaching the QF, and none appearing in the SF. In the end, Aztec won a gruelling final over stevos 7-5 4-6 6-4 to become the lowest ranked Tier 1 titlist, ranked 22. Things looked more normal at the Schnyder Grand Prix however. Yodavitch extended his unbeaten streak to 13-0 as he won his 3rd title of the year. His run was very impressive as he took out 2nd seed Bizet, repeated his Australian Open win over defending champion dav6789, then thrashed J-man in the final 6-2 6-3. Vanessa Child managed to get her year going after her awful start. She claimed the Dementieva International, winning all her matches in straight sets. In the final, she defeated Stroganoff, who had ended the reign of John Edelstein. As always, the Murray Indoors attracted a Tier 1 like draw. dav6789 continued his good form to reach the final of his home event for the first time, defeating countryman NEA in the SF. However, he lost 6-4 6-3 to the holder leftys_rock. Yodavitch was the big story in the run up to the Williams Series, as everyone was excited to see if his winning streak would break. Yodavitch got to 14-0 but lost in the QF to US Open semi-finalist Jbors47. Jbors toughed out a 6-4 4-6 7-5 win to snap Yodavitch’s streak and went on to the final. There, Vanessa Child looked to have stamped down her authority again. Child ended the inspired run of Jbors 4-6 6-3 6-4. Child then extended her own winning streak and responded to Yodavitch’s threats. In the final of WS-Serena, Child beat Yodavitch 6-3 5-7 6-4 in their first final of the year together. This was the second time in her career that Child swept both Williams Series titles, and was a huge warning to the rest of the tour that she was not going to give her number 1 ranking up easily.

With clay not being the favourite surface of Child or Yodavitch, the players were thankful the claycourt season had arrived. leftys_rock got the South American swing underway by winning the Gaudio Grand Prix. Unseeded, she fought her way through the draw. After winning a marathon opening match against Phobe, she staged remarkable comebacks against the world’s two best claycourters, Tricatrina and NEA to reach the final. There, she dismissed Stroganoff 6-4 6-4 for the title. Vanessa Child continued her great form into the claycourt season, not letting the surface change affect her at all. She extended her winning streak right through the red clay, winning the Coria Claycourt Masters, Nadal Clay Championships and the French Open. In Argentina, she came through tough tests against Mollusk and stevos, and then beat Jennacourt 6-3 7-5 in the final. She returned in Spain to comfortably claim the title. Her flawless 6-1 6-3 win over Tricatrina suggested Child could even be better on the red dirt that the supposed Queen of Clay. Child repeated her win over Jennacourt in the final. At the French Open, Child once again had to fight through some long matches, but never looked to be completely out of the event. In the final, she won a classic against Yodavitch 4-6 6-2 7-6 to extend her winning streak to a record 23 matches. Yodavitch had struggled on the clay until he reached Paris, where he dethroned defending champion J-man, and beat NEA and Tricatrina. With his great performance in the final, he proved he could be a worthy number 2 after Child. Jennacourt had a busy claycourt season, reaching two Tier 1 finals and the last 8 of the French Open. NEA started to show his real claycourt talent for the first time. He won the Myskina Tennis Cup and had two SF showings at the Gaudio Grand Prix and Nadal Clay Championships, plus a QF at the French Open. Agassi2000 was another player who found success on the red dirt. He won back-to-back titles in Kuwait and Italy before having an incredible run to the SF of the French Open, upsetting Bizet and PSALT en route.

As the ever short Grass season came and went, all the news was on Child’s new record winning streak. Bizet won the Johansson Cup for the third time with convincing wins over NEA and Yodavitch. Yodavitch was edging closer to the number 2 place, and with improved performances on his worst two surfaces Clay and Grass, it looked as though it was only a matter of time. Jennacourt did all she could to keep Yodavitch at bay as she attempted to defend the Roddick Open. She returned to the final with a 6-1 6-4 win over Tricatrina, but lost 3-6 6-4 7-5 to a rejuvenated John Edelstein, who had fallen off the tennis radar since the start of the year. Edelstein also defeated PSALT, Bizet and NEA on the way to his third Roddick Open title. Jennacourt’s number 2 ranking was again under pressure as she went to defend Wimbledon. She came through a nervy start in the early rounds to reach the second week. After enjoying a comfortable win over Stroganoff, she fought off the challenge of x.doublea in the SF 6-4 5-7 7-5 to play Child in the final. Child had beaten dav6789 in the QF, who haden’t been able to play at his Australian Open level despite a string of QF appearances. Child then beat Yodavitch in a re-match of the French Open final 6-4 4-6 6-1. In the final, Child won her third Wimbledon title, thrashing Jennacourt 6-4 6-2. She extended her winning streak to 28 matches and looked more comfortable than ever on court. Jennacourt’s failure to defend Wimbledon allowed Yodavitch to take the number 2 ranking.

Yodavitch played with more confidence on his favourite hardcourts. Up until the hardcourt season, he had been unable to get ahead of Vanessa Child as she was clearly the better player on clay and grass, and had won both their encounters at the French Open and Wimbledon. Yodavitch started to turn things around and make a rivalry during the hardcourt season. He swept all of the Tier 1 titles in another winning streak of his. The biggest win during this was a 7-5 7-6 win over Child in the final of the Agassi Open. In contrast to Yodavitch’s summer success, Child had only played two events before the US Open and her number 1 position was in danger going into the last Grand Slam of the year. She did manage to win the Pierce Grand Prix just before the US Open, but that seemed minor compared to Yodavitch’s achievements during the summer. NEA was the best performer on the hardcourts after Child and Yodavitch, and looked to secure his place as the world number 3 behind them. He won 2 titles and only lost to Yodavitch during the summer. Going into the US Open, it seemed as though only Child and Yodavitch could win the title, with NEA the only other option. The rest of the top players were outshone during the hardcourt season. These opinions changed during the US Open however, as Child and Yodavitch only just managed to reach the second week after some scrappy play. They did manage to raise their level during the latter stages to meet in a third grand slam final in a row. Child saw off former Grand Slam finalists Stroganoff and PSALT, while Yodavitch defeated Brits dav6789 and NEA on the way to the final. Yodavitch’s match with NEA went to 7-5 in the final set. Despite Child’s loss to Yodavitch during the summer, she still looked to have an edge over Yodavitch at the Grand Slams and came out quicker. Yodavitch couldn’t get ahead during the match and Child eventually won 6-3 3-6 6-3 for her 6th Grand Slam title. This US Open final further separated Child and Yodavitch from the rest of the field, and Child was looking to separate herself from Yodavitch.

Child and Yodavitch were both struck with injuries during the indoor season. Child pulled out of the Vaidisova Grand Prix with a left ankle injury, while Yodavitch pulled out during the the Ljubicic International with a back injury. Both did not appear for the rest of the season and missed the Year-Ending Championships in Switzerland. With the top 2 players out, the rest of the tour took their chances. NEA and a rejuvenated J-man dominated the last stretch of the season. NEA, the world number 3, won the Ljubicic International, Nalbandian Open and his first Tier 1 title at the Mauresmo Masters. He looked to be in fine form that could upset Child or Yodavitch. J-man won the Sharapova Cup, beating NEA on the way, and the First Union Classic. Although it didn’t look like he could make the Federer Masters Cup, it was a good way for him to end the season. PSALT also had a good run during the indoor season, winning 2 titles. News of Child and Yodavitch’s pull out of the YEC caused a lot of aggravation to tournament directors, and also allowed J-man and Stroganoff to go to Switzerland. At the Federer Masters Cup, the tennis was of the highest quality and featured many 3 set matches. NEA, PSALT, x.doublea and J-man progressed to the last 4, all of them from the same generation. PSALT and NEA came through to the final. Memories of last year’s final where PSALT gave a 5-2 final set lead away had clearly vanished from his mind. PSALT won an epic 7-6 4-6 6-4 final to win the biggest title of his career. NEA’s run to the final allowed him to surprisingly take the world number 1 rank from Vanessa Child.

At the Team Cup, USA shocked the tennis world by beating defending champions UK in the final. J-man and Jbors47, teaming up with each other for the first time, defeated NEA and dav6789 in a thrilling deciding doubles match 3-6 6-4 6-4.