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2003 Season Recap
By
The B Man
Outsports.com
The tennis
season winds down perfectly, doesn’t it? With the season-ending
championships for both the WTA and ATP tours wrapping up well before
Thanksgiving, players on both circuits have plenty of time to rest,
eat cookies and turkey, and, perhaps most importantly, do some serious
reflection on the year that’s just passed.
MOST
THANKFUL, 2003. Not the folks you might expect, like Andy Roddick,
Roger Federer, or Justine Henin. Chances are Venus and
Serena Williams will be happy to be celebrating with family, and
that Leander Paes is happy to be alive and healthy. We’ll be
thankful to see them all back in action in 2004.
BUT WHO
GETS TO CUT THE TURKEY? Roger Federer or Andy Roddick? Who is the
real No. 1 in men’s tennis? A.Rod has the ranking and the US Open
title, plus five other titles and a scorching run of wins this summer.
Impressive, yes. But the turkey carving honors go to Roger Federer.
Roger isn’t the boasting type, but if he was, he’d talk about how he
followed-up his Wimbledon breakthrough with a virtually flawless
performance in Houston, where he beat Roddick, by the way, and pretty
much handled Andre Agassi, too. But that’s not all: he also upended
his nemesis David Nalbandian at Houston and gave then world No. 2 Juan
Carlos Ferrero a spanky. All that, and he won six other titles and was
thisclose to going undefeated in Davis Cup this year.
NEW YEAR’S
RESOLUTIONS. From reflecting to refocusing, what do the top
players and Outsports fan favorites need to do to stay competitive in
2004?
Andre Agassi.
Ride momentum from Houston into Sydney; end career with bang.
Slam Goal:
Australian and US Opens.
James Blake.
Win a title; get to week two of a Slam.
Slam Goal:
Wimbledon and the French.
Jennifer
Capriati.
Get a better serve, work on physical fitness and endurance.
Slam Goal:
Australian.
Kim Clijsters.
Improve mental toughness; develop killer instinct; win Slam.
Slam Goal: All
of ‘em Kim. Get it done, already!
Juan Carlos
Ferrero.
Defend French; win more hardcourt titles; beat Andy Roddick.
Slam Goal:
Australian and French Opens.
Mardy Fish.
Be confident already; beat Andy Roddick; get to week two of a Slam.
Slam Goal: US
Open.
Justine
Henin-Hardenne.
Work it (includes beating up on Serena, staying No. 1).
Slam Goal:
French.
David
Nalbandian.
Put height to use at net; remember to be David the giant killer.
Slam Goal:
Wimbledon and US Open.
Chanda Rubin.
Better net play; get that comeback magic back; achieve Slam dream.
Slam Goal:
It’s your dream, you pick (but we like you at Oz or the US Open).
Ai Sugiyama.
Be the first woman to beat both Belgian All-Stars in 2004.
Slam Goal:
Wimbledon and US Open |
