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Hits and Misses By
The B Man Here’s a look at what The B Man said would happen vs. how the top players actually performed in 2004 on the WTA and ATP tours. Just Missed the Mark… Kim Clijsters What B Said: with a ton of points to defend, Kim’s got some pressure on her shoulders. Still, she’s been in three Slam event finals now and did just take the world No. 1 to three sets in Australia. Until others on the tour are able to really bring it, it’s up to Kim to keep Justine honest. What She Did: Won Paris and Antwerp, but was sidelined with injury the overwhelming majority of the year. Juan Carlos Ferrero What B Said: the reigning French Open champion and US Open finalist went deep into the draw in Australia, too. There’s honestly not much room for improvement in Ferrero’s game, so here’s to hoping he’s capable of playing consistently excellent tennis! What He Did: Not much. Also injured, Ferrero had a horrible year, failing to advance past the second round in the last 8 events he played. Venus Williams What B Said: …If Venus brings some intensity into the clay court season, all of the elements of her game should be coming together nicely for Wimbledon and the hardcourt season that follows. What She Did: early losses at Wimbledon and The Olympics left many concerned; her overall record consisted of just two titles and two other final appearances. Ace Predictions… Andre Agassi What B Said: … ‘Dre will pull out of at least two events, under-perform in a couple of others, but then have a great match with a Federer or Hewitt at one of the top level tournaments that’s televised. The buzz generated from his televised appearances will create a creeping expectation that he might, just might, win Wimbledon, or the US Open…there are soft spots in the King ‘Dre’s armor. Can he fix them to make some sort of history this year? What He Did: Exactly what The B Man said, in that Agassi thrilled us at Flushing with a passionately fought match vs. Federer but also had a string of perplexing losses, dumping his first matches at St. Poelten, The French Open, and Queen’s Club. Lindsay Davenport What B Said: lost two finals she absolutely should have won last year, at Amelia Island against Elena Dementieva and at Indian Wells vs. Clijsters. Lindsay needs to close the gaps in those tight matches. She can start of strong, but in the past several years finishing has been hard. She and her coaches need to work on physical and emotional endurance. If those pieces fall into place, Davenport, who is in the best shape of her career, really can produce some “surprises”. What She Did: Surprised us, indeed! After back-to-back losses to Russians in Slam events, Lindsay spoke the word retirement, then went on to run the summer hardcourt table by winning the Stanford, Los Angeles, San Diego, and Cincinnati tournaments, beating both Venus and Serena. Most importantly, she ended the year ranked No. 1, thanks to her tour-leading 7 titles and the fact that she was a semifinalist at Wimbledon and the US Open. Roger Federer What B Said: … Federer disappointed many tennis fans by crashing out of the French Open in just the first round last year. He should do better in 2004, and solidify his grasp on the No. 1 ranking in the process. Hopefully, the best is yet to come from Federer. What He Did: Duh. Lleyton Hewitt What B Said: with very few points to defend from 2003, Hewitt can begin an ascent in the rankings by filling out his schedule a bit more. His Davis Cup heroics last fall, plus a competitive run of matches at the Hopman Cup, and one title under his belt already in 2004 give every indication that Hewitt will be back to his old form, grinding out matches to the very last ball. A feisty Hewitt come back to renew rivalries with Federer and Andy Roddick is great for the sport. What He Did: came pretty close to ending the year ranking No. 2, thanks to the 4 titles he won and his runner-up efforts at the US Open and Tennis Masters Cup final 8 competition. Anastasia Myskina What B Said: …She could easily be ranked as high as No. 4 here, but with her relatively weak second serve and some big points to defend, Anastasia is looking at a make or break year... What She Did: She chose to have a “make year” and won the French Open and led Russia to its first Fed Cup title; she beat her Outsports preview ranking by one spot, finishing 2004 as the No. 3 player in the world. Myskina was also selected by the International Tennis Federation as the No. 1 women’s player of 2004! Maria Sharapova What B Said: At 6-feet tall, young Maria still has room to grow into her tennis game. And that’s scary, considering that this winner of smaller events in Japan and Quebec City reached the forth round of Wimbledon just her first time playing and played a pretty good match vs. Myskina in Oz. What She Did: She grew quickly! Won Wimbledon and the WTA tour championships. Finished 2004 ranked No. 4. Ai Sugiyama What B Said: …We look for Ai to make it to her first career quarterfinal at a Grand Slam event this year. What She Did: Ai reached the quarters of Wimbledon, where she played eventual champ Maria Sharapova very well for two sets, and the quarters of the Olympics, too.
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