The Year That Was in Tennis: A Familiar Story Amongst the Men, Not So With Women

The 2010 year in tennis saw the confirmation of Rafael Nadal as the true world No. 1 in the men’s game, but a more foggy picture emerged as far as the ladies were concerned.

Nadal, it will be remembered had not reached full fitness by the time the Australian Open started in January. He had spent much of 2009 nursing injuries sustained earlier in this season, which ultimately cost him his fifth French Open title and rendered him unable to defend his Wimbledon crown. He did well therefore to reach the quarterfinal in Melbourne, but had to play second fiddle to Britain’s Andy Murray, who looked like he was finally going to win his first Grand Slam.

That of course did not happen and it was the "master" himself, Roger Federer, who triumphed, defeating Murray in three straight sets in a very one-sided final. It was Federer’s 16th Grand Slam victory and it signalled to the rest of the top players and particularly to Nadal that he was still a huge force to be reckoned with.

The ladies title went once again to Serena Williams, who defeated big rival Justine Henin in a three-set final, thus claiming her fifth Australian Open and her 12th Grand Slam in all.

By the time the year’s second Grand Slam, the French Open had arrived, Nadal had regained his best form and had won all three clay court tournaments he had entered, including two Masters 1000 titles, which took his tally to a record of 18 Masters titles. Unfortunately for the rest of the players, he maintained his form throughout the French Open, winning the tournament for the fifth time and avenging his fourth-round defeat from the previous year, by defeating Robin Soderling in straight sets in the final. So good was Nadal at Roland Garros that he never dropped a set throughout the tournament.

The ladies title was surprisingly won by Italian, Francesca Schiavone, who was only seeded at No. 17 and had never reached a Grand Slam final before. In the final she played and beat Australian Sam Stosur, who was also playing her first Grand Slam final and who had earlier in the tournament knocked out both Serena Williams and Justine Henin.

In regaining his Wimbledon crown, Nadal confirmed that he was by some distance the best men’s player in the world and although he struggled in a couple of early matches on the grass, by the time he had made the last 16, he peaked, losing only one set in his last four matches. In the final he defeated Czech, Tomas Berdych, who had put out Federer in the quarterfinal; it was Nadal’s eighth Grand Slam title.

Like Nadal, Serena Williams played some of her best tennis of the year winning Wimbledon without losing a set, defeating Russian Vera Zvonareva in the final. It was her fourth Wimbledon crown, leaving her one behind sister Venus, and her 13th Grand Slam title.

The hardcourt season took centre stage throughout the long hot summer, with several players winning the various Masters 1000 tournaments, but it was Nadal, who won the all-important final Grand Slam of the year at the US Open. It was the only Grand Slam title to have eluded him up until this point, but he proved that he now has an all-court game and actually won the tournament with a reasonable amount of comfort. It had been expected that Novak Djokovic would have given him a very serious test in the final, but the Serb’s game deserted him after the second set, leaving Nadal to complete a first career Grand Slam and claim his ninth Grand Slam in total.

The ladies title went to Kim Clijsters who won it for the second successive year, this time defeating Zvonareva in the final. For some, her victory was rather fortunate as Serena, who had been quite badly injured in the summer, was forced to miss the tournament as well as the remaining tournaments of 2010.

Although no further Grand Slams were to come his way after Australia, Federer nonetheless finished off the season with an outstanding performance to defeat Nadal in the World Tour final in London; a tournament considered by many to be the equivalent of a Grand Slam.

As far as the year end world rankings were concerned, it was Nadal who was well clear as No. 1 in the men’s list, with Federer at No. 2, Djokovic at No. 3 and Murray back to No. 4. In the ladies, Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark finished at No. 1, despite no Grand Slam wins or finals. Zvonareva having made two Grand Slam finals climbed up to No. 2, with Clijsters third and Serena Williams fourth.

Although Djokovic failed to win a "Slam" in 2010, he produced several inspired performances to help his country win the Davis Cup for the first time in their history. In the final they defeated France by three rubbers to two, with Djokovic winning both his singles matches.