Talent equity makes it tough to predict tennis matches even those involving the top-ranked players on the ATP and WTA Tennis Tours.
I said that Andy Murray (13) and David Ferrer (5) would have trouble, but I thought they would win. Wrong! They had more trouble than anticipated, and two more seeds have been planted. They join Novak Djokovic (2) and David Nalbandian (7) as highly regarded seeds to make early exits.
ATP Parity Evident at Sony
Further examination of the Sony Ericsson draw shows that a number of other seeds, including Juan Ignacio Chela (30), Ivo Karlovic (19), and Tommy Robredo (14), also were uprooted prematurely. The carnage of falling seeds highlights the parity that characterizes the men’s game.
The multitude of close three-set battles that many of the seeds still playing had to survive further emphasizes equity of skill among today’s professionals. Nikolay Davydenko (4), James Blake (9), and Andy Roddick (6) all had to go three sets to stay alive. On any given day if a top-ranked player doesn’t bring his A-game, he’s likely to be getting condolence calls rather than line calls.
WTA Equality on Display in Miami
Uh, but don’t think that parity colors only the men’s game. Parity has draped itself all over the WTA Tour. Ana Ivanovic won Indian Wells last week, comes back this week to get bounced by Lindsay Davenport 6-4, 6-2. Patty Schnyder (11), a known battler, went down 6-0, 6-1 to Kaia Kanepi. Kaia who? Well, Kaia has made it to the second and third rounds of Grand Slams previously, so she can play, but…
As we speak, Serena Williams (8) is in a serious third-round battle with Flavia Pennetta, a journeywoman who has never been ranked higher than 28. Serena lost the first set in a tiebreak and was on serve before the rain delay. Maybe Serena’ll get the win, but it’s no guarantee in this age of parity.
