15 октября 2014, 11:37 4 мин.

WHAT DO THE WTA FINALS IN SINGAPORE HAVE IN STORE?

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by Mark Hodgkinson

Tuesday 14 October 2014

One of the great tennis brains, Australia’s Darren Cahill, spoke to Wimbledon.com about Serena Williams, Maria Sharapova and the rest of the field for the women’s season-ending tournament, the WTA Finals in Singapore.

Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova, Wimbledon finalist Eugenie Bouchard, Simona Halep, Agnieszka Radwanska, Caroline Wozniacki and Ana Ivanovic will join Williams and Sharapova at the Singapore Sports Hub, where the tournament starts on October 20th. Cahill, who has coached Andre Agassi and Lleyton Hewitt, as well as advising Ivanovic, Andy Murray and others, is an analyst for ESPN.

Cahill on the field for the WTA Finals:

“It's great to see Ana [Ivanovic] make her way back into the WTA Finals after working her backside off in recent years. She's put together a great year and a strong showing in Singapore would be fitting. Genie [Bouchard] has been outstanding at the majors this year and her fast rise up the rankings has been stunning. Simona Halep has announced herself as a force for the coming years and will win majors, in my opinion.”

Cahill on the battle between Williams and Sharapova for the year-end No.1 ranking:

“Whenever you have a battle for the year-end No.1 ranking, it creates a lot of interest going into the event. Serena has dominated Maria in their head-to-head match-up but it's been a remarkable 10 months from Maria, considering her injury and time out of the game last year. I'd like to see a Williams versus Sharapova final in Singapore with the match deciding the year-end No.1 ranking - that would be something to look forward to.

Cahill on the debutantes at the WTA Finals, Bouchard and Halep:

“Both have struggled since Wimbledon but both are gamers and will get themselves up for Singapore. Genie walks into any arena believing she can get the job done and that she belongs on this stage. Her game makes opponents panic as she pushes forward on every shot. You get no time to settle in. Halep is one of the best movers in the game and opens the court from further back, but is just as damaging as her backhand is lethal. I expect both players to attack Singapore with everything they have.”

Cahill on Williams:

“I put the question to Serena prior to the US Open that if she won the US Open, would she consider it to be a great year? Her reply was "no, not really". It was an honest answer from a lady who has extremely high expectations of herself, and who had struggled in the majors prior to New York. Now that she has major No.18, tying Chrissy Evert and Martina Navratilova’s record, I think we will really see her attack whatever time she has left on court in her career. There was a lot of pressure on Serena coming into this year and now it's all about staying motivated and finding ways to enjoy the training, to enjoy the competition. While she has that, she will keep winning Grand Slam titles. If she finishes the year as the No.1 player, then I would consider it a great year.”

Cahill on what qualifying for – and winning – the season finale means to the players:

“Every top player starts the year with a few goals: to win a major, to put themselves in a position to attack the No.1 ranking and to qualify for the year-end championships. It's recognition of playing great tennis over the course of a whole year and not just a few weeks. The experience of playing an event with just eight players is unusual in tennis. It's a special feeling from the extra attention all the players receive, and with individual locker rooms and a round-robin format that is unique to this event. Added to that, there are some pretty big financial rewards for performing well.”

http://www.wimbledon.com/en_GB/news/articles/2014-10-14/what_do_the_wta_finals_in_singapore_have_in_store_.html