Madrid Womens Preview

With weeks to go to the French Open, the women’s iteration of the Madrid Masters takes place with many looking to the tournament as an indication of which players are in top form going into the season’s second Grand Slam tournament. While less of the top women enter the tournament than on the mens’ side, this is nevertheless a big tournament, and one that everyone involved will be keen to win ahead of Roland Garros.

The first thing to note about this year’s Madrid Masters is that it sees the return to court of Serena Williams after a short hiatus. The world number one’s year has not been terribly impressive so far, and there is no doubt that she will be targeting a French Open crown to get her Grand Slam tally rolling again as she pursues such luminaries as Steffi Graf and Martina Navaratilova.

Clay has always been Williams’ weakest surface, so it is a bit of a statistical oddity that she won the French Open before she first triumphed at Wimbledon. Back in 2002, Serena defeated her sister Venus to win her second Grand Slam title. Yet she had to wait eleven years to pick up her second Roland Garros crown, but will go into this year’s tournament as defending champion.

Having lost a few unexpected matches and won only two titles so far this season, it is hard to avoid the conclusion that Williams is not in the supreme form that she showed last year. The focus on the women’s tour will always be on Williams for numerous reasons, obviously two of those being that she is the world number one and holds two Grand Slam titles. But perhaps a more abiding reason is her record against the top players in the world.

The other contenders for any Grand Slam tend to be Victoria Azarenka, Li Na and Maria Sharapova. Williams has won 13 of the last 15 matches she has played against Azarenka, and at one time won ten in a row. She is on a six match winning streak against Li Na, and has won ten of their last eleven meetings. And Maria Sharapova had the impudence to beat Williams in a Wimbledon final and win two of their first three matches. Williams responded by beating Sharapova fifteen times in a row, a streak which continues to the present day. In ten years, the world’s best paid female athlete has won only four sets against Williams.

So it is always difficult to look beyond the American for any tournament. Li Na is in Madrid and will be expected to make a strong challenge for the title, having won the Australian Open earlier this year and the French Open in 2011. And Agnieszka Radwańska is always a canny player, even if her best results haven’t been on the crushed red brick popular at this time of year. Elsewhere, the glamour girls Sharapova and Ivanovic may challenge, with the Serbian having shown a distinct improvement in form of late.

But all entrants to the Madrid Masters will know that Williams is the woman to beat, and don’t be surprised if she ends up with another trophy in her hands by the end of the week.

Tip: Serena Williams to win, Ana Ivanovic to be a dangerous floater.

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02/05/2014     © Frixo 2026