2008 Grand Slams: A Year in Review

For many reasons, 2008 was a season that went against convention. Would you have guessed that, heading into the US Open, Roger Federer and Justine Henin would have no Grand Slam titles between them? It’s been a very interesting year, no matter which player you support.
 
Typically, the four Grand Slam tournaments have a way of revealing everything in tennis, and that happened again this year, for better or worse:
 
The Best…
 
Match of the Australian Open: Lleyton Hewitt def. Marcos Baghdatis, 4-6, 7-5, 7-5, 6-7, 6-3 (Third Round)
Hewitt and Baghdatis had played each other just one other time prior to this match -- at Wimbledon in 2006. Apparently, they had a lot of catching up to do. Their third-round tussle in Melbourne lasted a beefy 4 hours and 43 minutes, but that was only half the story. Due to the length of earlier matches in Rod Laver Arena, this match didn’t get underway until the moonlight hour of 11:47 p.m. Hewitt – who failed to serve out the match twice in the fourth set when leading 5-1 and 5-3 – eventually prevailed at 4:34 a.m. local time. It was the latest ending to a match in the history of the Australian Open, transforming this extended narrative into an epic tome.
 
Match of the French Open: Dinara Safina def. Maria Sharapova, 6-7, 7-6, 6-2 (Fourth Round)
With clay-queen Justine Henin out of the picture, Sharapova, who won the Australian Open in January, had her best chance to complete the career Grand Slam (at age 21!). But her shrieks of joy turned to terror after her title aspirations were dashed for the second time in three years by her nemesis, Safina. Sharapova had her chances – she led the second set, 5-2, and earned a match point – but it would be yet another cruel ending in Paris. In 2006, Sharapova lost to Safina at Roland Garros (5-7, 6-2, 5-7) after leading 5-1 in the final set. This match was a turning point for both women – Safina reached the final and positioned herself in the top 10; Sharapova has since been plagued by injury.
 
Match of Wimbledon: Rafael Nadal def. Roger Federer 6-4, 6-4, 6-7, 6-7, 9-7 (Final)
Without fail, this was not only the best match of Wimbledon but also the best match of the year -- and the decade. Of all-time? It’s certainly up for debate. The quality of tennis was sublime, improving with every set. The drama was built alongside, thanks to the history and accomplishments of the two competitors. But the darkness also grew. Ironically, had this match run any longer, its lasting impact might not have been as strong, since its conclusion would have been suspended until the following day. But the tennis gods smiled – particularly on Nadal – who ended Federer’s five-year reign at Centre Court and won both the French Open and Wimbledon in the same year for the first time since Bjorn Borg in 1980.
 
Match of the US Open: Serena Williams def. Venus Williams 7-6, 7-6 (Quarterfinal)
Even if Federer and Nadal met in the US Open, it would have been impossible to best the quality of their Wimbledon final. But the Williams sisters had no problem doing so in their rematch. The evening crowd at Arthur Ashe Stadium was treated to a performance with endless plot twists – Venus led both sets, 5-3, yet ended up losing both in tiebreakers. The main reason for this turbulence was Serena, who saved all 10 set points she faced, including eight in an incredibly tense second set. The prevailing opinion coming into this match was that it deserved to be the final. Jelena Jankovic may have a differing opinion about that, but this match certainly lived up to its hype.
 
Match that I saw in person: Roger Federer def. Igor Andreev 6-7, 7-6, 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 (Fourth Round)
No trip to Melbourne, Wimbledon, or Paris this year, but I saw some great tennis during my sojourn in Flushing Meadows. The finest match was a late afternoon five-setter between Federer and Andreev. The latter looked like a top-5 caliber player on the day, hitting the ball with unbelievable spin and power. When Federer captured the all-important first break of serve in the fifth set, he looked ecstatic, as if he’d never before reached a Grand Slam quarterfinal. I had a great seat for this one, but you couldn’t escape the Swiss’ emotion from even the farthest-reaching seat in Ashe. (Honorable Mention: Andy Murray def. Michael Llodra, 6-4, 1-6, 7-5, 7-6 on Grandstand)
 
Man at the Slams: Rafael Nadal
Heading into 2008, everyone knew that Rafa was a force on clay. But few thought that the dirt devil could actually improve on his favorite surface. The proof lies in his Roland Garros contests against clay-specialist Nicolas Almagro (whom Nadal beat, 6-1, 6-1, 6-1, in the quarterfinals) and an overwhelmed Federer (whom Nadal beat, 6-1, 6-3, 6-0, in the final). Four weeks later, Nadal thrived on the lawns of Wimbledon despite relentless internal and external pressures. And although he failed to claim a hard-court Grand Slam title, Nadal’s appearances in the semifinals at both the Australian and US Opens should not be overlooked. In one of the most dominating seasons in tennis history, the 6-foot, 1-inch lefty from Mallorca towered over everyone else.
 
Woman at the Slams: Serena Williams
No woman won multiple Grand Slam titles in 2008, but Serena’s resume stood above those of the other solo Slam winners. In Melbourne, she lost in the quarterfinals to Jelena Jankovic, but Serena’s eventual revenge in New York would be sweet. A poor showing at the French Open (a third-round loss to Katarina Srebotnik) was one of the few lulls in Serena’s season, but she quickly made up for it at Wimbledon. She reached the final, and although she came up short against her sister Venus, the loss seemed to inspire her to succeed in New York. She did just that, beating both Venus and Jankovic on her way to capturing her ninth career Grand Slam title. Serena didn’t drop a set in the victory, and she leaves Flushing Meadows as the new No. 1 on the WTA Tour.
 
The Worst…
 
Man at the Slams: David Nalbandian
Things change very quickly in tennis. Recall the Australian Open, when many pundits tagged David Nalbandian as a favorite to win after his torrid run to close 2007 (he won both the Madrid and Paris Masters events). The Argentinean instead disappointed with a meek third-round exit against Juan Carlos Ferrero. Come summertime, no one dared pick Nalbandian to excel at the Slams. They were proved right, as he fared even worse. Nalbandian lost in the second round of Roland Garros (to Jeremy Chardy) and, astonishingly, in the first round of Wimbledon (to Frank Dancevic). At the US Open, Nalbandian lost in the third round to a much more energetic Gael Monfils. The “best player to never win a Slam” might never end up winning one.
 
Woman at the Slams: Agnes Szavay
Szavay is just a teenager, so she should take 2008 as a learning experience instead of a setback. After winning three titles and reaching the quarterfinals of the US Open in 2007, Szavay headed into this year with greater things in mind. Unfortunately, things didn’t pan out as planned. Szavay had an inauspicious start at the Slams, crashing out in the opening round of the Australian Open to Ekaterina Makarova. While her Slam results improved thereafter, they didn’t match the expectations of a top-15 player. She had a good run to the fourth round of Wimbledon, but she also lost in the third round of Roland Garros (to Petra Kvitova) and in the second round of the US Open (to Tathiana Garbin). The best thing that Szavay can take away from all this is greater motivation for 2009.

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