Serena must place tennis ahead of fashion

The standard of tennis has shot up for both men and women.
Young players are emerging from many countries and they have taken to the sport very seriously. They want to win and they are training very hard.
That is why it is no surprise to see them do well in competitions, eliminating those who have been in the forefront of the sport for some time and who are resting on their laurels.
Today, every player enters the court with grit, guts and determination. They want to beat the best.
Hence, the seniors must be very careful. Engaging in style and fashion, and trying to play tennis in tough competitions will not produce results.
That is the strong lesson Serena must have learned on Friday in Paris after her defeat at the hands of Katarina Srebotnik of Slovenia.
She won the coveted clay court title in 2002 but lost in the third round in the 2008 tournament. That was the sad sight the world saw.
The Slovenian girl didn't do anything spectacular.
All what she did was play steady tennis. She kept the ball within the court of play while allowing Serena to destroy herself by making silly mistakes.
In my opinion, Serena played like a novice, quite unlike someone who had bagged eight grand slam titles and had captured the French Open in 2002.
Unless she forgets about her style and fashion and concentrates on playing tennis she could just as well bid adieu to joining the winning ranks again.
That is because there are so many players who are queuing up, ready to forge ahead. That is why Belgian star Justine Henin called it quits - because she knew quite well that hungry young players want to win fame, fortune and glory in the sport. They are training very hard in the hope of seeking success.
The third round kayo could be only the beginning of a slump for Serena. If she doesn't look sharp she could be eliminated earlier in the many competitions to come.
Speaking of tennis, one wonders what has happened to former giants of the sport, the US and Australia? A few years ago they used to dominate almost every competition.
But in the recent years, we have seen only a few players from these two nations at the forefront.
Once Andy Roddick pulled out of the French Open, there was little interest in American performances. We haven't seen players like Pete Sampras or Andre Agassi emerge for a long time. It is the same situation with their female competitors.
Australians too produced superstars in Rod Laver, Frank Sedgman and a host of others who used to constantly hog the headlines with their magnificent performances. But today their tennis too has dropped.
Unless these former giants in the sport wake up, Europeans in men's tennis and East European's in women's tennis will continue to dominate.
This year's French Open should unfold some interesting results. Nadal is the raging hot favourite, but Roger Federer cannot be written off.
In the contest for honours for the women's title Maria Sharapova will have to do much better if she is to grab the title.