Wozniak wins Stanford

First, let me get all my disappointment out of the way: I was certain Marion Bartoli was going to win this tournament. She has been playing splendidly with really good serving. I was really excited for Bartoli, and then...another injury, this time her hip. When, oh when, will she stop this insane training regimen that has her on the court for two hours right before a match? I think that Bartoli's father/coach has helped her a lot, but I think that he has also harmed her. There is fitness and there is fitness, and what Bartoli has done in the fitness training area seems to have harmed her more than helped her.

It was hard for me to take a lot of pleasure in Wozniak's win, I was so disappointed, but objectively speaking, she had a wonderful, if somewhat strange, tournament. In qualifying, she defeated Angela Haynes, Ayumi Morita and Samantha Stosur. Once she got into the main draw, she defeated Francesca Schiavone, Sybille Bammer, Stosur (who, by this time, had become a lucky loser), Serena Williams, and Marion Bartoli. The last two wins involved injured opponents; Williams' injury was so bad, in fact, that she had to retire (as opposed to her "slightly injured" state described by Cliff Drysdale).

But, injured opponents or not, Wozniak played beautifully, hitting stinging groundstrokes and keeping her cool throughout. It would have been a nicer win for her if both Williams and Bartoli had been healthlier, but fitness is part of tennis, too.

So, on July 20, your 2008 U.S. Open Series leader is number 85 in the world (but not for long), Aleksandra Wozniak. Well done.