SAFAROVA’S TITLE FROM RICHARD EVANS, QATAR

Editors note : The glorious life of one of the tennis worlds greatest tennis writers. Richard Evans has just finished a long week of 16 hour workdays to now jump on a flight for 16 hours to somewhere  far from Qatar. And he says CHEERS and see you in Indian Wells or Miami. We are sure blessed that Richard sends us a story from time to time. The tennis gods look out for us. Gene Scott. Judge Robert J . Kelleher and Gladys Heldman. Throw in Vitas and Harry and Althea and Gussy  and Pancho and Welby  and DoDo and that’s just to name a few. See you soon Richard Evans. (LJ)

 

 

Lucie Safarova, the 28-year-old Czech lefthander, took full advantage of a weary opponent to claim the 6th, and most important, title of a long career when she defeated Victoria Azarenka 6-4, 6-3 in the final of the Qatar Total Open.

A late bloomer, Safarova had created a surprise at Wimbledon last year by reaching the semi-final, where it took the eventual champion and Fed Cup colleague Petra Kvitova to stop her and she has just kept on improving. This fleet-footed, smooth hitting player produced the most consistently impressive tennis of the week here at the beautifully appointed Kahlifa Tennis Complex which hosted the WTA Championships for three years.

If she goes on playing at this level, Safarova will become a serious contender for this year’s WTA Championships in Singapore. While there is no denying that Azarenka was not moving well, the manner in which Safarova shrugged off the loss of a break in the first set and produced three consecutive aces in her penultimate service game of the match suggested she is now capable of reaching for heights she has not been able to attain before last year’s dramatic improvement.

Having lost to Azarenka in all her six previous matches against the Belarussian, Lucie might have been excused for tightening up when victory was so close to her grasp.

“Vika was just going for the return, so I was, like, OK I have to go strong,” she said. “If you want to win it, you have to go for it. So that’s what I was thinking and just played well.”

Three straight aces in these circumstances defines playing well and, to a certain extent, Safarova was taking a leaf from the Azarenka playbook in as far as Vika had gone for broke in scoring her first ever victory over Venus Williams the previous day.

That effort had obviously taken its toll on a player who is still finding her way back on the tour after a year of injuries that saw Azarenka play only 24 matches throughout 2014.

“It’s been a long week for me,” she said. “A lot of tough matches. It’s been a while since I had that many matches in a row. There was no injury, just a lot of tightness and not enough range of motion. Today she played in a way that was really uncomfortable for me in my situation. I tried to change and do something different but I have to give her credit because she really stepped up and found a way to win the match. She served really well today so that was definitely a big key that I couldn’t turn around today.”

Ironically, it was Safarova who came on court with a bandaged right thigh. “I strained my leg in the last match a little bit so I was doing this tape to make sure it didn’t get worse. But I was moving freely today.”

The fluidity of the Czech’s movement around the court is one of the most impressive aspects of her game and, when she plays as well as this, her tennis is very easy on the eye. Safarova, who first played Azarenka back in 2007, attained a best ever WTA ranking of 14 last year and now wants more.

“The next target would be – and a dream as well – the top ten which I’m really close to right now,” she said with one of her easy smiles.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As she received the golden falcon trophy, a huge firework display lit up much of Doha, illuminating the amazingly imaginative glass and steel architecture that gives this 21st Century sky-scraper city such a distinctive feel.

Whether the sky is the limit for Lucie Safarova remains to be seen but her game and her happy personality certainly promise to be a welcome addition to the upper echelons of the women’s game in the coming months.

Topics: Lucie Safarova, Qatar, Richard Evans, Tennis, Victoria Azarenka, Wta

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