So Lindsay Davenport wins a WTA title after over a year out of the game after having a baby..beating players like Jankovic and Hantuchova. On this form you wouldn't bet against her taking this week's title in China too ! She must be wishing she returned a little sooner and played the US Open !
Quite amazing really but is it a reflection on the strength of the womens game today that a player like Davenport (albeit one of the best in the past decade) can return after being out for so long....and immediately win a WTA beating top-class players ? or is it a reflection on Davenport's ability ?
Martina Hingis achieved similar things in a very short space of time after being out for over 4 years, making a grand slam quarters in just her 2nd tournament back
Would similar things be possible in the mens game ? Would say Federer/Nadal/Djokovic be able to return right to the very top after such time out of the game
It's always been that way in the women's game though. The top 10 players (or so) are top quality, but below that, the are all pretty hopeless and don't really have the ability or belief to threaten a top player
A similar thing in the mens game would be to look at Canas. He took a year off (because he was suspended), and trained throughout the year, but didn't win his first tournament, which was a challenger in South America. It shows that even with a year of proper training, he still couldn't win a tournament against lower ranked players, while Davenport could only have been training for a few months maximum, and beat 2 top players, and 1 of whom is world number 3
That either says that Davenport is the best womens player around, or there is no depth at all in the womens game, and a lot of the players are vastly overranked simply as there is no-one else good enough around
Stepanek was top 10 last year when he got injured, but it has taken the whole year to get back to the top 30, which shows it is a lot harder to return in the mens game, as there are so many decent players. If someone like Serena Williams takes 6 months off because she can't be bothered to play, you would be laughed at if you said she wouldn't make the top 30 again after 8 months on the tour
The men's tour has depth, the women's tour simply doesn't. (look at how vastly one sided most of the early matches in GS's are... I think Sharapova beat the world number 34 0 and 2 at wimbledon, but Stepanek took Djokovic to 5 sets at the US open)
