Steve, There’s a debate online about why Agnieszka Radwanska hasn’t won a Grand Slam yet. Some people say she has to work so hard winning multiple three-set matches that by the time she reaches the semifinals she’s exhausted. Other people say the second serve is her problem; it is too slow. I am worried Aga might end up like Jelena Jankovic or Caroline Wozniacki, two talented players who never broke through.—Orville Lloyd Douglas No matter what all-around skills a player has, winning a Grand Slam is always going to be an uphill battle with a second serve that clocks in around the 70-M.P.H. mark. Power is the name of the game when it comes to the majors on the women’s side. Serena, Vika, Maria, Li: They’ve divvied up most of the Slams in recent years, and they all dictate play rather than retrieve, the way Aga does. Beyond that, if you look at the players that Radwanska has lost to in 2014—Cornet, Cibulkova twice, Pennetta twice, Halep, Mattek-Sands—it’s obvious that, despite the fact that she’s No. 3, she’s vulnerable to a lower-ranked opponent who’s having a good day. Still, if Marion Bartoli can win Wimbledon, Radwanska can win a Slam. I don’t buy into the idea that Aga, who turned 25 last month, is too frail to make it all the way through a big event—in 2012, she won in Miami, and was one set from winning Wimbledon. In her last two semifinal appearances at Slams, Radwanska has claimed that she was tired from having to play too many three-setters at Wimbledon last year, and that she wasn’t ready to play two straight days in Australia this year. Those are fair complaints to a degree, but theyre also issues that everyone who wins majors, or tries to win majors, must learn to deal with. I thought both of those losses were due as much to the mental side of her game as they were the physical. Each time, Aga played her semifinal knowing that Serena was out of the tournament, and thus she had a rare opportunity for a breakthrough. Each time, she played someone ranked well below her. Each time, she came out with less than her best. It’s not a stretch to believe that the pressure of the situation had something to do with that. You mention Wozniacki and Jankovic, both of whom spent time at No. 1 but have failed to win a Grand Slam. Radwanska is more skilled than they are, but she shares one important trait with them: The tendency to play too many events. Radwanska doesn’t build her schedule to peak for the majors, the way Serena and Maria and the top men do. I think this is partly because, until she joined the Top 5 two years ago, Radwanska didn’t believe a Grand Slam was within her reach. She should have more self-belief now, and her schedule should reflect it.
Posted on: Tue, 22 Apr 2014 09:09:01 +0000