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Reviewing the WTA season so far: Best matches, worst losses, more

BY COURTNEY NGUYEN

Posted: Fri Jul. 18, 2014

There's been a little bit of everything for everyone so far in this 2014 WTA season. We've seen three different Grand Slam champions add to their tally, the two dominant forces in women's tennis over the last two years -- Serena Williams and Victoria Azarenka -- take a backseat and a host of young blood earning their place at the table. Let's check in on the year so far.

Best match

Petra Kvitova d. Venus Williams 5-7, 7-6 (2), 7-5 in the third round of Wimbledon; Maria Sharapova d. Simona Halep 6-4, 6-7, 6-4 in the French Open final -- If grass court tennis isn't your thing you may not have appreciated the quality on display in Kvitova's three-set win over Venus in the third round at Wimbledon. The match featured some phenomenal first strike power tennis and just two breaks of serve. It's also the match that gave Kvitova belief that she could win her second Wimbledon this year. She didn't lose another set the rest of the tournament.

Highlights:

But when we think of great matches, we rarely point to anything that happens in the first week of a major regardless of the level of tennis and competition. The most memorable performances -- the ones that really resonate -- occur when the stakes are high and both competitors put the pedal to the metal and find their best tennis while playing under intense pressure.

That's what we saw in the French Open final, which was the first three-set final at the tournament in 13 years. It featured a contrast of personalities, styles,and strengths, with Sharapova's offense pounding against Halep's defense and counter-punching. Halep, playing in her first Grand Slam final, showed everyone why her game has earned so much respect in the last year, and Sharapova reminded everyone why her ability to compete is the most valuable weapon in her arsenal.

Click here to view the highlights.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nfuDPWS3q1I

Worst match

Caroline Wozniacki d. Sloane Stephens 6-1, 6-0 at the Sony Open -- This was the match that crystallized all the on-court criticisms of Stephens' attitude and willingness to fight through matches when she's not playing her best. The American won just five points in the second set, and her body language was the epitome of "over it".

Biggest upset

Serena Williams looked nothing like her usual dominant self against No. 35 Garbine Muguruza.

Serena overwhelmed by Muguruza in round two of French Open

by Jon Wertheim Garbine Muguruza d. Serena Williams 6-2, 6-2 in the second round of the French Open -- This Grand Slam loss was different than Serena's loss to Ana Ivanovic at the Australian Open, when she injured her back before the match. Nor was it like her third-round loss to Alize Cornet at Wimbledon -- there were already signs that she wasn't in her best form and was ripe for an upset.

No, Serena came into the French Open as the defending champion and fresh off winning her third title of the season in Rome. She won her first round match over Alize Lim easily, and then was blasted off the court by the young Spaniard to take her worst defeat at a major.

Click here to view the highlights.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ixb4846wrs

Player of the first half

Maria Sharapova -- She came out of Wimbledon as the No. 1 player in the Road to Singapore rankings after winning the French Open and WTA titles in Stuttgart and Madrid. She's still ranked outside the top five due to not playing the last three months of last season, but that just means it's nothing but upside for Sharapova the rest of the season. She has just one rankings point -- she played (and lost) just one match after Wimbledon last year -- to defend from here on out.

Breakout player

Eugenie Bouchard -- The 20-year-old is the only player to make the semifinals or better at all three Grand Slams, and she capped off her first half with her major Slam final at Wimbledon. She ended up being a spectator in that match but there's no doubt that Bouchard, who has shot up from No. 32 to No. 7 this season, is a player to be reckoned with. She's been a great example to the younger WTA up-and-comers of how to compete and not shy away from the big stages and the big moments.

Best point

Angelique Kerber vs. Jelena Jankovic at the Qatar Open -- Kerber just won't quit. Look at the distance she covers to track down her final forehand.

Best shot

Petra Kvitova's backhand winner against Bouchard in the Wimbledon final -- Much like her ace on match point in the 2011 Wimbledon final, this will go down as an iconic Wimbledon moment for Kvitova.

Result we never would have predicted

Flavia Pennetta wins Indian Wells and Tsvetana Pironkova wins Sydney -- Pironkova wins the overall prize because she's not supposed to win matches on any surface other than her beloved grass. Ranked No. 107, she became the first qualifier to win a tournament in three years and she did it by beating three top-10 players -- Sara Errani, Petra Kvitova and Angelique Kerber -- in straight sets to win her first title.

But when it comes to a surprise result at the tour's biggest events, we have to go with the Italian veteran's run to her biggest career title at Indian Wells. Pennetta, The 32-year-old was coming off career-threatening wrist surgery to win her first tournament in four years, beating two top-five players in Li Na and Agnieszka Radwanska in the final.

Biggest disappointment

Serena Williams won the 2013 U.S. Open, but she hasn't reached the quarterfinals of a Grand Slam since then.

Serena's struggles at the Grand Slams continue with loss at Wimbledon

by Jon Wertheim Serena Williams' season so far -- As exciting as it's been having a series of fresh faces make an impact on the tour, this season lost its bearings the minute Serena lost hers. Through three majors she hasn't made it past the fourth round. Her second round loss to Muguruza at the French Open was her worst loss ever at a Grand Slam. She has won three titles -- Brisbane, Miami and Rome -- but then there have been curious losses to Alize Cornet (twice!) and Jana Cepelova. Based purely on rankings points, she's been outperformed this year by Sharapova, Halep, Li and Bouchard.

Biggest surprise

Li Na splits with Carlos Rodriguez -- In April we gave Rodriguez top coaching honors for how he's transformed Li -- he helped her to another major title and a career-high ranking of No. 2. Their split was announced during the late stages of Wimbledon and the news got buried, but this is a shattering loss for Li. Where she goes from here is tough to know.

Storyline that looks absurd in hindsight

Maria Sharapova's stint as a NBC Olympics correspondent in Sochi is going to derail her season -- Sharapova returned from Sochi and after a disappointing loss to Camila Giorgi in Indian Wells, she went 23-2 through the French Open.

Best quote

"You're a nice guy. And also you are so lucky to find me."

-- Li, talking about her husband, Dennis.

Worst quote

“I’m not signing any more. There’s not that many kids in the world.”

-- Sloane Stephens, as quoted in Elle Magazine, after being asked to sign some items for a USTA Kids Day event.