Maria Sharapova of Russia hits a forehand to Elena Dementieva of Russia in Rogers Cup final tennis action in Toronto on Sunday August 23, 2009. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chris YoungChris Young/The Canadian Press
Probably the best men's tennis tournament in the history of the Canadian Open event was played last week in Toronto, with the world's best four players making it to the semi-finals and the event reaching new highs in terms of entertainment value.
This week, the women's Rogers Cup (also generically the Canadian Open) has been decidedly underwhelming in Montreal, a city that usually supports tennis with unbridled enthusiasm.
How to explain the difference?
First and foremost, the ATP Tour does a superior job of delivering its best players. The participation rate in Montreal and Toronto of the top four men's drawing cards since each one made his breakthrough: Roger Federer (seven of eight), Rafael Nadal (six of six), Andy Murray (four of four), Novak Djokovic (four of four).
Comparatively, the WTA Tour's marquee names rarely make it to Canada: Serena Williams (four of 11), Venus Williams (one of 11) and Maria Sharapova (three of seven).
Eugene Lapierre, the Montreal tournament director, has been through the nightmares of last-minute dropouts at the women's event.
"In 2006," he said, "we had four withdrawals in the last four days - Justine Henin, Amélie Mauresmo, Venus Williams and Maria Sharapova - before the tournament began."
Contemplating this year's injury absences of the Williams sisters, Sharapova and Henin, Lapierre claims he has recently been dreaming about the event returning to clay courts. Usually viewed as easier on the body than hard courts, it is impractical in view of the long-standing use of hard courts at the U.S. Open.
After she lost to Vera Zvonareva on Friday, aggravating a hip injury, Kim Clijsters expressed an opposing view.
"For myself, I think clay is a tough surface because the rallies take a longer and the sliding. Each surface has advantages and disadvantages. With grass, being low [because of the bounce]and in that 90-degree angle for most of the time, is very demanding on your knees and your lower back," she said. "Every surface has issues.
"The change of surfaces, as a professional athlete, is something you have to deal with. It's up to us to find the best possible schedule and a way to keep our fitness at a level where we can handle it."
An example of the random nature of injuries was the tendon Clijsters tore in her foot in April, during a Fed Cup match in Belgium, forcing her to miss nearly two months, including the French Open.
"That one definitely came out of nowhere," she said. "It wasn't even a tough shot. It was a normal backhand. I hit 200 of them every day. That was the biggest surprise of any injury I've had."
The announcement Friday that Serena Williams has withdrawn from the U.S. Open as she recovers from a cut on her foot (sustained from a broken glass in a Munich restaurant after she won Wimbledon) is another example of the fickle fates.
On top of that, Henin hyperextended her elbow in a fall at Wimbledon, tearing a tendon and ending her year.
Svetlana Kuznetsova, an 11-year pro and winner of the U.S. and French Opens, does not believe overplaying is the reason for injuries. She comes to the defence of WTA Tour chairman and chief executive officer, Stacey Allaster of Canada.
"I don't think Stacey is doing anything wrong. What can she do? Serena's injured, and it's not Stacey's fault that a glass fell on her leg or it's not her fault that Venus [has a knee injury] … I don't think this issue is about the scheduling because [the top drawing cards]don't play a lot," Kuznetsova said.
"You see players like Caroline [Wozniacki]or [Francesca]Schiavone or [Flavia]Pennetta, they play more than 26 tournaments. These girls [the stars] they play maybe eight, 10 tournaments. What kind of changes can you make with them? … So, I don't see anything they can do."
If that is correct, it may be a while before the credibility of the women's Canadian Open is restored.
Many top-tier events now combine the men and women and offer equal prize money - among them Indian Wells, Calif., Miami and Madrid.
The Roger Cup pays $2-million (U.S.) to the women and $3-million to the men.
That bottom line may not be changing soon.
"You can't offer the women equal prize money," Lapierre said, "until they prove they can provide as good a product as the men."