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No room at the top for elite youngsters ... yet
by Matt Cronin
Updated: August 4, 2009, 12:33 PM EDT 0 comments

LOS ANGELES - Year after year, much is made of the WTA's talented youngsters. But none of them has reached the final of the major over the past two years, and it's entirely possible that the tour will essentially remain a veteran's lair at the big events through 2010.

There's plenty to like about the promising teenagers and 20-year-olds alike, many of whom are playing in this week's L.A. Championships: the hyper-aggressive Belarussian, Victoria Azarenka; the savvy Dane, Caroline Wozniacki; the Slovakian sparkplug, Dominika Cibulkova; the wily Pole, Agnieszka Radwanska; the big-serving German, Sabine Lisicki; or the enthusiastic Romanian, Sorana Cirstea.

But whether any of them can make a huge push into the final at the upcoming U.S. Open is questionable because only Cibulkova has been able to reach the final four of a major, at the 2009 French Open.

After she upset Serena Williams to win in Key Biscayne in April, Azarenka looked like she might be ready to win a Slam — or at least reach a final. But she fell short in an emotional three-set loss against Dinara Safina in the French Open quarters and then Serena out-screamed her in the same round at Wimbledon.

The temperamental Azarenka is nothing if not intense and can scald the ball off both wings, but her decision-making remains a bit immature and she doesn't always manage her matches well.

"She plays great tennis. I like her mentality," Safina said. "She knows that she's good and she goes for it. I also like the way she works with her coach (Antonio Van Grichen). She stayed with an unknown coach and I was the same way with mine. Through good and bad times they are always together."


Maria Sharapova, who won Wimbledon at the tender age of 17, says there's no magic formula when it comes to determining whether a young player is ready to shine at the highest level. When Sharapova stunned Lindsay Davenport and Serena Williams in 2004 to win Wimbledon, she took every day as it came and simply relished the moments rather than fearing what was ahead.

"Some girls whom you think have a lot of potential take a lot longer to develop their games and get the confidence in themselves to become a No. 5 or No. 1," she said. "When I was coming up, a lot of people thought I had a lot of potential but when I won Wimbledon, it was out of left field. I didn't think I was physically or mentally ready to do it. I had a lot of challenges thrown at me as a 17-year-old and when I went on court against Serena, I didn't care if it was Wimbledon or Poland."

Sharapova will get a good look at Azarenka on Wednesday, when the two powerballers face each other in the second round in L.A. But she's already been impressed with the young woman with a tightly wrapped ponytail.

"I think Azarenka has a great potential to become No. 1, but the game is deep and it will take time," she said.

Rest of article: http://msn.foxsports.com/tennis/stor...gsters-...-yet