The Last Word: WTA No. 10, Andrea PetkovicBy Peter Bodo - Monday, December 5, 2011
Petkovic narrowly missed qualifying for the season-ending championships after a strong finish. (AP Photo)
The Last Word returns, and each weekday, starting on Monday, December 5, we'll give you our year-end thoughts about tennis' best players—this time focusing on the ATP and WTA Top 10. We'll alternate tours each day; here's who we've looked at so far.
Best of 2011
While her breakout trip to the Australian Open quarterfinals—where she upset No. 14 seed Maria Sharapova—set the stage for her rock-solid year, it was about 10 months later at the China Open where Petkovic sealed her place in the Top 10. She had wins over Lucie Safarova, Marion Bartoli and Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, and played Agniezska Radwanska very tough in a three-set final before succumbing, 6-4 in the third.
Worst of 2011
Although she has the athleticism to do well on grass, the German’s worst performance at a Slam came at Wimbledon, where she won a pair of gimmes over women ranked outside the Top 100, then lost to Ksenia Pervak (????) in straight sets.
Year in Review
The best single word to describe Petkovic’s entire year is “credible.” That is, she made a pretty big statement early in the year and was successful in backing it up, demonstrating consistency that suggests she isn’t just a visitor in the Top 10, but a potential time-share owner.
The Last Word
Petkovic spent 2011 building a platform; now she’ll try to launch off it to become a significant factor at majors—and face the pressure of increased expectations.
—Peter Bodo
