General / Barry Millns / 07 May 2009 / Leave a comment

Barry Millns assesses the state of play in the women's game where few seem capable of grasping the mantle of "world's best".

They say 'pride comes before a fall'. So it was at the Foro Italico on Tuesday night when world No.2 Serena Williams, who had described herself as "the real number one" and "the best in the world" at a news conference the day before, was knocked out by Switzerland's Patty Schnyder in the second round.

Having won 10 grand slams, few would argue that the younger Williams sister IS, at her best, the leading women's player currently on tour. But as good as the reigning US and Australian Open champion can be, to lose a third successive match for only the second time in her career (following her losses in the final of Miami and the first round in Marbella) underlined a current slump in form and relative discomfort on clay.

That is not to say that the 2002 French Open champion won't regain that title next month at Roland Garros. But she has already been hit by knee and leg injuries this season and may struggle to last the course there again.

Williams' comments at the start of the week were, of course, prompted by Dinara Safina's recent rise to the top of the rankings, without a major title to her name. But the Russian should not be blamed for that, it is simply the result of the way the WTA rankings are calculated.

Yet, by her own admission, Safina knows she still has plenty to prove and only by becoming a grand slam champion will she do that. Runner-up at last year's French Open, her heavy loss to Serena in Melbourne in January underlined the gulf that still exists between them at the highest level.

Having also finished runner-up in Sydney at the start of the season and last week in Stuttgart, Safina urgently needs to win a title of any kind. So far in Rome, where she is available at [4.3], she has made it to the quarter-finals but only after winning a final set tiebreak against China's Jie Zheng.

With world No.3 Elena Dementieva missing the tournament again, despite winning 29 matches so far this season, including two titles, the next highest ranked player still in Safina's half of the draw is Venus Williams ([3.55]). The reigning Wimbledon champion has an 18-3 win-loss record so far this year, having also claimed two titles, and while she has rarely thrived on clay, she remains fiercely competitive and a tough obstacle for anyone whatever the surface.

Ana Ivanovic, who had hoped to prosper in Rome prior to defending her crown at Roland Garros, is another high-profile casualty, having lost to Poland's Agnieska Radwanska ([10.5]) in the third round. Ivanovic, still trying to recapture her best form with the help of new coach Craig Kardon, has not won a title for six months but at least her fellow Serb, Jelena Jankovic ([4.3]) is showing signs of recovery after a poor start to the year.

Last month's champion in Marbella, Jankovic, bidding for a Rome hat-trick, has so far defended her title in Rome without dropping a set. While the new Stuttgart champion Svetlana Kuznetsova ([4.3]), who lost to Jankovic in the 2007 final, stands between her and the semis, the player arguably most likely to prevent her reaching the final is the 'revelation' of the season, Victoria Azarenka ([2.82]).

The 19 year-old from Belarus has already claimed more titles than anyone else this year (Brisbane, Memphis and Miami) beating a handful of Top 10 players en route, including Safina in Indian Wells and Serena Williams in Miami. Having made the fourth round last year at Roland Garros she should be a serious contender at this year's second grand slam.

Another player who has impressed in 2009 is Vera Zvonareva, who won Pattaya City and Indian Wells. But she has yet to come back from a recent ankle injury while fellow Russian Maria Sharapova keeps putting off her singles return following last October's shoulder surgery.

Anna Chakvetadze has a similar profile to Sharapova in that she is Russian and struggling to re-establish herself. The former world No.5 now ranked outside the Top 20. But watch out for Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark to break into the Top 10 soon, the Danish 18 year-old having won more matches (30) than anyone else this year, reaching three finals and winning one title en route.