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Your Game • Serve with KicK• Punch in your Practice• Learn from roger federer• tournament advice

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auSSie Summer

SPotLightmatt ebden

caSey deLLacquabernard tomic

LLEYTON’S LAST STAND?

PLayer rePortSWho’s Top of The 2011 Class?

BONUS DECEMBER

ShOwDOwN SpECiAL

FEATURES

DECEMbER 2011VOL 36 No. 12A $7.50 (inc. GST) NZ $8.40 (inc. GST) US $7.50

14 Lleyton’s last stand The Australian summer looms as the last for Lleyton Hewitt, but the fighting former No. 1 is still looking defiantly ahead.

18 Player report card Who are the duxes and duds of season 2011?

30 Many happy returns Casey Dellacqua is

not only back from injury, but the popular Australian is stronger than ever.

45 December Showdown special

Meet the future stars of Australian tennis in your guide to the December Showdown at Melbourne Park.

36 Dancing to her own beat

She dances, she writes and she doesn’t mind sharing an opinion; is Andrea Petkovic the biggest personality in women’s tennis?

29 The welcome Matt The dedicated and

likeable Matthew Ebden is a welcome Australian addition in to the world’s top 80.

22 Petra power After victory in the WTA

Championships, it’s just a short step to world No. 1 for Petra Kvitova.

AustrAliAn tennis MAgAzine | December 2011 3

4 AustrAliAn tennis MAgAzine | December 2011

DECEMbER 2011

EDITOR Vivienne Christie

CONSULTING EDITOR Alan Trengove

ASSISTANT EDITOR Daniela Toleski

GRAPHIC DESIGNER Andrea Williamson

ADMINISTRATION &

SUbSCRIPTIONS MANAGER Ben Carenco

MY COACH CONTENT Mark Edney

PHOTOGRAPHS Getty Images, John Anthony (All photographs by Getty Images unless specified)

COVER PHOTO John Anthony

Australian Tennis Magazine is published monthly by TENNIS AUSTRALIA LTD, Private Bag 6060, Richmond, Vic. 3121. Ph: (03) 9914 4200 Email: editor@tennismag.com.au

Distributed by Network Distribution CompanyPrinted in Australia by Webstar

The views expressed in Australian Tennis Magazine are not necessarily those held by Tennis Australia. While the utmost care is taken in compiling the information contained in this publication, Tennis Australia is not responsible for any loss or injury occurring as a result of any omissions in either the editorial or advertising appearing herein.

FROM THE EDITOR

He might have slipped outside the world’s top 150 following a

frustrating run of injuries in 2011, but Lleyton Hewitt remains a

top talking point in Australian tennis – a reflection of the heights

he achieved with two Grand Slam titles and the world No. 1 ranking,

along with the passion that remains so evident in his game.

Watching the Aussie play his heart out, yet again, in the recent Davis

Cup qualifying tie against Switzerland highlighted that even if Hewitt’s

body lets him down, his competitive spirit won’t wane. As we consider

the sobering possibility of Hewitt’s 16th Australian Open appearance in

2012 being his last, there’s the reassuring knowledge that many of his

strengths are now evident in other Australian players.

In men’s tennis, Bernard Tomic has been the headline grabber of 2011,

courtesy of his Wimbledon quarter-final and entry in the men’s top 40

at just 19 years of age. Matthew Ebden, meanwhile, has been working

equally hard to push into the world’s top 80. This month we catch up

with the number two Australian and discover an articulate and likeable

young man who will almost certainly gain many supporters as he

continues his rise up the rankings.

It seems role model qualities are a feature of Australian players. Just

as Sam Stosur showcased her resilience in recovering from serious

illness to become a Grand Slam champion at the US Open, Casey

Dellacqua has recovered from a run of career-threatening injuries,

winning four consecutive Pro Tour titles as she rebuilds her ranking.

Dellacqua, who also features in this issue, will be a popular player at

this month’s December Showdown, where Australia’s stars of the future

often demonstrate their early potential. As the buzz from that event

provides an exciting springboard into the Australian summer of tennis,

Hewitt will be determined to show his enduring competitive spirit and

others will work hard to follow his path.

VIVIENNE CHRISTIE, Editor

REGULARS7 Topspin

13 Your Serve

39 Court Talk

61 My Game

66 My Coach

74 Rankings

76 Club of the Month

14

Petra Kvitova claims not to care about the rankings but as the statuesque Czech lifted her

seventh career trophy in Istanbul, she could hardly fail to notice what everyone else was talking about: victory in the prestigious season-ending WTA Championships not only underlined Kvitova’s status as a clear standout of 2011, but also saw her rapidly closing in on the world No. 1 ranking.

After starting the season at world No. 34 and with just a single title to her name, the 21-year-old leapfrogged into the world’s second spot with six titles in 2011, including a first Grand Slam at Wimbledon. And if Kvitova maintains the flawless form she displayed at Istanbul, where the year-end event was enthusiastically welcomed for the first time, it’s clearly a matter of if and not when she takes over the top spot.

Demonstrating the best of her heavy-hitting, crafty left-handed game that has drawn comparisons with Monica Seles, Kvitova convincingly claimed every round

Petra Kvitova, winner of

the season-ending WTA

Championships in Istanbul,

is emerging as the power

player in the women’s game.

KRISTINA MOORE reports.

PETRA POWER

22 AustrAliAn tennis MAgAzine | December 2011

Hard-hitting and mentally tough, Petra Kvitova is standing tall at the top of the game.

More progress for Sam Stosur, with a first-time win over Maria Sharapova.

AustrAliAn tennis MAgAzine | December 2011 23

robin match she contested and moved into the final after a three set semi-final victory over Sam Stosur. It took another three sets to outclass Victoria Azarenka but the hard-fought nature of those final two matches only emphasised the fact that in just her third full year as a professional, Kvitova is already one of the WTA’s toughest competitors.

She became just the third player to win the event on her debut, matching the feats of Serena Williams in 2001 and Maria Sharapova in 2004. “When I started this season I didn’t have any goals. I just wanted to improve my game,” she said. “But first Wimbledon, and now the year-end Championships and getting to No. 2 in the world. It’s just a dream.”

Claiming the world No. 1 ranking would be a bigger dream – not only for Kvitova herself, but also for the many fans desperate for a player to clearly dominate at the top of the WTA rankings.

Caroline Wozniacki, who won just one of her three round robin matches and failed to make the semis in Istanbul, has risen to top spot with a largely defensive style that few would describe as thrilling. Kvitova, on the other hand, showcases an explosive and crafty game that many find electrifying. At 182 centimetres her left-handed serve is particularly lethal and it’s backed by powerful ground strokes and the Czech’s clearly growing confidence.

Only 115 ranking points now separate Kvitova from Wozniacki’s top spot and even more telling is the fact that while the current No. 1 has close to 4000 points to defend until the end of April, Kvitova has just 1257.

Still, Kvitova is hardly deferring to Wozniacki just yet. “I mean, we are very good friends. She played (Fed Cup in) Prostejov with us and the team, so she is very nice and friendly,” she said before insisting, again, that top spot was not a key objective.

“It’s not a big goal before me. I just want to improve my game and every part of my game. I don’t like (to) look at the ranking, what number is before my name. So we will see.”

Consistency is the one area that Kvitova appears yet to master, with victory at Wimbledon followed by a first round loss at the US Open and her best form only returning with a title in Linz shortly before the year-end event.

However the champion was hardly concerned when questioned about consistency in Istanbul. “Because I know that my standard was very lower before and now it’s a little bit higher,” she noted. “I mean, still, when I’m playing bad, I can win some matches because I have to fight or something like that.”

For the naturally-shy Czech, the bigger issue might be coping with the hype that accompanies such heights in the professional game – although the attention didn’t seem too troubling when Kvitova backed up her year-end title with a

starring role in the Czech Republic’s Fed Cup historic final victory over Russia the following week.Finishing her season on yet another

high point seemed only fitting. As if we needed another one, it was also a sign that Kvitova’s progression to top spot seems certain to come sooner rather than later. n

PETRA POWER

The Czech Republic’s victory in the Fed Cup final over Russia added to Kvitova’s stellar season.

Victoria Azarenka finishes 2011 at a career-high world No. 3.

Athleticism and aggression are key strengths of the Czech left-hander.

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