Two years ago, Amelie Mauresmo swept the Australian Open and Wimbledon singles titles and held the No. 1 ranking for much of the season. Now, with nine victories in the eight months since she lost to Nicole Vaidisova in the Wimbledon round of 16, Mauresmo admits she's at a career crossroads.
The 2006 Sony Ericsson WTA Tour player of the year is now contemplating how much top tennis she has left. The owner of 24 career titles has seen her ranking drop to No. 22 after finishing six of the last seven seasons ranked inside the top 10.
The 28-year-old French woman is wondering whether she should consider calling it quits or recommit to efforts to reverse her ranking free fall.
"I want to keep on playing but at the same time I am wondering if it's the right thing to do. It's hard to say," Mauresmo to the French daily L'Equipe in comments published by the AFP following her 7-6(7), 7-5 loss to Thai qualifer Tamarine Tanasugarn in Doha earlier this week. "Just as soon as I get the feeling back that I am heading in the right direction, I get another heavy defeat like that. It's been like that for the last few months. Obviously at some point that leaves you wondering whether it might be best just to pack it all in. But we are not quite there yet. For the moment I still want to keep trying."
Mauresmo, who has been prone to periods of nervous play throughout her career, has posted a mediocre 9-8 record since she failed to defend her Wimbledon title last summer.
Given the fact the fourth-seeded Frenchwoman had not dropped a set in her three Wimbledon wins, owns arguably the best volleys of any woman in the top 20 and arrived at her favorite major on a streak of four straight semifinal appearances at the All England Club, Mauresmo had every reason to believe she could prevail entering the third set of last summer's fourth-round Wimbledon match vs. Vaidisova.
Vaidisova had other ideas.
Competing with a stronger sense of self-belief, striking more decisive shots and delivering a superior serve on pivotal points, Vaidisova vanquished the defending champion, 7-6(6), 4-6, 6-1.
It was a match of lost opportunities for Mauresmo, who served for the first set at 5-3 before squandering three set points in the first set tiebreak. Playing timid, tenuous tennis, Mauresmo completely lost confidence on serve in the final stages of the third set. She hit 13 aces, but committed 14 double faults and won just 15 of 43 points played on her second serve (35 percent) in the match.
Festering frustration finally erupted in the French woman as Mauresmo uncharacteristically lost her cool in belting a ball into the seats after dropping serve to fall behind, 1-5, in the final set, earning a code violation in the process.
Since that setback, Mauresmo has never really been the same.
Though she has reached quarterfinals at the Tier III Gold Coast and Tier II Paris Indoors, Mauresmo has not beaten a top-25 ranked opponent since stopping then 11th-ranked Nadia Petrova in the 2007 Eastbourne semifinal. She played a bold brand of attacking tennis in losing to World No. 1 Justine Henin, 7-5, 6-7(4), 7-6(2), in the Eastbourne final, but has been unable to find the fluidity in her game since then.
Too often, Mauresmo seems to be preoccupied with the ramifications of each swing rather than letting her best tennis flow. Since Mauresmo hits with heavier topspin than most women in the top 25, she often has to put a series of shots together from the baseline, but she appears to lack the confidence to use her best assests - her versatility, variety and athleticism - and is prone to falling back into defensive positions on court.
She is committed to playing Indian Wells and Miami next month and will try to reverse her ranking slide in the states. Mauresmo, who underwent emergency appendectomy surgery last March and was sidelined for two months, has not played Indian Wells since 2005 when she lost in the third round. She has reached the Miami semifinals in her last two appearances at the Sony Ericsson Open.
