How to explain this Roland “completely unexpected” in women?

From left to right and top to bottom: Iga Swiatek, Laura Siegemund, Martina Trevisan and Nadia Podoroska.

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• The semi-finals of the women's tournament take place this Thursday at Roland-Garros. 

• The two posters, Swiatek-Podoroska and Kvitova-Kenin, were unexpected to say the least (especially the first). 

• This further proves the shifting hierarchy within women's tennis, but we must add a special context this year. 

At Roland-Garros,

Ashleigh Barty (defending champion and world number 1), Noami Osaka (number 3 and recent winner of the US Open), Bianca Andreescu (number 7), Serena Williams (number 9), Belinda Bencic (number 10)… Absences suggested that there would be room.

But probably not in these proportions.

The women's tournament is full of curiosities this year, and if the hierarchy is traditionally quite fluid - remember the coronation of Ostapenko, then 47th in the world, in 2017 -, this Roland arises there in terms of outsiders out of nowhere.

Never had a player from qualifying made it to the semi-final?

The barrier has come down, thanks to Argentina's Nadia Podoroska, who made short work of world number 5 Elina Svitolina on Tuesday.

There were even almost two, but the Italian Martina Trevisan, who had offered himself in particular Kiki Bertens in 8th, ended up falling, knocked down by the steamroller Iga Swiatek.

"The best is to go for it", Podoroska writes history with confidence via @ 20minutesSport https://t.co/9VWsOR3xtt

- 20 Minutes Sport (@ 20minutesSport) October 6, 2020

The Polonaise is herself one of the big surprises of the tournament.

She had won Wimbledon at the juniors well and had reached week two at the Australian Open, but still.

The 19-year-old scattered her opponents one after the other, culminating in a recital against world number 2 Simona Halep (6-1, 6-2) on Sunday.

Between Swiatek and Podoroska, opposed this Thursday, one of the two will be entitled to its first Grand Slam final.

"These results are no surprises," Halep commented before leaving Paris.

Everyone at this level is playing very well.

If you are in the 4th round of a Grand Slam tournament, you deserve it.

All matches are open at this level, and in fact it all depends on whether it's your day or not.

The French have had their part in this upheaval, with the presence of Caroline Garcia and especially Fiona Ferro in the round of 16, and the young guest Clara Burel in the third round.

All these elements illustrate the singular character of this edition, during which the top seeds resisted as well as the French in the first week.

They are only 6 (out of 32) to have reached the knockout stages, and ultimately only two in the semi-finals, therefore.

And again, they were not the ones we expected the most.

Petra Kvitova (number 7) hadn't stepped into the last four for eight years, and Sofia Kenin (number 4) had never played even a quarter in a clay court tournament.

The confinement effect

How did we get here ?

“It's a special season,” answers Nathalie Dechy.

There was this long cut, some girls come out of confinement very fit, others less.

It reshuffled cards.

Fiona Ferro, for example, is off to a good start.

And then the clay is a demanding surface, the one where there is always the most uncertainties, especially since there are no real eartheners currently.

The earth levels everything and gives anyone a chance.

"

What is going on in the minds of the players at the moment can also be a factor.

Dechy, who is now part of the tournament management committee, continues:

“There are very few tournaments by the end of the year.

The girls have the pressure to tell themselves that this is the place to play well, because there is not much behind it.

It is the anguish of the void.

There is also the management of health protocols, which can weigh on some.

All this makes the players more or less comfortable.

"

The former champion has swept the question well.

Among these elements, post-Roland is an important factor.

The cancellation of all tournaments in China left a gaping hole in the calendar, with seven tournaments wiped off the map, including the year-end Masters.

For now, the only major tournament scheduled before the end of 2020 will be played in Ostrava in two weeks.

“All the players would like to play more.

We didn't have tournaments for a long time, and we trained to come back, so now we want to play games, explains Fiona Ferro.

It is a delicate situation.

And then the WTA told us that over the next two or three years, there are going to be significant drops in prize money.

This is enough to shake up everyone.

"You never know who will win the upcoming Grand Slam"

This constantly upset hierarchy, which has become a chestnut tree among women, is a burden as much as a blessing.

It prevents the public from identifying with great figures, and at the same time it makes every tournament uncertain, and therefore interesting.

“It's always been like that in women's tennis.

I love this variety, you never know who will win the upcoming Grand Slam, said Tunisian Ons Jabeur after her loss in the round of 16 on Tuesday.

I like seeing a lot of champions on the circuit and knowing that each has their chance to go far and even win.

"

Will a qualifier lift the Coupe Suzanne-Lenglen in 2020?

- Roland-Garros (@rolandgarros) October 7, 2020

Of course, we are not on the men's circuit, where the only surprise can come from an elimination before the halfs of Federer, Nadal or Djokovic.

A little number, like that.

Since 2016 and the end of Serena Williams' dominance, there have been 12 different winners from 18 majors - there have only been seven for men since 2010. Roland has not escaped the washing machine, with Sunday a twelfth winner in the past 14 years.

Nathalie Dechy is mixed on the subject.

“Each player is convinced that she can beat anyone, that opens up prospects.

And then sometimes, we can get tired of long reigns, says the former 11th player in the world.

I remember there was a time when we were happy when Steffi Graf started to get hooked.

But we also like to have references… ”

Our Roland-Garros file

Dechy quotes Naomi Osaka, winner of three Majors over the past three years - including the last US Open - and who could challenge "this basic trend in the WTA" which means that no one manages to settle down.

But in the meantime, that hasn't stopped her from enjoying this edition.

"It's a completely unexpected tournament but a nice tournament," said the former semi-finalist of the Australian Open.

I remember great victories for the French women, discoveries and a lot of variety in terms of the game. There was no place for stereotypical games.

With so many new faces, that would have been a shame.

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