Young Stars Vaidisova, Chakvetadze, Gasquet Lacking Something

Player fortunes have always ebbed and flowed, affected by everything from injuries to confidence to off-court issues to their general development (or lack thereof) vis a vis the rest of the field. I’ve been particularly struck by the poor results posted this year by Nicole Vaidisova and Anna Chakvetadze, two of the WTA's most hyped young stars, and by Richard Gasquet, who seemed to come into his own in '07. In a way, this trio reminded me of the scarecrow, lion and tin man in the Wizard of Oz. More on that in a moment.

Vaidisova, who at 17 reached the ’06 French Open semifinals and then the last four at the ’07 Australian Open, is a dismal 1-4 in her last five matches, including three consecutive first-round losses. Before the rains hit Rome Monday, she was down a set and leading 2-1 against Ekaterina Makarova. The 19-year-old Czech ranked as high as No. 7 a year ago but is now No. 17 and falling fast.

Chakvetadze is mired in her own mini-slump. The 21-year-old Russian finished last season at No. 6 following her run to the U.S. Open semis but this year has lost in the opening match in five of her 10 tournaments. She is also batting .500 since March, going 4-4 in her matches. Although she and her family suffered a scary home invasion/robbery at her house in Moscow in December that would have rattled anyone, Chakvetadze, who has one title (Paris indoors), has beaten just one top-10 player all season, the equally floundering Marion Bartoli. The No. 8 Russian’s place in the top-10 is in jeopardy (she has yet to play her opening match in Rome).

On the men’s side, Frenchman Gasquet is 5-6 since reaching the fourth round at the Australian Open. Last year’s Wimbledon semifinalist has barely been able to notch a decent win since he lost to James Blake and then begged off Davis Cup duty in France’s quarterfinal defeat to the USA. On Monday, the 21-year-old hit another low note, falling 6-3, 6-2 to Italy’s Andreas Seppi at Hamburg in 71 minutes.

"I am not confident at all for Roland Garros, but you can never say never, I will try to do my best there, of course, “ a dispirited Gasquet said in news reports after the loss.

It’s tough to know what exactly is ailing these three young promising stars. Many players that achieve success need time to adjust to the new pressures of being a marked man or woman. None of these players, however, is a tour neophyte, despite their tender ages. Injuries may have played a role (for instance, Chakvetadze had a thigh problem earlier this year), but none has had a major or debilitating ailment. For me, what these three require is a transplant of one kind or another.

I’ve never been fond of Vaidisova’s big, erratic and seemingly tact-less game plan, and perhaps it has caught up to her. Players know if they get her serve back and keep a few balls in play, she is as liable to hit a winner as she is to rip one into the backstop. She has no Plan B, or at least hasn’t been able to figure out how to diverge from her first-strike strategy. She is our scarecrow in need of a brain.

Chakvetadze has a solid game with decent weapons, but she clearly has not learned to harness it in a consistent way (see her five opening losses). Nor has she shown bravery on the biggest stages, including her miserable match against Svetlana Kuznetsova in last year’s U.S. Open semifinal, one of the ugliest on record. She is our lion in need of some courage.

Gasquet's flashiness has taken him far, and who can’t admire that backhand? But he is rapidly gaining a rap as a gutless quitter, including his inexcusable bailout from singles play in Davis Cup and last year’s lame, fever-induced default in the second round of the U.S. Open when he clearly could have at least attempted to play. He is our tin man in need of a heart.

It will be interesting to see how the two women fare in Rome and how all three do at Roland Garros. If they don’t start to turn around their seasons in Paris, it could be a long and frustrating year. A visit to the local organ donor might be in order.

Safin (Q)

Speaking of unceremonious slips, I noticed that two-time major winner and former No. 1 Marat Safin was forced to qualify for Hamburg. Ouch. ATP stats guru Greg Sharko tells me that this is the first time since Stuttgart in 1998 that Safin had to qualify and is just the fourth time in his career.