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Ageing Williams gives others a chance at no 1: Radwanska

SINGAPORE —As Serena Williams enters her mid-30s this year and her game begins to slow down, there is a chance that her world No 1 title will be usurped.

Agnieszka Radwanska (right) congratulating Serena Williams on winning their semi-final match at the Australian Open in January. She has faced Williams twice this year and lost both times. Photo: Getty Images

Agnieszka Radwanska (right) congratulating Serena Williams on winning their semi-final match at the Australian Open in January. She has faced Williams twice this year and lost both times. Photo: Getty Images

SINGAPORE —As Serena Williams enters her mid-30s this year and her game begins to slow down, there is a chance that her world No 1 title will be usurped.

That is the view of current world No 2 Agnieszka Radwanska, who last year took the biggest win of her career in Singapore with the WTA Finals crown after upsetting two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova in the final.

That season-ending tournament, though, was without Williams, who cut short her season to recuperate from a series of niggling injuries and fatigue.

With Williams holding on to the world No 1 spot for 150 consecutive weeks, it is hard to imagine that the dominance of the 21-time Grand Slam champion — who turns 35 in September — will fade any time soon. But Radwanska thinks that it is not an unlikely scenario this year.

“I think this is the chance for a lot of players, not only me, to take the world No 1 spot,” Radwanska, 27, told TODAY in an exclusive phone interview from Stuttgart, Germany, where she is competing in the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix.

“Being No 2 now, of course, puts me just behind Williams. Although the gap (in ranking points) between us is still quite a lot, (I take heart that) it is still closer than (being) at No 10.

“There is a chance for me to go one step forward this year and be No 1, but we are going to know more about that after the clay court and grass court season, when Serena will be defending a lot of points in two Grand Slams.”

This year, Radwanska faced Williams twice and she came up short on both occasions. That brought the Pole’s win-loss record against Williams to 0-10 — a statistic similar to Williams’ record against former top players such as Maria Sharapova (19-2) and Simona Halep (7-1).

But Radwanska believes the chinks in Williams’ armour are showing. The American has played three tournaments to date: She lost in the round-of-16 at the Miami Open, and got into the finals at Indian Wells and the Australian Open, only to crumble at the last hurdle.

“I think she is still fit. She is playing great tennis. But, also, she is a human being, (she) can have a tough year too, and (she) may not handle pressure that well too,” said Radwanska, 27. “A lot depends on Serena. If she is on fire, it is hard for anyone to do anything. But it is still possible to beat her.

“So, myself, I had a really great match against her at Indian Wells. Those were close scores in both sets. I can’t wait to play her again.”

Radwanska, who has been grappling with a recurrent shoulder injury ahead of this week’s Porsche Tennis Grand Prix, knows how hard it is to stay healthy and play at the top of the game as age catches up.

Last year, she called for the WTA season to be slashed from 11 to nine months amid a spate of player withdrawals citing injuries and fatigue. Her call has yet to be heeded.

“I had to withdraw from a couple of tournaments this year,” she said. “It will be very stupid to finish the year by just playing half of the season and just do too much.

“Like every athlete, I have to think about the schedule more because, every year, we all get older. So far this season, I have played well in big events but that cost me a lot of energy, more than usual.

“So I wouldn’t play every tournament that I had initially planned to. Just because I have to take care of my health with a 10-month-long WTA season.”

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