Kvitova, Li and The Infinite Sadness

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The chaos is starting early in the US Open women's singles draw. In 2 days of US Open play we've lost the 2011 French Open and Wimbledon champions. This marks the first time that three Grand Slam champions from the same year have missed the 2nd round of the US Open since 1971.

Li Posted 54 errors in 2 sets against Simona Halep. Kvitova was not much better. Some would argue that she was worse. The Czech put up 52 in her loss to the Romanian, Alexandra Dulgheru.

Just like Li did on Day 2, Kvitova puzzled onlookers with her befuddling capacity for making unforced errors on day 1. Instead of reining in her shots and taking on less risk, Kvitova was unrelentingly aggressive; she was unrelentingly erratic as well.

Li was no better. Her haphazard ground strokes lacked bite, and she routinely floated simple shots several feet beyond the baseline. Watch the YouTube video above to see the carnage: Li plays one solid, unspectacular point (the first), then proceeds to botch the next 4, inluding match point. At her best, Li was tense and timid. At her worst, she was flat-out pitiful.

To be fair: it's only natural that Li and Kvitova encounter some turbulence at this stage of their careers. Each is adjusting to the new set of expectations that have accompanied their success. Currently, both seem overwhelmed. "Someone like Sharapova or Serena, they're used to that, they know how to budget their time," said Lindsay Davenport, while commentating for the Tennis Channel on Tuesday. "For someone like Li Na, who all of the sudden has all these offers coming in, she's probably doing a little bit too much off court."

Unfortunately for fans, neither did much on court.

Seeing Kvitova reel off six consecutive errors to conclude her match with Dulgheru was a pretty clear indication of where the 21-year-old Czech's game is at. It might still be in England, or perhaps it remains sitting unclaimed at the baggage check at JFK.

Li's game might be in China or in the bottom of her racquet bag for all we know.

The 29-year-old Wuhan, China native was despondent in the press room after her loss, when she spoke openly of her maddening inconsistencies of late. She spoke of telling her recently-hired coach (Michael Mortenson) that she felt her timing was off just prior to taking the court against Halep: "He tell me 'everything is perfect, everything is fantastic," said Li. "I say yes 'everything is fantastic, but I always lose first round.' I mean, this is not fantastic."

Li will turn 30 next February, and is the only Asian player to ever win a Grand Slam.

Kvitova won the Paris and Madrid titles this year, in addition to winning Wimbledon. But she's gone from trailblazer to disconcerting flameout in a matter of months. If her Wimbledon title was her crowning achievement, today's loss was her worst nightmare. On Monday, Kvitova became the first player in Open Era history to lose in the first round of the US Open after winning Wimbledon. According to this piece, the winner of the previous Slam is more likely to win the next Slam than they are to lose in the first round.

Should we be surprised?

It's surprising in some ways, but hardcore WTA fans know it can happen. Li and Kvitova are more proof that the women's tennis is a wild kingdom these days. Past results aren't necessarily guarantees of future results.

The road can be rocky, the pressure deleterious.

Li put it best after her match yesterday, when she said half-jokingly, "tennis is too tough for me."

5 Things We Learned In Canada

The tennis was chaotic north of the border last week, but Novak Djokovic and Serena Williams helped maintain the normalcy in the end.

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Now the that US Open series hard court season has been essentially compacted into two star-studded events, we're basically half way through the ramp-up. And if last week's results in Montreal and Toronto are any indication, there are some serious fault lines running through the upper echelons on the rankings, both men's and women's.

Perhaps a return to the status quo will begin in force this week in Cincinnati? Surely, the likes of Rafael Nadal, Li Na, Maria Sharapova, Roger Federer and many others are hoping so.

But before we get immersed in the action in Cincinnati, let's take a quick peek back at 5 things we learned in Canada in an attempt to try and make some sense of the tumult.

1. Mardy Fish has a chance to make the US Open semifinals -- Fish was close to breaking Novak Djokovic in the 10th game of the third set yesterday in the Montreal final, and while that in and of itself doesn't mean anything, the fact that Fish was there, pushing the world's best player to the brink, says a lot about how far he's come in the last year or two. Already at a career-high No. 7 in the ATP rankings as of today, Fish is poised to put another exclamation point on his statement-making tennis later this summer in N.Y. Prior to Montreal, Fish in a US Open semi seemed as likely as Celine Dion forming a Sex Pistols cover band, but now that we've seen the level of hard court confusion that Nadal, Federer and Murray are currently experiencing, you have to wonder: Is this Fish's time?

2. Nole and Serena are the favorites heading into N.Y. -- While much of the Tour was falling on their face last week, Serena Williams and Novak Djokovic were smashing people in the face. Well, not literally, but this was a figurative face-smashing by Nole and Serena if there ever was one. With two weeks left until the US Open begins, it's clear who is in the drivers seat right now.

3. Practice makes perfect -- With the well-chronicled physical demands of the Tour causing top players to choose rest and relaxation over playing smaller events early in the summer, getting through a few rounds in Canada was step one in the acclimation process for many players who had been off since Wimbledon. Now that many -- Federer, Murray and Li to name a few -- have failed in this endeavor, the pressure to win and do some much-needed harmonizing with the hardcourts in Cincy is even more palpable.

4. Petra Kvitova is not Martina Navratilova -- Well, nobody is Martina Navratilova, and even though Petra Kvitova is Czech, lefty, and a Wimbledon champion, that didn't stop her from getting bounced out of Toronto by Andrea Petkovic in her second match (she won only 3 games). Consistency is still a factor for the 21-year-old, but fans of this rare talent can take comfort in the fact that Petra is a big match player who has been to at least the 4th round of all three Slams this year. She may not be Martina, but she should be fine.

5. Venus Williams in not Serena Williams -- While Serena has been busy winning 11 consecutive matches and basically announcing herself as capable of leaping tall buildings in a single bound (while hitting second serve aces and doing Oprah Winfrey's nails), Venus has been unable to find her way back onto the court. Serena's big sister disappointed fans when she pulled out of Toronto with a viral illness, then she pulled out of Cincy with the same illness.

It would have taken a serious prognosticator to predict that by August Serena would have won more matches consecutively (11) than Venus has played all year (10), but that is where we are at the moment. Even if Venus does pull herself together to enter the US Open draw, it's hard to imagine her being a difference maker in N.Y.

Li's Triumph Solidifies Her Status Among the World's Best

Na Li overcame nerves, an aversion to clay, and the impassioned fury of Francesca Schiavone to become China's first Grand Slam winner.

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It's difficult to speculate on what Li Na's French Open title will mean for Chinese tennis, or what it will mean for the state of tennis as a whole, but it's a pretty safe assumption that Li herself will never be the same player again.

How could she be? The trailblazing 29-year-old Wuhan, China native has been on the cusp of a breakthrough for several years, but today's 6-4, 7-6(0) victory over Francesca Schiavone marks her full-fledged emergence as a card-carrying member of the Grand Slam club. That's something that can never be taken away from Li, and as she slid to the clay when Francesca Schiavone's backhand sailed long on match point, one got the feeling that she is going to be a hard woman to stop from this day forward.

Li, who became unraveled after storming to a one set lead in this year's Australian Open final (she eventually lost the match to Kim Clijsters, but was still celebrated as the first Chinese player to ever reach a Grand Slam final), deserves a lot of credit for putting herself in position for another milestone win just a few months later. Li recommitted herself to her game, hired a new coach, and proceeded to reinvent herself as the master of playing hard court tennis to full effect on a clay court.

We didn't know it then, but Li's runner-up finish in Australia would end up being the final lesson for her. With the experience in her back pocket, even though the loss stung, she was closer than she ever had been before.

In her second Grand Slam final Li was much cooler under pressure. When faced with a furious assault from the defending champion in the second set, Li struggled but did not wilt. As momentum shifted to the Italian's side of the court late in the second set, Li didn't get desperate -- she bided her time and limited the damage.

After holding serve to force a 2nd set tiebreak, Li then seized the opportunity, wrestling the crown from a hell-bent Francesca Schiavone by executing brilliantly under pressure and not allowing her opponent a single point.

Belief comes in many packages, but when it comes in the form of a 5'7" dynamo with smooth yet powerful strokes, furiously fast feet and a rousing fighting spirit, then you've got a recipe for making history.

History was what we witnessed today. Li is the first Chinese person to ever win a Grand Slam, but the hope is that she'll be the first of many.

Might Li's blossoming be the first domino to fall in what will later become a full-scale assault on the upper echelons of women's' tennis by the Chinese? Might it even inspire the Chinese men to follow suit?

Rather than spend the day speculating on what it all might mean, now is perhaps a better time to celebrate Li's efforts on an individual level. She came, she saw and she conquered, and she deserves all the accolades that are sure to follow. Similar to Schiavone's improbable rise to glory in 2010, Li concocted a winning amalgamation, woven from elements of courage, fortitude, and most importantly, experience. Just as Schiavone has raised her level to elite status, Li too has undergone a process of maturation that now places her at the pinnacle of the women's game.

So before we get busy wondering about the future of Chinese tennis, of how many players they'll be pumping out and how many courts they'll be building, let's take a moment to pay homage to the fire in Li's heart and the smile on her face. The image of her sliding to her back and getting all caked in red clay was not only for China -- it was a universal moment that symbolized the love of sport just as much as it did the love of country.

And for that, we can all be grateful that we bore witness.