Breakout male and female tennis players of 2013? (A column by the dreadful Peter Bodo)

Last edited Sat Dec 8, 2012, 09:03 PM - Edit history (1)

Robson and Janowicz made people notice


(ESPN) Choosing the "rookie" or "newcomer" of the year in tennis is a dodgy business because both WTA and ATP pros test the pro waters at very early ages thanks to things such as wild cards, cradle-to-grave professionalism and a the tradition that brings Open and junior division players together to play simultaneously at Grand Slams.

There's no better example of the problem (if that's what it is) than Laura Robson, who qualifies for newcomer of the year honors in my book even though she was a Wimbledon champion at age 14 (she won the junior girls' title) and played her first main-draw match there at 15 (she lost a tough three-setter to seasoned Slovakian pro Daniela Hantuchova).

In addition, being British ensured that Robson would get plenty of ink around Wimbledon time every year, so if you weren't paying close attention you could be forgiven for thinking of her as a player in her early or even mid-20s. The fact is Robson is just 18, and she qualifies for newcomer honors by my admittedly subjective standard: She's young and was outside the top 100 at the start of the year.

On the ATP side, the case is a little more clear-cut even if the criteria are not. Very few people had heard of Jerzy Janowicz before the final Masters event of the year, even though the 22-year-old Pole had slowly crept up into the top 100 through the course of the year, starting from a lowly No. 221. .........................(more)

The complete piece is at: http://espn.go.com/tennis/blog/_/name/bodo_peter/id/8722498/robson-janowicz-made-people-notice