Tennis: Straight sets wins leave fans wanting more fight

Kimiko Date Krumm, of Japan, took Yanina Wickmayer to three sets. Photo / Getty Images

One uncontrollable but disappointing element to the ASB Tennis Classic has been the lack of close matches.

The straight sets final win for Yanina Wickmayer over Flavia Pennetta meant just three of the 31 matches in the singles draw went to three sets, and there wasn't a single tie-break among them.

Former New Zealand number one and now television commentator Belinda Cordwell says the tournament is more vulnerable to lop-sided results than others.

"It is the first tournament of the year so players come into it having had a 6-8 week lay-off. They've been working in the gym and practising a lot, but not playing real matches. So it's hard to come out in your first week and compete at a level you're happy with, even when you've got players of true international calibre, like eight in the top 30. Practice pales in comparison to the situation when you're 40-30 down in a game and you've got to win the point to stay in the match."

Cordwell acknowledges that can be a letdown for those coming in the gate: "From a crowd point of view, it's disappointing when you can't get stuck in and feel like you're going with the emotion of the match. You want to see good matches and they have had their moments because the players are so fit and elegant, but it's also nice to watch matches where players evolve and grow over 2-3 hours on the court.

"That's what is great about tennis and sport in general. I don't know we've seen as much of that as we would like."

So what did the paying public think? Some are prepared to accept skewed results while others were left lamenting closer contests.

Chris from Bayswater started for the defence: "Most of the matches I saw over two days were good quality, even if they only went to two sets. A lot of those games went to deuce."

"Good value? Of course it was," said Beth from Lynfield. "You can never guarantee what you're going to get with a tennis match so you have to take the good with the bad. Having said that, I thought it might have been a bit closer. I find the opening day is always more enjoyable than the final."

Others, like Liz from Mt Maunganui were happy to get away from the elements, even on a fine day: "I'm glad the final was short because I was freezing."

Jenny-Lee, also from Mt Maunganui, would prefer to have stayed: "You expect three sets especially on finals day, maybe a few tie-breakers thrown in would've have been a nice bonus."

"You'd expect tennis at this standard to be a lot closer, like most of them going to three sets," agreed Sharon from Morrinsville. Rex from Wellsford also left a bit grumpy: "I would have liked to see more fight at times. No tie-breaks? Really? Yeah, they would have been good, they always tend to put the heat on."