Kvitova, Azarenka the future of tennis

The centre court of Istanbul has given rise to two players who I believe will be the future of women's tennis - Petra Kvitova and Victoria Azarenka.

They could begin their domination next season, or it might be a little later, but it will happen within the next three years.

Caroline Wozniacki remains the world number one player but she has again reminded us of her flaws. Kvitova and Azarenka though have developed aggressive games despite two different styles.

Wozniacki is finishing number one for the second time in a row so we must show her respect because it is a great achievement.

She's getting results because of her perfect physical training and because she's a true professional in the way she prepares her matches: she thinks her game plans out perfectly with the help of her father who is also very professional; she understands the ranking system and schedule of the WTA; and finally she also has an amazing fighting spirit.

However, Kvitova owns unique abilities. She plays faster than anyone and can be absolutely unplayable when she's moving forward with good footwork. The result of any given match basically only depends on her.

Her fitness and her state of confidence play a key part in her success or failure. When she's moving with the explosiveness and frequency needed for a high risk game and when she remains inside of the court and puts all her body into the ball with the belief she's going to win, then she can beat anybody.

Azarenka on the other hand has a totally different style of game and mentality.

Yes she's an offensive player, but she's also plays the percentages. Contrary to Petra, she's not the one making all the winners and the errors.

Her style reminds me of Rafael Nadal's. Victoria hits the ball very hard and puts a lot of energy into each shot. She uses top spin a lot which pushes her opponents backward and she can play very fast because she takes the ball early. She doesn't miss much because of her top spin and because she hits into safe areas.

Her defensive game is one of the best in the world because she is a real athlete.

As I write this we are at the semi-final stage of the WTA Championship but whatever happens in the rest of the tournament, Kvitova and Azarenka are without doubt the duo that we will often see in semi-finals and finals of the Grand Slams in the years to come.

Source: Eurosports