Wk.24- Bare Bones Backspin: One-Sentence Wonders Edition

In a Bare Bones week, even the champions get short-changed... luckily for Caroline Wozniacki, she was one of the subjects in a double-headline Backspin a few months back, so it all evens out.

*WEEK 24 CHAMPIONS*

EASTBOURNE, ENGLAND (Premier $600K/grass)
S: Caroline Wozniacki def. Virginie Razzano 7-6/7-5
D: Amanmuradova/Sugiyama d. Stosur/Stubbs

's-HERTOGENBOSCH, NETHERLANDS (Int'l $220K/grass)
S: Tamarine Tanasugarn def. Yanina Wickmayer 6-3/7-5
D: Errani/Pennetta d. Krajicek/Wickmayer


PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Caroline Wozniacki/DEN
...After getting her second '09 title in her fifth final of the season in Eastbourne, C-Woz moved past Dinara Safina (who reached four straight finals and a semi) for most wins during the 2nd Quarter.
=============================
RISER: Virginie Razzano/FRA
...she defeated the Eastbourne #1 seed (Dementieva) and defending champ (A.Radwanska), but came up short in the final against C-Woz.
=============================
SURPRISE: Aleksandra Wozniak/CAN
...with wins over a slam champ (Kuznetsova) and Wimbledon semifinalist (Zheng), A-Woz extended her season's success to a third surface.
=============================
VETERANS: Tamarine Tanasugarn/THA & Ai Sugiyama/JPN
...after a five year span between her '03 Hyderabed and '08 's-Hertogenbosch titles, Tanasugarn got her second in twelve months by defending her crown in the Netherlands (becoming the first player to defend all season, though Venus will be going for a three-peat at SW19). Sugiyama, who turns 34 in two weeks, got her first '09 doubles title and became the oldest champion on tour this season in Eastbourne.
=============================
FRESH FACES: Yanina Wickmayer/BEL & Ekaterina Makarova/RUS
...in the Netherlands, Wickmayer became the eighth woman to reach the singles and doubles final at the same event in '09, but was only the second (with Dulko in Bogota) to lose BOTH finals. Makarova, a qualifier and quarterfinalist in Eastbourne, continued to mark herself as the most under-the-radar Russian threat since the Cold War.
=============================
DOWN: Ana Ivanovic/SRB & Jelena Jankovic/SRB
...losses to Russians, AnaIvo to Petrova and JJ to Chakvetadze, marked another week where player personnel changes proved to have no effect for the non-Contessova crowd.
=============================


1. East SF - Wozniacki d. Wozniak
...3-6/6-4/6-4. As was the case in Ponte Vedra Beach, C-Woz's sprawling, legs flailing, from the seat of her pants return of an A-Woz smash late in the 3rd set was just another example of the good vibes that permeate the day when these two meet.
=============================
2. Neth SF - Tanasugarn d. Safina
...7-5/7-5. Make that two consecutive years the Thai vet has gotten the best of Safina in the Netherlands.
=============================
3. East 2nd Rd - Makarova d. Mauresmo
...7-6/7-6. A little disappointing for Mauresmo, but there were quite a few big name players NOT named Amelie last week whose Wimbledon tune-ups consisted of far less than a three-set win over a returning Vera Zvonareva and a pair of tie-break sets that allowed her the chance to get match tough.
=============================
4. East 1st Rd - A.Radwanska d. U.Radwanska
...6-1/6-1. After losing to her little sister the first time they met on the court, A-Rad put a big sisterly beating on her this time raound.
=============================
5. East SF - Razzano d. Bartoli
...6-4/1-0 ret. After Razzano made comments about Bartoli's questionable tactics that show she'll "do anything to win" (like call for a trainer at crucial moments in a match, etc.), Bartoli refused to shake her countrywoman's hand at the end of this one (oh, who else hopes they meet again in the Round of 16 at Wimbledon?).
=============================
HM- East 1st Rd - Wozniak d. Kuznetsova
...6-0/6-3. Svetlana will always have Paris, but it's time to put it behind her.
=============================


**2009 WTA FINALS**
6...Dinara Safina (2-4)
5...CAROLINE WOZNIACKI (2-3)
3...Victoria Azarenka (3-0)
3...Elena Dementieva (2-1)
3...Svetlana Kuznetsova (2-1)

**WTA TITLES - 2008-09**
6...Dinara Safina (4/2)
5...Venus Williams (3/2)
5...Serena Williams (4/1)
5...Elena Dementieva (3/2)
5...CAROLINE WOZNIACKI (3/2)
5...Jelena Jankovic (4/1)

**YOUGEST 2009 CHAMPIONS**
18y,9m - Caroline Wozniacki (Ponte Vedra Beach)
18y,10m - Petra Kvitova (Hobart)
18y,11m - CAROLINE WOZNIACKI (EASTBOURNE)
19y,5m.2w - Victoria Azarenka (Brisbane)
19y,6m,3w - Yanina Wickmayer (Estoril)

**2009 OLDEST CHAMPIONS**
32y,1m - TAMARINE TANASUGARN ('s-HERTOGENBOSCH)
29y,7m,1w - Amelie Mauresmo (Paris)
28y,8m,2w - Venus Williams (Acapulco)
28y,8m,1w - Venus Williams (Dubai)


The Wimbledon preview arrives later on Sunday, and the Daily Backspin begins on Monday.

All for now.