Wk.21-Bare Bones Backspin

Little time to contemplate one's navel for Week 21, what with the ultra-early Sunday start at Roland Garros.

Good for tennis... bad for your friendly neighborhood Backspinner. (Pierre and my Roland Garros previews are soon to follow.)

So, this past week's particulars, without the usual fanfare:


*WEEK 21 CHAMPIONS*

STRASBOURG, FRANCE (III-RCO)
S: Anabel Medina-Garrigues d. Amelie Mauresmo 6-4/4-6/6-4
D: Yan/Zheng d. Molik/T.Sun

ISTANBUL, TURKEY (III-RCO)
S: Elena Dementieva d. Aravane Rezai 7-6/3-0 ret.
D: A.Radwanska/U.Radwanska d. Chan/Mirza


PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Elena Dementieva
...after winning in Istanbul, Punch-Sober is in good form as she heads off to Paris to try to convince everyone who thinks she's on the downside of her career that she might just have one big surprise left in her. Career title #7 tied the 25-year old with Nadia Petrova on the career Russian singles titles list, and Dementieva became the fifth different Hordette to claim a title on tour this season.
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RISERS: Marion Bartoli & Zi Yan/Jie Zheng
...Bartoli defeated Elena Vesina in the QF, then pushed countrywoman Amelie Mauresmo to three sets in the Strasbourg SF. Apparently, reports of their demise were greatly exaggerated, as the Chinese pair of Yan & Zheng won the Strasbourg title to give themselves a companion to that Charleston title from a short while back.
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SURPRISE: Aravane Rezai
...before arriving in Istanbul, the 20-year old Frenchwoman was just 3-12 in WTA matches this season. In Turkey, she knocked off Tzipora Obziler and Meghann Shaughnessy... as well as two players named Venus and Maria (yes, THAT Maria) as she reached her first career tour final.
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VETERANS: Elena Dementieva & Anabel Medina-Garrigues
...aside from Rezai in the Istanbul final, Dementieva also defeated Jelena Kostanic-Tosic, Catalina Castano and Alona Bondarenko to run her record in her last three events to 9-2. Medina-Garrigues defeated Alicia Molik and Na Li in Strasbourg, saw Jelena Jankovic give her a walkover in the SF, and then outlasted Amelie Mauresmo in three sets in the final. It's the 24-year old's seventh career title, and makes '07 her fourth straight season with at least one tournament victory.
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FRESH FACES: Agnieszka Radwanska & Urszula Radwanska
...A-Rad & U-Rad joined forces to give Poland an all-sister, tour-winning doubles team in Istanbul. Agnieszka also got main draw wins over Ekaterina Bychkova and Romina Oprandi.
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DOWN: Vera Zvonareva & Tatiana Golovin
...neither played last week, and neither will be playing in Paris either. A hugely disappointing development for Zvonareva, whose clay season was essentially nonexistent. At least Golovin did win that title at Amelia Island.
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1. Ist SF - Rezai d. Sharapova
...6-2/6-4. Rezai called this win, and her week, "the fruit of my work."
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2. Ist 2nd - Rezai d. V.Williams
...6-4/6-4. A gentle reminder just days before Roland Garros that Venus has only reached that particular grand slam final once in her career, and never won the title.
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3. Stras Final - Medina-Garrigues d. Mauresmo
...6-4/4-6/6-4. AMG usually doesn't notch big wins over top players en route to winning WTA singles titles. Could she finally use this win to propel her to a nice slam performance? She's only reached the Round of 16 at a slam once, and that was five years ago.
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4. Ist Final - Dementieva d. Rezai
...7-6/3-0 ret. A disappointing end to a career week.
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5. Ist Doubles F - A.Radwanska/U.Radwanska d. Chan/Mirza
...6-1/6-3. Two Poles beat one Indian and her Tainwanese partner in this game of chance.
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HM- Ist Doubles 1st - A.Radwanska/U.Radwanska d. A.Bondarenko/K/Bondarenko
...6-4/6-1. "They're sisters... they're two of a kind." All four of them.
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**MAY AWARD WINNERS (Week 18-21)**

=PLAYER OF THE MONTH=
1. Jelena Jankovic
2. Ana Ivanovic
3. Justine Henin
4. Svetlana Kuznetsova
5. Lisa Raymond & Samantha Stosur

=RISERS=
1. Jelena Jankovic & Ana Ivanovic
2. Julia Vakulenko
3. Alona Bondarenko
4. Samantha Stosur
5. Marion Bartoli
6. Daniela Hantuchova
7. Klara Zakopalova
8. Mara Santangelo
9. Maria Fernanda Alves
10. Zuzana Ondraskova
HM- Angelique Kerber

=FRESH FACES=
1. Victoria Azarenka
2. Yung-Jan Chan
3. Aravane Rezai
4. Lucie Safarova
5. Aleksandra Wozniak
6. Kateryna Bondarenko
7. Ioana-Raluca Olaru
8. Agnieszka Radwanska
9. Shuai Zhang
10. Anastasia Pivovarova
HM- Polona Hercog

=SURPRISES=
1. Julia Vakulenko
2t. Greta Arn
2t. Milagros Sequera
4. Maria-Emilia Salerni
5. Maria Elena Camerin
6. Edina Gallovits
7. Yuliana Fedak
8. Andreea Ehritt-Vanc
9. Talaja Malek
10. Nika Ozegovic
HM- Simona Halep

=VETERANS=
1. Lisa Raymond
2. Elena Dementieva
3. Patty Schnyder
4. Anabel Medina-Garrigues
5. Greta Arn & Milagros Sequera
HM- Akiko Morigami

=COMEBACK=
1. Patty Schnyder
2. Elena Dementieva
3. Greta Arn
4. Milagros Sequera
5. Karolina Sprem
HM- Zi Yan & Jie Zheng

=DOWN=
1. Martina Hingis & Vera Zvonareva
2. Anna-Lena Groenefeld
3. Maria Kirilenko
4. Nicole Vaidisova
5. Tatiana Golovin
HM- Kim Clijsters



**MOST WTA TITLES -- RUSSIANS**
15...Maria Sharapova (2003-06)
10...Anastasia Myskina (1999-05)
9....Olga Morozova (1969-75)
8....Svetlana Kuznetsova (2002-06)
7....ELENA DEMENTIEVA (2003-07)
7....Nadia Petrova (2005-07)
5....Dinara Safina (2002-07)
5....Vera Zvonareva (2003-06)

**CONSECUTIVE YEARS WITH SINGLES TITLE**
[streaks extended in '07]
9...Kim Clijsters (1999-07)
9...Amelie Mauresmo (1999-07)
7...Justine Henin (2001-07)
4...ANABEL MEDINA-GARRIGUES (2004-07)
3...Nadia Petrova (2005-07)
3...Ana Ivanovic (2005-07)

**MULTIPLE 2007 SINGLES CHAMPIONS**
5...RUSSIA
3...France
2...Belgium
2...Serbia
2...United States


All for now.