Wk.34- Slouching Toward NYC

So, in the dwindling hours that remain before the start of the final grand slam event of 2007, one is left to wonder... "so, who were the best players the month BEFORE the U.S. Open?" Fear not. The answer will soon be within your field of vision.

==AUGUST AWARD WINNERS - WEEK 31-34==

*PLAYERS OF THE MONTH*
1. Maria Sharapova, RUS - it's been asked before, so here it goes again. Is the Scenario upon us?
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2. Justine Henin, BEL - as usual, La Petit Taureau took full advantage of her few opportunities (well, her ONE opportunity) to shine before the Open.
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3. Ana Ivanovic, SRB - she looks like a star. She acts like a star. But is she THAT kind of star? Not yet, but might she be two weeks from now?
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HM- Cara Black & Liezel Huber, ZIM/USA - a Tier I title, a Tier I RU and another Tier II RU made for a busy month for Cara and her newly-minted naturalized American partner.
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*RISERS*
1. Ana Ivanovic / SRB
2. Anna Chakvetadze / RUS
3. Maria Kirilenko / RUS
4. Tatiana Golovin / FRA
5. Nadia Petrova / RUS
HM- Gisela Dulko / ARG

*FRESH FACES*
1. Agnieszka Radwanska / POL
2. Agnes Szavay / HUN
3. Victoria Azarenka / BLR
4. Vera Dushevina / RUS
5. Polona Hercog / SLO
HM- Anna Lapushchenkova / RUS

*SURPRISES*
1. Virginie Razzano / FRA
2. Zi Yan / CHN
3. Julia Goerges / GER
4. Olivia Sanchez / FRA
5. Katarzyna Piter / POL

*VETERANS*
1. Cara Black & Liezel Huber / ZIM-USA
2. Francesca Schiavone / ITA
3. Elena Dementieva / RUS
4. Patty Schnyder / SUI
5. Katarina Srebotnik & Ai Sugiyama / SLO-JPN

*DOWN*
1. Martina Hingis / SUI
2t. Amelie Mauresmo / FRA
2t. Serena Williams / USA
2t. Nicole Vaidisova / CZE
3. Venus Williams / USA

*COMEBACK*
1. Maria Kirilenko / RUS
2. Sania Mirza / IND
3. Eleni Daniilidou / GRE

*ITF PLAYERS*
1. Anna Lapushchenkova / RUS
2. Polona Hercog / SLO
3. Casey Dellacqua / AUS
HM- Olivia Sanchez / FRA

TOP PERFORMANCE: Maria Sharapova defends her San Diego crown, winning her first title of the season

*MATCH OF THE MONTH*
L.A. SF - Ivanovic d. Jankovic
...4-6/6-3/7-5. AnaIvo overcomes two match points, puts away fellow Fantastovic with lethal display of forehands.

*CHOKING MOMENT OF THE MONTH*
San Diego QF - Chakvetadze d. V.Williams
...6-7/7-6/6-2. Just after destroying the Russian Doll in Fed Cup play, Venus has a match point against her in San Diego. She double-faults and goes on to lose the match. She hasn't played since.

*COMEBACKS OF THE MONTH*
Lindsay Davenport returns to the court in doubles in New Haven, and ESPN hires Bud Collins for grand slam tennis coverage.

*BREAKOUT OF THE MONTH*
Agnieszka Radwanska becomes the first Polish singles champion in tour history, winning her maiden crown in Stockholm.



*WEEK 34 CHAMPIONS*

NEW HAVEN, CONNECTICUT USA (II-Hard)
S: Svetlana Kuznetsova d. Agnes Szavay 4-6/3-0 ret.
D: Mirza/Santangelo d. Black/Huber

FOREST HILLS, NEW YORK USA (IV-Hard)
S: Gisela Dulko d. Virginie Razzano 6-2/6-2


PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Gisela Dulko

...wins over Yung-Jan Chan, Nathalie Dechy and Virginie Razzano in Forest Hills gave the Argentine her second career singles title, as well as her second this season alone.
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RISER: Virginie Razzano
...after rolling through Top 20 competition in the weeks leading up to Forest Hills, Razzano ended up losing the final in straight sets to the world #51. Still, her momentum is good heading into the Open after wins over Jill Craybas, Akiko Morigami and Elena Vesnina... now that that'll mean much in Flushing Meadows.
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SURPRISE: Sania Mirza
...while Sania's singles exploits have cooled in recent weeks, she did win her fourth doubles title of the season in New Haven. She claimed the crown with Mara Santangelo, the fourth different woman she's won a title with this season, joining Vania King, Bethanie Mattek and Shahar Peer. Mirza's previous three doubles titles coming into '07 were won with Liezel Huber.
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VETERAN: Eleni Daniilidou

...Eleni the Greek took out the likes of Top 20 players Sybille Bammer and Dinara Safina in New Haven, then took Agnes Szavay to three sets (winning the only set the Hungarian qualifier lost all week) in the SF.
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FRESH FACES: Agnes Szavay & Polona Hercog

...Hungary's Szavay, 18, narrowing missed becoming the first ever qualifier to win a Tier I/II level event, reaching the New Haven final with wins over Sam Stosur, Daniela Hantuchova, Alona Bondarenko and Eleni Daniilidou. She took the opening set off Svetlana Kuznetsova in the final, too, running her tournament sets won/lost mark to 15-1. But her eighth match in nine days finally played enough havoc with her back to force her retirement at 0-3 in the 2nd set. Meanwhile, 16-year old Slovenian Hercog won her second of back-to-back ITF events with a victory at a $25K in Maribor.
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DOWN: Olga Poutchkova
...a year ago, Poutchkova reached two 4th Quarter singles finals, but she hasn't been able to extend her success into 2007. She's 8-19 on the season, hasn't reached a QF all year and is riding a nine-match losing streak. In New Haven, she lost in the 1st Round to Virginia Ruano-Pascual and posted 21 double-faults for her troubles.
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1. NH Doubles 1st - Black/Huber d. Davenport/Raymond
...6-7/6-3/10-4. Welcome back, Lindsay. Better luck next time.
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2. FH Final - Dulko d. Razzano
...6-2/6-2. We'll see if Razzano can win even her 1st Round match this week against Emilie Loit. A year ago, Razzano reached the US Open Round of 16. One gets the feeling her surprising North American summer might be unofficially "over" now, though.
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3. US Open Q1 - Tatiana Perebiynis d. Lilia Osterloh
...0-6/7-5/6-2. Osterloh, the #1 Qualifying seed, didn't get a Wild Card into the Main Draw. And even though she won the opening set at love here, she didn't win her way into it, either.
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4. US Open Q3 - Alina Jidkova d. Su-Wei Hsieh
...6-2/5-7/7-6. The Russian wins a deciding tie-break to reach the Main Draw, and prevented Hsieh from qualifying for her third slam event this season.
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5. Moscow $25K F - Pivovarova d. Lapushchenkova
...6-3/6-4. One new Hordette prevents another from winning a third straight ITF title. It's the New Anastasia's third circuit crown in 2007.
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HM- NH Final - Kuznetsova d. Szavay
...4-6/3-0 ret. All right, in case anyone was wondering why the Contessova was mysteriously absent from this week's honors despite winning the Tier II event in New Haven, the explanation is as follows: Kuznetsova won the title while winning just four sets in four matches, only two of them in her final three matches as Francesca Schiavone (QF), Elena Dementieva (SF) and Szavay all retired with injuries. Szavay, especially, hurts the Russian's cause, as the Hungarian teenager, bad back and all, still managed to win the 1st set against the former US Open champion even AFTER receiving on-court attention for her injury. I guess that's one way for Kuznetsova to erase what had been a 0-4 record in finals this season.
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**MOST 2007 SINGLES TITLES**
[surfaces]
6...Justine Henin (hard/red clay/grass)
4...Jelena Jankovic (hard/green & red clay/grass)
4...Anna Chakvetadze (hard/grass)
2...Ana Ivanovic (red clay/hard)
2...Serena Williams (hard)
2...Venus Williams (hard/grass)
2...GISELA DULKO (red clay/hard)

**2007 SINGLES TITLES - RUSSIANS**
4...Anna Chakvetadze
1...Elena Dementieva
1...SVETLANA KUZNETSOVA
1...Nadia Petrova
1...Dinara Safina
1...Maria Sharapova
1...Yaroslava Shvedova

**QUALIFIERS TO 2007 FINALS**
JAN- Vasilisa Bardina/RUS (Hobart/L)
APR- Sorana Cirstea/ROU (Budapest/L)
MAY- Greta Arn/GER (Estoril/W)
AUG- AGNES SZAVAY/HUN (NEW HAVEN/L)

**MOST 2007 DOUBLES TITLES**
6...Cara Black
6...Liezel Huber
5...Lisa Raymond
5...Samantha Stosur
5...MARA SANTANGELO
4...SANIA MIRZA


All for now.