Wk.43-Naked No More

Backspin has always been an ardent admirer of Nadia Petrova's variety-packed game. Petrova-stroking phrases like "the most entertaining game of all the Russians" and "one of the most versatile all-surface players on tour" have come easily to mind over the past few years. But no matter what or how many adjectives were tossed around in her favor, no matter how many doubles crowns (11) she won, or how many weeks she spent in the singles Top 10, ultimately the discussion came back to one salient point -- that she'd never actually won a WTA singles title. For all her obvious talent, something was missing. "The Scarlett Empress", at age 23, truly had no clothes.

Until this weekend in Linz, that is. Hence what happened at about noon on Sunday.

As the day wore on on October 30, after playing my customary game of tennis on Sunday morning (My favorite moment? Umm, a nice scramble from the baseline to reach a short ball at the net, followed by a stretching backhand half-volley off a low bounce... and the sight of the ball travelling crosscourt and nestling safely in the corner, past my opponent. Sorry about that, just wanted to re-live the moment.) At about noon, I slipped onto the internet to check the day's scores, and caught sight of the Linz final's score:

Petrova def. Schnyder 4-6/6-3/6-1

Out loud, I found myself saying, "Good for her. Yeah!"

I don't normally react that way upon seeing that a player has won a title (well, at least not when I didn't pick them to win earlier in the week). But it was different this time. Petrova's not the most dramatic (Myskina) of the Horde, the most potentially physically dominant (Kuznetsova), the most emotional (Zvonareva), the most charismatic (pick your favorite Maria) or the most stunning (Dementieva, be in her latest photoshoot or in the way she may overcome that serve with pristine strokes all over the court). But Backspin has always rooted for her, maybe for all those reasons... and that she's generally been the member of the Horde who's just as likely to majestically crumble as she is to artistically rise to the occasion (and, therefore, all the more interesting to write about). Petrova's almost a poor woman's Mauresmo, with a little less talent to burn (and thus, a bit less frustrating).

A 2003 semifinalist at Roland Garros, Petrova had a hard time following up with similar success on the sport's biggest stages. Displaying consistency in big moments has been a slow-building process, but it's one that's finally begun to pay dividends in 2005. In her last six slams, she's advanced to at least the Round of 16 each time:

2004 Wimbledon Round of 16
2004 U.S. Open Quarterfinals
2005 Australian Open Round of 16
2005 Roland Garros Semifinals
2005 Wimbledon Quarterfinals
2005 U.S. Open Quarterfinals

After reaching a tour event singles final once in each of the past two seasons, Petrova had reached two in '05 before this weekend (most recently in Bangkok just a few weeks ago, where she lost to seven-years-her-junior Nicole Vaidisova). But she remained 0-4 in finals for her career until Sunday in Linz. What will Nadia, naked no more, do now that the "best player without a title" tag has finally been lifted?

Well, the most recent Russian to do the same (Dementieva, at age 21, in 2003) managed to rise to the Top 5 and reach two grand slam finals (and nearly a third at this year's U.S. Open). What will Petrova's Act II be?

Hmmm... I smell a "2006 Intriguing Question" coming into focus as a result of this weekend's events. Now that the Empress has new clothes (and a title), could a Russian tennis coup be in the planning stages? We shall see.


============================
LINZ, AUSTRIA (II-HI)
S: Nadia Petrova d. Patty Schnyder 4-6/6-3/6-1
D: Dulko/Peschke d Martinez/Ruano-Pascual
============================
HASSELT, BELGIUM (III-DHI)
S: Kim Clijsters d. Francesca Schiavone 6-2/6-3
D: Loit/Srebotnik d. Krajicek/Szavay
============================

**PLAYER AWARDS**

PLAYERS OF THE WEEK: Nadia Petrova & Kim Clijsters
...Petrova's first title came at a place where she must have felt some level of familiarity with success. She was the Linz singles RU in 2003, and won doubles crowns (with Jelena Dokic) there in 2001-02. She's the winningest Russian on tour in 2005, with more WTA wins than Sharapova (of course, she has twice as many losses, as well). It'd been easy to have had the POW gone solely to Petrova, but Clijsters' act of winning her ninth 2005 title -- hitting the big three-oh for her career -- and her second in her home country (after winning in Antwerp last season) made Petrova share the wealth.
============================
RISERS: Nadia Petrova & Francesca Schiavone
...with Petrova's title, #14 Schiavone is now the only Top 20 player without a career WTA title (though maybe not the best title-free player -- that might be Anna-Lena Groenefeld). She's getting closer, though, after making her third final of the 4Q in Hasselt (after Bali and Moscow). Thing is, Schiavone's now 0-5 in her career when she gets to the deciding match. With Petrova's overdue title, she finally joins the nine other Russians currently in the Top 100 who have singles titles to their names. Not surprisingly, it took her the longest to get her first:

**THE RUSSIANS - AGES AT FIRST TITLE**
16 - Dinara Safina (2002)
16 - Maria Sharapova (2003)
17 - Svetlana Kuznetsova (2002)
18 - Elena Likhovtseva (1993)
18 - Anastasia Myskina (1999)
18 - Vera Zvonareva (2003)
18 - Maria Kirilenko (2005)
19 - Elena Bovina (2002)
21 - Elena Dementieva (2003)
23 - Nadia Petrova (2005)

The Top 100 Hordettes still waiting? Anna Chakvetadze, Vera Dushevina (hey, check out the new spelling!), Evgenia Linetskaya and Ekaterina Bychkova.
============================
SURPRISE: Kveta Peschke
...the 30-year old (she'll be a subject of the 2005 review column later this week, by the way, as the breakthroughs of several Czech Maidens will be discussed) had an incredible week in Linz as she made her first WTA SF since 2000 (also in Linz). She had big upsets over Ai Sugiyama, Vera Zvonareva and Elena Dementieva.
============================
VETERAN: Patty Schnyder
...since Peschke grabs the "Surprise" award, Sneaky gets this one. She does turn 27 in December, so she qualifies. Wins over Iveta Benesova, Ana Ivanovic and Daniela Hantuchova in Linz gave her a RU follow-up to her RU in Zurich last week. Of course, her temper got the best of her in the SF, as she cut her hand breaking a racket (what else?), had to take a pain killer before the final, and then withdrew from Philadelphia for this week. She always seems to be her own worst enemy, doesn't she?
============================
FRESH FACES: Michaella Krajicek & Ana Ivanovic
...Krajicek won in Tashkent a few weeks ago, and made the Hasselt SF last week with wins over Lucie Safarova and Nathalie Dechy (and battled Schiavone to a 7-5 3rd set in the SF). Meanwhile, AnaIvo seems to have gotten her mojo back. She made the Zurich SF, then went to Linz and made another SF after knocking off Tatiana Golovin (and was on the other side of the net when Schnyder took out her frustration on her racket).
============================
DOWN: Vera Zvonareva & Elena Dementieva
...Petrova goes up, the other Hordettes go down (both to Peschke). Zvonareva lost another 1st Rounder, while Dementieva was bounced in the 2nd. Since Punch-Sober's "best ever" win over Clijsters, she's gone just 3-4.
============================

**MATCHES**

1.Linz F - Petrova d. Schnyder
...4-6/6-3/6-1. Might Sneaky's anger cause her to miss out on qualifying for and/or playing in next week's Championships? She hasn't played in the YEC since 2002 (and is 0-2 there for her career).
============================
2.Hass F - Clijsters d. Schiavone
...6-2/6-3. Clijsters has eight hardcourt titles (and one grass) in her nine 2005 crowns. She's 27-1 in her last 28 matches.
============================
3.Linz 2nd - Peschke d. Dementieva
...6-3/7-5. If Punch-Sober's in L.A. for the YEC, she'll either be out-of-sorts or well-rested. Maybe the sight of Killer Kim will remind her of better recent days.
============================
4.Linz 1st - Peschke d. Zvonareva
...7-5/7-5. Peschke is 3-0 vs. Vera the Almost in 2005.
============================
5.Linz 2nd - Hantuchova d. Martinez
...2-6/6-0/3-1 ret. Hantuchova pulled out of Quebec City, so this'll be her final win of 2005. Martinez is now sixth in both career matches played and match wins in WTA history. If she returns in 2006, she'll have a good shot to catch fellow Spaniard Arantxa Sanchez Vicario (in 5th place in both categories).
============================

**WTA LISTS**

*MOST 2005 WTA TITLES*
9...Kim Clijsters
6...Lindsay Davenport
4...Justine Henin-Hardenne
3...Maria Sharapova
3...Nicole Vaidisova

*MOST WTA FINALS*
10...Lindsay Davenport (6-4)
9....Kim Clijsters (9-0)

*WORST FINALS RECORD (2+)*
0-3...Anna-Lena Groenefeld
0-3...Jelena Jankovic
0-3...Francesca Schiavone
0-2...Samantha Stosur

*2005 FIRST-TIME CHAMPIONS*
Hobart - Jie Zheng (21, China)
Canberra - Ana Ivanovic (17, Serbia & Montenegro)
Hyderabad - Sania Mirza (18, India)
Estoril - Lucie Safarova (18, Czech Republic)
Rabat - Nuria Llagostera-Vives (24, Spain)
Netherlands - Klara Koukalova (23, Czech Republic)
Beijing - Maria Kirilenko (18, Russia)
Guangzhou - Zi Yan (20, China)
Tashkent - Michaella Krajicek (16, Netherlands)
Linz - Nadia Petrova (23, Russia)

*MOST 2005 DOUBLES TITLES*
--INDIVIDUALS--
6...Samantha Stosur (+1 mixed)
6...Emilie Loit
5...Cara Black
5...Virginia Ruano-Pascual
5...Elena Likhovtseva
5...Katarina Srebotnik
--TEAMS--
4...Raymond/Stosur
3...Ruano-Pascual/Suarez
3...Loit/Srebotnik

*2005 CHAMPIONS DISTRIBUTION - BY RANKS*
[rankings when won title]
#1-10.....18
#11-19...13
#20-29....3
#30-39....5
#40-49....7
#50-59....2
#60-69....3
#70-79....0
#80-89....3
#90-99....0
#100+.....5

*2005 WTA FINALISTS - BY COUNTRY*
16...USA (9 titles)
16...Russia (9)
14...Belgium (13)
11...Czech Republic (7)

============================

**WEEK 44 PICKS**

...only two more events before the year-end Championships, and Davenport is giving it one more pre-L.A. go in "the battle for #1."

PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA USA (II-Hard Indoor)
04 F: Mauresmo d. Zvonareva
05 TOP: Davenport/Sharapova
===========================
SF: Davenport d. Dementieva; Vaidisova d. Sugiyama
FINAL: Davenport d. Vaidisova

...unless the Supernova is finally healthy (though one suspects that won't truly be the case until January).

>>>UPDATE: Of course, both Davenport and Sharapova withdrew from this event late. Why they couldn't have done it before the draw was released, or enough tickets were sold, only they and the event organizers know. Oh, I see... so that's it. Anyway, new picks:

SF: Petrova d. Dementieva; Vaidisova d. Sugiyama
FINAL: Vaidisova d. Petrova


QUEBEC CITY, QUE CAN (III-Hard Indoor)
04 F: Sucha d. Spears
05 TOP: Dechy/Bartoli
=====================
SF: Frazier d. Dechy; Ant.Serra-Zanetti d. Laine
FINAL: Frazier d. Serra-Zanetti

...not a great draw, to say the least. It'd be easy to pick Dechy, but I won't. Frazier's had a poor season, but did win an ITF challenger recently. On that slim bit of evidence against the chalk, I'll go with her to win her eighth career title sixteen years after she won her first.


Don't forget to vote early and often for the Tennisrulz Awards!!

All for now.

============================

Later this Week:

The 2005 tennis "revolutions" of the Czechs and the Chinese

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2005 Review: 700 Bucks & a Zero Bar

As I discussed last December in the "2005's Intriguing Question #9" column, Daniela Hantuchova and Jelena Dokic, both 22 and born just eleven days apart in 1983, have often seen their tennis fortunes rise and fall in tandem through the years. As 2005 was set to begin, both were facing career crossroads. This season was to be a very revealing one for "The Lost Girls."

As things have turned out, one is well on her way to being "found." While the other appears to be even more "lost" than ever.

"Wonder Girl" Hantuchova, after going down the rabbit hole with emotional and weight issues in recent years, appears to have truly begun to come out on "the other side" of her troubles. For one, she's gradually added weight/muscle to her frame and doesn't appear as if she should be given a Zero bar every half hour just to keep up her strength. On the court, 2005 has been a steadily growing proposition, as well.

**HANTUCHOVA'S YEAR-END RANKINGS**
2002: #8
2003: #19
2004: #31
2005: #20 (as of October 24)

Hantuchova began the year by shepherding, along with Dominik Hrbaty, the Czech Republic team to a win in the pre-Australian Open Hopman Cup event, then won the Oz Mixed Doubles. Success in singles, though, wasn't immediate. She began the season going just 16-14 in WTA events, but began to turn around her fortunes after Wimbledon. Since SW19, she's gone 21-10 (after two rounds in Linz), upset Elena Dementieva (in L.A., where she reached the final), Patty Schnyder (twice) and had match points against Lindsay Davenport (last week in Zurich). At the U.S. Open, she completed a career "Mixed Grand Slam" by claiming the title at Flushing Meadows with Mahesh Bhupathi.

Hantuchova's still in search of her long-overdue second career title (to follow her 2002 Indian Wells crown), and didn't find much slam singles success in 2005, but she has returned to the Top 20 and looks right on target to possibly make a run in 2006 at the Top 10 spot that once seemed to be her birthright (she rose to a career-best #5 almost three years ago). After finally breaking through to the surface of what almost became a "buried" career, the fortitude and confidence that once led Hantuchova to openly talk of one day becoming #1 will soon be called upon again. They might make that cozy Top 10 existence a reality... with her second residence there beginning very soon.

That's not the case with Dokic. Not by a long shot. Numbers often lie (some of them, anyway), and no stat is more deceiving than "The Debutante's" 12-10 singles record this season. While Hantuchova has staked out some comeback territory this season, Dokic has actually seemed to give up even more ground... and that seemed an impossible turn of events last December, considering she ended 2004 on a nine-match losing streak. In fact, as this season comes to a close she's effectively become "The Invisible Girl".

Dokic has always experienced wildly divergent results throughout her career, with additional highs, lows and soap operish "real-life" episodes sprucing up things in between. Her game has been exciting, but one-dimensional and she's never found a consistent answer to an opponent who made her "Plan A" useless (Are you listening Miss Mirza? Apparently so, considering you've seen fit to approach Tony Roche for some assistance. Good choice.). As she's failed to provide herself with a foundation for improvement, her career has tailspinned along with her personal life, rather than succeeded in spite of it as it did in her teens.

**DOKIC's YEAR-END RANKINGS**
2001: #8
2002: #9
2003: #15
2004: #125
2005: #348 (as of October 24)

In this case, numbers don't lie. One-time world-#4 Dokic's results have been slipping for a while now. But nothing could have prepared anyone for what's happened in 2005. After earning a high of $1.2 million dollars in 2001, she totalled up less than $10,000 this season. Other than two blips of success (qualifying and winning a 1st Round match at a Tier IV in May, then again at a $50K challenger in August), 2005 has been a forgettable journey for Dokic.

Since she decided to step down a rung in an attempt to gather confidence at challenger events, Dokic hasn't had a presence on the WTA Tour since losing at the Prague Tier IV in May. This season, she's lost a match to a player ranked #647. She's lost seven times to players ranked over #100. In fact, her "highest-ranked" win this season came against #97-ranked Anne Kremer back in January. She's been essentially incognito since retiring from a $50K event in Italy in early August... but even a lingering injury didn't excuse her literal no-shows at three recent ITF events. In fact, the non-withdrawals/non-appearances led the ITF to issue a ban from its event until Dokic paid a nominal $700 fine. So it's come to this? A Dokic is banned, but rather than Damir, it's Jelena. Such a sorry thing to see.

Earlier this year, Dokic admitted to feeling in late 2004 that she didn't want to be on the court. So what's to be made of recent events? It order to retain her health and/or wits, is she willing to sacrifice her career? Maybe 2006 will provide that answer, because in 2005 the notion is truly open to question.

Wonder Girl and the Debutante are still just 22, younger than many of the Spartak Russians (though not those of the Maria variety). But in a season in which players pushing or over 30 (namely, Davenport & Pierce) still managed to play at the top of their games, the careers of both these two should continue for quite some time. Hantuchova never really reached her potential before her career dipped, but she might finally be ready to tackle that unfinished business in the coming seasons. Dokic, though, still hasn't even set eyes on the corner she'll have to turn in order to say the same. She may have already peaked in her career, and it could be easier for her to say goodbye than climb the tennis mountain once again. For a player that's never found patience to be a virtue, that type of comeback might be an impossible mission unless she can find something deep inside that, until such a time, wouldn't have played a previous role in her tennis career.

So, one of the "Lost Girls" has been found. The search is still on for the other. Their "hand-in-hand" trek through their tennis careers appears to have come to an end. It'd be a smart move to put a wager on Hantuchova finding more and more future success. Dokic is a risky proposition, at best. Wonder Girl and the Debutante could one day find themselves on equal footing again... but you'd be advised to not hold your breath waiting for that day to arrive.

All for now.

============================

Next week's 2005 Backspin Review focus: The Maidens & the Cookies

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Wk.42-Positional Geography

As the 2005 season winds down, players are assuming their deserved and/or unfortunate positions:

...in the rankings, as Lindsay Davenport grabbed the Zurich title (finally, a Tier I!) and replaced now-#3 Maria Sharapova as the top-ranked woman in the game.

...in a (hopefully) enjoyable retirement, as Maggie, the last of the Maleeva sisters, announced that she'd played her last match after sixteen years on tour. Debuting in 1989 at age 14, the now 30-year old Bulgarian won ten titles in her career, and reached a high singles ranking of #4 in 1996. The biggest splash Maleeva made during Backspin's existence came when she won her first grasscourt title at Birmingham back in 2003, stepping out of her career-long role as "The Silent Sister." Maybe now she'll devote even more time to Capasca. Yes, it's true -- tennis-playing sisters named Williams haven't cornered the entire clothing company market.

...in (hopefully) temporary repose, as Alicia Molik, precisely one year after her career-highlight moment (after the Olympic brozne in Athens, of course) of upsetting Sharapova in the 2004 Zurich final, finally submitted (while denying rumors of her own premature retirement at age 24) to her balance-affecting bout with vestibular neuronitis, and will take an extended break from the WTA tour. She could possibly be gone for as long a year. Get well soon, Steamer.

Then there's the odd case of Jelena Dokic.

...in the... well, I'm not sure what the appropriate name would be for where Dokic finds herself (oblivion?) at the moment. Wherever she is, the Debutante's string of challenger event no-shows led last week to a ban from ITF events until she pays a nominal ($700) fine for her unprofessional (non-)actions.

Ah, but there was some potentially great news for the future last week... and it involves Sania Mirza. The Princess arguably sports a carbon copy of Dokic's '99 game, six years removed, at the moment. But she's gone and done something the Debutante never saw fit to do (until it was maybe too late, that is) -- she's gotten herself involved with a new coach who might be able to broker her ascent to a higher tier in the women's game. Hopefully, Tony Roche will help Mirza soon make even more beautiful tennis music than she did throughout 2005.

On that note, on to what happened in Zurich:

============================

**WEEK 42 CHAMPIONS**
==ZURICH, SWITZERLAND (I-HI)==
S: Lindsay Davenport d. Patty Schnyder 7-6/6-3
D: Black/Stubbs d. Hantuchova/Sugiyama

**PLAYER AWARDS**

PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Lindsay Davenport
...always great indoors, Davenport's 51st career title was her fourth in Zurich. Also, her sixth 2005 title provided her with at least a little ammunition to back up what might be another year-end #1 season -- this was her first Tier I of her slam title-less season.
============================
RISERS: Patty Schnyder & Francesca Schiavone
...Sneaky Patty might not have won her home country's event, but she did get wins over Maleeva (the last ever) and Ana Ivanovic en route to the final, and once again reminded everyone (cheer more for me, dammit!!) that they should always strive to be on her good side. Meanwhile, Schiavone continued her late-season surge with a win over Nadia Petrova and a three-setter against Davenport.
============================
SURPRISE: Katarina Srebotnik
...the 25-year old Slovenian was forced to qualify for the packed Zurich draw. She did, and then wiped out #2-seed Amelie Mauresmo 6-2/6-0 in the 2nd Round.
============================
VETERANS: Lindsay Davenport & Maggie Maleeva
...it wasn't easy for Davenport, as she logged a pair of early three-setters (in the first, she survived two match points against Daniela Hantuchova) before eventually knocking out Schnyder in straights in the final. Maleeva said so long after defeating Anna Chakvetadze in the 1st Round, then losing to Schnyder. Her career highlight? Maybe winning the 2002 Kremlin Cup in Moscow, knocking off Top 10ers Venus Williams, Amelie Mauresmo and Lindsay Davenport (in the final), as well as Anna Smashnova (who'd won four titles that season). Maleeva gutted out a pair of 3rd set tie-breaks against Williams and Davenport to round out a career-week.
============================
FRESH FACE: Ana Ivanovic
...AnaIvo is finally back! She's been but a blip on the tennis radar screen since winning her Round of 16 match at Roland Garros to reach a career-best slam QF. Ever since, she'd gone 5-5 before finally hitting a good stretch in Zurich with victories over Tatiana Golovin, Jelena Jankovic and Katarina Srebotnik. So what if she double-faulted on match point against Schnyder in the SF, just getting that far in a Tier I is more than enough to send her into 2006 with her head held high.
============================
DOWN: Amelie Mauresmo & Alicia Molik
...Mauresmo's season, reviewed in last week's first edition of Backspin's 2005 review is falling down around her ankles, as she was blitzed again, this time 6-2/6-0 by Srebotnik in her opening match in Zurich. Now, she's ready to defend Linz this week, right? Molik retired down 3-6/2-4 to Jelena Jankovic in the 1st Round, making her 1-10 in her last eleven matches. Get healthy, Steamer, then come back (at Wimbledon, the U.S. Open, or wherever) and make everyone remember all the excitement you generated at this year's Australian Open.
============================

**MATCHES**

1.2nd - Davenport d. Hantuchova
...3-6/7-5/6-2. Wonder Girl couldn't convert two match points, and Sharapova was the one who suffered. Oh, and I guess Daniela suffered a little, too, didn't she?
----------------------------
2.Final - Davenport d. Schnyder
...7-6/6-3. Davenport will carry a 12-match, three-tournament title streak into the WTA Championships and the "Battle for #1." Only Davenport and Clijsters have won more matches on tour than Schnyder in 2005.
----------------------------
3.1st - Jankovic d. Molik
...6-3/4-2 ret. Hopefully, Alicia won't be gone for too long.
----------------------------
4.2nd - Schnyder d. Maleeva
...6-3/6-2. The Maleeva sisters -- Manuela, Katarina & Maggie -- won 41 WTA singles titles between 1985-2003. All three reached the Top 10 during their careers, with all three ranked in the Top 13 simultaneously -- #11 Maggie, #12 Manuela & #13 Katarina -- in June/July 2003. In 1989, all three were on the Bulgarian Fed Cup team... with their mother serving as captain.
----------------------------
5.1st - Myskina d. Zvonareva
...6-2/3-0 ret. Mercy! When will 2005 end for Vera? Maybe this was her version of waving the white flag.
----------------------------


**WTA LISTS**

**MOST 2005 TITLES**
8...Clijsters (US Open, 3 Tier I, 4 Tier II)
6...Davenport (1 Tier I, 4 Tier II, 1 Tier III)
4...Henin-H. (R.Garros, 2 Tier I, 1 Tier II)

**MOST TITLES - 2004/05**
13...Davenport (7/6)
10...Clijsters (2/8)
9....Henin-Hardenne (5/4)
8....Sharapova (5/3)

**MOST 2005 FINALS**
10...Davenport (6-4)
8....Clijsters (8-0)
5....Henin-Hardenne (4-1)
5....Mauresmo (2-3)

**MOST CONSECUTIVE 2005 TITLES**
4...Henin-Hardenne (April-May)
4...Clijsters (August-October)
3...Vaidisova (October-present)#
3...Davenport (September-present)#
--
#-active streak

**2005 TIER I TITLES**
3...Kim Clijsters
2...Justine Henin-Hardenne
2...Mary Pierce
1...Lindsay Davenport
1...Maria Sharapova
1...Amelie Mauresmo

**CAREER TIER I TITLES - active**
11...Lindsay Davenport
9....Conchita Martinez
8....Justine Henin-Hardenne
7....Serena Williams

**2005 DOUBLES TITLES**
6...Samantha Stosur (+1 mixed)
5...Cara Black
5...Virginia Ruano-Pascual
5...Elena Likhovtseva
5...Emilie Loit

**OLDEST 2005 DOUBLES CHAMPIONS**
48...Navratilova (Toronto w/ Groenefeld)
34...Callens (Antwerp w/ Black)
34...Stubbs (Zurich w/ Black)
34...Stubbs (Stanford w/ Black)

============================

**WEEK 43 PICKS**

...last week, the Backspin "Prediction Corner" finally hit the magic number of 20 champions picked correctly. It's a bit off the pace of the last two seasons, but it's the welcome result of a reputation-saving 19-of-47 run after that atrocious 1-of-15 start. (Thanks Lindsay for saving my butt. Not only for helping me hit the big 2-oh here, but also for salvaging my fantasy team's week after my ten-member club for Zurich had seven "Did Not Play's," two late pull-outs, one 1st Round exit... and Mrs. L.Davenport. Good thing you didn't lose that match to Wonder Girl, huh? If you'd done that, I'd had to talk endlessly about how you haven't won a slam in what seems like eons. Thankfully, I didn't feel the need to do that. Whoops...sorry. And this time I mean it.)

As for this week:

LINZ, AUSTRIA (II-Hard Indoor)
04 F: Mauresmo d. Bovina
05 TOP: Mauresmo(w/d)/Dementieva
----------------------------
SF: Hantuchova d. Ivanovic; Dementieva d. Petrova
FINAL: Dementieva d. Hantuchova

HASSELT, BELGIUM (III-Decoturf Hard Indoor)
04 F: Dementieva d. Bovina
05 TOP: Clijsters/Dechy
----------------------------
SF: Clijsters d. Safina; Schiavone d. Dechy
FINAL: Clijsters d. Schiavone


...coming up later this week, "700 Bucks & a Zero Bar" looks back at the seasons of Hantuchova & Dokic. And, remember, there's still time to vote for the Tennisrulz Awards!!

All for now.

Read more...

2005 Review: A Funny Thing Happened on the Way...

Back before this season began, every player on tour had high hopes that 2005 would provide the answers to all their questions. By today's date they hoped to have accomplished their goals, set new ones and experienced the joy of "walking on air."

Some players got what they wanted (Kim, it's not time for you yet... you'll have to wait your turn. Sheesh! She wins a slam and she thinks she can cut in line.). Some didn't by a long shot (Jelena, you'll have to wait, too). Others, like the subject of what was 2005's Intriguing Question #10, found that the nearly-completed season left their career pretty well treading water... yet again.

Amelie "Albie" Mauresmo entered this season as an underachiever. She leaves it as one, too. But wasn't 2005 supposed to be different? After all, the Frenchwoman ended her '04 campaign by announcing at the WTA Championships that she'd forgo her Fed Cup participation in order to stay healthy and focus on winning her long-overdue first career slam title at the Australian Open. Considering her past FC success (leading France to the title in 2003), it was a "grand slam gambit" worthy of note for a player one big title away from salting away a career with "Hall of Fame potential." It also put a great deal of self-imposed pressure on her to get it done... and everyone knows how well Mauresmo has handled pressure throughout her career.

Yep, you guessed it. The "gambit" was another in the long line of abject failures on the slam level for Mauresmo. As it turned out, Mauresmo still managed to have her body let her down (with a groin injury) as she went out meekly in the quarterfinals to eventual champion Serena Williams. She bailed out of Roland Garros even earlier (3rd Round), before finding more success at Wimbledon (SF, at the hands of Lindsay Davenport) and the U.S. Open (QF, losing to Mary Pierce).

By the time the slam season was over, Mauresmo seemed to have come to the same conclusion that the "Backspin IQ #10" column posed as a possibility back in December -- that Wimbledon, even with so many of the other top players annually finding their grooves there, might ultimately offer her the best opportunity to get a slam crown before her career comes to a close. Mauresmo's game, after all, has grown stronger over the years on the grass as she's fused her athletic prowess with an improving net game to create a style of play built for success at the All-England Club. Winning Wimbledon might be a long shot, but it could be the best shot Mauresmo has.

Remember, similar edge-of-the-Hall candidate Jana Novotna filled out her career resume with a late career title at Wimbledon, making her 2005 induction at Newport possible. Novotna was 29 when she won SW19 in 1998. Mauresmo, the only #1-ranked women to have never won a slam title, will turn 27 in 2006. Time is running out.


**MAURESMO's 2005 WTA/FED CUP RECORD**
48-16
**MAURESMO vs. CURRENT/FORMER #1's in 2005**
1-6


Subtracting her slam troubles, Mauresmo's 2005 season, while not as great as her career-best '04 campaign, was a "good, but not great" one. She won two titles, including Tier I Rome, and reached five finals. She's currently #4 in the world (even while Mary Pierce challenges her for the top French ranking), and she returned to the French Fed Cup team to lead the Pastries to a RU finish against the Russians. Currently, though, she's limping to the 2005 finish line with a string of early-round defeats (the result of a long season that began with so much pressure to perform?), and still has to defend titles in Linz and Philadelphia.

But, no matter what happens in the final weeks of this season, as was the case with Kim Clijsters before September, Mauresmo's career won't be judged by her career titles (17), Fed Cup championships (1) or weeks at #1 (5). It'll be the number of slams that'll separate her from the pack of "Tier II" champions she finds herself in. And "zero" ain't gonna cut it.

At the moment, the slam albatross (hence, "Albie") has taken up a cozy residence on Mauresmo's shoulder. She just doesn't measure up as anything more than simply a "good" player after so much "on-paper success" since she burst onto the scene by reaching the '99 Australian Open final. She's a career underachiever with flair, and a fragile mind under pressure. It's not exactly a description that's unique amongst most other French players over the past eight decades or so (save for the occasional anomaly of a Yannick Noah, or the pick-your-nationality case of Pierce). One big title, though, and that assessment will change in a hurry. But will it ever come?

Well, I guess there's always 2006.

(Hmmm, I wonder what "gambit" Albie will propose at this year's WTA Championships? Backspin will surely be keeping an ear to the ground in a few weeks... just in case.)

============================

Next week's 2005 review: Wonder Girl and the Debutante go on wildly divergent paths.

All for now.

Read more...

Wk.41-Vaidisova on the Verge

This week's edition of Backspin (and all those for the rest of the season) will be broken up into two parts. The first comes today, with the recap and awards for Week 41. The second comes at mid-week with the first edition of the multi-part look back at the "Most Intriguing Questions" from the start of the year. These "Backspin Extras" will serve as an extended review of the nearly-completed 2005 season.

Now, let's get to the big happenings in Russia and Thailand.

**WEEK 41 CHAMPIONS**
============================
MOSCOW, RUSSIA (I-Supreme)
S: Mary Pierce d. Francesca Schiavone 6-4/6-3
D: Raymond/Stosur d. Black/Stubbs
============================
BANGKOK, THAILAND (III-HO)
S: Nicole Vaidisova d. Nadia Petrova 6-1/6-7/7-5
D: Asagoe/Dulko d. Ruano-Pascual/Martinez
============================

**PLAYER AWARDS**

PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Nicole Vaidisova
...the 16-year old's temper was so explosive after she blew a lead to Nadia Petrova in the Round of 16 at the U.S. Open that she might as well have changed her named to Nicole Vesuvius. All she's done since is go 15-0 and win three straight titles, with her third in three weeks coming in Bangkok with a win over, you guessed it, Petrova. Talk about coming full circle. Should Petrova change her name to Pompeii?
============================
RISERS: Francesca Schiavone & Dinara Safina
...in Moscow, 25-year old Schiavone easily handled the likes of Iveta Benesova, Amelie Mauresmo, Svetlana Kuznetsova and Elena Dementieva en route to the final. Alas, she's still looking for her first WTA title. Meanwhile, Safina proved who the "truer" Muscovite was with the Kremlin Cup QF victory over world #1 Maria Sharapova in the Supernova's not-so-grand return to her native country.
============================
SURPRISE: Meng Yuan
...another of the Cookies, Yuan added her name to the list of China's players to watch. The world #186 upset Japanese upstart Aiko Nakamura and outlasted a retiring Sania Mirza on her way the Bangkok QF.
============================
VETERANS: Mary Pierce & Cara Black
...in this case (thanks to Miss Vesuvius), a Tier I titlist was trumped by one at a Tier III. But that's not to overlook the 30-year old Pierce's continuing resurgence. Her title in Moscow was her second Tier I this season (and fifth in her career) and moved her up to #5 in the rankings. Black and partner Rennae Stubbs were only runners-up in the Moscow doubles, but the result was enough to make the 26-year old from Zimbabwe the twentieth woman to rise to the #1 spot in the doubles rankings, as she bumped Virginia Ruano-Pascual out of the top spot for the first time in over a year.
============================
FRESH FACE: Nicole Vaidisova
...by the way, her 15-match winning streak has only been bested by two women in 2005. Their names? Kim & Justine (hmmm... wonder what their last names could be?).
============================
DOWN: Maria Sharapova & Nadia Petrova
...it wasn't a very good week for the Supernova. She returned to Moscow after struggling with a chest muscle injury for weeks, then had to grin and bear a somewhat embarrassing opening match mulligan when Anna-Lena Groenefeld turned her ankle and was forced to retire after having pounded Sharapova into near-submission by a 6-1/4-2 score. Having been given what was generally viewed as an "unwarrented" second chance, Sharapova went on to blow a set lead in her next match to fellow Moscow-born player Safina. Oh, and Lindsay Davenport and Kim Clijsters are still hot on her tail for the #1 ranking, too. And how was your week? Probably not on par with Nadia Petrova's. How, you ask, does a player who reached a final get a "Down" label stuck on her? Easy. Petrova, a Top 10 player, was one of the few top Russians not at the Kremlin Cup, choosing instead to be the top seed at the less-crowded Tier III in Bangkok. As expected, she made the final... and lost yet again, to 16-year old (and five-time WTA champion) Vaidisova. You get the feeling a RU trophy wasn't exactly was the Empress had in mind when she entered this one. Unfortunately for her, though, the Empress still has no clothes, or WTA singles titles to show for her efforts.
============================

**MATCHES**

1.Moscow 2nd - Sharapova d. Groenefeld
...1-6/2-4 ret. Girl Friday gets the top match based purely on principle, since she deserves something for her efforts early last week. As it turned out, a turned ankle on the rarely-seen Supreme Indoor surface overturned what would have been a career-best highlight for Groenefeld. If she'd completed her Supernova throttling, ALG would have had two wins over #1-ranked players in 2005 (more than any other woman this season), after having advanced past a retiring Davenport in a Stanford match a few weeks ago.
----------------------------
2.Moscow F - Pierce d. Schiavone
...6-4/6-4. Vaidisova isn't the only one a big roll. This was Pierce's own third straight final, bridging Moscow to her big San Diego and U.S. Open.
----------------------------
3.Bang F - Vaidisova d. Petrova
...6-1/6-7/7-5. That makes three titles won in Asia in the 4Q by Vaidisova. Whew! How high will she be ranked one year from now? She's already up to #17.
----------------------------
4.Moscow QF - Safina d. Sharapova
...1-6/6-4/7-5. Justice delayed, don't ya think?
----------------------------
5.Moscow QF - Pierce d. Likhovtseva
...7-5/4-6/7-6(6). Likhovtseva led 6-0 in the 3rd set TB. To add insult to (literal) injury, the Horde's elder stateswoman had to retire in her opening match in Zurich on Monday.
----------------------------
6.Moscow 1st - Stosur d. Molik
...6-3/6-2. After starting 16-5 this season, Molik's inner ear problem paved the way for what has become a 1-8 rest-of-her-season downfall. Gee, Sydney and that Oz QF seem like ages ago now. A year ago, the Steamer was celebrating her first Tier I title in Zurich.
----------------------------
7.Moscow 1st - Zvonareva d. Kirilenko
...6-2/6-3. Finally, a good win for Vera. But, getting right back into the groove, she lost in the 2nd Round and then retired from her opening round match in Zurich against Myskina on Monday.
----------------------------
8.Moscow 2nd - Schiavone d. Mauresmo
...6-1/6-1. Nice effort, Albie.
----------------------------
9.Moscow 2nd - Kuznetsova d. Zvonareva
...3-6/7-5/6-2. Wonder if they made a deal before the match that the loser of this one would declare that it was she who had the more disappointing 2005 season?
----------------------------
10.Moscow QF - Schiavone d. Kuznetsova; Moscow SF - Schiavone d. Dementieva
...6-3/6-1. Yeah, both matches ended with the exact same lopsided scoreline.
----------------------------

**WTA LISTS**

==LONG 2005 WINNING STREAKS==
24...Henin-Hardenne (April-June)
22...Clijsters (August-October)
17...Clijsters (March-April)
15...VAIDISOVA (Sept-current)

==2005 WTA TITLES==
8...Kim Clijsters
5...Lindsay Davenport
4...Justine Henin-Hardenne
3...Maria Sharapova
3...NICOLE VAIDISOVA

==2005 TIER I CHAMPIONS==
Tokyo TPP - Maria Sharapova
Indian Wells - Kim Clijsters
Miami - Kim Clijsters
Charleston - Justine Henin-Hardenne
Berlin - Justine Henin-Hardenne [2]
Rome - Amelie Mauresmo
San Diego - Mary Pierce
Toronto - Kim Clijsters [3]
Moscow - MARY PIERCE [2]
Zurich - ??

==2005 WINS OVER WORLD #1==
#4 Sharapova (Davenport/Tokyo F)
#6 Dementieva (Davenport/U.S. Open QF)
#7 S.Williams (Davenport/Australian F)
#16 V.Williams (Davenport/Wimbledon F)
#23 Pierce (Davenport/Roland Garros QF)
#24 SAFINA (Sharapova/Moscow QF)
#39 Groenefeld (Davenport/Stanford 2nd)
#43 Henin-Hardenne (Davenport/Charleston F)
#45 Kirilenko (Sharapova/Beijing SF)
#133 Clijsters (Davenport/Ind.Wells F)

==CAREER TIER I TITLES - ACTIVE==
10...Lindsay Davenport
9....Conchita Martinez
8....Justine Henin-Hardenne [2 in '05]
7....Serena Williams
6....Venus Williams
6....Amelie Mauresmo [1]
5....Kim Clijsters [3]
5....MARY PIERCE [2]

==MOST CONSECUTIVE 2005 WTA FINALS==
5...Davenport (Jan-April, 2-3)
4...Henin-Hardenne (April-May, 4-0)
4...Clijsters (Aug-Oct, 4-0)
3...PIERCE (July-current, 2-1)
3...VAIDISOVA (Oct-current, 3-0)

==MOST CONSECUTIVE 2005 TITLES==
4...Henin-Hardenne (April-May)
4...Clijsters (August-October)
3...VAIDISOVA (October)

==2005 TEENAGE CHAMPIONS BY NATION==
6...Russia
5...Czech Republic
1...Serbia & Montenegro
1...India
1...Netherlands

==2005 WEEKS AS #1-RANKED PLAYER==
-SINGLES-
34...Lindsay Davenport
7....Maria Sharapova (current)
-DOUBLES-
40...Virginia Ruano-Pascual
1....Cara Black (current)

==MOST 2005 TITLES - DOUBLES TEAMS==
4...LISA RAYMOND/SAMANTHA STOSUR
3...Virginia Ruano-Pascual/Paola Suarez

============================

**WEEK 42 PICKS**

Only one event this week, but since it's the final Tier I of the season it could have major repercussions as far as the year-end #1 ranking is concerned.

ZURICH, SWITZERLAND (I-Hard Indoor)
04 FINAL: Molik d. Sharapova
05 TOP: Davenport/Mauresmo
----------------------------
SF: Davenport d. Dementieva; Pierce d. Jankovic
FINAL: Davenport d. Pierce

...Davenport's quest for another "questionable" #1 year-end ranking begins here, as Prideful Mary goes for her fourth straight final. No Mauresmo in the SF picks. I'm going with Jankovic, since she had a bad result last week and her usual pattern says her fortunes might be on the upswing this time around. But, as is the case with hot-and-cold players like Mauresmo and Jankovic, it's never smart to try to predict exactly where on the rollercoaster they'll be any particular week.

[Updated Oct.20]
Of course, Pierce pulled out late yet again, screwing up another prediction. New picks:

SF: Davenport d. Dementieva; Jankovic d. Schnyder
FINAL: Davenport d. Jankovic

============================

Don't forget to vote for the Tennisrulz Awards!!

Remember, Backspin looks back at Intriguing Questions #9 and #10 as the 2005 season review begins at mid-week. Until then...

All for now.

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Wk.40-Killer Kim, It's All Up to You

Roger Federer has already wrapped up this year's top ranking on the ATP tour, but the WTA honor is still up for grabs as the season enters its final five weeks. Thing is, three times since 2000 the women's #1-ranked player has somehow managed to go the season without actually winning a grand slam title. And now that prospect is looming as a possibility yet again in 2005.

Serena Williams, Venus Williams and Justine Henin-Hardenne, three of the four slam champions in the "year of the comeback" that '05 turned out to be, have no hope of claiming the top spot, due mostly to injury-related absences. Last week was a good example of what's ailed them: Serena effectively shut things down for the remainder of this season, Venus revoked her entry in the Moscow draw, and Queen Justine lost in her first return match since falling in the first week of the U.S. Open, where her game was uncharactistically sloppy after having missed so much time following her brilliant, but tiring, European clay season.

At the moment, Maria Sharapova is still holding onto the #1 ranking, but for all her positives she did not win a slam in 2005. Neither did #2-ranked Lindsay Davenport, whose Filderstadt title on Sunday got her to within just 69 points of the top ranking she's already held for 34 of this season's 40 weeks.

That leaves only #3-ranked U.S. Open champ Clijsters, in an ironic role reversal from her position in 2003, as the last hope to maintain some sort of meaningful "order" for women's tennis at the end of 2005. She had a chance to rise to #1 on Monday had she won Filderstadt, but the QF loss to Elena Dementieva that ended her 22-match winning streak put an end to that notion.

Isn't being crowned a slam champion supposed to mean something? Let's hope so. Finally, Clijsters can avoid the nasty specter of asterisks and the like and claim a well-earned perch above the field. Player of the Year honors are pretty much a given... now it's just a matter of bookkeeping to make sure that the "reality" of 2005 matches up with what'll be in the history books.

The odds are that it will, what with the Supernova having to defend her 2004 WTA Championship while Clijsters defends nothing in the final weeks. But it's difficult not to be a bit "nervous" after Filderstadt saw Clijsters stumble rather than seize the moment, while Davenport (already a year-ending #1 in '01 and '04 without having won slams) slipped in through the front door and won her fiftieth career title. The occasional top-ranked "oddity" is one thing, but when it becomes a seeming rule of law things just aren't kosher.

Come on, Kim. It's all up to you.


**WEEK 40 CHAMPIONS**
============================
FILDERSTADT, GERMANY (II-HI)
S: Lindsay Davenport d. Amelie Mauresmo 6-2/6-4
D: Hantuchova/Myskina d. Peschke/Schiavone
============================
TOKYO, JAPAN (AIG) (III-HO)
S: Nicole Vaidisova d. Tatiana Golovin 7-6/3-2 ret.
D: Dulko/Kirilenko d. Asagoe/Vento-Kabchi
============================
TASHKENT, UZBEKISTAN (III-HO)
S: Michaella Krajicek d. Akgul Amanmuradova 6-0/4-6/6-3
D: Camerin/Loit d. Rodionova/Voskoboeva
============================


**PLAYER AWARDS**

PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Lindsay Davenport
...her defense of her Filderstadt title made Davenport the ninth women to win 50 WTA singles titles in her career. Coupled with her Bali crown her last time out, she's got an eight-match winning streak and is 16-1 in her last seventeen.
============================
RISERS: Elena Dementieva & Tatiana Golovin
...Dementieva lost in the Filderstadt SF to Davenport, but her QF victory over Clijsters, ending the Belgian's 22-match streak, was dubbed by Punch-Sober as the "best match (she's) ever played." Golovin forged ahead in her last-minute attempt to make her '05 season more worthwhile, using her recently-building momentum to take out both Ai Sugiyama and Sania Mirza to reach the Tokyo final, her first of the season after losing all four of her previous SF matches in 2005. She finally hit the wall in the final, though, retiring in the 2nd set against Vaidisova.
============================
SURPRISE: Akgul Amanmuradova
...the 21-year old Uzbeki wild card who opened the week by knocking out #2-seed Alyona Bondarenko in Tashkent carried her run all the way to her first-ever WTA final just weeks after losing in the U.S. Open's first round of qualifying to "whatever happened to...?" candidate Rita Kuti Kis. At #257, Amanmuradova was the lowest-ranked finalist on tour this season.
============================
VETERAN: Lindsay Davenport
...sure, Davenport, 29, is just 69 points behind #1 Sharapova, and her five titles this season trail only Clijsters' eight. But it should be noted that not only are none of the titles grand slams, but none are Tier I's, either. She can't end the season at #1 again without taking a slam, can she?
============================
FRESH FACES: Nicole Vaidisova & Michaella Krajicek
...the 16-year olds ruled two-thirds of the roost this week. Vaidisova won her second title in two weeks (and already the fourth of her career) in Tokyo, and moved into the Top 20 (#18) for the first time on Monday. Meanwhile, Krajicek won her first career title in Tashkent, outlasting Amanmuradova in three sets. Ranked #82 going into the tournament, Richard's little sister emerged as the season's youngest first-time WTA champ.
============================
DOWN: Justine Henin-Hardenne
...what's happened to the Queen since winning Roland Garros? Did the clay court season really take that much out of her? Since then, she's gone a mediocre (for her, at least) 7-4, lost her opening match twice (including in Filderstadt, to Flavia Pennetta) and her game's looked pretty ragged at times even when she's managed to win. She's stated that she plans to devise a schedule that gives herself more rest in 2006... so consider 2005 a lesson that will hopefully lead to a more consistent season next year.
============================


**MATCHES**

1.Fild QF - Dementieva d. Clijsters
...6-3/3-6/6-2. Hmmm... in 2004 she becomes a slam finalist. In 2005, she leads Russia to the Fed Cup title. Following the progression, does Punch-Sober become the fourth Horde slam champion in 2006? This match is a good sign.
----------------------------
2.Fild Final - Davenport d. Mauresmo
...6-2/6-4. Davenport is 3-0 vs. Mauresmo this season, with two of the victories coming in finals.
----------------------------
3.Tokyo Final - Vaidisova d. Golovin
...7-6/3-2 ret. Vaidisova's riding a 10-match winning streak. She did say people who don't get upset when they lose don't win very often. Well Nicole gets very upset, and she's starting to lose less and less all the time. Guess she's practicing what she preaches.
----------------------------
4.Fild 2nd - Myskina d. Safina
...7-6/6-7/7-5. The Czarina won the knock-down, drag out all-Russian battle, overcoming a 4-5 3rd set deficit. Unfortunately, she then went on to drop a three-setter to Davenport in the QF in her final tuneup before returning to Moscow to defend the title she's won the past two years.
----------------------------
5.Fild 2nd - Pennetta d. JHH
...6-4/6-3. She has all the guts in the world, but something hasn't been right with Justine the last few months.
----------------------------
6.Tash Final - Krajicek d. Amanmuradova
...6-0/4-6/6-3. The mad late-season rush of teenaged champions continues.
----------------------------
7.Tokyo SF - Vaidisova d. Kirilenko; Golovin d. Mirza
...just call it the "all-promising talent" semifinals. They could all be in the Top 15-20 (Vaidisova already is) by this time next year.
----------------------------
8.Tokyo QF - Mirza d. Zvonareva
...5-7/6-2/6-4. Still, it was a good week for Zvonareva. She got two wins over Shahar Peer and Catalina Castano before Mirza took her out.
----------------------------
9.Fild SF - Davenport d. Hantuchova
...6-4/6-3. There wasn't enough room for Wonder Girl to slip into the Week 40 "Risers," but she had a very good week nonetheless. She got wins over Schnyder and Pennetta in singles, and won the doubles with Myskina.
----------------------------
10.Fild 1st - Dechy d. Molik
...6-3/6-3. The Steamer is due a good draw. She did draw a qualifier in the 1st Round in Moscow... but it turned out to be fellow Aussie Samantha Stosur.
----------------------------
HM-Fild 1st - Petrova d. Groenefeld
...6-3/6-2. The Empress gets a little revenge for Luxembourg.
----------------------------
HM-Tash 1st - Tulyaganova d. Savchuk
...6-2/6-2. The tour stopped off in Uzbekistan, so Iroda made another appearance on the WTA winner's sheet last week. She qualified and got a main draw win, keeping her name in everyone's memory bank despite that #363 ranking (lower than that of the quickly-disappearing player who used to be known as "Jelena Dokic" last week, which is saying something).
----------------------------

**WTA LISTS**

**50 CAREER TITLES**
167...Martina Navratilova
154...Chris Evert
107...Steffi Graf
92....Margaret Court
68....Evonne Goolagong
67....Billie Jean King
55....Virginia Wade
53....Monica Seles
50....Lindsay Davenport

**MOST 2005 WTA FINALS**
9....Lindsay Davenport (5-4)
8....Clijsters (8-0)
5....Henin-Hardenne (4-1)
5....Mauresmo (2-3)

**MOST 2005 WTA SF**
9...Davenport (9-0)
9....Clijsters (8-1)
9....Mauresmo (5-4)
9....Sharapova (4-5)

**DEFENDED TITLES IN 2005**
Memphis - Vera Zvonareva
Amelia Island - Lindsay Davenport
Rome - Amelie Mauresmo
Birmingham - Maria Sharapova
Palermo - Anabel Medina-Garrigues
Filderstadt - Lindsay Davenport

**2005 - YOUNGEST CHAMPIONS**
16y,5mo,1wk - Nicole Vaidisova (Seoul)
16y,5mo,2wk - Nicole Vaidisova (Tokyo AIG)
16y,9mo - Michaella Krajicek (Tashkent)*
17y,2mo,1wk - Ana Ivanovic (Canberra)*
---
*- first-time champion

**LOW-RANKED 2005 FINALISTS**
#257 Akgul Amanmuradova (Tashkent-L)
#193 Lourdes Dominguez-Lino (Bogota-L)
#163 Zi Yan (Guangzhou-W)
#155 Lucie Safarova (Estoril-W)

============================

**WEEK 41 - RESPECTABILITY????**

...the Backspin Prediction Corner has had a rollercoaster season while trying to fight back from that horrendous first few months of the season. But, what is this, could "respectability" be within reach in the closing weeks of 2005?

A 7-for-12 4Q record has raised the "Champions" mark to within shouting range of past seasons:

2001: 15-for-49 (30.6%)
2002: 17-for-67 (25.4%)
2003: 25-for-64 (39.1%)
2004: 27-for-64 (42.2%)
2005: 19-for-59 (32.2%)

There's still some work to do, but with eight events left a 50% predition clip would allow this space a huge sigh of relief for what at one time looked like it was going to be a verrrrrry long season.

MOSCOW, RUSSIA (I-Supreme Indoor)
04 F: Myskina d. Dementieva
05 TOP: Sharapova/Mauresmo
============================
SF: Pierce d. Sharapova; Dementieva d. Mauresmo
FINAL: Dementieva d. Pierce

...if Punch-Sober's progression is to continue, why shouldn't it be at the expense of her U.S. Open "injury-timeout" rival Pierce? Sharapova's returning to Moscow this week, and for a little hint at what she's planning for her future make sure to check out the "Link of the Week."

BANGKOK, THAILAND (III-Hard Outdoor)
--new event--
05 TOP: Petrova/Vaidisova
============================
SF: Petrova d. Asagoe; Vaidisova d. Mirza
FINAL: Petrova d. Vaidisova

...Petrova has to win that first title at some point, why not here? Vaidisova has to be too tired for a back-to-back-to-back title run.

The Tennisrulz Reader Awards ballot is now online! Be sure to vote! Last year, fans from over 100 different countries did!

All for now.

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Wk.39-You Ain't Seen Nothin' Yet

The buzz surrounding the happenings on the WTA tour this past weekend centered around "the future." From an established champion like Killer Kim Clijsters, to the gaggle of newcomers who stomped around the stages in Korea, China and Luxembourg... the appropriate promise that comes to mind is, "Just you wait. You ain't seen nothin' yet."

Consider, the steps made by many players this weekend promise to be but the first in a series of even bigger ones they'll make in the (near) future:

Seoul champion Nicole Vaidisova is still just 16-years old and already had two WTA titles to her credit before this weekend. Guangzhou titlist Zi Yan is only 20, and put her name in the record book as the third Chinese woman in history to hoist a tour singles trophy... and she'll hardly be the last as the Cookies' tennis build-up continues in preparation for the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

Meanwhile, 20-year old Girl Friday Anna-Lena Groenefeld, while still seeking her first WTA title, left Luxembourg having put together back-to-back runs to finals the last two weeks and entered the Top 20 for the first time on Monday. She and her big-time serve might push for Top 10 in 2006. Also, 16-year old Belarussian Viktoria Azarenka reached her first tour SF in Guangzhou, proving that her 2005 junior titles at the Australian and U.S. Open were no lacking-in-competition flukes of fate.

And last, but not least, Killer Kim continued her worldwide barnstorming tour across the backs of her fellow players in Luxembourg, grabbing her eighth title of the season and moving to within striking distance of #1-ranked Maria Sharapova this week as the injured Supernova will fail to defend her 2004 championship in Tokyo... and this time her rise to the top of the heap would come without that "grand slam-less" asterisk attached to the accomplishment.

It was a great week for all of them, but one gets the feeling that even bigger things will be headed their way very soon.


============================
KOCKELSCHEUER, LUXEMBOURG (II-HI)
S: Kim Clijsters d. Anna-Lena Groenefeld 6-2/6-4
D: Raymond/Stosur d. Black/Stubbs
============================
GUANGZHOU, CHINA (III-HO)
S: Zi Yan d. Nuria Llagostera-Vives 6-4/4-0 ret.
D: Camerin/Gagliardi d. N.Uberoi/S.Uberoi
============================
SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA (IV-HO)
S: Nicole Vaidisova d. Jelena Jankovic 7-5/6-3
D: Chan/Chuang d. Craybas/Grandin
============================

**PLAYER AWARDS**

PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Kim Clijsters
...21 straight wins. 4 straight titles to run her career total to 29. She could be #1 again next Monday. Killer Kim's taking all the suspense out of the Player of the Year race.
============================
RISERS: Anna-Lena Groenefeld & Jelena Jankovic
...ALG is gaining ground in leaps and bounds. In Luxembourg, she knocked out the likes of Daniilidou, Smashnova, Petrova and Safina before falling to Clijsters in the final. She's made three finals in 2005, two of them the last two weeks, but the new world #19 needs to win one soon before losing in the deciding match of the tournament becomes too much of a habit. Meanwhile, Jankovic seems to have gotten her new coaching relationship in order if her Korean string of wins over Shaughnessy, Douchevina and Golovin en route to the Seoul final are any indication.
============================
SURPRISES: Zi Yan & Samantha Stosur
...it's no shock that the winner in Guangzhou was one of the Cookies, but who'd think it wouldn't be one of Na Li, Jie Zheng, Shuai Peng, Tiantian Sun or even Ting Li, for that matter? Certainly very little money was placed on the head of #163-ranked, mostly doubles specializing, Yan. But she did it, upsetting defending champion Na Li along the way, and joining her and Zheng as the three Chinese women to have claimed WTA titles in the past year. Stosur's surprising early season success hasn't held out in singles, but it has in doubles. She teamed with Lisa Raymond to take the Luxembourg title. It was Stosur's fifth doubles title on the year (and tour-leading sixth if you count her Australian Open Mixed crown). She's now the #5-ranked doubles player in the world.
============================
VETERAN: Lisa Raymond
...the Luxembourg title was Raymond's third with Stosur in 2005, and helped to raise her to #3 in the doubles rankings. She was the doubles #1 at various times from 2000-02.
============================
FRESH FACES: Nicole Vaidisova & Viktoria Akarenka
...Vaidisova, 16, is the youngest WTA singles titles this season -- and this wasn't even her first career title (she won in Vancouver & Tashkent last season). After notching her biggest Seoul win over Jankovic in the final, she rose to a career-best #21 singles ranking on Monday. Minsk's own Azarenka, also just 16, qualified and took out Shuai Peng on her way to the Guangzhou SF, a career-best on the big tour.
============================
DOWN: Vera Zvonareva
...Vera the Almost, even with that early season title under her belt, has to be almost ready to write off 2005 as one long nightmare. The latest chapter was a 1st Round loss in Guangzhou to Ting Li.
============================

**MATCHES**

1.Lux 1r - Hantuchova d. Medina-Garrigues
...6-7/7-5/6-0. A match that was so early last week it almost went unnoticed. It was further proof that Wonder Girl is on her way back. AMG led this one 7-6/6-5 before Hantuchova virtually grabbed her by the throat and mugged her of the victory, winning the tie-break 7-2 and then breezing through the final set at love. Not long ago, it was Hantuchova who lost matches like this, rather than pull them out.
----------------------------
2.Lux Final - Clijsters d. Groenefeld
...6-2/6-4. Clijsters is 26-1 for her career in Luxembourg.
----------------------------
3.Guang Final - Yan d. Llagostera-Vives
...6-4/4-0 ret. Llagostera-Vives retired with a hamstring injury. Even with this win, Yan hasn't cracked the Top 100 in singles (she's at #101), but how can you not like a player who's WTA bio says she "admires Jimmy Connors' sense of humor?"
----------------------------
4.Guang 1r - T.Li d. Zvonareva
...6-3/7-5. 2006 can't get here fast enough for Vera.
----------------------------
5.Seoul Final - Vaidisova d. Jankovic
...7-6/6-3. Ah, Darth Vaidisova won... and the spectators in the front row are safe from flying projectiles for one more tournament.
----------------------------
6.Lux QF - Groenefeld d. Petrova
...2-6/6-3/6-2. Petrova gets her shot at an immediate rematch in the 1st Round in Filderstadt.
----------------------------
7.Guang QF - Yan d. N.Li
...6-7/7-5/7-6. Li seems to always lose these Cookie vs. Cookie matches in tour events.
----------------------------
8.Guang QF - Zheng d. Kirilenko
...6-3/6-7/6-1. The Supernovette's run comes to an unceremonious end.
----------------------------
9.Seoul SF - Jankovic d. Golovin
...6-4/5-7/6-4. All in all, it was still a nicely resurgent week for the Frussian Pastry.
----------------------------
10.Guang 1r - T.Sun d. Harkleroad
...5-7/6-1/6-0. A Splendor Sighting, though not a particularly brilliant one in the same week Mr.Harkleroad... err, I mean, Mr.Bogomolov... was suspended by the ATP on a banned asthma medication case.
----------------------------

============================

*SEPTEMBER AWARDS*

--PLAYERS OF THE MONTH--
1.Elena Dementieva
2.Kim Clijsters
3.Lindsay Davenport
4.Anastasia Myskina
5.Maria Kirilenko
HM-Anna-Lena Groenefeld & Klara Koukalova

RISER: Anna-Lena Groenefeld
SURPRISE: Zi Yan
VETERAN: Lindsay Davenport
FRESH FACE: Maria Kirilenko
DOWN: Vera Zvonareva

TOP PERFORMANCE: Dementieva in Fed Cup
----------------------------
MATCH: Beijing Final - Kirilenko d. Groenefeld... 6-3/6-4. The Supernovette comes of age.
----------------------------
UPSET: Beijing 2r - T.Sun d. S.Williams... 6-2/7-6. 2005 has been all about two big weeks in January, then eight months of frustration, for Williams.
----------------------------

============================

**WTA LISTS**

**2005 MOST CONSECUTIVE TITLES**
4...Kim Clijsters (Aug-Oct)#
4...Justine Henin-Hardenne (April-May)
-
#-active streak

**MOST 2005 TITLES**
8...Kim Clijsters
4...Lindsay Davenport
4...Justine Henin-Hardenne
3...Maria Sharapova

**LONG 2005 WIN STREAKS**
24...Justine Henin-Hardenne (April-June)
21...Kim Clijsters (Aug-Oct)#
17...Kim Clijsters (March-April)
-
#-active streak

**MOST 2005 FINALS**
8...Kim Clijsters (8-0)
8...Lindsay Davenport (4-4)
5...Justine Henin-Hardenne (4-1)

**WORST 2005 FINAL PCT. (2+)**
.000 - Anna-Lena Groenefeld (0-3)
.000 - Jelena Jankovic (0-3)
.000 - Samantha Stosur (0-2)

**YOUNGEST 2005 CHAMPIONS**
16...Nicole Vaidisova (Seoul)
17...Ana Ivanovic (Canberra)
17...Maria Sharapova (Tokyo TPP)
17...Maria Sharapova (Doha)

**LOW-RANKED 2005 FINALISTS**
#193...Lourdes Dominguez-Lino (Bogota-L)
#163...Zi Yan (Guangzhou-W)
#155...Lucie Safarova (Estoril-W)
#134...Sania Mirza (Hyderabad-W)

**MOST LOSSES BY 2005 TOP 10er**
[in WTA events]
18...Patty Schnyder
17...Nadia Petrova
16...Vera Zvonareva
15...Svetlana Kuznetsova
15...Anastasia Myskina

**MOST 2005 DOUBLES TITLES**
[doubles/mixed]
6...Samantha Stosur [5/1]
5...Virginia Ruano-Pascual [5/0]
5...Elena Likhovtseva [5/0]

**MOST 2005 TITLES - TEAM**
3...Ruano-Pascual/Suarez
3...Raymond/Stosur


============================

**WEEK 40 PREDICTIONS**

FILDERSTADT, GERMANY (II-HI)
04 FINAL: Davenport d. Mauresmo
05 TOP: Davenport/Clijsters
----------------------------
SF: Davenport d. JHH; Clijsters d. Mauresmo
FINAL: Clijsters d. Davenport

...is Killer Kim getting a bit greedy?

TOKYO AIG, JAPAN (III-HO)
04 FINAL: Sharapova d. Washington
05 TOP: Zvonareva/Vaidisova
----------------------------
SF: Golovin d. Mirza; Vaidisova d. Nagyova
FINAL: Vaidisova d. Golovin

...the spectators will be safe once again? But Golovin still has time to put a positive spin on her 2005 season.

TASHKENT, UZBEKISTAN (III-HO)
04 FINAL: Vaidisova d. Razzano
05 TOP: Bychkkova/A.Bondarenko
-----------------------------
SF: K.Bondarenko d. Bychkova; Camerin d. Voskoboeva
FINAL: K.Bondarenko d. Camerin

...I was going to pick #2-seed Alyona Bondarenko, but she was dumped out in the 1st Round on Monday by an Uzbeki wild card. So, I'll keep the prediction in the family, at least.

All for now.

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2005 Tennisrulz Readers Awards Nominees

Here are the (tentative) lists of nominees for the 3rd annual Tennisrulz Readers Awards. The link to the 2005 voting, open until the end of the season, will be coming soon!

==PLAYER OF THE YEAR==
Kim Clijsters
Lindsay Davenport
Justine Henin-Hardenne
Maria Sharapova
Venus Williams

==BREAKTHROUGH PLAYER==
Anna-Lena Groenefeld
Ana Ivanovic
Sesil Karatantcheva
Maria Kirilenko
Shuai Peng
Sania Mirza

==RISING STAR==
Iveta Benesova
Gisela Dulko
Anna-Lena Groenefeld
Daniela Hantuchova
Ana Ivanovic
Jelena Jankovic
Na Li
Sania Mirza
Alicia Molik
Nadia Petrova
Dinara Safina
Nicole Vaidisova

==NEWCOMER OF THE YEAR==
Sanja Ancic
Viktoria Azarenka
Anna Chakvetadze
Vera Douchevina
Alexa Glatch
Ana Ivanovic
Sesil Karatantcheva
Sania Mirza
Shahar Peer
Lucie Safarova
Agnes Szavay
Nicole Vaidisova

==MOST IMPROVED PLAYER==
Maria Elena Camerin
Daniela Hantuchova
Angela Haynes
Jamea Jackson
Klara Koukalova
Anabel Medina-Garrigues
Zuzana Ondraskova
Shanay Perry
Katarina Srebotnik
Samantha Stosur
Maria Vento-Kabchi
Roberta Vinci
Jie Zheng

==BIGGEST SURPRISE==
Alyona Bondarenko
Ekaterina Bychkova
Jill Craybas
Lourdes Dominguez-Lino
Angela Haynes
Ting Li
Nuria Llagostera-Vives
Bethanie Mattek
Aiko Nakamura
Tzvetana Pironkova
Samantha Stosur
Tiantian Sun
Maria Vento-Kabchi
Zi Yan

==VETERAN OF THE YEAR==
Lindsay Davenport
Elena Likhovtseva
Conchita Martinez
Kveta Peschke
Mary Pierce
Virginia Ruano-Pascual
Maria Sanchez-Lorenzo
Patty Schnyder
Anna Smashnova

==COMEBACK PLAYER==
Yoon-Jeong Cho
Kim Clijsters
Daniela Hantuchova
Ashley Harkleroad
Justine Henin-Hardenne
Martina Hingis
Mary Pierce
Serena Williams
Venus Williams

==DOUBLES PLAYER==
Cara Black
Liezel Huber
Elena Likhovtseva
Corina Morariu
Martina Navratilova
Lisa Raymond
Virgina Ruano-Pascual
Samantha Stosur
Rennae Stubbs
Paola Suarez
Zi Yan

==MOST DISAPPOINTING PLAYER==
Elena Bovina
Jennifer Capriati
Jelena Dokic
Tatiana Golovin
Svetlana Kuznetsova
Amelie Mauresmo
Anastasia Myskina
Serena Williams
Vera Zvonareva

==TOP PERFORMANCE==
Kim Clijsters [Indian Wells & Miami]
Kim Clijsters [North American hardcourts]
Lindsay Davenport [def. Sharapova 6-0/6-0]
Elena Dementieva [Fed Cup Final]
Justine Henin-Hardenne [European claycourts]
Martina Hingis [World Team Tennis]
Sania Mirza [Hyderabad]
Mary Pierce [Roland Garros & U.S. Open]
Serena Williams [Australian Open]
Venus Williams [Wimbledon]

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