$70,067... and the Backspin Awards for April

April is history. Nadia Petrova is #4 in the world. Jelena Dokic is $67 richer. And Zina Garrison looks like a genius.

**APRIL (WEEKS 14-17) AWARDS**

==PLAYERS OF THE MONTH==
1.Nadia Petrova...the best Russian in 2006? She's up to #4, and the red clay will likely be kinder to her than to Sharapova.
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2.Francesca Schiavone...still hasn't won a title, but led Italians to huge Fed Cup upset of France.
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3.Lisa Raymond & Samantha Stosur...more dominant than Federer. They have no Nadal to worry about.
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4.Justine Henin-Hardenne...was Fed Cup success a prelude to another big fortnight in Paris?
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5.Patty Schnyder...always a threat, but always seems to come up just a tad short in the biggest moments, too.
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==RISERS==
1.Nadia Petrova
2.Francesca Schiavone
3.Anna-Lena Groenefeld

==SURPRISES==
1.Jamea Jackson
2.Maria Elena Camerin
3.Kateryna Bondarenko

==VETERANS==
1.Patty Schnyder
2.Lisa Raymond
3.Jill Craybas

==FRESH FACES==
1.Lucie Safarova
2.Shahar Peer
3.Aiko Nakamura

==DOWN==
1.Amelie Mauresmo
2.Jelena Jankovic
3.Nathalie Dechy


==PERFORMANCES OF THE MONTH==
1.Petrova sweeps Amelia Island & Charleston
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2.Raymond/Stosur win fourth straight Tier I title in Charleston
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3.Italy defeats France in Fed Cup 1st Round
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4.Henin-Hardenne leads Belgium past defending champion Russia in Fed Cup
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5.Jackson upsets Groenefeld in Fed Cup, leading way for USA's win over Germany
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==MATCH OF THE MONTH==
Ameila Island Doubles 1st Rd. - Pratt/Stewart def. Stubbs/Morariu
...7-6(5)/7-6(20). The 22-20 2nd set TB was the longest in WTA history.

==CHOKE OF THE MONTH?==
Amelie Mauresmo, after winning the Australian Open in January, doesn't play up to her normally sterling Fed Cup form in April

==COMEBACK OF THE MONTH==
Charleston Final - Petrova d. Schnyder
...6-3/4-6/6-1. Petrova overcomes Schnyder and the intense heat that nearly wiped out the Russian in the 2nd set.

==UPSETS OF THE MONTH==
1.Fed Cup 1st - Italy def. France 4-1
2.Fed Cup 1st - Jackson d. Groenefeld 6-2/3-6/7-5
3.Fed Cup 1st - Schiavone d. Mauresmo 6-4/6-7/6-4

==BIGGEST WIN==
In Charleston, Petrova makes it four straight Russian Tier I champions in 2006, as well four straight champions (5-of-6, actually) in WTA tour events.

==HELLO/GOODBYE==
Conchita Martinez retired... Molik didn't play Fed Cup for Australia after all... Daniela Hantuchova returned for Slovakia, though... as did Henin-Hardenne and Clijsters, who successfully pooled their efforts for the Belgian team for the first time in three years.

==GOOD NEWS==
For a week, at least, the American tennis fortunes didn't look so bad, as Zina Garrison assembled a "backup" team of Jill Craybas, Jamea Jackson, Shenay Perry and Vania King that knocked out the Germans in Fed Cup play.

==SAME OLD NEWS==
Serena and Venus were absent from action, but Serena DID make a guest appearance (as herself) on "The Bernie Mac Show"... the Indonesian government has balked at allowing the largely Muslim country's Fed Cup team to travel to Israel in July... Katerina Bohmova and her mother were arrested on suspicion of shoplifting... Jelena Dokic earned a grand total of $67 for her "action" in April (a 1st Round qualifying loss in Biarritz)... Wimbledon, the lone grand slam holdout, refused to offer equal prize money for the woman for 2006 (coming up $70,000 short in an ultimate "we'll-show-them" move).

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**WEEK 18**


WARSAW, POLAND (II-Red Clay)
05 F: JHH d. Kuznetsova
06 TOP: Clijsters/Schnyder
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SF: Clijsters d. Dementieva; Kuznetsova d. Schnyder
FINAL: Kuznetsova d. Schnyder

...after a little bit of rest, can the Contessova regather her head of steam?



ESTORIL, PORTUGAL (IV-Red Clay)
05 F: Safarova d. Li
06 TOP: Pennetta/Dulko
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SF: Pennetta d. Zheng; Li d. Dominguez-Lino
FINAL: Li d. Pennetta

...why not go for both 2005 RU's finding a little redemption a year later?


All for now.