Wk.8- The (Month) Departed

After all the drama generated by Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova in Melbourne, who would've thought that the month that immediately followed their runs to the Australian Open final would be able to more than hold it's own in terms of excitement?

That's precisely what happened in February... but, this time, Serena & Maria had nothing to do with it.

Williams has been out with the flu and hasn't played this month, while Sharapova has been sidelined with a hamstring injury since a brief appearance in Tokyo the week after Melbourne. Those two facts make what HAS happened on the court this month all the more amazing (not to mention incredibly encouraging for the prospects of 2007 turning out to be one remarkable season). February is the shortest month of the year, but this most recent outing has produced...

Kim Clijsters' final WTA-sponsored trip to Belgium... Amelie Mauresmo's historic winning of the $1.3 million diamond racket after claiming her third straight Antwerp title... Justine Henin and Venus Williams' returns to the winner's circle.... Cara Black & Liezel Huber's continuation of a four tournament, eighteen-match winning streak... Martina Hingis' Tier I title in Japan... a Paris crown won by Nadia Petrova after coming back from match point against Mauresmo... and, last but not least, Sybille Bammer, Yaroslava Shvedova and Roberta Vinci's first career tour singles titles.

Hey, who needs Serena and Maria?

Well, okay, maybe that's a little strong. But just think what things could be like when they return.

**FEBRUARY AWARDS**

*PLAYERS OF THE MONTH*
1. Amelie Mauresmo
...where exactly do you put a trophy like that anyway?
=============================
2. Cara Black & Liezel Huber
...Lisa & Sam, watch your back.
=============================
3. Justine Henin
...she's baaaaack. (Of course, that's a refrain seemingly heard every other week on the tour this season)
=============================
4. Martina Hingis
...man, it already seems like eons ago that Martina won Tokyo.
=============================
5. Nadia Petrova
...Nadia won 2006's "Best Match" over Henin in Berlin. Her Paris victory over Mauresmo could turn out to be 2007's best, as well.
=============================

*RISERS*
1. Yung-Jan Chan & Chia-Jung Chuang
2. Ana Ivanovic
3. Anna Chakvetadze
4. Jelena Jankovic
5. Tatiana Golovin
HM- Sania Mirza

*SURPRISES*
1. Roberta Vinci
2. Sybille Bammer
3. Maret Ani
4. Olga Savchuk
5. Yurika Sema
H- Camille Pin

*VETERANS*
1. Cara Black & Liezel Huber
2. Martina Hingis
3. Tathiana Garbin
4. Nicole Pratt
5. Tzipora Obziler
HM- Meilen Tu

*FRESH FACES*
1. Lucie Safarova
2. Yaroslava Shvedova
3. Evgenia Linetskaya
4. Alize Cornet
5. Ioana-Raluca Olaru
HM- Vera Dushevina

*DOWN*
1. Maria Sharapova
2. Anna-Lena Groenefeld
3. Marion Bartoli

*COMEBACK PLAYERS*
1. Evgenia Linetskaya
2. Venus Williams
3. Justine Henin
4. Sania Mirza
5. Alicia Molik

TOP PERFORMANCE: Martina Hingis won Tokyo Tier I without dropping a set, putting Roger Federer to shame. Well, not really.
TOP ACCOMPLISHMENT: Amelie Mauresmo claimed the $1.3m, 1702 diamond studded racket in Antwerp.
BEST MATCH - Paris SF - Petrova d. Mauresmo
...5-7/6-4/7-6. Down 4-1 in the 3rd, and a match point, Petrova pushed her way into the final anyway.
BIGGEST UPSET - Paris 2nd - Safarova d. Vaidisova
...6-4/6-2. Lucie won the all-Czech rematch of the Australian QF that Vaidisova won in January, starting Safarova's run of three Top 7 wins in Paris before she failed to notch a fourth Top 7 win against Petrova in the final.

BEST MOVE: Wimbledon announced equal pay for the women's players in '07
MOST HOPEFUL MOVE: Venus & Serena committed to play in the U.S. Fed Cup Team's 1st Round tie. Cross your fingers, Zina Garrison.

CURSED?: Maria Sharapova
CURSE-PROOF?: Justine Henin

Of course, there's always March.


*WEEK 8 CHAMPIONS*

DUBAI, UAE (II-HO)
S: Justine Henin d. Amelie Mauresmo 6-4/7-5
D: Black/Huber d. Kuznetsova/Molik

MEMPHIS, TENNESSEE USA (III-HI)
S: Venus Williams d. Shahar Peer 6-1/6-1
D: Pratt/Stewart d. Gajdosova d. Morigami

BOGOTA, COLOMBIA (III-RCO)
S: Roberta Vinci d. Tathiana Garbin 6-7/6-3/0-3 ret.
D: Dominguez-Lino/Suarez d. Pennetta/Vinci


PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Justine Henin

... the Queen -- and, no, I don't mean Helen Mirren -- is still in power in Dubai. Henin won her fourth title in four tries (and 30th in her career) in the desert, running her tournament winning streak to sixteen matches by rising to the occasion at all the right moments during her meeting with Amelie Mauresmo in the final.
=============================
RISER: Shahar Peer
... at times in Memphis, Peer was "Little Miss Sunshine" -- bageling Milagros Sequera and then hanging a doughnut on Bethanie Mattek in the 1st set of her next match. But then she ran into another Williams sister, and she felt like Eddie Murphy at the Oscars.
=============================
SURPRISES: Roberta Vinci & Tathiana Garbin

... in the anti-"Babel" (hardly internationally diverse) Bogota final, these two Italians didn't have time to worry about writing any "Letters (to or) From Iwo Jima." Vinci had never reached a tour singles final before Sunday, while Garbin hadn't won a title since 2000. In the final's 3rd set, Garbin led 3-0 only to be advised to retire due to "digestive problems," handing the title to her countrywoman under what's surely one of the oddest endings to a tournament in quite a while... well, at least since last year in Melbourne. After so brazenly tempting fate, I'd advise both of these women to stay away from Morocco, Mexican weddings... and maybe deaf/mute Japanese teenagers, too. As for Brad Pitt? Well, I'm sure they'd both take their chances on that one.
=============================
VETERANS: Venus Williams & Cara Black/Liezel Huber
... the "Inconvenient Truth" for the rest of the tour is this: if the Williams sisters are healthy and in form, things are probably not going to go anyone's way but Venus and/or Serena's. Peer learned that the hard way in Memphis, just as she did in Melbourne in January. 26-year old Venus' first title since Stanford '05 only took her one '07 event, and you have to now wonder if Serena's Australian run IS going to inspire big sister to something special, too... just like in '05. "Dreamgirls" Cara & Liezel are really on a tear now. Their title in Dubai was their fourth straight, stretched their consecutive match winning streak to eighteen, and moved into the #2 and #3, respectively, in the doubles rankings behind co-#1's Raymond & Stosur. And they might not stop there, either.
=============================
FRESH FACE: Ioana-Raluca Olaru

... finally, one of the young Romanians got "Happy Feet" last week in Memphis. Olaru, 18 this coming Saturday, qualified for the main draw, then upset Samantha Stosur (who retired) en route to her first career tour SF, where she was brushed aside by "Venus" (the one not starring Peter O'Toole, mind you).
=============================
DOWN: Marion Bartoli
... Bartoli couldn't make her way through Memphis' labyrinth as the #2-seed, so "Pan's Labyrinth" was simply out of the question. She lost in the 1st Round to Laura Granville to drop her '07 record to 3-6 after ending last season at a career-high ranking of #17.
=============================


1. Dub F - Henin d. Mauresmo
...6-4/7-5. Down 15-40 at 4-3 in the 1st set, Henin pulled herself together while Mauresmo's play dipped. Late in a tight contest in the 2nd set, she raised her game to a still higher level to signal her full return to the tour conversation after delaying her season's start until February.
=============================
2. Memph F - V.Williams d. Peer

...6-1/6-1. Peer's "Devil" didn't wear Prada, she wore a red tennis dress and a rather sporty visor. Shahar managed to stay with Serena, but not Venus. Williams' superior brand of tennis hasn't been seen from her side of the net since Wimbledon almost two years ago.
=============================
3. Bog F - Vinci d. Garbin
...6-7/6-3/0-3 ret. Rarely does a player win a title without winning a single game in the final set.
=============================
4. Dub QF - Jankovic d. Hingis
...7-6/6-2. Looks like Jankovic is another heavy hitter that Hingis is going to continually have trouble taking out. But after starting so well (and maybe playing a little TOO much?), Jankovic's results have tailed off slightly of late (she retired in the SF with an ankle injury). Thus, Hingis will likely win the marathon season's ranking race and finish ahead of the Serb even if she can't find a way to beat her between now and November.
=============================
5. Memph 2nd - Peer d. Sequera
...6-0/6-0. Shahar celebrated this one by bageling Mattek in the 1st set in the QF the next time out.
=============================
HM- Dub QF - Mauresmo d. Hantuchova
...6-3/3-6/6-4. A tight loss for Wonder Girl, but this combined with wins over Vesnina and Kirilenko made it a productive week for the Slovakian.


**CAREER WTA SINGLES TITLES - active**
43...Martina Hingis
34...Kim Clijsters
34...VENUS WILLIAMS
30...JUSTINE HENIN
27...Serena Williams
24...Amelie Mauresmo

**MOST SINGLES TITLES - 2006/07**
7...JUSTINE HENIN (6/1)
6...Nadia Petrova (5/1)
5...Amelie Mauresmo (4/1)
5...Maria Sharapova (5/0)
4...Kim Clijsters (3/1)

**CONSECUTIVE YEARS w/ TITLE - ACTIVE**
9...Kim Clijsters (1999-07)
9...Amelie Mauresmo (1999-07)
7...JUSTINE HENIN (2001-07)

**2007 DOUBLES TITLES**
4...CARA BLACK
4...LIEZEL HUBER
2...Elena Likhovtseva (1 mixed)
2...NICOLE PRATT
2...PAOLA SUAREZ

**2007 ALL-NATION FINALS**
Hobart (Russia)...Chakvetadze d. Bardina
BOGOTA (ITALY)...VINCI DEF. GARBIN

**DEFEATED TOP SEED, WON TITLE - 2007**
Gold Coast - Dinara Safina (d. Hingis)
Aust.Open - Serena Williams (d. Sharapova)
Bangalore - Yaroslava Shvedova (d. Santangelo)
MEMPHIS - VENUS WILLIAMS (DEF. PEER)
BOGOTA - ROBERTA VINCI (DEF. GARBIN)

**LOW-RANKD 2007 CHAMPIONS**
#143..Yaroslava Shvedova (Bangalore)
#81...Serena Williams (Australian)
#64...ROBERTA VINCI (BOGOTA)
#61...Sybille Bammer (Pattaya)
#54...VENUS WILLIAMS (MEMPHIS)

**NATIONS w/ MULTIPLE '07 CHAMPIONS**
4...Russia (Chakvetadze/Petrova/Safina/Shvedova)
2...BELGIUM (CLIJSTERS & HENIN)
2...USA (S.WILLIAMS & V.WILLIAMS)

**WEEKS AT #1 - ACTIVE**
209..Martina Hingis
57...Serena Williams
56...Justine Henin
39...Amelie Mauresmo
19...Kim Clijsters
17...Jennifer Capriati
12...MARIA SHARAPOVA
11...Venus Williams



DOHA, QATAR (II-HO)
2006 FINAL: Petrova d. Mauresmo
2007 TOP: Henin/Kuznetsova
=============================
SF: Henin d. Jankovic; Kuznetsova d. Hantuchova
FINAL: Henin d. Kuznetsova

...it'd probably be smarter to put Hingis into the final rather than Kuznetsova, but she could face Hantuchova in the QF. And since Wonder Girl's been playing rather well of late, I'll throw her an encouraging bone here.


ACAPULCO, MEXICO (III-RCO)
2006 FINAL: Groenefeld d. Pennetta
2007 TOP: Bartoli/Garbin
=============================
SF: Dulko d. Pin; Pennetta d. Zakopalova
FINAL: Pennetta d. Dulko

...so, Groenefeld finally gets her chance to right her season with a week on clay a year after she claimed her first career title. What? ALG's not here? She's in Doha? Well, good luck, Anna-Lena. Hope you last until Wednesday.

All for now.

Read more...

Wk.7- .now for All (The 3rd Annual Backwards Backspin)

All for now.

.A rematch of the '06 final, but with a different result...

FINAL: Pennetta d. Dominguez-Lino
SF: Pennetta d. Loit; Dominguez-Lino d. Garbin
=============================
07 TOP SEEDS: Garbin/Pennetta
06 FINAL: Dominguez-Lino d. Pennetta
BOGOTA, COLOMBIA (III-Red Clay)


.I hate this. I hate this. Venus has barely played in the last eight months, but she was supposedly looking better than her sister in practices with Serena before Melbourne... then Serena won the Australian. But it still has taken almost another month for Venus to play a match. Of course, she won her 1st Round match on Monday against Akiko Morigami, but it took three sets. And then there's Peer, who I almost feel obligated to pick to win until she wins her first '07 tournament. Still, even with so much up in the air, I'm taking Venus. So, just to get things out of the way, let me offer an early congratulations to Shahar for her fourth career WTA title...

FINAL: V.Williams d. Peer
SF: V.Williams d. Stosur; Peer d. Craybas
=============================
07 TOP SEEDS: Peer/Bartoli
06 FINAL: Arvidsson d. Domachowska
MEMPHIS, TENNESSEE USA (III-HI)


.Serena and Maria aren't here as planned, so rather than a rematch of the '07 Australian final, let's make it a rematch of '06...

FINAL: Henin d. Mauresmo
SF: Mauresmo d. Jankovic; Henin d. Kuznetsova
=============================
07 TOP SEEDS: Henin/Mauresmo
06 FINAL: JHH d. Sharapova
DUBAI, UAE (II-HO)


.I'm really getting tired of having my champion picks reach the final, only to lose. Clijsters in Antwerp was already the fourth time that's happened this year...


23...Nadia Petrova (2005)
21...Elena Dementieva (2003)
19...YAROSLAVA SHVEDOVA (2007)
19...Anna Chakvetadze (2006)
19...Elena Bovina (2002)
18...Maria Kirilenko (2005)
18...Vera Zvonareva (2003)
18...Anastasia Myskina (1999)
18...Elena Likhovtseva (1993)
17...Svetlana Kuznetsova (2002)
16...Maria Sharapova (2003)
16...Dinara Safina (2002)
**AGE OF HORDETTES' FIRST WTA TITLES**

#61...Sybille Bammer (Pattaya City)
#81...Serena Williams (Australian)
#143..YAROSLAVA SHVEDOVA (BANGALORE)
**LOW-RANKED 2007 CHAMPIONS**

FEB - YAROSLAVA SHVEDOVA (RUS, BANGALORE)
Feb - Sybille Bammer (AUT, Pattaya)
**2007 FIRST-TIME CHAMPIONS**

4...Kim Clijsters [3/1]
5...Maria Sharapova [5/0]
5...AMELIE MAURESMO [4/1]
6...Justine Henin [6/0]
6...Nadia Petrova [5/1]
[06/07]
**MOST TITLES - 2006/07**


=============================
.Only this time Sania didn't get the doubles title to smooth things over. .6-7/6-4/6-4...
HM- Bang QF - Shvedova d. Mirza
=============================
.Anna C's career mastery over Petrova (4-0) continues. In four '07 events, the Doll has produced two SF and two QF, showcasing the new consistency that's helped produce her new Top 10 ranking. .6-3/6-4...
5. Ant QF - Chakvetadze d. Petrova
=============================
.It's not often pretty when Olga faces the top players. .6-0/6-2...
4. Ant 2nd - Clijsters d. Poutchkova
=============================
.Well, at least ALG's got Acapulco coming up soon. Her first career title there a year ago broke through the similarly woeful start to her '06 season. .6-4/6-1...
3. Ant 1st - Razzano d. Groenefeld
=============================
.Santangelo was looking to defend her '06 title. Instead, Shvedova became the fourth different Russian champion through the season's first seven weeks -- and the teenager was only the 18th-ranked player from her country going into last week (now she's the 14th-best). .6-4/6-4...
2. Bang Final - Shvedova d. Santangelo
=============================
.Kim says goodbye to Belgium, and Mauresmo becomes the second WTA player with a current three-year streak of titles at an event. The other is Anabel Medina-Garrigues at Palermo. .6-4/7-6...
1. Ant Final - Mauresmo d. Clijsters


=============================
.Oh, Anna-Lena. Surely you can't wait for the clay season to get here. Her '06 hardcourt woes are still hounding her in '07, as her 1st Round exit in Antwerp dropped her to 1-4 for the season. Her opening round loss in Dubai on Monday made it 1-5. Whew! Thank goodness for the 1st Round qualifier in Melbourne...
Anna-Lena Groenefeld :DOWN
=============================
.The Russian march continues, even without the Supernova. This week, it was 19-year old Shvedova who grabbed her first career title in Bangalore. The then world #143 (she's all the way up at #78 now) ran through Tamarine Tanasugarn, home favorite Sania Mirza, Tzipora Obziler and Mara Santangelo. Meanwhile, what great news it is to see fellow Russian 20-year old Linetskaya back in the news for good reasons, rather than those nasty familial ones from a while ago. After having not played a match since the Australian Open '06 (and with no win since the U.S. Open in '05, barely a month after having reached a career-high ranking of #35), Linetskaya made the final of the $10K in Vale Do Lobo two weeks ago, then last week won the Montechoro, Portugal $10K with a 6-2/6-0 win in the final over Julia Kalabina. After seeing her '06 ranking end up at #1192, and being without a ranking heading into this past event, she's finally on her way back. Talk about a nice story...

Yaroslava Shvedova & Evgenia Linetskaya :FRESH FACES
=============================
.Israel's Obziler, 33, knocked off a pair of Russians (Vasilisa Bardina & Alla Kudryavtseva) and a Hungarian (Melinda Czink) on her way to the Bangalore SF, the second of her career. Black & Huber won the Antwerp doubles, the team's second title in two weeks and already the third of '07...
Tzipora Obziler & Cara Black/Liezel Huber :VETERANS
=============================
.Japan's Sema qualified in Bangalore, then upset Ukraine's Yuliana Fedak and Yulia Beygelzimer to reach the QF. No worries for the Ukrainians, though, since 19-year old Savchuk (#153) took out Alicia Molik and Jelena Kostanic-Tosic to reach the SF of the same event.
Yurika Sema & Olga Savchuk :SURPRISES
=============================
.The Taiwanese twosome is becoming quite the doubles story in '07. After reaching and losing in two finals this season, they finally won in Bangalore with an 11-9 3rd set Super Tie-Break win over Su-Wei Hsieh & Alla Kudryavtseva...

Jung-Jan Chan & Chia-Jung Chuang :RISERS
=============================
.Antwerp finally provided the evidence that Mauresmo still has the drive and will to push through for a big win a season after having all her dreams come true. Hmmm, one unanswered question: if the diamond racket goes to the player who wins Antwerp three times in five years, what will Mauresmo get if she wins the event for a fourth time in a row in '08? A Belgian royal title? Justine Henin's old engagement ring? I'm just askin'...
Amelie Mauresmo :PLAYER OF THE WEEK
=============================


=============================
D: Chan/Chuang d. Hsieh/Kudryavtseva
S: Yaroslava Shvedova d. Mara Santangelo 6-4/6-4
BANGALORE, INDIA (III-HO)

D: Black/Huber d. Likhovtseva/Vesnina
S: Amelie Mauresmo d. Kim Clijsters 6-4/7-6
ANTWERP, BELGIUM (II-Decoturf/i)

*WEEK 7 CHAMPIONS*

ANSWER: Not whatever Serena Williams is cooking up for her opening night U.S. Open wardrobe, but the big trophy Amelie Mauresmo claimed after winning Antwerp for a third straight time (after all she had to do was win it three times in five years).

QUESTION: What's worth $1.3 million dollars, and is studded with 1,702 diamonds?



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

Wk.7- .now for All (The 3rd Annual Backwards Backspin)
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 20, 2007

Read more...

Wk.6- ACME Co.'s "Art of Survival"

It's a good thing Nadia Petrova has strong fingers, because she needed them as she ran her game off a cliff and then clung to the rocks -- cartoon character-style -- on the precarious edge of defeat in Paris this weekend.



Sure, many players have Wile E. Coyote personas at times. One day they flame out no matter how many Acme Co. products they utilize, only to pick themselves up and try to erase the bad memories the next time out... all the while knowing that there might be another cliff out there with their name on it. But how many cliffs does a player have to fly off the side of before she finally learns how to avoid the edge?

Petrova is in the process of finding out.

In Paris, she nearly did a nose dive on several occasions. But she held on, and won her seventh career title with a 4-6/6-1/6-4 win over Lucie Safarova in the final. After taking until age 23 to win her first tour singles title in Linz in late October '05, Petrova has shown signs of "getting the hang of things." In the nearly sixteen months since her intitial title, no women's player has won more of them than Petrova. Not Justine Henin. Not Kim Clijsters. Not Amelie Mauresmo. Not even Maria Sharapova.

Of course, none of that mattered in Paris. Or did it?

In the semifinals, Petrova faced down a 4-1 3rd set deficit against Mauresmo, saved a match point and finally won the match on her own second match point with a blazing passing shot that whizzed by the Frenchwoman with bullet-like velocity and pinpoint accuracy. After having failed in moments of adversity in her eary twenties, Petrova is finally escaping her Wile E. Coyote past in the back half of her third decade of life.



Surely, there's something to be said for not giving up... not to mention that it can bring a little luck your way on occasion. Consider, on Mauresmo's match point, Petrova saw her shot hit the net cord and pop up for her net-approaching opponent. The opportunity to end the match was on Mauresmo's racket, but when she failed to do enough with her shot, Petrova made her pay with a winner of her own. She didn't give Mauresmo another chance to end it all.

In the final, Petrova struggled to avoid the cliff again, after overcoming dropping the 1st set to Safarova, Petrova eventually found herself with match points at 5-1 and 5-2 in the 3rd. She didn't convert. Two straight double faults broke her own serve for 5-3. At 5-4, she faced another break point and that cliff was getting close yet again.

But that's when those strong fingers came in handy. Petrova hung on one more time, and finally put away the match before the Czech 20-year old morphed into the Roadrunner. Ol' Wile E. Coyote would be proud of her survival skills, but even he would have to wonder when she's going to stop flirting with such cliffs.

Did Petrova learn enough in Paris to be better equipped next time out to avoid such danger, or was it the past sixteen months that made the difference this weekend? What about the next time, or the time after that? Maybe we'll find out this week in Antwerp... or not, considering the fact that Nadia seems to have a touch of Coyote in her blood. But, hey, how many trophies does HE have?

"Beep-beep," indeed.

*WEEK 6 CHAMPIONS*

PARIS, FRANCE (II-GSI)
S: Nadia Petrova d. Lucie Safarova 4-6/6-1/64
D: Black/Huber d. Navratilova/Uhlirova

PATTAYA CITY, THAILAND (IV-HO)
S: Sybille Bammer d. Gisela Dulko 7-5/3-6/7-5
D: Pratt/Santangelo d. Chan/Chuang


PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Nadia Petrova

... career singles title #8, no matter when it comes, won't likely come by way of the come-from-behind feats that led to #7 in Paris, but as long as Petrova recognizes that fact maybe she won't find herself in quite as many back-against-the-wall moments sa she did last week. But, then again. Petrova opened her season with a Hopman Cup title, and her Paris crown means we've already seen three different Russian singles champions (Chakvetadze & Safina) in the season's first six weeks -- and that's with the Supernova still sitting on zero.
=============================
RISERS: Gisela Dulko & Sania Mirza
... after two seasons of topping "sexiest" and "most beautiful" tennis player lists off the court while racking up a slew of disappointing results on it, Dulko finally reached a singles final in Pattaya City. The last time she did that was in Hobart in January 2005. Along the way, Dulko beat Mirza in the SF, but the Indian Princess will likely take her second SF result of '07 (after reaching just one in all of '06), which included wins over Tamarine Tanasugarn & Mara Santangelo, as further proof that her career rebound is more than just a faint hope.
=============================
SURPRISES: Sybille Bammer & Maret Ani

... if nothing else, Bammer's first career singles title in Pattaya City erases some of the belief that her pre-Oz win over Serena Williams might have been more than 50% fluke. Surely, stringing together wins over Vasilisa Bardina, Anastasia Rodionova, Martina Sucha, Shuai Peng and Dulko is a pretty nice retort for the 26-year old Austrian. Meanwhile, 25-year old Estonian Ani won her second ITF title of the season (and third of her career) with a 5-7/7-6/7-5 win over Elisa Tamaela at the $25K in Tipton.
=============================
VETERANS: Nicole Pratt & Jill Craybas
... with Martina Navratilova retired (that was GABRIELA Navratilova who was a doubles RU in Paris this weekend), the nearly 34-year old Pratt is carrying the banner as the oldest player most likely to be picking up multiple doubles titles in '07. She got her first of the season in Pattaya with Santangelo (and got some nice singles wins over youngsters Maria Kirilenko and Vania King en route to the QF, too). Craybas, 32, defeated Laura Granville in the final of the Midland $75K event.
=============================
FRESH FACE: Lucie Safarova
... the Maiden is in Vaidisova's rear view mirror again in the race for Czech supremacy. In Paris, at least temporarily, she passed her by getting revenge for her Melbourne QF loss with a quick win over the Dynamova in the 2nd Round. Safarova ultimately lost to Petrova in three sets in the final, but her three Top 10 wins (Vaidisova, Kuznetsova & Henin) mean she's not going to let herself be satisfied with her surprise Australian Open showing.
=============================
DOWN: Agnieszka Radwanska
... sure, this could have gone to Amelie Mauresmo for failing to close out Petrova in the Paris SF, but Radwanska's week might have been even more discouraging. After losing in the final round of qualifying in Paris, she slipped into the draw as a lucky loser... only to register just one stinkin' game in her 1st Round match against Martina Muller. Nothing "lucky" about that.
=============================


1. Paris SF - Petrova d. Mauresmo
...5-7/6-4/7-6. Amelie falls to an unseeded player in Melbourne, then loses a big lead and fails to convert a match point here. Is this a sign of "year after" things to come?
=============================
2. Paris F - Petrova d. Safarova
...4-6/6-1/6-4. Safarova showed great grit in fighting off two match points while overcoming a 5-1 3rd set deficit, but it was too little too late for her to notch a fourth straight Top 10 victory.
=============================
3. Patt F - Bammer d. Dulko
...7-5/3-6/7-5. Bammer missed out on her first career final in Hobart when she lost to Bardina in the SF. In Pattaya City, she finally knocked off the Russian in the early rounds then went on to finish what she started last month.
=============================
4. Paris SF - Safarova d. Henin
...7-6/6-4. Henin's string of seven consecutive appearances in singles finals has ended... but at least the Queen is back.
=============================
5. Paris 2nd - Safarova d. Vaidisova
...6-4/6-2. Nicole would surely have taken her Melbourne QF win against Safarova over one here if she had to choose, but still...
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HM- Patt Q3 - Noppawan Lertcheewakarn d. Melinda Czink
...6-4/6-2. Czink was the #1 qualifying seed, so this was quite a nice little upset. But I really just included this because I wanted to use the Indian wild card's name.


**MOST SINGLES TITLES - since week of Oct.24, 2005**
7...NADIA PETROVA
6...Justine Henin
6...Amelie Mauresmo
5...Maria Sharapova
5...Kim Clijsters

**MOST CAREER TITLES - RUSSIANS**
15..Maria Sharapova (2003-06)
10..Anastasia Myskina (1999-05)
9...Olga Morozova (1969-75)
8...Svetlana Kuznetsova (2002-06)
7...NADIA PETROVA (2005-07)
6...Elena Dementieva (2003-06)
5...Vera Zvonareva (2003-06)
5...Dinara Safina (2002-07)

2007 FIRST-TIME FINALISTS**
JAN - Vasilisa Bardina (Hobart RU)
FEB - SYBILLE BAMMER (PATTAYA CHAMPION)

**2007 DOUBLES TITLES**
[doubles/mixed]
2...CARA BLACK [2/0]
2...LIEZEL HUBER [2/0]
2...Elena Likhovtseva [1/1]
=============================



ANTWERP, BELGIUM (II-DecoTurf Indoor)
2006 FINAL: Mauresmo d. Clijsters
2007 TOP: Mauresmo/Clijsters
=============================
SF: Petrova d. Mauresmo; Clijsters d. Dementieva
FINAL: Clijsters d. Petrova

...sheesh! I should just give up trying to pick Petrova's results, as last season's criss-cross continued last week as she won a title in a week when I didn't predict her as a champion (if I'd gone with her, she'd surely have failed in her comeback against Mauresmo). So, while I'm going with Clijsters in what will be her final WTA tournament in Belgium (remember, Hasselt is off the schedule in '07), don't be surprised if Petrova's momentum carries over. I certainly won't.


BANGALORE, INDIA (III-HO)
2006 FINAL: Santangelo d. Kostanic
2007 TOP: Santangelo/Mirza
=============================
SF: Kostanic-Tosic d. Santangelo; Mirza d. Bardina
FINAL: Mirza d. Kostanic-Tosic

...a year ago, Mirza went home and lost in the 2nd Round in singles, but managed to take the doubles title. I'll take her here again, as I did in '06, and hope she doesn't lose that tough 1st Round match against Sucha.


All for now.

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Wk.5- The Statement

A joint statement from Backspin and Tennisrulz...

"After the unfortunate hamstring injury incurred by Maria Sharapova during her semifinal match in Tokyo, as well as her difficulties in Hong Kong, and her struggles with her serve and the heat in Melbourne, it has been brought to the attention of Pierre Cantin and myself, Todd Spiker, that we may have something to do with this.

We steadfastly refute that assertion. Our talk of a 'Curse' being placed on Sharapova several weeks ago in a 'Backspin Volley' column on WTA Backspin was simply a topic of conversation referred to in jest, and in no way was a concerted effort to identify Miss Sharapova as an intended or implied victim or target of any dark magic or paranormal-related activity.

I, as well as Pierre, surely wish Miss Sharapova success and health for the remainder of her 2007 season and beyond. Any future talk of a 'Curse' will be made with tongue firmly planted in cheek, and with the utmost respect for the talent and future endeavors of Miss Sharapova in the forefront of our minds.

Any further assertions shall be directed to our legal representatives."

Signed,

Thank you very much for your time.*



*WEEK 5 CHAMPIONS*

TOKYO, JAPAN [TPPO] (I-CI)
S: Martina Hingis d. Ana Ivanovic 6-4/6-2
D: Raymond/Stosur d. King/Stubbs


PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Martina Hingis

... the Swiss Soon-to-be-Mrs. won her fifth career Tokyo title (1997,99,00,02) by doing a pretty fair impersonation of the Swiss Mister. In other words, ala Federer in Melbourne, she didn't drop a set en route to her 43rd career title.
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RISER: Ana Ivanovic
... AnaIvo reached her first final since her Tier I win in Montreal before the U.S. Open. She got an impressive win over Jelena Jankovic in the QF, and saw Maria Sharapova retire in the SF. But after a good start, she was thoroughly outclassed by Hingis in the final.
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SURPRISE: Roberta Vinci
... the Noodle reached the Tokyo QF with wins over Daniela Hantuchova and Severine Bremond.
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VETERANS: Martina Hingis & Ai Sugiyama
... Hingis, after losing in the Tokyo final a year ago, did one better this time around. Meanwhile, Sugiyama knocked off two Russians (Elena Vesnina & Maria Kirilenko) and pushed a third (Sharapova) to three sets in the QF.
=============================
FRESH FACE: Caroline Wozniacki

... the Danish 16-year old won her second career ITF singles title, winning the $75K in Ortesi with a 4-6/7-5/6-3 win over Alberta Brianti in the final.
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DOWN: Maria Sharapova
... after being pushed to three sets twice, she finally ended up retiring in the Tokyo SF against Ivanovic with a hamstring injury. Could this be the early stages of the C-c-c-... no, I'm not going to say it. This is still the Supernova we're talking about, after all. She's not bullet-proof like Federer, but she's resilient.
=============================


1. Tok SF - Ivanovic d. Sharapova
...6-1/0-1 ret. A year ago, Sharapova lost to Hingis in the Tokyo SF. She didn't get her shot at a Japanese rematch after bowing out of this one.
=============================
2. Tok Final - Hingis d. Ivanovic
...6-4/6-2. Ivanovic led 4-3 in the 1st set, then proceeded to drop the next seven games (including the first five without winning a point).
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3. Tok QF - Ivanovic d. Jankovic
...3-6/6-4/6-2. Whew! AnaIvo mercifully ended Jankovic's hectic early season schedule that had seen her play every week of the season, going 13-3 in sixteen matches. This week, at least, she rests.
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4. Tok Doub.Final - Raymond/Stosur d. King/Stubbs
..7-6/3-6/7-5. After a slow start to '07, Raymond & Stosur regained their Tier I form.
=============================
5. Tok 1st - Kirilenko d. Peer
...6-2/6-3. Well, Shahar... I TRIED.
=============================


**ALL-TIME CAREER WTA TITLES**
167..Martina Navratilova
154..Chris Evert
107..Steffi Graf
92...Margaret Smith-Court
68...Evonne Goolagong-Cawley
67...Billie Jean King
55...Virginia Wade
53...Monica Seles
51...Lindsay Davenport
43...MARTINA HINGIS

**TIER I TITLES - ACTIVE**
17..MARTINA HINGIS
8...Justine Henin
7...Serena Williams
6...Amelie Mauresmo
6...Venus Williams
5...Kim Clijsters
5...Mary Pierce
4...Maria Sharapova

**2007 CHAMPIONS - BY AGE**
26...MARTINA HINGIS
25...Serena Williams
23...Kim Clijsters
21...Jelena Jankovic
20...Dinara Safina
19...Anna Chavetadze

**2007 FINALISTS BY NATION**
5...Russia (2 wins)
3...Serbia (1)
2...Switzerland (1)
1...Belgium (1)
1...USA (1)

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



PARIS, FRANCE (II-GSI)
2006 FINAL: Mauresmo d. Pierce
2007 TOP: Henin/Mauresmo
=============================
SF: Vaidisova d. Henin; Chakvetadze d. Petrova
FINAL: Vaidisova d. Chakvetadze

...The Queen returns, but in her absence her throne was usurped by Sharapova (and Serena is lurking in the shadows, threatening to again pull the tour's strings). At least Justine won't have to deal with Clijsters this week. Defending champ Mauresmo IS in the bottom half of the draw, but likely rust and a surging Dynamova might be the biggest obstacles for HENIN in Paris. Vaidisova has been edging closer and closer in '07, and it seems a good time for what would be the biggest title of her career to date.


PATTAYA CITY, THAILAND (IV-HO)
2006 FINAL: Peer d. Kostanic
2007 TOP: Bartoli/Kirilenko
=============================
SF: Bardina d. Nakamura; Mirza d. Kirilenko
FINAL: Bardina d. Mirza

...Hobart RU Bardina is the Russian-on-the Rise of the '07 season so far.



And finally this, from Serena Williams after the Australian Open...

"I've answered every criticism that I've had. And I plan on keeping answering them. The ones that hurt the most were that I wasn't fit. I felt that I was really fit.

I felt that people said I wasn't fit because I'm larger in some areas than other girls. I don't have a flat chest, I don't have a flat ass.

But I was looking in the mirror today. My waist is still 28 inches and I think it's all because I have a large bosom and a large ass.

If I lost 20 pounds, I'm still going to have these knockers -- forgive me -- and I'm still going to have this ass. It's just the way it is. I'm the same size and the same weight I was five years ago.

We're living in a Mary-Kate Olsen world. I'm just not built that way. I'm bootylicious, and that's how it's always going to be."

Hey, what more could I possibly I add to that?
All for now.

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*-...ah, it's so nice to be "absolved" of responsibility for whatever may happen.

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