Wk.17- Lemon Harangue

Kim Clijsters is in action in Warsaw this week. Get a good look at her... while you still can. Even though it's only the end of April, this Belgian's ride is just about over.

As it is, this week's Tier II in Poland is Clijsters' only scheduled 2nd Quarter clay event, which goes along rather nicely with the fact that Wimbledon will be her only 2nd Quarter grass event, not to mention her final grand slam since she's not showing up in New York come August, either. Oh, she'll pop in a couple times in the 4th Quarter to "officially" bring down the curtain on a career that will one day be celebrated in Newport (largely because of the good will she's courted for so many years, as opposed to the S.O.P. of the other top-ranked Waffle), but, really, this week is as good to say "goodbye" as any... or at least to riff one final time on ol' KC. So I will.

I'm not here to bury Kim Clijsters once again, but I'm not here to extol the virtues of a talent whose surface was only scratched throughout her career, either. I mean, I'm not going to compromise MY principles.

Of course, I DID try to reach something of a peace accord with my memory of Clijsters back in January's "Volley," embracing the notion of a grand final season that might garner a career-reshaping second slam crown ala Amelie Mauresmo's Wimbledon title last year. Sure, I probably should have known it would turn out to be a lost cause, but I won't feel bad for trying. I mean, who would have guessed that Clijsters herself would put the kibosh on the possibility of a fairy tale ending by skipping half the slams in her final go-round (including the only one she ever won, the U.S. Open... where her '05 title run ultimately turned out to be an end rather than a new dawn for career accomplishment)?

Now, it would be easy to whine, fret and complain about Clijsters' decision to forego the vast majority of her "farewell" season. But that's been done here and elsewhere (even Pierre Cantin allowed himself an "I can't believe she's doing it" moment in recent weeks), and since part of me will honestly miss the occasional Backspin "Kim purity test" once she's gone for good, I'm tempted to put on one final "mother of all flare-ups" act here this week... but, really, why bother? At this point, it's not even fun to expose the Party Planner's machinations since there's not enough time left for her to provide enough evidence to turn the long standing opinion around. (Well, unless she were to put together a stunning SW19-winning run... but what're the odds of that?) Essentially, after this week in Warsaw, Clijsters becomes the "Soon-to-be-Mrs. Invisible."

If nothing else, I'll miss Clijsters for all the variety she's brought to these parts. She is the unquestioned queen of nicknames. Clijsters more than any other player in Backspin history has allowed your friendy neighborhood columnist/blogger to stress whatever notion he holds dear but sometimes doesn't have the heart to follow through on -- that when in doubt, always take the cynic's point of view.

Kim has made it so easy, as her entry in the Backspin Nickname Page log attests.

**CLIJSTERS NICKNAMES...THROUGH THE YEARS**
2003 The Waffles (w/ Henin)
2003 The Wattle (when in Australia)
2003 Kim C. Clijsters
2003 The So-Called #1
2003 Easy-Bake Kim (still my favorite)
2004 FilaKim
2005 Nice Kim
2005 Killer Kim (at U.S. Open)
2006 Tweety
2007 (My Gal) Kim
2007 The Party Planner
2007 Soon-to-be-Mrs. Invisible (or ... ........, the player formerly known as Kim Clijsters)

Ah, but I never utilized her propensity to grab a squeegee during a rain delay for yet another moniker. A missed opportunity, which is sort of fitting, if you look at it through Backspin's dark-tinted glasses.

In the end, it'd have been nice if Clijsters had been more like Henin, more focused on success on the tennis court... but then Henin wouldn't be "Le Petit Taureau," would she? So, in some ways, while Henin has often "suffered" in comparison to Clijsters over the years, she'll more than benefit from the juxtoposition of their career legacies by future generations. For better or worse, Clijsters just never had that single-mindedness in her to devote what were the prime years of her athletic life to climbing every mountain the sport presented her. As has been said here before, it's a fine and admirable trait in a friend and human being, but a world class athlete without the overwhelming desire to prove themself in the eyes of their critics, competition and history usually results in a career that is destined to fall short of expectations and possibilities. Clijsters' name is but another on an already long list. She was motivated by other things, which is all well and good... but how fantastic things might have been had she found within herself the same sort of obstinate fire that so often fuels Henin and Serena Williams. If Henin took "lemons" (her size, the loss of her mother) and made lemonade, then Clijsters took "apples" (superb athletic genes and opportunity) and made lemon marangue pie.

Sweet, but ultimately not nearly as thirstquenching. I know I love lemon marangue pie (it's my favorite), but I wouldn't want to eat it every day.

It's because of these developments that the Henin/Clijsters match-up ends up more an all-Belgian novelty than anything resembling the long-hoped-for follow-up to the Evert-Navratilova rivalry. Of course, Venus/Serena didn't live up to the hype, either (though their string of slam final meetings is something to behold). Nor did Graf/Seles (thanks, Gunther), nor Graf/Sabatini. (Actually, the Serena/Sharapova combination, if it can have a few more chapters added over the next few years, might be the top rivalry of the last 10-20 years if things work out right.)

In many ways, Clijsters is very similar to Gabriela Sabatini. They both won just a single slam (both the U.S. Open), far fewer than anticipated when they first started, but still managed Hall of Fame careers. Still, Sabatini will ultimately be lost to history thanks to the exploits of Graf and Seles during her era. Clijsters will be, as well, with both Williams sisters, Henin, Hingis, Davenport, Capriati, Mauresmo and Sharapova all winning multiple slam crowns during the era compared to KC's one. Her on-court splits will linger longer in the memory of tennis history than any single victory she had during her career.



**CLIJSTERS IN MAJOR FINALS**
1998 Wimbledon Jr. - lost to Srebotnik 6-7/3-6
2001 R.G. - lost to Capriati 6-1/4-6/10-12
2002 WTA Chsp - def. S.Williams 7-5/6-3
2003 R.G. - lost to Henin-Hardenne 0-6/4-6
2003 U.S. - lost to Henin-Hardenne 5-7/1-6
2003 WTA Chsp - def. Mauresmo 6-2/6-0
2004 Aust. - lost to Henin-Hardenne 3-6/6-4/3-6
2005 U.S. - def. Pierce 6-3/6-1

No matter what Clijsters accomplishes in what little remains of her '07 farewell tour, her career can be accurately summed up. Off the court, she's been more relatable than the vast majority of players she's ever faced, and equally as admirable as the best of them. On the court, she put together a career that would have been a salivating ride for 99.9% of the women's pros out there, but should have been a dissatisfying one for a player, like those in the .1% group to which Clijsters belongs, who could have done so much more. But don't expect her to lose any sleep over the ramifications of a fact such as that.... which in so many ways both condemns and solidifies the opinions of the Belgian that've been expressed here for so long.

So is the curious case of the career of Kim Clijsters. Case closed (or almost so).

...and, thus, the official hunt for a new player to be the contrarian on begins starting now.


*WEEK 17 CHAMPIONS*

BUDAPEST, HUNGARY (IV-RCO)
S: Gisela Dulko d. Sorana Cirstea 6-7/6-2/6-2
D: Szavay/Uhlirova d. Muller/G.Navratilova


PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Gisela Dulko

...A few years ago, Dulko's tennis was a major talking point. In 2005, she was as high as #26 in the rankings. The year before, she'd defeated Martina Navratilova in singles at both Roland Garros and Wimbledon. But as her looks became more and more the topic of conversation when it came to all things Gisela, her ranking (and prospects) dimmed. She ended 2006 at #61 with a 17-25 singles record. But the Argentine finally, at age 22, won her first WTA singles title in Budapest this weekend, as the #6-seed at a Tier IV event. She finished things off with a victory in the final over a 17-year old Romania who was also attempting to win her first career tour title.
=============================
RISERS: Karin Knapp & Olga Savchuk
...19-year old Italian Knapp (ranked #97 before the tournament, and #81 now) reached a career-best SF in Budapest with wins over Romina Oprandi, Karolina Sprem and Anne Kremer. 19-year old Ukrainian Savchuk rode a "lucky loser" entry into the main draw, then a walkover in the 2nd Round against top-seeded Tathiana Garbin, to a QF result, tying her career-best result.
=============================
SURPRISES: Gisela Dulko & Agnes Szavay
...Dulko was the fifth first-time tour singles champion in the first four months of 2007. Hungary's Szavay, 18, received a wild card into the Budapest draw. The world #158, a tour semifinalist in Modena in '05, reached her second career SF with wins over Likhovtseva and Beygelzimer (and a walkover past Loit). She won the doubles title with Vladimira Uhlirova.
=============================
VETERAN: Anne Kremer
...Luxembourg's 31-year old Kremer knocked off Maria Kirilenko and Alberta Brianti to reach the Budapest QF, her best tour result since a Seoul SF in October 2004.
=============================
FRESH FACES: Sorana Cirstea & Iona-Raluca Olaru

...look out, here come the Romanians! A few weeks ago, 18-year old Olaru reached a tour SF in Memphis. In Budapest, 17-year old Cirstea did her one better, reaching the final as a qualifier ranked #325 in the world who put together a string of come from behind wins over more veteran players such as Eleni Daniilidou in the QF. On the same weekend, Olaru won an ITF title in Torrent, Spain. Sometimes it's nice when one of those "Intriguing Question" topics look even better a few months later.
=============================
DOWN: Maria Kirilenko
...the Supernovette continues to fail to live up to her Russian heritage. In Budapest, she lost in the 1st Round to Kremer to drop her '07 record to 7-10.
=============================


1. Bud F - Dulko d. Cirstea
...6-7/6-2/6-2. And the race is on to see which of the Romanian teenagers will become the first WTA singles champion from their country since 1998 (Irina Spirlea).
=============================
2. Cagnes-Sur-Mer $100K - Bacsinszky d. Malek
...6-4/6-1. The 17-year old Swiss Missy won a $100K event (, no that's not a misprint) with wins over Zakopalova, Pin, Vesnina and Pavlyuchenkova before the final.
=============================
3. Torrent $50K F - Olaru d. Petkovic
...6-4/5-7/6-4. The Romanians nearly made an emphatic statement about their future prospects, but it was only Olaru who walked away with a title.
=============================
HM-
Bud QF - Cirstea d. Daniilidou
...2-6/6-1/6-4.
Bud SF - Cirstea d. Knapp
...3-6/6-4/6-3. Maybe Cirstea should have LOST the opening set in the final? It seemed to work out well for her in previous rounds.
=============================


==APRIL AWARDS - WK.14-17==

**TOP PLAYER**
1. Jelena Jankovic
2. Tatiana Golovin
3. Venus Williams
4. Zi Yan/Jie Zheng
5. Yung-Jan Chan/Chia-Jung Chuang
HM- Gisela Dulko

*RISERS*
1. Tatiana Golovin
2. Yung-Jan Chan/Chia-Jung Chuang
3. Gisela Dulko
4. Vera Zvonareva
5. Shahar Peer
HM- Ana Ivanovic

*SURPRISES*
1. Gisela Dulko
2. Sybille Bammer
3. Yuliana Fedak
4. Shuai Peng/Tiantian Sun
5. Sorana Cirstea
6. Marat Ani
7. Chin-Wei Chan
8. Olga Govortsova
9. Karin Knapp
10. Tatjana Malek

*VETERANS*
1. Venus Williams
2. Tathiana Garbin
3. Meilen Tu
4. Nathalie Dechy
5. Tzipora Obziler
HM- Anne Kremer

*FRESH FACES*
1. Yung-Jan Chan
2. Tamira Paszek
3. Lucie Safarova
4. Michaella Krajicek
5. Agnieszka Radwanska
6. Vania King
7. Caroline Wozniacki
8t. Iona-Raluca Olara
8t. Sorana Cirstea
8t. Edina Gallovits
9. Agnes Szavay
10. Sacha Jones
HM- Tamira Bacsinszky & Dominika Cibulkova

*DOWN*
1. Daniela Hantuchova
2. Chinese Tennis Federation
3. Kirsten Flipkens
4. Samantha Stosur
5. Lisa Raymond/Samantha Stosur

*COMEBACK*
1. Anna-Lena Groenefeld
2. Zi Yan/Jie Zheng
HM- Karolina Sprem

TOP PERFORMANCE: Tatiana Golovin defeats Ana Ivanovic, Venus Williams and Nadia Petrova en route to her first career singles title in Amelia Island

MATCH OF THE MONTH: Charleston SF - Jankovic d. V.Williams 3-6/6-3/7-6
...Venus' mid-match stumble makes Jankovic's win over Dinara Safina in the windy final -- the Serb's first career Tier I title -- possible one day later in April's "BREAKOUT OF THE MONTH" as JJ finally won "a big one."

5-0, 5-0, 5-0, 5-0...: All four Fed Cup 1st Round ties ended in 5-0 scores.

COMEBACK OF THE MONTH: Fed Cup 1st Round (USA/BEL) - King d. Flipkens 4-6/6-4/7-5
...the American "Idol" clinches the USA's win with her first career FC victory, after Flipkens failed to close out the match when serving at 5-4 in the 3rd.

SURPRISE OF THE MONTH: China has followed a determined tennis path while preparing to make a splash in the sport during the Olympics in Beijing next year. Well, until Fed Cup week, that is. After climbing into Group I with solid '07 play, the federation misread the Fed Cup/Olympic eligibility rules and intentionally sat out the nation's two best players (Na Li & Jie Zheng) during the '07 1st Round. The Italians swept Team China 5-0, with China's #3 player Shuai Peng having to retire from a singles match.

FAVORITE APRIL JOKE: In Charleston, the Doubles final included the all-Chinese teams of Zi Yan/Jie Zheng vs. Shuai Peng/Tiantian Sun. A half hour after the match was over, the crowd was hungry for more tennis. Buh-duh-bump.

BIGGEST WINS: Austria crushes Australia 4-1 in Fed Cup Group II play, on the strength of wins by Sybille Bammer and Tamira Paszek... Taiwin wins Fed Cup Asia/Oceania Zone with neither Yung-Jan Chan nor Chia-Jung Chuang in action... Romania nearly qualifies for Fed Cup Group II playoffs, then a week later Sorana Cirstea reaches WTA singles final in Budapest, while Iona-Raluca Olaru wins ITF title in Torrent, Spain.

"IT WAS AN ACCIDENT, HONEY... HONEST!": While hitting balls during on the court during a fundraiser, Andre Agassi's racket follow-through landed smack in the middle of wife Steffi Graf's face. Some blood and three stitches in her lip later, and suddenly all those items on Andre's honey-do-this list mysteriously began to be crossed off at record speed.




ESTORIL, PORTUGAL (IV-RCO)
2006 FINAL: Zheng d. Li
2007 TOP: Bartoli/Schiavone
=============================
SF: Pennetta d. Llagostera-Vives; Daniilidou d. Loit
FINAL: Pennetta d. Daniilidou

...is China's Fed Cup/Olympic mix-up still in effect, since neither of last year's finalists are in Estoril in '07?


WARSAW, POLAND (II-RCO)
2006 FINAL: Clijsters d. Kuznetsova
2007 TOP: Henin/Clijsters
=============================
SF: Henin d. Chakvetadze; Kuznetsova d. Clijsters
FINAL: Henin d. Kuznetsova

...a Henin/... ........ final could very well be the final all-Waffle match-up, but since ... ........ (just getting a head start on the "Soon-to-Be-Mrs.Invisible's" role on the tour, and in Backspin, for the rest of this season) has gone to great lengths to show that on-court fairy tales are not on her agenda in '07. So, ... ........, turn off the lights on your way out.


All for now.

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Wk.16- SOP@TEOTD in Fed Cup

Last week was a different week for the WTA. Well, actually, there was NO week of play for the regular tour as Fed Cup action took over most of the schedule.



With ten of the top twenty players in action, though, there was more than enough to talk about... even with the standard operating procedure at the end of the day including a slew of 5-0 shutouts!

So, in keeping with the schedule, this week's Backspin focuses (almost) entirely on 2007's opening Fed Cup rounds.

*WEEK 16*

=WORLD GROUP I 1st Round=
USA def. Belgium 5-0
Russia def. Spain 5-0
France def. Japan 5-0
Italy def. China 5-0
=WORLD GROUP II 1st Round=
Czech Republic def. Slovakia 5-0
Germany def. Croatia 4-1
Israel def. Canada 3-2
Austria def. Australia 4-1


=FED CUP MVPs=
(WORLD GROUP I)
Venus Williams (USA): One is tempted to give the USA award to Zina Garrison for corralling the Sisters to play Fed Cup, but Venus' 2-0 singles record gets the "official" title.
Svetlana Kuznetsova (RUS): Even without Sharapova, the Russian team sported three of the world's Top 11 players. None of them lost a match.
Tatiana Golovin (FRA): Without Mauresmo, the newly confident Frussian Pastry assumed the lead role.
Tathiana Garbin (ITA): The 2006 Fed Cup champion Italians saw veteran Garbin win two three-set matches against a Chinese team that didn't include Na Li or Jie Zheng (and saw Shuai Peng retire).

(WORLD GROUP II)
Lucie Safarova (CZE): Vaidisova was 2-0, but struggled to take down Dominika Cibulkova. Safarova's opening match defeat of Hantuchova set the tone for the Czech shutout, even if it was the ONLY weekend appearance for Tomas Berdych's girlfriend.
Anna-Lena Groenefeld (GER): ALG has only one win on tour this season, but she garnered two for Germany as she reassumed her role as Fed Cup heroine.
Shahar Peer (ISR): Peer has been a great big event competitor all season, and she didn't waver in FC play, either. The Corporal handled both Wozniak and Dubois in straight sets to power Israel to a win on foreign soil.
Tamira Paszek (AUT): The teenager allowed a total of eight games to Stosur and Molik in two singles matches (tour star Sybille Bammer allowed 17 against the same pair in the other two singles contests) in Austria's easy win over the Aussies.

(ZONE PLAY)
Gisela Dulko (ARG, Americas): Not that the competition was truly stiff, but SOMEONE had to be the best player, right?
Su-Wei Hsieh (TPE, Asia/Oceania): Her win over Tamarine Tanasugarn was the most impressive of the weekend.
Jelena Jankovic (SRB, Europe/Africa): You can take the girl off the WTA tour, but you can't take the streaking WTA tour player out of the girl. Jankovic was 4-0 to run her current winning streak to nine matches.
Yuliana Fedak (UKR, Europe/Africa): Even with two Bondarenko sisters in attendence, Fedak was the top Ukrainian.

(FRESH FACES)
Agnieszka Radwanska (POL): 4-0 in singles.
Ioana-Raluca Olaru (ROU): She notched wins over Schnyder and Krajicek while guiding Romania to a 3rd place finish in the Europe/Africa Zone.
Chin-Wei Chan (TPE): The relative unknown was just as important as Hsieh in Taiwan's advancement to the World Group II playoffs.
Caroline Wozniacki (DEN): A 2-1 record for one of the tour's bright stars-on-the-rise.

Vania King (USA): The 18-year old sang "The Star Spangled Banner," then went out and snatched a come-from-behind win from Kirsten Flipkens' grasp to get her first career FC win and clinch the USA's 1st Round victory. She got a doubles victory with Lisa Raymond, too.

(DOWN)
Daniela Hantuchova (SVK): Her Indian Wells title didn't help her battle through to three-set wins over Vaidisova or Safarova, pretty much sealing the fate of the Slovaks.
Kirsten Flipkens (BEL): Flipper's not exactly the best pressure player in the world.
Samantha Stosur (AUS): Sammy's the highest-ranked Aussie in the world, but you'd never have known it from her play this weekend, as she lost two straight sets matches to Paszek and Bammer.

(ITF PLAYERS OF THE WEEK)
Yung-Jan Chan & Chia-Jung Chuang:

...neither Taiwan native was involved in Fed Cup play, but they ruled the roost in the $75K in Dothan. Chan won the singles title, while the '07 doubles team Revelation of the Year claimed the pairs crown, as well.
=============================


1. WG I 1st (USA/BEL) King d. Flipkens
...4-6/6-4/7-5. In her first Fed Cup action since crumbling in last year's FC final against Mara Santangelo, Flipkens followed up a loss to Venus Williams by failing to close out King despite serving for the match at 5-4 in the 3rd. With Clijsters soon to bow out, and Henin probably not likely to commit to playing on a regular basis, Belgium's FC "dark age" may have already begun.
=============================
2t. WG II 1st (CZE/SVK) Safarova d. Hantuchova
...7-6/4-6/6-3.
WG II 1st (CZE/SVK) Vaidisova d. Cibulkova
...3-6/6-4/7-5.
WG II 1st (CZE/SVK) Vaidisova d. Hantuchova
...6-2/6-7/6-3.
The Maidens' 5-0 win over what used to be the OTHER half of Czechoslovakia looks like a wipe-out on the surface, but it was really a closely contested battle that included three of the closer singles matches of the weekend in the tie's first three match-ups.
=============================
3. WG II 1st (AUT/AUS) Paszek d. Stosur
...6-1/6-1. Austria's butt-kicking of the Sheilas began with the teenager's bullying of Slingin' Sammy.
=============================
4. WG II 1st (GER/CRO) Groenefeld d. Lisjak
...3-6/6-3/7-5. The reports of Girl Friday's death were greatly exaggerated, at least as far as this weekend was concerned.
=============================
5. EUROPE/AFRICA ZONE RR (ROU/SUI) Olaru d. Schnyder
...4-6/6-2/6-4. Looks like Olaru, already a WTA semifinalist in '07 (Memphis), will indeed be the first of the young Romanians to send up a flair of recognition.
=============================
HM- AMERICAS ZONE RR (ARGENTINA vs. DOMINICAN REPUBLIC)
...36-0. Yes, that was the total game count of the three Argentina/Dom.Republic matches in the Round Robin. 6-0/6-0, three times over.
=============================


**2007 FED CUP SEMIFINALS**
Russia vs. United States
Italy vs. France

**2007 GROUP I PLAYOFFS**
Austria
Belgium
China
Czech Republic
Germany
Israel
Japan
Spain

**2007 GROUP II PLAYOFFS**
Argentina
Australia
Canada
Croatia
Serbia
Slovakia
Taiwan
Ukraine


...fresh off an 8-for-8 week in Fed Cup picks, is the sun shining warmly on the picks section? If so, I'm sure a Tier IV on red clay will take care of any slight glimmer that exists.


BUDAPEST, HUNGARY (IV-RCO)
2006 FINAL: Smashnova d. Dominguez-Lino
2007 TOP: Garbin/Camerin
=============================
SF: Loit d. Dulko; Daniilidou d. Sprem
FINAL: Loit d. Daniilidou

...fingers crossed.


All for now.

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Wk.15- Shake It Up (The Scrambled Backspin)

**2007 SINGLES TITLES**
2...Justine Henin
2...Serena Williams
2...JELENA JANKOVIC

**2007 FINALS**
3...Justine Henin (2-1)
3...JELENA JANKOVIC (2-1)

**2007 SEMIFINALS**
5...JELENA JANKOVIC (3-2)
4...Sybille Bammer (1-3)

**2007 SEMIFINALISTS - BY NATION**
17..RUSSIA
7...Belgium
7...France
7...Italy
7...SERBIA
6...UNITED STATES

**ONE CAREER TIER I TITLE - active**
Anna Chakvetadze (2006 Moscow)
Elena Dementieva (2006 Tokyo)
Ana Ivanovic (2006 Montreal)
JELENA JANKOVIC (2007 CHARLESTON)
Svetlana Kuznetsova (2006 Miami)
Alicia Molik (2004 Zurich)
Patty Schnyder (2002 Zurich)

**2007 CHAMPIONS BY SEED**
#1-#8==
#1...5
#2...2
#3...1
#4...1
#5...1
#6...1
#7...1
#8...1
==#9-#16==
#9-12...0
#13.......1
#14.......1
#15-16..0
==#17+/unseeded==
Unseeded...4

**2007 WINS OVER CURRENT/FORMER #1's**
4...JELENA JANKOVIC (Mauresmo,Hingis-2,V.Williams)
3...Serena Williams (Sharapova-2,Henin)
2...Daniela Hantuchova (Hingis-2)
2...Lucie Safarova (Mauresmo,Henin)
2...Maria Sharapova (Clijsters,V.Williams)


Round of 16: Backspin 49-42
QUARTERFINALS: Pierre 25-22
SEMIFINALS: Pierre 20-17
FINALISTS: Backspin 12-8
CHAMPIONS: Backspin 3-2


==1st Round==


=World Group I=
USA def. Belgium 5-0
...even if Serena isn't in action, neither are Justine or Kim.
Russia def. Spain 4-1
...no Supernova, but more Top 10 players than the rest of Fed Cup action combined
France def. Japan 3-2
...no Mauresmo (I detect a pattern here), but home court rules.
Italy def. China 3-2
...maybe Schiavone can get back her Fed Cup mojo from last year's title run.

=World Group II=
Czech Republic def. Slovakia 4-1
Germany def. Croatia 3-2
Israel def. Canada 3-2
Austria def. Australia 3-2



=World Group I=
USA def Belgium 4-1 (no way this will even be close...)
Russia def Spain 5-0!
France def Japan 3-2
Italy def China 3-2!

=World Group II=
CZE def SVK 3-2 (what a great one..!)
CRO def GER 4-1 (ALG continues to struggle)
CAN def ISR 3-2 (tough one but no way I'd actually predict a loss by CAN)
AUS def AUT 5-0


All for now.



Yes, I know the WTA SAYS that Charleston was a Tier I event. But was it REALLY?

Let's see, the defending champion wasn't in attendence. Neither was the world's #1-ranked player. Or #2, #3, #4, #5, #6, or #7. The #1 seed didn't win a match, and neither did Serena Williams (who didn't even COMPLETE a match). Dinara Safina reached the final after having BOTH her QF and SF opponents retire. Only ONE Top 10 player was even in action by the time the 3rd Round came about.

That player, Jelena Jankovic, won the title.



But, looking past what Charleston WASN'T, you have to give credit to Jankovic's title run for what it DID entail -- a good comeback win over Venus Williams in the SF, and remarkable poise while weathering (oh, what a clever pun you're about to experience) the adverse windy conditions during the final against Safina (oh, aren't you blessed to have gotten to experience that brilliant play on words).

As anyone who's ever played -- or tried to play -- tennis in windy weather knows, it's about as difficult as not making a totally crass nose joke about the Graf/Agassi racket incident from this weekend (after further consideration, though, I now prove that it IS indeed avoidable). Wind can play havoc with every aspect of a player's game, starting with the service toss and working it's way down to all the aggravation that builds up over the course of time, and proceeds to break down every other shot. Hmmm, under such a dicey situation, it's not really all that surprising that a member of the Safin family had a hard time keeping everything in order, huh? (Thank goodness Marat wasn't playing.)

When the smoke cleared and the wind stopped (well, if it HAS stopped, that is), Jankovic had her first career Tier I crown, solidified her Top 10 ranking (she's now #7) and picked up a head of steam for the remainder of the season for the player who already has more wins (28) than anyone else on tour in '07.

So, on second thought, maybe Charleston wasn't so bad after all.


1. Chas Final - Jankovic d. Safina
...6-2/6-2. I wonder how Marat would have handled the Charleston conditions? Hmmm, maybe the better question might be whether he'd have run out of rackets.
=============================
2. Chas 2nd - Chan d. S.Williams
...5-3, ret.. Let's see... if Serena had won this match she would have faced Venus in the next round. I'm sure her groin was indeed injured, but a few years ago this result would have raised more than a few eyebrows, wouldn't have it?
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3. Chas SF - Jankovic d. V.Williams
...3-6/6-3/7-6. Venus was breezing (Get it? It's another craaazy weather pun. I kill myself.) midway through the 2nd set when her game started to stall. One difference between the sisters is that Serena will usually pull herself out of her swoon before it's too late.
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4. Chas 2nd - Krajicek d. Vaidisova
...4-6/6-4/6-3. Nicole surely hopes her 2Q clay season ends much better in Paris than it began in South Carolina.
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5. Chas Doubles F - Yan/Zheng d. Peng/Sun
...7-5/6-0. And an hour after it was over, the crowd was hungry again for more tennis.
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6. Chas QF - Safina d. Golovin
...6-3/ret. Hmmm, Golovin retires with an ankle injury a week after her Amelia Island title. Apparently, that body switch has a short expiration date, and the OTHER Tatiana is already back with us.
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7. Chas SF - Safina d. Zvonareva
...6-3/0-1 ret. Back-to-back wins by retirement? Was Dinara trying to do a Mauresmo impersonation?
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8. Chas Doub 2nd - Peng/Sun d. Raymond/Stosur
...6-3/2-6/6-3. This was Raymond/Stosur's first loss in a Tier I event in '07 after winning three titles.
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9. Dubai $10K F - Marinne Giraud d. Cagla Buyukakcay
...6-2/6-2. The 20-year old's first 2007 ITF title (and second in her career) might not shake the rafters anywhere else. But in Mauritius, boy, it's cause for celebration. You see, the #549-ranked Giraud is the ONE AND ONLY player from Mauritius who is ranked on the WTA computer.



Editor's Note: Yes, this edition is another Backspin "gimmick" meant to make an unmemorable week (well, for everyone but Jelena J.) a little more spicy. "Scrambled" Backspin? Sheesh. Alas, I'm sorry to say I doubt that this will be the last three-ring circus hoisted upon you guys by T.S..



*WEEK 15 CHAMPIONS*

CHARLESTON, SC USA (I-GCO)
S: Jelena Jankovic def. Dinara Safina 6-2/6-2
D: Yan/Zheng def. Peng/T.Sun


PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Jelena Jankovic
...finally, Jankovic "wins a big one." The Serb's first Tier I was her third career title, and ties her with Henin and Serena for the most titles (two) so far this season. And while the field was largely deplated, wins over Santangelo (who beat her a few weeks ago), Srebotnik, Venus and Safina at least bump up the "beauty contest" value of this Charleston title a little.
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RISERS: Zi Yan/Jie Zheng & Vera Zvonareva
...yeah, Safina made the final, but she did it by playing just six sets after two retirements in the QF and SF (vs. Zvonareva). Vera, though, reached the SF with wins over Dechy, Tu, Ivanovic and Krajicek... more than enough for the honor. As for Yan & Zheng? Well, I guess I should have figured that pointing out their '07 slump last week would mean that they'd win a Tier I title just days later.
=============================
SURPRISES: Yung-Jan Chan & Shuai Peng/Tiantian Sun
...it was quite a week for the Asian players in Charleston. All four players in the doubles final were Chinese, including Peng and Sun, who defeated top-seeded Raymond/Stosur in the 2nd Round. Taiwan's Chan advanced past a retiring Serena Williams in the 2nd Round of singles after having upset Severine Bremond in the 1st. And Cookies Zheng, Li and Peng all reached the singles Round of 16.
=============================
VETERAN: Venus Williams
...'04 Charleston champ Venus couldn't help but be a bit disappointed by her SF result this time around.
=============================
FRESH FACES: Michaella Krajicek & Sacha Jones

...Krajicek, 18, had her best big event result with a QF in Charleston after wins over Jidkova, Bammer and top-seeded Vaidisova. Meanwhile, 16-year old Kiwi Sacha Jones won the USTA International Spring Championship, defeating "BrengleFly" Madison Brengle in the SF, then Mallory Cecil 6-3/6-1 in the Girls final. She's now at a career-best #11 in the junior rankings.
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DOWN: Nicole Vaidisova
...twice in Vaidisova's career she's been the #1 seed in a WTA event. In Charleston, she lost in her opening match to Krajicek. In Memphis '06, she did the same against Victoria Azarenka. As we learned in Paris last year, Nicole isn't necessarily the best frontrunner... yet. Hey, look on the bright side, at least Vaidisova didn't need stitches in her lip as Steffi Graf did this weekend after she got accidentally nailed in the face by Andre Agassi's racket during on-court action at a fundraiser. Andre, Steffi's got you over the proverbial barrel now. Graf, 40-love... for the foreseeable future.
=============================

Tous pour maintenant. (Psst...blame the powerful Charleston wind for all this.)

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Wk.14- Tatiana et Tatiana

I've come to the conclusion that time travel is indeed possible. Or is it teleportation? Or maybe both. How else do you explain Tatiana Golovin and, umm, Tatiana Golovin?



The sustained excellence and confidence that the 19-year old Frussian Pastry displayed over the course of play in Amelia Island -- knocking out Venus Williams, Ana Ivanovic and Nadia Petrova with only a few hiccups -- didn't really resemble the Golovin we've seen over the last twelve months. She did look like the player that appeared ready to make a monumental career leap last March in Miami, though.

More than a year ago, Golovin came home to Miami and raised the hopes of the locals that they might witness her breakthrough first career title. After wiping out Elena Dementieva, she'd overcome a 5-1 2nd set deficit and stared down four match points against Maria Sharapova in the semifinals to find herself on the opposite side of the net of a flagging Supernova seemingly ready to fold under Golovin's pressure. Then the French teenager suffered a nasty ankle injury while chasing a ball into the court's sidelines, ending the match as well as any of the momentum she was surely going to carry with her into the clay season.

She didn't get back onto the court until Roland Garros and, while she managed to have her moments (she reached the U.S. Open QF, and her third career final in Stuttgart while compiling a 16-12 post-Miami record in '06) here and there, she couldn't rediscover her Miami mojo and return to her hometown level of play. After a mediocre start to '07, there was recently some hope expressed here that maybe her return to Miami would re-ignite her game, but Golovin instead went out meekly in the 3rd Round to Anna Chakvetadze.

I had actually predicted Golovin to end 2007 in the Top 10 based largely on Miami Tatiana returning, but when it didn't happen a few weeks ago there was the passing thought that maybe THAT Tatiana was something of a mirage... but then she went to Amelia Island and finally picked up where she left off in Miami, even if it took a full year for it to happen. Miami Tatiana was back, and that OTHER Tatiana was no where to be found. After coming up short so many times, THIS Golovin simply refused to be left behind.

What happened? Hmmm, maybe Tatiana is the "victim" of a bodysnatching... by herself.

Hey, it's just as good an explanation as any, isn't it? Golovin searched for and found a brilliant scientist with a background in timebending and said, "Professor, I want the whole shabang -- I NEED to be the Tatiana I was last year in Miami. And I need you to make it happen RIGHT NOW... and I'll do ANYTHING -- short of a Sesil impression -- to seal the deal."

A few whiz-bang, abracadabras later and the pre-injury Tatiana from the Sharapova match physically switched places with the post-injury Tatiana and... VOILA!... the rest is Amelia Island history.

Well, either that or it's some weird balancing act by the tennis gods who noted that I'd dropped Golovin from my year-end Top 10 before last week and decided to finally make sure she looked the part.

Hey, a Reverse Curse, baby!

Of course, that's just another wild theory.

*WEEK 14 CHAMPIONS*

AMELIA ISLAND, FLA USA (II-GCO)
S: Tatiana Golovin d. Nadia Petrova 6-2/6-1
D: Santangelo/Srebotnik d. Medina-Garrigues/Ruano-Pascual


PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Tatiana Golovin
...reaching WTA singles finals has been a yearly ritual (most recently in Stuttgart late in' 06) for Golovin since 2004, but until Sunday the ceremony always ended with her accepting a runner-up check. After an impressive string of wins over Castano, Stosur (who played doubles without Lisa Raymond, by the way, and as a result lost her co-#1 doubles ranking), Venus, Ivanovic and then Petrova (her conqueror in Stuttgart) in the final, though, the fourth time was the Frussian Pastry's charm. Petrova's great '06 clay run started with this same A.I. title. Can a confident Golovin follow suit?
=============================
RISERS: Tatiana Golovin & Ana Ivanovic
...AnaIvo ultimately lost the battle against Golovin in the SF, but wins over Peng, Dechy and Jankovic still made for a very effective (and much needed) week of work.
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SURPRISE: Sybille Bammer & Maret Ani
...with her season's fourth SF appearance in Amelia Island, it might be time to remove the "surprise" label on Bammer. She had victories over Tanasugarn, Razzano, Sprem and Hantuchova this time around (and might get a shot at Vaidisova in Charleston). 25-year old Estonian Ani has been ripping up the ITF so far in '07. She picked up her fourth title of the season at the Putignano $25K (def. Carmen Klaschka in the final) for her 15th consecutive tour victory. She's 24-1 in ITF matches this season, but just 1-2 in WTA qualifying matches.
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VETERAN: Meilen Tu
...the American reached the Amelia Island 3rd Round with wins over Pennetta and Muller. (This award seemed like a lock all week for Cara Black and Liezel Huber, but they were stunned in the Doubles SF by eventual champs Santangelo/Srebotnik.)
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FRESH FACEs: Dominika Cibulkova & Edina Gallovits

...the 17-year old Slovakian Cibulkova was awarded a wild card into tha A.I. main draw, and she reached the 3rd Round with wins over Medina-Garrigues and Dushevina. She's now at at career-high rank of #131. Gallovits, 22, is the latest Romanian to bubble up with a good result. She won the Pelham $25K with a win in the final over Greta Arn.
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DOWN: Zi Yan/Jie Zheng
...the Chinese pair's results have dipped in '07 (while the Taiwanese team of Chan/Chuang has in many ways replaced them as the rising pair to watch), and last week's A.I. 2 & 2 QF loss to Husarova/Shaughnessy was just another example. Since losing to Chan/Chuang in the Oz SF, Yan & Zheng have gone a rather pedestrian 7-4 with no titles.
=============================


1. AI Final - Golovin d. Petrova
...6-2/6-1. The Perfect Storm matchup. It was good news for Tatiana, and bad news for Nadia. Not including Petrova's Hopman Cup win over her earlier this season, Golovin now holds a 5-1 head-to-head advantage over the '06 A.I. champ.
=============================
2. AI SF - Golovin d. Ivanovic
...6-4/3-6/6-4. Maybe if Petrova had played in the opening SF rather than the 2nd, she could have mentally willed Ivanovic into the final from the lockerroom rather than her Frussian nemesis?
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3. AI QF - Golovin d. V.Williams
...6-2/6-3. And Tatiana is no longer wearing those frightening low-riding, hip-hugging skirts & shorts, either. Of that everyone can be glad. All right, here's where I grumble that Golovin's win over Petrova makes it SEVEN times this season that my tournament champion pick has reached the final only to lose it. Grrrrrr. But, hey, in January I DID pick Golovin to win her maiden WTA title this season... so maybe there IS something to that notion of a balancing process by the tennis gods.
=============================
4. AI QF - Bammer d. Hantuchova
...2-6/6-2/6-2. Wonder Girl is 3-2 since she won Indian Wells.
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5. AI 2nd - Sprem d. Li
...6-3/6-3. Sprem is still only 22, so maybe there's something left to her career yet. After qualifying, she got wins over Meghann Shaughnessy and Li.
=============================


**2007 FIRST-TIME CHAMPIONS**
(nation/age)
Sybille Bammer (AUT/26) - Pattaya City
Yaroslava Shvedova (RUS/19) - Bangalore
Roberta Vinci (ITA/24) - Bogota
TATIANA GOLOVIN (FRA/19) - A.ISLAND

**2007 YOUNGEST CHAMPIONS**
19...TATIANA GOLOVIN (AMELIA ISLAND)
19...Yaroslava Shvedova (Bangalore)
19...Anna Chakvetadze (Hobart)

**DEFEATED TOP SEED/DEFENDING CHAMP - WON TITLE**
Yaroslava Shvedova, Bangalore (def. Santangelo)
TATIANA GOLOVIN, AMELIA ISLAND (DEF. PETROVA)

**MULTIPLE 2007 CHAMPIONS**
RUS (4) - Chakvetadze/Petrova/Safina/Shvedova
FRA (3) - GOLOVIN/LOIT/MAURESMO
BEL (2) - Clijsters/Henin
USA (2) - S.Williams/V.Williams

**MOST FINALISTS BY NATION**
[titles]
10..RUSSIA (4)
5...Belgium (3)
5...FRANCE (3)
4...Italy (1)
3...United States (3)
3...Serbia (1)
2...Switzerland (1)


Round of 16: Backspin 37-34
QUARTERFINALS: Pierre 22-19
SEMIFINALS: Pierre 19-17
FINALISTS: Backspin 12-8
CHAMPIONS: Backspin 3-2


CHARLESTON, SC USA (II-GCO)
2006 FINAL: Petrova d. Schnyder
2007 TOP: Vaidisova/Jankovic
=============================


=ROUND OF 16=
Vaidisova d. Bammer
Zvonareva d. Ivanovic
Safina d. Dominguez-Lino
Golovin d. Schnyder
Li d. Medina-Garrigues
S.Williams d. V.Williams
Peer d. Srebotnik
Santangelo d. Jankovic
=QF=
Vaidisova d. Zvonareva
Golovin d. Safina
S.Williams d. Li
Peer d. Santangelo
=SF=
Golovin d. Vaidisova
S.Williams d. Peer
=FINAL=
S.Williams d. Golovin



R16:
Vaidisova(1) def Bammer(15)
Ivanovic(7) def Zvonareva(9)
Safina(4) def Bartoli(13)
Golovin(10) def Schnyder(6)
Na Li(8) def Schiavone(11)
SWilliams(3) def VWilliams
Peer(5) def Rezai
Jankovic(2) def Harkleroad
QF:
Vaidisova(1) def Ivanovic(7)
Golovin(10) def Safina(4)
SWilliams(3) def Na Li(8)
Jankovic(2) def Peer(5)
SF:
Vaidisova(1) def Golovin(10)
SWilliams(3) def Jankovic(2)
FINAL:
SWilliams(3) def Vaidisova(1)


All for now.




OF NOTE:
Do yourself a favor and pick up the latest issue of Tennis magazine (May '07, with Sharapova on the cover). Robert Rand's article on the FIRST Russian tennis revolution is a must read.

No, it didn't start with Anna Kournikova... but with Anna Dmitrieva. Olga Morozova, largely because she was Elena Dementieva's coach during her slam final runs, hasn't been forgotten from the group of first-on-the-scene Russian players from the 1970's... but do you know about Natasha Chmyreva? She was a serve-and-volleying grand slam semifinalist at age 16 in 1975, but she was unfortunately caught in the web of time. Had she arrived on the scene thirty years later she might have become a multimedia star just like the current crop of Russian teens. Instead, her career was essentially over just a few years after it had begun. In large part, the reason for the destruction of Chmyreva's career and the first Russian tennis revolution wasn't injury or burnout, it was... South Africa and the Olympics? Intrigued?

Check it out. It's a very illuminating read.

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WTA Backspin 1Q Awards

One-quarter deep, the 2007 WTA season has already developed several major themes: Serena is back, Kim is pretty much already gone, Maria is trying to avert impending disaster (by her standards) and Justine... well, she's going to be just fine.



*PLAYERS OF THE QUARTER*
1. Serena Williams
...the best in the biz again. So far, the flu has been the only opponent to take her out (save for Sybille Bammer), and she seems to be getting better with every tournament. Uh-oh.
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2. Justine Henin
...if she'd been able to convert a match point against Serena in Miami, since she missed Melbourne, Henin would have been able to mount an argument for being the 1Q's top player. Of course, I didn't say it'd have been a successful argument, though.
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3. Cara Black & Liezel Huber
...their four titles (including the Oz crown) lead the tour so far.
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4. Lisa Raymond & Samantha Stosur
...they missed out in Melbourne, but have three Tier I titles to keep them at least a little happy.
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5. Amelie Mauresmo
...she failed to defend her Australian crown and got appendicitis, but it just means she'll savor that diamond racket she won in Antwerp even more.
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6. Jelena Jankovic
...she had more 1Q wins (22) than any other Top 10 player this season.
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7. Kim Clijsters
...she made the Oz SF, Antwerp final and won Sydney. She still has the goods, but her decision to already consider herself 3/4 retired means she'll only be making a few cameo appearances the rest of the season.
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8. Daniela Hantuchova
...are we going to have to wait until 2012 to see Wonder Girl win title #3?
=============================
9. Shahar Peer & Anna Chakvetadze (tie)
...pretty much any time Peer plays an event, the road to the title crosses the Corporal's path. Now she needs to WIN those important matches, not just come close to doing so. Chakvetadze has shown the consistency worthy of a Top 10er, with her "worst" result being a 4th Round at Indian Wells, where she lost to Peer. Her other four losses this season have come against the #1-3 players in the world (Henin, Sharapova & Mauresmo).
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HM- Martina Hingis
...she won a Tier I in Tokyo without dropping a set, so why is there a sneaking feeling that her '07 campaign is headed in the wrong direction?
=============================

*RISERS*
1. Jelena Jankovic (SRB)
2. Daniela Hantuchova (SVK)
3t. Shahar Peer (ISR)
3t. Anna Chakvetadze (RUS)
5. Nicole Vaidisova (CZE)
6. Yung-Jan Chan/Chia-Jung Chuang (TPE)
7. Dinara Safina (RUS)
8. Na Li (CHN)
9. Vera Zvonareva (RUS)
10. Ana Ivanovic (SRB)
HM- Sania Mirza (IND)

*SURPRISES*
1. Sybille Bammer (AUT)
2. Yung-Jan Cha/Chia-Jung Chuang (TPE)
3. Camille Pin (FRA)
4. Maret Ani (EST)
5. Roberta Vinci (ITA)
6. Anastasiya Yakimova (BLR)
7. Madison Brengle (USA)
8. Naomi Cadavy (GBR)
9. Casey Dell'Acqua (AUS)
10. Sara Errani (ITA)

*VETERANS*
1. Cara Black (ZIM)/Liezel Huber (RSA)
2. Amelie Mauresmo (FRA)
3. Martina Hingis (SUI)
4. Lisa Raymond (USA)
5. Venus Williams (USA)
6. Tathiana Garbin (ITA)
7. Emilie Loit (FRA)
8. Ai Sugiyama (JPN)
9. Laura Granville (USA)
10. Nicole Pratt (AUS)

*FRESH FACES*
1. Lucie Safarova (CZE)
2. Evgenia Linetskaya (RUS)
3. Agnieszka Radwanska (POL)
4. Victoria Azarenka (BLR)
5. Caroline Wozniacki (DEN)
6. Yaroslava Shvedova (RUS)
7. Vera Dushevina (RUS)
8. Vasilisa Bardina (RUS)
9. Alize Cornet (FRA)
10. Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (RUS)
HM- Ioana-Raluca Olaru & Sorana Cirstea (ROU)

*DOWN*
1. Maria Sharapova (RUS)
2. Elena Dementieva (RUS)
3. Anna-Lena Groenefeld (GER)
4. Anastasia Myskina (RUS)
5. Jamea Jackson (USA)
6. Patty Schnyder (SUI)
7. Marion Bartoli (FRA)
8. Francesca Schiavone (ITA)
9. Zi Yan/Jie Zheng (CHN)
10. Tatiana Golovin (FRA)

*COMEBACK PLAYERS*
1. Serena Williams (USA)
2. Evgenia Linetskaya (RUS)
3. Daniela Hantuchova (SVK)
4. Venus Williams (USA)
5. Sania Mirza (IND)
6. Alicia Molik (AUS)
7. Shuai Peng (CHN)
8. Ashley Harkleroad (USA)
9. Mirjana Lucic (CRO)
10. Zsofia Gubacsi (HUN)

TOP PERFORMANCE: Serena Williams wins her eight career slam crown at the Australian Open, taking out six seeded players and destroying Maria Sharapova in the final

BEST MATCHES
Paris SF - Petrova d. Mauresmo
...5-7/6-4/7-6. Down 4-1 in the 3rd, Petrova fails to convert a match point at 6-5. Then Mauresmo matches her with a squandered match point of her own in the tie-break (thanks to a convenient net cord on a Petrova shot). Up 8-7 in the TB, Petrova finally controls a Mauresmo serve with a return that lands out of reach. The Russian goes on to win the title.
Australian Open QF - S.Williams d. Peer
...3-6/6-2/8-6. In a tooth-and-nail battle that was the signature 1Q match for both players, the advantage swings back and forth for nearly three hours. In the 3rd, Williams leads 4-1, then Peer charges back and serves for the match at 6-5. But Serena, who was 3-for-3 in break point chances in the final set, makes one final push that Peer cannot answer. Shalom, Serena. Maybe the best-played match of the season.
Sydney F - Clijsters d. Jankovic
...4-6/7-6/6-4. Jankovic can't convert a match point at 5-4 in the 2nd, and twice fails to close things out while serving for the match (throwing in three double-faults in the TB). Much like against another Belgian in last year's US Open SF (she led Henin 4-0 in the 3rd), the Serb can't pull off the big win. Could this be the last big win of Clijsters' career?

*BIGGEST UPSET*
Hobart QF - Bammer d. S.Williams
...3-6/7-5/6-3. It was an eyebrow raiser at the time, but Hobart was Serena's first comeback event. Since the win, Bammer has won her first career title... but Serena hasn't lost in thirteen matches. So, as of now, Bammer is the answer to a trivia question. Of course, the Austrian won't be the only player to defeat Serena all season. Umm, right?

*WORST CHOKE*
Australian Open 3rd - Hantuchova d. Harkleroad
...6-7/7-5/6-3. A choke, or simply a great comeback? Well, Harkleroad led 7-6/4-0, served at 5-3 in the 2nd, and led 3-1 in the 3rd against a player with a recent history of emotional fragility (unlike the other two top contenders here: Razzano's blown 5-1 3rd set lead against a tough Henin, and Peer's blown 5-1 set lead on Safina that was corrupted by a long rain delay). Of course, the argument COULD be made that Hantuchova's post-Oz results show she wasn't so fragile after all... but how much of that turnaround came about because of THIS win? Hmmm.

*BIGGEST COMEBACK*

Miami F - S.Williams d. Henin
...0-6/7-5/6-3. It's gotta be the earrings!

*BIZARRO MATCH OF THE QUARTER*

Australian 1st - Sharapova d. Pin
...6-3/4-6/9-7. Under Extreme Heat conditions, but not the roof of Rod Laver Arena, Sharapova raced to a 5-0 3rd set lead and hit the proverbial wall. Pin served at 7-6, 30/15 -- two points from knocking out the top women's Oz seed in the 1st Round for the first time since 1979 -- before Sharapova's game ignited with a forehand return that stunned the Pasty back to reality. She double-faulted on break point, then lost the last eleven points of the 2:51 match (the 3rd set alone lasted 83 minutes!). Sharapova would go on to become the pedestrian run over by Serena's truck in the final. The Serena-Maria rematch in Miami, which was an even worse showing for the Supernova, showed that she still hasn't gotten the plate number of the punishing '07 model of Williams' game.

ON THE COMEBACK TRAIL: Evgenia Linetskaya, who ended 2006 at #1192 and was without a ranking early in '07, has reached four ITF singles finals this season, winning three titles and 15 matches in a row. After being ranked as high as #35 in the summer of '05 before family difficulties forced her off the tour, the Russian hadn't played since the '06 Australian Open.
THE ANTI-COMEBACK: Jelena Dokic, one-time #4-ranked player in the world and Wimbledon semifinalist, took a step backward before the season even began when she skipped out of Niki Pilic's academy spewing some such nonsense about bad contract offers and her private life being her own business. Well, at least Sister Jelena has that... because her ranking in the #600's and 1Q losses in $10K events (in qualifying and 1st Round matches) surely puts what's left of her tennis career in jeopardy. She's a "Comeback Player of the Year" waiting to happen, but it probably never will.

DOING IT THE RIGHT WAY: Lindsay Davenport wanted a family, but she was a world class athlete still capable of competing at the top of her sport. She got married, but continued to chase a champion's dream for a few additional seasons, and finished year-end #1 in 2004-05 even though a final slam title remained elusive. In 2006, during which she turned a still young-for-regular-life 30, injuries finally created too many obstacles to overcome. Her ranking dropped to #25, and during the offseason she announced that she was pregnant and that her playing career was essentially over. Davenport, with three slam titles, over 700 wins and nearly 100 total weeks at #1, retired with the respect of all off the court and on. But, not only that, she also exits knowing that she never cheated her talent, having pushed her gifts to the limit and leaving nothing realistically unclaimed on her career table. Most superiorly-talented players worth their salt can say the same, from Serena (who, while "squandering" stretches of her career in the minds of some, always seems to come back with a vengeance to "make up" for lost time) to Maria (always striving for more in every facet of her career) and Justine (who had to get a divorce to convince some of her flesh-and-blood existence)... but not all. It's too bad, because there are few things more disappointing in sports than a great athlete who failed to reach attainable competitive summits largely because they didn't deem them important enough to strive for until they no longer could conceivably do so. George Leigh Mallory said the reason to climb Mount Everest was "because it's there." Unfortunately, it's not a universal sentiment in all corners of the WTA universe. Good luck, Lindsay.

QUOTE OF THE QUARTER: "I'm definitely in better shape than I get credit for. It's just because I have large knockers and I have a big ass... I was just in the lockerroom staring at my body, and I'm like, 'Am I really not fit? Or it is just because I have all these extra assets that I look not fit?' I think if I were not to eat for two years, I still wouldn't be a size two. 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." - Serena Williams, at the Australian Open

From Serena's World... all for now.

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