Day 6: Is That What You're Wearing? (Wimbledon Edition)

As noted before, when the rain takes over, everyone becomes a fashion critic. So...



Hmmm, it looked like Venus' alarm clock didn't go off this morning and she decided to come to the court wearing whatever she wore to bed last night, didn't it? Of course, what she wore against Akiko Morigami on Saturday was the same thing she wore in her Doubles match with Serena on Friday... so I guess it's no big deal, huh?

Oh, well. At least it filled a few paragraphs on a day where very little happened.

And so ends Day 6's fashion report, which is just about all there is to report considering only two women's singles matches (plus one Mixed Doubles match) were actually completed on Saturday.

(2009...2009...2009...)

With the traditional quiet middle Sunday scheduled for tomorrow, it's a very uneventful weekend at Wimbledon... and, considering all the other things going on in Britain at the moment, maybe not nhaving to deal with thousands of spectators and additional security isn't such a bad thing when you think about it.

Oh, but there WAS enough action today to scratch out a...


Love-Love... Amelie Mauresmo and Maria Sharapova completed staight set 3rd Round wins over Mara Santangelo and Ai Sugiyama, respectively. Plus, with the impending weather bearing down, all the other women's singles matches were scheduled early and were able to get a large chunk of action completed. At the moment:

#6 Ivanovic is up a set on Rezai
#11 Petrova is up a set & 3-1 on Ruano-Pascual
#14 Vaidisova is up a set & 3-2 on Azarenka
#5 Kuznetsova is up a set & 4-3 on A.Radwanska
#12 Dementieva is up a set on Paszek
#23 V.Williams is up a set on Morigami, but is down 1-4 in the 2nd

Venus' match is scheduled to resume Monday on... yes, Court 2. So the ol' "Graveyard Court" will get another crack at her.
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15-Love... the only other match completed on Day 6 featured one all-British team (James Auckland & Claire Curran) defeating another (Lee Childs & Katie O'Brien) in straight sets.

Perhaps the most interesting interrupted scoreline on Day 6 was in a 2nd Round Men's Doubles match, where Amer Delic(USA)/Bobby Reynolds(USA) are knotted with #10 Arnaud Clement(ESP)/Michael Llodra(FRA) 3-6,4-6,7-6(5),7-6(9),9-9.
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30-Love... here are the stats on the completed top half of the Women's & Men's Round of 16:

*WOMEN'S FINAL 16 - TOP HALF*
[by nation]
2...United States (Granville, S.Williams)
1...Belgium (Henin)
1...France (Bartoli)
1...Netherlands (Krajicek)
1...Serbia (Jankovic)
1...Slovakia (Hantuchova)
1...Switzerland (Schnyder)
[by age]
18...Michaella Krajicek
22...Jelena Jankovic
22...Marion Bartoli
24...Daniela Hantuchova
25...Justine Henin
25...Serena Williams
26...Laura Granville
28...Patty Schnyder
[by rank]
#1....Justine Henin
#3....Jelena Jankovic
#8....Serena Williams
#12...Daniela Hantuchova
#15...Patty Schnyder
#19...Marion Bartoli
#45...Michaella Krajicek
#77...Laura Granville

*MEN'S FINAL 16 - TOP HALF*
[by nation]
3...France (Gasquet, Mathieu, Tsonga)
1...Germany (Haas)
1...Serbia (Tipsarevic)
1...Spain (Ferrero)
1...Switzerland (Federer)
1...United States (Roddick)

=============================
40-Love...

*WOMEN's ROUND OF 16 PREDICTIONS*
[TOP HALF]
#1 Henin d. #15 Schnyder
...Patty's luck has to end soon.
#7 S.Williams d. #10 Hantuchova
...just biding time until Justine vs. Serena.
#3 Jankovic d. #18 Bartoli
...a hunch, though Bartoli has looked very good on grass the past few weeks.
Granville d. #31 Krajicek
...I can't go with chalk on EVERY pick, though it's hard to call a #31 seed winning "chalk," whether or not her brother won the '96 Wimbledon title or not.

*MEN's ROUND OF 16 PREDICTIONS*
[TOP HALF]
#1 Federer d. #13 Haas
...Haas won't be intimidated, but it won't matter.
Tipsarevic d. #20 Ferrero
...#4.
#3 Roddick d. Mathieu
...Paul-Henri isn't Roger.
Tsonga d. #12 Gasquet
...Gasquet usually disappoints at some point, why not just get it out of the way?
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MATCH, "Sunday was supposed to be a much-deserved day of rest for the Daily Backspin, as well"... but since today pretty much served as that, I guess I'll just have to wish for that time machine to take us to 2009 instead. By the way, it's raining then, too... but it doesn't matter.





TOP QUALIFIERS: Su-Wei Hsieh/TPE & Olga Govortsova/BLR
TOP EARLY ROUND (1r-2r): Amelie Mauresmo/FRA
TOP MID-ROUND (3r-QF): (vacant)
TOP LATE ROUND (SF-F): (vacant)
=============================
FIRST SEED OUT: #30 Olga Poutchkova/RUS (1r-E.Vesnina/RUS)
UPSET QUEENS: (vacant)
REVELATION LADIES: French (Bartoli & Rezai to 3rd Rd.)
LAST QUALIFIERS STANDING: Olga Govortsova/BLR, Nika Ozegovic/CRO, Tatiana Perebiynis/UKR, Hana Sromova/CZE & Agnes Szavay/HUN (2nd Rd.)
IT GIRL: (vacant)
MISS OPPORTUNITY: (vacant)
COMEBACK PLAYER: (vacant)
DOUBLES STAR: (vacant)
JUNIOR BREAKOUT: (vacant)




All for Day 6.

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Day 5: To Tiptoe Along the White Mile

Patty Schnyder had better keep an eye out for falling anvils and/or pianos when she's walking around the Wimbledon grounds this weekend, for surely she's due for some bad luck to head her way.



On Day 5, for the second time in three matches at this tournament, Schnyder overcame an opponent who seemed to have a match tucked safely away in her tennis bag and walked off with an 8-6 win in the 3rd set. After surviving match point against Camille Pin in the 1st Round, this time the #15 seed sneaked past #24 Alona Bondarenko 6-4/3-6/8-6 despite the Ukrainian having held a 4-1 lead in the decisive set.

Sneaky Patty has to be operating on severely borrowed time now, right? This Round of 16 berth is her best Wimbledon showing after having reached at least the quarterfinals at all the other slams, and she's on the verge of possibly claiming her second consecutive Backspin Slam "Comeback" award after having reversed her Roland Garros fortune against Maria Sharapova by putting up two remarkable SW19 shouldn't-have-been wins after that shouldn't-have-been-a-loss match in Paris against the Supernova.

Of course, now Schnyder faces Justine Henin, who's yet to drop a set... well, not only at Wimbledon, but at any grand slam since last year's U.S. Open. Surely, Patty will get what's coming to her THIS TIME, right?

That is, unless she made some sort of deal with the devil during her stroll down "the White Mile", which, as Patty has told us, "can be very long... especially if it is white."


Love-Love... with Marion Bartoli (who's French, by the way, in case you hadn't heard) advancing to her second straight grand slam Round of 16 by way of her Day 5 win over Shahar Peer, she sealed up the "Revelation Ladies" award for the Pastries. And Aravane Rezai still has to play her own 3rd Round match against Ana Ivanovic.

**REVELATION LADIES - 2007**
Australian: Belarussians
Roland Garros: Italians
Wimbledon: French

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Love-15... the "Upset Queens" crown rests on the shoulders of Victoria Azarenka (BLR) and Tamira Paszek (AUT). If both lose their 3rd Round matches, the French will sweep both this and the "Revelation" Award. But if one of the two teenagers manages to pull off yet another upset -- Azarenka faces #14 Nicole Vaidisova, while Paszek squares off with #12 Elena Dementieva -- then they'll clinch the title for their countrywomen. What if both win? Of if they both win, AND Rezai knocks off AnaIvo? Well, we'll cross that bridge if and when we come to it.
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15-15...

SCORELINE-OF-NOTE #1: Women's Doubles 1st Rd. - Bethanie Mattek/Bryanne Stewart (USA/AUS) d. Martina Muller/Gabriela Navratilova (GER/CZE) - 7-6/7-5.
...the doubles team of "Martina & Navratilova." Get it?

SCORELINE-OF-NOTE #2: Men's Doubles 1st - Robert Lindstedt/Jarkko Nieminen (SWE/FIN) d. #2 Jonas Bjorkman/Max Mirnyi (SWE/BLR) - 2-6/7-6/7-5/6-3.
...with success comes sacrifice. As has been the case over the past year as veteran Bjorkman has had unexpected singles success at the slams ('06 Wimbledon SF, '07 RG 4th Rd.), his usual wealth of doubles success has hit skid row. Well, he's still alive in the 3rd Round of singles (he'll face Wayne Arthurs), while his Doubles participation lasted a total of four sets.
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15-30... has the fourth member of the would-be "Fantastovic Four" been found? At Roland Garros, it was wondered aloud in this space whether Janko Tipsarevic might be the Serb who'd join the trio of Djokovic, Jankovic and Ivanovic in the tennis comics pages (as well as the rarified ground found deep into grand slam draws). Well, on Day 5, he upset #5-seed Fernando Gonzalez, surviving match point against, to advance to the Round of 16 with an 8-6 in the 5th victory. Maybe someone should put the fourth version of that nifty superhero suit on order, just in case.
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15-40... Court 2, thanks to its buddy Court 18, had the last laugh on Day 5 as #9-seed Martina Hingis' zombie-like existence on the All-England Club grounds was ended by unseeded American Laura Granville, 26. Granville matched her best-ever slam result (2002 Wimbledon 4th Round) with a quick elimination of the Swiss Miss, 6-4/6-2. The win, combined with #31 Michaella Krajicek's upset of #8 Anna Chakvetadze, sets up a Round of 16 match with all sorts of Backspin Slam Award implications. Surely, with the winner of the Granville/Krajicek reaching the QF, at least one (and maybe both) will be dubbed the winner of either the "It Girl" or "Miss Opportunity" awards for SW19 '07.
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30-40... please, will someone tell Mary Carillo that Daniela Hantuchova is from Slovakia and not the Czech Republic. Now, since I'm not one to criticize someone for mixing up a player's nation (not after "Marion Bartoli from Italy, and Tathiana Garbin from France"), but after Carillo made the same mistake three times over the course of an hour on Friday, you'd think that someone at ESPN2 might have politely questioned whether or not she realized she was inadvertantly confusing herself during her commentary about the tennis fortunes of the former Czechoslovakia and current Czech Republic (and, accidentally, Slovakia) during the Safarova/Jankovic match, thus bestowing the Maidens with an additional top player at the moment. No one saw fit to protect her from her own error? Not Chris Fowler? Darren Cahill? Patrick McEnroe? No one? Oh, well, at least I'm sure that all the Bartoli fans back in Rome were happy about HER victory today. Hmmm? What's that? Oh, crap.
=============================
MATCH, "Serena Williams def. Milagros Sequera 6-1/6-0"... uh-oh.





TOP QUALIFIERS: Su-Wei Hsieh/TPE & Olga Govortsova/BLR
TOP EARLY ROUND (1r-2r): Amelie Mauresmo/FRA
TOP MID-ROUND (3r-QF): (vacant)
TOP LATE ROUND (SF-F): (vacant)
=============================
FIRST SEED OUT: #30 Olga Poutchkova/RUS (1r-E.Vesnina/RUS)
UPSET QUEENS: (vacant)
REVELATION LADIES: French (Bartoli & Rezai to 3rd Rd.)
LAST QUALIFIERS STANDING: Olga Govortsova/BLR, Nika Ozegovic/CRO, Tatiana Perebiynis/UKR, Hana Sromova/CZE & Agnes Szavay/HUN (2nd Rd.)
IT GIRL: (vacant)
MISS OPPORTUNITY: (vacant)
COMEBACK PLAYER: (vacant)
DOUBLES STAR: (vacant)
JUNIOR BREAKOUT: (vacant)




All for Day 5.

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Day 4: Red Knickers and an Austrian Boot

When a tournament experiences no big upsets, fashion often takes center stage. While Maria Sharapova's "Swan Lake" dress is too classy-looking to cause a stir, Tatiana Golovin's choice to wear red knickers in what appeared to be a violation of the predominantly-white attire rules (apparently, it wasn't) became one of the boomlet stories of Wimbledon 2007.



Golovin, as is her way, seemed to bask in the spotlight her clothes inspired (hey, she's been here before, right?). But, on Day 4, the story shifted from what she was wearing to what happened on the court as the #17-seed became one of the highest-seeded woman to fall so far. Considering the Austrian teenager she lost to, THIS is the more important story.



16-year old Tamira Paszek, currently ranked #54, continued her upward climb with her 6-2/4-6/6-1 win over the Frussian Pastry. It won't be the last time the girl with the exciting forehand and emotional nature will steal the headline from one of her bigger-named opponents.

Tutored by Gustavo Kuerten's former coach, Paszek already has a fine list of accomplishments to her credit. She was the runner-up in both the 2005 Wimbledon (to Agnieszka Radwanska) and 2006 U.S. Open (to Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova) junior competitions. Late last season in Portoroz, the then-15 year old became the seventh youngest, and third lowest-ranked (#259) singles champion in WTA history... and she did it in just the third main draw of her pro career.

Earlier this season, she took Justine Henin to three sets, then did the same thing against Maria Sharapova two weeks ago in Birmingham. In between, she turned a 5-0 1st set deficit against Henin at Roland Garros into a tight 5-5 battle (Henin won 7-5) that pegged her, more so than even the promising Pavlyuchenkova at the moment, as a player capable of keeping up with the top talents in the game.

With Golovin dispatched, #12 Elena Dementieva comes up next. A win there would mean a Round of 16 match with either Svetlana Kuznetsova or "old" nemesis A-Rad. After that? Maybe Sharapova again.

Making her way through so many roadblocks isn't likely for a 16-year old newcomer... but at least it seems a safe bet that she'll finally get that bio in the 2008 WTA Guide that somehow eluded her this year.

Hey, small steps lead to bigger ones, right?


Love-Love... Well, he did it again. No one holds people's attention and stokes their hopes for nothing better than Tim Henman at Wimbledon. Against Feliciano Lopez, the Englishman lost two tie-break sets and was down 2-0 in the 3rd set. Prospects looked bleak... until Henman suddenly caught fire and won two sets to knot the match and send it to his second 5th set of this tournament. Just as the fans thought he might pull off a stunner, he was barely there the rest of the way. Lopez won the set 6-1, losing only one point on his serve throughout.
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15-Love... all the remaining women's qualifiers, lucky losers and wild cards lost on Day 4. After qualifier Severine Bremond (who also lost today, 6-0/6-3 to Maria Sharapova) reached the QF a year ago, the quintet of Olga Govortsova, Nika Ozegovic, Tatiana Perebiynis, Hana Sromova and Agnes Szavay all dropped out in the 2nd Round at this Wimbledon.

On the men's side, qualifiers Wayne Arthurs and Edouard Roger-Vasselin both advanced to the final 32.

As far as the Wimbledon "Upset Queens" and "Revelation Ladies," the final vote counts won't be official until after the 3rd Round, as some potential "tie-breakers" there could tip the decision one way or another. The "Upset Queens" contenders:

French: Alize Cornet (def. Kirilenko), Aravane Rezai (def. Perry & Schiavone)
Austrians: Yvonne Meusburger (def. Razzano), Tamira Paszek (def. Zahlavova-Strycova & Golovin)
Belarussians: Victoria Azarenka (def. Kostanic-Tosic & Garbin), Olga Govortsova (def. Arn), Tathiana Poutchek (def. Kutuzova)

As for the "Revelation Ladies":

French: Marion Bartoli & Aravane Rezai join Amelie Mauresmo in the Final 32
Czechs: Lucie Safarova & Nicole Vaidisova, though no real "revelations," could follow in the footsteps of the Fantastovics and place two in the Round of 16

Of course, there's also the possibility that the French could end up with Backspin's first ever sweep of the two awards, as well.
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30-Love... rarely has a slam ever held this true to form. With both Final 32's set, only two of the Top 16 seeds on both sides (#13 Dinara Safina & #11 Tommy Robredo) have failed to advance to the 3rd Round.

*WOMEN'S FINAL 32 - BY NATION
6...Russia (Chakvetadze, Dementieve, Kuznetsova, Petrova, Sharapova, Vesnina)
3...France (Bartoli, Mauresmo, Rezai)
3...USA (Granville, S.Williams, V.Williams)
2...Czech Republic (Safarova, Vaidisova)
2...Japan (Morigami, Sugiyama)
2...Serbia (Ivanovic, Jankovic)
2...Switzerland (Hingis, Schnyder)
1...Austria (Paszek)
1...Belarus (Azarenka)
1...Belgium (Henin)
1...Israel (Peer)
1...Italy (Santangelo)
1...Netherlands (Krajicek)
1...Poland (A.Radwanska)
1...Slovakia (Hantuchova)
1...Slovenia (Srebotnik)
1...Spain (Ruano-Pascual)
1...Ukraine (A.Bondarenko)
1...Venezuela (Sequera)

*MEN'S FINAL 32 - BY NATION
5...France (Gasquet, Mathieu, Monfils, Roger-Vasselin, Tsonga)
4...Russia (Davydenko, Safin, Tursunov, Youzhny)
4...Spain (Ferrero, Lopez, Nadal, Verdasco)
2...Argentina (Canas, Nalbandian)
2...Australia (Arthurs, Hewitt)
2...Germany (Haas, Kiefer)
2...Serbia (Djokovic, Tipsarevic)
2...Sweden (Bjorkman, Soderling)
2...USA (Blake, Roddick)
1...Chile (Gonzalez)
1...Croatia (Ljubicic)
1...Cyprus (Baghdatis)
1...Czech Republic (Berdych)
1...Finland (Nieminen)
1...Korea (Lee)
1...Switzerland (Federer)

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30-15...

SCORELINE-OF-NOTE #1: Women's Doubles 1st - #3 Yung-Jan Chan/Chia-Jung Chuang (TPE/TPE) d. Daniela Hantuchova/Ana Ivanovic (SVK/SRB) - 7-6/6-4.
...in order to maintain their grass court winning streak, the Taiwanese pair will likely have to take out even bigger names than the star-studded duo of Wonder Girl & AnaIvo.

SCORELINE-OF-NOTE #2: Women's Doubles 1st - Alona Bonadarenko/Kateryna Bondarenko (UKR/UKR) d. Stephanie Cohen Aloro/Virginie Razzano (FRA/FRA) - 6-1/6-2.
...the Radwanskas aren't in the Doubles draw, but the Polish duo's Ukrainian equivalent is alive and well.

SCORELINE-OF-NOTE #3: Women's Doubles 1st - Serena Williams/Venus Williams (USA/USA) d. Claire Curran/Anne Keothavong (GBR/GBR) - 6-1/6-3.
...speaking of sisters. Nothing like a six-time slam and Olympic Gold Medal-winning doubles team that isn't seeded, huh?

SCORELINE-OF-NOTE #4: Men's Doubles 1st - #1 Bob Bryan/Mike Bryan (USA/USA) d. Guillermo Garcia-Lopez/Fernando Verdasco (ESP/ESP) - 6-1/6-3/6-3.
...well, since I'm mentioning all-sibling doubles teams.
=============================
40-15...

=EARLY ROUND (1st-2nd) AWARDS=
TOP PLAYER: Amelie Mauresmo/FRA
RISERS: Nadia Petrova/RUS & Elena Vesnina/RUS
SURPRISES: Milagros Sequera/VEN & Laura Granville/USA
VETERANS: Patty Schnyder/SUI & Akiko Morigami/JPN
FRESH FACES Tamira Paszek/AUT & Aravane Rezai/FRA
DOWN: Olga Poutchkova/RUS & Anna Smashnova/ISR
COMEBACK: Virginia Ruano-Pascual/ESP
MATCH: 1st Round - Schnyder d. Pin 6-1/4-6/8-6.
...They couldn't beat Sharapova in a slam, but they could slap together a nice little match against each other.
BEST SAVE: 1st Round - Hingis d. Cavaday 6-7/7-5/6-0.
...the British teen held two match points, but the Swiss Miss held on to avoid adding another 1st Round SW19 bad memory to her resume.
NEAR DISASTER: 1st Round - V.Williams d. Kudryavtseva 2-6/6-3/6-0.
...if Venus goes on to win this tournament, or even simply knocks out someone else who could, the Russian will be forced to wonder just how history would have changed had she been able to close out this match on the "Graveyard of Champions."
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MATCH, "And congratulations to Lindsay Davenport on her new baby boy"... the three-time grand slam champion will also apparently be playing World Team Tennis this summer. Hmmm, might there be another tennis-related announcement coming in her future?





TOP QUALIFIERS: Su-Wei Hsieh/TPE & Olga Govortsova/BLR
TOP EARLY ROUND (1r-2r): Amelie Mauresmo/FRA
TOP MID-ROUND (3r-QF): (vacant)
TOP LATE ROUND (SF-F): (vacant)
=============================
FIRST SEED OUT: #30 Olga Poutchkova/RUS (1r-E.Vesnina/RUS)
UPSET QUEENS: (vacant)
REVELATION LADIES: (vacant)
LAST QUALIFIERS STANDING: Olga Govortsova/BLR, Nika Ozegovic/CRO, Tatiana Perebiynis/UKR, Hana Sromova/CZE & Agnes Szavay/HUN (2nd Rd.)
IT GIRL: (vacant)
MISS OPPORTUNITY: (vacant)
COMEBACK PLAYER: (vacant)
DOUBLES STAR: (vacant)
JUNIOR BREAKOUT: (vacant)




All for Day 4.

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Day 3: Familiarity Breeds Fear

I do believe we've seen this before.



Serena Williams, still trying to play herself into form, is challenged in the early rounds of a slam but lives to fight another day. It happened in Melbourne just five months ago, when both Shahar Peer and Nadia Petrova served for the match against Williams before going down in three sets. Back then, Serena was just trying to play herself into shape. She ended up winning the tournament.

At Wimbledon, she's faced down a 4-5 1st set deficit against Lourdes Dominguez-Lino in the 1st Round, and then today overcame a 4-1 opening set hole against Alicia Molik (who also led 4-2 in the tie-break) to complete her second straight sets win of this tournament. This time, unless that hamstring that Richard Williams mentioned the other day becomes an issue, Serena doesn't have to worry about anything physical. After not playing any grass court tune-ups (something that nearly proved fatal to Venus against Alla Kudryavtseva yesterday), she's just trying to get her match toughness up to snuff at SW19. It explains the slow starts, as well as the blazing finishes.

Should Justine Henin be worried?

Well, of course. Because Serena is dead-on right when she says no one can beat her when she's in top form. It's how the "Serena Slam" came to be, after all. And while Henin has won her two matches handily, dropping just seven games and putting up two love sets, she can't expect the same listless and unfocused Williams she faced off with in Paris to again be on the other side of the net if (but really when) the two meet in the quarterfinals.

Henin can't expect anyone to knock off Serena for her. Not Milagros Sequera, her 3rd Round opponent, nor one of the other players (including Wonder Girl) who could face Williams before Le Petit Taureau.

The QF in Paris wasn't the be-all, end-all that so many wanted to make it out to be. The Henin-Jankovic SF meeting was that match for Roland Garros. That's not the case with Wimbledon. Justine vs. Serena could take place several days before the final Saturday, but it will likely be the most important match of this tournament.

Let the countdown begin.


Love-Love... even with a large portion of the day rendered unusable due to the rain (2009...2009...2009), the women did manage to complete the 1st Round and nine of the sixteen top half 2nd Round matches, while the men finished off just five 2nd Rounders. Tim Henman, in his quest to play EVERY day for as long as he's in this tournament, completed just two games against Feliciano Lopez before play was halted.
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15-Love... in the women's final 64, thirty of the thirty-two seeds advanced (only Olga Poutchkova and Anabel-Medina Garrigues failed to get out of the 1st Round). In the few 2nd Rounders that were completed, two more seeds (Sybille Bammer & Samantha Stosur) were immediately dispatched.

Tatiana Perebiynis was the fifth women's qualifier to win her 1st Round match, while Caroline Wozniacki was the second wild card to do so. 1st Round winner Olga Govortsova lost her 2nd Round match to #18 Marion Bartoli, droping the ranks of remaining women's qualifiers to four.
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30-Love...

SCORELINE-OF-NOTE #1: Women's 1st Rd. - #17 Tatiana Golovin(FRA) d. (Q)Su-Wei Hsieh(TPE) - 5-7/6-3/8-6.
...Tatiana returns. Scratch that, I mean the GOOD Tatiana returns. Long enough to win a tight one and avoid an upset, at least.

SCORELINE-OF-NOTE #2: Women's 1st Rd. - Virginia Ruano-Pascual(ESP) d. #22 Anabel Medina-Garrigues(ESP) 6-3/2-6/6-2.
...and now the two try to wipe their game faces off and play doubles together. Now, Virginia -- on smiling.

SCORELINE-OF-NOTE #3: Women's 2nd Rd. - Elena Vesnina d. Emilie Loit 6-2/6-2.
...the '06 Australian Open Round of 16er, and the conqueror of the first women's seed to fall at this year's AO and SW19, Vesnina next sets her sights on Queen Justine.
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MATCH SUSPENDED DUE TO RAIN, "Hey, why not go out in grand slam style? And by that, I mean Smashnova Grand Slam Style, which is quite different from the norm"... as this very well might be Anna Smashnova's final grand slam appearance, let this potentially be the final time Backspin makes note that she could be the worst grand slam player in women's tennis history. Today, for the 28th time in her 48 slam appearances, the veteran lost in the 1st Round. It was her seventh consecutive opening round loss at Wimbledon, and the eleventh in her last twelve trips to the All-England Club. If this is the end, then she'll leave maintaining her rather dubious distinction of being the only woman to win at least ten (twelve, actually... with a 12-1 record in finals) WTA singles titles but never reach the QF of a grand slam. Oh, and I mentioned the "Smashnova Grand Slam Style" exit? Yeah, she lost 6-0/6-0 to Martina Muller in 41 minutes. Hey, at least she outlasted Pavlyuchenkova by a cool 60 seconds.





TOP QUALIFIERS: Su-Wei Hsieh & Olga Govortsova
TOP EARLY ROUND (1r-2r): (vacant)
TOP MID-ROUND (3r-QF): (vacant)
TOP LATE ROUND (SF-F): (vacant)
=============================
FIRST SEED OUT: #30 Olga Poutchkova (1r-E.Vesnina)
UPSET QUEENS: (vacant)
REVELATION LADIES: (vacant)
LAST QUALIFIER STANDING: (vacant)
IT GIRL: (vacant)
MISS OPPORTUNITY: (vacant)
COMEBACK PLAYER: (vacant)
DOUBLES STAR: (vacant)
JUNIOR BREAKOUT: (vacant)




All for Day 3.

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Day 2: Zombies!?!?

Maybe Court 2, the "Graveyard of Champions," has lost it's dark magic. Either that, or the grounds of the All-England Club are currently "home turf" to a handful of zombies named Martina, Serena and Venus.

Over the years, the "hallowed" site has built its reputation on its odd prime-for-distraction placement, which simultaneously unnerves top players and energizes underdogs enough for them to pull off huge upsets. But after two days of Wimbledon '07, several "big fish" have wiggled off the hook.

On Monday, Martina Hingis saved two match points against Naomi Cavaday. Then, soon afterward, Serena Williams turned a tight 1st set against Lourdes Dominguez-Lino into a 2nd set blowout. On Day 2, it happened again as Venus Williams battled a game Alla Kudrayavtseva and lived to tell about it.



The Russian teen, another powerful blonde bomber currently residing in Florida, was controlling the action... until Williams desperately needed to get her you-what-together or else make Richard Williams' declaration that she'd win her fourth Wimbledon title this year look like one of my pre-season Top 10 predictions. The emotional Kudryavtseva led 6-2/2-0, but let the lead slip away. She was up 3-1 in the 3rd set, too, and even held a break point on Venus' serve at 4-4. Still, Williams held on to win 2-6/6-3/6-4.

Court 2... a failure yet again. And after being so dependable for all these years, too. Hmmm, I wonder if the ol' place can sense that its days are numbered? The ongoing renovation of the grounds will soon turn the "Graveyard" into a figment of Wimbledon history, as it's scheduled to be rebuilt in the location that currently holds Court 13. The chances that lightning will strike twice are rather remote, and the notion of the All-England Club without it's "Graveyard" is a sad turnabout, for sure. But maybe not -- not if Court 2 has lost all the evil mojo that's made it the bane of a least one top player's existence at this time most every year.

Well, unless Martina, Serena and Venus are really just "the walking dead" -- zombies -- whose trips to the boneyard are simply being delayed until a more appropriately devastating demise can be made into SW19 reality. Hmmm...


Love-Love... Well, for once, Tim Henman didn't save the worst for last. Resuming his match with Carlos Moya at 5-5 in the 5th set, he steadily held serve until the score was 11-11 as the overflow of attendees on Henman Hill wondered when he'd implode. He nearly did, but saved a break point with a first serve ace... then another on a kicker ace on a second serve. It was easy to sense that Henman didn't have many more saves left in him, and the man himself must have realized that his moment to seize victory -- or fumble it away -- had arrived. On Moya's serve, Henman failed to covert match points #5 and #6, but saw the Spaniard double-fault on #7 to give the Brit a 13-11 final set victory. Hey, if you can't take it yourself, it's just as nice to receive a gift such as that, huh? Whew!



Tuesday might have been the last day in office for Tony Blair, but it wasn't the last for Tim Henman. Of course, there's always tomorrow.
=============================
Love-15... it seemed to take forever, what with Court 2 failing to hold up its end of the deal, and Camille Pin seizing up at the worst moment, but the first women's seed was finally bounced from the tournament -- #30 Olga Poutchkova. The Russian lost to her countrywoman, Elena Vesnina, 6-1/6-3. It's the second time in '07 that Vesnina has been the mastermind behind the elimination of the first seed in a slam.

**2007 FIRST SEEDS OUT**
Australian: #25 Medina-Garrigues (Vesnina)
Roland Garros: #31 Bremond (Krajicek)
Wimbledon: #30 Poutchkova (Vesnina)

=============================
Love-30... The men's 1st Round was completed on Day 2 (seriously, does any slam make up for lost time better than Wimbledon?), and eight of the sixteen qualifiers are still alive, along with "lucky loser" Frank Dancevic (the Canadian defeated Stefan Koubek). So far, four women's qualifiers, one wild card and one "lucky loser" (Alize Cornet, who upset Maria Kirilenko) have advanced with twenty-one 1st Round matches still to play. The women who have advanced:

Alize Cornet, FRA (LL)
Olga Govortsova, BLR (Q)
Katie O'Brien, GBR (WC)
Nika Ozegovic, CRO (Q)
Hana Sromova, CZE (Q)
Agnes Szavay, HUN (Q)
=============================
15-40...

SCORELINE-OF-NOTE #1: Women's 1st Rd. - #11 Nadia Petrova(RUS) def. Vania King(USA) - 6-0/6-1.

...Backspin won't get too excited about one match, but it's nice to see Nadia finally put together a solid match that maybe she can use to build up her confidence. With Ivanovic having lost to Hantuchova last week, there's an opening for Petrova to reach the QF in her section. If her body holds up, that is. See, like I said, this is a definite wait-and-see situation.

SCORELINE-OF-NOTE #2: Women's 1st Rd. - Bethanie Mattek(USA) def. Vasilisa Bardina(RUS) - 6-1/6-0.

...after poking the often fashion-unconscious Mattek for sometimes making more news for what she wears than what she does on the court, she deserves a mention for a thoroughly dominating performance (she committed just 3 unforced errors to 15 winners) in a slam.

SCORELINE-OF-NOTE #3: Women's 1st Rd. - #5 Svetlana Kuznetsova(RUS) def. Julia Vakulenko(UKR) - 4-6/6-4/6-3.

...Vakulenko has spent most of her time in Europe the last few months knocking off big name players, then retiring from tournaments with injuries. For a while, after taking the 1st set and battling the Contessova to a draw deep into the 2nd, it looked like she might be setting herself up for another star-crossed week. Kuznetsova took care of that for her.
=============================
MATCH, "Some day her day will arrive... but not today"... Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, 15, has had one of the most notable junior careers in memory, but she's still a literal neophyte on the WTA tour. She made her grand slam main draw debut today in a 1st Round match against Daniela Hantuchova. An intriguing matchup, for sure. Some, such as SI's Jon Wertheim, even predicted the Russian would win the match. But, sometimes, talent and moments don't match up. Hantuchova won 6-0/6-1 in 40 minutes. One day, Pavlyuchenkova will have her moment in the grand slam sun... but it wasn't today. But, before today, the teenager had only played one main draw tour match in her career (a 1st Round loss to Nicole Vaidisova last year in Moscow). Call it a learning experience, little Hordette, and move on... after all, your sweet 16th isn't until next week.





TOP QUALIFIERS: Su-Wei Hsieh & Olga Govortsova
TOP EARLY ROUND (1r-2r): (vacant)
TOP MID-ROUND (3r-QF): (vacant)
TOP LATE ROUND (SF-F): (vacant)
=============================
FIRST SEED OUT: #30 Olga Poutchkova (1r-E.Vesnina)
UPSET QUEENS: (vacant)
REVELATION LADIES: (vacant)
LAST QUALIFIER STANDING: (vacant)
IT GIRL: (vacant)
MISS OPPORTUNITY: (vacant)
COMEBACK PLAYER: (vacant)
DOUBLES STAR: (vacant)
JUNIOR BREAKOUT: (vacant)




All for Day 2.

Read more...

Day 1: Dancing on the Head of a (Camille) Pin

Even with the Supernova out of sight, she wasn't out of mind... for her memory was surely invoked on Day 1 at Wimbledon.

You see, today the two players who blew golden opportunities to defeat Maria Sharapova at this season's previous grand slam events met in a "Supernovic Rubber Match"...or something like that. And, wouldn't you know it, Patty Schnyder and Camille Pin managed to participate in another wild one.

First off, a quick bit of history to jog the memory. In Melbourne, Pin served for the match in the 1st Round against Sharapova, but ended up losing a 9-7 3rd set under Extreme Heat Conditions. In Paris, Schnyder served for the match three times, and held two match points, in her 4th Round matchup with the Russian. She lost a 9-7 3rd set.

Sharapova or no Sharapova, these two just must have this sort of thing in their blood this season. This time around, Pin held the 3rd set lead, served for the match, held match point... you know the drill. After a rain delay with Pin up 5-4, Schnyder came back to win the match 8-6 in the deciding set. Some people learn. Some people don't.

At least the match didn't end with another 9-7 score... so maybe SOME progress has been made.


Love-Love... You know it's raining at Wimbledon when ESPN2 pulls out the old Borg vs. McEnroe marathon tie-break footage from 1980. Hmmm, once the roof is in place, will such "tradition" be lost forever?
=============================
15-Love... the revolutionary antidote necessary to avoid so many rain-delayed hours with ZERO tennis at the All-England Club won't arrive until the retractable roof is ready to go in 2009, but the initially shocking appearance of Centre Court for the 2007 Championships will be difficult to forget. And it's likely a matter of opinion whether or not that's a good thing.



At first glance, it's hard to believe it's actually Centre Court at all, seeing it has no overhanging roof. The immediate image of comparable "desolation" to that of the empty "temporary" Centre Court is that of a lunar windswept moonscape, SW19 style. But, after a while, the beauty of the stripped-down most-famous-court-in-tennis is impossible to destroy. In fact, it's quite obvious to the naked eye. In some ways, you could even make a case that it's still-stately openness is the equal in beauty to the uniquely intimate appearance the court has had, for the most part, since 1922. But, of course, that might be a matter of opinion.
=============================
30-Love... well, no matter how anyone feels about Centre Court's look this year, it's easy to declare that Roger Federer managed to top his cream-colored blazer look of a season ago. This time, in a nod to the style of the champions of old, he walked onto the court for Day 1's opening match with a white blazer... along with matching vest and pants. Classic, as always.


=============================
40-Love...in news non-Wimbledon, Prince William and that Kate Middleton girl are back together. And in the NON-earth shattering information department, it should be noted that Lisa Raymond reclaimed the #1 doubles ranking on Monday from Cara Black after she and Sam Stosur won the Eastbourne title. Meanwhile, in the Davos $10K event, 17-year old Stephanie Vogt won her first career ITF singles title with a win in the final over Australia's Jessica Moore. I mention the world #1025's triumph because she's from Liechtenstein (LIE... as abbreviated by the WTA), and who knows when the next time will be come for Liechtenstein to be mentioned in Backspin?
=============================
40-15...

SCORELINE-OF-NOTE #1: Women's 1st Rd. - #9 Martina Hingis (SUI) d. Naomi Cavaday (GBR) 6-7/7-5/6-0.

...with nary a women's seed having fallen (and only #27 Philip Kohlschreiber on the men's side), it looked like the back-from-an-injury-layoff Hingis was going to be the first. British teen Cavaday even had two match points in the 2nd set, but then crumbled after failing to convert. No Jelena Dokic, circa 1999, Cavaday will have to live with her "what if" moment of Day 1. Meanwhile, Radek Stepanak will deal with the "Martina Curse," since as his fiancee survived, the men's '06 Wimbledon quarterfinalist was knocked out on Day 1 by Paul-Henri Mathieu.

SCORELINE-OF-NOTE #1: Women's 1st Rd. - #7 Serena Williams (USA) d. Lourdes Dominguez-Lino (ESP) 7-5/6-0.

...for a moment, it looked like Serena might be in for a fight. But... ummm, no.
=============================
40-30... TRIVIA NOTE: The first replay challenge on Centre Court? By Teimuraz Gabashvili in his three-set loss to Roger Federer. The Russian lost the challenge, giving Federer no reason to express any negative opinion about the use of replay.
=============================
Deuce... B.Becker will be leading Juan Ignacio Chela two sets to one, 3-3 in the 4th, when they resume play on Day 2. Of course, it's Benjamin and not Boris... but it's never a bad thing to remember the redheaded German bounding around Centre Court when he first burst onto the scene as a teenager in the mid-to-late 1980's. Hey, he's Backspin's favorite male player... let me have my memories.

=============================
Ad... QUESTION: when you have to qualify a "record," say by noting that Federer's quest to match Bjorn Borg's "record" of five straight Wimbledon titles would make him only the second man in "the last 100 years" to do so, is it still a record? Considering, in the Club's "ancient times," only two other men ran off a similar string of titles -- William Renshaw (1881-86) won six straight and Laurence Doherty (1902-06) five -- should they be forgotten and ignored? Five in a row would be an increcible accomplishment, but it's not a record. Not yet.
=============================
MATCH, "Leave it to 'Their Tim' to maintain his melodramatic SW19 history"...with Andy Murray out of the draw with a wrist injury, it was just like the old days as all the British men's tennis pressure fell onto the shoulders of 32-year old Tim Henman. He didn't disappoint... well, at least until the end, which is generally how things have gone throughout his Wimbledon career. Down two sets to one, he battled back to the take match to a fifth set. He fell down a break, and nearly a second, but held on and soon found himself up 5-4 on Moya's serve as the clock hovered around 9:15pm and play was about to be called. He saw four match points offered up to him, but he failed to convert any of them. At 5-5, play was suspended until Day 2. Dare the English fans even begin to harbor thoughts that another round of disappointment is NOT about to be plopped into their laps tomorrow? Hey, at least Henman has never been boring on Centre Court, right?
=============================





TOP QUALIFIERS: Su-Wei Hsieh & Olga Govortsova
TOP EARLY ROUND (1r-2r): (vacant)
TOP MID-ROUND (3r-QF): (vacant)
TOP LATE ROUND (SF-F): (vacant)
=============================
FIRST SEED OUT: (vacant)
UPSET QUEENS: (vacant)
REVELATION LADIES: (vacant)
LAST QUALIFIER STANDING: (vacant)
IT GIRL: (vacant)
MISS OPPORTUNITY: (vacant)
COMEBACK PLAYER: (vacant)
DOUBLES STAR: (vacant)
JUNIOR BREAKOUT: (vacant)




All for Day 1.

Read more...

SW19 Preview: Reasons Why, Reasons Why Not

Justine Henin and the All-England Lawn Tennis & Croquet Club... it doesn't appear to be a match made in tennis heaven.

The Club hosts a tournament on a surface that's not supposed to fit her game like a glove. She's not big, and she doesn't possess one of those SuperServes that have enabled Big Babes to win the title with regularity. Le Petit Taureau doesn't exactly fit the classic model of what a Wimbledon champion is supposed to look like.

But when has that ever stopped her before?



After emerging from Roland Garros with her family by her side and expressing her belief that she's "at peace," has Henin ever entered a slam on more of a high than she enters the 2007 Wimbledon? On Saturday, she even put up a result, outlasting Amelie Mauresmo in the Eastbourne final, that can only stoke her belief even more that this could be her year to hold up the big plate. A season ago, after all, it was Mauresmo who defeated Henin on the final Saturday in London SW19.

Queen Justine comes to Wimbledon having reached at least the final of the last five grand slams she's played. Her first career slam final was in 2001... at SW19, where she pushed an in-her-prime Venus Williams to three sets. Two semifinals and last year's RU result (after another three-setter) later, Henin sports a 40-9 career mark on grass and begins this tournament not only being able to clearly see the reasons why she can finally win it, but also why so many of the other contenders might have a tougher time of it than herself.

Are the Williams sisters ready for a big result here, having not been at their best for weeks or months? Okay, so that one's a little suspect... of course they could be, but they'll still have to raise their games from recent efforts to do so. Is Maria Sharapova's serve steady or her confidence strong enough to survive a monster draw? Could Svetlana Kuznetsova, 0-4 in '07 finals but the last player to beat Henin, actually get herself together for a title run NOW, of all times? Did Mauresmo's late-match semi-meltdown signal that she's already nervous about defending her title? And what about the Serbs? Jelena Jankovic tends to peak right BEFORE the slams, and has never beaten Henin; while Ana Ivanovic was taken out by Daniela Hantuchova in a QF match in the Netherlands last week in her only grass court tune-up.

Meanwhile, Henin has won eleven straight matches, and eighteen of her last nineteen overall. She's confident after Eastbourne, and reached the Wimbledon final a year ago. Plus, she's sniffing around the career slam, as well, as she's one SW19 title away from becoming the tenth woman to win all four titles.

*WOMEN'S CAREER SLAMS*
[AO-RG-W-US... completed slam/age]
Doris Hart [1-2-1-2]...1949 AO / 24
Mo Connolly [1-2-3-3]...1953 AO / 20
Shirley Fry [1-1-1-1]...1957 AO / 30
Margaret Smith-Court [11-5-3-5]...1963 Wimb / 20
Billie Jean King [1-1-6-4]...1972 RG / 28
Chris Evert [2-7-3-6]...1982 AO / 27
Martina Navratilova [3-2-9-4]...1983 US / 26
Steffi Graf [4-6-7-5]...1988 US / 19
Serena Williams [3-1-2-2]...2003 AO / 21
Justine Henin? [1-4-0-1]...2007 Wimb? / 25

Of course, there's that potential QF meeting with Serena Williams that looms on the horizon, and this isn't the same clay court the two met on in Paris a few weeks ago. But if Henin survives that match, she's suddenly the unquestioned favorite even with the possibility of mutliple former Wimbledon champs still in the draw at that point.

**RG/WIMB BACK-TO-BACK SWEEPS - OPEN ERA**
1970 Margaret Smith-Court
1971 Evonne Goolagong
1972 Billie Jean King
1982 Martina Navratilova
1984 Martina Navratilova
1988 Steffi Graf
1993 Steffi Graf
1995 Steffi Graf
1996 Steffi Graf
2002 Serena Williams
2007 Justine Henin??

There's a great deal to play for, and a "peaceful" Queen might just be up to the task. Hmmm, the Queen winning in England... concidence? Hey, maybe there's something going on here, after all.






=QUALIFYING ROUNDS=
TOP PLAYERS: Su-Wei Hsieh & Olga Govortsova
RISERS: Jorgelina Cravero & Zi Yan
SURPRISES: Nika Ozegovic & Casey Dellacqua
VETERANS: Kristina Brandi & Hana Sromova
FRESH FACES Agnes Szavay & Ayumi Morita
DOWN: Brenda Schultz-McCarthy
COMEBACK: Barbora Zahlavova-Strycova & Tatiana Perebiynis

=MATCHES=
Q1: Anda Perianu d. #2 Dominika Cibulkova 7-6/1-6/10-8
Q2: Nika Ozegovic d. #4 Stephanie Cohen-Aloro 6-1/1-6/8-6
Q3: Jorgelina Cravero d. Klara Zakopalova 5-7/7-5/7-5


=THE QUALIFIERS=

*BY AGE*
17...Ayumi Morita (JPN)
18...Olga Govortsova (BLR)
18...Agnes Szavay (HUN)
21...Barbora Zahlavova Strycova (CZE)
21...Su-Wei Hsieh (TPE)
22...Nika Ozegovic (CRO)
22...Casey Dellacqua (AUS)
22...Zi Yan (CHN)
24...Tatiana Perebiynis (UKR)
25...Jorgelina Cravero (ARG)
29...Hana Sromova (CZE)
30...Kristina Brandi (PUR)
(lucky loser)
17...Alize Cornet (FRA)

*BY RANKING*
#70....Agnes Szavay
#113...Casey Dellacqua
#119...Jorgelina Cravero
#127...Su-Wei Hsieh
#145...Barbora Zahlavova Strycova
#154...Olga Govortsova
#169...Hana Sromova
#174...Ayumi Morita
#189...Nika Ozegovic
#192...Zi Yan
#202...Tatiana Perebiynis
#206...Kristina Brandi
(lucky loser)
#140...Alize Cornet

*MOST 2007 SLAM QUALIFIERS*
[players]
2...Jorgelina Cravero (AO/W)
2...Su-Wei Hsieh (RG/W)
2...Agnes Szavay (RG/W)
[nations]
6...Czech Republic
4...Ukraine

*WIMBLEDON SINGLES FINALS*
2000 Venus Williams d. Lindsay Davenport
2001 Venus Williams d. Justine Henin
2002 Serena Williams d. Venus Williams
2003 Serena Williams d. Venus Williams
2004 Maria Sharapoav d. Serena Williams
2005 Venus Williams d. Lindsay Davenport
2006 Amelie Mauresmo d. Justine Henin-Hardenne

*WIMBLEDON JUNIOR FINALS*
2002 Vera Dushevina d. Maria Sharapova
2003 Kirsten Flipkens d. Anna Chakvetadze
2004 Kateryna Bondarenko d. Ana Ivanovic
2005 Agnieszka Radwanska d. Tamira Paszek
2006 Caroline Wozniacki d. Magdalena Rybarikova

*WIMBLEDON TITLES - ACTIVE*
3...Venus Williams (2000-01,05)
2...Serena Williams (2002-03)
1...Maria Sharapova (2004)
1...Amelie Mauresmo (2006)
1...Martina Hingis (1997)


Love-Love... Wimbledon won't be the same come 2009, which will be the first year Centre Court will have a retractable roof that'll end those rainy, match-less days for all eternity. But, as a result of the construction, Centre Court won't be quite the same in 2007, either. See, for the first time since 1922, play there this year will take place without any roof at all. It'll return in 2008, but this time around the roof that usually covers much of the attending crowd, and gives the court its uniquely intimate feel, won't be there. Windy conditions could truly serve up an interesting concoction on the already sometimes-unpredicable grass court surface. Yes, winning Wimbledon this season will take a little extra doing... and even the arrival of the Hawk-Eye replay system won't provide a place to hide.
=============================
Love-15... in the final round of qualifying on Thursday, Taiwan's Su-Wei Hsieh put in extra duty, not only reaching the main draw in singles, but doing so in doubles, as well, by qualifying with partner Alla Kudryavtseva.
=============================
Love-30...potential first seeds out? How about:

=A REAL SHOT=
#22 Medina-Garrigues (vs. Ruano-Pascual)
#29 Schiavone (vs. Kremer)
#32 Poutchkova (vs. Vesnina)
=WOULDN'T BE SHOCKING=
#11 Petrova (vs. King)
#12 Dementieva (vs. Dechy)
#16 Peer (vs. Tanasugarn)
#17 Golovin (vs. Hsieh)
#24 A.Bondarenko (vs. Craybas)
#31 Krajicek (vs. Obziler)
=WORTH WATCHING=
#10 Hantuchova (vs. Pavlyuchenkova)
#13 Safina (vs. K.Bondarenko)
#21 Garbin (vs. Yan)
#26 Sugiyama (vs. South)
#28 Santangelo (vs. Morigami)
=THE LONG SHOTS... or are they?=
#2 Sharapova (vs. Chan)
#4 Mauresmo (vs. Jackson)
#5 Kuznetsova (vs. Vakulenko)
#8 Chakvetadze (vs. Kerber)
#9 Hingis (vs. Cavady)

=============================
15-30...potential last qualifer standing? In order...

Agnes Szavay, HUN
Tatiana Perebiynis, UKR
Nika Ozegovic, CRO

As for the wild card's:

Caroline Wozniacki, DEN
Katie O'Brien, GBR

=============================
15-40... what about the men's side? Well, here's the ATP Backspin take.
=============================
MATCH, "just like old times... and they could actually meet in the final, too"...Venus and Serena are set to become the center of attention again at SW19. They'll play doubles there for the first time since 2003, and they'll debut special gold rackets with inlaid jewels, too. Wonder if Roger Federer will be able to top that one year after his rather sharp cream-colored blazer immediately made it's mark in grand (slam) entrance history?=============================



=ROUND OF 16=
#1 Henin d. (Q)Szavay
#7 S.Williams d. #10 Hantuchova
#3 Jankovic d. #16 Peer
#8 Chakvetadze d. #20 Bammer
#6 Ivanovic d. (Q)Perebiynis
#4 Mauresmo d. #14 Vaidisova
#5 Kuznetsova d. Paszek
#23 V.Williams d. #2 Sharapova

...someone is likely going to be left bloodied and beaten after this round, for BOTH Venus and Maria cannot advance into the QF.

=QUARTERFINALS=
#1 Henin d. #7 S.Williams
#3 Jankovic d. #8 Chakvetadze
#4 Mauresmo d. #6 Ivanovic
#23 V.Williams d. #5 Kuznetsova

...Henin vs. Serena, a rematch of the Roland Garros QF, might be as close to a pre-weekend final as you'll likely to find in any slam.

=SEMIFINALS=
#1 Henin d. #3 Jankovic
#4 Mauresmo d. #23 V.Williams

...Ahab is hoping the White Whale doesn't make it this far. Of course, if it doesn't, then the peg-legged one would likely face Serena. Neither scenario is what dreams are made of for the Serb.

=FINAL=
#1 Henin d. #4 Mauresmo

...if Amelie had won in Eastbourne, I very well might have gone the other way here. But, instead, the Queen reigns at the All-England Club.




For a second opinion, from Tennisrulz Head Honcho Pierre Cantin, read his Wimbledon preview blog.






All for now.

Read more...

Wk.25- Bare Bones Backspin II

Hmmm, let's see... how to wrap up Week 25 succinctly, but also quickly enough to allow the immediate shifting of focus to Wimbledon? Okay, here it goes:

"Jelena Jankovic isn't a machine, but Justine Henin might be at the moment... Anna Chakvetadze might not be able to beat Maria Sharapova, but she can beat the people who beat Maria Sharapova... Amelie Mauresmo, in a matter of minutes, went from a potential Wimbledon favorite to defend her title to a big question mark when the pressure is turned up... and, um, Backspin is glad about that because Le Petit Taureau's title in Eastbourne allowed the upcoming Wimbledon preview article to retain it's intended resonance. Whew!"

All right, that should do it. Now it's time to cross some t's and dot some i's.

*WEEK 25 CHAMPIONS*

EASTBOURNE, ENGLAND (II-Grass)
S: Justine Henin d. Amelie Mauresmo 7-5/6-7/7-6
D: Raymond/Stosur d. Peschke/Stubbs

's-HERTOGENBOSCH, NETHERLANDS (III-Grass)
S: Anna Chakvetadze d. Jelena Jankovic 7-6/3-6/6-3
D: Chan/Chuang d. Medina-Garrigues/Ruano-Pascual


PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Justine Henin
... Four times women have defended their 2006 tour titles this season, and Henin has accounted for three of them. This time she repeated as Eastbourne champion, matching her 3rd set tie-break win from a year ago over Anastasia Myskina, only this time accomplishing it against '06 Wimbledon champ Amelie Mauresmo. The Queen's fifth title on the season makes her 40-9 on grass in her career.
=============================
RISERS: Anna Chakvetadze & Yung-Jan Chan/Chia-Jung Chuang
... Marion Bartoli reached her second straight grasscourt SF in Eastbourne, but this award goes to the title winners this week. Chakvetadze played the Henin role against Jelena Jankovic in 's-Hertogenbosch, winning a three-set final to claim her first grass court title. Meanwhile, Chan/Chuang made their grass tune-up schedule a two-for-two affair as they followed up their Birmingham win with a title in the Netherlands, too.
=============================
SURPRISES: Katie O'Brien & Melanie South
... Wimbledon is nearly here, so it's time for the Brits to actually put up a few results. In Eastbourne, O'Brien qualified and defeated Vasilisa Bardina in the 1st Round, while wild card South (who upset Francesca Schiavone at Wimbledon last year) outlasted Alicia Molik in a 3rd set tie-break to take her 1st Round match.
=============================
VETERANS: Amelie Mauresmo & Lisa Raymond
... Sure, Mauresmo was gobbled up by the moment in the closing games of the Eastbourne final, but her wins over Santangelo, Peer and Petrova, as well as her seeming command of the Henin match before she served at 5-4 in the 3rd set should have at least prepared her well for her attempt to defend at the All-England Club. Meanwhile, Raymond & Samantha Stosur won a tour-leading fifth doubles title of the season in Eastbourne. The battle for doubles #1 is likely to be a season-long push-and-pull event.
=============================
FRESH FACE: Angelique Kerber
... The German teenager continued to produce some good big tour results after so much ITF success. In 's-Hertogenbosch, she knocked off Yung-Jan Chan and Elena Vesnina en route to the QF. She'll face Chakvetadze in the 1st Round of Wimbledon.
=============================
DOWN: Vera Zvonareva & Severine Bremond
... Zvonareva's wrist injury, which put her out of Roland Garros, will keep her away from SW19, as well. Meanwhile, a year ago, qualifier Bremond was a surprise quarterfinalist at Wimbledon. So far, her 2007 grasscourt results have yet to produce a win after she lost a second straight 1st Rounder, to Eleni Daniilidou (after falling to Molik in Birmingham) in the Netherlands.
=============================


1. East F - Henin d. Mauresmo
...7-5/6-7/7-6. Henin remains unbeaten at Eastbourne... and the All-England Club could do far worse than have this match-up at the end of the upcoming fortnight. Henin was up a break in the 2nd, but Mauresmo battled back. Mauresmo was up a break in the 3rd, and served at 5-4. But Henin, more and more comfortable on grass all the time, ended up taking the match as her game held steady while Mauresmo's lost it's edge in crunch time. But can the defending SW19 champion rediscover her '06 magic once she sets foot on the grounds at Wimbledon?
=============================
2. Neth F - Chakvetadze d. Jankovic
...7-6/3-6/6-3. Chakvetadze lost a 5-1 1st set lead, but was saved from the slide by a rain delay at 5-4. She came back to win the set in a tie-break in what proved to be the key moment of the match.
=============================
3. East QF - Henin d. Vaidisova
...6-2/6-2. It's nearly July, and neither the Dynamova nor the Supernova have claimed a title yet.
=============================
4. Neth 2nd - Safina d. Krajicek
...6-4/3-6/6-4. Marat's sister gets her revenge on Richard's sister for beating her in the final in 's-Hertogenbosch a year ago.
=============================
5. Neth QF - Hantuchova d. Ivanovic
...6-3/6-1. Wonder Girl DOES list grass as her favorite surface.
=============================
HM- East QF - Petrova d. Bammer
...6-7/7-5/6-4. Petrova talks about her questionable motivation at the moment, but one wonders if she were in better shape and healthier (hmmm, could there be a connection?), as she was at the start and end of '06, if the likely higher victory total might alter her thinking a little. Even in this match, she went through multiple medical time-outs before finally prevailing, only to retire after a set with a shoulder problem in the SF against Mauresmo.
=============================
HM- East QF - Mauresmo d. Peer
...6-3/6-4. Ummm, maybe the Tennis Channel should re-think how it abbreviates Peer's name in the corner-of-the-screen scorebox. "PEE" is just, well, it's just not right. Or at least it SHOULDN'T be.
=============================



**2007 WTA TITLES**
5...JUSTINE HENIN
4...Jelena Jankovic
2...Serena Williams
2...ANNA CHAKVETADZE

**BEST 2007 FINAL WIN PCT. - MULTIPLE FINALS**
100% - Serena Williams (2-0)
100% - ANNA CHAKVETADZE (2-0)
83% - JUSTINE HENIN (5-1)
67% - JELENA JANKOVIC (4-2)

**MOST SINGLES TITLES - 2006/07**
11..JUSTINE HENIN (6/5)
6...Nadia Petrova (5/1)
5...Maria Sharapova (5/0)
5...Amelie Mauresmo (4/1)
4...Jelena Jankovic (0/4)
4...ANNA CHAKVETADZE (2/2)
4...Kim Clijsters (3/1)

**2007 TITLES -- RUSSIANS**
2...ANNA CHAKVETADZE (HOBART,'s-HERT.)
1...Elena Dementieva (Strasbourg)
1...Nadia Petrova (Paris)
1...Dinara Safina (Gold Coast)
1...Yaroslava Shvedova (Bangalore)

**DEFENDED TITLES IN 2007**
Feb - Amelie Mauresmo (Antwerp, 2005-07)
Feb - Justine Henin (Dubai, 2006-07)
Jun - Justine Henin (Roland Garros, 2005-07)
Jun - JUSTINE HENIN (EASTBOURNE, 2006-07)

**2007 DOUBLES TITLES - TEAMS**
5...LISA RAYMOND/SAMANTHA STOSUR
4...Cara Black/Liezel Huber
3...YUNG-JAN CHAN/CHIA-JUNG CHUANG
2...Zi Yan/Jie Zheng


All for now.

Read more...

Wk.24- A Rolling Jelena Gathers No Moss

Jelena Jankovic won on Sunday... again.



This time the victory earned her a title on the Birmingham, England grass. Over Maria Sharapova, no less... so it was surely impressive. But one has to wonder when the Energizer bunny of the 2007 season is going to run out of steam.

Not shy about stating her dislike for practice, Jankovic prefers to play matches that count during the week. She's been doing it for 22 of the season's 25 weeks, so far, and is set to play in the Netherlands this week. After that, it's off to the All-England Club. Her non-stop schedule has garnered four titles, tied for the tour's best, and a WTA-best 49 wins in 60 matches (and that's not counting her 4-0 Fed Cup record). In the 2nd Quarter alone, she's put up 28 victories -- twice the number of any other player (Justine Henin and Svetlana Kuznetsova's are next with 14) who's spent time in the Top 10 this year. After Wimbledon, she'll have traversed the monster 14-week 2Q, from green clay to red clay to grass, from the U.S. to Europe, with but one week off to ponder what she's accomplished in climbing to #3 in the rankings.

Up till now, her consistency has been a marvel. Only twice -- a QF in Tokyo, and a 3rd Round in Miami -- has she failed to win at least two matches in her fifteen tournaments. Her first career grass court title this weekend (at the same Edgbaston event where she lost the final to the Supernova in' 05) means that her four 2007 titles have all come on different surfaces:

Auckland - Hard Court
Charleston - Green Clay
Rome - Red Clay
Birmingham - Grass

So, she's a Renaissance lady. But one has to wonder what Jelena will do once the WTA season is over. How will she fill her day? Will she pull people off the street to participate in her own makeshift tournament? I guess that'll be okay... as long as Justine doesn't happen to be walking by at the time.

Until then, though, a rolling Jelena gathers no moss.

*WEEK 24 CHAMPIONS*

BIRMINGHAM, ENGLAND (III-Grass)
S: Jelena Jankovic d. Maria Sharapova 4-6/6-3/7-5
D: Chan/Chuang d. T.Sun/Tu

BARCELONA SPAIN (IV-RCO)
S: Meghann Shaughnessy d. Edina Gallovits 6-3/6-2
D: Llagostera-Vives/Parra Santonja d. Dominguez-Lino/Pennetta


PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Jelena Jankovic
...Jankovic survived a 7-5 3rd set against Maria Kirilenko early in the tournament, then did the same against Sharapova in the final after both were forced to pile several matches on top of another over the weekend to make up for the rain delays during the week. But, other than you-know-who, nothing seems to bother Jelena this season.
=============================
RISERS: Yung-Jan Chan/Chia-Jung Chuang & Marion Bartoli
...the Taiwanese doubles pair won their second tour title of the season in Birmingham, as they both continue to shoot up the rankings. After being ranked #119 and #87 in doubles at the end of '06, Chan and Chuang are now at #10 and #11, respectively. Meanwhile, Pastry Bartoli knocked off Daniela Hantuchova at Edgbaston to reach her third SF of the season.
=============================
SURPRISE: Edina Gallovits
...the 22-year old Romanian, winner of 12 ITF titles in her career, had her best WTA result with a run to her first tour final in Barcelona with wins over Ruano-Pascual, Dominguez-Lino, Kanepi and Razzano. She's the second Romanian to reach a final in '07, and the third to get to at least a SF after none did so a season ago.
=============================
VETERAN: Meghann Shaughnessy
...the 28-year old American vet added a sixth career title with her win in Barcelona. Quietly, it was her third tour title in the past fifteen months. Aside from the win the final over Gallovits, the Shillelagh also put up victories over Pous Tio, Szavay and Pennetta.
=============================
FRESH FACES: Shuai Zhang & Ayumi Morita

...18-year old Zhang has makde a strong case to be the next Chinese player to watch, having won 20 straight ITF matches and four consecutive tournaments over the past few months. The latest came in a $50K in Guangzhou, with a win in the final over Russia's Regina Kulikova. Meanwhile, 17-year old Ayumi Morita looks to be the new promising Rising Sunner. In Birmingham, she qualified and then took out veterans Jill Craybas and countrywoman Ai Sugiyama in the main draw.
=============================
DOWN: Michaella Krajicek & Anastasia Myskina
...a year ago this week, Krajicek defeated Dinara Safina to take the Netherlands crown (they could meet again there this week, but in the 2nd Round), but last week she lost her first grass court tune-up match to Yuliana Fedak in Birmingham. And the Czarina's disasterous '07 season continued to slip away, as she pulled out of Wimbledon.
=============================


1. Birm Final - Jankovic d. Sharapova
...4-6/6-3/7-5. Sharapova is now 42-6 on grass in her career. As it turned out, this result was an improvement over last year, as she lost in the SF to Jamea Jackson in '06.
=============================
2. Barc Final - Shaughnessy d. Gallovits
...6-3/6-2. The race is on to see who'll be the first of the new wave of Romanians to win a tour title. Raluca? Sorana? Edina? Simona? Not sure which is which? You might soon.
=============================
3. Birm 2nd - King d. Molik
...7-6/6-4. King is the Steamer's personal version of Freddy Krueger. Although Molik opened with a good win over '06 Wimbledon quarterfinalist Severine Bremond, she lost yet another one to the American Idol to drop her career record against her to 1-3 since they first met at the U.S. Open last year.
=============================
4. Birm 1st - Kerber d. Poutchkova
...6-0/6-0. German teenager Kerber has four ITF titles this season, and might be about to supplant Groenefeld and do battle with Petkovic for the Top German spot on tour.
=============================
5. Birm 1st - King d. Schultz-McCarthy
...7-6/7-6. That King was able to withstand Schultz-McCarthy's serve and the 9-inch height difference could serve her well at SW19.
=============================
HM- Birm 3rd - Santangelo d. Vakulenko
...1-3, ret.. Vakulenko's star-crossed European spring continues. This time, she lost even though she was in the lead when the match ended.
=============================


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

**2007 WTA FINALS**
5...Justine Henin (4-1)
5...JELENA JANKOVIC (4-1)
4...SVETLANA KUZNETSOVA (0-4)
3...Ana Ivanovic (1-2)
3...Amelie Mauresmo (1-2)

**2007 FIRST-TIME FINALISTS - BY NATION**
2...ROMANIA (Cirstea-L/GALLOVITS-L)
2...Russia (Bardina-L/Shvedova-W)
1...Austria (Bammer-W)
1...Belarus (Azarenka-L)
1...Canada (Wozniak-L)
1...Germany (Arn-W)
1...Italy (Vinci-W)

**CAREER WTA SINGLES TITLES**
[active Americans]
34...Venus Williams (2007: 1)
28...Serena Williams (2007: 2)
7....Chanda Rubin (last 2003)
6....MEGHANN SHAUGHNESSY (2007: 1)
4....Lisa Raymond (last 2003)



...this week's "Battle Royale" picks are included with the Clay Court Awards, but here are the updated 2007 standings:


ROUND OF 16: Backspin 76-71
QUARTERFINALS: Pierre 46-38
SEMIFINALS: Pierre 41-38
FINALISTS: Backspin 17-15
CHAMPIONS: Backspin 5-4

ALSO THIS WEEK:
WIMBLEDON QUALIFYING



All for now.

Read more...

WTA Backspin Clay Court Awards

The Clay Court Awards are arriving a little later than normal (thanks WTA... we really needed that extra event in Barcelona) but, oddly enough, Justine still has that same smile on her face that she did a week ago.



*TOP CLAY COURT PLAYERS*
1. Justine Henin, BEL
...it's hard to beat perfection, which is just what Le Petit Taureau has pulled off at Roland Garros the last three years.
=============================
2. Jelena Jankovic, SRB
...thankfully, that peg leg doesn't get in the way against anyone other than Henin.
=============================
3. Ana Ivanovic, SRB
...the calm and collected man's Serb.
=============================
4. Svetlana Kuznetsova, RUS
...the Contessova's the best runner-up on tour this season, which isn't really a good thing when you've already proven you can win a grand slam.
=============================
5. Tatiana Golovin, FRA
...if only the Tatiana who started the clay season with her first career title had stuck around long enough to see where it led. But, alas, it wasn't meant to be. But, hey, at least she had a nice spread in FHM, right?

=============================
HM- Anabel Medina-Garrigues, ESP
...she won a title in Strasbourg, and finally -- FINALLY -- didn't fade away in the early rounds in Paris.
=============================

*RISERS*
1t. Jelena Jankovic (SRB)
1t. Ana Ivanovic (SRB)
3. Tatiana Golovin (FRA)
4. Anabel Medina-Garrigues (ESP)
5. Julia Vakulenko (UKR)
6. Mara Santangelo (ITA)
7. Yung-Jan Chan (TPE) / Chia-Jung Chuang (TPE)
8. Marion Bartoli (FRA)
9. Gisella Dulko (ARG)
10. Alona Bondarenko (UKR)
11. Dinara Safina (RUS)
12. Katarina Srebotnik (SLO)
13. Samantha Stosur (AUS)
14. Angelique Kerber (GER)
15. Karin Knapp (ITA)
HM- Olga Savchuk (UKR)

*FRESH FACES*
1. Yung-Jan Chan (TPE)
2. Lucie Safarova (CZE)
3. Aravane Rezai (FRA)
4. Ioana-Raluca Olaru (ROU) & Simona Halep (ROU)
5. Victoria Azarenka (BLR)
6. Tamira Paszek (AUT)
7. Aleksandra Wozniak (CAN)
8. Alize Cornet (FRA)
9. Agnes Szavay (HUN)
10. Alla Kudryavtseva (RUS)
11. Andrea Petkovic (GER)
12. Ksenia Milevskaya (BLR)
13. Agnieszka Radwanska (POL) / Urszula Radwanska (POL)
14. Shuai Zhang (CHN)
15. Anastasia Pivovarova (RUS)
HM- Dominika Cibulkova (SVK)

*SURPRISES*
1. Julia Vakulenko (UKR)
2. Edina Gallovits (ROU)
3. Yuliana Fedak (UKR)
4t. Greta Arn (GER)
4t. Milagros Sequera (VEN)
5. Alicia Molik (AUS) / Mara Santangelo (ITA)
6. Mariana Duque-Marino (COL)
7. Maria-Fernanda Alves (BRA)
8. Maria-Emilia Salerni (ARG)
9. Polona Hercog (SLO)
10. Akgul Amanmuradova (UZB)
11. Maria Elena Camerin (ITA)
12. Stephanie Cohen Aloro (FRA)
13. Andreea Ehritt-Vanc (ROU)
14. Pauline Parmentier (FRA)
15. Mariya Koryttseva (UKR)
HM- Chin-Wei Chan (TPE)

*VETERANS*
1. Patty Schnyder (SUI)
2. Elena Dementieva (RUS)
3t. Greta Arn (GER)
3t. Milagros Sequera (VEN)
3t. Akiko Morigami (JPN)
4. Lisa Raymond (USA)
5. Katarina Srebotnik (SLO)
6. Venus Williams (USA)
7. Meghann Shaughnessy (USA)
8. Sybille Bammer (AUT)
9. Tathiana Garbin (ITA)
10. Nathalie Dechy (FRA)
HM- Cara Black (ZIM) / Liezel Huber (RSA)

*DOWN*
1. Martina Hingis (SUI)
2. Vera Zvonareva (RUS)
3. Chinese Fed Cup Team
4. Anastasia Myskina (RUS)
5. Anna-Lena Groenefeld (GER)
6. Kim Clijsters (BEL)
7. Maria Kirilenko (RUS)
8. Nicole Vaidisova (CZE)
9. Svetlana Kuznetsova (RUS) - in finals
10. Nadia Petrova (RUS)
HM- Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (RUS)

*COMEBACK PLAYERS*
1. Patty Schnyder (SUI)
2. Elena Dementieva (RUS)
3. Zi Yan (CHN) / Jie Zheng (CHN)
4t. Greta Arn (GER)
4t. Milagros Sequera (VEN)
6. Flavia Pennetta (ITA)
7. Karolina Sprem (CRO)
8. Mirjana Lucic (CRO)
9. Rossana De Los Rios (PAR)
10. Francesca Schiavone (ITA)
HM- Ashley Harkleroad (USA)

*ITF TOUR PLAYERS*
1. Yung-Jan Chan (TPE)
2. Angelique Kerber (GER)
3. Simona Halep (ROU)
4. Maria-Fernanda Alves (BRA)
5. Shuai Zhang (CHN)
HM- Casey Dell'Acqua (AUS)

TOP PERFORMANCE: Henin. Paris. Three straight titles. Thirty-five straight sets. Enough said.

MOST FANTASTIC PERFORMANCE X TWO: Serbian Fantastovics Jelena Jankovic and Ana Ivanovic both surged into the Top 10, won three straight Tier I titles (Charleston, Berlin & Rome) and reached the Roland Garros SF (with AnaIvo becoming the first Serbian-born player to reach a slam final since Monica Seles).

TOP PERFORMANCE BY ONE OF THE TATIANAS: Tatiana Golovin finally stayed healthy enough to win her first career singles title at Amelia Island, defeating Venus, Ivanovic and Petrova along the way. Soon after, the "other" Tatiana returned as she was hurt and missed Roland Garros. But, hey, at least she had that FHM- oh, sorry, already mentioned that, didn't I?

BEST MATCHES
Charleston SF - Jankovic d. V.Williams
...3-6/6-3/7-6. Jankovic took advantage of Williams' mid-match wobble, then went on to win a windy final against Safina to begin what was a glorious quarter for her whenever Justine wasn't around.
Berlin F - Ivanovic d. Kuznetsova
...3-6/6-4/7-6. Injuries to opponents helped AnaIvo get this far with a little less effort required. It's a good thing, too, since she needed all she had left to give Kuznetsova yet ANOTHER loss in a final in '07.

*THE BIGGEST UPSETS CAME IN TWO's*
Istanbul 2nd - Rezai d. V.Williams
...6-4/6-4. A career win for the Pastry with the controversial pop.
Istanbul SF - Rezai d. Sharapova
...6-2/6-4. Well, at least the other one was a "career win" until she got this one, "the fruit of (her) work".

*THE BIGGEST UPSETS CAME IN THREE's, as well*
Warsaw 2nd - Vakulenko d. Clijsters
...7-6/6-3. The Ukranian shoved Clijsters into an early retirement, but then ended up retiring from the tournament with an injury.
Berlin 3rd - Vakulenko d. Mauresmo
...2-6/6-1/6-2. Mauresmo didn't quit the sport after this one, though.
Berlin QF - Vakulenko d. Safina
...6-3/5-7/6-3. On the same day she knocked off Amelie, Vakulenko took out Dinara, too. Of course, her fractured fairy tale continued when she had to pull out of her SF match.

BIGGEST CHOKE: 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 CLAY COURT SEASON 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.

*BIZARRO MATCH OF CLAY SEASON*
Roland Garros 4th - Sharapova d. Schnyder
...3-6/6-4/9-7. In Melbourne, Sharapova won the Bizarro Match of the 1Q over Camille Pin by a 6-3/4-6/9-7 score under Extreme Heat conditions. In Paris, she did it again with a strikingly similar score against Schnyder despite the Swiss veteran serving three times for the match and holding two match points. After taking mild heat for a well-timed racket change when Schnyder held a 40-15 lead at 7-8 in the 3rd, Sharapova uttered the classic post-match quote, "It's tough being Mother Teresa and playing tennis at the same time."

*MOST VEXING SERIES*

...Justine Henin ran her career record against Jelena Jankovic to 6-0 with three 2Q clay wins over the Serb, including a 3-6/6-4/6-4 win in the Berlin QF after Jankovic led 6-3/4-4 before rain stopped play for the day. Ever mindful of her White Whale, Jankovic, even after winning the Rome title a short time later, joked and hit the nemisis nail right on the head when she said, "You know why I won? Because Henin didn't come." Funny, but even more true.

*BACK-PATTING MOMENT OF THE CLAY SEASON*
....contrary to what the weekly picks say, sometimes Backspin IS right about something. All the pre-season talk about how the Romanians should be watched proved prophetic during the clay season. After having no Romanians reach tour SF in 2006, the 2Q clay season saw three of them -- Ioana-Raluca Olaru, Sorana Cirstea & Edina Gallovits -- do it, with two (Cirstea & Gallovits) reaching a final. None have won a title... yet. But give 'em a little more time.

"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.

"JUST AN EXCUSE TO POST AN OLD ELISABETH SHUE COVER: the now 43-year old actress says she's training to become a professional tennis player on the lower rungs of the sport.


**OCCUPYING DIFFERENT ENDS OF THE SPECTRUM, as usual, FOR THE FINAL TIME**
...following their ironically opposing career paths away from each other, as Kim Clijsters walked away, Justine Henin made efforts to get closer. During the clay season, as Clijsters prepared for her wedding just months after Henin's marriage ended, the well-liked Belgian retired from the sport, saying, "it's been more than fun, but the rackets are hung up." Meanwhile, the begrudgingly-accepted Belgian reconnected with her estranged family and seemed to make strides toward being accepted as something other than the Belgian who wins the grand slam titles but doesn't make any friends along the way. The black hat isn't exactly white, just a shade of gray. But, when Henin can say, "For the first time in my life, I feel at peace," it's clear that some significant change has taken place. Let's see, is the smile still there?



Yep, it is.



**WEEK 25 PICKS**

EASTBOURNE, ENGLAND (II-Grass)
2006 FINAL: Henin-Hardenne d. Myskina
2007 TOP: Henin/Mauresmo
=============================


=SF=
Henin d. Bartoli
Mauresmo d. Petrova
=FINAL=
Henin d. Mauresmo

....if they meet at SW19, the result might be different, though.


=SF=
Vaidisova def Dementieva
Mauresmo def Petrova
=FINAL=
Mauresmo def Vaidisova


's-HERTOGENBOSCH, NETHERLANDS (III-Grass)2006 FINAL: Krajicek def. Safina
2007 TOP: Jankovic/Ivanovic
=============================


=SF=
Jankovic d. Krajicek
Hantuchova d. Chan
=FINAL=
Jankovic d. Hantuchova

....after the WTA season ends, Jelena is going to round up a few people off the street so that she can play a tournament against them.


=SF=
Jankovic def Safina
Ivanovic def Chakvetadze
=FINAL=
Jankovic def Ivanovic


All for now.

Read more...

Ms.Backspin Update

Time for a quick "baker's dozen" update on the 2007 horse race for "Player of the Year":

=THE LEAD PACK=
1. Justine Henin: in rare form on the court in Paris, and in new form off it, Le Petit Taureau is #1 with a bullet... and now the two-time Wimbledon RU heads to SW19 with a shot to sew up the career slam.
=============================
2. Serena Williams: she's hardly sporting the luster she had after Melbourne, as some of the usual maladies have prevented Serena from being a regular on tour during the 2Q. But she HAS added a post-Oz Tier I in Miami, and will be Favorite #1a or #1b at Wimbledon and the U.S. Open.
=============================
3. Jelena Jankovic: she plays (20 of 24 weeks) and wins more than any other player on tour, and will finish in the Top 5 as long as her arm doesn't fall off... but Ivanovic beat her to a first slam final. If the recent one-upsmanship between the Fantastic Two is truly a pattern, though, then Jankovic might match AnaIvo's accomplishment before the end of the summer.

=THE PELETON=
4. Cara Black & Liezel Huber: an Aussie Open crown, along with three other titles, has moved this pair past Raymond/Stosur into the #1-ranked doubles team slot. On Monday, Cara Black replaced Raymond as the top-ranked doubles player in the world.
=============================
5. Lisa Raymond & Samantha Stosur: they've won four Tier I titles in '07, but missed out at both Oz and Roland Garros.
=============================
6. Ana Ivanovic: AnaIvo is rising like a rocket through the Top 10 (hello #6) and, remember, she won the U.S. Open Series last year.

=LAPPED, BUT WITH THE SPEED TO CATCH UP=
7. Maria Sharapova: even with her service problems and prolonged injury-related absence (and zero '07 titles), it's hard to overlook the Supernova's Oz RU and Roland Garros SF. Not with her best two slams still on the schedule.
=============================
8. Svetlana Kuznetsova: the Contessova is getting close, but nothing more. She's reached four finals in '07, three of them Tier I's, but lost them all.
=============================
9. Amelie Mauresmo: before the appendectomy, and between her slam losses to Lucie Safarova, Mauresmo three-peated in Antwerp to claim the diamond racket. Plus, no one really expected a carbon copy of her two-slam winning '06 season... which could mean she's a quiet favorite despite being the defending champ at the All-England Club.

=OF NOTE=
10. Yung-Jan Chan & Chia-Jung Chuang: the doubles revelations of 2007.
11. Lucie Safarova: has made more waves than fellow Czech Maiden Vaidisova.
12. Sybille Bammer: the Mommy Surprise of the season.
HM- Daniela Hantuchova: sure, the Indian Wells win was great. But, once again, the follow-up has been pretty much nonexistent.


All for now.

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Unbeaten, Untied and Unassailable

Roger vs. Rafa XII opened with an atmosphere reminiscent of a heavyweight boxing title fight. The Rumble at Roland Garros? The Thrillier on Chatrier?

For good reason, too, because both Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal were playing for history in a rivalry that is enhanced seemingly exponentially every time the two meet under such circumstances.



Nadal was playing for his third straight Roland Garros title, looking to remain unbeaten for his career there and to maintain his position as the only true threat to Federer's potential legacy as the best man to ever play the game.

Federer, though, was seeking even greater historical significance: his fourth straight slam championship (a "RogerSlam") to get within shouting distance of Pete Sampras' all-time major title mark, and to take his place at the head of the dinner table at the virtual banquet of tennis greats. It's a spot that Rod Laver is generally considered to hold at the moment, with Sampras sitting just to his right, next to the chair already marked with a name card the reads "Federer." But the Swiss Mister came to Paris staring directly into the eyes of history, and the chance to slip into the big chair with a win at Roland Garros. After having ended Nadal's 81-match winning streak on clay in Hamburg, Federer's chances appeared to have some legs, too.

It was a mirage that wasn't meant to be. Not at Roland Garros. Not in the heat that played directly into Rafa's hands, not to mention legs. The "Hamburg Effect," as it turned out, was minimal on Sunday as Nadal ran his career RG mark to 21-0 with a 6-3/4-6/6-3/6-4 victory.

Of course, we'll never know what might have happened had Federer won the 1st set that he had so many chances to grab (though he did take the 1st in the '06 final, but still lost in four sets anyway). Presented with ten break points on Nadal's serve in the set, Federer converted none as his forehand failed him and the Spaniard bore down on the match's biggest points. Nadal only carved out two break point chances on Federer's serve in the opening stanza, but he converted them both.

Federer won the 2nd set, but an early break by Nadal in the 3rd was too much to overcome. Then in the 4th set, after the world #1 failed to convert an early break chance, the long stretch of road back that faced Federer was finally too far for even him to traverse. In the end, he converted just one of seventeen break point chances, a stat so stunning that Federer is unlikely to ever come close to such inability to seize the moment again in his career.

History will have to wait.

Instead, it's Nadal who grabs his now customary Paris headline, and leaves the European clay court season realistically just one tired set in Hamburg away from holding an 89-match clay winning streak (even if the TRUE stat says he's won just seven in a row). Next year, he'll arrive at Roland Garros looking to become the first four-peat champ since Bjorn Borg from 1978-81, and then could set his sights on the Swedish legend's record six RG titles.

With Nadal only barely 21, even with his physically-demanding game potentially meaning a long career might not be in the cards for him, one has to wonder if Federer just missed his last best shot to complete his career resume. At nearly 26, he's definitely made the turn onto the "back nine" of his career. Even with his 54-2 record in the last eight slams, and as his role as the favorite in 2007's remaining slams could bring him career majors #11 and #12, just two from Sampras' record of 14, Roland Garros and whether Federer can ever conquer it (or, more specifically, conquer Nadal there) now becomes the long-term focus of his career. Federer needs a Roland Garros title to knock the red-headed Aussie out of the big chair, and he knows it. But the window IS starting to close, and even if he wins the next three slams the same question of whether he can win in Paris will hang over him a year from now. It's unavoidable... until he either succeeds, or fails there for the last time.

But, at the moment, maybe an even bigger story than Federer and/or Nadal individually is this rivalry itself. This fitful dance between the world's two best tennis players that is stretching over seasons, across continents and on the biggest stages that the sport has to offer. Tennis is never better than when a TRUE head-to-head rivalry is developed on the court, rather than by shared parents or featuring a streaking comet of success that burns bright for one season but is tremendously dimmed by the next.

Federer/Nadal is the real thing, with the Spaniard nipping at the heels of the Swiss superstar even as the latter is being considered for the title of the Greatest of All Time. Marvel at that, and hope for more... for as long as both are able.



*ROLAND GARROS TITLES - ACTIVE*
3...RAFAEL NADAL, 2005-07
3...Gustavo Kuerten, 1997/00-01
1...Juan Carlos Ferrero, 2003
1...Gaston Gaudio, 2004
1...Carlos Moya, 1998

*CAREER SLAM TITLES - ACTIVE*
[AO-RG-W-US]
10..ROGER FEDERER [3-0-4-3]
3...RAFAEL NADAL [0-3-0-0]
3...Gustavo Kuerten [0-3-0-0]
2...Lleyton Hewitt [0-0-1-1]
2...Marat Safin [1-0-0-1]
1...Juan Carlos Ferrero [0-1-0-0]
1...Gaston Gaudio [0-1-0-0]
1...Thomas Johansson [1-0-0-0]
1...Carlos Moya [0-1-0-0]
1...Andy Roddick [0-0-0-1]

*CONSECUTIVE SLAM FINALS*
8...ROGER FEDERER, 2005-07
7...Jack Crawford, 1932-34

*ALL-TIME SLAM TITLES*
14...Pete Sampras
12...Roy Emerson
11...Bjorn Borg
11...Rod Laver
10...ROGER FEDERER
10...Bill Tilden



The Boys and Girls Junior Singles champions were crowned on Day 15, as Pastry Alize Cornet overcame a set deficit to end the Cinderella run of Mariana Duque Marino 4-6/6-1/6-0. Meanwhile, Belarus' Vladimir Ignatic defeated Aussie Greg Jones 6-3/6-4 to prevent Australia from claiming both of the first two slam Boys titles in '07 (Brydan Klein won in Melbourne).

In an interesting bit of meaningless trivia, Cornet became the fifth Roland Garros Girls champion in the last six years to have a first name that begins with "A" (Alize, Agnieszka, Agnes, Anna-Lena and Angelique).



*2007 ROLAND GARROS CHAMPIONS*
MEN'S SINGLES: Rafael Nadal (ESP)
WOMEN'S SINGLES: Justine Henin (BEL)
MEN'S DOUBLES: Mark Knowles(BAH) & Daniel Nestor(CAN)
WOMEN"s DOUBLES: Alicia Molik(AUS) & Mara Santangelo(ITA)
MIXED DOUBLES: Nathalie Dechy(FRA) & Andy Ram(ISR)
BOYS SINGLES: Vladimir Ignatic (BLR)
GIRLS SINGLES: Alize Cornet (FRA)
BOYS DOUBLES: Thomas Fabbiano(ITA) & Andrei Karatchenia(BLR)
GIRLS DOUBLES: Ksenia Milevskaya(BLR) & Urszula Radwanska(POL)



TOP QUALIFIERS: Timea Bacsinszky & Ioana-Raluca Olaru
TOP EARLY ROUND (1r-2r): Justine Henin
TOP MID-ROUND (3r-QF): Justine Henin
TOP LATE ROUND (SF-F): Justine Henin
=============================
FIRST SEED OUT: #31 Severine Bremond (1r- M.Krajicek)
UPSET QUEENS: Romanians
REVELATION LADIES: Italians
LAST QUALIFIERS STANDING: Dominika Cibulkova, Alla Kudryavtseva & Ioana-Raluca Olaru (all 3rd Rd.)
IT GIRL: Ana Ivanovic
MISS OPPORTUNITY: Maria Sharapova
COMEBACK PLAYER: Patty Schnyder
DOUBLES STAR: Katarina Srebotnik
JUNIOR BREAKOUT: Mariana Duque Marino




BARCELONA, SPAIN (IV-RCO)
==new event==
2007 TOP: Schiavone/Muller
=============================
=SF=
Loit d. Schiavone; Knapp d. Kudryavtseva
=FINAL=
Knapp d. Loit

...yes, a clay court event in what's supposed to be the brief grass season. So, the WTA makes moves to cut back its schedule, but manages to ADD an event that practically begs players to not adequately prepare for the next grand slam. Makes sense. Anyway, it's because of this event that the annual "Clay Court Awards" will be delayed a week.


BIRMINGHAM, ENGLAND (III-Grass)
2006 FINAL: Zvonareva d. Jackson
2007 TOP: Sharapova/Jankovic
=============================


=QF=
Sharapova d. A.Radwanska
Hantuchova d. Bartoli
Krajicek d. Vakulenko
Jankovic d. Jackson
=SF=
Sharapova d. Hantuchova
Jankovic d. Krajicek
=FINAL=
Jankovic d. Sharapova

...this is the season's 24th week. After this tournament, Jankovic will have played in 20 of them. Sharapova lost to Jackson at this event a year ago.


=QF=
Sharapova d. Likhovtseva
Hantuchova d. Poutchkova
Krajicek d. Mirza
Jankovic d. A.Bondarenko
=SF=
Sharapova d. Hantuchova
Jankovic d. Krajicek
=FINAL=
Sharapova d. Jankovic


All for now.

Read more...

The Pursuit of Happiness

Maybe nice isn't so bad.

Of course, maybe Ana Ivanovic wouldn't agree about Justine Henin being such a welcoming host on her "home" court on Saturday in Paris. Not after the Belgian dispatched the Serbian teenager from the Roland Garros Women's Singles final 6-1/6-2 in barely an hour to become the first woman to win the Coupe Suzanne Lenglen three straight years since Monica Seles did so in 1992.

But, then again, AnaIvo played a big part in the decided lack of drama in the match. After breaking Henin to begin the match, then holding a 40-love lead on her own serve, the youngest member of the Fantastovics finally realized where she was -- in her first grand slam final, playing against the two-time defending champion in her tenth -- and allowed the nerves that she'd controlled for two weeks get the best of her. Once Henin scrambled to break back, on a net cord, it was only a matter of how long the match was going to last.

Ivanovic didn't hold her own serve until the tenth game of the match, which was but a brief respite from what has been the norm for Henin for most of the last five years at Roland Garros... a period of dominance that in many ways had its foundation set in place when a 10-year old Henin's mother accompanied her to Chatrier Court to watch Seles win that third straight title fifteen years ago. Three years later, Henin's mother died. Two years after that, 15-year old Justine won the junior title at Roland Garros. Six years later, she won her first grand slam title on the same court. And today she completed the cycle by matching Seles' feat of a three-peat by defeating a player born in Serbia... just like Seles.

It's almost as if this is how things were meant to be.

Henin's 2003-07 run in Paris has included four titles and a 29-1 record, with the only loss coming in the 2nd Round against Tathiana Garbin in 2004 when she was afflicted with the cytomegalovirus that has proved to be her biggest obstacle since she made her successful climb to the top of women's tennis... well, that and the long-held perception that she was long on ambition but short of the human elements that make champions "cherished." Even while winning, Henin's had to shrug off her lack of acceptance at the expense of her single-minded, sometimes-selfish forward march. Her remaining family members weren't an exception, as they couldn't or wouldn't understand the lengths she was willing to go to achieve her goals. Thus, for seven years, Henin found it easier to push her father, sister and two brothers away rather than find a way to compromise. It simply wasn't important enough.

Things have changed.

Oh, maybe she's not necessarily ready to transform herself into "Nice Justine" since the crash of her marriage in January, but Henin HAS reconnected with her father and siblings (the three were in the stands today to see her victory). At the very least, it's a sign that, at least off the court, Henin is seeking to find the peace and happiness that has often eluded her since her mother's death when the would-be Queen Justine was barely a teenager.



You could see all the emotions and accomplishments meet in the final, coming to fruition when Henin put away match point, threw up her racket and collapsed, head in hands, against the net.

In many ways, Henin's personal social foibles have managed to prevent her from being a sympathetic figure over the years, despite her charitable off-court work, and that she comes to Paris every year with the desire to win the title for the mother she lost and who's absence she is obviously still affected by.

Henin is still the best female claycourter in the world. She's still #1, and has reached the final of the last five grand slams in which she's participated. Could her small moves to seek happiness off the court, seemingly compatible with her on-court success if the extension of her Roland Garros reign is any indication, make this sixth career slam crown both a new beginning, as well as more of the same? Could this be the start of a point in her career after which she's not taken for granted, or discussed more for what she's NOT rather than what she IS? With the shadow of that other "nicer," but fewer-slam winning, Belgian now removed by marriage and retirement, could the "black-hatted" Henin the Survivor become Henin the Cherished?

Yeah, maybe that's asking for too much, huh?

When you think about it, though, Henin's literally been wearing a WHITE hat for most of her career... so maybe the symbolic evidence that she was never really that "bad" was there all along. She just had to find a way to get more people to realize it by being willing to budge -- just a little -- from her set-in-stone path. So far, so good.

Nice, Justine.





*2007 WTA SINGLES TITLES*
4...JUSTINE HENIN
3...Jelena Jankovic
2...Serena Williams

*DEFENDED TITLES IN 2007*
Antwerp - Amelie Mauresmo, 2005-7
Dubai - Justine Henin, 2006-07
ROLAND GARROS - JUSTINE HENIN, 2005-07

*MOST SLAM SINGLES TITLES - ACTIVE*
[AO-RG-WI-US]
8...Serena Williams [3-1-2-2]
6...JUSTINE HENIN [1-4-0-1]
5...Venus Williams [0-0-3-2]
5...Martina Hingis [3-0-1-1]

*MOST SINGLES TITLES - 2006-07*
10..JUSTINE HENIN [6/4]
6...Nadia Petrova [5/1]
5...Amelie Mauresmo [4/1]
5...Maria Sharapova [5/0]

*ALL-TIME ROLAND GARROS SINGLES TITLES*
7...Chris Evert, 1974-86
6...Steffi Graf, 1987-99
6...Suzanna Lenglen, 1920-26
5...Margaret Smith-Court
5...Adine Masson, 1897-03
4...JUSTINE HENIN, 2003-07
4...Jeanne Matthey, 1909-12
4...Helen Wills-Moody, 1928-32

*2007 DOUBLES TITLES*
4...Lisa Raymond
4...Samantha Stosur
4...Cara Black
4...Liezel Huber
4...MARA SANTANGELO



Three more championships were decided on Day 14, as Mark Knowles & Daniel Nestor won their second career slam Men's Doubles title (to go along with their '02 Australian Open crown). Nestor also won the Mixed Doubles with Elena Likhovtseva in January.

In Junior Doubles, Thomas Fabbiano (ITA) & Andrei Karatchenia (BLR) won the Boys, while Ksenia Milevskaya (BLR) & Urszula Radwanska (POL) took the Girls.





TOP QUALIFIERS: Timea Bacsinszky & Ioana-Raluca Olaru
TOP EARLY ROUND (1r-2r): Justine Henin
TOP MID-ROUND (3r-QF): Justine Henin
TOP LATE ROUND (SF-F): Justine Henin
=============================
FIRST SEED OUT: #31 Severine Bremond (1r- M.Krajicek)
UPSET QUEENS: Romanians
REVELATION LADIES: Italians
LAST QUALIFIERS STANDING: Dominika Cibulkova, Alla Kudryavtseva & Ioana-Raluca Olaru (all 3rd Rd.)
IT GIRL: Ana Ivanovic
MISS OPPORTUNITY: Maria Sharapova
COMEBACK PLAYER: Patty Schnyder
DOUBLES STAR: Katarina Srebotnik
JUNIOR BREAKOUT: Mariana Duque Marino




All for now.

Read more...

Day 13: Nice Justine?

It's fitting that a Belgian is meeting a Serb in Saturday's women's final at Roland Garros, considering the one-nation, two-headed monster that developed in the former country at the start of this decade is so very similar to the one that's come about in the latter as we race toward the end of it.

The blueprints that brought the WTA Justine Henin and Kim Clijsters from tiny Belgium, and Jelena Jankovic and Ana Ivanovic from the formerly war-torn Serbia share a kinship in that neither came about as a result of either nation's tennis establishment providing money and/or casting a wide net with which to find talent. Sure, Serbia's success has at least come about in the now-long-ago afterglow of the exploits of one-time Yugoslavian stars such as Monica Seles in the early 1990's, while Belgium's pair seemingly popped out of thin air, but the story of both managing to produce two top-flight stars are equally remarkable... something close to aberrations that link them in history.

While Henin's career was and always will be compared (favorably, as it's turned out) to that of Clijsters, the same will be said of Jankovic and Ivanovic. Six years ago, Clijsters was the first of the Waffles to reach a slam final, losing to Jennifer Capriati at Roland Garros by a 12-10 score in the 3rd set in a match that may have forever altered the course of the now-retired star's career. Now, Ivanovic finds herself in the same position, also in Paris, when it comes to the Fantastovics. Will the same result occur?

As different in temperment and reputation as Henin and Clijsters were, so is the case with Ivanovic and Jankovic. While Jankovic is often hyper and excitable on court, just as capable of flying high or crashing and burning at a moment's notice, Ivanovic has displayed a serene on-court nature over the past two weeks. She's let her stellar play do most of her talking and taken things as they've come, never placing the weight of pressure on her own shoulders. Will AnaIvo be like Henin, at her best on the big slam stage, or like Clijsters?

That she's facing Henin tomorrow might not provide a great predictor for the rest of her career as Clijsters' maiden slam final trip did for her's. The two-time defending Roland Garros champion has had a rather easy time of it over the past 13 days, dispatching even the likes of Serena Williams as the world's best female claycourter should -- in straight sets, extending her Paris streak to a record 33.

But is the Henin we'll see in the final the same one who's been a lightning rod for criticism because of her single-minded, sometimes-selfish, drive to succeed? After all, following her separation from her husband in January, she managed to reconnect with her estranged father and three siblings and has talked about trying to change her "unfriendly" reputation. For years, she's maintained her top spot in the game largely because of what made her different from her peers, what set her apart (sometimes literally) from them. Can a "nice" and "happy" Justine still succeed as she has in the past?

Well, so far so good... maybe because she's still Le Petit Taureau ON THE COURT. The fear expressed here that she might lose her competitive edge if she softened her personal ones appears to be unfounded. For now. In the end, Henin will never be quite like "the nice Belgian" no matter how hard she tries. It was probably wrong of Backspin to worry that a "different" Justine could lead to "different" results. After all, the difference between the two Belgians wasn't so much in how they were OFF the court but in how their mind's worked when they were.

All you have to do is look at Roger Federer to see that becoming a great champion isn't all about Clijsters-like humility. Listen to Federer talk about himself sometime... he knows how good he is, and isn't afraid to say it. Why not? He knows it's true. He's not stupid. If it's a subtle act of intimidation directed toward his opponent, so be it. If someone doesn't like it, then beat him and make him eat his words. Federer doesn't win extra points for being a "good guy" when he puts his rackets down -- he'd win the same amount of if he were a jackass in "real life" as long as he had the desire to win at all costs when he was inside the lines.

I always questioned that about Clijsters, and still do, because I never felt she learned to balance the two sides well enough to be a good person AND a take-no-prisoners tennis champion. Federer can walk that fine line. Maybe Henin can, too.

Even as Henin's made strides in changing her personal life and actions for "the better," she stated that she still wants to win Roland Garros as much as ever. "I want to do it for myself," she stated.

It's difficult to imagine Clijsters ever saying something like that, but hearing Henin say something she HAS likely uttered many times before, one can't help but hear it with a different ear these days. Rather than the all-consuming competitive desire that elicited such a remark in the past, the feel now is that it's born from the desire to be happy... and winning still makes her happy.

The new "sound" sounds pretty good, too.

Hmmm, could it be that Backspin is in the midst of a minor course correction in terms of how Le Petit Taureau is viewed in these parts? After years of defending her every action, now that there is no longer the need to protect the Henin flank against Clijsters' legacy, is it possible that this space is open to a more reasoned, multi-faceted take on Queen Justine, one that allows that she may NOT need tp wear the black hat to retain her aura and level of success... but instead could don something in the shade of gray?

Hmmm, I'm thinking "yes." Hey, you're never too old (or jaded), to learn something new.

Right, Justine?

WOMEN'S FINAL PREDICTION: Henin 6-4/6-4




Love-Love...congratulations to Alicia Molik and Mara Santangelo, who claimed the Women's Doubles championship on Day 13 with a 7-6/6-4 win over Katarina Srebotnik & Ai Sugiyama. Thus, Srebotnik goes 0-2 in 2007 RG Doubles finals, while Molik picked up her second slam doubles title (she won the '05 Australian Open with Svetlana Kuznetsova) and Santangelo her first.

Way to go, Steamer!
=============================
15-love...nothing against Nikolay Davydenko or Novak Djokovic, but the Federer vs. Nadal "thing" is STILL the biggest story in tennis at the moment. For either of the two to make a grab for history, and they BOTH will be seeking to do so on Sunday, they NEED to succeed at the direct expense of the other for it o have any sort of luster. To set up the latest "dream matchup," Federer downed Davydenko in a tight 7-5/7-6/7-6 affair, as the Russian might ultimately have to settle for only getting this close to grand slam glory in the Federer/Nadal Era. Then, Nadal gradually wore down Djokovic 7-5/6-4/6-2 to maintain his unbeaten record in Paris.

Sure, "The Sopranos" finale will be BIG news on Sunday, but the latest Roger vs. Rafa clash has the potential to mark the landscape of men's tennis forever after.
=============================
30-love...



#1 Federer vs. #2 Nadal
...so much is riding on this match. Nadal is on a 20-match winning streak in Paris, and is looking to become the first man to three-peat at Roland Garros since Bjorn Borg four-peated from 1978-81. Federer is looking to complete a career slam of all four major titles with his fourth consecutive slam title, which would give him the equivalent of the "Serena Slam" of a few years ago. Maybe even more importantly, a win in Paris on his most vexing surface against his only true rival would only further pad King Roger's resume in the "Best of All Time" race... and if he were to win Wimbledon and the U.S. Open to close out the season, gaining the first true Grand Slam in men's tennis since 1969, there may no longer be any doubt where Federer ranks.

No matter what, this will be the ninth straight slam that's been won by either Federer or Nadal, a streak that sees no natural end until Novak Djokovic fully comes of age on the stage. He's getting close, but he's not there yet.

Before Federer defeated Nadal in Hamburg, he'd been 0-5 against Rafa on clay. Earlier this quarter, he looked very mortal and even dismissed coach Tony Roche. Hamburg changed everything, though. Riding the confidence he gained there, Federer comes into the final having only lost one set at this tournament. He's never been in a better position to win. But how much was what happened in Germany about Federer, and how much was about Nadal probably playing one too many tournaments in a row, leading to the end of his record 81-match clay winning streak?

We're about to find out.

I picked Federer to win the true Grand Slam in January, then started to waver when he seemed to be having trouble finding his way on the clay. After Hamburg, though, there was no doubt that I was going to hold onto the possibility for history to be made. And that Federer has won three of his four matchups with Nadal since last year's Roland Garros final is only one final piece to the psychological puzzle that might finally be tilting in the King of Tennis's favor.

Only Nadal, the King of Clay, stands in the way of "RogerSlam"... and that is no small obstacle. Buckle your seatbelts, this could be one for the ages.

MEN'S FINAL PREDICTION: Federer in 5 sets



=WOMEN'S FINAL=
Justine Henin def Ana Ivanovic
...I am still shocked (impressed) that Ana was so impressive during this tournament, she's been very good... but playing against Sharapova or Justine Henin is far from the same thing really... Look how Jelena Jankovic had been dominating...she simply got pushed aside... I expect a two set win.

=MEN'S FINAL=
Rafael Nadal def Roger Federer
...as much as I'd like to pick Roger to win, nothing has been convincing enough for me to change my pre-tournament pick of Rafa.
=============================
30-15...

*GIRLS SINGLES FINAL*
Mariana Duque Marino(COL) vs. #2 Alize Cornet(FRA)

*BOYS SINGLES FINAL*
#5 Greg Jones(AUS) vs. #12 Vladimir Ignatic(BLR)

*GIRLS DOUBLES FINAL*
Sorana Cirstea(ROU)/Alexa Glatch(USA) vs. #3 Ksenia Milevskaya(BLR)/Urszula Radwanska(POL)(POL)

*BOYS DOUBLES FINAL*
Thomas Fabbiano(ITA)/Andrei Karatchenia(BLR) vs. #2 Kellen Damico(USA)/Jonathan Eysseric(FRA)

=============================
30-30...


**RECENT ROLAND GARROS FINALS**
[Women's Singles]
2003 Justine Henin-Hardenne d. Kim Clijsters
2004 Anastasia Myskina d. Elena Dementieva
2005 Justine Henin-Hardenne d. Mary Pierce
2006 Justine Henin-Hardenne d. Svetlana Kuznetsova
2007 JUSTINE HENIN vs. ANA IVANOVIC
[Men's Singles]
2003 Juan Carlos Ferrero d. Martin Verkerk
2004 Gaston Gaudio d. Guillermo Coria
2005 Rafael Nadal d. Mariano Puerta
2006 Rafael Nadal d. Roger Federer
2007 RAFAEL NADAL vs. ROGER FEDERER

**RECENT RG WOMEN'S DOUBLES CHAMPIONS**
2003 Kim Clijsters/Ai Sugiyama
2004 Virginia Ruano-Pascual/Paola Suarez
2005 Virginia Ruano-Pascual/Paola Suarez
2006 Lisa Raymond/Samantha Stosur
2007 Alicia Molik/Mara Santangelo

**RECENT RG MEN'S DOUBLES CHAMPIONS**
2003 Bob Bryan/Mike Bryan
2004 Xavier Malisse/Olivier Rochus
2005 Jonas Bjorkman/Max Mirnyi
2006 Jonas Bjorkman/Max Mirnyi
2007 LUKAS DLOUHY/PAVEL VIZNER vs. MARK KNOWLES/DANIEL NESTOR

=============================
30-40


...Ksenia Milevskaya seemed to have it all wrapped up -- she even advanced to the Girls Doubles final with Urszula Radwanska, despite losing in the singles SF to Alize Cornet -- but when unseeded 17-year old Mariana Duque Marino continued her unlikely roll by upsetting #1-seeded Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, the Colombian grabbed the "Junior Breakout" award at the wire.

*"JUNIOR BREAKOUT" WINNERS*
07 Australian Open: Madison Brengle (USA), 16
07 Roland Garros: Mariana Duque Marino (COL), 17

=============================
MATCH, "Wisdom reigns surpreme..." of course, why would NBC think it should show the men's semifinals live on the network on Friday? I mean, there'd only been twelve previous days of live coverage from Paris on The Tennis Channel and ESPN2 (hard as that is to believe), why would anyone think it'd be smarter to go live than air hours-old tennis? If they don't care to do it live, farm it out to cable as was the case with the Women's SF on Thursday. It's not that difficult to figure out. Normally, this wouldn't be anything to sniff at, but after probably the best TV coverage of Roland Garros EVER in America over the past two weeks, this kind of thing stands out more than usual.
=============================



TOP QUALIFIERS: Timea Bacsinszky & Ioana-Raluca Olaru
TOP EARLY ROUND (1r-2r): Justine Henin
TOP MID-ROUND (3r-QF): Justine Henin
TOP LATE ROUND (SF-F): (vacant)
=============================
FIRST SEED OUT: #31 Severine Bremond (1r- M.Krajicek)
UPSET QUEENS: Romanians
REVELATION LADIES: Italians
LAST QUALIFIERS STANDING: Dominika Cibulkova, Alla Kudryavtseva & Ioana-Raluca Olaru (all 3rd Rd.)
IT GIRL: Ana Ivanovic
MISS OPPORTUNITY: Maria Sharapova
COMEBACK PLAYER: Patty Schnyder
DOUBLES STAR: Katarina Srebotnik
JUNIOR BREAKOUT: Mariana Duque Marino




All for Day 13.

Read more...

Day 12: Eeny, Meeny...Mighty, and AnaIvo

Well, there wasn't much to that, was there? The women's singles semifinals, I mean.



The matchups between Justine Henin and Jelena Jankovic, as well as Ana Ivanovic and Maria Sharapova, were virtual clinics in how to sweep through a grand slam semifinal as tidily as possible. No additional sweat and tears were expended here, all the better for the impending clash on Saturday. After the ease with which both three-time champ Henin and first-time slam finalist coasted through both their quarterfinal and semifinal matches, we should be in for a great final in two days time.

Or not.

After all, Ivanovic has to show her big grand slam match inexperience at some point, right? Even after dominating Russians with a combined three slam crowns to their names in her previous two matches, she'll still have to raise her game once again in order to extend her current twelve-match winning streak when she plays Henin. It's not likely that the Serb will have a 3-0 lead in the 1st set eleven minutes into the match as she did against Sharapova.

Agreeing with the collective intelligence of the late-arriving crowd that missed her slow start at Chatrier today, Sharapova said, "I'd rather be having a chocolate croissant than being down 3-0."

The Supernova, who herself described her clay court movement as comparable to "a cow on ice" less than two weeks ago, simply wasn't her Supernovic self on Day 12. Even when she managed to get break points on the Serb's serve, she failed to convert them. The serve of her own that she'd rediscovered in Paris produced five double-faults today. The racket (or one of them, at least) that pulled her through that 4th Round match against Patty Schnyder produced just nine winners versus twenty-five unforced errors in the 6-2/6-1 loss. Henin won't likely give her opponent such as enthusiastic an assist as Sharapova (or Svetlana Kuznetsova in the QF), though. Henin won't come up quite so small. Not in Paris.

But, then again, AnaIvo made do with hitting tennis balls inside an empty pool during her winters in Serbia while growing up... yet here she is in the Roland Garros final five months before her 20th birthday. So who's to put anything past Ivanovic less than 48 hours from now?

Still, Henin will be carrying a 33-set Roland Garros winning streak into Saturday. And her consummate performance against Jankovic only made her an even stronger bet to become the first woman to three-peat at this tournament in fifteen years. In the semifinal, while her countrywoman flew above it all, Jankovic barely got a whiff of even minor victories against the White Whale she's still yet to defeat in six attempts. In the past, though, she's often claimed the 1st set, and always played into a 3rd one. Not this time.

Against Henin on Day 12, Jankovic only had two break point opportunities on Henin's serve (The Queen had twelve on her's). Oh, she gave things a good try in the early going, but her Ahabian destiny couldn't help but be apparent pretty quickly. Meeting Henin on her turf, the red clay, was always going to be a tough nut to crack (oh, if only she could meet Le Petit Taureau in the interview room), but having to do so there against the Belgian in tip-top form was almost unfair.

The little daylight that Henin allowed Jankovic to see in the match, in retrospect, almost feels as if is was revealed with a secret smirk. "Oh, you want to finally break me in the fifth game of the 2nd set? Fine. Then I'll just break back in the sixth." Which Henin did. Then, to pour salt into an old wound, the world #1 held the same set and 4-2, with game point for 5-2, that Jankovic held on her in the U.S. Open semifinal last September. In New York, Jankovic lost ten straight games, while today Henin battled through three deuces and one Jankovic break point before essentially closing the door on any anti-Melville turnabout by holding for a 6-2/5-2 lead. One game later, it was all over.

Jelena was last seen as her face dipped below the surface of the water... hoping she gets another chance at revenge on the White Whale on the grass, or in America.

She might, too. But that doesn't matter now. For Queen Justine, it's a case of one Serbian down, one to go.




Love-Love...the first champions of Roland Garros '07 were crowned when France's own Nathalie Dechy and partner Andy Ram defeated the defending champion team of Katarina Srebotnik/Nenad Zimonjic in the Mixed Doubles by a 7-5/6-3 score. It's the second career slam title for both Dechy and Ram. Ironically, both won their previous titles with Vera Zvonareva. Dechy took the '06 U.S. Open Doubles with the Russian, while Ram the '06 Wimbledon Mixed.

**RECENT RG MIXED DOUBLES CHAMPIONS**
2003 Lisa Raymond/Mike Bryan
2004 Tatiana Golovin/Richard Gasquet
2005 Daniela Hantuchova/Fabrice Santoro
2006 Katarina Srebotnik/Nenad Zimonjic
2007 Nathalie Dechy/Andy Ram

=============================
15-love...the remaining Americans were pared down from three to two on Day 12 as Kellen Damico advanced to the semis of both the Boys Singles and Doubles, while Alexa Glatch reached the Girls Doubles.
=============================
15-15...

*MEN'S DOUBLES FINAL*
#9 Lukas Dlouhy(CZE)/Pavel Vizner(CZE) vs. #6 Mark Knowles(BAH)/Daniel Nestor(CAN)

*GIRLS SINGLES SF*
#1 Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova(RUS) vs. Mariana Duque Marino(COL)
#6 Ksenia Milevskaya(BLR) vs. #2 Alize Cornet(FRA)

*BOYS SINGLES SF*
#1 Matteo Trevisan(ITA) vs. #5 Greg Jones(AUS)
#10 Kellen Damico(USA) vs. #12 Vladimir Ignatic(BLR)

*GIRLS DOUBLES SF*
Elena Chernyakova(RUS)/Jessica Moore(AUS) vs. Sorana Cirstea(ROU)/Alexa Glatch(USA)

#3 Ksenia Milevskaya(BLR)/Urszula Radwanska(POL) vs. Lenka Jurikova(SVK)/Katarzyna Piter(POL)

*BOYS DOUBLES SF*
Thomas Fabbiano(ITA)/Andrei Karatchenia(BLR) vs. #4 Stephen Donald(AUS)/John-Patrick Smith(AUS)

Aljaz Bedena(SLO)/Andrej Martin(SVK) vs. #2 Kellen Damico(USA)/Jonathan Eysseric(FRA)

=============================
15-30...


**CAREER SLAM FINALS - ACTIVE**
[overall/at RG]
12...Martina Hingis [5-7/0-2]
11...Venus Williams [5-6/0-1]
10...Serena Williams [8-2/1-0]
10...JUSTINE HENIN [5-4/3-0]
6....Mary Pierce [2-4/1-2]
3....Maria Sharapova [2-1/0-0]
3....Amelie Mauresmo [2-1/0-0]
2....Svetlana Kuznetsova [1-1/0-1]
2....Elena Dementieva [0-2/0-1]
1....Anastasia Myskina [1-0/1-0]
1....ANA IVANOVIC [0-0/0-0]

**HENIN IN ROLAND GARROS FINALS**
1997 [JUNIOR] def. Cara Black 4-6/6-4/6-4
2003 def. Kim Clijsters 6-0/6-4
2005 def. Mary Pierce 6-1/6-1
2006 def. Svetlana Kuznetsova 6-4/6-4
2007 vs. ANA IVANOVIC

**RECENT RG GIRLS SINGLES FINALS**
2003 Anna-Lena Groenefeld(GER) d. Vera Dushevina(RUS)
2004 Sesil Karatantcheva(BUL) d. Madalina Gojnea(ROU)
2005 Agnes Szavay(HUN) d. Ioana-Raluca Olaru(ROU)
2006 Agnieszka Radwanska(POL) d. Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova(RUS)

**RECENT RG BOYS SINGLES FINALS**
2003 Stanislas Wawrinka d. Brian Baker
2004 Gael Monfils d. Alex Kuznetsov
2005 Marin Cilic d. Antal Van Der Duim
2006 Martin Klizan d. Philip Bester

=============================
30-30...Belarussian Ksenia Milevskaya is the likely "Junior Breakout" winner for Roland Garros, where winning the title is not a prerequisite. Her earlier wins over Urszula Radwanska and Madison Brengle, her trip to the Girls SF in Singles and Doubles (with U-Rad) mark the #6-seed as the biggest climber in this slam's junior competition (even if she did reach the SF in Oz, as well). Of course, this could all change if surprise semifinalist Mariano Duque Marino of Colombia manages to upset top-seeded Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova.

Pavlyuchenkova, by the way, has to be looking to move out of the junior ranks soon, what with her incredible success the last few years at the slams. She's won the Girls title at the Australian the last two years, claimed the U.S. Open title last season, and was RU at Roland Garros in '06, as well.
=============================
30-40...with Jankovic's loss and Ivanovic's win, AnaIvo officially claim's RG "It Girl" award.

*RECENT "IT GIRL" WINNERS*
06 Australian Open: Samantha Stosur
06 Roland Garros: Nicole Vaidisova
06 Wimbledon: Na Li
06 U.S. Open: Jelena Jankovic
07 Australian Open: Shahar Peer
07 Roland Garros: Ana Ivanovic

=============================
MATCH, "Happy birthday to you. Happy birthday to you. Happy birthday dear...Anna Kournikova. Happy 26th birthday to you."
=============================



TOP QUALIFIERS: Timea Bacsinszky & Ioana-Raluca Olaru
TOP EARLY ROUND (1r-2r): Justine Henin
TOP MID-ROUND (3r-QF): Justine Henin
TOP LATE ROUND (SF-F): (vacant)
=============================
FIRST SEED OUT: #31 Severine Bremond (1r- M.Krajicek)
UPSET QUEENS: Romanians
REVELATION LADIES: Italians
LAST QUALIFIERS STANDING: Dominika Cibulkova, Alla Kudryavtseva & Ioana-Raluca Olaru (all 3rd Rd.)
IT GIRL: Ana Ivanovic
MISS OPPORTUNITY: Maria Sharapova
COMEBACK PLAYER: Patty Schnyder
DOUBLES STAR: Katarina Srebotnik
JUNIOR BREAKOUT: (vacant)




All for Day 12.

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Day 11: Thar She Blows...but who'll survive?

Hmmm, I liked the execution of this year's Roland Garros preview column. And since the thrust of the events at Roland Garros have allowed it to maintain its relevance, I figured I'd use some of it again (all that Herman Melville research will officially pay off TWICE!) since the semifinal battle of literary consequence that I talked about eleven days ago has actually come to fruition.

Of course, I've included a few timely additions, as well. So...


Call her Ishmael?

"Come, Ahab’s compliments to ye; come and see if ye can swerve me. Swerve me? ye cannot swerve me, else ye swerve yourselves! man has ye there. Swerve me? The path to my fixed purpose is laid with iron rails, whereon my soul is grooved to run. Over unsounded gorges, through the rifled hearts of mountains, under torrents’ beds, unerringly I rush! Naught’s an obstacle, naught’s an angle to the iron way!" - Moby Dick (1948), by Herman Melville

It is said that it is futile and often fatal to try to interpret the White Whale's moves and motives. One can only chase, and hope to survive.



The same can rightly be said about those who choose to take up the mission of hunting down Justine Henin at Roland Garros. Le Petit Taureau came to Paris as the two-time defending RG champion, the trophy-holder three of the last four years, the #1 seed and the #1-ranked played in the world by a fairly wide margin at the moment. Now, she enters the semifinals just two victories away from becoming the first woman in fifteen years to three-peat in Paris, and she'll be bringing not only her rackets with her to Court Chatrier on Thursday, but also her Roland Garros record 31-set winning streak.



Of course, the driving story of this Roland Garros before the start of play, at least from this space, was whether the seemingly destined meeting of the world's best clay courter, Henin, and the star of the '07 clay court season, Jelena Jankovic, would actually become a reality. The perfect structure of this tournament would have allowed for an Henin-Jankovic final, but in keeping with the Serb's Ahab-like existence when it comes to the Queen, even if she does indeed meet and defeat her own personal White Whale she'll still need to win ANOTHER pressure-filled match against either Maria Sharapova or her fellow Fantastovic team member Ana Ivanovic in order to claim her first grand slam crown.

Poor Ahab, err, I mean Jelena. She just can't win for winning. Not that she will do THAT when the Jankovic-captained Pequod gets the face-to-face battle with her own version of Moby Dick, the Belgian who she's never been able to find a way to defeat in five career meetings (three times on clay, two of them just last month). Even when she recently won in Rome, Jankovic still had Henin on her mind... probably only half-jokingly saying she was only able to win because the Queen didn't show up that week.

I wonder if Jelena sees Justine in her dreams?

Still, after being the star of the pre-Paris clay season (of course, go ask Nadia Petova how much that'll buy her in a sidewalk cafe on her off-day), Jankovic HAS indeed pursued Henin to that destined semifinal battleground. What happens now is up to her and her white whale.

Hey, what's that sound? Is it Queequeg carving out his own coffin? Ahh, no... it's just Jelena with a box of tools.

Does she know something that we don't?

=SEMIFINAL PICKS=
#1 Henin d. #4 Jankovic in 2
#2 Sharapova d. #7 Ivanovic in 3

...can Jelena slay her Belgian demon? Ummm, I'll say no. Not yet, anyway. If Jankovic is going to upend Justine, look for it to happen in North America, not Paris. The Pequod is about to sink, and Jelena to disappear below the sea's surface, attached to her White Whale by the harpoon she had hidden in her racket bag. Justine will head to the area of the deep ocean where only she can breathe and thrive.

"Towards thee I roll, thou all-destroying but unconquering whale; to the last I grapple with thee; from hell’s heart I stab at thee; for hate’s sake I spit my last breath at thee. Sink all coffins and all hearses to one common pool! and since neither can be mine, let me then tow to pieces, while still chasing thee, though tied to thee, thou damned whale! Thus, I give up the spear!" Moby Dick (1948), by Herman Melville

Meanwhile, as Serena, Venus and Amelie catch a ride on the Rachel to England, Maria might have some unfinished business she has to take care of before she can join them. You see, she has this very glamorous (have any two players had more magazine covers over the past year than the Supernova and AnaIvo?) tennis match she has to play, and maybe another one after that.

You could have gotten pretty long odds that Sharapova and Ivanovic would meet in the semifinals at Roland Garros on what's the worst surface for both players. But I guess we sort of knew all along that anything could happen on the bottom half of the draw. The top had Justine, Jelena and Serena, but the bottom was a collection of players either coming in injured, unprepared or without a history of rising to the forefront in Paris. Amelie buckled. Svetlana bombed. Patty choked. Anna was outhit. So Maria and Ana survive to battle for a berth in a grand slam final.

Movement on the clay has always been an issue for both, but Ivanovic has fashioned an 11-match winning streak this spring in Europe which included a Tier I in Berlin. Sharapova's mobility is still a liability on the dirt, but the serve that abandoned her in January has at least been popping in for cameo appearances again of late. How much her shoulder injury might have had to do with her early '07 stall is unknown, but it says a lot that as she's somewhat regained her health she's also regained control of her most important weapon this side of her monstrous heart.

Will Sharapova really reach another slam final, which would be her first tour final on clay in her career (but her second slam final of '07, with her two best slams still to come)?

Maybe, maybe not.

I just know that after picking against her the last two rounds that I'm not going to do it for a third time. If this SF turns into a three-set battle, it'd be difficult to not think that the Supernova would prevail whether the match is on hardcourt, grass, clay, or, as Sharapova noted herself the other day, mud. So, I'll go with Sharapova to survive for one more round.




Love-Love...all hail Katarina Srebotnik.



She's the only non-junior player with the chance to walk away from Roland Garros with TWO titles. She's in the final of both the Women's (with Ai Sugiyama) and Mixed (with Fantastic Serbian doubles specialist Nenad Zimonjic) Doubles.
=============================
15-love...

*MEN'S SF*
#1 Roger Federer vs. #4 Nikolay Davydenko
#2 Rafael Nadal vs. #6 Novak Djokovic

*MIXED DOUBLES FINAL*
#6 K.Srebotnik/N.Zimonjic vs. #8 N.Dechy/A.Ram

*WOMEN'S DOUBLES FINAL*
#7 K.Srebotnik/A.Sugiyama vs. #17 A.Molik/M.Santangelo

=============================
30-love...

*GIRLS SINGLES QF*
#1 Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova(RUS) vs. #8 Nikola Hofmanova(AUT)
Micaela Larcher De Brito(POR) vs. Mariana Duque Marino(COL)
#6 Ksenia Milevskaya(BLR) vs. Petra Martic(CRO)
#5 Evgeniya Rodina(RUS) vs. #2 Alize Cornet(FRA)

...there's a possibility of a repeat of three of the four Girls semifinalists from Oz, as Pavlyuchenkova, Milevskaya and Cornet all reached the final four in Melbourne. As it stands, Milevskaya may have the inside track for "Junior Breakout" after wins over Urszula Radwanska (matching her win over her in the Australian juniors) and Madison Brengle (who knocked off the Belarussian teen in the SF in Oz).

*BOYS SINGLES QF*
#1 Matteo Trevisan(ITA) vs. Cesar Ramirez(MEX)
Vladimir Karusevich(RUS) vs. #5 Greg Jones(AUS)
#10 Kellen Damico(USA) vs. #4 Fernando Romboli(BRA)
#12 Vladimir Ignatic(BLR) vs. #15 Ricardas Berankis(LTU)

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30-15...

**ROLAND GARROS FINALS**
[active]
3-0...JUSTINE HENIN
1-0...Serena Williams
1-0...Anastasia Myskina
1-2...Mary Pierce
0-1...Elena Dementieva
0-1...Svetlana Kuznetsova
0-1...Venus Williams
0-2...Martina Hingis
0-0...ANA IVANOVIC
0-0...JELENA JANKOVIC
0-0...MARIA SHARAPOVA

=============================
40-15...

SCORELINE-OF-NOTE #1: Women's Doubles SF - #7 K.Srebotnik(SLO)/A.Sugiyama(JPN) def. #1 L.Raymond(USA)/S.Stosur(AUS) 1-6/6-4/6-3

...Srebotnik pulled off the rare honor of being a member of the doubles teams that knocked out the #1-seeds in both Mixed (the Bryan brothers) and Women's Doubles.

SCORELINE-OF-NOTE #2: Junior Boys 3rd Rd - #15 Ricardas Berankis(LTU) def. #2 Jonathan Eysseric(FRA) 6-3/3-6/6-3.

...the French fans are running out of home-grown products to root for.

SCORELINE-OF-NOTE #3: Women's Doubles SF - #17 A.Molik(AUS)/M.Santangelo(ITA) def. #2 C.Black(ZIM)/L.Huber(RSA) 6-3/3-6/6-3.

...we might still get #1 vs. #2 in the Women's and Men's Singles, but not in Women's Doubles. Not after today's pair of upsets.
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40-30...


=MEN'S SEMIFINALS=
#1 Federer d. #4 Davydenko in 4
#2 Nadal d. #6 Djokovic in 4

...Djokovic will get there eventually, but not yet. Now, it'll either be a Rafa three-peat (the first since Bjorn Borg won four straight from 1978-81) or a "RogerSlam" of four straight slam titles.
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Deuce...



=WOMEN'S SEMIFINALS=
Justine Henin def Jelena Jankovic
As much as I'd like to see Jelena win (no offence to Justine), I just don't think she has the confidence or game to pull it off.

Maria Sharapova def Ana Ivanovic
Could be a very good match, I think Maria's serving will make a big difference.

=MEN'S SEMIFINALS=
Roger Federer def Nikolay Davydenko
Same story as playing Robredo...the guy just doesn't have a weapon to attack Roger.

Rafael Nadal def Novak Djokovic
So last year Novak said he felt in control of the match if you ignore his injury, time for him to prove his point...or not.
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Ad...


ROUND OF 16: Backspin 76-71 (RG: Pierre 21-17)
QUARTERFINALS: Pierre 41-34 (RG: Pierre 12-9)
SEMIFINALS: Pierre 39-36 (RG: tied 5-5)
FINALISTS: Backspin 12-10
...we both picked Henin/Kuznetsova, Federer/Nadal finals
CHAMPIONS: Backspin 3-2
...Backspin: Henin/Federer; Pierre: Henin/Nadal

=============================
MATCH, "And if you had Damico, Glatch and Zsilinszka give yourself a round of applause"...yep, those are the last Americans standing in Paris, all juniors. Kellen Damico has reached the Boys QF in both Singles and Doubles, while Alexa Glatch and Reka Zsilinszka are parts of two of the Girls teams that have advanced to the QF.
=============================



TOP QUALIFIERS: Timea Bacsinszky & Ioana-Raluca Olaru
TOP EARLY ROUND (1r-2r): Justine Henin
TOP MID-ROUND (3r-QF): Justine Henin
TOP LATE ROUND (SF-F): (vacant)
=============================
FIRST SEED OUT: #31 Severine Bremond (1r- M.Krajicek)
UPSET QUEENS: Romanians
REVELATION LADIES: Italians
LAST QUALIFIERS STANDING: Dominika Cibulkova, Alla Kudryavtseva & Ioana-Raluca Olaru (all 3rd Rd.)
IT GIRL: (vacant)
MISS OPPORTUNITY: Maria Sharapova
COMEBACK PLAYER: Patty Schnyder
DOUBLES STAR: Katarina Srebotnik
JUNIOR BREAKOUT: (vacant)




All for Day 11.

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Day 10: Screw Karma

Oh, sorry if that title sounds a bit impolite. But, well, the tone sort of fits, doesn't it?



Now, while I may be experiencing a tingling of my Backspinner sense that's telling me that a full-fledged tennis "love letter" to Le Petit Taureau might be coming to this space in the near future, this particular column isn't meant to be as such.

You see, the fact is that Serena Williams really did have a four-year old bone to pick with Justine Henin in this QF rematch of their 2003 Roland Garros SF. You remember, the one where Henin raised her hand while Williams was serving. Williams served a fault, then Henin refused to admit that she'd called for a time-out. Serena got bent out of shape. The crowd turned on the player who was then in the midst of her "Serena Slam" run, and Henin went on to win her first slam title.

That was four years ago today, and while time may have lessened the sting of what happened, it didn't change the facts. Mind you, this incident came before Henin turned Backspin into such a fan with her edge-of-your-seat performances in the U.S. Open a few months later, but I still harbor the same feelings about "the wave" now that I did then: there's gamesmanship, and then there's outright dirty pool. And what Henin did, though I think it's so far in the past now that it's no longer an issue, surely crossed the proverbial line of death that separates the two. Justine was wrong then, and is still wrong in restrospect. Backspin has long since forgiven her for it, but it doesn't change the facts.

So, had Williams won the two's quarterfinal match on la terre battau today -- Henin did, by an easy 6-4/6-3 score after Serena put up relatively and uncharacteristically little fight -- it would have been easy to say it was an act of karma paying Justine back. I wouldn't have had much of an argument against it, either. But...

Screw karma.

It didn't play a part in anything that happened today. Instead, Serena was correct when she said that all Henin really had to do today "was show up." True, but Williams has turned matches around from bigger deficits than she faced against Henin, so the simple act of surviving against the Australian Open champion can hardly be looked as a non-accomplishment.

Henin's quest for a third straight Roland Garros title -- the last woman to do so was Monica Seles in 1992 -- continues, and she'll take her record thirty-one straight sets won in Paris into the SF in the role as the white whale to Jelena Jankovic's Captain Ahab.

The moment of truth has arrived... or at least it will the day after tomorrow.




Love-Love...karma wasn't involved in the Henin-Williams match, and it wasn't in the Maria Sharapova/Anna Chakvetadze QF, either.

After hearing boos following her well-timed racket replacement against Patty Schnyder in the Round of 16, Sharapova had to answer post-match queries about her conduct after Sunday's match. Her quote was about as on-the-nose brilliant as you'll hear from a 20-year old tennis player. She said, "It's tough playing tennis and being Mother Teresa at the same time."

I'm seeing a "Quote of the Year" award in the Supernova's future.

As far as the match, Chakvetadze didn't play poorly, but Sharapova is the better player between the two and even the red clay couldn't make up the difference in Sharapova's 6-3/6-4 win. She simply outhit her Russian countrywoman, and one wonders if this is where Chakvetadze begins to feel herself bumping up against her personal glass ceiling as far as the slams go. After all, she IS something of a Hingis, version 2.0, and Martina herself never really found a way to consistently make her way past multiple Big Babes in the four biggest events of the year. Anna might not be able to, either.

The Doll might strive to be as successful as the Supernova, but there are different levels of potential success for all players. Sharapova's prospects are simply grander.

Odd, isn't it, that the two players who might have faced karmic repercussions for their past actions both won today? Not coincidentally, Henin and Sharapova, whose mindsets and approaches to the game of winning are far more alike than they are different, are also the two top-ranked women in the game. Go figure.

Hmmm, might they end up facing each other on Saturday, with Henin playing on her best surface and Sharapova on her worst? Now THAT might say something about the remainder of the '07 season, huh? Could it be that Pierre and I were right after all about this year ultimately being a battle of Justine vs. Maria?

Yeah, imagine that.
=============================
15-love...in the other two women's quarterfinals, the Fantastic Two made it a very good day for Serbia.

Ana Ivanovic reached her first career slam SF with a sometimes-dominating performance against a Svetlana Kuznetsova who one could have sworn was dipping in and out of consciousness on the court. Maybe it was the pressure she felt after Roger Federer complimented her game, or the abdominal muscle injury, but whatever the cause she did what she's often done in 2007 -- fail to show up in the big moment. Ivanovic won 25 of the first 33 points of the match, then 15 of the final 16 in her 6-0/3-6/6-1 win. AnaIvo now has a current tour-best 11-match winning streak.

WWRD?

That's "What Would Roger Do?" The Contessova had better figure it out if she wants to live up the King's praise.

Jankovic just continued to roll as she has so often during the clay season (when she's not facing Henin, at least), taking out Nicole Vaidisova 6-3/7-5, with her biggest difficulty coming in actualy closing out the match. It took her five match points before she finaly did it on Day 10. While Jelena's walkover in Strasbourg officially "ended" her winning streak for Backspin's purporses, as far as actual matches PLAYED are concerned, she's won her last twelve.

That means it's been 23 matches since the two female members of the Fantastovics have lost.
=============================
15-15...

=MID-ROUND (3rd-QF) AWARDS=
TOP PLAYER: Justine Henin
RISERS: Jelena Jankovic & Ana Ivanovic
SURPRISE: Maria Sharapova
VETERANS: Katarina Srebotnik & Anabel Medina-Garrigues
FRESH FACE Lucie Safarova
DOWN: Patty Schnyder
MATCH: 4th - Sharapova def. Schnyder 3-6/6-4/9-7... the Supernova sneaks away with a win when Sneaky fails to win after serving for the match three times and holding two match points
=============================
15-30...

*WOMEN'S SF*
#1 Justine Henin vs. #4 Jelena Jankovic
#7 Ana Ivanovic vs. #2 Maria Sharapova

*MIXED DOUBLES SF*
#6 K.Srebotnik/N.Zimonjic vs. #5 Z.Yan/M.Knowles
T.Sun/J.Knowle vs. #8 N.Dechy/A.Ram

*WOMEN'S DOUBLES SF*
#1 L.Raymond/S.Stosur vs. #7 K.Srebotnik/A.Sugiyama
#17 A.Molik/M.Santangelo vs. #2 C.Black/L.Huber

*MEN'S DOUBLES SF*
#9 L.Dlouhy/P.Vizner vs. #4 F.Santoro/N.Zimonjic
#6 M.Knowles/D.Nestor vs. M.Bhupathi/R.Stepanek

=============================
30-30...

**2007 WTA SF**
9...JELENA JANKOVIC (4-3 + w/o loss)
6...JUSTINE HENIN (4-1)
6...Svetlana Kuznetsova (4-2)
4...Amelie Mauresmo (3-1)
4...ANA IVANOVIC (2-1)
4...MARIA SHARAPOVA (1-2)
4...Sybille Bammer (1-3)

=============================
40-30...

SCORELINE-OF-NOTE #1: Junior Girls 2nd Rd. - #6 Ksenia Milevskaya(BLR) def. Urszula Radwanska(POL) 6-2/6-2

...hmmm, might Belarus (also home to Victoria Azarenka, Anastasiya Yakimova & Olga Govortsova) be the subject of next season's Nation-to-Watch "Intriguing Question?"

SCORELINE-OF-NOTE #2: Junior Girls 2nd Rd. - Simona Halep(ROU) def. #3 Anastasia Pivovarova(RUS) 6-4/1-6/6-3.

...Pivovarova won an ITF event in Moscow during the first week of main draw action in Paris, but Halep (another of the Romanians) has won several of those herself in '07. On Day 10, she did a little bit more.
=============================
Deuce...Roger Federer's Grand Slam record for consecutive sets won was ended by Tommy Robredo at 36. King Roger still won the match, of course. He'll face Nikolay Davydenko, a winner over Guillermo Canas, in the SF. The Nadal/Moya and Djokovic/Andreev quarterfinals will be played on Day 11.
=============================
Ad...

SCORELINE-OF-NOTE #3: Men's Doubles QF - #9 Lukas Dlouhy(CZE)/Pavel Vizner(CZE) def. #1 Bob Bryan(USA)/Mike Bryan(USA) 5-7/6-4/6-4.

...the brothers reached the RG final in three of the last four years, winning in 2003.

SCORELINE-OF-NOTE #4: Men's Doubles QF - Mahesh Bhupathi(IND)/Radek Stepanek(CZE) def. #2 Jonas Bjorkman(SWE)/Max Mirnyi(BLR) 3-6/6-1/7-6.

...again, Bjorkman's singles success precedes an earlier-than-usual exit from the doubles.

SCORELINE-OF-NOTE #5: Women's Doubles QF - #17 Alicia Molik(AUS)/Mara Santangelo(ITA) def. #5 Yung-Jan Chan(TPE)/Chia-Juang Chuang(TPE) 6-3/4-6/6-1.

...go Steamer!
=============================
Deuce #2...leave it to Maria Sharapova to match her career best clay court result... and do it at a grand slam to boot. She's now reached at least the SF at all four slams. No matter what happens in the SF against Ivanovic, the Supernova seized her opportunity when Schnyder faltered. The rest is just cake. Of course, Maria likes to have her cake and eat it, too.

*RECENT "MISS OPPORTUNITY" WINNERS*
06 Australian Open: Martina Hingis
06 Roland Garros: Svetlana Kuznetsova
06 Wimbledon: Severine Bremond
06 U.S. Open: Tatiana Golovin
07 Australian Open: Serena Williams
07 Roland Garros: Maria Sharapova

Meanwhile, after Liezel Huber lost in the Mixed Doubles QF with partner Kevin Ullyett, only Katarina Srebotnik managed to advance to the SF of both the Women's and Mixed Doubles. She gets the Doubles award for her versatiliity.

*RECENT "DOUBLES STAR" WINNERS*
06 Australian Open: Zi Yan/Jie Zheng
06 Roland Garros: Lisa Raymond/Samantha Stosur
06 Wimbledon: Zi Yan/Jie Zheng
06 U.S. Open: Martina Navratilova
07 Australian Open: Liezel Huber
07 Roland Garros: Katarina Srebotnik

=============================
Ad..."It Girl" will, naturally, come down to Jelena Jankovic and Ana Ivanovic. If they both lose in the SF, Ivanovic gets it for a career-best slam result. If one wins while the other loses, it's elementary. If they both win, they'll battle it out in the All-Fantastovic Final.
=============================
MATCH, "What's the deal with...?"...the Roland Garros schedule-makers putting BOTH Serbians on the court at the same time? And having the #1 and #2-seeded women playing at the same time on different courts, as well? Seems all a bit "off," doesn't it?
=============================



TOP QUALIFIERS: Timea Bacsinszky & Ioana-Raluca Olaru
TOP EARLY ROUND (1r-2r): Justine Henin
TOP MID-ROUND (3r-QF): Justine Henin
TOP LATE ROUND (SF-F): (vacant)
=============================
FIRST SEED OUT: #31 Severine Bremond (1r- M.Krajicek)
UPSET QUEENS: Romanians
REVELATION LADIES: Italians
LAST QUALIFIERS STANDING: Dominika Cibulkova, Alla Kudryavtseva & Ioana-Raluca Olaru (all 3rd Rd.)
IT GIRL: (vacant)
MISS OPPORTUNITY: Maria Sharapova
COMEBACK PLAYER: Patty Schnyder
DOUBLES STAR: Katarina Srebotnik
JUNIOR BREAKOUT: (vacant)




All for Day 10.

Read more...

Day 9: The Nitty Gritty on the Gritty Nitty

Yep, it's that time of the tournament. The wins are more important. The losses are more heartbreaking. The high pressure situations are even more pressurized.

(Psst, do I have enough to fill up this opening segment yet? Without the women playing today, and no earth-shattering results on the men's side, there's realy nothing to highlight for Day 9. What's that? One more? Okay.)

Umm... and the dirt is even dirtier. Yep, it's THAT time of the tournament.




Love-Love...


=THE MEN'S & WOMEN'S FINAL 8's=
*BY NATION*
5...Russia (Andreev,Chakvtadze,Davydenko,
Kuznetsova,Sharapova)
3...Serbia (Djokovic,Ivanovic,Jankovic)
3...Spain (Moya,Nadal,Robredo)
1...Argentina (Canas)
1...Belgium (Henin)
1...Czech Republic (Vaidisova)
1...Switzerland (Federer)
1...USA (S.Williams)

=============================
15-love...

*MEN'S QF*
#1 Roger Federer vs. #9 Tommy Robredo
#4 Nikolay Davydenko vs. #19 Guillermo Canas
#6 Novak Djokovic vs. Igor Andreev
#23 Carlos Moya vs. #2 Rafael Nadal

*WOMEN'S DOUBLES QF*
#1 L.Raymond/S.Stosur vs. #8 A.Medina-Garrigues/v.Ruano-Pascual
#16 M.E. Camerin/G.Dulko vs. #7 K.Srebotnik/A.Sugiyama
#5 Y-J.Chan/C-J.Chuang vs. #17 A.Molik/M.Santangelo
#10 J.Husarova/M.Shaughnessy vs. #2 C.Black/L.Huber

*MEN'S DOUBLES QF*
#1 B.Bryan/M.Bryan vs. #9 L.Dlouhy/P.Vizner
#4 F.Santoro/N.Zimonjic vs. I.Kunitsyn/D.Tursunov
#6 M.Knowles/D.Nestor vs. M.Kohlmann/R.Schuettler
M.Bhupathi/R.Stepanek vs. #2 J.Bjorkman/M.Mirnyi

=============================
15-15...

SCORELINE-OF-NOTE #1: Mixed Doubles QF - #6 K.Srebotnik(SLO)/N.Zimonjic(SRB) def. #1 L.Raymond(USA)/B.Bryan(USA) 6-4/7-6

...the first #1 seed has left the building.

SCORELINE-OF-NOTE #2: Junior Girls 1st Rd. - Polona Hercog(SLO) def. #11 Kai-Chen Chang(TPE) 7-6/6-3

...Hercog won the first ITF junior event she entered. She couldn't possibly do the same in her first junior slam, could she?

SCORELINE-OF-NOTE #3: Junior Girls 1st Rd. - Simona Halep(ROU) def. Alexa Glatch(USA) 6-1/4-6/7-5

...two of the better up-and-comers for their respective countries. As has been the case often of late, the Romanian proved victorious.

SCORELINE-OF-NOTE #4: Junior Boys 1st Rd. - Kittipong Wachiramanowong(THA) def. Graeme Dyce(GBR) 4-6/7-6/6-4

...I'm including this one because of the name. I mean, how many people do you know named Dyce?

Of course, it's no "Peerakiat Siriluethaiwattana," who lost on Day 9 to Aussie junior Andrew Thomas (which makes you wonder if the people who put together the RG draw had "balance" in mind when they matched up those two).

SCORELINE-OF-NOTE #5: Junior Girls 1st Rd. - Noppawan Lertcheewakarn(TPE) d. Mallory Cecil(USA) 6-4/7-5

...in this version of "The Name Game," it should be noted that Mallory could switch the order of her first and surname and place herself into the Boys draw.
=============================
30-15...a 16-year old American girl won a $10K event in Houston this weekend. Her name is Asia Muhammad. If she ever becomes a top player, she's uniquely qualified to be the most famous player in the world, don't you think?
=============================
40-15...


=QUARTERFINALS=
#1 Henin d. #8 S.Williams in 3 sets
...of course, Serena can never be underestimated. But this is Queen Justine. At Roland Garros. She HAS to win this one, right? Right?

#4 Jankovic d. #6 Vaidisova in 2 sets
...the Dynamova has been playing well despite her lack of match play heading into Paris, but she hasn't played anyone the likes of Jankovic yet. The winner gets the survivor of Justine/Serena.

#3 Kuznetsova d. #7 Ivanovic in 3 sets
...the Contessova has quietly been moving through the draw. With the other QF matchups on tap, she has a shot to do it again while avoiding the spotlight. But at least Roger is watching.

#9 Chakvetadze d. #2 Sharapova in 2 sets
...on any other surface, the pick would be the Supernova. But Sharapova nearly lost her last match, and has never been deeper in the draw in Paris than the QF. Plus, I picked Chakvetadze to reach the SF at the start of the tournament, so I'll stick with it. But if Anna, like Patty, can't handle the pressure...

=============================
40-30...



=QUARTERFINALS=
J.Henin(1) def S.Williams(8)
...I think it could be a good match, but no way that on clay Serena can pull this one off, Justine's consistency will just be too much too handle.

J.Jankovic(4) def N.Vaidisova(6)
...tough match to pick because Vaidisova has not been tested, and that's the problem, I think it will be tough for her to lift her game enough

S.Kuznetsova(3) def A.Ivanovic(7)
...a surprise could happen but I'd frankly be a bit shocked if it happened. Ivanovic will need her A game against Kuznetsova who moves so well in Paris

M.Sharapova(2) def A.Chakvetadze(9)
...Not an easy one, and Anna C. cold pull this one off, in fact, she probably should, but for some reason, she does not seem to match very well against Maria

=============================
MATCH, "I can see clearly now, 120 of the men are gone"...well, the QF are set, and it's time to start thinking about the significance of a possible Federer/Nadal meeting in the final. Federer would be going for the "RogerSlam," in which he'd be the title-holder in all four slams at the same time. He'd also be half-way to a true Grand Slam, the first by a man since Rod Laver in '69, with his two best slams still to come. A win by Nadal would mean he's 21-0 in his career at Roland Garros, and 3-for-3 in the tournaments-to-titles ratio. If they both make the final, it'd assure that either Federer or Nadal would have won all of the last nine slam titles. That's already more than half-way to the record held by the Evert/Navratilova combination, which won 15 straight slams from 1981-85, and 19-of-20 (a RG win by Roger or Rafa would be 11-of-12).
=============================



TOP QUALIFIERS: Timea Bacsinszky & Ioana-Raluca Olaru
TOP EARLY ROUND (1r-2r): Justine Henin
TOP MID-ROUND (3r-QF): (vacant)
TOP LATE ROUND (SF-F): (vacant)
=============================
FIRST SEED OUT: #31 Severine Bremond (1r- M.Krajicek)
UPSET QUEENS: Romanians
REVELATION LADIES: Italians
LAST QUALIFIERS STANDING: Dominika Cibulkova, Alla Kudryavtseva & Ioana-Raluca Olaru (all 3rd Rd.)
IT GIRL: (vacant)
MISS OPPORTUNITY: (vacant)
COMEBACK PLAYER: Patty Schnyder
DOUBLES STAR: (vacant)
JUNIOR BREAKOUT: (vacant)




All for Day 9.

Read more...

Day 8: Livin' on the Edge and Enjoying the View

Every grand slam seems to experience its "Supernova Moment." Well, on Day 8, Roland Garros '07 finally got one of its own.



Last year, Maria Sharapova nearly suffered a shocking 1st Round upset at Roland Garros against Mashona Washington... then the pigeons intervened. As it turned out, she lost in the Round of 16 to Dinara Safina after blowing a 5-1 3rd set lead. At the U.S. Open, she starred in "Exquisite in the City." In Melbourne, she (barely) survived Extreme Heat Conditions to defeat Camille Pin 9-7 in the 3rd set. Some good moments, some bad... but all of them memorible. On Sunday, Sharapova pulled off an unlikely 9-7 3rd set win once again, with the help of a very generous Patty Schnyder.

Whew! It's a good thing I don't award a "Worst Choke" award at each slam, because I have a sneaky suspicion that Sneaky Patty might be lined up directly in the cross-hairs for Roland Garros 2007's most dubious honor.

Schnyder served for the match three times. She held two match points. Then, just when you thought she couldn't let anything more slip away... she blew a 40-15 lead while serving to stay in the match at 7-8 in the final set. Game. Set. Match. Sharapova. 3-6/6-4/9-7. In a matter of a few minutes, a memorable day for the Swiss woman with the unique background (how many player bios could make liberal use of the words "cult" and "svengali?") turned into one better left forgotten. With Schnyder's 29th birthday coming up in December, she's (conservatively) in the autumn of her career. She might never get another better shot to upend a top player in a slam than she had today.

Oh, well. Maybe she'll write another book about all this someday.

To be totally fair, though, Schnyder really shouldn't be looked at cross-eyed for this development. I mean, after all, Sharapova lives for this stuff, doesn't she? Winning a match like this is why she's the Supernova in the first place.

Of course, it's hard to see Sharapova challenging to win Roland Garros next weekend. She's had her "moment" in Paris, and that she's still capable of it after all the troubles she's stared down since the Australian Open is precisely why the "Sharapova Scenario" is still in play for the end of '07 and through the '08 season.

But that's something for future discussion. As for this tournament, Sharapova survives to grunt another day... but probably not for the entire upcoming week.




Love-Love...


=THE WOMEN'S FINAL 8=
*BY NATION*
3...Russia (Chakvtadze,Kuznetsova,Sharapova)
2...Serbia (Ivanovic,Jankovic)
1...Belgium (Henin)
1...Czech Republic (Vaidisova)
1...USA (S.Williams)

=============================
15-love...Roger Federer has won thirty-five consecutive grand slam sets, tying the record held by John McEnroe.
=============================
30-love...

*WOMEN'S QF*
#1 Justine Henin vs. #8 Serena Williams
#4 Jelena Jankovic vs. #6 Nicole Vaidisova
#7 Ana Ivanovic vs. #3 Svetlana Kuznetsova
#9 Anna Chakvetadze vs. #2 Maria Sharapova

*MIXED DOUBLES QF*
#1 L.Raymond/B.Bryan vs. #6 K.Srebotnik/N.Zimonjic
T.Perry/C-J.Chuang vs. #5 Z.Yan/M.Knowles
M.Shaughnessy/M.Bhupathi vs. (T.Sun/J.Knowle or A.Cornet/T.Eysseric)
#8 N.Dechy/A.Ram vs. #2 L.Huber/K.Ullyett

=============================
40-15...

SCORELINE-OF-NOTE #1: Junior Girls 1st Rd. - #2 Alize Cornet(FRA) def. Nadiya Kachenok(UKR) 6-0/6-0

...apparently, Alize has caught her breath since her 1st Round MD loss to Venus.

SCORELINE-OF-NOTE #2: Women's Doubles 2nd Rd. - #11 S.Peer(ISR)/D.Safina(RUS) def. J.Jankovic(SRB)/N.Li(CHN) 6-3/6-2

...imagine if you saw four Top 20 men's singles players taking part in the same doubles match.

SCORELINE-OF-NOTE #3: Women's Doubles 3rd Rd. - #16 M.E.Camerin(ITA)/G.Dulko(ARG) def. #4 R.Stubbs(AUS)/K.Peschke(CZE) 1-6/6-4/6-3

...now Rennae will have more time to contribute commentary to the Tennis Channel.

SCORELINE-OF-NOTE #4: Women's 4th Round - #4 Jelena Jankovic(SRB) def. #18 Marion Bartoli(FRA!?!) 6-1/6-1

...Ahab, err, I mean Jelena is looking very good. But Marion (I need a French-themed nickname for her so I always remember that she's a Pastry) isn't Justine, or even Nicole, Jankovic's next opponent.
=============================
40-30...the view from the top of women's tennis is looking pretty good in Paris. The eight quarterfinalists were all seeded in the top nine. Only #5 Amelie Mauresmo hasn't lived up to her seeding, and she was coming in with little match play after her appendectomy. Of course, I'm not sure how much that has to do with losing 3-0 leads in two different sets against Lucie Safarova the other day. Buy, hey, she's won two slams... so I can't really say much bad about her anymore. She lived up to the promise, better late than never.
=============================
Deuce...two major Backspin slam awards -- "It Girl" and "Miss Opportunity" -- are still to be awarded, and the contenders are now evident.

**IT GIRL**
Anna Chakvetadze
Ana Ivanovic
Jelena Jankovic
Nicole Vaidisova

**MISS OPPORTUNITY**
Anna Chakvetadze
Ana Ivanovic
Jelena Jankovic
Maria Sharapova (on clay, she qualifies... and today's win might have already given it to her if the other three lose in the QF)

=============================
Ad...I'll forgive Martina Navratilova's comments on the Tennis Channel that suggested that most tennis fans have never heard of Lucie Safarova, despite the fact that she just reached the QF at the Australian Open in January. She might be right, on some level, but giving the people who were going out of their way to watch mid-tournament action at Roland Garros the benefit of the doubt for their knowledge might have been the better way to go.

But Martina won 18 grand slam singles titles, and that's more than enough for Backspin to give HER the benefit of the doubt. So, I'll also mention the great little turn of phrase she pulled off on Day 8 when she said things were getting down to the "nitty gritty on the gritty nitty." Okay, okay. She actually said "clay" instead of the second "nitty," but I like the substitution better than the original.
=============================
MATCH, "Okay, now WHICH ONE is the "Dream" match-up?"...according to Backspin's RG prep and preview column, the possible Henin-Jankovic SF match-up is "The One." But, you know, the Henin-S.Williams QF meeting is certainly nothing to sneeze at, either.
=============================



TOP QUALIFIERS: Timea Bacsinszky & Ioana-Raluca Olaru
TOP EARLY ROUND (1r-2r): Justine Henin
TOP MID-ROUND (3r-QF): (vacant)
TOP LATE ROUND (SF-F): (vacant)
=============================
FIRST SEED OUT: #31 Severine Bremond (1r- M.Krajicek)
UPSET QUEENS: Romanians
REVELATION LADIES: Italians
LAST QUALIFIERS STANDING: Dominika Cibulkova, Alla Kudryavtseva & Ioana-Raluca Olaru (all 3rd Rd.)
IT GIRL: (vacant)
MISS OPPORTUNITY: (vacant)
COMEBACK PLAYER: Patty Schnyder
DOUBLES STAR: (vacant)
JUNIOR BREAKOUT: (vacant)




All for Day 8.

Read more...

Day 7: All You Need is a Little Patience

There was no need for Mr. Fantastic to call on his super friends in his battle against surprising Frenchman Olivier Patience and the partisan Paris crowd on Day 7. He didn't need to display of his superpowers, either. Nope. All he needed was a little patience.



Faced with the prospect of being the victim of the tournament's biggest upset so far, Novak Djokovic did what any potentially great player SHOULD do. He didn't panic. He didn't start to become perturbed by every little thing, hoping a burst of anger would ignite his game. He didn't try to demonstrably alter his approach against the #129th-ranked opponent that there was no chance of toppling without a course correction on this day. Instead, he buckled down and played his game, fully believing that everything would be all right as long as he kept his head.

A player with Djokovic's ability can afford to have such confidence, I suppose. It worked for him, too. The 20-year old Serb outlasted Patience for a 7-6/2-6/3-6/7-6/6-3 victory, as he finally outraced his 27-year old opponent with an 8-5 advantage in winners in the final set, and while committing only half as many unforced errors (11 to 20). Djokovic only converted 2-of-16 break point attempts in the match, but the single one he got in the final stanza was enough to put this potential nightmare behind him, turning it into a learning experience. Patience actually held three break points on Djokovic's serve at 3-3 in the 5th, but Mr. Fantastic held on. In the next game, Patience led 40-15 only to see the Serb roar back to break to go up 5-3, then serve out the match... just like any "next big thing" should.

Djokovic is the youngest remaining player in the men's draw, but most think he's got the best chance of reaching and/or winning this whole thing if neither Federer nor Nadal do so. But, despite winning today, Djokovic wasn't satisfied.

Sometimes, being #3 in so many people's eyes is a good thing, and maybe it is for Djokovic on some level, as well. But it won't be for much longer... if it ever was at all.




Love-Love...


=THE WOMEN'S FINAL 16=
*BY NATION*
Russia (4)
...Chakvtadze,Kuznetsova,Safina,Sharapova
Czech Republic (2)
...Safarova,Vaidisova
Serbia (2)
...Ivanovic,Jankovic
1...Austria (Bammer)
1...Belgium (Henin)
1...France (Bartoli) (yes!)
1...Israel (Peer)
1...Italy (Garbin) (yes II!)
1...Spain (Medina-Garrigues)
1...Switzerland (Schnyder)
1...USA (S.Williams)
*BY AGE*
18...Nicole Vaidisova
19...Ana Ivanovic
20...Shahar Peer
20...Maria Sharapova
20...Anna Chakvetadze
20...Lucie Safarova
21...Dinara Safina
21...Svetlana Kuznetsova
22...Jelena Jankovic
22...Marion Bartoli
24...Anabel Medina-Garrigues
25...Justine Henin
25...Serena Williams
27...Sybille Bammer
29...Patty Schnyder
29...Tathiana Garbin
*BY RANKING*
#1 Justine Henin
#2 Maria Sharapova
#3 Svetlana Kuznetsova
#5 Jelena Jankovic
#7 Ana Ivanovic
#8 Serena Williams
#9 Anna Chakvetadze
#10 Nicole Vaidisova
#11 Dinara Safina
#15 Patty Schnyder
#17 Shahar Peer
#21 Marion Bartoli
#22 Tathiana Garbin
#23 Anabel Medina-Garrigues
#25 Sybille Bammre
#29 Lucie Safarova

=THE MEN'S FINAL 16=
*BY NATION*
4...Spain (Moya,Nadal,Robredo,Verdasco)
3...Argentina (Canas,Monaco,Nalbandian)
3...Russia (Andreev,Davydenko,Youzhny)
1...Australia (Hewitt)
1...Cyprus (Baghdatis)
1...Italy (Volandri)
1...Serbia (Djokovic)
1...Sweden (Bjorkman)
1...Switzerland (Federer)

=============================
Love-15...I'm still tempted to pick the Austrians as Roland Garros' "Revelation Ladies" to honor Sybille Bammer's continued rise to nearly a Top 20 position, a career-high at age 27. But Karin Knapp's good showing, and Tathiana Garbin's rise to a career-high ranking AND best-ever slam result less than a month from her 30th birthday has pushed the Italians over the top (even with the "revelation" that Marion Bartoli is French, no matter how many times my brain freeze-locks and I think she's a Noodle because her names SOUNDS like she should be from Italia).

*RECENT "REVELATION LADIES" NATIONS*
06 Australian Open: Italy
06 Roland Garros: France
06 Wimbledon: Serbia
06 US Open: Russia
07 Australian Open: Belarus
07 Roland Garros: Italy

=============================
15-15...

SCORELINE-OF-NOTE #1: Doubles 2nd Round - Husarova(SVK)/Shaughnessy(USA) d. Bondarenko(UKR)/Bondarenko(UKR) 6-1/6-3

...and the Bondarenko family experiences a moment of silence.

SCORELINE-OF-NOTE #2: Women's 3rd - Safarova d. Mauresmo 6-3/7-6

...instead of Amelie vs. Justine providing all the drama at the slams, it's been Amelie vs. Lucie. That two '07 slams and two slam wins by the Czech over the Pastry in Melbourne and Paris. The first ended Mauresmo's maiden slam title defense, while the second came in her home country. Good thing Amelie won two slams in' 06, otherwise she might develop some sort of complex about all this.

SCORELINE-OF-NOTE #3: Women's 3rd - Medina-Garrigues d. Hantuchova 4-6/7-6/7-5

...in a rollercoaster of a match that swayed back and forth in favor of AMG and Wonder Girl, the Spaniard followed up her Strasbourg title by matching her best-ever slam result. Finally, Medina-Garrigues didn't back down on the big stage. Finally.
=============================
15-30...all three remaining qualifiers in the women's draw lost on Day 7, so it's a three-way tie for "Last Qualifier Standing." Interestingly, this is the second time this year that Alla Kudryavtseva has managed to outlast them all... maybe she's replaced Julia Vakulenko as the tour's "slam qualifying specialist."

*RECENT "LAST QUALFIERS STANDING*
06 Australian Open: (3r) Olga Savchuk
06 Roland Garros: (3r) Julia Vakulenko & Aravane Rezai
06 Wimbledon: (QF) Severine Bremond
06 US Open: (2r) Kirsten Flipkens, Varvara Lepchenko, Agnieszka Radwanska, Eva Birnerova & Yulia Fedossova
07 Australian Open: (2r) Anne Kremer, Alla Kudryavtseva, Tamira Paszek, Julia Vakulenko & Renata Voracova
07 Roland Garros: (3r) Dominika Cibulkova, Alla Kudryavtseva & Ioana-Raluca Olaru

=============================
15-40...

*ROUND OF 16 PICKS*
[women's bottom half]
#7 Ivanovic d. #24 Medina-Garrigues
#3 Kuznetsova d. #15 Peer
#9 Chakvetadze d. #25 Safarova
#14 Schnyder d. #2 Sharapova
[men's bottom half]
#6 Djokovic d. Verdasco
Andreev d. #16 Baghdatis
#23 Moya d. Bjorkman
#2 Nadal d. #14 Hewitt

=============================
30-40...Patty Schnyder had to go to the ends of the earth (and get a little lucky with line calls) in her 6-1/4-6/7-5 win over Karin Knapp, who is nearly 6-feet tall and 159 pounds but doesn't have the serve you'd THINK she would from looking at her. Still, with contenders Elena Dementieva and Francesca Schiavone out of the mix, Sneaky Patty is the only possible "Comeback" player left to choose from.

*RECENT "COMEBACK PLAYER" WINNERS*
07 Australian Open: Serena Williams
07 Roland Garros: Patty Schnyder

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Deuce...the Girls Junior draw has been released. Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova and Alize Cornet are the top two seeds.
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Ad...Lucie Safarova's win over Amelie Mauresmo gives her three 2007 wins over players currently or formerly ranked #1 in the world, a pool of players that includes Kim Clijsters, Justine Henin, Martina Hingis, Amelie Mauresmo, Maria Sharapova and Venus & Serena Williams.

*MOST WINS OVER #1's IN 2007*
5...Jelena Jankovic
3...Lucie Safarova
3...Serena Williams
2...Daniela Hantuchova
2...Svetlana Kuznetsova
2...Aravane Rezai
2...Patty Schnyder
2...Maria Sharapova
2...Julia Vakulenko

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MATCH, "Who Says 36-year old Pete Sampras is nuts to think he can compete on the ATP tour, especially at Wimbledon?"...when 30-year old Carlos Moya and 35-year Jonas Bjorkman are set to meet in a Round of 16 match on a surface that rewards fitness, patience and a grinding style of play. Just something to consider.
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TOP QUALIFIERS: Timea Bacsinszky & Ioana-Raluca Olaru
TOP EARLY ROUND (1r-2r): Justine Henin
TOP MID-ROUND (3r-QF): (vacant)
TOP LATE ROUND (SF-F): (vacant)
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FIRST SEED OUT: #31 Severine Bremond (1r- M.Krajicek)
UPSET QUEENS: Romanians
REVELATION LADIES: Italians
LAST QUALIFIERS STANDING: Dominika Cibulkova, Alla Kudryavtseva & Ioana-Raluca Olaru (all 3rd Rd.)
IT GIRL: (vacant)
MISS OPPORTUNITY: (vacant)
COMEBACK PLAYER: Patty Schnyder
DOUBLES STAR: (vacant)
JUNIOR BREAKOUT: (vacant)




All for Day 7.

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Day 6: Rise of the Serbs: The Story Continues...

Is Paris going to be the site of a Serbian coronation? Or will this year's Roland Garros serve as a prelude to the day when all the Serbian would-be superheroes serve notice that they are capable of keeping watch over the entire tennis world? Together, as one.

Despite a decided lack of the money and commitment that so many other traditional tennis powers throw at the sport, there are currently three Top 10 players, two women (Jelena Jankovic & Ana Ivanovic) and one man (Novak Djokovic), who hail from Serbia. The small but powerful Fantastic 3 of Serbian tennis seem destined to be the icons that future generations of Serbian tennis stars remember as the childhood heroes that stoked the competitive fires that helped to distance them from their country's recent internal turmoil and war.



The Fantastics (or is it "the Fantastovics?") may not currently have that all-important fourth team member to fully rival their cinematic/comic counterparts, but the three that ARE in the fold share many of the qualities of their comic book alter egos.



Djokovic, of course, stands in for Mr. Fantastic... and looks to have the best chance to potentially upset the Federer vs. Nadal cart of croissants in Paris. He's the top remaining seed (at #6) in his quarter of the draw, with the next-highest being #12 David Ferrer. Could Roland Garros be the birthplace of the next phase of Novak's career? He might not win THIS title, but it's only a matter of time before he ends the current domination of King Roger and Rafa at the slams. It might not happen at all in 2007... but 2008? It's probably a good bet.



On Day 6 against Venus Williams, Jankovic took a turn at multiple Fantastic roles, as she sometimes does (see the U.S. Open semifinal against Justine Henin last year). In the 1st and 3rd sets, she was an unstoppable force ala the Thing, burning as hot as the Human Torch (with a similar wit) as she served at over 80% and coasted to victory, overcoming a 2nd set where she was the Invisible Woman in the 6-4/4-6/6-1 match. It was further evidence that Jankovic might just be ready to assume the leading role in the women's game that her results over the last ten months have hinted that she's capable of.

Ivanovic does't get her shot to reach the Round of 16 until Day 7 against qualifier Ioana-Raluca Olaru. She'll likely live to play multiple roles another day, as well, as her tendency to rise to great heights (two Tier I titles in the past year, incuding Berlin in May) but alternately disappear from the final weekends of tournaments (she reached no SF in '06 other than at the event she won in Montreal) in between her great accomplishments. As of yet, consistency is not her hallmark.

While Ivanovic is still learning to harness her powers, Jankovic's next step is to defeat her arch enemy, "The Queen." Djokovic is just waiting... for Federer or Nadal to slip, or for the moment to arrive when he catches one or both with their guard down. It'll happen one of these days... maybe even in Paris.

There are many "superheroes" in the tennis world, but few are as multi-layered and entertaining as the Fantastics, Three or otherwise. Maybe one day they'll have their fourth member (could it be Janko Tipsarevic, who upset Marat Safin in the 2nd Round?)... just give them time.

Look at how well they've used what little they've had of it so far. Imagine what could come next.




Love-Love...most of the singles matches on Day 6 went according to form, with only two mild seed-related upsets (#18 Bartoli over #13 Dementieva, and #20 Bammer over #16 Li) occurring on the women's side of the draw, where Daniela Hantuchova defeated Olga Poutchkova to join the Final 32 and eight women adanced to the Round of 16. On the men's side, #29 Filippo Volandri, who knocked off Roger Federer a few weeks ago, ago, took out #7-seeded Ivan Ljubicic... but, hey, it's a slam, so an early exit by the Croat isn't exactly a big surprise.
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Love-15...in a nod to the worldwide spread of talent on the women's side, the Russian Horde notwithstanding, the eight women who advanced to the Final 16 in the top half of the draw hail from eight different nations. The eight men who advanced to the 4th Round included three Argentines and two Russians.
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Love-30...

SCORELINE-OF-NOTE #1: Doubles 1st Round - Bondarenko(UKR)/Bondarenko(UKR) d. Cetkovska(CZE)/Safarova(CZE) 2-6/6-2/7-6(6)

...the "other" sisters live!

SCORELINE-OF-NOTE #2: Doubles 1st Round - Jens(POL)/Rosolska(POL) d. Azarenka(BLR)/Chakvetadze(RUS) 6-4/6-3

...apparently, there ARE Polish players not named Radwanska or Domachowska.

SCORELINE-OF-NOTE #3: Doubles 1st Round - Bryan(USA)/Bryan(USA) d. Pless(DEN)/Spadea(USA) 6-2/6-1

...well, at least SOME American men can play on clay. Of course, even when the Bryan brothers win, another American man loses at the same time.

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15-30...nothing official yet, but with Sybille Bammer's 3rd Round victory today, and Tamira Paszek's star-turn (well, in miniature, at least) in the early rounds, I'm leaning toward crowning the Austrians as Roland Garros' "Revelation Ladies." Realistically, only the Italians (with Karin Knapp) could also potentially claim the title... but they won it in Australia a season ago, and it might be too soon for a repeat.
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15-40...

*ROUND OF 16 PICKS*
[women's top half]
#1 Henin d. #20 Bammer
#8 S.Williams d. #10 Safina
#4 Jankovic d. #18 Bartoli
#6 Vaidisova d. #19 Garbin
[men's top half]
#1 Federer d. #13 Youzhny
#29 Volandri d. #9 Robredo
#15 Nalbandian d. #4 Davydenko
#19 Canas d. Monaco

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30-40...it was 40 years ago today that Sgt.Pepper allowed us to hear his band play.



Nothing to do with tennis, of course. But as significant a moment in the history of rock music as there is at least merits a throwaway mention. I just listened to the album again today, and it still holds up as a uniquely superior piece of art. Hard to believe anyone's never listened to at least some of it, but if you haven't you should... from beginning to end, as it was intended by John, Paul, George and Ringo.

(And, in an aside, I'd like to think all the players with Backspin nicknames could be cobbled together as the famous faces are on "Sgt.Pepper's" iconic album cover... as sort of a combination in-joke/homage to all the joy and pain they go through, essentially for our entertainment, as well as some spare change and hardware for themselves.)
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MATCH, "Is it too early to start talking about the "dream" match-up coming true?"...hmmm, yeah, it IS too soon. That'll have to wait until the potential combatants reach the quarterfinals. Of course, this year there is more than one possible match that meets the criteria, isn't there?
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TOP QUALIFIERS: Timea Bacsinszky & Ioana-Raluca Olaru
TOP EARLY ROUND (1r-2r): Justine Henin
TOP MID-ROUND (3r-QF): (vacant)
TOP LATE ROUND (SF-F): (vacant)
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FIRST SEED OUT: #31 Severine Bremond (1r- M.Krajicek)
UPSET QUEENS: Romanians
REVELATION LADIES: (vacant)
LAST QUALIFIER STANDING: (vacant)
IT GIRL: (vacant)
MISS OPPORTUNITY: (vacant)
COMEBACK PLAYER: (vacant)
DOUBLES STAR: (vacant)
JUNIOR BREAKOUT: (vacant)




All for Day 6.

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