Wk.30- The Princess and... Patty's Husband?

You might want to be wary of the White Mile, Sania... so don't say you weren't properly warned.

Well, it looks like Sania Mirza's hangover has finally been remedied. After producing the tour's biggest breakthrough season in 2005, the Indian Princess' "year after" wasn't nearly as successful. After having won a WTA singles title, just one of her numerous "first Indian woman to do" feats that season, she failed to get a second, reached only one semifinal, and won just two grand slam singles matches a year ago. It was easy to wonder if the then 19-year old might be destined to be the star of "Dokic II," minus the off-the-court meltdowns, and forever remain a one-dimensional player who was never able to recapture her once-great promise.

But 2007 is turning out to be quite a rehabilitative year for Mirza. After reaching SF in Hobart and Pattaya early in the season, Mirza's progress suffered a setback with a knee operation in March. She slogged through the clay and grass seasons with little to show for it in terms of victories, but it's now obvious that she was really just preparing for her favored hard court season in North America.



Just a few weeks into the 3rd Quarter, Mirza is sporting a decidedly fitter look to go along with that lethal forehand, winning smile and large dose of personality that garnered her so much attention two years ago. At 20, her forward progress is back on track. A SF in Cincinnati was followed up by her first final in nearly two years in Stanford. But maybe the most interesting development of last week involving Mirza might have been her request for a little coaching assistance from Rainer Hofmann, husband of Patty Schnyder.

Oh, there's nothing salacious there, but considering the sometimes-loopy past and present of Schnyder, combined with Mirza's former courtship of cheeky controversy, it's certainly a pairing that just begs for bizarre speculation... you know, like whether or not Patty and Sania might go on a t-shirt shopping spree.

Well, check that. Since Sania actually took out Schnyder in straight sets in the QF (with Rainer's "help"... boy, I wonder if he apologized to Sneaky after the match?), they probably won't be traveling the White Mile together anytime soon.

Oh, well. No matter. It's just nice to be able to talk of Sania's flights of fancy again, and to see her exciting crowds like she did in Stanford last week. The WTA tour is a more fun place with Mirza in the mix. Apparenty, one billion Indian fans WEREN'T wrong, after all. Whew!

But, really, could the tour even ever hope to survive the explosive potential of a Sania-Patty-Rainer smackdown? Probably not. Good thing Sania's as smart as she is clever.

Hey, at least if Patty ever decides to seek a little revenge, the Princess will be able to work on her reflexes... she only has to remember to duck.

*WEEK 30 CHAMPIONS*

STANFORD, CALIFORNIA USA (II-Hard)
S: Anna Chakvetadze d. Sania Mirza 6-3/6-2
D: Mirza/Peer d. Azarenka/Chakvetadze

BAD GASTEIN, AUSTRIA (III-Red Clay)
S: Francesca Schiavone d. Yvonne Meusburger 6-1/6-4
D: Hradecka/Voracova d. Szavay/Uhlirova

WORLD TEAM TENNIS FINAL
Sacramento Capitals d. New York Buzz 24-20


PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Anna Chakvetadze
...the Doll's fourth title on the season in Stanford means that, at 6-0 in career WTA singles finals, she's half-way to the other Anna's -- Smashnova, not Kournikova -- 12-0 record in her first twelve tour finals. Even while extending her winning streak to ten matches, the Russian was uncharacteristically inconsistent, as her serve put her into holes from which she was forced to successfully escape. Of course, she can get away with such things against the likes of Daniilidou, Srebotnik, Hantuchova and Mirza. In order to earn her way past her current career-high rank of #6, she's going to have to find a way to put together a better record than the 2-11 one she has against four of the five women (she's 5-2 against #3 Jelena Jankovic) currently ranked ahead of her on the WTA computer.
=============================
RISERS: Sania Mirza & Daniela Hantuchova
...before her run to the final in Stanford, Mirza hadn't gone as deep in a tournament in almost two years ('05 Forest Hills). Alongside her singles wins over Morigami, Golovin, Schnyder & Bammer was a third doubles title of the season, which she won with Shahar Peer. While Wonder Girl's advancements often come with even more questions, as was the case with a SF result in Stanford that was slightly muted by her failure to hold a lead against Chakvetadze, in the end, Hantuchova is back in the Top 10... and that can't be seen as anything but progress.
=============================
SURPRISES: Yvonne Meusburger & Yanina Wickmayer

...with nine career circuit titles. 23-year old Austrian Meusburger has been successful on the ITF tour, but only recently has her success translated to WTA tour eyebrow-raisers. That's surely what happened in Bad Gastein, as she reached her first tour singles final and picked up victories over Loit, Birnerova, Dominguez-Lino and Knapp. A few weeks ago, 17-year old Belgian Wickmayer provided her country's only Fed Cup point against China with a win over Zi Yan. This week, she won an ITF title (the fourth of her career) by taking the $25K in Les Contamines with a win over Julie Coin. She also claimed the doubles crown with Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova.
=============================
VETERANS: Francesca Schiavone & Elena Likhovtseva

...if only Schiavone could bottle the adrenaline she gets from her Fed Cup participation, she'd have a nice little product to sell in between practice sessions. Just two weeks after guiding Italy into another FC final with wins over Mauresmo and Golovin, she FINALLY claimed her first tour singles title at age 27, winning the Bad Gastein Tier IV final over Meusburger. Hmmm, with her name now crossed off the list, NOW who's the best/most accomplished WTA player who's never won a singles title? Meanwhile, Likhovtseva was the Most Valuable Russian -- not Kournikova -- on the Sacramento Capital roster as she led the team to a World Team Tennis championship over the weekend.
=============================
FRESH FACES: Olga Govortsova & Stephanie Dubois

...Belarus' Govortsova, 18, has been a mover-and-shaker in terms of slam qualifying this season, and last week in Stanford she showed her knack for successful qualifying runs again. In the main draw, she knocked off Catalina Castano and, in her first win over a top 20 player, Shahar Peer en route to her maiden tour QF. As the anniversary of her Montreal retirement win over Kim Clijsters approaches, the 20-year old Dubois is "feeling it" again. In the $50K in Lexington, she won her second straight ITF title (over Anne Keothavong), and picked up nice wins over Della'Acqua and Jidkova, too.
=============================
DOWN: Patty Schnyder
...only Sneaky Patty would find herself in a situation where her husband is coaching her opponent, right? But it turned out to be the case when '06 Stanford runner-up Schnyder met Mirza in the Stanford QF, with husband Rainer Hofmann occupying the odd seat in the crowd. Since Patty lost in straight sets, it must have made or some interesting Team Schnyder pillow talk.
=============================


1. Stan Final - Chakvetadze d. Mirza
...6-3/6-2. As usual, Chakvetadze was somewhat overshadowed in this match by crowd favorite Mirza, but the fact remains that no one has more hard court wins this season than the Russian Doll.
=============================
2. BG Final - Schiavone d. Meusburger
...6-1/6-4. Schiavone avoids going 0-for-9 in career finals.
=============================
3. BG 1st - Groenefeld d. Vinci
...6-4/2-6/6-0. Could it be that her Wimbledon post-match bloodletting was her first step back to better mental health? This nice win over the #3 seed, including a love set in the 3rd, will certainly give her something to feel good about. She lost her next match, but it went to a 3rd set tie-break. After so many down moments in' 07, even that is something she might be able to see the bright side of now that maybe her darkest moments have passed.
=============================
4. Stan 2nd - Osterloh d. Bartoli
...5-7/6-4/6-3. At Wimbledon, Bartoli upset the world #1. In her first action since SW19, she fell to a player with a three-digit ranking. No one said this was going to be easy for La Trufflette.
=============================
5. Stan QF - Mirza d. Schnyder
...7-6/6-1. Forget the White Mile, Rainer's penance might include the Green Mile.
=============================
HM- Stan Doub.F - Mirza/Peer d. Azarenka/Chakvetadze
...6-4/7-6. The last time players met in both the singles and doubles final of the same event was Davenport and Clijsters in 2003.
=============================


**2007 SINGLES FINALS**
6...Justine Henin (5-1)
6...Jelena Jankovic (4-2)
4...ANNA CHAKVETADZE (4-0)
4...Amelie Mauresmo (1-3)
4...Svetlana Kuznetsova (0-4)
3...Ana Ivanovic (1-2)

**CONSECUTIVE 2007 TITLES**
Feb/Mar - Justine Henin (Dubai/Doha)
Jan/Mar - Serena Williams (Aust./Miami)
June - Justine Henin (R.Garros/Eastbourne)
JULY - ANNA CHAKVETADZE (CINCY/STANFORD)

**OLDEST FIRST-TIME 2007 CHAMPS**
28...Greta Arn, GER/Estoril
27...FRANCESCA SCHIAVONE, ITA/BAD GASTEIN
27...Akiko Morigami, JPN/Prague
26...Sybille Bammer, AUT/Pattaya
26...Milagros Sequera, VEN/Fes

**CAREER TITLES - RUSSIANS**
15..Maria Sharapova, 2003-06
10..Anastasia Myskina, 1999-05
9...Olga Morozova, 1969-75
8...Svetlana Kuznetsova, 2002-06
7...Nadia Petrova, 2005-07 (1)
7...Elena Dementieva, 2003-07 (1)
6...ANNA CHAKVETADZE, 2006-07 (4)



==JULY AWARD WINNERS - WEEK 28-30==

*PLAYERS OF THE MONTH*
1. Anna Chakvetadze, RUS -

The Russian Doll went 10-0 on the American hard courts while most of the rest of the Top 10 were on the sidelines.
=============================
2. Francesca Schiavone, ITA - clearly in her element, Schiavone starred in the Noodles' Fed Cup SF win, then finally won her first career title two weeks later.
=============================
3. Venus Williams, USA - in a losing American effort in the Fed Cup SF, Venus was the clear victor against Top 10ers Petrova and Chakvetadze in singles.
=============================
4. Sania Mirza, IND - with a SF and Final, the exciting game of the Indian Princess is back in the conversation.
=============================
5. Agnes Szavay, HUN - the teenager won her first career title in Palermo.
=============================

*RISERS*
1. Anna Chakvetadze/RUS
2. Sania Mirza/IND
3. Daniela Hantuchova/SVK
4. Anabel Medina-Garrigues/ESP
5. Shahar Peer/ISR
6. Martina Muller/GER
7. Kaia Kanepi/EST
8. Alona Bondarenko/UKR
9. Maria-Emilia Salerni/ARG
10. Yaroslava Shvedova/RUS
HM- Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez/ESP

*FRESH FACES*
1. Agnes Szavay/HUN
2. Petra Cetkovska/CZE
3. Olga Govortsova/BLR
4. Agnieszka Radwanska/POL
5. Karin Knapp/ITA
6. Stephanie Dubois/CAN
7. Ayumi Morita/JPN
8. Dominika Cibulkova/SVK
9. Alexa Glatch/USA
10. Edina Gallovits/ROU
HM- Kimberly Couts/USA

*SURPRISES*
1. Nika Ozegovic/CRO
2. Tatjana Malek/GER
3. Yvonne Meusburger/AUT
4. Lilia Osterloh/USA
5. Akgul Amanmuradova/UZB
6. Sara Errani/ITA
7. Andreja Klepac/SLO
8. Eva Birnerova/CZE
9. Yanina Wickmeyer/BEL
10. Ana Vrljic/CRO
HM- Julia Goerges/GER

*VETERANS*
1. Francesca Schiavone/ITA
2. Venus Williams/USA
3. Akiko Morigami/JPN
4. Elena Likhovtseva/RUS (WTT)
5. Sybille Bammer/AUT
HM- Katarina Srebotnik/SLO

*DOWN*
1t. Amelie Mauresmo/FRA & Tatiana Golovin/FRA
3. Anastassia Rodionova/RUS
HM- Marion Bartoli/FRA

*COMEBACK*
1. Francesca Schiavone/ITA
2. Sania Mirza/IND
3. Sharon Fichman/CAN
HM- Anna-Lena Groenefeld/GER

*ITF PLAYERS*
1. Petra Cetkovska/CZE
2. Stephanie Gehrlein/GER
3. Andrea Petkovic/GER
4. Stephanie Dubois/CAN
5. Alize Cornet/FRA

TOP PERFORMANCE: Italy defeats France 3-2 in the Fed Cup SF, earning a chance to defend 2006's title

*MATCH OF THE MONTH*
FC (ITA/FRA) - Schiavone d. Golovin
...6-4/2-6/7-5. Golovin led 5-2 in the 3rd, needing just one more game to send the Pastries to the final. But the crowd unnerved her, Schiavone's sails were powered by the home support... and the rest was Fed Cup history.

COMEBACK OF THE MONTH: Just weeks after giving birth to her first son, Lindsay Davenport announced plans for a return from her abbreviated "retirement."

INGLORIOUS MOMENT OF THE MONTH: Anastassia Rodionova was DQ'd from her 1st Round match against Angelique Kerber in Cincinnati when she was deemed to have hit a ball in anger at/or in the direction of courtside fans who were cheering for Kerber. The Russian has denied the intent, but the DQ will remain.




SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA USA (I-HCO)
2006 FINAL: Sharapova d. Clijsters
2007 TOP: Sharapova/Jankovic
=============================


=Rd. of 16=
Sharapova d. Golovin
Peer d. Safina
Chakvetadze d. Bammer
V.Williams d. Hantuchova
Schnyder d. Hingis
Petrova d. Srebotnik
Dementieva d. Bartoli
Jankovic d. Safarova
=QF=
Sharapova d. Peer
V.Williams d. Chakvetadze
Petrova d. Schnyder
Jankovic d. Dementieva
=SF=
V.Williams d. Sharapova
Jankovic d. Petrova
=FINAL=
V.Williams d. Jankovic

...the Supernova is the defending champion here, as her San Diego title provided a nice warm-up for her win in New York a few weeks later. With all her issues in '07, a superior result here would surely be a welcome occurrence with such a big title defense coming up (and with Sharapova still looking for her first title this season). But Venus would seem to be coming to town in fine form and health, and based on the past month I'll go with her.


=Rd. of 16=
Sharapova d. Golovin
Peer d. Safina
Chakvetadze d. Sugiyama
V.Williams d. Azarenka
Hingis d. Schnyder
Petrova d. A.Bondarenko
Dementieva d. Bartoli
Jankovic d. Safarova
=QF=
Sharapova d. Peer
V.Williams d. Chakvetadze
Hingis d. Petrova
Jankovic d. Dementieva
=SF=
V.Williams d. Sharapova
Hingis d. Jankovic
=FINAL=
Hingis d. V.Williams


STOCKHOLM, SWEDEN (IV-HCO)
2006 FINAL: Zheng d. Myskina
2007 TOP: Medina-Garrigues/A.Radwanska
=============================


=QF=
Medina-Garrigues d. Birnerova
Zakopalova d. Loit
Kanepi d. Groenefeld
A.Radwanska d. Wozniacki
=SF=
Medina-Garrigues d. Zakopalova
A.Radwanska d. Kanepi
=FINAL=
Medina-Garrigues d. A.Radwanska

...AMG didn't attempt to extend her three-year title run in Palermo when it came up just a week after Fed Cup, so here's her chance to replace the points.


=QF=
Dusehvina d. Medina-Garrigues
Loit d. Zakopalova
Kanepi d. Pironkova
A.Radwanska d. Vesnina
=SF=
Dushevina d. Loit
A.Radwanska d. Kanepi
=FINAL=
A.Radwanska d. Dushevina



All for now.

Read more...

Wk.29- In the Doll's House

2007 has been a weird year for the Russian Horde.

Anastasia Myskina has barely played at all. Maria Sharapova has reached a slam final and semifinal, but zero titles and shoulder issues can't shake the "disappointment" tag from her season. Svetlana Kuznetsova has reached four finals, but hasn't won ANY of them. Elena Dementieva has been mostly M.I.A., but she still has more '07 titles to her name than the Supernova. Maria Kirilenko is proving to be more "Anna 2" than "Maria 2.0". And while Nadia Petrova isn't living up to her potential, she's won a singles title, the Hopman Cup and led Team Russia back to the Fed Cup final.

But inside the Doll's house, almost unnoticed, Anna Chakvetadze is having a GREAT year.



Even with her superb late '06 run, Chakvetadze can't help but be overshadowed by bigger (both physically so, but in terms of star-power, too) Hordettes and non-Hordettes alike. She isn't the most noteworthy racket-wielding Russian named Anna, and is often compared to Martina Hingis... without the slam titles and one-time #1 ranking to her credit, which sort of gives her SECOND billing in the story.

But Chakvetadze's title this weekend in Cincinnati gives her three on the season. The top two ranked Russians -- Sharapova and Kuznetsova -- are a combined 0-6 in finals in' 07, and the eight WTA finalist Hordettes this season not named Anna are 4-10. Chakvetadze? She's 3-0. In fact, she's never lost a WTA singles final in her five attempts since last October.

Always underestimated, but always determined. Hmmm... I wonder if there's a connection?

Could the consistent Chakvetadze even make a run at being the TOP-ranked Russian by the end of this season? If Sharapova's season doesn't reverse course, why not? The Doll is already up to a career-best #7, and has won more titles than ANY of the Russians over the past twelve months.

Sure, you have to still wonder if she has enough power (she likes to remind everyone that she has more than the linked-together-in-style Hingis... but, considering the Swiss Soon-to-be-Mrs.'s inability to regularly tame the Big Babes, that's not really a huge check in Anna's column) to consistently compete with the game's big hitters. But the Russian doll with the big dreams and small frame has already managed to defy expectations for a while now, and since Chakvetadze's WTA bio says her goal is to reach the Top 5 could it be that she's even capable of surpassing HER OWN by the end of this season? Possibly.

I mean, who's to say what's NOT possible in a game where a 5-feet-5 Belgian is far and away the #1-ranked player in the world?

*WEEK 29 CHAMPIONS*

CINCINNATI, OHIO USA (III-Hard)
S: Anna Chakvetadze d. Akiko Morigami 6-1/6-3
D: Mattek/Mirza d. Jidkova/Poutchek

PALERMO, ITALY (IV-Red Clay)
S: Agnes Szavay d. Martina Muller 6-0/6-1
D: Koryttseva/Kustava d. Canepa/Knapp


PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Anna Chakvetadze
...thankfully for Chakvetadze, Venus was no where to be found in Cincinnati. Instead, she got to handle the likes of Elena Vesnina, Sania Mirza and Akiko Morigami en route to her fifth title since October '06. At 5-0 in career WTA singles finals... "look out, Anna Smashnova!" One more and another Anna will be half-way to your record (the 12-0 mark in your first twelve finals one, not the one about having 10+ titles but no slam QF).
=============================
RISERS: Martina Muller & Sania Mirza
...in Palermo, 24-year old German Muller, after having so much recent success on the ITF circuit, reached her first WTA tour singles final since Budapest '02. Meanwhile, Mirza's Cincinnati SF result was just her fourth on tour in the two seasons since her breakthrough year in 2005. She pushed Chakvetadze to three sets, and won the doubles title with Bethanie Mattek.
=============================
SURPRISES: Sara Errani & Akgul Amanmuradova
...Italy's Errani, 20, reached her first career tour SF in Palermo, getting wins over Razzano, Birnerova and Dominguez-Lino. Uzbeki qualifier Amanmuradova got main draw wins over Mattek and Osterloh on her way to a SF result in Cincinnati.
=============================
VETERAN: Akiko Morigami
...highlighted last week by a Cincinnati win over Patty Schnyder, Morigami's recent stretch of good results on clay, grass and hard courts is getting her some well-earned name recognition. At 27, she's already holding her best-ever doubles ranking (#65), but also is just three spots away from matching her career-high singles rank of #41, as well.
=============================
FRESH FACES: Agnes Szavay & Petra Cetkovska
...18-year old Szavay put up an impressive string of wins over fellow up-and-coming stars in winning her first career WTA singles title in Palermo. Olaru, Bychkova, A-Rad and Errani served as mere appetizers for the Hungarian, who then crushed Muller 6-0/6-1 in the final. Czech Maiden Cetkovska, 22, won her second straight ITF crown (and tenth straight match) in Zwevegen, giving her three circuit titles in '07.
=============================
DOWN: Anastassia Rodionova & Lindsay Davenport's "retirement"
...it's not often you see a match scoreline with a "DQ - unsportsmanlike conduct" denotion, but that's exactly how Russia's Rodionova was sent packing from her Cincinnati 1st Round match against Angelique Kerber after she hit a ball at some fans in the stands who were cheering for her opponent. Hmmm... I don't know whether to call the Rodster a poor sport, or give her a pat on the back for providing such a neat little item destined for the season-ending "WTA Yearbook." Of course, there's no question about the positive reception offered the "official" announcement of the end of 31-year old Lindsay Davenport's pesky "retirement." She won't be playing singles at the Open, but after some WTT action she WILL be in the New Haven doubles the week before play begins at the final slam of '07. Just weeks after giving birth to a son, she's already talking about hoping to be back playing on tour in the future. Obviously, the desire to compete is difficult to extinguish... well, at least in the hearts of SOME recently retired grand slam winners.
=============================


1. Cin Final - Chakvetadze d. Morigami
...6-1/6-3. If only Morigami had been able to serve out that match up 5-3 at the All-England Club, the last six weeks would have seen her win a clay court title (the first of any kind on tour in her career), defeat Venus on grass at Wimbledon and reach a hard court final. Oh, well.
=============================
2. Pal Final - Szavay d. Muller

...6-0/6-1. Not only is Szavay the youngest singles champ on the WTA tour in 2007, she's also the only one to have won an ITF singles title this season, as well.
=============================
3. Cin SF - Chakvetadze d. Mirza
...6-2/5-7/6-3. Is the Indian Princess gearing up for another North American star turn?
=============================
4. Hamilton $25K F - Stephanie Dubois d. Sharon Fichman
...6-2/6-2. Hey, they held a "Best Canadian Female Player" contest and no one invited Aleksandra Wozniak? At least it appears that maybe Fichman has decided that a tennis career might be something worth considering, after seeking to re-evaluate the situation a while back. Dubois, by the way, also won in doubles... maybe it's the excitement of the upcoming one-year anniversary of her retirement win over Clijsters at work.
=============================
5. Kurume #25K F - Ayumi Morita d. Erika Takao

...6-1/3-1 ret. The 17-year old Japanese riser won her third career ITF title, but her first in 2007.
=============================
HM- Dnepropetrovsk $50K F - Alize Cornet d. Stephanie Voegele
...6-4/6-3. In Ukraine, Alize reigns supreme.
=============================


**2007 SINGLES TITLES**
5...Justine Henin
4...Jelena Jankovic
3...ANNA CHAKVETADZE
2...Serena Williams
2...Venus Williams

**2007 FINAL WINNING PCT. (2+)**
100%...ANNA CHAKVETADZE (3-0)
100%...Serena Williams (2-0)
100%...Venus Williams (2-0)
83.3%..Justine Henin (5-1)
66.7%..Jelena Jankovic (4-2)

**YOUNGEST FIRST-TIME 2007 CHAMPS**
18...AGNES SZAVAY, HUN/PALERMO
19...Tatiana Golovin, FRA/A.Island
19...Yaroslava Shvedova, RUS/Bangalore
22...Gisela Dulko, ARG/Budapest

**WTA SINGLES TITLES - 2006-07**
11..Justine Henin [6/5]
6...Nadia Petrova [5/1]
5...ANNA CHAKVETADZE [2/3]
5...Amelie Mauresmo [4/1]
5...Maria Sharapova [5/0]

**WON WTA/ITF SINGLES TITLES - 2003-07**
2003: 2
2004: 4
2005: 2
2006: 2
2007: 1*
--
*-Szavay (Palermo IV, Zagreb $75K)




BAD GASTEIN, AUSTRIA (III-RCO)
=new event=
2007 TOP: Schiavone/Loit
=============================
SF: Zakopalova d. Szavay; Knapp d. Loit
FINAL: Knapp d. Zakopalova


STANFORD, CALIFORNIA USA (II-HCO)
2006 FINAL: Clijsters d. Schnyder
2007 TOP: Chakvetadze/Bartoli
=============================


=QF=
Chakvetadze d. Kirilenko
Hantuchova d. Peer
Schnyder d. Mirza
Bartoli d. Sugiyama
=SF=
Chakvetadze d. Hantuchova
Schnyder d. Bartoli
=FINAL=
Schnyder d. Chakvetadze


=QF=
Chakvetadze d. Azarenka
Peer d. Hantuchova
Golovin d. Schnyder
Bartoli d. Bammer
=SF=
Chakvetadze d. Peer
Golovin d. Bartoli
=FINAL=
Chakvetadze d. Golovin


All for now.

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BV: The Amazing Technicolor Dreamboat-load of New-and-Improved Predictions, Pt.II

The merry world traveler, Tennisrulz.com's Pierre Cantin, has managed to find a convenient alcove from which to relay his new predictions about the WTA landscape. So, without further ado..


==THE YEAR-END RANKINGS PREDICTIONS==
==Take 3==
(January prediction/pre-2Q prediction)

#1-15.
1. Justine Henin (2/1)
...seems clearer every time she steps on court, she is the only and I really mean only, top player who is consistent throughout tournaments AND surfaces
2. Maria Sharapova (1/2)
...a distant 2nd, but she'll make it thanks to a strong US Open Series run
3. Jelena Jankovic (7/8)
...not that many points to defend really, she'll be back for the hard court series and will no doubt qualify for YEC this year
4. Serena Williams (-/6)
...a guess perhaps, and it sure depends on her health situation, but hopefully for tennis she can make a run in NYC
5. Svetlana Kuznetsova (3/3)
...continues to fly under the radar.
6. Ana Ivanovic (8/-)
...a Tier 1 title to defend but she'll make a strong finish
7. Amelie Mauresmo (5/4)
...when is the last time we saw her ranked so low?
8. Nicole Vaidisova (6/5)
...bound to get her act together sooner or later...I know, I know... been saying that for a while
9. Marion Bartoli (-/-)
...could new confidence help her break into the top 10?
10. Anna Chakvetadze (-/-)
...still going strong but is having trouble gaining that extra gear.
11. Nadia Petrova (10/9)
...Nadia outside of the top 10... Todd?? Hello??? Helllllllloooo? Ok, I know I'm right, sorry.
12. Martina Hingis (4/7)
...not playing consistently and struggling a bit with injuries...seems deja vu somehow
13. Daniela Hantuchova (-/12)
...what a collapse she had in Wimbledon, can she recover?
14. Venus Williams (-/-)
...wish I could put her higher up, but you know the story.
15. Dinara Safina (-/-)
...been very quiet this year, can she get back in contention for the top 10?



==NORTH AMERICAN HARD COURT SEASON==

NORTH AMERICAN SUCCESS IS MOST IMPORTANT TO: Maria Sharapova
...though not great yet, doubts about Maria are slowly growing and she will want to put those to rest right away and especially regain her confidence after many injury problems...

NORTH AMERICAN SUCCESS IS LEAST IMPORTANT TO: Justine Henin
...she seems destined to finish #1 no matter what happens...

MOST LIKELY POISED FOR GREATNESS?: Nicole Vaidisova
...just needs a bit of confidence and poise (very important)

MOST LIKELY LURCHING TOWARD DISASTER?: Nadia Petrova
...ok, I am perhaps slightly exagerating but think of it, some people saw her as the #3 player in the world and she now more looks like an average top 20 player.



All right, a few highlights from this most recent Volley: we're in agreement on Justine (we've been pretty consistent on that) and the Dynamova (Pierre's new ranking brings him in line with me now), but he's sticking with Jankovic over Ivanovic, while I'm currently going the opposite way. Unless Sharapova, our dual #1 pick at the start of the season, defends her U.S. Open title it looks like the "Kuznetsova Curse" has struck yet again. Oh, and of course, Backspin is still sticking with Nadia for a Top 10 finish, even if she has been sliding down the prediction scale as the year has gone along.


All for now.

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

ALSO: Backspin Volley: Todd's take

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Wk.28- Winners, Losers... and Venus

After the previous Fed Cup weekend produced a string of 5-0 blowouts, competitiveness returned this time around as both semifinals (RUS/USA, ITA/FRA) came down to the deciding doubles matches.

When the dust settled, every French player not named Marion had followed up her country's successful Wimbledon campaign by taking turns crumbling under pressure. Italy, the surprise '06 Fed Cup champ, will now get a shot at winning what would be an even more surprising second consecutive championship.



Meanwhile, Russia, with its top two players pulling out before play began, still managed to return to the nation's third FC final in the last four years, overcoming a MVP-for-an-ultimately-losing-team performance from Venus Williams, who proved that she may not be satisfied with resting on the laurels of her SW19 title.

*WEEK 28*

=SEMIFINALS=
Russia def. USA 3-2
Italy def. France 3-2
=WORLD GROUP I PLAYOFFS=
Israel def. Austria 4-1
China def. Belgium 4-1
Germany def. Japan 3-2
Spain def. Czech Republic 3-2
=WORLD GROUP II PLAYOFFS=
Ukraine def. Australia 4-1
Argentina def. Canada 4-1
Croatia def. Taiwan 3-2
Slovakia def. Serbia 4-1


=FED CUP MVPs=
(SEMIFINALS)
Francesca Schiavone (ITA): The Italian vet, quite frankly, had had a pretty poor season up until this weekend. She was 12-15. But, playing for her country, she managed to recapture the magic that helped her lead the Noodles to the 2006 Fed Cup title. She knocked off both Amelie Mauresmo and Tatiana Golovin (after being down 5-2 in the 3rd), then teamed with Roberta Vinci to grab the team's other point in a 3-2 victory.
Venus Williams (USA): With apologies to Nadia Petrova, there are occasionally times when the losing team nonetheless produces the MVP. Venus in Vermont was one of those rare cases this weekend, as she knocked off both Top 10 Russians -- coming back from a break down twice against Petrova, then taking Anna Chakvetadze to the woodshed -- in the USA's 3-2 loss to the Hordettes. She was then forced into extra duty in the doubles match, which was won by Petrova/Vesnina to send Russia to the final. Williams attempted to take up the slack for the entire American team (and was very nearly successful in doing so, too) and was by far the best player between the two nations... win or lose.

(WORLD GROUP I PLAYOFFFS)
Shahar Peer (ISR): Sure, things were a bit easier with Sybille Bammer never taking the court in the ISR/AUT clash. Still, the Corporal had a hand in three of Israel's four points as the team advanced to Group I for the first time.
Tiantian Sun (CHN): After China's Fed Cup debacle the last time out, the pressure was on against a Belgian team without, well, pretty much ANY players anyone had ever heard much about. And after Zi Yan lost in the second match to Yanina Wickmayer (yeah, see what I mean?), it was easy to expect the worst. But Sun settled the team's fortunes, knocking off Wickmayer on Day 2 and enabling the Cookies to coast back into Group I for 2008.

Tatjana Malek (GER): With Anna-Lena Groenefeld dealing with other issues (though ALG did play doubles), the 19-year old Malek took the reigns of the German team. Involved in all three of the team's points, she rescued the win from the edge of disaster after Angelique Kerber's back-to-back singles losses had given Japan a 2-1 lead.
Anabel Medina-Garrigues (ESP): Without Nicole Vaidisova to mess with, the Spaniard's task wasn't as difficult as it might have been in leading her nation to a 3-2 win over the Czech Maidens, but singles wins over Iveta Benesova and (especially) Lucie Safarova weren't necessarily givens even with AMG's good Fed Cup history.

(WORLD GROUP II PLAYOFFS)
Alona Bondarenko (UKR): The Bondarenko sisters combined to score all four points in Ukraine's 4-1 win over Australia. Alona notched singles wins over Alicia Molik and Nicole Pratt.
Maria-Emilia Salerni (ARG): With Gisela Dulko again riding her usual inconsistency rollercoaster, Salerni won both her singles matches over Canada's Aleksandra Wozniak and Stephanie Dubois to power the Argentines.
Nika Ozegovic (CRO): The 22-year old has been making a name for herself in recent weeks, and her Fed Cup performance will only continue the trend. Her wins over Yung-Jan Chan and Su-Wei Hsieh were the cornerstones of Croatia's 3-2 win over Taiwan.
Daniela Hantuchova (SVK): Last, but not least, Wonder Girl turned out to be the star in Slovakia's matchup with Serbia. AnaIvo wasn't there. Jelena Jankovic played just one match. But Hantuchova went 2-0 as the Slovaks, 2002 FC champs, began their trek back to Group I.

(FRESH FACES)

Kateryna Bondarenko, 20 (UKR): Whipped Nicole Pratt 6-0/6-1, and assisted in a doubles win (but not with her sister).
Dominika Cibulkova, 18 (SVK): Battled Jankovic to a 9-7 3rd set, then clinched Slovakia's win with a singles victory in Match #4.
Casey Dell'Acqua, 22 (AU): Her win over Yuliana Fedak provided Australia with its only point.
Ayumi Morita, 17, (JPN): The Rising Sunners' NextGen star got a hard-won three-set victory over Angelique Kerber.

Ana Vrljic, 22 (CRO): Her win over Chin-Wei Chan assisted Ozegovic's cause.
Yanina Wickmayer, 17 (BEL): The world #392's win over Zi Yan, however briefly, put great pressure on the Chinese effort.

(DOWN)
Amelie Mauresmo & Tatiana Golovin (FRA): Mauresmo led Schiavone 5-3 in the 1st set of Match #2, then wilted noticably and fell in straight sets. After blowing a 5-2 1st set tie-break lead against Mara Santangelo in Match #3, though, Mauresmo at least managed to stop the tide of her recent slide by coming back to win in three sets. Problem is, she then set the stage for Golovin to inherit her nerves. Up 5-2 in the 3rd set against Schiavone, needing to win just one more game to send France to the FC final, Golovin succumbed to the pressure and a raucous Italian crowd. Unnerved, she dropped the final five games of the match and looked like she just wanted to get off the court as quickly as possible.
=============================


1. SF (ITA/FRA) Schiavone d. Golovin
...6-4/2-6/7-5. Home court advantage hasn't been better utilized since the great Russian Winter vs. the Nazis clash of wills back in World World II.
=============================
2. SF (RUS/USA) V.Williams d. Petrova
...7-6/0-6/6-4. You can take Venus out of Wimbledon, but you can't take Wimbledon COMPLETELY out of Venus. Sorry, Hank. Venus overcame a 5-2 1st set deficit in which Petrova held three set points, then battled back from being a break down twice in the 3rd set to win it.
=============================
3. SF (ITA/FRA) Schiavone/Vinci d. Bremond/Dechy
...4-6/6-1/6-2. Could Schiavone have turned around her season in two days?
=============================
4. Biella $100K F - Agnieszka Radwanska d. Karin Knapp
...6-3/6-3. A-Rad does not rest during Fed Cup week. She also got wins over Flavia Pennetta, Sara Errani, Galina Voskoboeva and Rosanna De Los Rios.
=============================
5. SF (RUS/USA) Petrova/Vesnina d. V.Williams/Raymond
...7-5/7-6. Russia has depth. The U.S. team has very little.
=============================
HM- South Lake $25K F - Alexa Glatch d. Sunitha Rao
...6-2/7-5. "Surfer Girl" reigns supreme.
=============================
HM- Darmstadt $25K - Stephanie Gehrlein d. Julia Goerges
...6-0/7-5. The 25-year old, #548-ranked German has now won back-to-back ITF titles.
=============================


**2007 FED CUP FINAL**
Italy at Russia

**2008 GROUP I**
China
France
Germany
Israel
Italy
Russia
Spain
United States

**2008 GROUP II**
Argentina
Austria
Belgium
Croatia
Czech Republic
Japan
Slovakia
Ukraine

**FED CUP FINALS - 2000-present**
2000 USA def. Spain 5-0
2001 Belgium def. Russia 2-1
2002 Slovakia def. Spain 3-1
2003 France def. USA 4-1
2004 Russia def. France 3-2
2005 Russia def. France 3-2
2006 Italy def. Belgium 3-2
2007 ITALY vs. RUSSIA



CINCINNATI, OH USA (III-HCO)
2006 FINAL: Zvonareva d. Srebotnik
2007 TOP: Chakvetadze/Schnyder
=============================
SF: Chakvetadze d. Govortsova; Schnyder d. Mattek
FINAL: Chakvetadze d. Schnyder

...does the White Mile lead to Cincinnati, or will Anna continue the Russian success inside American borders?


PALERMO, ITALY (IV-RCO)
2006 FINAL: Medina-Garrigues d. Garbin
2007 TOP: Krajicek/Muller
=============================
SF: A.Radwanska d. Razzano; Loit d. Gallovits
FINAL: A.Radwanska d. Loit

...A-Rad would become the first player this season to win titles on both the ITF and WTA tours.


All for now.

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BV: The Amazing Technicolor Dreamboat-load of New-and-Improved Predictions, Pt.I

With Tennisrulz.com's merry world traveler, more commonly known as Pierre Cantin, continent-jumping once again, "Backspin Volley" takes a slightly different form this time around. Rather than one come-one-come-all potpourri of opinions, Monsieur Cantin and myself will offer dueling prediction columns. First, your's truly...


==THE YEAR-END RANKINGS PREDICTIONS==
==Take 3==
(January prediction/pre-2Q prediction)

#11-15.
11. Venus Williams (-/-)
12. Shahar Peer (-/9)
13. Marion Bartoli (-/-)
14. Martina Hingis (6/7)
15. Tatiana Golovin (8/-)

...are we going to see a still-reinvigorated Venus, or is Wimbledon going to be her last big result until a future date TBD? It'll be interesting to see how "La Trufflette" responds to her first exposure to the WTA Big Time. Remember, her three career titles have all come on hard courts.

#6-10.
6. Svetlana Kuznetsova (7/4)
7. Amelie Mauresmo (5/5)
8. Nicole Vaidisova (9/8)
9. Nadia Petrova (3/6)
10. Anna Chakvetadze (-/11)

...Chakvetadze has a tone of points to defend in the 4Q. Petrova didn't have a great 2Q, but it wasn't an abject disaster and her good grass court results helped her regain her Top 10 ranking. With few 3Q points to defend, Petrova might be able to outpace her new #9 prediction if she can carry over her "mini-surge."

#1-5.
1. Justine Henin (2/1)
2. Serena Williams (-/2)
3. Ana Ivanovic (-/-)
4. Maria Sharapova (2/3)
5. Jelena Jankovic (-/5)

...Henin is still the most consistent player on tour, and it'll take a dropoff/injury PLUS a healthy Serena or a streaking Supernova (you know what I mean) for her to lose the #1 ranking. Jankovic says she'll play a bit less the rest of the season (I'll believe it when I see it...but she's not in Cincy this week, and that's a start), but she might need all those results to maintain her ranking since she'll be defending that US Open SF in a year when (supposedly) both Williams sisters could be forces in the draw. AnaIvo has found the consistency she didn't have in '06, which is good since she's defending her US Open Series (and Rogers Cup) crown during the 3Q. If you're looking for a player who might make the TRUE step up to the big time this quarter (and, remember, this is a player who's already reached a slam final and SF this summer), it's her.



==NORTH AMERICAN HARD COURT SEASON==

NORTH AMERICAN SUCCESS IS MOST IMPORTANT TO: Maria Sharapova
...the Supernova still hasn't won a title in '07, is still having shoulder issues and, even with two slam SF-or-better results under her stylish belt, might need a major result (RU or better) in New York to "save" a season with very high expectations, for '07 is in danger of being written off as a "lost/transitional" year.

NORTH AMERICAN SUCCESS IS LEAST IMPORTANT TO: Venus Williams
...she already has her title. And, anyway, things are different for Venus at Wimbledon than anywhere else. Even though she has two US Open titles, and made her first major final there in 1997, her career legacy has and will not be built upon her NYC exploits. If she wins one or more additional slams in her career, they'll probably all come at the All-England Club. In other words, if she has a successful N.A. campaign, good for her... but if she doesn't, it doesn't really matter too much. That being said, Venus' MVP-in-an-ultimately-losing-effort weekend in Fed Cup play DOES offer a hint that she might not be finished making headlines in 2007.

MOST LIKELY POISED FOR GREATNESS?: Ana Ivanovic
...AnaIvo won the US Open Series and Rogers Cup Tier I in '06. It was her only SF result all season. In 2007, she's already had five SF-or-better results (two of them at slams). The serene Serb might be ready to become the first of the Fantastovic Serbs to win a slam.

MOST LIKELY LURCHING TOWARD DISASTER?: Martina Hingis
...the Year After for Hingis is turning into a deja vu nightmare reminiscent of why she left the game in the first place. Injuries and being blown off the court by more powerful players has a way of making a player wonder if it's worth the effort. One former US Open champ has already walked away from the tour on the eve of her marriage -- should we keep a watchful eye on the Swiss Soon-to-be-Mrs.?


All for now.

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

COMING SOON: Pierre's take

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