Wk.43- October's Fest... and Wonder Girl, too

There are just two tournaments remaining on the WTA's 2007 schedule, but the final monthly awards are already upon us.

*OCTOBER AWARDS - WEEK 40-43*
*PLAYERS OF THE MONTH*
1. Justine Henin, BEL... simply the best
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2. Elena Dementieva, RUS... still full of surprises
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3. Tatiana Golovin, FRA... good & bad, but never indifferent
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4. Daniela Hantuchova, SVK... mission accomplished
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5. Virginie Razzano, FRA... Venus' nightmare scenario
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*RISERS*
1. Tatiana Golovin / FRA
2. Daniela Hantuchova / SVK
3. Virginie Razzano / FRA
4. Nicole Vaidisova / CZE
5. Tiantian Sun & Zi Yan / CHN

*FRESH FACES*
1. Victoria Azarenka / BLR
2. Agnieszka Radwanska / POL
3. Yung-Jan Chan / TPE
4. Dominika Cibulkova / SVK
5. Caroline Wozniacki / DEN

*SURPRISES*
1. Pauline Parmentier / FRA
2. Zi Yan / CHN
3. Anastasia Rodionova / RUS
4. Yi-Miao Zhou / CHN
5. Olga Brozda / POL

*VETERANS*
1. Elena Dementieva / RUS
2. Kveta Peschke & Rennae Stubbs / CZE-AUS
3. Flavia Pennetta / ITA
4. Cara Black & Liezel Huber / ZIM-USA
5. Patty Schnyder / SUI

*COMEBACKS*
1. Elena Dementieva / RUS
2. Nicole Vaidisova / CZE
3. Alicia Molik / AUS
4. Olga Poutchkova / RUS
5. Jelena Dokic / (back to) AUS

*DOWN*
1. Maria Sharapova / RUS
2. Anna Chakvetadze / RUS
3. Serena Williams / USA
4. Lucie Safarova / CZE
5. Jelena Jankovic / SRB

*ITF PLAYERS*
1. Sofia Arvidsson / SWE
2. Maret Ani / EST
3. Marina Erakovic / NZL
4. Anna Floris / ITA
5. Ashley Harkleroad / USA
HM- Mariana Duque Marino / COL

*TOP PERFORMANCE / BEST COMEBACK*
Elena Dementieva, thought by many to be slip-sliding down the other side of her career, put together a magical week back home and won her first Kremlin Cup title in Moscow

BEST MATCH / WORST CHOKE/BIGGEST UPSET: Tokyo F - Razzano d. V.Williams
...4-6/7-6/6-4. In the 2:44 match, Venus failed to convert on three consecutive match points at 6-3 in the 2nd set tie-break. Razzano stormed back to win to claim a second title in six days after having captured her career first in Guangzhou just six days earlier.

*BEST NEWS / WORST NEWS*
Jelena Dokic returned to Australia. Good? Bad? With Dokic, who knows? Certainly not her, that's for sure. In 2008, it's put up or shut up time.


*WEEK 43 CHAMPIONS*

LINZ, AUSTRIA (II-HI)
S: Daniela Hantuchova def. Patty Schnyder 6-4/6-2
D: Black/Huber d. Srebotnik/Sugiyama


PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Daniela Hantuchova

... Wonder Girl finally found a way to win a title somewhere other than Indian Wells, taking her third career crown in Linz with a win in the final over Patty Schnyder. Maybe bigger news, though, was the completion of her 4Q mission to qualify for the YEC in Madrid. The points she gained with her Linz title officially tied her with Maria Sharapova for the eighth and final spot in the field, bumping the Supernova down to the alternate position on a tie-breaker as Hantuchova has played more tournaments in '07. Of course, as things have turned out, Hantuchova didn't even need to win the final to advance to Madrid, and Sharapova needn't have suffered the indignity of it all, either. Venus williams' dizziness-related withdrawal from the YEC means both Wonder Girl and the Supernova would have been good to go even if Schnyder raised the trophy on Sunday. Oh, well. It was still good practice for Daniela.
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RISER: Nicole Vaidisova
... Vaidisova made it back-to-back SF results in Zurich & Linz, but her four attempts to reach a final from that position this season have so far been fruitless. After wins over Flavia Pennetta and Dinara Safina, a 3rd set tie-break loss to Hantuchova put the kibosh on putting a shiny finish on the Czech teen's illness-saddled and disappointing season... at least for one more week.
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SURPRISES: Yanina Wickmayer & Tatjana Malek
... looking to become the new Belgian Number Two, 18-year old Wickmayer has made strides toward pushing Kirsten Flipkens down a notch in the post-Clijsters world. Her latest accomplishment was winning this weekend's $25K event in Hamanako with a three-set final win over Japan's Junri Namigata. 20-year old German Malek claimed the $100K Bratislava title with wins over Yakimova, Cetkovska, Bychkova and Benesova before taking out Petra Kvitova in the final.
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VETERANS: Cara Black/Liezel Huber & Patty Schnyder
... Black & Huber have been the dominant doubles team of '07, and they're ending the year in fine form. Their Linz title was their tour-leading eighth crown of the season. Meanwhile, Schnyder reached her second singles final of the year in Linz, knocking out the likes of Rezai, Molik, Chakvetadze and Bartoli before losing to Hantuchova.
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FRESH FACES: Monica Niculescu & Evgeniya Rodina

... both claimed ITF titles over the weekend, with the 20-year Romanian Niculescu taking the $25K Istanbul event by defeating Oxana Lyubtsova in the final, while the 18-year Russian Rodina defeated fellow Hordette Anna Lapushchenkova in the $25K Podolsk final (as well as Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in the SF).
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DOWN: Maria Kirilenko & Anna Chakvetadze
... Rodina (and Alisa Kleybanova, who was victorious in Augusta) aside, it wasn't a good week for the Russians. None reached the SF in Linz, Sharapova was knocked out of the 2007 Points Race's Top 8, and both Kirilenko and Chakvetadze continued their recent slides in Austria. Kirilenko dropped her 1st Rounder to Julia Vakulenko, completing 2007's "Tale of Three Marias" which saw her begin her season with a 10-17 stint, rev up with a 19-5 run that led to a title in Kolkata and a final in Seoul, and then close out her schedule with an 0-5 slide. A year ago, Chakvetadze put up a 10-2, two-title post-US Open mark. This season, after a sterling US Open Series (12-2, two titles), Open SF and Fed Cup victory, she dropped to 2-4 since with a 6-1/6-0 loss in the QF to Schnyder. Still, her season's earlier accomplishments already earned her a spot in the YEC field. Kirilenko isn't so lucky.
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1. Linz SF - Hantuchova d. Vaidisova
...2-6/6-2/7-6. The Dynamova's final '07 shot at a title -- and a singles final -- comes in Quebec City.
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2. Linz F - Hantuchova d. Schnyder
...6-4/6-2. Wonder Girl advanced to a singles final three times during her successful 4Q quest to qualify for the YEC.
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3. Linz 1st - Molik d. A.Radwanska
...6-4/3-6/6-1. In her final singles action on tour this season, the Steamer qualified and, though she's defeated higher-ranked players this year, notched what was arguably her best win of the season in Linz over A-Rad. Now the discussion can begin about whether Molik or Dokic is the Aussie that can come back the furthest in '08. Considering the level of historical commitment, the choice would seem an obvious one.
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4. Linz 1st - Sugiyama d. Bammer
...2-6/7-6/6-0. The WTA's "Mom of the Year" didn't fare all that well when she played close to home. Oh, well... at least she got more free time with the Bammer Bunch.
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5. Linz 1st - Daniilidou d. Golovin
...6-4/1-0 ret. And Bad Tatiana rears her head one final time before the curtain falls on '07.
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**2007 WTA FINALS**
10..Justine Henin (9-1)
8...Jelena Jankovic (4-4)
6...Svetlana Kuznetsova (1-5)
5...Ana Ivanovic (3-2)
4...Anna Chakvetadze (4-0)
4...DANIELA HANTUCHOVA (2-2)
4...Tatiana Golovin (2-2)
4...Amelie Mauresmo (1-3)

**WORST 2007 FINAL WIN PCT. - 2+**
.000 - Victoria Azarenka (0-2)
.000 - Marion Bartoli (0-2)
.000 - Patty Schnyder (0-2)
.167 - Svetlana Kuznetsova (1-5)
.250 - Amelie Mauresmo (1-3)

**2007 DOUBLES TITLES - TEAMS**
8...CARA BLACK/LIEZEL HUBER
5...Lisa Raymond/Samantha Stosur
3...Yung-Jan Chan/Chia-Jung Chuang
3...Kveta Peschke/Rennae Stubbs




QUEBEC CITY, QUEBEC CAN (III-Hard Indoor)
2006 FINAL: Bartoli d. Poutchkova
2007 TOP: Vaidisova/Zvonareva
=============================
=QF=
Vaidisova d. Cornet
Vakulenko d. Govortsova
Davenport d. Tu
Zvonareva d. Osterloh
=SF=
Vaidisova d. Vakulenko
Davenport d. Zvonareva
=FINAL=
Davenport d. Vaidisova


=QF=
Vaidisova d. Cornet
Govortsova d. Vakulenko
Davenport d. Shvedova
Zvonareva d. Poutchkova
=SF=
Vaidisova d. Govortsova
Davenport d. Zvonareva
=FINAL=
Vaidisova d. Davenport


All for now.

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Wk.42- The Reign of Queen Justine, Part IX

Justine. Zurich. Title #9 of the season.



Really, how many more superlatives can be unearthed to describe what has most decidedly been the "Year of the Taureau"?

Of course, any that DO come to mind will probably be left for the official "Ms.Backspin" column in a couple of weeks.

*WEEK 42 CHAMPIONS*

ZURICH, SWITZERLAND (I-HI)
S: Justine Henin def. Tatiana Golovin 6-4/6-4
D: Peschke/Stubbs d. Raymond/Schiavone


PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Justine Henin
... career title #38 only widened the Federeresque chasm between world #1 Henin and #2 Svetlana Kuznetsova, a gap which now stands at a monstrous 2180 points. La Petit Taureau has strung together consecutive title streaks three times in 2007, with the current consisting of four straight titles and twenty consecutive matches.
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RISERS: Tatiana Golovin & Nicole Vaidisova
... Golovin said before the Zurich rematch of her Stuttgart final loss to Henin that she knew what she did right in taking the first set off the Belgian in a three-set loss two weeks ago and hoped to correct her mistakes the second time around. Well, she grabbed a 4-1 lead in Part Deux on Sunday, but then proceeded to lose 6-4/6-4. Still, even another loss to Henin -- she's got great company in that club this year -- can't erase the incredible 4Q that the Frussian Pastry has put together. She's 15-3, with a title and two runner-up results. In Zurich, she posted victories over Maria Kirilenko, Ana Ivanovic, Marion Bartoli and Francesca Schiavone. If she can continue this run, by the end of this week in Linz she could be nipping at the heels of the Top 10. Meanwhile, Vaidisova finally looked like the Dynamova again last week. Wins over Katarina Srebotnik, Jelena Jankovic and Alona Bondarenko got her to just her third SF of the season, where she took a set off Henin. Vaidisova has yet to reach a final in '07. This season might not have been all that she'd hoped for, but there's always momentum to be gained for 2008.
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SURPRISES: Anna Floris & Valentina Sassi
... on the ITF circuit, these two Italians have been amongst the top winners this season. They met in the final of the $10K in Settimo San Pietro, Italy, with the #2-seeded, 25-year old Floris winning her third title of the season, and preventing her fellow 27-year old, #1-seeded Noodle Sassi from grabbing her fourth.
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VETERANS: Kveta Peschke/Rennae Stubbs
... the duo won their second title in three weeks, adding the Tier I Zurich win to their Stuttgart victory. With Martina Navratilova retired, every time the 36-year old Stubbs wins a title she now tops herself as the oldest titlist on tour this season.
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FRESH FACES: Agnieszka Radwanska & Marina Erakovic
... poor Karin Knapp. She defeated A-Rad in the Zurich qualifiying, only to the see the young Pole get into the main draw as a lucky loser and end up outlasting her for the week. While Knapp fell in the 1st Round, Radwanska made it all the way to the QF with wins over the likes of Shahar Peer and Daniela Hantuchova. Kiwi Erakovic won her second ITF title in as many weeks in the $25K Gympie event, defeating Aussie Sophie Ferguson in the final this time just as she did a week earlier in Rockhampton.
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DOWN: Serena Williams
... hmmm, Serena arrived in Zurich ready to play. She even planned on doing a blog for the WTA's website during the week. Then, on Monday, it became official that she'd qualified for the YEC... and nine games later, she was out of her opening round match against Patty Schnyder with a thigh injury without ever winning a single game. Hmmm... Oh, well. Good luck in Madrid, Serena.
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1. Zur F - Henin d. Golovin

...6-4/6-4. Henin's rampage through Europe continues, this time at Golovin's expense for the second time in three weeks. Tatiana can commiserate with Jelena Jankovic during the offseason.
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2. Zur 1st - Schnyder d. S.Williams
...6-0/3-0 ret. Somewhere between her WTA blog entry and the start of the match, something went horribly wrong with Serena's body... I suppose.
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3. Zur 2nd - Vaidisova d. Jankovic
...6-4/6-4. Jelena is 6-5 this 4Q.
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4. Zur SF - Henin d. Vaidisova
...3-6/6-3/7-5. But unless Vaidisova shines brightly this week or next in Linz or Quebec City, she'll end 2007 without a title. Of course, neither Jankovic nor either Williams sister won a title in '06, and look what happened THIS year.
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5. Zur QF - Schiavone d. Kuznetsova
...6-3/3-3 ret. Schiavone's SF run in Zurich was aided by a 1st Round retirement win over Dementieva, as well.
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**2007 WTA TITLES**
9...JUSTINE HENIN
4...Jelena Jankovic
4...Anna Chakvetadze
3...Ana Ivanovic
3...Venus Williams

**2006/07 WTA TITLES**
15...JUSTINE HENIN (6/9)
6....Anna Chakvetadze (2/4)
6....Maria Sharapova (5/1)
6....Nadia Petrova (5/1)
5....Amelie Mauresmo (4/1)

**2007 CONSECUTIVE TITLES**
4...JUSTINE HENIN (AUG/OCT)
2...Justine Henin (Feb/Mar)
2...Serena Williams (Jan/Mar)
2...Justine Henin (June)
2...Anna Chakvetadze (July)
2...Virginie Razzano (Sep/Oct)

**2007 WTA TIER I CHAMPIONS**
[SINGLES]
Tokyo - Martina Hingis (SUI)
Ind.Wells - Daniela Hantuchova (SVK)
Miami - Serena Williams (USA)
Charleston - Jelena Jankovic (SRB)
Berlin - Ana Ivanovic (SRB)
Rome - Jelena Jankovic (SRB)
San Diego - Maria Sharapova (RUS)
Toronto - Justine Henin (BEL)
Moscow - Elena Dementieva (RUS)
Zurich - Justine Henin (BEL)
[DOUBLES]
Tokyo - Raymond/Stosur
Ind.Wells - Raymond/Stosur
Miami - Raymond/Stosur
Charleston - Yan/Zheng
Berlin - Raymond/Stosur
Rome - Dechy/Santangelo
San Diego - Black/Huber
Toronto - Srebotnik/Sugiyama
Moscow - Black/Huber
Zurich - Peschke/Stubbs

**ALL-TIME TIER I TITLES**
31...Martina Navratilova
30...Steffi Graf
17...Martina Hingis*
11...Chris Evert
11...Gabriela Sabatini
11...Lindsay Davenport*
10...JUSTINE HENIN*

**2007 DOUBLES TITLES - TEAMS**
7...Cara Black/Liezel Huber
5...Lisa Raymond/Samantha Stosur
3...Yung-Jan Chan/Chia-Jung Chuang
3...KVETA PESCHKE/RENNAE STUBBS

**OLDEST 2007 DOUBLES TITLES**
36...RENNAE STUBBS (3 titles)
33...Lisa Raymond (5)
33...Nicole Pratt (2)
33...Virginia Ruano-Pascual (1)
32...KVETA PESCHKE (3)




LINZ, AUSTRIA (II-Hard Indoor)
2006 FINAL: Sharapova d. Petrova
2007 TOP: Chakvetadze/Hantuchova
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=SF=
Schnyder d. Bammer
Golovin d. Vaidisova
=FINAL=
Golovin d. Schnyder


=SF=
Chakvetadze d. Kirilenko
Golovin d. Vaidisova
=FINAL=
Golovin d. Chakvetadze


All for now.

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2007 I.A.: Scratching an Itch

(A "2007 Intriguing Question" update)

Much like the migration of a flock of birds prior to the onset of winter, the swallows have returned to Capistrano... err, I mean Jelena Dokic is back in the news.

Yep, it's true. Dokic is back in Melbourne, saying all the right things about being "committed" to living and breathing tennis again in her latest attempt to make a comeback at age 24.

"I have to totally live tennis now from 6 o'clock in the morning to 10 o'clock at night then sleep, wake up and start all over again," Dokic said in a interview posted on the Tennis Australia website.

Let's start the queue now for the "believe it when I see it" crowd.

Tennis Australia (TA) is taking a flier on the Yugoslavian-born Aussie-turned-Serb-turned-Aussie, but not committing wholeheartedly (i.e. financially, and as far as gift wrapping a wild card into the Australian Open goes) unless Dokic does the same first, as per the direction of TA Director of Player Development Craig Tiley. "She's got to earn her stripes," he said. But the question remains whether or not she can change them.

There's reason to be hopeful for the one-time world-#4 and grand slam semifinalist, but it's even more reasonable to be skeptical. After all, Dokic's year-end ranking graph would appear to be the epitome of that of a "flash in the pan." How could it not with numbers like these?:

*YEAR-END RANKINGS*
1997: #589
1998: #341
1999: #43
2000: #26
2001: #8
2002: #9
2003: #15
2004: #125
2005: #351
2006: #621
2007: NR

Dokic hasn't been ranked in the Top 10 since May 2003, won a tour event since June '02, been in a WTA singles final since Zurich exactly four years ago, or won a grand slam match since the '03 U.S. Open. In fact, she hasn't played a tour level main draw match of any kind since the 1st Round of the '06 Australian Open, and was last seen in March of this year losing in the opening round of a $10K ITF event in Rome.

Will Dokic take advantage of the opportunity to train within the TA environment, or will THIS return "home" end up being another self-serving cameo forgotten by February, as the last trip turned out to be? Remember, the most recent time Dokic managed to crawl (all right, fly) back Down Under in such grasping-at-straws straits was two years ago. She won an internal playoff tournament to claim one of the home wild cards into the Australian Open draw, and actually held two match points in a 1st Round main draw encounter with Virginie Razzano. But two match points and a premature celebration before a late out call later, Dokic's concentration (and will) was broken in a flash. Her hoped-for resurgence stalled, and she's spent most of the last two years either sitting out by choice or because of injury, or seemingly sabotaging her own surface efforts to put together another comeback attempt.

What appeared to be a petulant, out-of-touch back-turning incident a year ago that led to her exit from the Pilic Academy looked as if it would be the moment where a once-promising career effectively reached the end of the line. That still might turn out to be the case, but Dokic's catty career apparently hasn't used up its reserve of nine lives. Not yet.

Of course, if Australia were Russia, Dokic might still be literally adrift, even if she may no longer be fundamentally so. The lack of a "sure-thing" junior Aussie star, Alicia Molik's health issues of a while back, and Samantha Stosur's injury-stunted '07 campaign means Dokic still might have as much or more potential as any woman currently playing under an Australian flag. That Dokic and TA might still have a future together probably says as much about Australia's women's tennis fortunes as Dokic's tantalizing past and lost luster. But, as 2008 beckons, what happens this time will hinge on how much Dokic really HAS grown up. How she reacts to the probable lack of immediate success and potentially stinging setbacks will tell the tale of whether we're about to witness a very nice story, or the epilogue to a very sad one.

"I'm under no illusions. This is going to be very difficult," she said. "I have to keep reminding myself that I am starting from scratch."

That's all fine and good, but such sentiments have emanated from Dokic before. But even though it'd by easy to dismiss her "comeback" as something that might likely fall short of even qualifying as a carnival sideshow, and instead could ultimately go down as pitiable attempt to recapture a lost career that never burned as brightly as it could have and then was extinguished far too early, the excitement that an in-form Dokic once brought to the tour at least makes one keep tabs on her out of the corner of your eye. Even if you'd never be caught dead allowing yourself to be naive enough to don a pair of rose-colored glasses through which to view this latest Jelena news cycle.

Hope for the re-igniting of Dokic's tennis flame of a career springs eternal at least once a year, and that time is upon us. So, all aboard for one more ride... but be forewarned, as the potentially thrilling experience could be halted at any time at the discretion (or disinterest) of the operator.

Looks like we're in Oz again, Toto. And I think this is our last chance... again.

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Wk.41- How Smart We Were / How Dumb We Were

Yes, it's that time of the year again. Time to begin the long (well, actually it's pretty short -- about a month) final march to the conclusion of the season. Hence, the opening edition of Backspin's annual season-ending series. To kick things off, let's ponder the highs and lows that were the pre-season predictions made by Moi and Monsieur Pierre Cantin.

First up, look at how smart we were:


I said:
...that Agnieszka Radwanska would win her first WTA singles title (she won in Stockholm), while sister Urszula would claim a junior slam (which she did at Wimbledon)
...that Tatiana Golovin would finally win her first WTA singles title(in fact, she's won two)
...that Victoria Azarenka, Sybille Bammer, Vasilisa Bardina, Yung-Jan Chan and Aravane Rezai would become first-time tour singles finalists, while Mariya Koryttseva, Raluca Olaru and Aleksandra Wozniak would appear in their first tour SF's
...that Anna Chakvetadze would win three singles titles (she's got four) and reach a slam SF (US Open)
...and that Sania Mirza's singles ranking would improve by some twenty spots (the 2006 year-end #66 is currently #30)


He said:
...Jelena Jankovic and Martina Hingis would both win Tier I titles
...Svetlana Kuznetsova would finish the year at #3 (she's currently #2)
...that Anna Chakvetadze would reach a slam SF and two slam QF (which is precisely what she did)
...and that Justine Henin would win her second US Open title



All right, so we also had our bad moments...


Ummm, I "sort of" said that...
...Olga Poutchkova and Jamea Jackson would win their first WTA singles titles, while Bulgarian Tsvetana Pironkova would reach a tour final before Sesil Karatantcheva returned in '08 (Poutchkova had that horrendous losing streak, Jackson struggled to return from hip surgery and Pironkova's best result was a SF in Stockholm)
...neither Daniela Hantuchova nor Francesca Schiavone would win singles titles (they did)
...Nadia Petrova would reach a slam final and finish at #3 (uh...nope)
...Kim Clijsters would end her final season at #4 (I should have known not to place any faith in her giving it one big final effort, I guess)
...Maria Sharapova and Nicole Vaidisova would play two meaningful matches against each other (the Supernova's shoulder and Vaidisova's mono means we're STILL waiting)
...Jelena Jankovic and Ana Ivanovic, while spending time in the Top 10, wouldn't finish the year there (right now, they're both in the Top 5)


Of course, while he didn't make that many predictions, Pierre, too, was far from perfect. He said that...
...Maria Sharapova would win two slam titles
...there would be just one American woman ranked in the Top 50 (both Williams sisters are in the Top 10)
...Anastasia Myskina would finish 2007 ranked #9 (she was hurt in Auckland in January, and only played a single match at Roland Garros the rest of the season... then recently cut her thigh with a skate blade while participating in a TV ice skating show). Get well soon, Czarina.

Of course, while we both predicted such great results from Chakvetadze, neither of us had the Doll in our year-end Top 10. In retrospect, that doesn't make a whole lot of sense. Then, there's that nasty little bit about both Pierre and I predicting Sharapova to finish the season at #1... which, as figured at the time, pretty well assured that the "Kuznetsova Curse" would be transferred over to another Russian.

Sure, we both amended our error and correctly re-picked Justine Henin as the 2007 #1 following the 1st Quarter, but the damage had already been done and the Supernova was well on her way to her worst-ever season.

Hmmm, maybe we need an official witch doctor to erase the lethal properties of the Curse. (Well, either that, or we could use it for no good and intentionally try to sabotage an unsuspecting, innocent lass... darn it, too bad Kim's off adding to the population, huh?)

Maybe we'll do better in 2008?

*WEEK 41 CHAMPIONS*

MOSCOW, RUSSIA (I-Supreme Indoor)
S: Elena Dementieva def. Serena Williams 5-7/6-1/6-1
D: Black/Huber d. Azarenka/Poutchek

BANGKOK, THAILAND (III-Hard)
S: Flavia Pennetta def. Yung-Jan Chan 6-1/6-3
D: T.Sun/Yan wo Morita/Namigata


PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Elena Dementieva

... hmmm, how many out there had already written off ol' Punch-Sober? Not I, I must say. Not after so much experience at being set straight by the leggy Russian, who'd often pull off a superb run right when it was least expected. (All right, all right... neither Pierre nor I picked Dementieva to be in the '07 Top 10 at the start of the year, but could you really blame us?) Elena provided another sober reminder of her resiliency in Moscow, winning a surprising title in her third trip (2001 & 2004) to her hometown Kremlin Cup's final. Her Moscow victims included the likes of Molik, Schnyder, Azarenka, Safina and Serena as she claimed her second career Tier I crown and second singles title (with Istanbul) of the season. On her 26th birthday (today, the 15th!), one of her presents was a return trip to the Top 10 -- by a slim margin of just a single point over #11 Marion Bartoli -- for the first time since March.
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RISERS: Dinara Safina & Tiantian Sun/Zi Yan
... it wasn't a bad week in Moscow for the Safin family. Marat won the men's doubles, while Dinara knocked off fellow Hordettes Anna Chakvetadze and Vera Zvonareva en route to a singles SF. Meanwhile, Sun & Yan are developing into just as potent a doubles force as Yan/Zheng were in times past. The Chinese duo teamed up in Bangkok for their second straight title as a pair (and Yan's fifth overall in '07), after having won in Tokyo. For Yan, it was her third title in three weeks, along with her Guangzhou win with Shuai Peng. Of course, this Thailand title came after a walkover in the final. It was sort of a theme with Yan all week, as in singles she advanced past Jelena Jankovic when the Serb retired from their 1st Round match, then she reached the SF after getting a walkover against Vania King in the quarters.
=============================
SURPRISES: Yung-Jan Chan & Yi-Miao Zhou

... Taiwan's 18-year old Chan, the world #97, took advantage of a well-chosen wild card entry to reach her first career tour final in Bangkok, getting wins over Wozniak, U-Rad and Yan. After a few weeks where both she and regular doubles partner Chia-Jung Chuang had some success independent of one another, they're both together again this week in Zurich. Meanwhile, could the SECOND generation of Chinese stars be on the way? Well, that was a 16-year old Cookie named Yi-Miao Zhou who won a $25K event in Beijing over the weekend, so the hardly-surprising notion of another wave of Chinese women arriving on the WTA's shores appears to be well on its way to becoming reality.
=============================
VETERANS: Flavia Pennetta & Cara Black/Liezel Huber
... in Bangkok, Pennetta notched her first tour singles title since 2005, and her first on hard court after three previous wins on red clay. Victories over Shahar Peer, Venus Williams and Yung-Jan Chan in the final pushed her 4Q record to a quite nice 13-3. Black & Huber won in Moscow, their seventh title of the year and a second Tier I to go along with a pair of slam crowns in the Australian and at Wimbledon.
=============================
FRESH FACES: Victoria Azarenka & Olga Brozda
... Azarenka is still looking for her first tour singles title, but she reached the Moscow doubles final with Tathiana Poutchek and followed up her Tashkent RU with a singles QF and big wins over Sybille Bammer and Maria Sharapova. Poland's Brozda, 21, is having quite a stretch on the ITF circuit. She won her second straight event in Volos over the weekend, giving her a 22-2 record with three titles and a RU over the last two months. She's also won back-to-back doubles titles, and reached five straight doubles finals.
=============================
DOWN: Maria Sharapova & Anna Chakvetadze
... Sharapova's cursed 2007 season was dealt another blow in Moscow as she was dumped out in her first match by Azarenka. Worse yet, with her 2006 championship points in Zurich (from which she's pulled out with continued shoulder problems) and Linz set to come off her computer ranking over the next two weeks, she could soon find herself with her worst ranking since before she won Wimbledon in' 04. A year ago, Chakvetadze seemed to stun herself when she won the Kremlin Cup. This time around, she lost in the 2nd Round to Dinara Safina. Since her US Open SF and Fed Cup win, she's just 1-3 and hasn't advanced past the 2nd Round in any event.
=============================


1. Mos F - Dementieva d. S.Williams
...5-7/6-1/6-1. Prior to this, the last time Serena lost in a final was the 2004 YEC to Maria Sharapova. As for Dementieva, only she, Henin and Chakvetadze have followed up multiple tour title seasons in '06 by adding at least two more crowns in '07. In one fell swoop, Punch-Sober turned a mediocre season into a pretty good one that might turn out to be her fifth consecutive to end with her residing in the Top 10.
=============================
2. Mos 2nd - Azarenka d. Sharapova
...7-6/6-2. Pierre should be receiving that angry phone call from Yuri any day now.
=============================
3. Bang F - Pennetta d. Chan 6-1/6-3.

=============================
4. Bang SF - Pennetta d. V.Williams
...6-4/7-6. Venus held three sets points here. This type of thing has become something of a trend for Williams of late.
=============================
5. Bang 1st - Yan d. Jankovic
...4-6/7-6 ret. JJ went out with heat illness here. Thankfully, Zurich is indoors... but she could meet you-know-who in the SF again.
=============================
6. Bang 2nd - U.Radwanska d. Razzano
...7-6/7-5. Razzano had won back-to-back titles coming in, but she couldn't edge past U-Rad, who reached her first tour singles QF.
=============================
7. San Francisco $50K - Harkleroad d. Rao
...6-2/6-2. Nice to see Ashley's still plugging away.
=============================
8. Rockhampton $25K F - Erakovic d. Ferguson
...7-6/7-5. It was the 19-year old, Split, Croatia-born Kiwi over the 21-year old Aussie to win her first ITF title of the season.
=============================


**MOST CAREER TITLES - RUSSIANS**
16...Maria Sharapova (2003-07)
10...Anastasia Myskina (1999-05)
9....Svetlana Kuznetsova (2002-07)
9....Olga Morozova (1969-75)
8....ELENA DEMENTIEVA (2003-07)
7....Nadia Petrova (2005-07)
6....Anna Chakvetadze (2006-07)
5....Dinara Safina (2002-07)
5....Vera Zvonareva (2003-06)

**BEST 2007 FINAL WIN PCT - 2+**
100%...Anna Chakvetadze (4-0)
100%...ELENA DEMENTIEVA (2-0)
89%....Justine Henin (8-1)
75%....V.Williams (3-1)

**YOUNGEST 2007 FIRST-TIME FINALISTS**
17...Victoria Azarenka (Estoril RU)
17...Sorana Cirstea (Budapest RU)
18...YUNG-JAN CHAN (BANGKOK RU)
18...Agnieszka Radwanska (Stockholm W)
18...Agnes Szavay (Palermo W)

**MOSCOW FINALS, 2000-present**
2000 Martina Hingis d. Anna Kournikova
2001 Jelena Dokic d. Elena Dementieva
2002 Maggie Maleeva d. Lindsay Davenport
2003 Anastasia Myskina d. Amelie Mauresmo
2004 Anastasia Myskina d. Elena Dementieva
2005 Mary Pierce d. Francesca Schiavone
2006 Anna Chakvetadze d. Nadia Petrova
2007 ELENA DEMENTIEVA d. SERENA WILLIAMS

**ZURICH FINALS, 2000-present**
2000 Martina Hingis d. Lindsay Davenport
2001 Lindsay Davenport d. Jelena Dokic
2002 Patty Schnyder d. Lindsay Davenport
2003 Justine Henin-H. d. Jelena Dokic
2004 Alicia Molik d. Maria Sharapova
2005 Lindsay Davenport d. Patty Schnyder
2006 Maria Sharapova d. Daniela Hantuchova




ZURICH, SWITZERLAND (I-Hard Indoor)
2006 FINAL: Sharapova d. Hantuchova
2007 TOP: Henin/Kuznetsova
=============================
=QF=
Henin d. Hantuchova
Jankovic d. A.Bondarenko
Ivanovic d. Peng(Q)
S.Williams d. Kuznetsova
=SF=
Henin d. Jankovic
S.Williams d. Ivanovic
=FINAL=
Henin d. S.Williams


=QF=
Henin d. Hantuchova
Jankovic d. A.Bondarenko
Ivanovic d. Bartoli
S.Williams d. Kuznetsova
=SF=
Henin d. Jankovic
S.Williams d. Ivanovic
=FINAL=
Henin d. S.Williams


All for now.

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Wk.40- Last Belgian Standing

For a year that began under such dark clouds, 2007 has turned out to be a pretty good one for Justine Henin.

Actually, it's been quite remarkable.



La Petit Taureau's wild ride from personal turmoil to the best season of her career continued this weekend in Stuttgart with her claiming her eighth title of the season (double the next two highest tour totals... combined) with a win in the final over Tatiana Golovin. Amazingly, she's claimed the eight championships while playing just twelve events (she reached a final and three SF in the four tournaments she didn't win), going 54-4 and stringing together three separate winning streaks of at least thirteen matches, and two 16-match runs (one of which is still active).

A year after reaching the final of all four grand slams, Henin did so again in '07 in two of the three majors she played. Her name is already being engraved on all the "Player of the Year" trophies, and her 1850-point lead on the computer over #2-ranked Svetlana Kuznetsova means she'll be the year-end #1 for the third time in the last five seasons, and the second in a row.

Even with her record of reliability over the years, it would have been difficult to envision a season quite like the one Henin has produced if you'd been forced to give a "yay" or "nay" on the possibility back in January when her personal entanglements had just forced her to skip the Australian Open.

And to think that between then and now there was ALSO all the drama surrounding some OTHER Belgian, too. What was her name? It seems like a lifetime ago... almost as if she was never there at all.

Oh, well. At least we know which Belgian is still standing... and, all measurements aside, doing so in a very "tall" fashion, as well.

*WEEK 40 CHAMPIONS*

STUTTGART, GERMANY (II-Hard Indoor)
S: Justine Henin def. Tatiana Golovin 2-6/6-2/6-1
D: Peschke/Stubbs d. Chan/Safina

TOKYO, JAPAN (III-Hard)
S: Virginie Razzano def. Venus Williams 4-6/7-6/6-4
D: T.Sun/Yan d. Chuang/King

TASHKENT, UZBEKISTAN (IV-Hard)
S: Pauline Parmentier def. Victoria Azarenka 7-5/6-2
D: Poutchek/Rodionova d. Dzehalevich/Yakimova


PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Justine Henin
... wins over Dinara Safina, Elena Dementieva, Jelena Jankovic (naturally) and Tatiana Golovin paved the way for career title #37, Henin's first indoor title of '07. Meanwhile, the other Belgian -- who'll soon produce a mini-Waffle -- has released a book of fan letters. (No comment is really necessary on that, of course... I'm sure the sound of eyes rolling is audible through the world wide web, right?)
=============================
RISERS: Virginie Razzano & Tatiana Golovin
... Pastries accounted for two of this weekend's three singles champions, and three of the six singles finalists. Before last weekend in Guangzhou, Razzano had never won a tour singles title. Then on Saturday she won her second in a six-day span, taking the Tokyo title by overcoming three Venus Williams match points to win her tenth consecutive match and move into the Top 30 for the first time. Golovin didn't win the Stuttgart title, but the Frussian Pastry did claim the opening set from Henin after having previously handled the likes of Anna Chakvetadze, Alona Bondarenko and Svetlana Kuznetsova.
=============================
SURPRISES: Pauline Parmentier & Zi Yan

... Week 40's third French finalist and second champion, 21-year old world #87 Parmentier played like anything but a player who'd never really any real success on the WTA tour. Although, 1st Round wins at Roland Garros and the US Open (for which she qualified) earlier this season did hint at something brewing below the surface other than the ability to win three ITF crowns in '07. In Tashkent, that potential became reality as Parmentier knocked off the #1 (Victoria Azarenka), #2 (Dominika Cibulkova) and #3 (Olga Govortsova) seeds en route to winning her first career tour title without dropping a set in the tournament. Elsewhere, while Zi Yan's fortunes with oft-injured doubles partner Jie Zheng haven't exactly panned out over the course of the season, a Toronto Tier I singles SF and her fourth doubles title of the year this weekend in Tokyo (with Tiantian Sun) have helped to fashion an otherwise pretty memorable '07 campaign for her.
=============================
VETERANS: Elena Dementieva & Kveta Peschke/Rennae Stubbs
... don't write off Punch-Sober just yet. In Stuttgart, she pulled out a QF result and straight sets wins over Amelie Mauresmo and Daniela Hantuchova. This week, she's back home in Moscow for the Kremlin Cup. In the same event, Peschke & Stubbs won their second doubles title of the season.
=============================
FRESH FACES: Victoria Azarenka & Caroline Wozniacki
... Azarenka is going to be kicking herself for losing the Tashkent final to Parmentier, especially after fumbling away leads in both sets in a straight sets loss. But still, the rising Belarussian's second final of the season (with Estoril) is just another step along the road to that first tour singles crown. Denmark's Wozniacki, too, is still looking for career title #1, but her first career SF in Tokyo means she's now one step closer, as well.
=============================
DOWN: Venus Williams & Lucie Safarova
... looking for her second title in as many weeks, Venus blew three match points in the Tokyo final against Razzano. Safarova lost in the 1st Round in Stuttgart, making in ten straights events without a QF result after attaining three (Australian QF, Paris RU, Estoril SF) in her first six '07 tournaments.
=============================


1. Tok F - Razzano d. V.Williams
...4-6/7-6/6-4. This match lasted 2:44, but it didn't have to take that long. In the 2nd set, which she eventually lost in a 9-7 tie-break, Venus held three match points. This is the second match since her Wimbledon triumph that Venus has failed to close out despite holding MP.
=============================
2. Stutt F - Henin d. Golovin
...2-6/6-2/6-1. But this WAS the first set Henin's lost since that Wimbledon SF against Marion Bartoli.
=============================
3. Stutt SF - Henin d. Jankovic
...7-6/7-5. Jelena must have a severe case of deja vu. She's now 0-8 against Henin, and even lost this one by the exact same score as their last match-up in the Toronto final.
=============================
4. Stutt 2nd - K.Bondarenko d. Ivanovic
...6-2/1-6/6-3. The Radwanskas aren't the only sisters other than Venus and Serena who are causing waves on tour.
=============================
5. Stutt QF - Kuznetsova d. S.Williams
...6-3/6-3. At least Serena is back on the court.
=============================
6. Tash F - Parmentier d. Azarenka
...7-5/6-2. Parmentier is the fifth different French woman to win a title on tour this year, and the third first-time champion (Razzano & Golovin). In this one, Azarenka served at 5-3 in the 1st set and held two set points. She also led 2-0 in the 2nd. You can't say she didn't have her chances.
=============================
7. Tash 1st - Poutchkova d. Tulyaganova
...7-5/6-3. Olga's long international nightmare is finally over.
=============================
8. Tok Doub F - T.Sun/Yan d. Chuang/King
...1-6/6-2/10-6. In Tokyo, two Chinese players defeated a team composed of a player from Taiwan and an Asian-American. The face of the tour is changing, all right.
=============================
9. Stutt QF - Jankovic d. Petrova
...6-7/5-1 ret. A hip injury gave Petrova her fifth loss by retirement this season.
=============================
10. Tok 1st - Pin d. Kirilenko
...3-6/4-6/6-4. Pin finally beat one of the Marias.
=============================


**LONG 2007 WIN STREAKS**
16...JUSTINE HENIN (AUG-current)
16...Justine Henin (May-Jul)
13...Justine Henin (Feb-Mar)
13...Serena Williams (Jan-Mar)
13...Anna Chakvetadze (Jul-Aug)

**CONSECUTIVE 2007 TITLES**
3...JUSTINE HENIN (TORONTO=US=STUTTGART)*
2...Justine Henin (Dubai=Doha)
2...Serena Williams (Australian=Miami)
2...Justine Henin (R.G.=Eastbourne)
2...Anna Chakvetadze (Cincy=Stanford)
2...VIRGINIE RAZZANO (GUANGZHOU=TOKYO)*
-
*-current

**MOST DIFFERENT CHAMPIONS - BY NATION**
8...Russia
5...FRANCE
4...United States
2...BELGIUM
2...Italy
2...Serbia

**2007 FINALISTS - BY NATION**
25...Russia (11 titles)
16...FRANCE (7)
13...Serbia (7)
11...BELGIUM (9)
8.....UNITED STATES (7)

**WON 2007 WTA & ITF TITLES**
PAULINE PARMENTIER / FRA
Agnieszka Radwanska / POL
Agnes Szavay / HUN

**2007 WINS OVER JUSTINE HENIN**
Paris SF - Lucie Safarova
Miami Final - Serena Williams
Berlin SF - Svetlana Kuznetsova
Wimbledon SF - Marion Bartoli




MOSCOW, RUSSIA (I-Supreme Indoor)
2006 FINAL: Chakvetadze d. Petrova
2007 TOP: Kuznetsova/Sharapova
=============================
=QF=
Kuznetsova d. Bartoli
S.Williams d. Vaidisova
Chakvetadze d. Kirilenko
Dementieva d. Sharapova
=SF=
Kuznetsova d. S.Williams
Dementieva d. Chakvetadze
=FINAL=
Kuznetsova d. Dementieva


=QF=
Kuznetsova d. Bartoli
S.Williams d. Vaidisova
Mauresmo d. Chakvetadze
Sharapova d. Schnyder
=SF=
Kuznetsova d. S.Williams
Sharapova d. Mauresmo
=FINAL=
Kuznetsova d. Sharapova


BANGKOK, THAILAND (III-HCO)
2006 FINAL: King d. Tanasugarn
2007 TOP: Jankovic/V.Williams
=============================
=SF=
Jankovic d. Razzano
V.Williams d. Peer
=FINAL=
Jankovic d. V.Williams


=SF=
Jankovic d. Razzano
V.Williams d. Pennetta
=FINAL=
V.Williams d. Jankovic


All for now.

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