ITF Backspin (Wk.52)- And a Pinch for Good Luck

What's that sound? Why it's the 2009 WTA season knocking on the door.

But there was one final Czech to cash in India before wrapping up the 2008 campaign.


ITF PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Sandra Zahlavova/CZE
...the 23-year old Czech Maiden was crowned the final champion of 2008 with her taking of the final ITF event of the year, a $50K event in New Dehli. Zahlavova's first '08 title, and fifth of her career, came with a victory in the final over Serbian teen Bojana Jovanovski. Zahlavova is now comfortably ranked inside the Top 200.
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FRESH FACE: Bojana Jovanovski/SRB
...while Jelena and Ana make noise at the top of the rankings, recent junior Jovanovski continues to make strides further down the line. She'll only turn 17 on December 31st, but Jovanovski had already grabbed three ITF singles crowns in '08 before this past week in New Dehli, where she upset top seeded Masa Zec-Peskiric on her way to a spot in the final. In her first partial season on the WTA tour, the Serb has already gotten her ranking into the Top 300 (and has actually jumped about 200 spots thanks to her ITF work since the WTA season came to a close with her season-ending ranking at #561).
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VETERANS: Kimiko Date-Krumm/JPN & Mirjana Lucic/CRO

...it'll be like old home week in Auckland in Week 1, as both these veterans will continue their comebacks with appearances in the main draw. It'll be 38-year old Date-Krumm's first action outside of Japan since she returned to the court after a dozen years away in '08, and the awarding of a wild card to former star Lucic means the one-time Wimbledon semifinalist (1999... when she and Alexandra Stevenson were in the SF, and Jelena Dokic reached the QF -- obviously, something was in the Barley water that year) will continue to try to recapture some of the potential magic her career once held (she won in her WTA debut in Bol in '97) before everything was derailed by rather serious familial discord a while back. Lucic was 26-21 in 2008, but hasn't played a main draw slam match since 2002.
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1. New Dehli $50K Final - Zahlavova d. Jovanovski
...6-4/6-3. One final 2008 champion. Now, let the 2009 games begin!
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**2008 CZECH CHAMPIONS**
[WTA]
1...Lucie Safarova (Forest Hills)
[ITF]
3...Barbora Zahlavova-Strycova
2...Petra Cetkovska
1...Iveta Benesova
1...Simona Dobra
1...Tereza Hladikova
1...Lucie Hradecka
1...Katerina Kramperova
1...Lucie Kriegsmannova
1...Petra Kvitova
1...Zuzana Ondraskova
1...Karolina Pliskova
1...Darina Sedenkova
1...Katerina Vankova
1...Sandra Zahlavova

All for now.