Wk.8- Qatting a Wide Swath

Whether or not the Sharapova Scenario is yet in effect, the Supernova has surely cut a fairly wide swath for herself through the WTA field so far this season.


(PHOTO BY JASPER JUINEN/GETTY IMAGES)

Her 2008 reign of terror continued last week in Qatar.

Still undefeated in matches that count, Maria Sharapova ran her '08 WTA/Fed Cup record to 14-0 with career title #18 in Doha, the newest Tier I event on the WTA schedule. Fellow Hordette Vera Zvonareva managed to win a set from her in the final (no small feat, considering the Russian's only lost one other set all season), but it proved to be but an inconvenient blip on the Supernova's radar in a 6-1/2-6/6-0 steamrolling victory.

After enduring a psychologically trying, injury-marred 2007 campaign, which found its nadir in New York with the '06 champ being bounced from the US Open in the 3rd Round by a rather "disrespectful" Agnieszka Radwanska, Sharapova has nursed her injured shoulder and confidence back to health. Since then, she's 18-2 and has reached three consecutive finals, beginning with the season-ending championships in Madrid last November. She's already won twice as many titles in 2008 as she did in all of 2007, and has won 28 of the 30 sets she's played this year (taking six of them at love).

Oh, and A-Rad got "her's" last week in Doha, too.

Of course, even while she's been the class of the tour in this still-in-its-infancy season, Sharapova stands at just #5 in the rankings, with top-ranked Justine Henin far ahead on the computer. But even while she's 11-1 herself in 2008, Henin is 0-1 against Sharapova this year. The Belgian's pair of titles have come in Tier II events, while Sharapova has claimed a slam and, now, a Tier I.

Give the edge to Maria. So far...since Henin could push her title count to three this week in Dubai.

*WEEK 8 CHAMPIONS*

DOHA, QATAR (I-Hard Outdoor)
S: Maria Sharapova def. Vera Zvonareva 6-1/2-6/6-0
D: Peschke/Stubbs d. Black/Huber

BOGOTA, COLOMBIA (III-RCO)
S: Nuria Llagostera-Vives def. Maria-Emilia Salerni 6-0/6-4
D: Benesova/Mattek d. Kostanic-Tosic/Muller


PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Maria Sharapova
... Sharapova's win over Zvonareva shouldn't be overlooked, for the Russian has been one of the more successful of her countrywomen against the Supernova. Had Zvonareva won, she would have knotted the career record between the two at 4-4.
=============================
RISERS: Vera Zvonareva & Li Na
... Zvonareva won the battle with Li in the Doha SF, but both had successful weeks. Zvonareva knocked out Top 20er's Safina and Bammer en route to her second final this season (she lost in a walkover to Daniilidou in Hobart), while Li notched wins over THREE Top 20 players in Chakvetadze, Peer and Jankovic.
=============================
SURPRISES: Maria-Emilia Salerni & Carla Suarez Navarro
... 24-year old Argentine Salerni reached her first career tour singles final in Bogota with wins over Cornet, Camerin and her fellow Surprise honoree. #159-ranked Suarez Navarro, 19, of Spain qualified and defeated Mattek, Gallovits and Castano to reach her first career SF.
=============================
VETERANS: Nuria Llagostera-Vives & Kveta Peschke/Rennae Stubbs

(PHOTO BY MAURICIO DUENAS/AFP/GETTY IMAGES)
... Spaniard Llagostera-Vives, 27, won in Bogota to claim her first title since 2005. Ranked as high as #35 that season, she embarked on a comeback last season after a wrist injury sidelined her during the 2006 campaign. After qualifying last week, the then #114-ranked vet's win gave her two career WTA crowns. Meanwhile, Kveta Peschke, 32, and Rennae Stubbs, 37 next month, won the season's first Tier I doubles title in Doha. It was Stubbs' 59th career title, further solidifying her #12 spot on the all-time WTA list.
=============================
FRESH FACES: Caroline Wozniacki & Dominika Cibulkova

... Denmark's Wozniacki and Slovakia's Cibulkova both reached the Doha QF after pulling off a string of upsets. C-Woz took out Chan Yung-Jan, Marion Bartoli and Anabel Medina-Garrigues, while Cibulkova's results were even more spectacular. "All" she did was defeat Lucie Safarova, Patty Schnyder and Venus Williams (6-3/6-3!!).
=============================
DOWN: Amelie Mauresmo
... Mauresmo's long road back continues to drag on and on like a cross-country trip to visit "those" relatives. After having already dropped out of the Top 20 after not seeking to defend her Antwerp title, she bowed out in the Doha 2nd Round to Tamarine Tanasugarn last week. Her highest-ranked victim this year has only been ranked #36 (the second-highest is #68), and this week she could face Sharapova in the 2nd Round in Dubai.
=============================
ITF PLAYER: Regina Kulikova, RUS
... one Russian Kulikova has already made some waves on the ITF tour this season, and now there's another. 16-year old Elena has claimed two challenger titles, and then last week 19-year old Regina won the $25K event in Clearwater, Florida. Combined, the two have won 19 straight matches. even more than one Sharapova.
=============================


1. Doha F - Sharapova d. Zvonareva
...6-1/2-6/6-0. Zvonareva seems past the emotional meltdowns that used to plague her, but going out with a 3rd set bagel isn't exactly coming up big in the clutch, either.
=============================
2. Bog F - Llagostera-Vives d. Salerni
...6-0/6-4. Three qualifiers (incuding Llagostera-Vives) and one unseeded player (Salerni) reached the SF in Bogota.
=============================
3. Doha SF - Sharapova d. A.Radwanska
...6-3/6-4. Sweet redemption for the Open collapse. Well, almost.
=============================
4. Doha 1st - Peer d. Klepac
...6-3/6-4. Peer became the first Israeli to play a match in the Gulf region.
=============================
5. Doha 1st - Sugiyama d. Szavay
...7-6/6-0. It's been either feast for famine so far this season for Szavay. She reached the final in Paris, but has been dumped out in the 1st Round in her other four events. For a moment, it appeared as if her "breather" this week in Dubai was going to be Sharapova in the 1st Round. But the Supernova pulled out with a cold, so Agnes gets an unexpected opportunity. Let's see if she takes advantage of it.
=============================
6. Doha Doub 1st - Morita/Niculescu d. Yan/Zheng
...7-6/7-6.
Kleybanova/Voskoboeva d. Peng/Sun
...6-4/7-5. Hmmm, maybe we shouldn't speak TOO SOON about China's "great" hopes for a Women's Doubles medal in Beijing.
=============================
7. Doha 1st - Garbin d. U.Radwanska
...6-2/7-5. So much for that all-Radwanska 2nd Round novelty.
=============================
8. Doha 1st - Medina-Garrigues d. Petrova
...6-2/1-2 ret. Petrova was battling gastritis and was just too sick too go on. Backspin knows the feeling, Nadia.
=============================
9. Doha 3rd - Bammer d. Kuznetsova
...6-3/7-6. How's that plan to catch Justine going, Svetlana?
=============================
10. Bog QF - Llagostera-Vives d. Errani
...7-5/6-1. This was the second consecutive week that Llagostera-Vives emerged from qualifying to knock out Errani in the main draw.
=============================
11. Doha 2nd - Sugiyama d. Morita
...4-6/6-4/6-0. Morita was appropriately respectful to her Japanese elder Sugiyama. But that might not last for much longer.
=============================
12. Bog 1st - Jozami d. Pennetta
...6-1/2-6/6-4. Pennetta's usual rollercoaster result trend continues.
=============================
HM- Memph Q1- Sromova d. Karatantcheva
...7-6/6-4. Ah, more time for Sesil to peruse the "selections" at the local corner store in downtown Memphis.
=============================
HM- Doha 3rd - A.Radwanska walkover Ivanovic
...AnaIvo's ankle prevented this match from taking place, thus avoiding any pesky fires at the Polish embassy had A-Rad actually been able to win the match outright.
=============================


*2008 WTA FINALS*
2...Justine Henin (2-0)
2...MARIA SHARAPOVA (2-0)
2...VERA ZVONAREVA (0-1, + w/o loss)

*2008 WTA SEMIFINALS*
3...LI NA (1-2)
2...Justine Henin (2-0)
2...Ana Ivanovic (1-1)
2...Flavia Pennetta (1-1)
2...AGNIESZKA RADWANSKA (1-1)
2...MARIA SHARAPOVA (2-0)
2...VERA ZVONAREVA (2-0)

*ACTIVE PLAYERS WITH EXACTLY TWO CAREER TITLES*
[last title]
Gisela Dulko, ARG [2007]
Tatiana Golovin, FRA [2007]
Maria Kirilenko, RUS [2007]
Anne Kremer, LUX [2007]
Li Na, CHN [2008]
NURIA LLAGOSTERA-VIVES, ESP [2008]
Mirjana Lucic, CRO [1998]
Agnieszka Radwanska, POL [2008]
Virginie Razzano, FRA [2007]
Martina Sucha, SVK [2004]
Agnes Szavay, HUN [2007]
Klara Zakopalova, CZE [2005]

*ALL-TIME CAREER WTA DOUBLES TITLES*
177...Martina Navratilova
112...Rosie Casals
106...Pam Shriver
101...Billie Jean King
80...Natasha Zvereva
76...Jana Novotna
68...Gigi Fernandez
68...Arantxa Sanchez Vicario
68...Helena Sukova
66...Larisa Neiland
65...Lisa Raymond*
59...RENNAE STUBBS*

*TIER I SINGLES TITLES - ACTIVE*
11...Lindsay Davenport
10...Justine Henin
8...Serena Williams
6...Amelie Mauresmo
6...MARIA SHARAPOVA
6...Venus Williams

*OLDEST 2008 DOUBLES TITLISTS*
36...RENNAE STUBBS (DOHA)
34...Virginia Ruano-Pascual (Hobart)
32...KVETA PESCHKE (DOHA)





DUBAI, UAE (II-Hard Outdoor)
07 FINAL: Henin d. Mauresmo
08 TOP: Henin/Kuznetsova
=============================
SF: Henin d. Ivanovic; (Q)A.Radwanska d. Kuznetsova
FINAL: Henin d. (Q)A.Radwanska

...seriously, how odd is it that A-Rad, a Top 20 player, was forced to qualify in Dubai right after reaching the SF in Doha? There was hope here for a Gulf-set Part II of what could be a Henin/Sharapova tête-à-tête throughout 2008... but Sharapova's late withdrawal puts those plans on hold.


ACAPULCO, MEXICO (III-Red Clay)
07 FINAL: Loit d. Pennetta
08 TOP: Pennetta/Cornet
=============================
SF: Pennetta d. Cirstea; Errani d. Meusburger
FINAL: Pennetta d. Errani

...for the third week in a row, Pennetta is a #1 seed. After winning in Vina del Mar, then exiting in the 1st Round in Bogota, Acapulco serves as the rubber result (insert own Sesil joke here). But I'm not going to go with Errani for a third straight week, though I DO notice that Llagostera-Vives isn't in her path this week. So, maybe the chances of her winning a title are better. If so, I'm going to miss the boat.


MEMPHIS, TENNESSEE USA (III-Hard Indoor)
07 FINAL: V.Williams d. Peer
08 TOP: V.Williams/Golovin
=============================
SF: V.Williams d. Davenport; Peer d. Golovin
FINAL: V.Williams d. Peer

...a week after losing to Cibulkova, Lindsay looms large in the SF for Williams. But I'll go with Venus to defend anyway.

All for now.

Read more...

Wk.7- Justine Can Go Home Again

No matter what the old axiom says, you CAN go home again.

Well, at least Justine Henin can go back to Belgium.

After winning the small Tier IV clay court event held in Antwerp in her WTA debut at age 16 in 1999, Henin had played there only twice in the past eight years heading into last week's event. While the city's event transformed into the Tier II Proximus Diamond Games, Henin showed up to play just twice (in 2002 and '03), reaching a final and semifinal but never winning another title after becoming the #1-ranked player in the world.

With Kim Clijsters retired, and with herself the only marquee Belgian player left, Henin finally returned. She didn't exactly play her best tennis during the week, struggling with her serve and having to fight back from a set down more than once. But she's #1 by a wide margin for a reason, and her ability to pull herself together well enough to push through the draw only proved it once again.


(PHOTO BY JOHN THYS/AFP/GETTY IMAGES)

Career title #41 moved her to within just two crowns of tying Martina Hingis for 10th place on the all-time WTA list, and she improved her 2008 tournament winning percentage to 67%... as in two titles in three tries.

And she didn't even have to buy everyone in the crowd a bottle of champagne, either. Imagine.

*WEEK 7 CHAMPIONS*

ANTWERP, BELGIUM (II-DecoTurf Indoor)
S: Justine Henin def. Karin Knapp 6-3/6-3
D: Black/Huber d. Peschke/Sugiyama

VINA DEL MAR, CHILE (III-RCO)
S: Flavia Pennetta def. Klara Zakopalova 6-4/5-4 ret.
D: Dekmeijere/Rosolska d. Koryttseva/Schruff


PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Justine Henin
... Henin is the first to win multiple titles in 2008, stretching her consecutive seasons with two-or-more titles streak to eight. She's 10-0 in her last ten final appearances.
=============================
RISERS: Flavia Pennetta & Karin Knapp

(PHOTO BY MARTIN BERNETTI/AFP/GETTY IMAGES)
... Pennetta, who turns 26 next Monday, won career title #5 in Vina Del Mar when Klara Zakopalova retired with an ankle injury with the Italian veteran just one game from wrapping up the match. Pennetta's fellow Italian, 20-year old Knapp, was the revelation of Antwerp (of course, here's where I have to note that I DID pick her to reach a 2008 final before the season... ha), reaching her first career tour final with wins over Nathalie Dechy, Yaroslava Shvedova (from a set and 3-1 down), Patty Schnyder (down a break 6-5 in the 3rd) and Li Na. In the final, the world #47 finally fell to Henin... but Knapp's Fila outfit somewhat reminded one of another Belgian's common on-court attire, for what it's worth.
=============================
SURPRISES: Mariya Koryttseva & Liga Dekmeijere/Alicia Rosolska
... Ukraine's Koryttseva reached the Vina Del Mar SF in singles, her best result since her only other SF-or-better RU finish in Kolkata last season. The 22-year old defeated the likes of Castano, Cetkovska and Llagostera-Vives along the way. She was also doubles RU with Julia Schruff. Meanwhile, the Latvian-Polish team of Dekmeijere/Rosolska defeated Koryttseva/Schruff in that Vina Del Mar doubles final, claiming the first career tour titles for both.
=============================
VETERANS: Cara Black/Liezel Huber & Klara Zakopalova
... after a slow start to their season, the #1-ranked doubles team of Black/Huber finally claimed a maiden '08 season title in Antwerp. Czech Zakopalova, who will turn 26 exactly one day earlier than her Vina Del Mar final opponent Pennetta, reached her first final since 2005 this weekend. Ranked #68 heading into the week, Zakopalova has now reached nine career WTA singles finals, with her loss to Pennetta dropping her to 2-7. She's the only Czech to reach a final so far this season, as Vaidisova has yet to shift herself out of neutral.
=============================
FRESH FACES: Timea Bacsinszky & Alisa Kleybanova

... in Antwerp, qualifiers Bacsinszky and Kleybanova both forced people to notice them. Swiss Miss Bacsinszky continued her '08 momentum with her first career SF, as the 18-year old notched wins over Govortsova, Ditty and Hantuchova before losing a three-setter to Henin. Hordette Kleybanova upset Agnes Szavay and Kateryna Bondarenko en route to her first tour QF.
=============================
DOWN: Peng Shuai
... 8-8-08 is still a ways off, but for Peng it might as well be a lifetime at the moment. After her 1st Round loss in Antwerp, she's still looking for her first tour victory of the season through four tournaments.
=============================


1. Ant F - Henin d. Knapp
...6-3/6-3. What luck Knapp had. Henin waited until the final to play her best match of the week.
=============================
2. Vina F - Pennetta d. Zakopalova
...6-4/5-4 ret. Hmmm, maybe I should claim a portion of Flavia's prize money since she'd surely never have won had I actually picked her to win the tournament. Of course, she DOES play again this week.
=============================
3. Ant 1st - Kleybanova d. Szavay
...6-2/6-3. One step forward in Paris, two steps back in Antwerp.
=============================
4. Ant 2nd - Arvidsson d. Chakvetadze
...6-3/7-5. Ditto. Seriously, Anna and Agnes' play has had the consistency of blood spatter on a derailing rollercoaster so far this season.
=============================
5. Ant SF - Henin d. Bacsinszky
...2-6/6-3/6-3. Henin served nine double-faults and had forty-five unforced errors, yet found a way.
=============================
6. Ant 1st - Wickmayer d. Peng
...6-0/6-4. Wickmayer's name might not be marquee at the moment, but the mini-Waffle's certainly featured in the coming attractions.
=============================
7. Ant 1st - Ditty d. A.Bondarenko 4-6/6-3/6-4.
Ant 2nd - Kleybanova d. K.Bondarenko
...7-5/3-6/7-5. Not to disparage J-Ditty or Kleybanova, but A-Bond and K-Bond should be winning more of these matches. Even their doubles run ended in the SF this time around.
=============================
8. Ant SF - Knapp d. Li
...6-4/7-6. Li hasn't been quite the same since opening up '08 with a title in Week 1. Here, she led the 2nd set 5-2 and twice failed to serve out to force a deciding 3rd set.
=============================
9. Stockholm $25K F - Johanna Larsson d. Barbora Strycova Zahlavova
...0-6/6-1/7-6. The 19-year old Swede notched her second straight ITF title in her third final in her last three events.
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10. Mallorca $10K F - Polona Hercog d. Stephanie Vogt
...4-6/6-1/6-3. The 17-year old from Slovenia has also won back-to-back ITF titles. But, seniority lifts Larsson to "ITF Player of the Week."
=============================


*ALL-TIME WTA SINGLES TITLES*
167...Martina Navratilova
154...Chris Evert
107...Steffi Graf
92...Margaret Smith-Court
68...Evonne Goolagong-Cawley
67...Billie Jean King
55...Virginia Wade
54...Lindsay Davenport*
53...Monica Seles
43...Martina Hingis
41...JUSTINE HENIN*

*CURRENT STREAKS OF SEASONS w/ TWO+ TITLES*
8...JUSTINE HENIN (2001-08)
2...Anna Chakvetadze (2006-07)
2...Elena Dementieva (2006-07)

*ACTIVE PLAYERS WITH EXACTLY FIVE CAREER TITLES*
[last title]
Eleni Daniilidou, GRE [2008]
Jelena Dokic, AUS [2002]
Ana Ivanovic, SRB [2007]
Jelena Jankovic, SRB [2007]
Alicia Molik, AUS [2005]
FLAVIA PENNETTA, ITA [2008]
Dinara Safina, RUS [2007]
Vera Zvonareva, RUS [2006]

*MOST 2008 ITF TITLES*
2...Polona Hercog, SLO
2...Sesil Karatantcheva, BUL
2...Elena Kulikova, RUS
2...Johanna Larsson, SWE

*WTA #1's - FIRST TITLES*
1970...Evonne Goolagong, Southport/age 18
1971...Chris Evert, St.Petersburg/age 16
1974...Martina Navratilova, Orlando/age 17
1977...Tracy Austin, Portland/age 14
1986...Steffi Graf, Hilton Head/age 16
1988...Arantxa Sanchez, Brussels/age 16
1989...Monica Seles, Houston/age 15
1990...Jennifer Capriati, Puerto Rico/age 14
1993...Lindsay Davenport, Lucerne/age 16
1996...Martina Hingis, Filderstadt/age 15
1998...Venus Williams, Oklahoma City/age 17
1999...Serena Williams, Paris/age 17
1999...JUSTINE HENIN, ANTWERP/AGE 16
1999...Kim Clijsters, Luxembourg/age 16
1999...Amelie Mauresmo, Bratislava/age 20
2003...Maria Sharapova, Tokyo AIG/age 16

*HENIN in ANTWERP*
1999 (Tier IV/clay) - WON...def. Sarah Pitkowski
2002 (Tier II/carpet) - RU...lost to Venus Williams
2003 (Tier II/carpet) - SF...lost to Kim Clijsters
2008 (Tier II/carpet) - WON...def. Karin Knapp





DOHA, QATAR (I-Hard Outdoor)
07 FINAL: Henin d. Kuznetsova
08 TOP: Ivanovic/Kuznetsova
=============================
=QF=
Ivanovic def. V.Williams
Sharapova def. Kirilenko
Chakvetadze def. Jankovic
Kuznetsova def. Zvonareva
=SF=
Sharapova def. Ivanovic
Kuznetsova def. Chakvetadze
=FINAL=
Sharapova def. Kuznetsova

...no Justine this time around, but a possible A-Rad vs. U-Rad 2nd Round match up could stop traffic in Warsaw.


BOGOTA, COLOMBIA (III-Red Clay)
07 FINAL: Vinci d. Garbin
08 TOP: Pennetta/Cornet
=============================
SF: Errani d. Pennetta; Gallovits d. Craybas
FINAL: Errani d. Gallovits

...I'm not going to fall for this trick. Usually, after not picking Pennetta to win a title she claimed, I pick her to win the following week only to see her lose early. So I'm going to stick with the ol' "Errani def. Pennetta" idea from last week. Thus, I'm going to go ahead and congratulate Flavia on her second of back-to-back titles this coming weekend... I'll just assume the check is in the mail.

All for now.

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Officially... Goodbye, Monica

Monica Seles officially (finally) announced her retirement from tennis on Thursday, after having not played a tour match since 2003 due to her inability to fully recover from a serious foot injury that prevented a full-time return to the rigors of the WTA tour.



The future Hall of Famer's career included nine grand slam singles titles, 178 weeks at #1, and a brief period in which she threatened to replace Steffi Graf as the dominant force of their generation (a possibility that was unfortunately brought to an unceremonious end when she was stabbed on court by an obsessed Graf fan during a changeover in Hamburg in 1993). After more than two years out of the game, she returned to reach the '95 US Open final and win her final slam at the Australian Open the following January, but Seles was never again to resemble the nervy player who'd dominated the game just a few years before.

The great "what if" nature of Seles' post-1993 career led to the first "Backspin What If Special" in 2004, which I'll choose to look at as something of a Valentine to Seles... appropriate, since she retired on Valentine's Day.

Seles' career deserved a better, more celebrated end.

(Hopefully, the rumors of her participation in "Dancing with the Stars" are true, if only to be able to see such a great competitor "complete" one final time and Seles to be able to hear a few more cheers.)


All for now.

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Wk.6- The Comeback Kids

Paris provided a welcoming stage for a pair of comebacks over the weekend. Comebacks not from oblivion, mind you... but from seasons that had provided far more hand-wringing moments than joyful ones.


AP Photo/Remy de la Mauriniere

Anna Chakvetadze and Agnes Szavay have reason to let out big sighs of relief today. The Russian can smile broader, since she won the meeting between the two in the Paris indoor final on Sunday, but the Hungarian has reason to feel good, as well.

After seeing 2008 arrive on the heels of a horrifying home invasion in Moscow that exerted both a physical and mental toll, Chakvetadze's on-court results did little to lighten her mood in the season's opening weeks. She was handled by Maria Sharapova in an exhibition, then bowed out of the Australian Open in the 3rd Round a year after having reached the QF.

But her victory-clinching singles win in Russia's Fed Cup tie againts Israel might have helped her turn a corner, whether it be because of her teammates' support or her own ability to salt away a big match (or some combination of the two) that set things back to "normal" in the Doll's day-to-day routine.

In Paris, that sense of "moving on" carried over. Wins over Nathalie Dechy, Amelie Mauresmo, Marion Bartoli and Szavay (thanks to the Russian's smart play and big point calm) ran her career record in WTA finals to 7-0.

Another Anna -- Smashnova, not THAT OTHER ONE -- might have reason to worry. Chakvetadze is now more than half way to matching the Israeli's 12-0 record in finals to begin her career.

Szavay didn't win career title #3 over the weekend, but the Valkyrie is slowly but surely regaining her form. After opening the season with a loss to a "lucky loser" at Gold Coast and a 1st Round exit in Melbourne, she managed to finally put away a few wins during Fed Cup play before heading to Paris.

After being pushed by Tathiana Garbin in the early rounds, Szavay proceeded to knock out Daniela Hantuchova and Elena Dementieva to reach the final. Despite uncharacteristically beginning the match on edge against Chakvetadze, she collected herself after falling a set down. The pair went on to contest a fairly entertaining 3rd set.

Szavay put herself in position to become the Chakvetadze's first conqueror in a final, but failed to put away several key points despite working many rallies to her advantage. Consider it a task left uncompleted, but also a sign that the 19-year old is putting things together after a terribly disappointing beginning to 2008.

Rarely is there a Tier II final where both players can be considered "winners" after the final handshake, but this might be one of those instances.

*WEEK 6 CHAMPIONS*

PARIS, FRANCE (II-GSI)
S: Anna Chakvetadze def. Agnes Szavay 6-3/2-6/6-2
D: Bondarenko/Bondarenko d. Hrdinova/Uhlirova

PATTAYA CITY, THAILAND (IV-HO)
S: Agnieszka Radwanska def. Jill Craybas 6-2/1-6/7-6
D: Chan/Chuang d. Hsieh/King


PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Anna Chakvetadze

AP Photo/Remy de la Mauriniere
... don't look now, but she's THIS CLOSE (or 136 points, if you want to nitpick the details) to catching a certain Supernova in the rankings.
=============================
RISERS: Alona Bondarenko/Kateryna Bondarenko & Agnes Szavay

... make way for the Bondarenkos! In a week where the Radwanska and Rodionova sisters failed to win doubles titles, the Ukrainian siblings won their second in a row. Not only that, in between their wins in Melbourne and Paris, they teamed to win the deciding match in the Fed Cup tie with Belgium. So, that gives them a 9-0 (plus two walkovers) mark for '08. Meanwhile, Szavay is now at a career-best #18 in the rankings.
=============================
SURPRISES: Vesna Manasieva & Andreja Klepac
... 18-year old Hordette Manasieva (ranked #149) qualified in Pattaya (notching a win over Iroda Tulyaganova) and upset Angelique Kerber to reach her first career QF. Slovenian world #131 Klepac, 21, reached her second career QF in the same event with wins over U-Rad and Casey Dellacqua.
=============================
VETERANS: Jill Craybas & Laura Granville
... a pair of American vets who are generally overlooked are coming off pretty good weeks. Craybas, 33, got wins over Olga Savchuk and Akgul Amanmuradova before losing a 3rd set tie-break to A-Rad in the Pattaya final. Granville, 26, won the $75K challenger in Midland, defeating Sandra Kloesel in the final, but maybe more impressively destroying Fed Cup heroine Ashley Harkleroad 6-1/6-1 in the 1st Round.
=============================
FRESH FACES: Agnieszka Radwanska & Ekaterina Bychkova

Pornchai Kittiwongsakul/AFP/Getty Images
... A-Rad grabbed her second career title (Stockholm '07) with a tight three-set win over Craybas in the Pattaya final a week after putting up somewhat disappointing results in Fed Cup Zone play. World #101 Bychkova upset Yaroslava Shvedova to reach the Pattay SF, her best result since a semi in Tashkent in 2005.
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DOWN: Nadia Petrova
... last season, Petrova had a decent non-slam season and a woeful run in the slams. So far in 2008, she's reached a Round of 16 in the Australian (sure, she blew a big lead... but it's still a decent result), but is 0-3 everywhere else. In Paris, she failed to defend her sole '07 title when she lost in three sets to Kateryna Bondarenko in the 1st Round. Oh, Nadia.
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1. Paris F - Chakvetadze d. Szavay
...6-3/2-6/6-2. The Valkyrie didn't seem quite as comfortable on the stage here as she did during the US Open Series last fall.
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2. Patt F - A.Radwanska d. Craybas
...6-2/1-6/7-6. The American came oh so close to getting her first tour singles title since 2002, in just her second career final.
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3. Paris 1st - K.Bondarenko d. Petrova
...7-6/3-6/6-4. It'd be nice to be able to put an exclamation point at the end of "Oh, Nadia" at some point this season. Oh, Nadia.
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4. Paris QF - Chakvetadze d. Mauresmo
...3-6/6-3/6-3. After winning in Antwerp the last three years, Amelie isn't there this week. (Insert your own joke here about what she would have wanted encrusted with diamonds if she'd won this time around.)
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5. Paris 1st - Daniilidou d. Azarenka
...2-6/6-2/7-5. The wait continues for the Belarusian.
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HM- Midland $75K 1st - Tetrault d. Karatantcheva
...6-2/6-1. Even Sesil can't go all night and all day that many weeks in a row. On a different subject altogether, she can't win every tennis match she plays, either. So easy.
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**2008 BACKSPIN ITF PLAYERS-OF-THE-WEEK**
Wk.1- -
Wk.2- Anastasia Pivovarova, RUS
Wk.3- Sesil Karatantcheva, BUL
Wk.4- Elena Kulikova, RUS
Wk.5- Sesil Karatantcheva, BUL
Wk.6- Laura Granville, USA

*2008 CHAMPIONS BY AGE*
31...Davenport
25...Daniilidou, Henin, Li
20...CHAKVETADZE, Sharapova
18...A.RADWANSKA

*2008 SF BY NATION*
[18 different nations]
6...Russia
3...Serbia
3...United States
2...France

*MOST CAREER TITLES - RUSSIANS*
17...Maria Sharapova (2003-2008)
10...Anastasia Myskina (1999-05)
9...Svetlana Kuznetsova (2002-07)
9...Olga Morozova (1969-75)
8...Elena Dementieva (2003-07)
7...Anna Chakvetadze (2006-08)
7...Nadia Petrova (2005-07)

*MOST SINGLES TITLES - LAST 2 SEASONS*
11...Justine Henin, BEL (10/1)
5....Anna Chakvetadze, RUS (4/1)
4....Jelena Jankovic, SRB (4/0)






ANTWERP, BELGIUM (II-Decoturf Indoors)
07 FINAL: Mauresmo d. Clijsters
08 TOP: Henin/Chavetadze
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SF: Henin d. A.Bondarenko; Schnyder d. Chakvetadze
FINAL: Henin d. Schnyder

...maybe I'm not putting Chakvetadze in the final just because I don't want to pick her to finally lose one.


VINA DEL MAR, CHILE (IV-Red Clay)
07 FINAL: =new event=
08 TOP: Pennetta/Dulko
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SF: Pennetta d. Muller; Errani d. Dulko
FINAL: Errani d. Pennetta

...I'm itchin' to correctly forecast an Errani title in '08, so here it goes. Also, since I'm always off when I predict Pennetta's results, I figure she'll either win the title or lose her first match.


All for now.

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Wk.5- Fed Cup Wishes & Beijing Dreams

Lindsay Davenport was made to sweat (on Saturday, but not so much on Monday... after a Sunday rainout), while Ashley Harkleroad led. Maria Sharapova played, while Francesca Schiavone likely wishes she hadn't. Another Belgian made some waves, while Team China gained some measure of redemption for the Fed Cup embarrassment of '07. And the Serbs nearly got their knickers scared off by the Romanians.

(Oh, and speaking of a lack of knickers, Sesil had a good week, too.)

*WEEK 5*

=1st Round=
Russia def. Israel 4-1
USA def. Germany 4-1
China def. France 3-2
Spain def. Italy 3-2
=WORLD GROUP II=
Ukraine def. Belgium 3-2
Japan def. Croatia 4-1
Argentina def. Austria 4-1
Czech Republic def. Slovakia 3-2
=ZONE GROUP PLAYOFFS=
[Asia/Oceania] Uzbekistan def. New Zealand 2-1
[Europe/Africa] Serbia def. Netherlands 2-1
[Europe/Africa] Switzerland def. Sweden 2-1
[Americas] Colombia def. Brazil 3-0


=FED CUP MVPs=
(1st Round)
Maria Sharapova (RUS): Sharapova made her Fed Cup debut for Team Russia against Israel and maintained her Melbourne Magic by outpacing Shahar Peer and Tzipora Obziler in two singles matches by a combined game total of 24-6.
Ashley Harkleroad (USA):

With Lindsay Davenport sporting a 31-2 career Fed Cup record, certainly Harkleroad was expecting the veteran to be the team leader against Germany.. But then an uncharacteristically shaky Davenport was shockingly upset by teenager Sabine Lisicki (who knocked off Safina at the Australian) in the first match of the tie. Enter Harkleroad, with the entire weight of the team hoisted upon her shoulders. She defeated Tatjana Malek to knot things at 1-1, then clinched the USA victory by winning a tight one over Lisicki on Monday.
Anabel Medina-Garrigues (ESP): Facing an Italian team that had reached the FC final two years running, AMG followed up Nuria Llagostera-Vives' upset of Francesca Schiavone in the opening match by personally wiping out the Italians with wins over both Schiavone and Flavia Pennetta.
Yan Zi/Zheng Jie (CHN): An eligibility rule was misinterpreted by the Chinese federation last year, resulting in the voluntary removal of both Li Na and Zheng Jie from a 1st Round tie that was won 5-0 by Italy. A year later, the "do-over" was a success. But after Li and Peng Shuai had given the team a 2-0 lead, back-to-back singles losses meant that the comeback doubles team of Yan & Zheng needed to defeat Dechy/Razzano to advance to the SF. In a 7-5/7-6 squeaker, disaster was narrowly averted. Whew!

(WORLD GROUP II)
Alona Bondarenko/Kateryna Bondarenko (UKR): Against what appeared to be an undermanned Belgian team, the sisters individually appeared to be in "hangover" mode (probably not literally, though) after their Australian Mixed Doubles title. Both were upset by Yanina Wickmayer as Ukraine fell behind 2-1. But after Kateryna eked out a come-from-behind win over junior Tamaryn Hendler, the sisters combined once again to blow away Maes/Wickmayer to advance to the World Group Playoffs.
Jorgelina Cravero (ARG): With no Paszek, Bammer or Meusburger in action for Austria in singles, Argentina got a far easier ride than one would have expected. Cravero picked up two singles victories.
Akiko Morigami (JPN): The Japanese vet knocked off both Nika Ozegovic and Jelena Kostanic-Tosic to power the team's 4-1 victory.
Nicole Vaidisova (CZE): For the second straight year, the Czechs took out the Slovaks in Fed Cup action. Vaidisova led the way, picking up the pieces with two wins after Petra Cetkovska lost the opening match to Dominika Cibulkova. Then, after Cetkovska lost again to Magdalena Rybarikova, Vaidisova and Kveta Peschke won the deciding doubles match over Cibulkova/Husarova.

(ZONE PLAYOFFS)
=ASIA/OCEANIA=
Iroda Tulyaganova (UZB)

=EUROPE/AFRICA=
Ana Ivanovic (SRB)
Patty Schnyder (SUI)
=AMERICAS=
Catalina Castano (COL)

(FRESH FACES)
Sorana Cirstea (ROU):

After pushing Ana Ivanovic in Melbourne, the 17-year old stunned both Agnieszka Radwanska and Jelena Jankovic in Zone play.
Marina Erakovic (NZL): Her play helped the Kiwis reach the Asia/Oceania Group Playoff (Uzbekistan won 2-1).
Sandy Gumulya (INA): The Indonesian helped down Aussie chances with her 7-6/7-6 win over Oz star Casey Dellacqua.
Sabine Lisicki (GER):

The 18-year old's upset of Davenport was the biggest eye-opener of the weekend.
Monica Niculescu (ROU): For the second year in a row, the Romanians made waves in Zone play. Niculescu, 20, defeated Urszula Radwanska and pushed Ana Ivanovic to 7-5 in the 3rd set.
Arantxa Rus (NED): The Australian Open junior champ knocked off Neuza Silva and Tsvetana Pironkova as the Dutch reached the Europe/Africa playoff (losing to Serbia).
Yanina Wickmayer (BEL): She notched straight sets wins over both Bondarenkos.

(DOWN)
Francesca Schiavone (ITA): After leading Team Italia to a FC title in '06 and a RU in '07, Schiavone's string of success reached its end. Her three-set upset loss to Llagostera-Vives in the opening match set the tone in the 1st Round tie with Spain, and it wasn't one that suited Italy. A second Schiavone loss to Medina-Garrigues made the score 3-0 and clinched the win for Spain.

(ITF PLAYER OF THE WEEK)
Sesil Karatantcheva, BUL
....Sesil is being forced to qualify for ITF events after her two-year ban, but she's not allowing it to trip her up. Instead, she's thriving. After winning the Surprise event earlier, she qualified and claimed the La Quinta $25K last week with a win in the final over Sandra Kloesel. She's now won 16 straight ITF matches. It's going to be interesting to see what happens when she gets into her first WTA tour event.
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[1st Round]
1. (USA/GER) Lisicki d. Davenport
.....6-1/7-5. Davenport's form returned on Monday, but Lisicki's win will not be overlooked as the German's 2008 play continues to surprise.
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2t. (USA/GER) Harkleroad d. Malek
.....6-1/6-3.
(USA/GER) Harkleroad d. Lisicki
.....6-4/7-5.
Harkleroad showed some real mettle in winning matches she absolutely HAD to win, and her rally after Lisicki had a break point for 5-1 in the 2nd set was just the cherry on top of the Monday sundae.
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HM- (CHN/FRA) Yan/Zheng d. Dechy/Razzano
.....7-5/7-6. The push toward Beijing continues, and the Chinese pair is looking more and more like Gold Medal favorites on home court.

[Group II]
1. (CZE/SVK) Vaidisova/Peschke d. Cibulkova/Husarova
.....6-1/2-6/6-4. An edge-of-their-seats moment in the deciding match.
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2t. (UKR/BEL) Wickmayer d. K.Bondarenko
.....7-6/6-1.
(UKR/BEL) Wickmayer d. A.Bondarenko
.....6-3/6-4.
Two years of good Fed Cup results is enough to make you believe that Belgium's WTA future doesn't begin and end with Henin, after all.
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3. (UKR/BEL) K.Bondarenko d. Hendler
.....4-6/6-4/6-1. If K-Bond doesn't rebound to take this match, Belgium's shocking upset of Ukraine would have become a reality.
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HM- (UKR/BEL) Bondarenko/Bondarenko d. Maes/Wickmayer
.....6-2/6-3. But the sisters put an end to talk of such "nonsense."

[Zone Play]
1. (SRB/ROU) Ivanovic/Jankovic d. Cirstea/Niculescu
.....2-6/7-6/7-6. If the Romanians had scraped this match away from the Serbs, the little-country-that-could would have made a quantum leap in that mini-rise I walked about at the start of last season that is now starting to bear some real fruit on the court.
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2t. (ROU/POL) Cirstea d. A.Radwanska
.....6-4/7-5.
(SRB/ROU) Cirstea d. Jankovic
.....6-3/3-6/6-4.
Keep an eye on this one. She reached her first final on tour last season, and now she's winning matches like this against players like these.
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**2008 FED CUP SEMIFINALS**
Russia vs. United States
Spain vs. China

**2008 GROUP I PLAYOFFS**
Argentina
Czech Republic
France
Germany
Israel
Italy
Japan
Ukraine

**2008 GROUP II PLAYOFFS**
Austria
Belgium
Colombia
Croatia
Japan
Serbia
Slovakia
Uzbekistan



PARIS, FRANCE (II-GSI)
2007 FINAL: Petrova def. Safarova
2008 TOP: Chakvetadze/Hantuchova
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FINAL: Dementieva d. Razzano


PATTAYA CITY, THAILAND (IV-HO)
2007 FINAL: Bammer def. Dulko
2008 TOP: A.Radwanska/Dellacqua
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FINAL: A.Radwanska d. Amanmuradova


All for now.

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