Wk.43- Championis Contagiosis?

Maybe, just maybe the reports of the death of Ana Ivanovic's champion's heart were greatly exaggerated.


DIETER NAGEL/AFP/GETTY IMAGES

On Sunday, Ivanovic won her third title of '08 in Linz with a dominating performance in the final against Vera Zvonareva, winning 6-2/6-1. As the WTA season is but two weeks from completion, it's hard not to look at AnaIvo's victory, her first since winning Roland Garros and becoming #1 in June, as a late-year re-affirmation that her camaign's first half exploits weren't some weird dream sequence cooked up to allow her to maintain some sort of entertainment-value parity with fellow Serb Jelena Jankovic (more on her in a moment).

Now, no matter what happens next week in the season-ending championships in Doha, Ivanovic will be able to head into 2009 on an upswing, something which didn't seem in the cards the last few months as she went 5-6 after winning Roland Garros (3-6 after surviving the "Kiss of Life" match at Wimbledon) and lost five consecutive three-set matches starting with her upset by Julie Coin at the U.S. Open. Now, counting her SF run in Zurich only days before heading off to Linz, Ivanovic has won six of her last seven.

Ivanovic didn't handle the triple-whammy she encountered this summer very well at all. Check that, she didn't not handle it "very well" -- let's face it, she was downright atrocious at it. Increased expectations, a thumb injury and that confidence-whipping string of upset losses knocked her from #1 to #5 and made you wonder if we might be witnessing the beginning of something awful (hello, "Wonder Girl II," or maybe "Vaidisova II"... or has that original yet to be green-lighted?).

But scratch all that now.

Hmmm, I wonder if AnaIvo's "comeback" had anything to do with her sitting back and watching Jankovic run off three straight titles and re-claim the #1 ranking (which she'll carry into the offseason, so says the WTA). Might watching her countrywoman handle the pressure so well have made Ivanovic look in the mirror and ask, "If she can do it, why can't I? I beat HER in Paris."

Novak Djokovic's Melbourne success seemed to begat Ivanovic's in Paris, which begat New York Jelena's late-year run, it could be theorized, as each was inspired by the other's accomplishment. Just as with the Russians (but unfortunately wasn't totally the case with the Belgians), the Serbs' individual successes have the ability to spur even greater accomplishments within the whole group as time goes by. If it continues, it'll be a great thing for them, not to mention pretty lucky for us.

Either way, it looks like there's still a chance for a 1-2 Serbian finish in the 2008 WTA rankings if things fall right in Doha. If it doesn't happen... well, then that'll be just another thing for them to shoot for in 2009.

*WEEK 43 CHAMPIONS*

LINZ, AUSTRIA (II-HI)
S: Ana Ivanovic def. Vera Zvonareva 6-2/6-1
D: Srebotnik/Sugiyama d. Black/Huber

KOCKELSCHEUER, LUXEMBOURG (III-HI)
S: Elena Dementieva def. Caroline Wozniacki 2-6/6-4/7-6
D: Cirstea/Erakovic d. Dushevina/Koryttseva


PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Ana Ivanovic/SRB
...it's been a long few months for AnaIvo, but now she's on a bit of a roll with an eighth career singles title in Linz after getting three Top 20 wins over Flavia Pennetta, Agnieszka Radwanska and Vera Zvonareva.
=============================
RISERS: Vera Zvonareva/RUS & Caroline Wozniacki/DEN
...throw out the roughing-up in the Linz final and Zvonareva did enough all week to solidify a year-end Top 10 ranking in her own head (which is probably most important) with wins over Nuria Llagostera-Vives, Alize Cornet and Marion Bartoli (love & 1). Wozniacki lost her first WTA singles final in four tries, but the new #13-ranked player continued her climb up the sport's ladder. Before pushing Elena Dementieva to the edge in a third-set tie-break in the final, C-Woz had a Luxembourg run that included wins over Timea Bacsinszky, Peng Shuai, Anabel Medina-Garrigues and Li Na.
=============================
SURPRISES: Alize Cornet/FRA & Marina Erakovic/NZL
...Cornet breezily moved through the clay season like the wind, but had since hit a bit of a road block on the hard court circuit. She seems to have found a loophole in the indoor season, though, if her Linz wins over Zheng Jie and Maria Kirilenko en route to the QF are any indication. Meanwhile, Erakovic continued to back up her surprising early-season singles success with some doubles hardware as she won the Luxembourg doubles with Sorana Cirstea, her third 2008 tour doubles crown with three different partners.
=============================
VETERANS: Elena Dementieva/RUS & Katarina Srebotnik/Ai Sugiyama, SLO/JPN
...ignore Punch-Sober at your own risk, as prove to once again be the case in Luxembourg. Fresh off her Moscow disappointment, Dementieva grabbed her third '08 title (and 11th in her career) by bageling Amelie Mauresmo in a 2nd set, defeating Sorana Cirstea and outlasting Caroline Wozniacki in 3rd set tie-break in the final. Srebotnik/Sugiyama won't end the season as the #1-ranked doubles team, but they beat the team that will -- Black & Huber -- in the Linz final for their third title as a combo this year, tying them for the most by any team that doesn't include players named Cara or Liezel.
=============================
FRESH FACES: Alexa Glatch/USA & Sorana Cirstea/ROU
...Alexa could get used to this. A week after winning one $50K event, Cali Girl won another in Saguenay with wins over the likes of Aniko Kapros and Alberta Brianti. After that scooter-related injury break set her back about a year or so ago, it looks like she's finally back on course (oh, and pardon all the "Buy Now" stickers on her tennis bag). A few weeks after claiming her first WTA singles title, Cirstea continued to impress. In Luxembourg, she upset Sara Errani and Daniela Hantuchova to reach the singles SF, then won the doubles with Erakovic.
=============================
DOWN: Agnes Szavay/HUN
...well, at least Szavay's Linz 1st Round conqueror was more of a "name player" (Pennetta) than many of those who ushered her out of events throughout this long season.
=============================
ITF PLAYER: Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova/RUS
...look out, here she comes. The Next One won a $100K in Poitiers with an impressive string of victories over Maret Ani, Yaroslava Shvedova, Lucie Safarova and Julie Coin in the final. It's Pavlyuchenkova's third ITF title of the season and makes one wonder how high she might climb in '09. Sure, she's only 17 and ranked #56, but a then 17-year old Wozniacki went from #64 at the end of '07 to her current #13 over the past year. Pavlyuchenkova turns 18 next July, just like C-Woz did this past July.
=============================


1. Linz SF - Ivanovic d. A.Radwanska
...6-2/3-6/7-5. AnaIvo served at 5-3 in the 3rd and nearly blew it again, which would have changed her current;y-optimistic storyline immensely.
=============================
2. Linz Final - Ivanovic d. Zvonareva
...6-2/6-1. Apparently, as it turned out, she may have gotten a large dose of confidence from putting away A-Rad in that semi.
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3. Lux Final - Dementieva d. Wozniacki
...2-6/6-4/7-6. C-Woz is still primed to be a key mover-and-shaker as '09 beckons.
=============================
4. Lux 1st - Medina-Garrigues d. Ruano-Pascual
...6-2/6-1. AMG didn't show much mercy to her doubles partner, did she?
=============================
5. Glasgow $25K Final - Begu d. P.Mayr
..2-6/7-5/7-6. The Romanian grabbed her fourth ITF title of the season, one off the circuit lead.
=============================
6. Tapei $100K Final - Gajdosova d. Dentoni
...4-6/6-4/6-1. The Almost-Aussie gets her biggest title to date.
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7. Augusta $25K Final - S.Gumulya d. Luzhanska
...6-0/7-6. Sandy, one of the Indonesian Gumulya sisters, won in Georgia with wins over Americans Coco Vandeweghe and Audra Cohen.
=============================
8. Linz Doubles Final - Srebotnik/Sugiyama d. Black/Huber
...6-4/7-5. And Cara & Liezel leave the "Ms. Backspin" door slightly ajar for Serena in Doha.
=============================
9. Lux 1st - Benesova d. Robson 1-6/6-2/6-3; Quebec City Q1 - Kapros d. Larcher de Brito 6-2/6-2
...even phenoms have rough outings sometimes. Still, Robson's taking Benesova to three sets isn't bad at all.
=============================
10. Lux QF - Dementieva d. Mauresmo
...6-4/6-0. Though quite symbolic, a love set isn't exactly the send-off to her season that Amelie was hoping for.
=============================
HM - Pretoria $10K - Swanepoel d. Lobbinger
...7-5/3-6/6-2. Timing isn't everything. Within days of the Regional Honors being posted, South Africa finally found a young champion in 17-year old Pretoria native Swanepoel in her hometown event.
=============================


**2008 WEEKS AT #1**
[52 weeks, as of week of Dec. 29]
19...Justine Henin, BEL
14...JELENA JANKOVIC, SRB
12...Ana Ivanovic, SRB
4...Serena Williams, USA
3...Maria Sharapova, RUS

**RUSSIANS - 2008 SINGLES TITLES**
4...Dinara Safina
3...ELENA DEMENTIEVA
3...Maria Sharapova
3...Maria Kirilenko
2...Vera Zvonareva
1...Nadia Petrova
1...Anna Chakvetadze

**MULTIPLE 4Q WTA FINALS**
3...Jelena Jankovic (3-0)
3...VERA ZVONAREVA (1-2)
2...CAROLINE WOZNIACKI (1-1)
2...Svetlana Kuznetsova (0-2)

**2008 WTA SF**
11...Jelena Jankovic (5-5 +W)
11...ELENA DEMENTIEVA (5-6)
10...VERA ZVONAREVA (7-3)
9...Dinara Safina (7-2)
7...Svetlana Kuznetsova (5-2)
7...ANA IVANOVIC (4-3)

**2008 SEMIFINALISTS BY NATION**
56...RUSSIA
20...France
19...United States
18...SERBIA
12...China

**2008 DOUBLES TITLES - TEAMS**
9...Cara Black/Liezel Huber
3...A.Medina-Garrigues/V.Ruano-Pascual
3...KATARINA SREBOTNIK/AI SUGIYAMA
3...Chan Yung-Jan/Chuang Chia-Jung
2...Alona Bondarenko/Kateryna Bondarenko
2...Serena Williams/Venus Williams





QUEBEC CITY, QUE CANADA (III-Hard Indoor)
07 FINAL: Davenport d. Vakulenko
08 TOP: Pennetta/Bammer
=============================
=QF=
Petrova d. Lisicki
Groenefeld d. Dubois
Craybas d. Wozniak
Bammer d. Mattek
=SF=
Petrova d. Groenefeld
Bammer d. Craybas
=FINAL=
Petrova d. Bammer

...maybe the third time (in a row will be the charm for the "Petrova to win" pick? ALG is an intriguing option, but she didn't show very well against Mauresmo last week. Hmmm, is it possible for there to be TWO Canadians in the semifinals? Man, seeing that "Davenport d. Vakulenko" line for the '07 final is sort of sad now (mostly for what happened to Vakulenko this season, since she seemed to so be on the cusp of something bigger at this time a year ago).


=QF=
Petrova def Ditty
Groenefeld def Tanasugarn
Wozniak def Arvidsson
Mattek def Puchkova
=SF=
Petrova def Groenefeld
Mattek def Wozniak
=FINAL=
Petrova def Mattek


LATER THIS WEEK: 2008 Backspin Awards

All for now.



2008 SEASON REVIEW EDITIONS OF WTA BACKSPIN:
...Revolving Doors - WTA '09 Guide Preview
...Intriguing Answers, Pt.1
...Intriguing Answers, Pt.2
...The Best of Jankovic 2008
...Regional Honors
...Backspin Awards (this week)
...Ms. Backspin (coming soon)
...WTA Yearbook (coming soon)

Read more...

2008 Regional Honors

The 2008 Backspin Awards are still a week away, so consider this something of a mini-preview... region by region.

==NORTH AMERICA==
PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Serena Williams, USA
POY (RUNNER-UP): Venus Williams, USA

RISER: Bethanie Mattek, USA
SURPRISE: Aleksandra Wozniak, CAN
VETERAN: Venus Williams, USA
FRESH FACE: Coco Vandeweghe, USA
COMEBACK: Jamea Jackson, USA
DOWN: Meghann Shaughnessy, USA
ITF PLAYER: Julie Ditty, USA
UNDERRATED: Jill Craybas, USA
DOUBLES: Liezel Huber, USA

==SOUTH AMERICA==

PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Gisela Dulko, ARG
POY (RUNNER-UP): Maria-Emilia Salerni, ARG
RISER: Betina Jozami, ARG
SURPRISE: Gabriela Paz, VEN
VETERAN: Milagros Sequera, VEN
FRESH FACE: Mariana Duque-Marino, COL
COMEBACK: Rossana de los Rios, PAR
DOWN: Catalina Castano, COL
ITF PLAYER: Veronica Spiegel, ARG
UNDERRATED: Jorgelina Cravero, ARG
DOUBLES: Betina Jozami, ARG

==ASIA/PACIFIC==
PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Zheng Jie, CHN
POY (RUNNER-UP): Chan Yung-Jan/Chuang Chia-Jung, TPE
RISER: Li Na, CHN

SURPRISE: Marina Erakovic, NZL
VETERAN: Rennae Stubbs, AUS
FRESH FACE: Casey Dellacqua, AUS
COMEBACK: Tamarine Tanasugarn, THA
DOWN: Sania Mirza, IND
ITF PLAYER: Kimiko Date-Krumm, JPN
UNDERRATED: Hsieh Su-Wei, TPE
DOUBLES: Rennae Stubbs, AUS

==AFRICA/MIDDLE EAST==

PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Cara Black, ZIM
POY (RUNNER-UP): Shahar Peer, ISR
RISER: Chanelle Scheepers, RSA
SURPRISE: Marinne Giraud, MRI
VETERAN: Tzipora Obziler, ISR
FRESH FACE: Julia Glushko, ISR
COMEBACK: Cara Black, ZIM (singles)
DOWN: Shahar Peer, ISR
ITF PLAYER: Natalie Grandin, RSA
UNDERRATED: Kelly Anderson, RSA (doubles)
DOUBLES: Cara Black, ZIM

==RUSSIA==
PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Dinara Safina
POY (RUNNER-UP): Maria Sharapova
RISER: Vera Zvonareva
SURPRISE: Alla Kudryavtseva
VETERAN: Elena Dementieva

FRESH FACE: Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova
COMEBACK: Elena Bovina
DOWN: Svetlana Kuznetsova
ITF PLAYER: Elena Kulikova
UNDERRATED: Vera Dushevina
DOUBLES: Nadia Petrova

==REST OF EUROPE==
PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Jelena Jankovic, SRB
POY (RUNNER-UP): Ana Ivanovic, SRB
RISER: Agnieszka Radwanska, POL
SURPRISE: Petra Kvitova, CZE
VETERAN: Nuria Llagostera-Vives, ESP
FRESH FACE: Caroline Wozniacki, DEN

COMEBACK: Flavia Pennetta, ITA
DOWN: Nicole Vaidisova, CZE
ITF PLAYER: Masa Zec-Peskiric, SLO
UNDERRATED: Katarina Srebotnik, SLO
DOUBLES: Anabel Medina-Garrigues/Virginia Ruano-Pascual, ESP





Looking to "buy stock" in a few players for 2009? Getting cold feet and thinking you should "sell" your holdings in one of those past investments? Here are a few WTA "market tips"... take them to heart at your own peril.

=BUY=
NORTH AMERICA: Alexa Glatch & Kristie Haerim Ahn, USA
...or Asia Muhammad and Gail Brodsky. Or Madison Brengle and Melanie Oudin. Actually, getting in on the ground floor on any number of the new batch of young Americans might be a wise investment.

SOUTH AMERICA: Mariana Duque-Marino, COL
...she's the only on-the-rise South American ranked in the Top 100.

ASIA/PACIFIC: Noppawan Lertcheewakarn, THA
...as Tamarine Tanasugarn eases into the latter stage of her career, a new Thai heroine is waiting in the wings.

AFRICA/MIDDLE EAST: Julia Glushko, ISR
...umm, not that there are really any other possibilities scrambling to be noticed at the moment.

RUSSIA: Ekaterina Makarova
...the most anonymous Russian ranked in the Top 50.

REST OF EUROPE: Anna-Lena Groenefeld, RUS
...her mind is clear (again). Her body is fit (again). Her serve is on (again). Now, where were we a few seasons back?

=SELL=
NORTH AMERICA: Ashley Harkleroad & Lindsay Davenport, USA
...life is intruding. Well, life and Harkleroad's series of surprising choices. At any rate, they'll be able to set up a play date for their kids a little ways down the line.

SOUTH AMERICA: anyone not named Gisela or Mariana (and maybe Gabriela)
...there are only three South Americans in the singles Top 100, and one in the doubles Top 100.

ASIA/PACIFIC: Rennae Stubbs, AUS
...TV is calling, though she might be able to balance the two for a little while longer.

AFRICA/MIDDLE EAST: Tzipora Obziler, ISR
...I mean, how much longer can a 35-year old late bloomer continue to reach new career heights?

RUSSIA: Olga Puchkova
...all the self-hype might have been just that.

REST OF EUROPE: Amelie Mauresmo, FRA
...even if Amelie manages to have a resurgent '09, her best tennis is likely in her rear-view mirror.

=HAVE A LITTLE FAITH IN THE INVESTMENT=
NORTH AMERICA: Carly & Chelsey Gullickson, USA
...the Naturals emerged a bit in '08. Teen Chelsey won her first challenger title, while older sis Carly won one, too, and reached a career-high rank in singles. They teamed in doubles to reach a challenger final, an event in which they very nearly met in the singles final, as well.

SOUTH AMERICA: Gisela Dulko, ARG
...the only South American ranked in the Top 100 in both singles and doubles, though she's never lived up to her early promise.

ASIA/PACIFIC: Sania Mirza, IND & Jelena Dokic, AUS
...very similar games. Very bright stars that burned white hot for a short time, but have seemingly been lost in the darkness of space for both different and quite similar reasons. But Dokic won three challengers in '08, while Mirza is on the way back with a new coach.

AFRICA/MIDDLE EAST: Shahar Peer, ISR
...the Corporal will need to rededicate herself in '09. It'll be hard to believe if she doesn't do just that.

RUSSIA: Anna Chakvetadze
...no player needs a quiet offseason to collect herself more.

REST OF EUROPE: Nicole Vaidisova, CZE
...remember, she was one match away from a pair of grand slam finals in 2006-07. One bad season isn't enough the throw the bonus baby out with the bath water. Not yet, anyway.


All for now.



2008 SEASON REVIEW EDITIONS OF WTA BACKSPIN:
...Revolving Doors - WTA '09 Guide Preview
...Intriguing Answers, Pt.1
...Intriguing Answers, Pt.2
...The Best of Jankovic 2008
...Regional Honors
...Backspin Awards (next week)
...Ms. Backspin (coming soon)
...WTA Yearbook (coming soon)

Read more...

Wk.42- Two Against One?

"Ms. Backspin" may have been close to wrapped up in Zurich over the weekend. But Jelena, Dinara, Serena, Venus and Ana had nothing to do with it.

World #2 Dinara Safina and #3 Serena Williams didn't even play last week. Roland Garros champ Ana Ivanovic dropped out of action in the Zurich semifinals, after her first encouraging week since she won in Paris. #1 Jelena Jankovic saved the world from implosion by losing in the 2nd Round, while Wimbledon champ Venus Williams won the title... but it was only her second on the season, hardly enough to qualify for any legit player-of-the-year consideration.

No, it was the OTHER champions at the final Zurich Open who solidified their candidacy, as world co-#1's Cara Black and Liezel Huber, after falling a match short last week in Moscow, took the doubles title to add another layer to their domination of the discipline in 2008. It's Black's tenth doubles title (nine with Huber, plus a Mixed title at the U.S. Open, where she swept both competitions) of the season, and Huber's ninth. Both numbers are the most by any players on either the men's or women's tours this year. The next closest? Rafael Nadal, with eight singles titles (so far).

Oh, the two haven't wrapped up anything yet. I mean, other than the world year-end #1 ranking, that is. Not that that was in question for quite some time, considering they lead #3 Katarina Srebotnik by a "mere" 1845 points and have compiled a 62-13 record this season.

I've always "sort of" been against crowning a doubles team as Player(s) of the Year, but the singles competition has been so muddled in '08 that it's rarely been more appropriate. The world #1 didn't win a slam, and neither did #2. Three of the four slam winners pretty much are ruled out as possible POY either because of inconsistency. lack of overall results or an injury-related slump/absence. Only Serena would seem a real contender to head off Black/Huber at the pass with a SEC title in Doha next month to grab "Ms. Backspin."

But, come on, we're talking about Serena. As far we know, she might end up being too injured to even make a real go of it there.

So, in honor of the former domination by the "late, lamented" La Petit Taureau, it would seem a proper "tribute" might be to honor the most dominant women in the sport as the true "Ms. Backspins" for this truly odd season. Serena still has a shot... but, with three weeks to go, it looks like it's two against one.

Of course, Serena's beaten longer odds than that before, hasn't she?

*WEEK 42 CHAMPIONS*

ZURICH SWITZERLAND (II-HI)
S: Venus Williams def. Flavia Pennetta 7-6/6-2
D: Black/Huber d. Groenefeld/Schnyder


PLAYERS OF THE WEEK: Cara Black/Liezel Huber, ZIM/USA

...the yellow brick road is all mapped out for the first shared "Ms. Backspin" award to become a reality. The Emerald City... err, I mean Doha awaits.
=============================
RISERS: Flavia Pennetta/ITA & Anabel-Medina-Garrigues, ESP
...Pennetta and AMG are friends, and it was too bad for them that they had to face each other in the Zurich semifinals. But after wins over Li Na, Vera Zvonareva and Victoria Azarenka, Medina-Garrigues surely had a successful week anyway. As for Pennetta. Well, she seems to be just getting started four months away from her 27th birthday. Pennetta's goal of becoming the first Italian woman in the Top 10 continued to keep pace with possibility and opportunity in Zurich, even if she didn't manage to get a third '08 win over Venus Williams in the final in just the second Tier II final of her career. Always under the radar throughout her career, Pennetta's two-season long comeback from a wrist injury and personal/emotional conflict (hey, who needs Moya anyway?) has managed to hit all sorts of highs this season. She reached her first Tier II-or-better final in L.A., her first slam QF at the U.S. Open and a new career-high of #14 in today's new rankings. Since going 23-23 to start the '07 season, she's gone 48-23 since... and she's been doing it in recent weeks while battling plantar fasciitis in her foot. She probably won't get much attention heading into '09, but she'll surely be someone that quite a few Top 10ers are going to be looking out for over their shoulders.
=============================
SURPRISES: Petra Kvitova/EST & Anna-Lena Groenefeld/Patty Schnyder, GER/SUI
...Kvitova has had quite a busy past week. First, she qualified in Zurich, getting wins over Tsvetana Pironkova and Groenefeld, then reached the main draw QF with victories over Patty Schnyder and Sofia Arvidsson. After that, she entered Linz qualifying and managed to make it through that today with a final round defeat of Jill Craybas. Meanwhile, two of Kvitova's fallen foes, Groenefeld and Schnyder, rode their Zurich doubles wild card all the way to the final, upsetting the likes of Peschke/Stubbs, Yan/Zheng and Srebotnik/Sugiyama along the way. Black/Huber was just too steep a mountain to conquer, though. But, can you blame them? One more win and they would have completed the most remarkable single-event doubles run of the season.
=============================
VETERANS: Venus Williams/USA & Julie Ditty/USA

AP Photo/KEYSTONE/Alessandro Della Bella
...Venus, at least on some level, finally made her '08 season about something other than Wimbledon and the Olympics, winning her second singles title of the season in Zurich with wins over Alona Bondarenko, Francesca Schiavone, Ana Ivanovic and Pennetta. Appealing to "the Jelena crowd," she hugged her dad (and her dog) after claiming the title. Meanwhile, a few months before she turns 30, American Julie Ditty continued to work her own brand of magic in the challengers. In a $50K in Lawrenceville, Georgia she reached the singles final (losing to Shenay Perry) and won the doubles crown with Carly Gullickson. It's Ditty's 34th career USTA circuit singles or doubles title, extending her all-time record.
=============================
FRESH FACES: Ana Bogdan/ROU & Alexa Glatch/USA
...ah, the first post-slam "Bogdan Watch" has arrived. Okay, sure, technically I'm celebrating this junior accomplishment by Ana Bodgan a week late, but the rise of the Romanians is a nice thing to report no matter the promptness (or lack thereof). Bogdan grabbed her first Grade A win as a junior at the Osaka Mayor's Cup a week ago, defeating '07 champ Kurumi Nara in the final and losing just a single set all tournament. In the Toronto $50K, Alexa Glatch continued the '08 surge of the young Americans, taking the title with a win in the decider over Canadian Stephanie Dubois.
=============================
DOWN: Daniela Hantuchova/SVK & Agnes Szavay/HUN
...it was the unfortunate "usual" for both these two last week in Zurich. Hantuchova was ousted in the 1st Round by Maria Kirilenko, dropping her to 14-17 since reaching the Australian Open SF in January. Szavay fell in her Zurich 1st Round match to Marion Bartoli, something which she's become irritatingly accustomed to this season. Of her twenty-four tournaments, she's reached one final, one SF and four additional QF. But she's also gone one-match-and-out eleven times, and didn't make it past the 2nd Round sixteen times. Ouch. Hantuchova won her 1st Round match in Luxembourg over Pauline Parmentier today, while Szavay is set to face Flavia Pennetta in Linz.
=============================
ITF PLAYER: Mara Santangelo/ITA
...the Italian won the $100K in Ortisei, her second $100K title in 2008. She defeated the likes Akgul Amanmuradova, Andrea Petkovic, Romina Oprandi, Nathalie Dechy and Kristina Barrois along the way.
=============================


1. Zurich 2nd - Pennetta d. Jankovic
...5-7/6-3/6-3. In Stuttgart, Pennetta led 3-1 in both sets in a straight sets loss to Jankovic. In Zurich, she had better luck. Back in February, after having played nearly every week of the season, Jankovic said, "For some reason, I feel tired." After this loss, she said, "I didn't have any gas left in the tank," after winning twelve straight matches and three consecutive titles. I guess that's progress, right?
=============================
2. Zurich SF - V.Williams d. Ivanovic
...4-6/6-3/6-4. After reaching her first SF since winning Roland Garros after getting wins over Marion Bartoli and Petra Kvitova, one wonders if AnaIvo is finally healthier and feeling more confident... or was inspired, not to mention made sick and tired, by watching Jankovic lift so many trophies?
=============================
3. Zurich Final - V.Williams d. Pennetta
...7-6/6-2. Well, when was the last time a player not named Serena defeated Venus four times in a row anyway?
=============================
4. Zurich 2nd - Azarenka d. Niculescu
...6-0/6-0. Maybe Niculescu asked her doubles partner Sorana Cirstea about mentally coming back from double bagel losses? Of course, before this the Romanian had had a pretty good week, getting wins over Kateryna Bondarenko, Anna Chakvetadze and Cirstea herself.
=============================
5. Zurich 1st - A.Bondarenko d. Cornet
...1-6/6-3/7-6. A-Bond saved five match points.
=============================
6. Zurich 1st - Azarenka d. Mauresmo
...6-2/6-1. Mauresmo has lost in the 1st Round in three of her last four tournaments.
=============================
7. Luxembourg Q1 - Vedy d. Karatantcheva
...7-5/3-6/6-4. Wonder which has felt longer -- Sesil's two years out or this first season back?
=============================
8. Zurich 2nd - V.Williams d. A.Bondarenko
...6-3/6-4. The Williams sisters have combined to go 8-0 against the Bondarenkos and Radwanskas in 2008.
=============================
9. St.Louis $10K Final - Lindsey Hardenbergh d. Anda Perianu

...7-5/7-6. The 18-year old American, and University of Virginia star, made her USTA circuit debut in St.Louis. All she did was make it through qualifying, upset #1-seed Allie Will in the 1st Round and then knock off #3-seed Perianu in the final to make her first pro event surely one to remember
=============================


**2008 WEEKS AT #1**
[SINGLES]
19...Justine Henin, BEL
12...Ana Ivanovic, SRB
4...JELENA JANKOVIC, SRB
4...Serena Williams, USA
3...Maria Sharapova, RUS
[DOUBLES]
42...Cara Black/Liezel Huber, ZIM/USA (co-#1's)

**SINGLES TITLES - 2007/08**
12...Justine Henin (10/2)
8...Jelena Jankovic (4/4)
6...Serena Williams (2/4)
5...Dinara Safina (1/4)
5...Ana Ivanovic (3/2)
5...VENUS WILLIAMS (3/2)
5...Anna Chakvetadze (4/1)

**2008 WTA FINALS**
7...Dinara Safina (4-3)
6...Jelena Jankovic (4-2)
6...Vera Zvonareva (2-3 +L)
5...Serena Williams (4-1)
5...Svetlana Kuznetsova (0-5)
4...FLAVIA PENNETTA (2-2)
4...Elena Dementieva (2-2)

**UNDEFEATED IN FINALS**
3-0...Maria Sharapova
3-0...Agnieszka Radwanska
3-0...Caroline Wozniacki
3-0...Maria Kirilenko
2-0...VENUS WILLIAMS
2-0...Sara Errani
2-0...Lindsay Davenport
2-0...Justine Henin

**2008 TITLES - DOUBLES TEAMS**
9...CARA BLACK/LIEZEL HUBER, ZIM/USA
3...A.Medina-Garrigues/V.Ruano-Pascual, ESP/ESP
3...Chan Yung-Jan/Chuang Chia-Jung, TPE/TPE

**CONSECUTIVE SEASONS w/ MULTIPLE TITLES**
8...Justine Henin, 2001-08
3...Elena Dementieva, 2006-08
2...Jelena Jankovic, 2007-08
2...Serena Williams, 2007-08
2...Ana Ivanovic, 2007-08
2...VENUS WILLIAMS, 2007-08
2...Lindsay Davenport, 2007-08
--
ALSO: Anna Chakvetadze, 2006-07

**2008 FINALS - BY NATION**
34...Russia (16 champions)
10...UNITED STATES (8)
9...Serbia (6)
7...ITALY (4)
7...France (2)





LINZ, AUSTRIA (II-Hard Indoor)
07 FINAL: Hantuchova d. Schnyder
08 TOP: Ivanovic/Zvonareva
=============================
=SF=
Petrova d. Cibulkova
Schnyder d. Zvonareva
=FINAL=
Petrova d. Schnyder

...well, after the worst picks in the history of picks last week for Zurich (my semifinalists went a combined 0-4), I couldn't do any worse this time around, right? We'll see, since I'm picking the exact same final (and three of the four same semifinalists).


KOCKELSCHEUER, LUXEMBOURG (III-Hard Indoor)
07 FINAL: Ivanovic d. Hantuchova
08 TOP: Dementieva/Chakvetadze
=============================
=SF=
Dementieva d. Errani
Wozniacki d. Li
=FINAL=
Dementieva d. Wozniacki

...Wozniacki was my other ill-chosen Zurich semifinalist. (Who says I'm stubborn?)


LATER THIS WEEK: the elongated season review continues with the "2008 Regional Honors"

All for now.



2008 SEASON REVIEW EDITIONS OF WTA BACKSPIN:
...Revolving Doors - WTA '09 Guide Preview
...Intriguing Answers, Pt.1
...Intriguing Answers, Pt.2
...The Best of Jankovic 2008
...Regional Honors(this week)
...Backspin Awards (coming soon)
...Ms. Backspin (coming soon)
...WTA Yearbook (coming soon)

Read more...

BACKSPIN SPECIAL: The Best of Jankovic (2008)

What a rollercoaster ride it's been. A season that began with Jelena Jankovic dramatically declaring she was "risking her career" to play for Serbia in an EXHIBITION looks like it will end with Queen Chaos as the #1-ranked player in the world.

Go figure.



With the 2008 season nearly complete, I thought it'd be fitting to honor the "most entertaining" player on tour with a Special Edition of Backspin that highlights all the wildly divergent opinions, eye-rolling moments and, of course, nicknames that she's inspired over the past year. After Justine Henin retired in the spring, for a few moments I wondered whether there would ever be another out there who could replace her as the lead actress/player/character on which Backspin's ongoing tennis play could pivot, for both good and bad.

Enter La Petit Taureau's seemingly star-crossed understudy.

Queen Chaos. The Divine Miss J. The Jankobot-5200. With her on the scene, there's always SOMETHING to talk about... and who loves the thrill of the spotlight more than her? In retrospect, Jankovic was the natural court jesteress/star-in-waiting of the production.

So, here she is, in a flurry of links. The walking, talking Serbian question mark/exclamation point/asterisk/medical oddity/smiley face who also doubles as a valuable asset to the WTA tour, no matter how many people prefer to ignore that fact rather than focus on the entertainment value of a professional sport where the most fascinating, theatrical, exasperating irritating, humorous, infuriating, wonderful, horrible and fun player ALSO manages to sit atop its hierarchical pyramid... even if she isn't yet surrounded by any of the same silver-plated prizes that a few of her fellow competitors possess (something of which she's constantly reminded).

So, ride the rollercoaster once again... before it threatens to fly off the tracks in the coming weeks, months and seasons.



=J.J., version 1.0=
Intriguing Outlook: The Rest of Europe
Week 1: Act 1, Scene 1 (2008)
Australian Open, Day 1: Jelena Does a 360 Spin

=The post-Henin Era: Chapter 1=
Week 20: Non Sequitur Jubilee
Roland Garros Preview: LPT+1 = OMFG... JJ?
Roland Garros, Day 8: The Styles Make the Serbs
Roland Garros, Day 12: AnaIvo By a Nose
Wimbledon, Day 6: Here We Go Again?
Week30: Somewhat Broken, Occasionally Bowed and still not #1
Week 32: Citius, Altius, Jankovicius

=New York Jelena=
U.S. Open, Day 1: Waiting for Godot... err, I mean Jelena
U.S. Open, Day 1.5: Raw Drama
U.S. Open, Day 3: Jankovician to the Core
U.S. Open, Day 5: Serving it Out?
U.S. Open, Day 7: J.J. or A.I.?
U.S. Open, Day 9: Horseshoes, Hand Grenades and Jelena
U.S. Open, Day 12: Calm in the Face of Chaos
U.S. Open Final: Destiny's Child

=The Professional=
Week 38: The Beat Goes on... and Jelena is still #2
Week 39: Snezana's Daughter Can Get There From Here
Week 40: A New Calm Amid the Chaos
Week 41: The Jelena Zone


And, techically, her season's not offically over yet. Look out Doha, she might have one more trippy story left to spin.


All for now.

Read more...

2008 I.A.'s, Pt.2 (Questions & More)

No real in-depth analysis here. Just a simple yah or nay (with a few exceptions) on all those pre-season predictions from myself and Tennisrulz Head Honcho Pierre Cantin. plus a quick look at the Top 10 most intriguing players to watch in 2009 (with about two months left in 2008, at least... by January, who knows?).




NORTH AMERICA: Will the NextGen ever arrive? Finally, it looks like the American NextGen's might be here. Coco Vandeweghe, one of many U.S. teens demanding to be noticed in 2008, won the Open Girls title, and four of the final eight (and half the semifinalists) were young Americans. Even Canada is getting into the act, as 20-year old Aleksandra Wozniak's title in Stanford made her the first Canadian singles champ on tour in twenty years.

ASIA/PACIFIC: Can Australia import a women's tennis champion? Well, almost. While Alicia Molik retired, Jelena Dokic managed to keep her head above water on the ITF circuit and Samantha Stosur took half the year to begin her comeback from health problems, the soon-to-represent-Australia Jarmila Gajdosova continued to make progress, recently advancing to her first tour SF in Tokyo. Meanwhile, home-grown Casey Dellacqua was the most important Aussie on tour in 2008, causing a stir at multiple grand slam events with upsets of seeded players.

AFRICA/MIDDLE EAST: Is 2008 the year Shahar Peer becomes a star? Ummm, nope. Boy, I certainly didn't see this one coming. Rather than rise into the Top 10, Peer fell from #17 to nearly out of the Top 40.

SOUTH AMERICA: Where have all the Gaby's gone? There was at least a hint of an Argentine player making a little headway in '08, as Maria-Emilia Salerni reached her first career tour final in Bogota. Gisela Dulko won her third career title in Fes, but her results (under .500 for the season) were inconsistent, as usual.

RUSSIA: Can Sharapova be super again? Well, she WAS for a while. Sharapova went on an eighteen-match winning streak early in the season and won the Australian Open (where she ended Justine Henin's 32-match winning streak and beat both Serbs in consecutive rounds. She inherited Henin's #1 ranking when the Belgian retired, but shoulder problems (and a medical misdiagnosis of the malady) prematurely ended her season before the Olympics.

THE REST OF EUROPE: Are the Serbs destined to shine, or disappoint? Well, BOTH. Both became #1. Ana Ivanovic won her first slam at Roland Garros, then promptly saw her results fall off the table under the scrutiny of the #1-player magnifying glass. Jelena Jankovic reached her first slam final in New York, and won three straight tournaments in recent weeks to almost wrap up the year-end #1. But AnaIvo needs to rebound in '09, while Jankovic needs to win a slam title to validate her ranking in the eyes of much of the public.

2008 MOST INTRIGUING QUESTION: Is "The Valkyrie" (Agnes Szavay) about to rise? Call is a Szophomore Szlump? Just when Szavay looked ready to take the next step, she stumbled in her first full season on tour with expectations hanging over her head. Hopefully, we won't be talking about a Vaidisova-like tease a year from now.



*HOW SMART WE WERE/HOW DUMB WE WERE**:


=SMART=
In pre-season predictions, had Maria Sharapova winning the Australian, Venus Williams taking Wimbledon and Serena claiming the U.S. Open. (Of course, Henin was the choice at RG.)
Said a Williams would win Wimbledon
=============================
Said Marion Bartoli, Tatiana Golovin & Amelie Mauresmo -- the highest-ranked Pastries at the start of 2008 -- would combine for no more than a single WTA singles title. So far, they've won zero.
=============================
Said both Kataryna Bondarenko and Sorana Cirstea would win their first tour singles titles, and that K-Bond, Dominika Cibulkova, Alize Cornet, Sara Errani, Karin Knapp, Maria-Emilia Salerni and Caroline Wozniacki would all appear in their first tour singles finals.
=============================
Said Novak Djokovic would win his first slam singles crown in 2008.
=============================
Had Venus Williams, Maria Sharapova, Ana Ivanovic, Svetlana Kuznetsova and Jelena Jankovic in 2008 pre-season Top 6. Currently, they're all ranked in the Top 9.
=============================

=DUMB=
Didn't have Serena Williams, Dinara Safina, Elena Dementieva, Vera Zvonareva or Agnieszka Radwanksa in pre-season Top 10. They're all there now.
=============================
Had Agnes Szavay, Nicole Vaidisova, Shahar Peer and Lindsay Davenport in pre-season Top 10.
=============================
Said a healthy Davenport would lead the U.S. to a Fed Cup title. As it turned out, she didn't stay healthy and the "B-team" lost in the FC semifinals.
=============================
Said 17-year old Tamira Paszek would be the youngest player ranked in the year-end Top 100. #62 Paszek is the second-youngest. Current #67 Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, also 17, is younger by about seven months. 15-year old Michelle Larcher de Brito is #120.
=============================
Said the trio of sisters Williams, Bondarenko and Radwanska would include five different tour singles champions. Four have won titles in 2008... but there still might be time for either Alona or U-Rad to turn this into a "smart" prediction.
=============================

=TO BE DETERMINED, BUT...=
Began the year stating the belief that Jelena Jankovic would never win a grand slam title in her career. Now, the chances of picking her to win one in the first month of 2009 look pretty good.
=============================



=SMART=
In pre-season predictions, had Maria Sharapova winning the Australian Open.
=============================
Said Russia would win a fourth Fed Cup title in the last five years.
=============================
Said Andy Murray would rise to the #4 slot in men's tennis behind the Big 3 of Federer, Nadal and Djokovic.
=============================
Said the trio of sisters Williams, Bondarenko and Radwanska would include exactly four different singles champions. So far, so good.
=============================
Had Maria Sharapova, Svetlana Kuznetsova, Serena Williams, Ana Ivanovic and Jelena Jankovic in pre-season Top 10.
=============================

=DUMB=
In pre-season predictions, had Maria Sharapova winning Wimbledon and Ana Ivanovic taking the U.S. Open.
=============================
Had Jelena Jankovic at #10 in pre-season Top 10.
=============================
Had Lindsay Davenport #3, as well as Nicole Vaidisova, Anna Chakvetadze and Amelie Mauresmo in pre-season Top 10.
=============================
Didn't have Dinara Safina, Elena Dementieva, Vera Zvonareva, Agnieszka Radwanska or Venus Williams in pre-season Top 10.
=============================
Said Urszula Radwanska would be the youngest player ranked in the Top 100. She's the third-youngest, one day older than Paszek, and is currently #137.
=============================

=TO BE DETERMINED=
Agreed that Jankovic would never win a slam in her career. We'll soon find out if he's changed his opinion, as well.
=============================

In all, we both had sixteen of the current Top 20 listed as being under consideration for our pre-season Top 10's (including a "Second 10" plus additional "Extras"). The four Top 20ers neither of us had in the mix were Alize Cornet, Dominika Cibulkova, Flavia Pennetta and Caroline Wozniacki.



Hey, it's never too early to look ahead to next year. Two and a half months from the kickoff of the 2009 season, the progress of which ten players would seem to be the most intriguing? Well...


Jelena Jankovic: The craziest grand slam quest ever officially commences in Melbourne.
=============================
Michelle Larcher de Brito: she's only 15, but so far nothing hints that the hype doesn't match the reality.
=============================
Dominika Cibulkova: Without Henin around, she has the best small-in-stature, big win ratio in the women's game.
=============================
Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova: The Next One is coming.
=============================
Carla Suarez-Navarro: With Justine Henin retired, any young athletic player with a one-handed backhand is worth keeping an eye on.
=============================
Anna-Lena Groenefeld: Back for a full season, with her serve on her side.
=============================
Caroline Wozniacki: She learned to win mid-level tournaments in 2008 and reached the Top 20. We'll see what she does with her learned skill in 2009.
=============================
Agnes Szavay: Hey, I'm not going to just abandon her.
=============================
Laura Robson: What next? I mean, besides a heap of great new quotes for the Robson Rolodex.
=============================
Ana Ivanovic & Nicole Vaidisova: Will AnaIvo be the next Nicole Vaidisova, or vice versa? At least there are no questions about whether or not Ivanovic wants it.
=============================


I know, I know. That's more than ten. But after a season which looks like it's going to end with Jelena Jankovic as the year-end #1, who says everything has to be tied up with a nice red bow?

Hmmm, it WOULD match Jankovic's new car, though, now wouldn't it?

All for now.



2008 SEASON REVIEW EDITIONS OF WTA BACKSPIN:
...Revolving Doors - WTA '09 Guide Preview
...Intriguing Answers, Pt.1 (The Top 20)
...Intriguing Answers, Pt.2 (Questions & more)
...Regional Honors (coming soon)
...Backspin Awards (coming soon)
...Ms. Backspin (coming soon)
...WTA Yearbook (coming soon)

Read more...