MY-ami or YOUR-ami? That is the question.
She's baaaaaaack!!!!!
(No, not Kim Clijsters -- not yet, anyway. I mean Serena, of course.)
While the expected "official" announcement in Belgium that Clijsters will return to the WTA tour sometime in 2009 should occur shortly, the top ON-court story this week will feature the return to action of world #1 and defending Miami champion Serena Williams. She could have lost her top ranking last week, but will begin play in Florida still sitting atop the women's tennis hierarchy thanks to Dinara Safina's inability to seize the moment in Indian Wells and join brother Marat as a #1-ranked player.
Take Two.
As for Clijsters' return, it's both a surprise and a shock. Back when she retired a couple of years ago, most seemed to figure that she'd stay away and settle into family life. But maybe the passing of her father, who lived to see the birth of his granddaughter Jada, and Lindsay Davenport's immediate post-pregnancy success changed all that. While Cljisters claimed it was her worn body that precipitated her departure, her father's declining health was likely just as big, if not a bigger, factor. As for Davenport's "role," well, she showed that being a working mom on the WTA tour could be pulled off not only logistically, but in record time. Over the last few weeks and months, the chances of Clijsters' return have gone from unlikely to pretty much expected... especially after Davenport let slip last week that she'd received an email from Clijsters asking about traveling with a child on tour.
Whenever it is that Clijsters finally does step back onto the court (will it be before Maria Sharapova's continually-pushed-back return?), maybe her presence will satisfy those people complaining so much about a perceived lack of star power on the tour these days. Clijsters II will be fascinating to see play out, though I'm sure I'll find a few instances worthy of poking with a stick... come on, we are talking about Clijsters, and I just wouldn't feel right if I didn't scrape and claw to find something she'll eventually do to roll my eyes at just for old times sake. But, as of today, her slate is clean.
So's Larry Scott's, but for a different reason. You've got to hand it to the guy -- he knows when to abandon ship (and unless the USC Trojans begin a home-and-home series with the Dubai... uh "Oilers," he'll never have to deal with those phonies again, either).
Hmmm, this all means we'll only be one Waffle short of a full plate before the end of '09, huh? Interesting.
MIAMI, FLORIDA USA (Premier $4.5m-Hard Outdoor)
08 Final: S.Williams def. Jankovic
09 Top Seeds: S.Williams/Safina
=============================
=Round of 16=
S.Williams d. Zheng
Zvonareva d. Sugiyama
Cibulkova d. Jankovic
V.Williams d. Kanepi
Bartoli d. A.Bondarenko
Wozniacki d. Dementieva
Azarenka d. Ivanovic
Safina d. Mauresmo
=QF=
S.Williams d. Zvonareva
V.Williams d. Cibulkova
Bartoli d. Wozniacki
Azarenka d. Safina
=SF=
S.Williams d. V.Williams
Azarenka d. Bartoli
=FINAL=
S.Williams d. Azarenka
...of course, maybe not wilting in the heat this time around would mean that Azarenka might actually pull off that upset of Serena that she seemed well on her way to getting in Melbourne in January.
*ATP*
=QF=
Nadal d. del Potro
Murray d. Gonzalez
Blake d. Tsonga
Federer d. Roddick
=SF=
Nadal d. Murray
Federer d. Blake
=FINAL=
Nadal d. Federer
...it says something that Federer would likely feel better seeing Nadal in the final than he would Murray.
=Round of 16=
S.Williams d. Zheng
Zvonareva d. Sugiyama
Jankovic d. Cibulkova
V.Williams d. A.Radwanska
Bartoli d. Kuznetsova
Dementieva d. Dokic
Azarenka d. Ivanovic
Safina d. Pennetta
=QF=
S.Williams d. Zvonareva
Jankovic d. V.Williams
Dementieva d. Bartoli
Safina d. Azarenka
=SF=
S.Williams d. Jankovic
Safina d. Dementieva
=FINAL=
S.Williams d. Safina
*ATP*
=QF=
Nadal d. del Potro
Murray d. Verdasco
Djokovic d. Tsonga
Federer d. Roddick
=SF=
Nadal d. Murray
Federer d. Djokovic
=FINAL=
Nadal d. Federer
All for now.
posted by Todd Spiker @ 1:40 AM
5 Comments:
After a series of early round losses, I'm not getting my hopes up on JJ going far. A run to the quarters would feel like a miracle to me.
Looking forward to see how Vera and Vika will do.
Yeah, I've got to think that, as far as Jankovic is concerned, she should be pointing toward Rome and Paris in hopes that she can get herself, her body and her game back in order over the next couple of months. If she can be back to something resembling her '08 form around then, she can look forward to a good second half of the season (and try to act as if the last few months never even happened).
You can put that stick away; Bodo probably has a hot poker ready.
Haha, Diane.
You know, in Clijsters I I went from backer to "jolly" skeptic (I think it was the buying the champagne for the fans that pushed me over the edge), so maybe in II I'll try to reform. I did find it humorous when she mentioned that she'd been away only two years, but that there were already quite a few players whose names she didn't yet know how to pronounce.
Hmmm, that sounds like something yet another player who reached #1 without winning a slam might say. :)
If someone else had bought the champagne, it would have bothered me, too, but there's just something about Kim that made it okay for me. I think she just is who she is. And while I understand how such behavior would not appeal to everyone, I can't understand Bodo's relentless bashing of her.
I miss Kim; I enjoyed watching her for years. I don't know if her body can handle being on the tour, but if it can, the pickings are pretty good for her right now.
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