Wk.38- A Date with History, eh?

We're currently in one of those little pockets in the WTA schedule where all sorts of interesting results occur, but very few people pay attention to them. (In other words, the events taking place over the past couple of weeks are the ones that the likes of TV talkers Pam Shriver and her ilk -- isn't that a great word that implies so much but doesn't technically "insult" anyone? -- will later pretty much consider having "never happened" since they weren't paying attention when they actually did.)

As a result, when a whole slew of top players decide the champion in this coming week's tour event in Tokyo, many people will believe that it'll be the first event held since Serena Williams came up with an off-the-top-of-her-head recipe involving a tennis ball and a dash of ire, Kim Clijsters won the U.S. Open and Justine Henin announced her forthcoming return to the sport. But it won't be the case no matter how rightly they may believe it to be so.

Unfortunately, those people will probably never know about what Kimiko Date-Krumm just accomplished in Seoul.


AP

While Kim Clijsters' successful comeback has been of the "immediate splash variety," Date-Krumm's has been an exponentially growing one. When she announced her return more than a year ago at age 37 after a dozen years in retirement, it initially included only appearances in ITF challengers in Japan. It seemed as if it would be a minor sideshow tour as Date-Krumm made token "final" appearances in front of her longtime fans.

Somewhere along the line, things changed.

As the 1994 Australian Open semifinalist had some success, she expanded her scope to include challenger events outside her native country. Next came WTA events, and forays into slam qualifying tournaments as she appeared in places she hadn't been spied on the court since Bill Clinton was in the White House. A week ago, she pushed the #1-seeded Anabel Medina-Garrigues to three sets in the 1st Round in Guangzhou, then reached the doubles final, her first tour final of any kind since 1996.

Last week in Seoul, Date-Krumm overcame match point in her 2nd Round match to follow up her first main draw tour win in her comeback with another... then proceded to defeat the tournament's #1-seed (Daniela Hantuchova) and defending champion (Maria Kirilenko) to reach her first tour singles final in thirteen years. There she met Medina-Garrigues once again, and handed her her proverbial head on a platter in a 6-3/6-3 win to claim the eighth WTA singles crown in her career, but her first since she won in San Diego just before the start of the 1996 U.S. Open.

Date-Krumm, who turns 39 on Monday the 28th, is the second-oldest tour singles champ in the Open era, behind only Billie Jean King, who won in Birmingham in 1983 at just under 39 years and eight months of age. But she DID win a tour event at an older age than Martina Navratilova (37 in '94)... and when you do that it's something to behold. She also obliterated the tour record for the longest span of time between championships, besting previous long-timer Barbara Schett's feat (1992 & '01) by more than four years.

Remember, while Seoul isn't Flushing Meadows, Date-Krumm was away from the game for TWELVE years, not two, like you-know-who. She's a year from forty, too, rather in what would normally be the "prime" years of her tennis career. Still, when Clijsters won the Open, she was lavished with praise based mostly on the overblown "mother" issue... even though many track athletes, basketball players and other female sports stars have returned from motherhood to compete at the top levels of their chosen sport -- providing more than enough evidence that it wasn't the "most monumental feat in sports history" that is was made out to be. I still can't figure out the reason why so much was said about how Clijsters should be essentially "worshipped" for having a child and returning to an athletic career... oh, wait. Yes, I do. It was because KIM did it.

Some things never change, I suppose. (I guess we'll find out in 2010.)

Meanwhile, Date-Krumm's feat will likely be ignored by the sporting masses. It's too bad. Sometimes people don't know what they're missing. Apparently, not even Kimiko.

Thankfully, though, she figured it out while she could still do something about it.

*WEEK 38 CHAMPIONS*

SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA (Int'l $220K/hard indoor)
S: Kimiko Date-Krumm def. Anabel Medina-Garrigues 6-3/6-3
D: Chan/Spears d. Ca.Gullickson/Kriz

TASHKENT, UZBEKISTAN (Int'l $220K/hard outdoor)
S: Shahar Peer d. Akgul Amanmuradova 6-3/6-4
D: Govortsova/Poutchek d. Diatchenko/Dzehalevich


PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Kimiko Date-Krumm/JPN
...her Seoul win was her eighth career title, but only her third outside of Japan. She's got a wild card into the Tokyo event this coming week (in the city where she won five of her WTA titles), assuming she decides to make the trip after her celebratory weekend. Hopefully, she will. It'll give her home nation fans a great opportunity to offer their congratulations.
=============================
RISERS: Shahar Peer/ISR & Yaroslava Shvedova/KAZ
...there was a three-year gap between Peer's third and fourth career WTA singles titles, but just a week between #4 and #5. One weekend after taking Guangzhou, she claimed the Tashkent title with wins over Olga Govortsova and former tournament finalist Akgul Amanmuradova in the final. Meanwhile, 22-year old Shvedova (even though she was a first-time WTA title-winner two seasons ago in Bangalore) made her name known to many for the first time by upsetting Jelena Jankovic in the U.S. Open last month. She followed up with a SF result in Tashkent last week.
=============================
SURPRISES: Olga Govortsova/Tathiana Poutchek, BLR/BLR
...a week after winning the doubles title in Guangzhou, the Belarusian pair won another in Tashkent. Govortsova also reached the singles SF, notching a win over Vesna Manasieva along the way.
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VETERAN: Akgul Amanmuradova/UZB
...the 6-foot-3, 25-year old Tashkent native reached her second career final (also in Tashkent in '05) in her hometown tournament this weekend. Four years ago, she lost the final to Michaella Krajicek, while this time it was to Shahar Peer. Still, wins over Ekaterina Bychkova, Stefanie Voegele and Yaroslava Shvedova made for a very successful week.
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FRESH FACE: Chang Kai-Chen/TPE
...the Taiwanese teenager has been one of the revelations of the late summer/early fall. She qualified at the U.S. Open, then upset Kaia Kanepi in the 1st Round. Last week, she made it through qualifying in Seoul and got a main draw win over Viktoriya Kutuzova. At the end of the week, she won two more matches to qualify for the Week 39 Tokyo event, getting wins over Galina Voskoboeva and Alberta Brianti, then got an early 1st Round win over... you guessed it, Kaia Kanepi once again. Consider the circle complete (and Kanepi looking over her shoulder at every tournament she enters the rest of '09).
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DOWN: Agnes Szavay/HUN
...hmmm, is the "old" Szavay back? After finally seeming to right herself earlier this season, her results in recent weeks have been more reminiscent of her atrocious string of early-out losses last season. Case in point: Tokyo will mostly be played during the upcoming week, but Agnes is ALREADY out of the event, having lost an early 1st Round match to Gisela Dulko 6-3/6-0.
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ITF PLAYER: Arantxa Parra-Santonja/ESP
...the Spaniard won a $100K challenger in Saint Malo, France while reeling off a string of wins over Edina Gallovits, Sharon Fichman, Polona Hercog, Klara Zakopalova and, in the final, Alexandra Dulgheru 6-4/6-3.
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1. Seoul Final - Date-Krumm d. Medina-Garrigues
...6-3/6-3. After taking AMG to three sets and losing last week, Date-Krumm "showed her what 'fer" in Korea. A title her would have been #10 in Medina-Garrigues' career, so Anna Smashnova STILL stands alone on that list of double-digit title-winners without a slam QF appearance.
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2. Seoul Doubles Final - Chan/Spears d. Ca.Gullickson/Kriz
...6-3/6-4. Gullickson subbed for an injured Spears with Travis Parrott in the U.S. Open Mixed draw and ended up winning a grand slam crown. Should this be considered "Abigail's revenge?"
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3. Seoul 2nd Rd - Date-Krumm d. Kleybanova
...4-6/7-6/6-3. Down 6-4/5-2 and a match point at 5-3, Kimiko surely didn't think that she'd be getting a WTA title for her birthday.
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4. Seoul QF - Date-Krumm d. Hantuchova 7-6/4-6/4-6
Seoul SF - Date-Krumm d. Kirilenko 3-6/6-2/6-4
... From a match point down in the 2nd Round, then by defeating the #1 seeded-Hantuchova and defending champ Kirilenko, Date-Krumm won't have to hear anyone saying she traveled an easy path to her first WTA title in thirteen years.
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5. Tashkent Final - Peer d. Amanmuradova
...6-3/6-4. At this rate, The Corporal's ranking should put her in prime position to claim a right to play in Dubai in '10. Tick, tock. Tick, tock.
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HM- Tokyo Q2 - Craybas d. Oudin
...6-2/6-2. Let the games begin. And the pressure build.
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**OLDEST WTA SINGLES CHAMPIONS**
Billie Jean King - 39 years, 7 months, 23 days - 1983 Birmingham
KIMIKO DATE-KRUMM - 38 YEARS, 11 MONTHS, 30 DAYS - 2009 SEOUL
Martina Navratilova - 37 years, 4 months, 2 days - 1994 Paris (Indoors)

**LONGEST SPAN BETWEEN WTA SINGLES TITLES**
13 YEARS, 1 MONTH - KIMIKO DATE-KRUMM, 1996 SAN DIEGO-to-2009 SEOUL
8 years, 9 months - Barbara Schett, 1992 Schenectady-to-2001 Antwerp
7 years, 7 months - Elena Likhovtseva, 1997 Gold Coast-to-2004 Forest Hills

**LOW-RANKED 2009 FINALISTS**
NR - Kim Clijsters, BEL (September, US Open - W)
#201 - Alexandra Dulgheru, ROU (May, Warsaw - W)
#155 - KIMIKO DATE-KRUMM, JPN (SEPTEMBER, SEOUL - W)
#126 - Sania Mirza, IND (February, Pattaya - L)
#113 - AKGUL AMANMURADOVA, UZB (SEPTEMBER, TASHKENT - L)

**CONSECUTIVE 2009 WTA TITLES**
[2]
Elena Dementieva, RUS (January - Auckland/Sydney)
Venus Williams, USA (February - Dubai/Acapulco)
Dinara Safina, RUS (May - Rome/Madrid)
Flavia Pennetta, ITA (July/August - Palermo/Los Angeles)
SHAHAR PEER, ISR (SEPTEMBER - GUANGZHOU/TASHKENT)

**LONG 2009 WTA WIN STREAKS**
16...Dinara Safina (May-June)
15...Elena Dementieva (January)
15...Flavia Pennetta (July-August)
14...Venus Williams (February-April)
11...Caroline Wozniacki (August-September)
10...SHAHAR PEER (SEPTEMBER-current)
10...Serena Williams (January-February)
10...Victoria Azarenka (February-March)





TOKYO, JAPAN (Premier+ $2m/hard court outdoor)
08 Final: Safina d. Kuznetsova
09 Top Seeds: Safina/V.Williams
=============================
=QF=
Sharapova d. Safina
Wozniacki d. Kuznetsova
Dementieva d. Azarenka
V.Williams d. Lisicki
=SF=
Wozniacki d. Sharapova
Dementieva d. V.Williams
=FINAL=
Dementieva d. Wozniacki

...finally, with all these names involved. the sports world will perk up and take notice. Well, at least a little. Sharapova has always performed well in Asia, and a win in an event of this size might be just what the doctor (ooh, maybe I shouldn't go THERE, huh?) ordered if she's to end her '09 in good form and re-join the suddenly crowded list of stars who'll be competing for slam titles in 2010.

This will be Ai Sugiyama's final event, as she's set to retire after the tournament. Well, that is, unless she follows countrywoman Date-Krumm's lead and decides to return to action when SHE'S 37. So, I guess this might be the last time we'll see Ai until, oh, about 2012.

All for now.



THIS WEEK: The first edition of the "Top 25 Players of the Decade" series

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Bring It On

Nobody ever "retires" anymore. Certainly not a twentysomething athlete who was the best in the world in her chosen sport by the time she turned 25.



In past generations, the art of the "un-retirement" was pretty much a sporting phenomenon that existed solely in the world of professional boxing. Then came Michael Jordan. Lindsay Davenport. Brett Favre. Martina Hingis. Brett Favre. Lance Armstrong. Brett Favre. And Kim Clijsters, to name just a few. At this point, it's time to call athletic "retirements" what they are -- sabbaticals. Extended periods of leave generally used to re-charge one's "batteries," recuperate a mind and body, cleanse the proverbial soul and prepare for yet another run at potential glory. It seems more high-minded and artistic, don't you think?

Thus, into the breach steps one Justine Henin, saying "I'm really happy and deeply moved to be able to announce tonight that I'm coming back to competitive tennis."

Of course, today's official announcement in Brussels that the diminutive former #1 in the women's game was planning a full return to the WTA tour in 2010 was hardly a surprise. If, fifteen months ago, some of us didn't already half-expect this day to come in the future, then all the rumors and whispers of La Petit Taureau's revival over the past few weeks fairly well made today's announcement a pro forma act that simply crossed the final "t" and dotted the last "i."

The contract has been signed, and Queen Justine will soon once again be in the business of winning tennis titles.

First off, let's get the Clijsters question out of the way. Did the successful return of Henin's countrywoman play a part in her own comeback? "Subconsiously, it might have had an impact... but it certainly was not the most important reason," Henin said today.

Come now, did anyone really expect her to give any credit to her longtime Belgian rival, seemingly always the yin to her yang over the years? Even if Clijsters' grabbing of the spotlight with her initial return to the tour didn't stir and tug at any lingering jealously and/or feelings of superiority that Henin might have harbored when it came to the woman who often claimed more fans than Justine even if she didn't earn as many major titles through the years, the simple... well, "ease" is the only word that really fits, with which Clijsters charged back to win another U.S. Open title last week was a dead-on lock to re-light the only-simmering embers of competitive fire that Henin claimed had died out in her heart last May.

"These fifteen months have been enriching... but there is a flame that has been re-lit. I thought it had been put out forever," Henin acknowledged. Apparently, there are only so many charitable events to attend and assemble, not to mention planes to jump from, for an athlete who still has a great deal of accomplishments handily within her grasp. And that's good for us, and tennis. While Henin cited injuries as a contributing cause to her retirement, it was obvious that the most seriously drained part of her was her heart and drive. And for a player who at times played almost totally on the fuel that those two provided -- think the '03 U.S. Open, or the Athens '04 Olympics -- while becoming a seven-time slam champion, going forward without either existing at their full potential would have been a crippling endeavor. It was apparent through the first few months of 2008 that her heart simply wasn't in her craft, at least not as fully as it had been as she climbed the ladder and came to dominate the sport. That she retired just two weeks before the Roland Garros tournament that she'd loved and dominated for so long said all that needed to be said. Henin became La Petit Taureau by wielding an unyielding personality that led her to work harder than any of her competitors. For an all-or-nothing entity, not having her full heart in her actions was akin to wandering aimlessly in the desert. In some way, that made her exit easier to accept.

Apparently, she's rediscovered her oasis.

It's not just Henin who's back, either. Her father/older brother/mentor figure-in-arms, coach Carlos Rodriguez, is back, too. "The desire to win Wimbledon is one of the main reasons she's come back," he said, noting the only slam that his long-time charge has yet to win. "I'll do everything to help her do it."

As for the gang here at Backspin HQ (which consists of, well, me), this is great and exciting news. I have my "caped crusader" back (and, I suspect, that Clijsters "clean slate" is about four months away from being sullied... so win everything while you still can, Kim). While I always had a lingering feeling that this day would come, even while writing a heartfelt "goodbye" to La Petit Taureau last May, a "second life" isn't always granted. While I grudgingly admitted over the past couple months that I "sort of" missed Clijsters and was glad she'd returned, there is little doubt that the absence of Henin was something that needed some time to get used to and that her return signals a time to rejoice.

But is the driven Henin the one we'll see in Justine II? We'll see. After taking time for herself this past almost year-and-a-half, one would be correct to wonder if she can ever fully be the player who had no problem donning what I always have liked to refer to as "the black hat" again. In becoming the world #1, Henin, in stark contrast to Clijsters' standard operating procedure, showed not to be bothered by how she was perceived, or even whether or not she or her actions were "liked" by the masses. The Us vs. Them mantra was in full effect. After re-uniting with her estranged family, that began to change ever-so-slightly. I mentioned back then that there was the possibility that it might cause her to lose her "edge," and, in a way, that IS what happened. Without anything to fight against, she lost some of her fight. Has she regained it? More than year of living a life without tennis being the top priority, or even the second or third, could either reinvigorate her and her love of the game, or make it even more difficult to get back into the swing of the full-time commitment that a life on tour entails. Henin says the fire is back, and there is little choice but to take her word for it.

All eyes will be on her come January, though, looking for any hint that the Henin sequel isn't as all-consuming for the senses as the original.

There have been few things as fun to watch in this sport as Henin with her eye on the prize. If she truly HAS rediscovered her desire to dominate, then the landscape of the sport could be very, very different by this time next year (hey, if the previously "soft" Clijsters can do it, it should be a piece of cake for Justine, right?). She's still only 27, younger than either Venus or Serena... and one suspects she still might be able to get under the skin of Golden Girl Kim, too. Yep, things are about to get very interesting. Clijsters' "second career" slam win now provides an immediate target for which Henin can shoot, if only internally, and silently. And make no bones about it, the comparative success of their respective comebacks will most definitely provide a running commentary for the length of both their first full seasons back on the tour in 2010.

That being the case... bring on Melbourne, I say.

So, with that, thanks to the likes of Ana, Jelena and Dinara for ably filling in for Henin over the past year or so, casting themselves (sometimes successfully, but mostly not) as opponents to the Williams mystique that has mostly dominated the major sections of the season in between Henin's careers. They tried their best, but now they'll going to have to learn how to win in an even more treacherous environment (maybe it'll actually help them, as the pressure to succeed will be alleviated just a bit). Good luck to them.

The Queen is alive. Long live the Queen. Allez, Justine, and welcome back. May it all be even better the second time around.

All for now.

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To the Rescue, and Back Into the Light?

Belgian media reports are saying that Justine Henin will announce a return to tennis on Tuesday. Obviously, when and if every "t" is crossed and "i" dotted by a certain diminutive grand slam champion, I'll be posting an official Backspin love lett-... err, I mean "welcome back, La Petit Taureau" proclamation.

In the meantime, considering I have GD jury duty tomorrow, I don't know if I'll be in the mood to fully express myself if a press conference is indeed held on September 22. But, still, if Henin DOES make official everything so many have been expecting for the past week or two, she'll already have come to a certain Backspinner's rescue, turning an altogether crappy day into a better one by more than half.

There's just something in her way, I suppose.





LINKS OF NOTE: "Into the Good Night" (May 2008), The Best of Henin (May 2008)

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Wk.37- Comebacks X 10

With the hangover from the wild and crazy just-completed U.S. Open still in full effect in most corners, the WTA and ITF head honchos cared little, as both respective tours played on last week. But, oddly enough, the underlying theme was STILL comebacks... times ten:

1) Justine Henin's return to the WTA tour is still in the whispers-and-rumor phase at the moment, with nothing official to report. Of course, this doesn't mean that your friendly neighborhood Backspinner doesn't enter each day itching to see the breaking news of a scheduled press conference in Belgium crossing the wire at any hour.

2) La Petit Taureau's silence didn't extend to Alicia Molik, though. After retiring last year with an elbow injury after a long fight with illness, Molik made a very under-the-radar doubles return in New Haven and the U.S. Open last month, going 0-2 with partner Meghann Shaughnessy. Last week, the Aussie Steamer hit the ITF courts in singles in Darwin, Australia (make your own comment about the evolution of Molik's second career here) in her first of seven appearances in challengers Down Under in the season's closing months. How did she do? Well, she won... the title. Two of them, in fact, as she won nine matches in all to claim both the singles and doubles championships. She hadn't played in an official singles match since the Olympics in Beijing last summer.

3) Quell the notion of an early fall comeback from Nadia Petrova, at least for this week. She couldn't follow-up her U.S. Open spark when she hopped, skipped and jumped over to Quebec City. Hmmm, maybe she shouldn't have hopped, skipped OR jumped... she ended up retiring in the QF.

4) Shahar Peer DID carry over HER Open success, though. After back-to-back upsets in New York, she went all the way to China and won her first tour singles title in three years.

5) Kimiko Date-Krumm hasn't won a tour title since 1996. She still hasn't, but her Guangzhou run last week DID include a spot in the doubles final. She turns 39 next Monday.

6) Jelena Dokic's second Act of her '09 comeback hasn't come off very well. There was a sense that her QF run at the Australian Open might end up being her season's high point, and that's how things have turned out. Fatigue and inconsistency have taken turns overwhelming her season as the year has gone on, and it continued in a challenger in Sofia last week, where she lost in the 2nd Round to Andrea Hlavackova. Since her QF run in Melbourne, she's gone just 8-10 in WTA/ITF matches (2-7 in WTA main draw contests) and only advanced past the 2nd Round once in any event.

7) one-time WTA up-and-comer Karolina Sprem has yet to make another dent on the big tour, but she's fashioned something of a resurgence on the ITF circuit lately. It continued this weekend when she won a $50K in Mestre, Italy with wins over Ekaterina Bychkova, Kristina Kucova, Arina Rodionova and Yvonne Meusburger.

8) Kim Clijsters won't be playing the WTA events in Tokyo or Beijing, as she'd previously scheduled. Not a surprise, since she didn't likely think she'd have so many matches and so much success behind her already in KCII.

9) Martina Hingis isn't back on the WTA tour (hmmm, when does that suspension that she chose not to fight end, anyway?), but she is back in the spotlight. Well, she WAS, at least. Following in the footsteps of Monica Seles on the American version of "Dancing with the Stars," the Swiss Miss just became the first star voted off the British version of the show. All right, who's next?

10) As for Serena... well, I guess the tour is still "investigating" the "incident." Who knew a thirty-second blow-up in front of tens of thousands of fans, millions of TV viewers and in full view and sound of cameras and microphones could have so many "layers" to investigate. Why, maybe in a few years, Bill Kurtis will host an A&E special called "The Bystanders Who Overheard Serena" to truly get to the bottom of the issue. Well, either that, or he'll join her in another of those fun commercials he's been in recently where he could challenge Williams to a contest... "on the internet." Although, I'm not sure Serena could contort her face into such a perplexed visage as Andy Roddick did in HIS losing ad battle with Kurtis. I don't know if that's a good thing or not.

*WEEK 37 CHAMPIONS*

GUANGZHOU, CHINA (Int'l $220K/hard indoor)
S: Shahar Peer def. Alberta Brianti 6-3/6-4
D: Govortsova/Poutchek d. Date-Krumm/T.Sun

QUEBEC CITY, QUEBEC CAN (Int'l $220K/hard outdoor)
S: Melinda Czink def. Lucie Safarova 4-6/6-3/7-5
D: King/Zahlavova-Strycova d. Arvidsson/Bremond-Beltrame


PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Shahar Peer/ISR
...once a Top 15 player, Peer went into Guangzhou with her ranking hovering in the high #50's. This season, she'd made more news when she WASN'T ALLOWED to play than she had when she actually did. After a recent slight upswing in results, which included U.S. Open wins over Agnes Szavay and Carla Suarez-Navarro, her trip to China resulted in her first final since 2007 (Memphis) and first tour singles crown since taking Istanbul in '06. Her string of victories came at the expense of the likes of Akgul Amanmuradova, Chang Yung-Jan, Peng Shuai and Alberta Brianti in the final.
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RISERS: Melinda Czink/HUN & Vania King/USA
...Czink, 26, has always sort of existed on the fringes of the tour, making a one-day story here and there with a nice win or a close loss against a top player. But until Sunday in Quebec City she'd never actually won a tour title of any kind. Her singles crown came with wins over Severine Bremond-Beltrame, Nadia Petrova, Aleksandra Wozniak and Lucie Safarova. She's the oldest first-time singles champ on tour this year (beating out Maria Jose Martinez-Sanchez, who won her maiden title earlier this season, by a few months on title-winning day). Meanwhile, King had a great summer with WTT success and some wins as a wild card in the U.S. Open. She began her fall campaign by claiming her second doubles crown of the season, winning in Quebec City with Barbora Zahlavova-Strycova
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SURPRISE: Alicia Molik/AUS
...Molik sort of put Clijsters to shame, you know. I mean, Kim's only won ONE title in HER comeback. Ha. Yeah, putting things into perspective, Molik's ITF title in the Darwin $25K came with wins over a series of players -- Emily Webley-Smith, Isabella Holland, Sacha Jones & Sally Peers -- who haven't COMBINED to accomplish as much as former Top 10er Molik has, but after the battles with illness and injury that ultimately led to her retirement last year, coming back and winning five straight matches to take a title in her first tournament is quite an accomplishment. Winning four matches with Nicole Kriz to win the doubles was just icing on the cake... or should I say Vegemite on the bread, even though just the thought of that makes my stomach turn?
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VETERANS: Kimiko Date-Krumm/JPN & Alberta Brianti/ITA
...38-year old Date-Krumm hadn't played in a tour final since 1996 before her runner-up result with Sun Tiantian in the Guangzhou doubles final. Add to that she almost upset singles #1 seed Anabel Medina-Garrigues in the 1st Round, too. Brianti, 29, reached her first career tour singles final in Guangzhou, losing to Peer after getting wins over Lenka Wienerova & Ayumi Morita. She's something of a late bloomer, as the Italian's first career SF came in Portoroz earlier this season.
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FRESH FACE: Ayumi Morita/JPN
...the 19-year old reached her second SF of the season in Guangzhou, getting wins over Abigail Spears and Olga Savchuk.
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DOWN: Nadia Petrova/RUS
...Petrova had an awful summer run on hard courts that often included losses to Maria Sharapova. Then she make something of a surprisingly adept U.S. Open run, lasting until the Round of 16 and her sacrifice on the Altar of Oudin, "for the good of the tournament." In Quebec City as both the defending champion and the #1 seed, one hoped that she'd continue her momentum to kick off a better 4Q. Umm, nope. She went out in the QF, retiring after one set against eventual champ Melinda Czink.
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ITF PLAYER: Aleksandra Dulgheru/ROU
...Dulgheru, who won a tour event in Warsaw earlier this year, won her second ITF crown of '09 in a $100K in Sofia. She notched wins over Marta Domachowska, Petra Martic and Tathiana Garbin in a three-set final, 6-7/7-5/6-1.
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JUNIOR STAR: Irina Khromacheva/RUS
...they just keep coming, don't they? The 14-year old Hordette, #25 in the junior rankings, won the G1 Kentucky International Junior Tennis Derby in Lexington, defeating China's top junior, Zheng Saisai (#31), in the final.
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1. Darwin $25K Final - Molik d. Peers
...6-3/6-4. This comeback thing seems to be contagious. Hmmm, I wonder if someone else is paying attention?
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2. Quebec City Final - Czink d. Safarova
...4-6/6-3/7-5. Last week was one of those occasional good weeks for Safarova that make you wonder why she doesn't have more of them. She probably pushed her luck by knocking out Quebec native Stephanie Dubois in the 1st Round. Bad Quebec karma, you know.
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3. Guangzhou Final - Peer d. Brianti
...6-3/6-4. See what Dubai missed?
=============================
4. Guangzhou 1st Rd. - Medina-Garrigues d. Date-Krumm
...6-1/4-6/6-4. Oh, Date-Krumm was SO CLOSE to maybe her biggest win since the Clinton administration... or since George H.W. Bush threw up in the lap of the Japanese prime minister. Whichever floats your boat.
=============================
5. Quebec City 1st Rd. - Czink d. Petrova
...7-6, ret. You know I had to say it. So, here it goes... oh, Nadia.
=============================


**2009 FIRST-TIME CHAMPIONS**
Brisbane - Victoria Azarenka, BLR (age 19)
Hobart - Petra Kvitova, CZE (age 18)
Bogota - Maria Jose Martinez-Sanchez, ESP (age 26)
Charleston - Sabine Lisicki, GER (age 19)
Estoril - Yanina Wickmayer, BEL (age 19)
Strasbourg - Aravane Rezai, FRA (age 22)
Warsaw - Alexandra Dulgheru, ROU (age 19)
Birmingham - Magdalena Rybarikova, SVK (age 20)
Bad Gastein - Andrea Petkovic, GER (age 21)
Istanbul - Vera Dushevina, RUS (age 22)
QUEBEC CITY - MELINDA CZINK, HUN (age 26)

**DEFEATED TOP SEED & DEFENDING CHAMPION, WON 2009 TITLE**
Miami - Victoria Azarenka - def. S.Williams in Final
QUEBEC CITY - MELINDA CZINK - def. NADIA PETROVA IN QF

**FOUR CAREER TITLES - ACTIVE**
[last title]
SHAHAR PEER, ISR [2009]
Agnieszka Radwanska, POL [2008]
Lisa Raymond, USA [2003]
Lucie Safarova, CZE [2008]
Katarina Srebotnik, SLO [2005]





SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA (Int'l $220K/hard court indoor)
08 Final: Kirilenko d. Stosur
09 Top Seeds: Hantuchova/Medina-Garrigues
=============================
=SF=
Kirilenko d. Hantuchova
Cirstea d. Bammer
=FINAL=
Cirstea d. Kirilenko

...Kirilenko has been to the Seoul final the last two years. Three of her five career titles have come in Asia, while five of her eight career singles finals were in tournaments held on the continent. I just can't bring myself to pick her to defend her title, but I'll predict another final (while going with Cirstea to "defend" HER title from a year ago, only in a different week in a different city, as she won the 2008 version of this week's other tournament in Tashkent).


TASHKENT, UZBEKISTAN (Int'l $220K/hard court outdoor)
08 Final: Cirstea d. Lisicki
09 Top Seeds: Shvedova/Peer
=============================
=SF=
Shvedova d. Voegele
Voskoboeva d. Peer
=FINAL=
Shvedova d. Voskoboeva

...sure, Peer is the in-form player here. But the possibility of a post-title letdown, plus the chance to pick the WTA's first-ever all-Kazakh singles final proved too irresistible a force to overcome (even if Voegele vs. Peer might be a more likely pairing).

All for now.

Read more...

The Decade's Best: U.S. Open, 2000-09

The decade began with the Williams Sisters causing a stir at the U.S. Open. It ended the same way.

From 2000-02, Serena and Venus ruled the grounds of the USTA National Tennis Center, winning all three singles titles and facing each other in two finals. By the end of the decade, many things had changed: the women's final began to be played under the lights on Ashe Stadium (but none ever went three sets), "fashion wars" commenced, the Tennis Center was named in honor of Billie Jean King, one poorly-officiated match essentially gave birth to the replay system, four other women raised the Open champion's cup, two champions retired before they could defend their singles crowns, and the courts were painted blue. One thing that didn't change, though, was that wherever the Sisters went, either greatness or controversy was sure to follow. As the decade came to a close with a 2009 tournament that turned out to contain the wildest mix of stories ever, the moment that turned out to linger the longest and spark the most emotional response around the sport revolved around, you guessed it, Serena.

In the end, unlike at the other three slams, there wasn't a single dominant player at the U.S. Open over the last ten years. In fact, one could argue that four different players, each with two singles championships this decade, finished in a virtual dead-heat finish in the battle to be the tournament's top player during the 2000's.

Ah, but someone has to be #1. So... here's one point of view about how they ranked:

*2000's TOP 10 - U.S. OPEN*
1. Serena Williams, USA:

Serena broke through at the Open in 1999, winning the singles title as a 17-year old (beating older sister Venus, who watched from the stands with an odd expression on her face, to the victory stand). It was only the beginning. During the 2000's, she won two more titles ('02 & '08) and reached another final. A semifinal, three quarterfinals and two Round of 16's rounded out a particularly consistent span. She took the lead in making wild fashion statements in night matches, as well, as she sported the likes of "superhero" boots, a body suit, leather, denim and warm-up jackets with sequins that spelled out "Serena" on the back. In 2009, she and Venus won their only U.S. Open doubles title of the decade, but her post-foot fault, profanity/threat-laced outburst at a lineswoman pointed all the attention in her direction even as she went out in the SF. It could only happen to Serena.
=============================
2. Justine Henin, BEL: The '03 and '07 champion put together arguably the decade's best back-to-back wins in a 24-hour period in taking her first Open championship. After being exhausted after defeating Jennifer Capriati in a three-hour SF she didn't get to sleep until 2:30am, then still managed to return the next night to defeat countrywoman Kim Clijsters in the final. In 2006, she lost to Maria Sharapova in the final, then returned a year later to claim the title in what was (so far, at least) her final trip to New York before retiring in 2008 at age 25 while ranked #1.
=============================
3. Kim Clijsters, BEL: Clijsters actually missed the '04, '06, '07 and '08 Opens, the first two due to injury and the latter two because to her '07 retirement (at 23) and subsequent motherhood. But when she played, she was hard to beat. She lost the '03 final to Henin, but finally grabbed her first career slam title at the end of a near-perfect hard court summer in '05. Returning to the tour after a two-year absence this year, in her third tournament back, she rode a wild card entry into the draw to a second U.S. Open title (defeating both Venus and Serena along the way). Ending the decade on a fourteen-match Open winning streak, with 20 wins in her last 21 matches in the tournament, she hasn't tasted defeat in New York since the 2003 final.
=============================
4. Venus Williams, USA: Venus started the decade as a dominating presence on hard court, winning the title in 2000-01 and reaching the final in '02. Thing is, she hasn't reached another final since, having seen her HC throne usurped by her sister, the Belgians and a spare Russian or two over the years. She still reached an additional semifinal, two quarterfinals and a pair of 4th Rounds, then won the '09 Doubles title with Serena, but she's really only been a true threat to win a slam title at Wimbledon in the back half of this decade. But then again, maybe she's just had bad draws... five of her eight Opens this decade ended with her losing to the eventual champion, including Clijsters at this year's tournament.
=============================
5. Virginia Ruano-Pascual & Paola Suarez, ESP/ARG: one of the winningest duos throughout the decade, Ruano-Pascual & Suarez were the most successful pair at the Open in the 2000's, as well. They won three doubles titles in all. No other team won more than one.
=============================
6. Svetlana Kuznetsova, RUS: In 2004, a teenaged Kuznetsova concluded the Russian summer of love by becoming the third straight Hordette to claim a slam title that season. She seemed equipped with the game to challenge for the top position in the rankings, but it took her five years to win another slam (at Roland Garros). While she came close at other slams during the decade, holding match points or serving for the match against eventual champions multiple times, she's rarely been in the mix again at the Open. She did reach a second final in '07, but hasn't reached even the quarterfinals in any other year.
=============================
7. Maria Sharapova, RUS: In 2006, the Open seemed to exist as a showcase for Sharapova. She easily won the title, and looked "Exquisite in the City" while doing so. She had one pre-'06 semifinal result, but has experience nothing but disappointment at Flushing Meadows since she became the Open champion -- losing early in '07, missing '08 with a shoulder injury and then losing early again in '09 while trying to return to form after surgery on that same shoulder.
=============================
8. Lindsay Davenport, USA: The '98 champion reached the final in '00, but could never break through the Williams' blockade early in the decade during what would have otherwise been prime years (she finished the season at #1 three times between 2001-05) for her to claim another slam. She did reach three more semifinals and three quarterfinals, though.
=============================
9. Lisa Raymond, USA: She won three overall Open titles during the decade, two Doubles crowns and one Mixed with three different partners.
=============================
10. Elena Dementieva, RUS: She met Kuznetsova in the first all-Russian final in grand slam history in '04, but has never been able to break through to grab a slam crown (even after heading into the tournament after winning Olympic Gold in '08 and winning the U.S. Open Series in '09). Still, an additional three semifinals, a quarterfinal and two 4th Rounds, along with two Doubles finals, made her a force to be reckoned with in the Open through the years.
=============================
HM- Jelena Jankovic, SRB: Queen Chaos gets the nod over the likes of Jennifer Capriati, Rennae Stubbs and Cara Black, largely because of all the fun she's brought to the New York stage over the years. Some of it was good for her (her '08 run to the final), while some was bad (blowing a big lead against Henin in the '06 SF). But she's never, ever boring. And in NYC, that should count for something.
=============================

*DOUBLES*
[Teams]
1. Virginia Ruano-Pascual/Paola Suarez, ESP/ARG: with three straight championships from 2002-04, they're the only multiple-title winners
2. Lisa Raymond/Rennae Stubbs, USA/AUS: 1 title, 1 runner-up
3. Cara Black/Liezel Huber, ZIM/USA: 1 title & 1 runner-up in 2008-09

[Individuals]
1. Lisa Raymond, USA: 2 Doubles titles & 1 Mixed with three different partners
2. Rennae Stubbs, AUS: 1 Doubles title & 1 Mixed
3. Cara Black, ZIM: 1 Doubles title & 1 Mixed, both in 2008
4. Nathalie Dechy, FRA: 2 Doubles titles in 2006-07, with different partners

[Biggest Surprise]
Carly Gullickson, USA: she won the '09 Mixed Doubles crown with Travis Parrott. Wild Cards who didn't decide to team up until days before the start of play (Parrott's scheduled partner was injured and suggested he give Gullickson a call), the two had never played together other than during a set in World Team Tennis years earlier.

[Singles Players in Doubles]
Svetlana Kuznetsova, RUS: the singles champ in '04 was twice a Doubles runner-up
Elena Dementieva, RUS: the singles RU in '04 was also twice a Doubles runner-up
Dinara Safina, RUS: a SF & QF in singles, the current world #1 won a Doubles title in '07 and was runner-up in '06
Vera Zvonareva, RUS: while the current Top 10er has only gone as far as the 4th Round in singles, she's won both Doubles ('06) and Mixed ('04) Open titles

*JUNIORS*
Americans: '08 Girls champ Coco Vandeweghe was the first American to win the title since '95. Jessica Kirkland ('04) and Alexa Glatch ('05) both reached Girls finals.
=============================
A Belgian: Neither eventual two-time Women's champions Henin or Clijsters ever claimed the Girls title at the Open, but Kirsten Flipkens did in 2003.
=============================
Russians: Russians named Maria and Anastasia became slam champions during the 2000's, but neither Sharapova nor Myskina was a U.S. Open Girls champion. Hordettes named Maria and Anastasia DID win the title, though. Maria Kirilenko did it in 2002, and Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova won it all in 2006. Meanwhile, Svetlana Kuznetsova ('01 junior RU) is the only Women's champion who also played in a junior singles final during the decade. Yana Buchina ended the decade with a RU result in '09.
=============================
MOST INTERESTING FINAL - 2001 Marion Bartoli def. Svetlana Kuznetsova: This was the only 2000's U.S. Open junior final that included two players who later played in Women's grand slam finals.

*UNDERRATED*
[singles]
Amelie Mauresmo, FRA: not known for her U.S. success, she nonethelessreached 2 SF, 4 QF and a 4th Rd.
[singles/doubles]
Ai Sugiyama, JPN: 1 Doubles titles & 2 singles 4th Rd.
Paola Suarez, ARG: 3 Doubles titles & a singles QF
Elena Likhovtseva, RUS: 2 Doubles RU & 3 singles 4th Rd.
Katarina Srebotnik, SLO: 1 Mixed title, 1 Doubles RU & a singles 4th Rd.
[mixed]
Daniela Hantuchova, SVK: In 2005, she completed a career Mixed Doubles Grand Slam at age 22 by winning the title with Mahesh Bhupathi

*DISAPPOINTMENTS*
[singles]
Elena Dementieva, RUS: still arguably the best player without a slam singles title
Lindsay Davenport, USA: was never worse than a quarterfinalist from 2000-06, but won no titles after winning in 1998
Jennifer Capriati, USA: her successful early decade comeback never got her into the final of her home nation's slam, ending in the SF three times
Mary Pierce, FRA: only lasted past the 4th Round once, and then was a virtual "no-show" in the '05 final
[doubles]
Serena Williams/Venus Williams, USA/USA: the sisters rarely played doubles at the Open during the 2000's, and would have gone the entire decade without a title if they hadn't claimed one in '09
[singles/doubles]
Samantha Stosur, AUS: a Doubles titlist and runner-up, Stosur has been a disaster in singles at the Open, winning just two matches in six appearances

*COMEBACKS*
[Mother Time]
2003 - Martina Navratilova, 46, is Doubles runner-up with Svetlana Kuznetsova
2006 - Martina Navartilova, 49 (a month from 50), is the oldest slam champ ever, winning Mixed Doubles with Bob Bryan in her final tournament
[A Mother's Time]
2009 - Kim Clijsters, an unranked wild card in her third tournament back after a two-year retirement, wins the 2009 U.S. Open Women's title in her first appearance in the event since her '05 win. She's the first mother to win a slam crown since 1980.

*BREAKOUTS*
2001 Final - Venus Williams def. Serena Williams 6-2/6-4
...following the emergence of the attention-getting Williams sisters, the tournament decided to begin playing the Women's championship in primetime on the final Saturday. In the first such scheduled match, the roll-of-the-dice worked as the Sisters met to decide the title.
2009 - Melanie Oudin
...the 17-year old mighty mite from Marietta, Georgia with "Believe" on the sides of her shoes was the story of the tournament, turning the U.S. Open into the "Oudin Open" with come-from-behind three-set wins over four straight Russians (Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, Elena Dementieva, Maria Sharapova & Nadia Petrova). A junior Open semifinalist just a year earlier, Oudin become the youngest American female to reach the main draw QF since a 17-year old Serena Williams won the title in '99.

*REDEMPTION*
2005 - Kim Clijsters
...after going 0-4 in career slam singles finals, the pressure was finally starting to bear down on the underachieving Belgian. Then she rode a brilliant North American hard court season all the way to her first slam crown in the '05 U.S. Open. She wouldn't play in the tournament again until '09, when she finally "defended" her previous title with slam win #2.

*STUNNERS*
2004 - "Fashion Week" Begins at the Open


2006 - Sharapova in the title-winning "little black dress"


2009 - Two Belgians Reach the Semifinals
...and neither are named Henin, as unranked wild card Kim Clijsters is joined by world-#50 Yanina Wickmayer.

*FAMILIAR SHOWDOWNS*
[Sisters]
2001 Final - Venus def. Serena 6-2/6-4 (the first night final)
2002 Final - Serena def. Venus 6-4/6-3 (leg #3 of "SerenaSlam")
2005 4th Rd. - Venus def. Serena 7-6/6-2
2008 QF - Serena def. Venus 7-6/7-6
[Hordette vs. Hordette]
2004 Final - Svetlana Kuznetsova def. Elena Dementieva 6-3/7-5 (a third different Russian slam champ in '04)
[Justine vs. Kim]
2003 Final - Justine Henin def. Kim Clijsters 7-5/6-1 (from 2003-09 at least one Belgian appeared in five of the seven finals, but these two only met once at the Open)

*MOST DOMINANT DISPLAYS*
[summer]
2005: Kim Clijsters wins three pre-Open titles in North America to claim the U.S. Open Series, then becomes the only woman to win both the Series and the Open singles title. She goes 23-1 on hard courts for the summer.
[tournament]
2007: Justine Henin wins the Open singles titles title without dropping a set, making it the second time (Roland Garros) that season in which she claimed a slam crown with a clean-sweep of every set she played.
[back-to-back matches]
2003: Justine Henin, cramping and exhausted, survives a marathon, late-night semifinal match with Jennifer Capriati, then returns the next night to defeat Kim Clijsters for her first U.S. Open title.

*FLASHES*
Sania Mirza: the original "It Girl"
...in 2005, 18-year Mirza made quite a splash in New York. Sporting a cheeky attitude and armed with a closet-full of t-shirts with "shocking" expressions ("Well-behaved women rarely make history," etc.) printed on them, she became the first Indian woman to reach the 4th Round of a grand slam. Since then, injuries and seemingly endless problems in India because of her willingness to buck social mores (or the perception that she had) have prevented her from ever matching the Round of 16 result at a slam. Without a tour singles title since '05, she has managed to find success in doubles. She won her first slam title in Melbourne in '09, winning the Australian Open Mixed Doubles with Mahesh Bhupathi.
Chaos is Born
2006 SF - Justine Henin-Hardenne def. Jelena Jankovic 4-6/6-4/6-0
...Jankovic has had many highs and lows in NYC, but the moment that sent her down the "Queen Chaos" path occurred in this match. Serving up 6-4/4-2, 40/30 she was five points from the U.S. Open final, then she decided to get into an argument with the chair umpire about a disputed call. She never regained her composure, and Henin seized upon the moment to win the final ten games of the match. A drama queen was thus officially born on the sport's biggest stage. Henin would go on to lose to Maria Sharapova in the final, while Jankovic would finally reach the Open final two years later (losing to Serena Williams).

*BIGGEST UPSETS*
2007 3rd Rd. - Agnieszka Radwanska def. Maria Sharapova 6-4/1-6/6-2
...the defending champ goes down in flames while A-Rad dances around the service line before Sharapova serves.
2008 2nd Rd. - Julie Coin def. Ana Ivanovic 6-3/4-6/6-3
...in the earliest exit ever by a #1 seed, Roland Garros champ AnaIvo is taken down by a #188-ranked qualifier who had been contemplating retirement before this match.
2009 3rd Rd. - Melanie Oudin def. Maria Sharapova 3-6/6-4/7-5
...in a hail of twenty-one Sharapova double-faults, the fiesty American becomes a star. Sharapova fondly remembers when SHE was the 17-year old who went Supernova by knocking off Serena Williams at Wimbledon in '04.

*CONTROVERSY*
[The Worst-Officiated Match...ever?]
2004 QF - Jennifer Capriati def. Serena Williams 2-6/6-4/6-4
...the series of poor calls/overrules by the umpire, shown to be made in error on television replays, in this match is credited with being the "straw that broke the camel's back" and finally forced the women's and men's tours to institute a replay challenge system. One note: the umpire in this match was Mariana Alves, now widely considered to be one of the best chair umpires in the game, proving that one bad match does not a career make. Speaking of...
2009 SF - Kim Clijsters def. Serena Williams 6-4/7-5
...serving at 5-6, 15/30 in the 2nd set, Williams was called for a foot-fault that gave Clijsters two match points. Exploding at the lineswoman who made the call, shaking her racket at her while cursing and saying she wanted to shove the ball down her throat, Williams was given a code violation for unsportsmanlike conduct/verbal abuse. It was her second of the match, after having received one after crushing her racket after dropping the 1st set, and precipitated a point penalty. With it being match point, it was game-set-match for a bewildered Clijsters, who had been keeping as far away from the fracas as possible and didn't understand what had just happened. As of today, Williams has been fined $10,500 and faces a potential larger fine and/or suspension from the tour.

*MATCHES*
[closest finals*]
2000 - Venus Williams def. Lindsay Davenport 6-4/7-5
2008 - Serena Williams def. Jelena Jankovic 6-4/7-5
-
*-the last three-set final was in 1995
[The Match of the Decade?]
2003 SF - Justine Henin def. Jennifer Capriati 4-6/7-5/7-6
...in a 3+ hour match, Capriati came oh-so-close to reaching her first U.S. Open final, but the diminutive Henin held on like a pitbull. The American served at 5-3 in both the 2nd and 3rd sets, and was two points from a win on eleven different occasions. Battling cramps and exhaustion, Henin persevered to reach her first Open final. Not getting to sleep until 2:30am, the tournament could not confirm for most of the next day whether Henin would be physically able to play in the final the following night. She did, of course, taking a close 1st set from countrywoman Kim Clijsters, then coasting to an easy 2nd set victory to take the match 7-5/6-1.

=NOTES=
Ten different women lost the ten singles finals held this decade.
=============================
Throughout the decade, the championship seemingly went through Venus Williams, as she usually either won the title or lost to the eventual champ:

2000: Venus wins title
2001: Venus wins title
2002: Serena def. Venus in final
2003: DNP
2004: lost to Lindsay Davenport in 4th Rd.
2005: Kim Clijsters def. Venus in QF
2006: DNP
2007: Justine Henin def. Venus in SF
2008: Serena def. Venus in QF
2009: Kim Clijsters def. Venus in 4th Rd.

And it wasn't just a 2000's thing, either:

1997: Martina Hingis def. Venus in final
1998: Lindsay Davenport def. Venus in SF
1999: Martina Hingis def. Venus in SF
=============================
Most Women's Doubles titles: Virginia Ruano-Pascual (3), Paola Suarez (3), Nathalie Dechy (2), Lisa Raymond (2)
=============================
Lisa Raymond's Title-Winning Partners: Mike Bryan, Samantha Stosur, Rennae Stubbs (most title-winning partners this decade)
=============================
Most Doubles Finals (teams): Ruano-Pascual/Suarez (3), Black/Huber (2), Raymond/Stubbs (2)
=============================
Most Doubles Finals (player): Cara Black (3), Lisa Raymond (3), Virginia Ruano-Pascual (3), Samantha Stosur (3), Paola Suarez (3), Nathalie Dechy (2), Elena Dementieva (2), Liezel Huber (2), Svetlana Kuznetsova (2), Elena Likhovtseva (2), Dinara Safina (2)
=============================
Won Doubles & Mixed titles: Cara Black, Lisa Raymond, Rennae Stubbs, Vera Zvonareva
=============================
Players who won both Singles and Doubles titles: Serena Williams (2/1), Venus Williams (2/1)
Players who were in both Singles and Doubles Finals: Serena Williams, Venus Williams, Svetlana Kuznetsova, Elena Dementieva
=============================
Michaella Krajicek (2003-04) was the only two-time participant in the junior Girls final
=============================
Surprise Quarterfinalists: Shinobu Asagoe, Sybille Bammer, Daja Bedanova, Kateryna Bondarenko, Elena Bovina, Tatiana Golovin, Anke Huber, Melanie Oudin, Agnes Szavay
=============================
Surprise Semifinalists: Anna Chakvetadze, Yanina Wickmayer



*DECADE'S BEST - AUSTRALIAN OPEN 2000-09*
1. Serena Williams, USA
2. Jennifer Capriati, USA
3. Lindsay Davenport, USA
4. Justine Henin, BEL
5. Maria Sharapova, RUS
6. Martina Hingis, SUI
7. Amelie Mauresmo, FRA
8. Kim Clijsters, BEL
9. Venus Williams, USA
10. Daniela Hantuchova, SVK
HM- Rennae Stubbs, AUS
DOUBLES TEAM: Serena Williams/Venus Williams, USA/USA

*DECADE'S BEST - ROLAND GARROS 2000-09*
1. Justine Henin, BEL
2. Virginia Ruano-Pascual, ESP
3. Mary Pierce, FRA
4. Jennifer Capriati, USA
5. Serena Williams, USA
6. Ana Ivanovic, SRB
7. Svetlana Kuznetsova, RUS
8. Kim Clijsters, BEL
9. Anastasia Myskina, RUS
10. Paola Suarez, ARG
HM- Lisa Raymond, USA
DOUBLES TEAM: Virginia Ruano-Pascual/Paola Suarez, ESP/ARG

*DECADE'S BEST - WIMBLEDON 2000-09*
1. Venus Williams, USA
2. Serena Williams, USA
3. Amelie Mauresmo, FRA
4. Maria Sharapova, RUS
5. Cara Black, ZIM
6. Lindsay Davenport, USA
7. Justine Henin, BEL
8. Ai Sugiyama, JPN
9. Kim Clijsters, BEL
10. Elena Dementieva, RUS
HM- Jennifer Capriati, USA
DOUBLES TEAM: Serena Williams/Venus Williams, USA/USA



It's almost "go-time" for the countdown of the "Top 25 Players of the Decade," as the first installment of the countdown will be coming soon. But, first, a little bit of housekeeping to get things up to date.

1) Caroline Wozniacki (slam finalist), Carly Gullickson (Mixed title), Melanie Oudin (slam quarterfinalist) and Yanina Wickmayer (slam semifinalist) qualified for the 2000's Honor Roll, running the list to a total of 113 players (see below)

2) After her poor summer and early U.S. Open exit, I dropped Victoria Azarenka from the Top 25 list and back to the Honor Roll. She was just sticking around as a precaution, in case she had a great Open run. Obviously, that didn't happen.

3) In her place, I've elevated Ai Sugiyama from the Honor Roll to the Top 25 list. The Japanese veteran recently announced that she'll retire before the end of the season.


1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.
21.
22.
23.
24.
25.
HONORABLE MENTION- Martina Navratilova, USA

Here are the remaining 25 players on the countdown list:

Cara Black
Jennifer Capriati
Kim Clijsters
Lindsay Davenport
Elena Dementieva
Daniela Hantuchova
Justine Henin
Martina Hingis
Liezel Huber
Ana Ivanovic
Jelena Jankovic
Svetlana Kuznetsova
Amelie Mauresmo
Anastasia Myskina
Mary Pierce
Lisa Raymond
Virginia Ruano-Pascual
Dinara Safina
Patty Schnyder
Maria Sharapova
Rennae Stubbs
Paola Suarez
Ai Sugiyama
Serena Williams
Venus Williams

*BACKSPIN'S 2000-09 HONOR ROLL, #27-113, as of September 2009*
Nicole Arendt
Shinobu Asagoe
Victoria Azarenka
Sybille Bammer
Marion Bartoli
Daja Bedanova
Alona Bondarenko
Kateryna Bondarenko
Kristie Boogert
Elena Bovina
Severine Bremond
Els Callens
Anna Chakvetadze
Chan Yung-Jan
Chuang Chia-Jung
Dominika Cibulkova
Sorana Cirstea
Amanda Coetzer
Eleni Daniilidou
Nathalie Dechy
Casey Dellacqua
Mariaan de Swardt
Jelena Dokic
Silvia Farina Elia
Clarisa Fernandez
Tatiana Golovin
Anna-Lena Groenefeld
Carly Gullickson
Julie Halard-Decugis
Anke Huber
Janette Husarova
Kaia Kanepi
Sesil Karatantcheva
Vania King
Anna Kournikova
Michaella Krajicek
Lina Krasnoroutskaya
Li Na
Li Ting
Elena Likhovtseva
Sabine Lisicki
Petra Mandula
Marta Marrero
Conchita Martinez
Anabel Medina-Garrigues
Sania Mirza
Alicia Molik
Corina Morariu
Miriam Oremans
Melanie Oudin
Shahar Peer
Flavia Pennetta
Tatiana Perebiynis
Kveta Peschke
Nadia Petrova
Kimberly Po-Messerli
Agnieszka Radwanska
Anastasia Rodionova
Chanda Rubin
Lucie Safarova
Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario
Mara Santangelo
Barbara Schett
Francesca Schiavone
Monica Seles
Magui Serna
Antonella Serra-Zanetti
Meghann Shaughnessy
Anna Smashnova
Karolina Sprem
Katarina Srebnotnik
Samantha Stosur
Carla Suarez-Navarro
Sun Tiantian
Agnes Szavay
Tamarine Tanasugarn
Patricia Tarabini
Nathalie Tauziat
Nicole Vaidisova
Dominique van Roost
Elena Vesnina
Yanina Wickmayer
Caroline Wozniacki
Yan Zi
Zheng Jie
Fabiola Zuluaga
Vera Zvonareva

All for now.



BEST OF THE DECADE SERIES:
...Players of the 2000's: Nomination List, Decade's Best: Australian Open 2000-09, Decade's Best: Roland Garros 2000-09, Decade's Best: Wimbledon 2000-09

Read more...

Six-foot-Six ≠ 6

We used to be able to take some things for granted when it came to Roger Federer. But this U.S. Open had one final dramatic event left to imprint on the tennis world's collective memory... and it starred Juan Martin del Potro.

In the past, when the all-time slam champ grabbed the opening set against a nervous slam final novice and was but two points away from taking a two-set lead, as was the case against the Argentine del Potro on Monday, the proceedings were all but over. Even if he flinched for a moment, Federer would right himself quickly and go on to make an example of an opponent who'd made the mistake of challenging his dominance. Then Rafael Nadal came along, and everything changed. His aura damaged, Federer had to rebuild his image.

As 2009 has gone along, after a rough start that saw him unable to top Nadal in the Australian Open final in Melbourne, Federer has managed to do just that. Going into this U.S. Open final, he was looking to tie Bill Tilden's record with a sixth straight crown in New York and set himself up to head Down Under next January with a shot at a "RogerSlam" and a fourth straight slam title. For a bit, it looked as if he might just pull off the feat, but his opponent would have nothing of it.

Of course, not every opponent is as physically imposing as the 6-foot-6 del Potro. Nor do that have as pulverizing a forehand as del Potro, or the intelligence to pull back at times on a powerful serve to keep Federer off balance as he did on Monday. Once del Potro got his game going, Federer simply could not hold off his forward motion toward the title for five full sets. Last summer, del Potro ruled the North American hard courts but flamed out at the Open. A year later, having left his teenage years behind and grown into his large frame, removing all traces of the physical awkwardness most players his size always seem to be hindered by on the court, he entered this tournament with the knowledge that he had the ability to beat anyone in the draw. In the semifinals, he smashed Nadal, allowing just six games in three sets. Next up was Federer.

Federer got off to a strong start, taking the opening set 6-2 and having break points for a 4-1 2nd set lead on del Potro's serve. The Argentine held, but when Federer served at 5-4, 30/love he seemed well on his way to a sixth straight defeat of a sixth different man in the U.S. Open final. But after questioning a replay decision (after a late del Potro challenge) that awarded del Potro a point, and seeming to not be able to get the moment out of his head (after arguing with the umpire during a changeover), Federer began a long, subtle descent toward defeat. He lost the 2nd set tie-break, but grabbed the lead again by taking the 3rd set at 6-4 after overcoming a break up, 4-3 del Potro lead.

In the 4th, del Potro again led with a break at 4-3, but Federer couldn't overcome yet again. He pushed things to a tie-break, but the Argentine claimed another set-decider to send the final of the U.S. Open men's final to a fifth set for the first time since 1999. In the final set, after struggling with his first serve for the entire match, Federer simply couldn't find his way. With his serve flagging, his groundstrokes went off, as well. He never seemed to be able to get a handle on del Potro's powerful forehands, framing returns of serve and in-point shots often. Del Potro raced to a 5-2 lead. Federer managed to save two match points, but he could only hold back his opponent for so long on this day. A backhand shot that sailed long was immediately followed by del Potro crumpling to the ground in the back court, stretched out on his back in amazement at his accomplishment.

Del Potro won 3-6/7-6/4-6/7-6/6-2 in 4:06.

So, while 2009 didn't turn out to be Federer's "greatest" season, four slam finals, including a first at Roland Garros and a return to the throne at Wimbledon (even though he didn't have to defeat Nadal for either), not to mention the re-claiming of the #1 ranking, it certainly ranks amongst them. Not too shabby in a calendar year in which he became a husband and the father of twin girls, as well.

As for del Potro, he's hardly a "shocking" slam champion considering his Top 5 ranking and North American hard court exploits the last two years. No matter what he does the rest of his career, which could be much considering his young age (20) and still-improving game, it'll be difficult to top a 30-hour span in which he defeated both Nadal and Federer on the biggest court in the world to earn this U.S. Open title.

"I have two dreams in this sport, one is the U.S. Open," del Potro said after the match. "The other is to be like Roger. One is done."

2009's slam season began with the sight of Federer's tears after losing a fifth set in Melbourne to Nadal, and now ends with del Potro's watery eyes after his own five-set win over Federer. It's not exactly the fairytale bookends to the season that Federer likely envisioned, but they're surely memorable moments for everyone else.



=OPEN NOTES=
...meanwhile, the Williams sisters managed to give their U.S. Open experience a good ending note, taking the doubles title by defeating #1-seeded Black/Huber 6-2/6-2. It's their tenth career slam crown as a duo and third in 2009, but their first U.S. Open title since 1999.

Still, though, in the "if it bleeds it leads" mentality of sports programming these days -- propagated largely by ESPN -- you KNOW what the story was yesterday (especially after Serena issued "apology #2" on her website).

Look, what Serena did was wrong, no matter whether she was justified in being angry or not. Unlike some, though, I'm not going to rehash all that. But, come now, was it really SO big a story that it's still the lead item in the sports news days later, as was the case on Monday? Is this REALLY all people are going to remember about this tournament? I found it funny that on ESPN's "Around the Horn" yesterday, one reporter noted that all the talk of Williams was overshadowing Kim Clijsters' accomplishment in winning the title -- but it was already some twenty minutes into the 30-minute show, meaning that the fact is that the women's final would have probably been overlooked entirely if not for the discussion of Serena. So, really, what's the REAL problem here?

If it bleeds, it leads.

People, get over it. So far, what's occurred is a predictable scenario not that far removed from the stupid firestorm that resulted from Justine Henin's retirement in the '06 Australian Open (when that paragon of judiciousness, Pam Shriver, said the moment would "tarnish her career forever" in yet another in the long line of Shriver's Greatest Hits/Most Embarrassing Moments that threatens to grow even longer every time she grabs a microphone). Were people really wondering whether Saturday night is going to change people's opinion of Williams from here on out? Really? Seriously? I kind of agree with what someone on ESPN noted yesterday about the situation -- that the overblown attention being showered on Serena's outburst is because so many people are taken aback by and not used to seeing a FEMALE athlete react angrily to a call on the court/on the playing field. Male athletes do and say far worse things than Williams did all the time. Will much be made of Federer's heated (for him) conversation yesterday with the chair umpire, during which Federer dropped the F-bomb and a few choice other ones? Of course not. Was the course of Western civilization altered by the moment? No. And it wasn't by the one with Serena, either. Once the final bookkeeping aspects of all this (any other fines or a minor suspension, if not sooner, it all should really be simply filed away for future reference.

I wish there was a way to accurately determine how many of the people who have continued to blather on about this weekend's events were actually watching them on Saturday night (or even bothered to watch the final on Sunday). Somehow, I predict the totals would be shockingly low. Or maybe not so "shocking."

...on another note, maybe it's time that whoever makes the decisions on these matters for the U.S. Open, should decide next year to have one person assigned to do the on-court interviews on Ashe Stadium rather then allow the networks carrying the matches to do so. Sue Barker handling such duties at Wimbledon has worked rather well the last few years. At this Open, though, two on-court interviewers were booed openly by the crowd, and another SHOULD have been. Pam Shriver was understandably the object of derision after her disrespectful slamming of Yanina Wickmayer's presence in the semifinals the other day. And yesterday, Patrick McEnroe, who'd already broached the subject with the Williams sisters in his on-court interview with them after they'd won the doubles title, was shouted down by the crowd when he decided to dive in one more time with still more questions. (Once the crowd expressed a collective opinion on the matter, Venus stepped in to say to McEnroe that it looked like everyone was ready "to move on.") Then, last night, after the men's final, Dick Enberg refused to hand del Potro the microphone so that he could say something in Spanish to his supporters... and then proceeded to run off the attributes of the new car the Argentine had just won, sounding like a game show host making sure the sponsor was satisfied that every detail was included in the description. After a second attempt by del Potro, Enberg did finally grudgingly give up the microphone, and del Potro's words brought the new champion to tears, providing the best moment of the entire ceremony. Thankfully, we didn't miss it... no thanks to Enberg, who's had some infamously bad moments in similar post-match doings in recents years at the Open, as well.

Here's a thought, maybe someone should see if the USTA Tennis Center's namesake, Billie Jean King, is free to do ten minutes of on-court work after the finals held on Ashe next year. If not her, then someone else. Because the current set-up needs some tweaking, to be sure.

...and, finally, after my "sick day" yesterday, the Daily Backspin for this Open will be extended one more price-cutting day, as the last slam "Decade's Best" edition will go up tomorrow.



*WOMEN'S SINGLES FINAL*
(WC) Kim Clijsters/BEL def. #9 Caroline Wozniacki/DEN 7-5/6-3

*MEN'S SINGLES FINAL*
#6 Juan Martin del Potro/ARG def. #1 Roger Federer/SUI 3-6/7-6/4-6/7-6/6-2

*WOMEN'S DOUBLES FINAL*
#4 Williams/Williams (USA/USA) def. #1 Black/Huber (ZIM/USA) 6-2/6-2

*MEN'S DOUBLES FINAL*
#4 Dlouhy/Paes (CZE/IND) def. #3 Bhupathi/Knowles (IND/BAH) 3-6/6-3/6-2

*MIXED DOUBLES FINAL*
Gullickson/Parrott (USA/USA) def. #2 Black/Paes (ZIM/IND) 6-2/6-4

*GIRLS SINGLES FINAL*
#11 Heather Watson/GBR def. Yana Buchina/RUS 6-4/6-1

*BOYS SINGLES FINAL*
#3 Bernard Tomic/AUS def. Chase Buchanan/USA 6-1/6-3

*GIRLS DOUBLES FINAL*
Solovieva/Zanevska (RUS/UKR) def. #3 E.Bogdan/Lertcheewakarn (ROU/THA) 1-6/6-3/10-7

*BOYS DOUBLES FINAL*
Fucsovics/Hsieh (HUN/TPE) def. Obry/Puget (FRA/FRA) 7-6/5-7/10-1



*CAREER SLAM TITLES - ACTIVE*
[singles/doubles]
23...SERENA WILLIAMS (11/12)
19...VENUS WILLIAMS (7/12)
11...Virginia Ruano-Pascual (0/9)
9...Lisa Raymond (0/9)
8...Cara Black (0/8)
6...Rennae Stubbs (0/6)
5...Liezel Huber (0/5)

*MOST DOUBLES SLAM TITLES - OPEN ERA*
21...Martina Navratilova/Pam Shriver
14...Gigi Fernandez/Natasha Zvereva
9...SERENA WILLIAMS/VENUS WILLIAMS
8...Virginia Ruano-Pascual/Paola Suarez

*MOST CONSECUTIVE SLAM FINALS*
10...Roger Federer, 2005-07
7...ROGER FEDERER, 2008-09
7...Jack Crawford, 1932-36

*MOST CONSECUTIVE SLAM SF*
22...ROGER FEDERER, 2004-09
10...Ivan Lendl, 1985-88

*ROGER FEDERER U.S. OPEN LOSSES*
2000 3rd Rd. - Juan Carlos Ferrero
2001 4th Rd. - Andre Agassi
2002 4th Rd. - Max Mirnyi
2003 4th Rd. - David Nalbandian
2009 Final - Juan Martin del Potro




TOP QUALIFIER: Eva Hrdinova/CZE
TOP EARLY ROUND (1r-2r): Serena Williams/USA
TOP MIDDLE-ROUND (3r-QF): Serena Williams/USA
TOP LATE ROUND (SF-F): Kim Clijsters/BEL
TOP QUALIFYING MATCH: Q3: Eva Hrdinova/CZE def. Laura Robson/GBR 7-6/4-6/7-6
TOP EARLY RD. MATCH (1r-2r): 2nd Rd.- Melanie Oudin/USA d. #4 Elena Dementieva/RUS 5-7/6-4/6-3
TOP MIDDLE-RD. MATCH (3r-QF): 3rd Rd.- Melanie Oudin/USA d. #29 Maria Sharapova 3-6/6-4/7-5
TOP LATE RD. MATCH (SF-F): SF- (WC) Kim Clijsters/BEL d. #2 Serena Williams/USA 6-4/7-5
=============================
FIRST SEED OUT: #25 Kaia Kanepi/EST (1st Rd.-Chang/TPE)
FIRST WIN: (WC) Vania King/USA (def. Anastasiya Yakimova/BLR)
UPSET QUEENS: The Americans
REVELATION LADIES: The Belgians
LAST QUALIFIER STANDING: Anastasia Rodionova/AUS (3rd Rd.)
IT GIRL: Melanie Oudin/USA
MS. OPPORTUNITY: Caroline Wozniacki/DEN
COMEBACK PLAYER: Kim Clijsters/BEL
CRASH & BURN: #4 Elena Dementieva/RUS (2nd Rd.-Oudin/USA
ZOMBIE QUEEN: #10 Flavia Pennetta/ITA (saved 6 MP in 4th Rd. vs. Zvonareva/RUS)
LAST AMERICAN STANDING: Serena Williams/USA (SF)
LAST non-WILLIAMS AMERICAN STANDING: Melanie Oudin/USA (QF)
DOUBLES STAR: Carly Gullickson/USA
JUNIOR BREAKOUT: Heather Watson/GBR



All for now.

Read more...

Killer Kim, Vol. II

The big stage used to be TOO BIG for Kim Clijsters. At least as far as New York is concerned, that is no longer the case.


Killer Kim & Cute Jada

Three years after she was supposed to make the attempt, 2005 U.S. Open champion Clijsters finally made due on her "title defense" at the tournament, defeating 19-year old Dane Caroline Wozniacki 7-5/6-3 to claim her second career slam crown just three tournaments into her comeback after having spent two years away from the court getting married, having a baby, burying her father and generally becoming a more organized person. It'll take some additional time to see if she's also become a more accomplished and driven champion (she'll suddenly debut in the rankings inside the Top 20 on Monday, just as she was abruptly dropped per request from the computer in '07 while ranked #3), but the early results are quite encouraging.

In the opening set of the final, Clijsters immediately jumped on Wozniacki, getting an early break and taking a 2-0 lead. But then the Dane's offspeed shots, defense and long rally prowess began to cause Clijsters' feeding-off-power game to lose the crispness that was so evident against Serena Williams in yesterday's semifinal meeting. Clijsters' errors allowed C-Woz to earn back the break, then hold to take a 4-2 lead. The rest of the set turned out to be a battle to see which player could seize upon the opportunities given them by their opponent.

Wozniacki had a break chance at 4-2, but Clijsters held for 4-3. C-Woz double-faulted on break point to knot the score at 4-4 in the next game. Clijsters went up 40/love on her own serve, then saw the game go to deuce and, after the Belgian had held four game points, C-Woz broke her to take a 5-4 lead. A wide Wozniacki forehand broke her own serve to tie things again at 5-5 as the merry-go-round continued. After the Dane held a break point, and Clijsters had double-faulted on a game point of her own, the Belgian ended up holding for a 6-5 lead. Having failed to get AND maintain an advantage, Wozniacki suffered a minor lapse in the set's twelfth game and hit a few loose shots. Before she knew it, she'd been broken at love and Clijsters had taken the set at 7-5.

With the last three-set U.S. Open women's final having come all the way back in 1995, the odds were now stacked against any potential Wozniacki comeback as C-Woz was set to become the tenth different woman to lose in ten Open finals this decade (and eleventh in a row going back to '99).

In the 2nd set, Clijsters fully found her stride. Neither player faced a break point through the first five games, but that the Belgian wasn't gradually losing her grip on the match was a sign that she wsa only moments from putting it away. Then it happened. Wozniacki was broken at love to give Clijsters a 4-2 lead. Wozniacki took a love/30 lead on Clijsters' serve in the next game, but when she managed to hold to go up 5-2 it was going to take a momumental collapse for a second U.S. Open cup to not be going into her trophy case.

The "old" Clijsters might have found a way to lose this match. The "new" one just powered through the moment, not allowing herself to think too much about what she was about to accomplish. Serving at 5-3, she sailed a forehand and backhand long on consecutive points. But it was probably the wind, blowing from her back, that played a role, not Clijsters' own faltering breath. After getting to match point, a Wozniacki shot landed in the service box and Clijsters attacked it, putting away the point with swift ease and nary a hint of a trembling elbow.

7-5/6-3. Mission accomplished... even if she didn't realize she had been on a mission when she arrived in New York late last month.

So, has Clijsters now come full circle? After struggling to come through in slam finals early in her career, going 0-4 before finally meeting up with Mary Pierce in a "virtual walkover" in the Open final four years ago while donning her "Killer Kim" tights as she slayed her career-long albatross right there on Ashe Stadium, she's now 1-0 in KC II. Is her mental mettle new and improved, or will the "old" Kim return once the fairy tale aspects of her comeback melt away and she is forced to step back into the pressure-filled arena in which she's EXPECTED to win big titles. That time has now arrived/returned. Clijsters seemed sated when she won at Flushing Meadows the first time and never won another slam in KC I, going so far as to retire without playing against at Flushing Meadows. We'll have to see what she does over the entire course of the 2010 season before we have any true clue about whether she's satisfied with this second Open title in her career sequel. Her game, as well as the deficiencies of some of the other contenders in the season's four biggest tournaments, certainly say she SHOULD be able to add to her career slam total. It'll be an interesting story to follow, especially if you-know-who returns to cramp her style and make her uncomfortable just like she so often did in the old days.

Meanwhile, the charming Danish Delight takes in this whole experience, hopefully reloading during the offseason and carrying forward into next season and beyond after having made the tweaks and changes in her game (a better volley and an improved serve, to name two) that will enable her to turn around this result in the future.

Just don't go to Mexico, Caroline!

Wozniacki, Denmark's one-woman tennis caravan (Belgium and Serbia at least had TWO sets of shoulders on which to rest the collective tennis hopes), is still a work in progress. But she knows how to win matches and patiently construct points, and that's a good foundation. The stage is not too big for her. Think of her as something akin to a Hingis, version 2.0 -- three inches taller and with room to grow.

Darn you, Chris Fowler. After ESPN2's match coverage, you pretty much "stole" my potential Wozniacki title-winning Backspin headline when you said "nice people CAN finish first" after CLIJSTERS won. I know, I know... I was going to allude to the notion that one might have been able to say that about either player. A few potential headlines: "It Couldn't Happen to a Nicer Girl," "A Sunny Night in NYC" and, my personal favorite, "Charming in the City." Oh, well. Maybe next time.

C-Woz is a player who was, at alternating times during this Open, the "forgotten" teenager in the draw, as well as the unmentioned seed, the set-aside semifinalist and the overlooked finalist. Even at times during ESPN2's coverage of this match, the hint of disrespect was there whether or not the commentators realized it. When her game was favorably compared to that of Andy Murray's, while the Scot is often listed as amongst the most technically-sound and opportunistic in-game players, Wozniacki's game was often described in terms of what it DIDN'T have. Serena's serve, Venus' net coverage and volleys, Clijsters' hard ground strokes, etc. No matter. Wozniacki is closer now to being a consistent slam presence than she was two weeks ago, and a year from now might be up to matching or exceeding this result.

But, seriously, come on, Chris. We knoooooow that Clijsters is the "nicest person on the face of the earth." Or, as Tennis Channel declared last week, "the most popular player in the history of tennis." Why, it's why I semi-sarcastically dubbed her "Nice Kim" so many years ago, since no commentator could do one of her matches without turning over the egg timer and once again mentioning, as was apparently in their contract, how nice she was once gravity moved all the sand from the top of the little device to its bottom. Ahh, don't get me started. I practically had to sit on my hands and wrap a gag around my mouth at times during this match for fear that the now-mocked-unmercifully (by me, of course) KC II "clean slate" might be sullied before that other Belgian announces a comeback. Speaking of, when ESPN2's team mentioned how grudging and unwilling Clijsters was to discuss a potential Henin return, but didn't mention that the former #1 in question had said quite nice things about Clijsters' success the other day, I just about broke the slate in two. But I didn't. I was very proud of myself.

How much can change in a year? Well, consider how much has changed in the past few weeks when it comes to Clijsters. Three tournaments ago, people wondered whether or not Clijsters could compete for major titles again. Well, we have our answer. In fact, it now seems pretty stupid that it was even a question to begin with. Talent is talent, and if it can be properly harnessed through training anything is possible (and, in the case of Serena Williams, I mean ANYTHING, as we've so recently learned), if not probable.

ChrisChrisChrisChrisChrisChrisChris. Let's not poo-poo Lance Armstrong's comeback after twice as long away, then second-place finish in the month-long, grueling Tour de France -- at nearly 40 years old, a decade and a half older than some of the top competitors -- and say it wasn't on par with Clijsters winning a slam almost two years after having a baby. And Pam S., the reason why it's been so long since a mother won a slam is because most top players wait until they're at the end of their careers before they have a child, rather than leaving the sport in their prime, as SOMEONE did. Do you really think Steffi Graf or Chris Evert couldn't have had a child and then won more slams if they'd briefly walked away from the sport in their early twenties? Come now, let's not ascribe superpowers to Kim just because she's talented AND nice, a strange concept sometimes on the tennis tour in some circles, maybe... but not as alien as it has so often been made out to be whenever a Clijsters match is broadcast. And, no, this doesn't count as "dirtying" the slate -- it's just an aside with a nifty golden hue. That's a VERY important distinction, don't you know.

In the end, Clijsters lifts the trophy once again, but don't call her "Cinderella" or a weaver of a "magical" tale. As I said, talent is talent. Clijsters was the first player ever to reach #1 without having won a slam title (not surprisingly, without the same drumbeat of denial that we see today when players not named Williams ascend to the top spot without first having "earned their stripes" in Melbourne, Paris, London or New York), so she's always had the necessary ability to do the deed. Once she reclaimed her desire and got into "tennis tour shape" before her return this summer, she immediately became a threat. Just ask Marion Bartoli, Victoria Azarenka and all the other Top 10/20 players she beat this summer before she even arrived in Flushing Meadows.

After taking so long for the original "Killer Kim" to emerge from post-production, "Vol. II" turned out to be a rather entertaining affair, churned out with surprising swiftness while not scrimping on the budget. Even the cameo by the "NextGen" star was ticket-worthy.

Okay, I admit, Jada IS quite cute. I'm not made of stone, after all.

Kim Clijsters is the U.S. Open champion. Unlike the last time, I don't say that through gritted teeth. I guess that's what you'd call progress, right?

How tenuous the peace is, though, might depend on whether or not a certain diminutive one-handed backhander decides to grant future "permission" to rearrange the slate... err, I mean table.



=DAY 14 NOTES=
...meanwhile, I think Wozniacki is now speaking her fifteenth different language into the on-court microphone. Someone remember to call her courtesy car.

...in other news, Serena Williams was fined $10,500 for her actions on Saturday night, and issued a public apology (no word on which came first). She won't be defaulted from the doubles final with Venus (they're set to face Cara Black & Liezel Huber in the final tomorrow, before the men's final) after a review of the audio from her verbal assault on the lineswoman, though, during last night's semifinal against Clijsters. Further action after the tournament is possible.

...in junior finals, another British girl has won a slam Girls title. Heather Watson, previously in the long shadow of Laura Robson, defeated Yana Buchina (who beat Robson in the semis) in the singles final. Aussie Bernard Tomic defeated American Chase Buchanan in the Boys final. Valeria Solovieva (RUS) and Maryna Zanevska (UKR) won the Girls Doubles, while Marton Fucsovics (HUN) and Hsieh Cheng-Peng (TPE) took the Boys Doubles.

...Dlouhy/Paes defeated Bhupathi/Knowles in the Men's Doubles final. Meanwhile, Roger Federer will play in his sixth straight Open men's final on Monday against a sixth different player. This time it's Juan Martin del Potro. The Argentine won't likely have any more luck than Andy Murray, Novak Djokovic, Andy Roddick, Andre Agassi or Lleyton Hewiit did.

...this past week's "ITF Player of the Week" goes to Petra Martic. The Croat, who qualified for the U.S. Open and won a main draw match, carried over her momentum to the $100K event in Biella, Italy. There, she defeated the likes of Polona Hercog and Jelena Dokic en route to the final, where she took out Sharon Fichman 7-5/6-4.

...and, finally, as always, it's already time to look ahead:


QUEBEC CITY, QUE CANADA (Int'l $220K/hard court indoor)
08 Final: Petrova d. Mattek
09 Top Seeds: Petrova/Lisicki
=============================
=SF=
Petrova d. Wozniak
King d. Lisicki
=FINAL=
Petrova d. King

...hopefully, Nadia can put the Oudin loss behind her and kick off her 4Q by defending her '08 title. I included Lisicki in the picks, but is she healthy? I'm kind of surprised she's even playing so soon after that ankle injury on match point at the Open. King has had a nice summer, and might be an under-the-radar pick to win her second career title ('06 Bangkok).


GUANGZHOU, CHINA (Int'l $220K/hard court outdoor)
08 Final: Zvonareva d. Peng
09 Top Seeds: Medina-Garrigues/Zheng
=============================
=SF=
Wienerova d. Hsieh
Zheng d. Peng
=FINAL=
Zheng d. Wienerova

...the top half of the draw sort of looks like an ITF event, while the bottom half (with Zheng, Peng & Peer) is much stronger. Something to watch: if Kimiko Date-Krumm can somehow get past her 1st Round match with perennially inconsistent #1-seed Anabel Medina-Garrigues, she might have a shot to win her first tour title since 1996. Hey, after this U.S. Open, who's to question that it might happen?



*WOMEN'S SINGLES FINAL*
(WC) Kim Clijsters/BEL def. #9 Caroline Wozniacki/DEN 7-5/6-3

*MEN'S SINGLES FINAL*
#1 Roger Federer/SUI vs. #6 Juan Martin Del Potro/ARG

*WOMEN'S DOUBLES FINAL*
#1 Black/Huber (ZIM/USA) vs. #4 Williams/Williams (USA/USA)

*MEN'S DOUBLES FINAL*
#4 Dlouhy/Paes (CZE/IND) def. #3 Bhupathi/Knowles (IND/BAH) 3-6/6-3/6-2

*MIXED DOUBLES FINAL*
Gullickson/Parrott (USA/USA) def. #2 Black/Paes (ZIM/IND) 6-2/6-4

*GIRLS SINGLES FINAL*
#11 Heather Watson/GBR def. Yana Buchina/RUS 6-4/6-1

*BOYS SINGLES FINAL*
#3 Bernard Tomic/AUS def. Chase Buchanan/USA 6-1/6-3

*GIRLS DOUBLES FINAL*
Solovieva/Zanevska (RUS/UKR) def. #3 E.Bogdan/Lertcheewakarn (ROU/THA) 1-6/6-3/10-7

*BOYS DOUBLES FINAL*
Fucsovics/Hsieh (HUN/TPE) def. Obry/Puget (FRA/FRA) 7-6/5-7/10-1





*US OPEN WOMEN'S FINALS - 2000's*
2000 Venus Williams def. Lindsay Davenport
2001 Venus Williams def. Serena Williams
2002 Serena Williams def. Venus Williams
2003 Justine Henin-Hardenne def. Kim Clijsters
2004 Svetlana Kuznetsova def. Elena Dementieva
2005 Kim Clijsters def. Mary Pierce
2006 Maria Sharapova def. Justine Henin-Hardenne
2007 Justine Henin def. Svetlana Kuznetsova
2008 Serena Williams def. Jelena Jankovic
2009 Kim Clijsters def. Caroline Wozniacki

*VENUS WILLIAMS US OPEN DEFEATS... a prerequisite for greatness?*
1997 F- Martina Hingis (Hingis won title)
1998 SF- Lindsay Davenport (Davenport won title)
1999 SF- Martina Hingis
2000 Venus won title
2001 Venus won title
2002 F- Serena Williams (Serena won title)
2003 DNP
2004 4th Rd.- Lindsay Davenport
2005 QF- Kim Clijsters (Clijsters won title)
2006 DNP
2007 SF- Justine Henin (Henin won title)
2008 QF- Serena Williams (Serena won title)
2009 4th Rd.- Kim Clijsters (Clijsters won title)

*"JUNIOR BREAKOUT" WINNERS*
=2007=
AO: Madison Brengle, USA
RG: Mariana Duque-Marino, COL
WI: Urszula Radwanska, POL
US: Kristina Kucova, SVK
=2008=
AO: Jessica Moore, AUS & Arantxa Rus, NED
RG: Simona Halep, ROU & Elena Bogdan, ROU
WI: Laura Robson, GBR
US: Gabriela Paz, VEN
=2009=
AO: Ksenia Pervak, RUS
RG: Daria Gavrilova, RUS
WI: Timea Babos, HUN & Miyabi Inoue, JPN
US: Heather Watson, GBR

*LOW-RANKED 2009 FINALISTS*
NR - Kim Clijsters, BEL - US Open (W)
#201 - Alexandra Dulgheru, ROU - Warsaw (W)
#126 - Sania Mirza, IND - Pattaya (L)

*LOW-RANKED SLAM CHAMPIONS*
NR - Evonne Goolagong, 1977 Australian Open
NR - KIM CLIJSTERS, 2009 US OPEN
#111 - Chris O'Neil, 1978 Australian Open
#81 - Serena Williams, 2007 Australian Open
#68 - Barbara Jordan, 1979 Australian Open




TOP QUALIFIER: Eva Hrdinova/CZE
TOP EARLY ROUND (1r-2r): Serena Williams/USA
TOP MIDDLE-ROUND (3r-QF): Serena Williams/USA
TOP LATE ROUND (SF-F): Kim Clijsters/BEL
TOP QUALIFYING MATCH: Q3: Eva Hrdinova/CZE def. Laura Robson/GBR 7-6/4-6/7-6
TOP EARLY RD. MATCH (1r-2r): 2nd Rd.- Melanie Oudin/USA d. #4 Elena Dementieva/RUS 5-7/6-4/6-3
TOP MIDDLE-RD. MATCH (3r-QF): 3rd Rd.- Melanie Oudin/USA d. #29 Maria Sharapova 3-6/6-4/7-5
TOP LATE RD. MATCH (SF-F): SF- (WC) Kim Clijsters d. #2 Serena Williams/USA 6-4/7-5
=============================
FIRST SEED OUT: #25 Kaia Kanepi/EST (1st Rd.-Chang/TPE)
FIRST WIN: (WC) Vania King/USA (def. Anastasiya Yakimova/BLR)
UPSET QUEENS: The Americans
REVELATION LADIES: The Belgians
LAST QUALIFIER STANDING: Anastasia Rodionova/AUS (3rd Rd.)
IT GIRL: Melanie Oudin/USA
MS. OPPORTUNITY: Caroline Wozniacki/DEN
COMEBACK PLAYER: Kim Clijsters/BEL
CRASH & BURN: #4 Elena Dementieva/RUS (2nd Rd.-Oudin/USA
ZOMBIE QUEEN: #10 Flavia Pennetta/ITA (saved 6 MP in 4th Rd. vs. Zvonareva/RUS)
LAST AMERICAN STANDING: Serena Williams/USA (SF)
LAST non-WILLIAMS AMERICAN STANDING: Melanie Oudin/USA (QF)
DOUBLES STAR: Carly Gullickson/USA
JUNIOR BREAKOUT: Heather Watson/GBR



All for Day 14. More tomorrow.

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