US.11- Horatio Who?

I am more an antique Roman than a Dane... but that doesn't mean I'm not above Google-ing my way to another "Hamlet"-tinged edition of Backspin to get through this mostly not-a-mouse-stirring day at Flushing Meadows.

While there was Doubles, Mixed Doubles, Men's Singles and Junior action on Day 11, there was not a single Women's Singles match on the grounds of the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. So, consider today a moment to season your admiration for a while when it comes to the final four at this U.S. Open.

They've all come quite a way.

A few months ago, as Pam Shriver and Mary Joe Fernandez have so often reminded ESPN2 viewers, Caroline Wozniacki was considered a "soft #2" in the rankings (now, aside from the unfortunately scatological nature of such a comment, doesn't it say more about the detractors than C-Woz if they are so willing to so alter their opinions after such a short period of time?). A year ago, Vera Zvonareva's career was too-easily boiled down to a bum ankle and a YouTube clip. No longer. For the last few seasons, Venus Williams has had to field questions from people seemingly wanting to shove her through the lockerroom door and into retirement. Can we stop it now, and just enjoy her while she IS still around? And before last summer, Kim Clijsters wasn't even a professional tennis player. (Why, even I've seen fit to call a "truce" over this two-week period.)

No matter who wins two more matches to lay down a new or another level of success to the foundation of their sporting lives, they'll have overcome great adversity to do it. And thus another very nice 2010 grand slam tennis story will be born. This year might not have turned out to have been the "best season ever," but it will not go down without it's own unique memories and superior performances.

Of course, three of the remaining women will leave this tournament disappointed, having not been able to take full advantage of a slam that started without Serena Williams and Justine Henin, and saw several crash-and-burn performances from a slew of other former Open champions, finalists or players some felt were ready to raise their games to meet the challenge. Tomorrow, two of their great runs won't even end in an appearance in the final, and it will likely largely pivot on their inability to play their best on the world's biggest tennis stage at the worst possible time. Where the offense is let the great axe fall, but we shouldn't forget the rosier path that led to their ultimately dark demise.

Good night ladies. Good night, sweet ladies. Good night. And good luck... but also congratulations.



=DAY 11 NOTES=
...the first champions of this Open were crowned today when Liezel Huber and Bob Bryan won the Mixed Doubles final over Kveta Peschke & Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi, 6-4/6-4. While their opponents remain slam title-less for their careers (though Qureshi will get another chance in the Men's Doubles final), Huber (2) and Bryan (7) now both have multiple Mixed crowns alone.

Still alive in the Women's Doubles, as well, Huber officially get the "Doubles Star" award for this slam.

...meanwhile, Vania King and Yaroslava Shvedova remained unbeaten as a team in grand slam action, reaching their second straight slam Women's Doubles final with a win the SF today over Cara Black and Anastasia Rodionova. The American and Kazakh duo will now get a chance to follow up their Wimbledon crown with another.

As a result, Vania King, the tennis-playing singer who has been terrifically comfortable on the biggest stages in London and New York, is "Broadway-Bound" as far as this Backspinner is concerned.

...with that one snapped up, and with Francesca Schiavone deserving something for her play in New York, I'm breaking down and giving her the "Comeback Player" for this slam. Even though she DID just win a slam a few months ago, she also DID prove in NYC, after a few disappointing post-Roland Garros months, that her Parisian exploits and heavy/long celebratory period that followed don't necessarily mean that her hopes to shine at future slams AFTER her 30th birthday are kaput.

...it is said that there's hope a great (wo)man's memory may outlive (her) life half a year. Hmmm, how long has it been since Justine Henin played a match?

...an interesting exhibition match will take place on Ashe tonight when Martina Hingis and Anna Kournikova play a doubles match against Pat Cash and Mats Wilander.

...and, finally, apparently, brevity is the soul of wit, so I guess I'll quit while I'm ahead.



*WOMEN'S SINGLES SF*
#1 Caroline Wozniacki/DEN vs. #7 Vera Zvonareva/RUS
#3 Venus Williams/USA vs. #2 Kim Clijsters/BEL

*MEN'S SINGLES QF*
#1 Rafael Nadal/ESP vs. #8 Fernando Verdasco/ESP
#25 Stanislas Wawrinka/SUI vs. #12 Mikhail Youzhny/RUS
#3 Novak Djokovic/SRB def. #17 Gael Monfils/FRA
#2 Roger Federer/SUI def. #5 Robin Soderling/SWE

*WOMEN'S DOUBLES FINAL*
#6 King/Shvedova (USA/KAZ) vs. #7 Chan/Zheng (TPE/CHN) or #2 Huber/Petrova (USA/RUS)

*MEN'S DOUBLES FINAL*
#1 Bryan/Bryan (USA/USA) vs. #16 Bopanna/Qureshi (IND/PAK)

*MIXED DOUBLES FINAL*
#1 Huber/B.Bryan (USA/USA) def. Peschke/Qureshi (CZE/PAK) 6-4/6-4

*BOYS SINGLES QF*
Filip Horansky/SVK vs. #10 Denis Kudla/USA
#4 Jiri Vesely/CZE vs. #8 Agustin Velotti/ARG
(WC) Jack Sock/USA vs. #13 Victor Baluda/RUS
Dennis Novikov/USA vs. #2 Marton Fucsovics/HUN

*GIRLS DOUBLES QF*
#1 Gavrilova/Khromacheva (RUS/RUS) vs. #7 Jabeur/Putintseva (TUN/RUS)
#3 Babos/Stephens (HUN/USA) def. (WC) Gibbs/McPhillips (USA/USA)
#5 Cepelova/Skamlova (SVK/SVK) vs. Mestach/Njiric (BEL/CRO)
Anderson/Turewicz (USA/USA) vs. Tang/Tian (CHN/CHN)

*BOYS DOUBLES QF*
Clezar/Fernandes (BRA/BRA) vs. #6 Dzumhur/Pavic (BIH/CRO)
#3 Beretta/Quiroz (PER/ECU) vs. Heller/Krawietz (GER/GER)
Sell/Semenzato (BRA/BRA) vs. #4 Golding/Vesely (GBR/CZE)
Baluda/Rumyantsev (RUS/RUS) vs. (WC) Collarini/Sock (USA/USA)




*SLAM "DOUBLES STAR" WINNERS*
[2010]
AO: Cara Black, ZIM
RG: Katarina Srebotnik, SLO
WI: Vania King/Yaroslava Shvedova, USA/KAZ
US: Liezel Huber, USA
[US Open]
2006 Martina Navratilova, USA
2007 Nathalie Dechy, FRA
2008 Cara Black, ZIM
2009 Carly Gullickson, USA
2010 Liezel Huber, USA

*SLAM "COMEBACK PLAYER" WINNERS*
[2010]
AO: Justine Henin, BEL
RG: Kimiko Date-Krumm, JPN
WI: Vera Zvonareva, RUS
US: Francesca Schiavone, ITA
[US Open]
2007 Vera Zvonareva, RUS
2008 Anna-Lena Groenefeld, GER
2009 Kim Clijsters, BEL
2010 Francesca Schiavone, ITA

*CAREER MIXED SLAM TITLE - ACTIVE WOMEN*
5...Cara Black, ZIM
4...Daniela Hantuchova, SVK
4...Lisa Raymond, USA
4...Katarina Srebotnik, SLO
2...Victoria Azarenka, BLR
2...LIEZEL HUBER, USA
2...Samantha Stosur, AUS
2...Rennae Stubbs, AUS
2...Serena Williams, USA
2...Venus Williams, USA
2...Vera Zvonareva, RUS

*WOMEN'S OVERALL WON/LOST - BY NATION*
[through QF]
20-15...RUSSIA
10-11...UNITED STATES
9-8...Italy
8-2...BELGIUM
6-4...Slovak Republic
6-6...Australia
5-0...DENMARK
5-3...Serbia
5-6...France
4-2...Estonia
4-5...Germany (+ walkover W)
3-1...Israel
3-2...China (+ walkover L)
3-2...Taiwan
3-3...Austria
3-4...Ukraine
3-6...Spain
3-8...Czech Republic
2-1...Argentina
2-1...Luxembourg
2-2...Poland
2-3...Switzerland
2-5...Romania
1-1...Belarus
1-1...Bulgaria
1-1...India
1-1...Latvia
1-1...Uzbekistan
1-2...Canada
1-2...Great Britain
1-2...Hungary
1-2...Sweden
1-4...Croatia
0-1...Kazakhstan
0-1...Portugal
0-1...Slovenia
0-1...South Africa
0-2...Japan

*ALL-TIME NIGHT SESSIONS VICTORIES*
28...Andre Agassi
25...VENUS WILLIAMS
24...Jimmy Connors
20...Pete Sampras (undefeated)
20...Serena Williams
17...Andy Roddick
16...ROGER FEDERER (undefeated)
16...Martina Navratilova (undefeated)
16...John McEnroe

*WTA SINGLE-SEASON WIN STREAKS - 2006-10*
=25=
Justine Henin (2007)
=19=
Maria Sharapova (2006)
=18=
Maria Sharapova (2008)
=17=
Justine Henin-Hardenne (2006)
Serena Williams (2008)
=16=
Amelie Mauresmo (2006)
Justine Henin (2007)
Dinara Safina (2009)
=15=
Nadia Petrova (2006)
Dinara Safina (2008)
Elena Dementieva (2009)
Flavia Pennetta (2009)
Venus Williams (2010)
=14=
Venus Williams (2009)
=13=
Serena Williams (2007)
Justine Henin (2007)
Anna Chakvetadze (2007)
CAROLINE WOZNIACKI (2010)




TOP QUALIFIER: Michelle Larcher de Brito/POR
TOP EARLY ROUND (1r-2r): #1 Caroline Wozniacki/DEN
TOP MIDDLE-ROUND (3r-QF): #1 Caroline Wozniacki/DEN
TOP LATE ROUND (SF-F): xxx
TOP QUALIFYING MATCH: Q1: Laura Robson/GBR d. #2q Jelena Dokic/AUS 6-1/6-4
TOP EARLY RD. MATCH (1r-2r): 1st Rd. - #4 Jelena Jankovic/SRB def. Simona Halep/ROU 6-4/4-6/7-5
TOP MIDDLE-RD. MATCH (3r-QF): 4th Rd. - #5 Stosur/AUS def. #12 Dementieva/RUS 6-3/2-6/7-6
TOP LATE RD. MATCH (SF-F/Jr.): xxx
TOP NIGHT MATCH: 4th Rd. - #5 Stosur/AUS def. #12 Dementieva/RUS 6-3/2-6/7-6 (saved 4 MP, ended at 1:37 a.m.)
=============================
FIRST WINNER: #6 Francesca Schiavone/ITA (def. Ayumi Morita/JPN)
FIRST SEED OUT: #8 Li Na/CHN (lost to Kateryna Bondarenko/UKR)
UPSET QUEENS: The Taiwanese
REVELATION LADIES: The North Americans
LAST QUALIFIERS STANDING: Mandy Minella/LUX & Lourdes Dominguez-Lino/ESP (3rd Rd.)
IT GIRL: Beatrice Capra/USA
MS. OPPORTUNITY: Kaia Kanepi/EST
COMEBACK PLAYER: Francesca Schiavone/ITA
CRASH & BURN: #10 Victoria Azarenka/BLR (retired after collapsing in 2nd Rd. vs. Gisela Dulko/ARG)
ZOMBIE QUEEN: Samantha Stosur/AUS (down set and a break vs. Elena Vesnina/RUS in 1st Rd.; down 4 MP vs. Elena Dementieva/RUS in 4th Rd)
LAST AMERICAN STANDING: Venus Williams/USA (in SF)
LADY OF THE EVENING: Venus Williams/USA
BROADWAY-BOUND: Vania King/USA
DOUBLES STAR Liezel Huber/USA
JUNIOR BREAKOUT: xxx




All for Day 11. More tomorrow.