Wk.7- Last Word Williams

Venus gets the last word... again.

At the Australian Open, we learned about the law of nature... and Serena. Over the past week in Dubai, the Law of Venus came to the forefront as it so often has in the past when her future was questioned. At this point, it's almost becoming old hat to say it (though, apparently, a little too easy to forget it):

It isn't over until Venus Williams says it is.

Before the beginning of her seventeeth season on tour a few months ago, under questioning about when her barrier-breaking career would end, the soon-to-be-30 star simply stated, "As long as I'm playing great, I'm not putting a number on it yet."

In losing in Melbourne in such faltering fashion to Li Na a few weeks ago, Venus made it easy to wonder about her future. The lack of a slam singles championship currently being held in her name (courtesy of her sister in last year's SW19 final) took away the one bit of in-your-face evidence that has shielded her from doubts about her continued slam viability as more and more seem to be counting the days until her eventual retirement announcement. I, for one, after fighting against it for the past few Wimbledons, for the first time took note of the notion that Venus didn't look like a tennis player having a bad day in that Li match, but instead reminded one of an aging tennis star.

It was a jarring revelation.

Maybe it was simply an illusion, though, created out of the Australian heat (even though it wasn't all that intense Down Under this year. All Venus has done since then is team up with Serena to win yet another slam doubles titles, then go to Dubai last week and defend her title there, looking all the while as if neither time nor persistent attempts to usher her through a waiting tour exit had wilted her desire. I'd say that maybe she was actually inspired by all the doubt, but I don't think Venus has even really been wired that way. The naturally-occurring "Venus blinders" is probably one of the reasons why she's held up so long on the rough-and-tumble tennis battlefield, and it's why she likely pays little to no attention to what anyone says about her. Sometimes, Venus' obliviousness about how her career is viewed and compared with others is the key to her success... or at least a trait that prevents worst case scenarios from ever becoming reality when it comes to her tennis career. Younger players who wilt at the first sign of heightened expectations, or temporarily poor results, should pay close attention to her.

Truthfully, people have been "writing off" Venus from time to time all the way back to 1999, when Serena beat her to the grand slam platform at the U.S. Open. After making waves, rubbing a few people the wrong way (remember the case of the flying beads?) and helping to revolutionize the sport before she'd turned 20, many sought to "move on" to the Sister that father Richard had always said was going to be the better player of the two siblings. Even Richard once said that Venus would never still be playing by the time she reached her late twenties.

Serena rose, fell and rose again. The Belgians came, went and arrived again. The Serbs reached new heights and, well, sort of plateaued. The Russians invaded, and all the former Soviet Republics are turning into mini-powers in their own right. Next up might be the Chinese. But Venus remains, playing in her third different decade. Maybe she'll outlast them all and challenge the likes of Martina Navratilova for longevity, competing with championship dreams into her mid-to-late thirties and in doubles even longer. She's already stated more than once her desire to at least play long enough to challenge for Olympic Gold at the All-England in the 2012 London Games, and hasn't yet balked at the idea of hanging around until 2016 in Rio, either. At this point, at least a few more seasons of seeing Venus bounding around the WTA scene seems like a given. After that, it's up to her.

"As long as I'm playing great, I'm not putting a number on it yet."

Sometimes when it's come to his daughters, though it's been a rare occasion over the years, Richard IS wrong. The rest of us know the feeling. Thankfully, Venus just keeps moving forward and never looking back.

*WEEK 7 CHAMPIONS*

DUBAI, UAE (Premier $2m/hard court outdoor)
S: Venus Williams def. Victoria Azarenka 6-3/7-5
D: Llagostera-Vives/Martinez-Sanchez d. Peschke/Srebotnik

MEMPHIS, TENNESSEE USA (Int'l $220K/hard court indoor)
S: Maria Sharapova def. Sofia Arvidsson 6-2/6-1
D: King/Krajicek d. Mattek-Sands/Shaughnessy

BOGOTA, COLOMBIA (Int'l $220K/red clay outdoor)
S: Mariana Duque-Marino def. Angelique Kerber 6-4/6-3
D: Dulko/Gallovits d. Savchuk/Yakimova


PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Venus Williams/USA
...welcome back, Venus. Career title #42 proved that the reports of her tennis demise were greatly exaggerated. And that's a good thing. Her string of victims in Dubai certainly speaks well for her ability to compete in big events the rest of this season, as Sabine Lisicki, Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, Shahar Peer and Victoria Azarenka will attest.
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RISERS: Victoria Azarenka/BLR & Shahar Peer/ISR
...whatever offseason work Azarenka did in order to help her better manage and control her on-court temper tantrums, it looks to have worked wonders. Now that she's no longer lugging along her own internal time bomb, she has the chance to see just how high she can fly. Ah, if only she could find a way to avoid the Williams Sisters, she just might soar pretty high, too. Alas, it wasn't meant to be in Dubai, as she lost in the final to Venus just a few weeks after losing that big lead to Serena in Melbourne. Still, her wins over Kateryna Bondarenko, Anna-Lena Groenefeld, Vera Zvonareva and Agnieszka Radwanska are a good sign for a player who's breathing down the neck of the Top 5 even while most definitely having enough breathing room in her game to believe that she can ratchet it up at least one more notch over the spring and summer. Also in Dubai, all Peer did was make her delated debut in the U.A.E. one year after the closing down of the nation's borders to her entry created an international incident, called into question the WTA's executive decisions, not to mention the (generally lacking) support of the other players when a colleague's rights were being trampled on in full public view. After potential demonstrations and unrest were used as excuses for Peer's '09 exclusion, her '10 arrival and match play went off without a hitch and/or trouble (even while Dubai was proccupied with accusations about that hotel murder/assassination). For her part, Peer took out one of the tour's hottest players, Yanina Wickmayer, in the 1st Round after the Belgian had led 4-2 (with points for 5-2) in the 3rd set, '09 Dubai runner-up Virginie Razzano in the 2nd Round, #1-seed Caroline Wozniacki in the 3rd Round and then a retiring Australian Open semifinalist Li Na in the QF. Whew! In the SF, she lost to '09-'10 champ Venus, who'd been conspicuously (too) silent for a bit too long about Peer's situation a year ago, but said all the right things in the immediate aftermath and in the year since. Not a bad week's work in the eye of a potential storm. Peer won't ever make a big deal of her ability to handle such perceived pressure, as it's not in her nature. But, as Venus herself noted after she won the title this weekend, Peer's grace and focus in the face of "Dubai Debacle+1" is probably something that few, if any, other player would have been able to pull off so well.
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SURPRISES: Angelique Kerber/GER & Sofia Arvidsson/SWE
...Kerber reached her first career tour final in Bogota, getting wins over Rossana de los Rios, Pauline Parmentier and Gisela Dulko. Meanwhile, 26-year old Arvidsson's star has dimmed enough in recent seasons to assume that her days for challenging for tour titles might be over. She lost the 2005 Quebec City final to Amy Frazier (like last week's mention of Dragomir-Ilie, there's another blast from the past), and won the '06 Memphis crown over Marta Domachowska. She hadn't reached another final until this weekend in, once again, Memphis. Of course, she had to qualify just to get into the main draw, then experience the oddity of taking out fellow '06 finalist Domachowska again in the 1st Round. But after that, she found her stride and knocked off Vania King, Melanie Oudin and Anne Keothavong to set up her eventually-disappointing final meeting with Sharapova. Hmmm, I wonder if she was inspired by her fellow Swedes' Olympic triumphs in Vancouver?
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COMEBACK: Anne Keothavong/GBR
...after having to miss a large chunk of '09 due to injury after having managed to achieve new career heights, Brit Keothavong has some make-up work to do. So far, so good. In Memphis, she got wins over Kristina Barrois, Michelle Larcher de Brito and Karolina Sprem to reach her first SF since last May in Warsaw.
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VETERANS: Nuria Llagostera-Vives/Maria Jose Martinez-Sanchez, ESP
...after winning on hard courts last year in Toronto and at the season-ending championships in Doha, Llagostera-Vives and Martinez-Sanchez were carrying big expectations into 2010. They stumbled badly in multiple events earlier this season, but rebounded quite nicely in taking the Premier 9 event in Dubai. It's the pair's ninth title as a duo.
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FRESH FACES: Mariana Duque-Marino/COL & Regina Kulikova/RUS
...Colombia's Duque-Marino, 20, has been flagged as a clay courter to watch ever since she made a surprise run to the '07 Roland Garros Girls final (after knocking off dominant junior Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in the SF, she lost to Alize Cornet) as an unseeded entrant. It took her until now to finally reach her first career tour final in Bogota, though. She made quick work of her opportunity, taking out fellow first-time finalist Kerber in straight sets to become 2010's first maiden titlist. Additional wins over Klara Zakopalova and Arantxa Parra-Santonja helped raise the world #143 to a new career-high rank in the Top 100. Kulikova, 20, made news in Melbourne earlier this year by qualifying and then ending up on the short end of that record 4:18 1st Round match against Barbora Zahlavova-Strycova. In Dubai, she qualified again and opened things with a win in the 1st Round over Maria Kirilenko. A victory over Stefanie Voegele followed, but was topped by her 3rd Round three-set win over Svetlana Kuznetsova. In the QF, she stretched Agnieszka Radwanska to three sets, as well.
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DOWN: Svetlana Kuznetsova/RUS & Li Na/CHN
...two prime examples that show why you never know whether to believe your eyes or not on the WTA tour. Winning Roland Garros last year was supposed to stoke Kuznetsova's confidence and allow her to live up to her talent level for a full season. So far in 2010, her best result has come in the Fed Cup tie that he was hounded into playing. Last week in Dubai, after getting a bye in the 1st Round and a walkover in the 2nd, she lost to fellow Hordette Kulikova in three sets in the 3rd. Li's Australian Open SF run was supposed to signal an upturn in the career of the oft-injured Chinese vet. But her first action since Melbourne ended when she retired in her QF match in Dubai with back spasms. Shake your head in frustration if you've traveled down this road with Li before.
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ITF PLAYER: Abigail Spears/USA
...in the Suprise, Arizona $25K, Spears defeated Kurumi Nara to take the title. She also knocked off the streaking Olivia Sanchez (hey, she'd won back-to-back ITF titles... she didn't take the court naked. Sheesh.) in the 1st Round, and followed that up with victories over Anastasia Pivovarova and Christina McHale. As far as I know, Carly Gullickson didn't sneak onto the court in Spears' place and make off with her champion's honors... so it was a good week for the American.
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JUNIOR STAR: Grace Min/USA
...the American won the G2 event in Santiago, Chile, defeating Argentina's Agustina Sol Eskenazi in the final. Eskenazi was the G2 Inka Bowl champion her last time out two weeks ago.
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1. Dubai 3rd Rd - Kulikova d. Kuznetsova
...5-7/7-6/6-4. We're compiling a nice collection of evidence that Kuznetsova's head just isn't in the game for 2010.
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2. Dubai Final - V.Williams d. Azarenka
...6-3/6-5. With this win, Venus moves one ahead of Justine Henin to become the active female player with the most career singles titles. For now, at least.
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3. Bogota 1st Rd - Antoniychuk d. Suarez-Navarro

...6-1/6-4. You get the notion that the Ukrainian will star in a few screeensavers around the world if she gets a few more nice wins. Hey, that's the internet age, I guess.
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4. Memphis 1st Rd - Vaidisova d. Granville
...6-4/6-2. This was Vaidisova's first main draw WTA win since April '09 in Barcelona.
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5. Dubai 3rd Rd - A.Radwanska d. Pennetta
...6-3/6-0. Another of those perplexing results that sometimes comes off Pennetta's racket. Meanwhile, A-Rad reached another large tournament SF to maintain her position as the most "anonymous" Top 10 player in women's tennis.
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6. Memphis Final - Sharapova d. Arvidsson
...6-2/6-1. Elvis' path ended in Memphis. Sharapova's '10 comeback path thus begins there. Coincidence? I think not. Hmmm... a stretch? Oh, well. Anyway, it says something about the week that Venus had that Sharapova gets a WTA title and STILL can't find a way into this week's Backspin Awards, huh? For the record, she also notched wins over Shenay Perry, Bethanie Mattek-Sands, Elena Baltacha and Petra Kvitova en route to her 21st career crown.
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7. Dubai QF - V.Williams d. Pavlyuchenkova
...6-3/6-4. After the Russian beat Venus twice late last year, what are the odds that she EVER beats her again now that Williams has her scent?
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8. Dubai Doubles SF - Peschke/Srebotnik d. Black/Huber
...6-2/2-6/11-9. Black and Huber had reached four consecutive finals this season, then Huber moved into sole possession of the #1 doubles ranking for the first time last week after having shared the spot with Black since November '07. Days after Black's 31-month stint at the top of the rankings came to an end, the pair's final streak ended, too. Well. Peschke & Srebotnik, the eventual runners-up, also knocked off Raymond/Stubbs earlier in the tournament.
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9. Bogota Final - Duque-Marino d. Kerber
...6-4/6-3. The Colombian is 15-3 overall on the season. Could she give Dulko a run for her money for South America's year-end top-ranked player? She's now broken into the Top 100 for the first time.
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10. Bogota Doubles Final - Dulko/Gallovits d. Savchuk/Yakimova
...6-2/7-6. Well, I DID pick Dulko to win the doubles title in Bogota last week... but I'd rather have seen the singles event go her way if I had my drothers (a three-for-three singles champion prediction week would have been great). At #35, she was in the singles SF with #85, #89 and #143, so she WAS the favorite at that point. So, naturally, she went down in straight sets.
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HM- $25K Midura AUS Final - Dellacqua d. Peers
...7-5/6-0. Who says Aussie players have to leave Australia after the AO is over? Dellacqua also won the doubles with fellow Aussie Jessica Moore.
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**ALL-TIME WTA TITLES**
167...Martina Navratilova
154...Chris Evert
107...Steffi Graf
92...Margaret Smith-Court
68...Evonne Goolagong-Cawley
67...Billie Jean King
55...Lindsay Davenport
55...Virginia Wade
53...Monica Seles
43...Martina Hingis
42...VENUS WILLIAMS *
41...Justine Henin *

**ALL-TIME TIER I + PREMIER 9 TITLES**
31...Martina Navratilova
30...Steffi Graf
17...Martina Hingis
11...Lindsay Davenport
11...Chris Evert
11...Gabriela Sabatini
10...Justine Henin *
10...Serena Williams *
9...Monica Seles
9...Conchita Martinez
8...VENUS WILLIAMS *
7...Maria Sharapova *
6...Amelie Mauresmo
6...Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario

**OLDEST 2010 CHAMPIONS**
29y,8m,1wk - VENUS WILLIAMS (DUBAI)
28y,4m,1wk - Serena Williams (Australian Open)
28y,4m - Elena Dementieva (Paris)





ACAPULCO, MEXICO (Int'l $220K/red clay outdoor)
09 Final: V.Williams d. Pennetta
10 Top Seeds: V.Williams/Szavay
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=SF=
V.Williams d. Errani
Dulko d. Szavay
=FINAL=
V.Williams d. Szavay

...Venus followed up her title-winning Dubai performance last year by claiming this event, an ocean and continent away and on a different surface in Mexico, in one of 2009's most underrated accomplishments. After the way she played in the UAE last week, why shouldn't she be expected to do it again?


KUALA LUMPUR, MAS (Int'l $220K/hard court outdoor)
=new event=
10 Top Seeds: Dementieva/Li
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=SF=
Dementieva d. Bammer
Kleybanova d. Voegele
=FINAL=
Dementieva d. Kleybanova

...the tour's new stop in Malaysia features two top seeds who both retired from matches last week in Dubai, so anything could happen in this one. The (based on nothing tangible, really) thought is that Dementieva's shoulder ailment (she retired in her 2nd Round match with Daniela Hantuchova days after winning in Paris) was minor, while Li's injury history and Dubai back spasms make her a bigger question mark if both ultimately show up to play their 1st Round matches. So many top seeds have won titles in 2010, I'll go with another to win here (along with #1 Venus in Acapulco) and hope that the law of averages says at least one of them will pull it off again this week. The season's first all-Russian final (though three different Hordettes have won four titles so far) is just a last minute tip-in prediction.

MONDAY, MARCH 1:
BILLIE JEAN KING CUP; Madison Square Garden, New York (Exhibition)


...Serena is out with a knee. AnaIvo is in in her place (get your SI Swimsuit Issues ready for autographing, folks). So is Kuznetsova, if she cares. Venus is scheduled to be back from across the border and, of course, since there'll be a few thousand adoring fans ready to cheer for points that don't matter, Barbie will be there, too. Maybe SOMEONE will buy champagne for the everyone in the audience... since you know she's going to try to play hostess in the big city version of the Barbie Dream House before everything's over.


All for now.

Read more...

Wk.6- A Case for "The Hall of the Very Good?"

With Elena Dementieva, it's so often been about how good she COULD be... if only.

As good as the Russian HAS been through the years, she seems forever destined to be the "best player who never... (fill in the blank as you wish)." To never win a slam. To never reach #1. To never develop the serve that enabled the rest of her game to flourish BECAUSE of it rather than IN SPITE of it.

Ah, that serve. It used to be the ugliest thing you'd ever see on a tennis court, this side of a certain Belgian Barbie's desire to be publicly embraced. For years, it prevented Dementieva from taking advantage of perhaps the game's best groundstrokes. Yet, still, she found a way to win. In 2004, while her countrywomen Anastasia Myskina, Maria Sharapova and Svetlana Kuznetsova became the first (and, so far, still the only) Russian women to win slam titles, Dementieva was the only Hordette to reach two slam finals that year. She's finished in the Top 10 six times in the last seven years (and seems well-positioned to do so again in '10), and the only time she didn't she just missed the mark as the year-end #11.

With her serve holding her back in key moments early in her career, Dementieva often had a difficult time closing out matches. She earned her original Backspin moniker of "Punch-Drunk" because of the way she stumbled from pillar to post after taking one set leads over lesser-ranked players, only to eventually lose in three sets as she attempted to drag her serve over the finish line. In her first four career singles finals, she went 0-4. After so many of her countrywomen won their maiden tour titles as teenagers (Dinara Safina was 16, as was Sharapova, while Kuznetsova was 17, and Myskina and Vera Zvonareva both 18), it took Dementieva until she was 21 before she finally did it at Amelia Island in 2003.

She did it the hard way, too, overcoming match point against Justine Henin in the SF, then a 6-2/4-2 deficit against Lindsay Davenport in the A.I. final. Playing from behind, she was able to do what so many hard ball-striking players have traditionally been able to do -- hit with abandon, having nothing to lose. It worked for her, and "Punch-Sober" was born as she began to often come from a set down to defeat those lesser-ranked players who she'd so often squandered leads against in the past. Infused with new confidence, she soon began to win those matches in straight sets.

She still couldn't win "the big one," though. Then came the Beijing Olympics in 2008.

With her serve, after a long struggle, no longer the liability it once was, when the Russians hogged the tennis Medal stand in China it was Dementieva who was finally at the top of the heap. What still stands as her career-best moment might have provided the stepping stone to that elusivie grand slam success, too. But it still hasn't happened. She held match point in the Wimbledon SF against Serena Williams last year, but lost while Williams went on to win the title. At this year's Australian Open, just days after defeating Serena in Sydney, Dementieva was taken out by an unseeded wild card in the 2nd Round. Her name? Henin, the same person the Russian had successfully gone through for her initial tour breakthrough seven years earlier.

While eventual finalist Henin was undertaking a second go 'round as a slam champion, Dementieva was once again cut off at the pass before she could take her first.

This weekend, Dementieva added a title in the Paris indoors to her Week 2 crown in Sydney to give herself two titles in the young season's first six weeks for the second straight season. Naturally, she did it in classic Punch-Sober style, coming back from a set down against both Melanie Oudin and Lucie Safarova in the semifinal and final. Her fifth straight campaign with multilple singles titles is the longest current streak on tour (next best are the three-year runs by Serena, Venus Williams and Jelena Jankovic from 2007-09 that have yet to be extended in' 10).

Even without a slam title, Dementieva has had a wonderful career. But has it been a "great" one? The way her career has played out, it's oh-so-close to being a non-issue. If only she'd had better match toughness early in her career. If only she'd developed her serve earlier. If only she'd been able to take advantage of the tremendous opportunities that were seized by the other Russians back in 2004, or by other slam winners who were "lucky" enough to rise during the brief interludes when either the Williams Sisters or Henin were injured, retired or otherwised engaged. But the star-crossed Dementieva has always seemed to be a step behind, and seen players cut in line in front of her to steal the glory "meant" for her. She's gone forty-five slams without winning a title. No woman has even won her first later in a career.

At age 28 and still "in search of," it's time to start crunching the numbers for Dementieva's potential for post-career honors. Is she Hall of Fame-worthy, or just Hall "of the Very Good" eligible? Does she need to win a slam to make that historical leap? Is she fated to be the "best player without a slam," the "best player to never reach #1" AND the "best player not enshrined in Newport," too?

Personally, in my mind, I consider the full impact of Dementieva's career to be more "Hall of Fame"-ish than, say, Kuznetsova's, if only for her ability to overcome so much (that serve) in order to succeed, while Kuznetsova seems to somewhat "waste" her superior talent for mulitple-year spans that are bookended by slam titles. While Kuznetsova often drifts, Dementieva remains solid, if not spectacular in the season's four biggest tournaments. But, with two slams on her resume, Kuznetsova is a virtual Newport lock. Dementieva... not so much. One title shouldn't mean so much, but it does.

Minus any other career landmarks, it's a non-issue (see Iva Majoli, and probably Myskina), but when you're dancing on the HOF/Hall of Very Good fence like Dementieva it could mean everything. In many ways, Dementieva is this generation's version of Conchita Martinez. Martinez was a very good player, a leader along with Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario in the rise of Spanish tennis in the late 1980's/early 1990's, who was a consistent threat but never climbed higher than #2 in the rankings. If not for her oddball Wimbledon title in '94 (defeating no less than a 37-year old Martina Navratilova in what was her last major final) Martinezmight have no chance of reaching Newport. With it, along with her Fed Cup play, she stands a good chance to eventually make the cut.

Dementieva, too, has played a key, though often supporting (ala Martinez's to ASV), role in the Russian tennis revolution. She's second behind only Sharapova in career titles by her countrywomen, and has easily been the most consistent, healthiest, season-long performer amongst the Hordettes through the years. She's the only Russian woman to have a singles Gold Medal, but is that prize enough to secure a HOF announcement down the line if she never wins anything bigger?

She might have to hope so.

Of course, there's something to be said for being the "best never to..." rather than to disappear within the ranks of one-time slam champs that are often lost to history once the last of their generation hangs up their rackets. There's a certain "cache" to it that keeps a player's name active in ongoing discussions in the sport. But believing that notion that might be a case of trying too hard to put a shine on a semi-tarnished resume, sort of like what Dementieva did when she said after winning the Gold Medal that it was actually "better" than winning a slam. It's easy to say such a thing when you've never done the latter, and fear you might never do so.

Dementieva's chances of correcting that aren't finished, but they ARE dwindling. Fast.

*WEEK 6 CHAMPIONS*

PARIS, FRANCE (Premier $700K/hard court indoor)
S: Elena Dementieva def. Lucie Safarova 6-7/6-1/6-4
D: Benesova/Zahlavova-Strycova d. Black/Huber

PATTAYA CITY, THAILAND (Int'l $220K/hard court outdoor)
S: Vera Zvonareva def. Tamarine Tanasugarn 6-4/6-4
D: Erakovic/Tanasugarn d. Chakvetadze/Pervak


PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Elena Dementieva/RUS
...Dementieva's Paris trophy, presented to her by '09 champion Amelie Mauresmo, makes her 2010's first two-time singles champion. Wins over Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, Andrea Petkovic and Oudin paved the wave to her final clash with Safarova. She's just one poorly-drawn match against Justine Henin in Melbourne from sporting a perfect record so far this season.
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RISER: Vera Zvonareva/RUS
...Zvonareva's defense of her '09 Pattaya title makes her the third player to successfully defend a singles title through the first six weeks of the season. All last season, only two players did so (including Zvonareva's Pattaya final opponent, Tamarine Tanasugarn, on the grass in 's-Hertogenbosch). Career title #10, after earlier victories over Ksenia Pervak, Alberta Brianti, Sybille Bammer and Yaroslava Shvedova, came in a touranment that included semifinalists ranked #14 (Zvonareva), #48, #87 and #185. It was like an old Tier IV tour event snatched up by a "slumming" borderline Top 10er broke out. Zvonareva's already got a 1st Round win this week in Dubai over Elena Vesnina, too.
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SURPRISES: Lucie Safarova/CZE & Olivia Sanchez/FRA
...even with now eight career tour singles finals (she's 4-4), anytime Safarova manages to put things together for a run to another final comes off as something of a surprise, largely because the '07 and '10 Paris runner-up often bridges the gaps between her finals with early-round, head-scratching losses that make her one of, if not THE most frustrating player on tour. Nice wins over Tamira Paszek, Francesca Schiavone, Shahar Peer and Flavia Pennetta, as well as her early lead in the three-set final against Dementieva, showed what the Czech CAN do, though. But until she can do it on a consistent basis, she's always going to be fighting to just stay in the Top 50. Sanchez, 27, became the first two-time ITF title winner of '10 this weekend, getting her second of back-to-back challenger titles in the $25K in Laguna Nigel, California. After wins over Rika Fujiwara and Abigail Spears, she took out Luxembourg's Mandy Minella (an ITF title-winner earlier this season) in the final.
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COMEBACKS: Sesil Karatantcheva/KAZ & Alicia Molik/AUS
...Sesil's under-the-radar comeback is starting to produce some good results in '10. This weekend, as the #185-ranked player in the world, her SF run in Pattaya during which she knocked off the likes of Julia Goerges and Ekaterina Bychkova gave her her best tour result since... well, ever. She never reached a tour SF prior to her two-year ban. Joining her in the SF this weekend was fellow imported Kazakh Yaroslava Shvedova, but the tour's first-ever all-Kazakh final turned out to not be in the cards. Meanwhile, a week after her inglorious Fed Cup appearance, Molik qualified in Dubai and has opened play with a 1st Round upset of Australian Open semifinalist Zheng Jie, 6-3/4-6/6-2.
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VETERAN: Tamarine Tanasugarn/THA
...Thai native Tanasugarn's last appearance in the Pattaya singles final came in 1996 (she lost to Ruxandra Dragomir-Ilie, how's that name for a blast from the past?), so her runner-up appearance this week speaks volumes for the sustaining nature of her career. She didn't just skate to the final match, either. She defeated the likes of Alla Kudraytseva, #2-seed Sabine Lisicki and Anna Chakvetadze before her final SF win over Karatantcheva. She even picked up the doubles title with Marina Erakovic, defending the title she won there last year with Yaroslava Shvedova. The only other person to reach the singles and doubles final at the same event this season? Serena Williams in Melbourne.
=============================
FRESH FACES: Melanie Oudin/USA & Polona Hercog/SLO
...Oudin continued to pick up steam in Paris, following up her lead role in Fed Cup with her first career WTA SF result after wins over Sorana Cirstea, Patty Schnyder and Agnes Szavay. She had the lead in the SF against Dementieva, too, but saw the veteran wait her out and win in three sets. Still, Oudin seems to be handling the year-after pressure following her '09 breakthrough far better than most expected. Combined with her two FC wins, her three wins in Paris gave her her longest winning streak since she won four straight during her QF run at the U.S. Open last summer. Hercog swept the $75K challenger in Cali, Colombia, getting singles wins over Klara Zakopalova, Catalina Castano (COL) and Julia Cohen before taking out Mariana Duque-Marino (COL) 6-4/5-7/6-2 in the final.
=============================
DOWN: Sabine Lisicki/GER & Maria Kirilenko/RUS
...Lisicki's slow start continued in Pattaya when she was knocked out in three sets in the 2nd Round by Tanasugarn. I suppose she should have guessed at such a result after she advanced in the 1st Round when her opponent, Akgul Amanmuradova, retired after losing the opening set at love. Since it's the German who usually does the retiring, thinking that such a start was an omen for good things was just too good to be true. Meanwhile, in her first action since her QF run in Melbourne, Kirilenko was knocked out in the 1st Round in Dubai by countrywoman Regina Kulikova 6-3/6-0.
=============================
ITF PLAYER: Elena Baltcha/GBR

...the Brit won the $100K Midland, Michigan challenger over defending champion Lucie Hradecka in a 5-7/6-2/6-3 final. The win results in Baltacha reaching a new career-high ranking of #70.
=============================
JUNIOR STAR: Jana Cepelova/SVK
...the world junior #8 reached her first pro final in the $10K challenger in Eilat, losing to Austria's Janina Toljan. It was the 16-year old qualifier Cepelova's third career appearance in a main draw ITF event. Going into the tournament sporting just a 2-3 career qualifiying/main draw pro record, she went 6-1 last week.
=============================


1. Paris SF - Dementieva d. Oudin
...4-6/6-3/6-3. The Russians don't seem to fear Little MO like they did in New York... but they still have to work overtime to beat her. Of course, we have an outside shot of seeing an Oudin/Sharapova rematch in Memphis this week (it'd have to come in the final)
=============================
2. Paris Final - Dementieva d. Safarova
...6-7/6-1/6-4. Speaking of Sharapova, Dementieva is now just four career titles behind her for Russian WTA supremacy.
=============================
3. Paris 1st Rd - Martic d. Wickmayer
...6-4/3-6/7-5. Now having played WAY too much, Wickmayer finally fell.
=============================
4. Dubai 1st Rd - Peer d. Wickmayer
...3-6/6-2/7-5. Yep, Wickmayer was in action yet again in Dubai. I say WAS because she's already lost. Time for a rest. Of course, the real story here is that Peer -- a year late -- finally became the first Israeli woman to play and win a match in Dubai. And neither the roof caved in nor the world ended, either. Imagine that.
=============================
5. Pattaya Final - Zvonareva d. Tanasugarn
...6-4/6-4. Zvonareva becomes the eleventh active woman to notch ten career tour singles titles.
=============================
6. Pattaya 1st Rd - Chakvetadze d. Craybas
...6-1/3-6/6-3. Quietly, Chakvetadze had an encouraging week in Pattaya. She reached the QF in singles, as well as the doubles final.
=============================
7. Paris Doubles Final - Benesova/Zahlavova-Strycova def. Black/Huber
...walkover. Black's viral illness ended this one before it began, but Black & Huber have now reached the final in all four events they've played in 2010.
=============================
8. Dubai 1st Rd - Garbin d. Stosur
...3-6/6-2/7-5. One step back for Sammy. Although, after a 3rd Round Oz result and wins over Olaru and Vesnina last week, Garbin's game looks to be in pretty good form at the moment.
=============================


**MOST WTA TITLES - last 3 seasons**
8...ELENA DEMENTIEVA [3/3/2]
8...Serena Williams [4/3/1]
7...Dinara Safina [4/3/0]
6...Caroline Wozniacki [3/3/0]
6...Jelena Jankovic [4/2/0]
5...Venus Williams [3/2/0]
5...VERA ZVONAREVA [2/2/1]

**CAREER TITLES - RUSSIANS**
20...Maria Sharapova (2003-09)
16...ELENA DEMENTIEVA (2003-10)
12...Dinara Safina (2002-09)
12...Svetlana Kuznetsova (2002-09)
10...VERA ZVONAREVA (2003-10)
10...Anastasia Myskina (1999-05)

**2010 SUCCESSFUL TITLE DEFENSES**
Sydney - Elena Dementieva
Australian Open - Serena Williams
PATTAYA - VERA ZVONAREVA

**2010 #1-SEEDED CHAMPIONS**
[4 of 7 events]
Brisbane - Kim Clijsters def. Justine Henin
Australian Open - Serena Williams def. Justine Henin
PARIS - ELENA DEMENTIEVA def. LUCIE SAFAROVA
PATTAYA - VERA ZVONAREVA def. TAMARINE TANASUGARN

**2010 - MOST ITF FINALS**
2...OLIVIA SANCHEZ, FRA (2-0)
2...Alize Lim, FRA (1-1)
2...Garbine Muguruza Blanco, ESP (1-1)
2...Mandy Minella, LUX (1-1)
2...Natalie Piquion, FRA (1-1)
2...Zhou Yi-Miao, CHN (1-1)





DUBAI, UAE (Premier $2m/hard court outdoor)
09 Final: V.Williams d. Razzano
10 Top Seeds: Wozniacki/Kuznetsova
=============================
=SF=
V.Williams d. Bartoli
Zvonareva d. Kuznetsova
=FINAL=
V.Williams d. Zvonareva

...Wozniacki is the #1 seed here, but I wonder if the heat of Dubai will be conducive to a great run. Ditto for Azarenka, who's had problems in harsher climates before, and retired from a FC match the other week with illness (she's in the same section as Zvonareva and Jankovic). Interestingly, defending champion Venus could get the shot to erase a lot of those recent post-Oz questions with a potential QF meeting with Dementieva, and maybe even a SF match against Peer one year after the American "defended" Peer after she was prevented from playing in Dubai (even if Williams' words felt somewhat "too little, too late" at the time).


MEMPHIS, TENNESSEE USA (Int'l $220K/hard court indoor)
09 Final: Azarenka d. Wozniacki
10 Top Seeds: Sharapova/Oudin
=============================
=SF=
Sharapova d. Kvitova
Oudin d. Hradecka
=FINAL=
Sharapova d. Oudin

...though I'd be game for it going the other way. I must say, this little tournament's fields (at least at the top) have been getting better in recent years. Last year, Azarenka and Wozniacki reached the final.


BOGOTA, COLOMBIA (Int'l $220K/red clay outdoor)
09 Final: Martinez-Sanchez d. Dulko
10 Top Seeds: Dulko/Suarez-Navarro
=============================
=SF=
Dulko d. Parmentier
Suarez-Navarro d. P.Mayr
=FINAL=
Dulko d. Suarez-Navarro

...the first clay event of the season. Hey, at the start of the season I predicted Dulko would sweep the singles/doubles titles at an event in '10. So why not here? Of course, having said that, she'll probably lose in the 1st Round, and CSN will get that first career title I've talked about so much but am not picking to happen in Bogota.


All for now.

Read more...

Wk.5- The More Things Change, the More They Stay the Same

There was a legitimate chance that a true sea change could have occurred in this weekend's Fed Cup action. But, in the end, not much changed at all.

With so many countries developing a depth of talent that'll make them potential FC forces in future seasons -- China, Belarus, Great Britain, Ukraine, etc. -- one could surmise that the traditional powers in this annual team event could soon be able to be toppled on a regular basis. The first domino in that theory could have fallen this weekend, as the four-time champion Russian team, which was absent any of the nation's "big time" stars until late in the week, faced off with a Serbian team sporting two former #1-ranked players. But, especially where the Serbs are concerned, the "woulda, coulda, shoulda" moments so often prevent major change in women's tennis. It happened again this weekend.

A quick rundown of some things gleaned from 2010's first weekend of FC action:

*FIVE THINGS I'M LOVING*
1. That Belgium, without Barbie or Justine Henin, was lucky enough to have Yanina Wickmayer
2. That Samantha Stosur's engine seems to be running rather smoothly now
3. That MJF's Bannerettes didn't have to rise from their own ashes in Year 2's 1st Round
4. That Flavia Pennetta is still Fed Cup's reigning Queen
5. That the great Czech FC history wasn't littered with yet another momumental choke
*ONE I'M NOT*
Ana Ivanovic's continuing anti-Midas touch
*ONE THAT CONTINUES TO PERPLEX*
The Chinese tennis federation was built upon the hopes of winning glory for China at the Olympics. In the past, Chinese players have been pulled from Wimbledon competition to represent the country in the Asia Games. But they still don't seem to have this Fed Cup stuff down. A week after two players reached the Australian Open semifinals, and one year after that embarrassing 5-0 1st Round thumping by the Russians after Chinese officials misread the FC rules and fielded an inferior team (a defeat which was then followed up by another loss to Germany in the World Group playoffs), none of the Chinese stars (Li, Zheng, Peng or even Zhou) were playing this weekend against the Slovaks. In fact, the most populous nation in the world only listed three players for the four slots on the team. Another loss means that come the spring the Chinese team will be trying to avoid falling back into Zone play in 2011.
*AND ONE THAT'S A VIRTUAL DRAW*
So, who won? Shamil Tarpischev, who was proven right to hound Svetlana Kuznetsova into joining the Russian team for a very difficult 1st Round tie, or Kuznetsova, whose participation was likely the difference between having the chance to continue to chase that fifth FC title come April, or having suffered a hugely disappointing 1st Round exit?

In the end, the 2010 Fed Cup semifinal field will consist of the same four teams that participated in 2009: the champion Italians, runners-up Americans, Russians and Czechs.

Oh, well. I guess there's always next year. For the Indianapolis Colts, as well as the "non-traditional" tennis powers, as it turns out.

*WEEK 5 - FED CUP*

1st Round
Czech Republic def. Germany 3-2
Italy def. Ukraine 4-1
Russia def. Serbia 3-2
United States def. France 4-1
World Group II
Australia def. Spain 3-2
Belgium def. Poland 3-2
Estonia def. Argentina 4-1
Slovak Republic def. China 3-2
Zone Promotion Finals
[Europe/Africa] - Sweden def. Austria 3-0
[Europe/Africa] - Slovenia def. Switzerland 3-0
[Asia/Oceania] - Japan def. Taiwan 2-1
[America's] - Canada def. Colombia 2-0


[1st Rd. MVPs]
Flavia Pennetta/ITA
...after Francesca Schiavone lost the opening match on the road against Ukraine, trouble could have been brewing. But Pennetta took the reigns of the defending Italian team and led them though the chaos with back-to-back defeats of the Bondarenko sisters.
=============================
Lucie Hradecka/CZE
...one of the more underrated players on tour, Hradecka stepped into the spotlight for the Czechs against the Germans. Her singles win over Andrea Petkovic put the Czechs up 2-1, and after #1 Czech Petra Kvitova lost in Match #4 it was up to Hradecka and Kveta Peschke to claim the deciding doubles match to advance to the SF.
=============================
Svetlana Kuznetsova/RUS
...sure, the Contessova lost to Jelena Jankovic. But she opened things up with a win over AnaIvo, and closed everything out with Alisa Kleybanova by winning the deciding doubles match. Consider it a tentative truce?
=============================
Melanie Oudin/USA
...Little MO gained some early fame in last year's FC play, and she continued her wave of American momentum against France. She went 2-0 in singles in the #1 role, not dropping a set in Team USA's somewhat suprisingly-easy win.
=============================

[WG II MVPs]
Samantha Stosur/AUS
...Slingin' Sammy knocked off both Maria Jose Martinez-Sanchez and Anabel Medina-Garrigues on a hard court in Adelaide, then teamed with Rennae Stubbs in doubles to have a hand in all three of Australia's points in a 3-2 win over Spain.
=============================
Yanina Wickmayer/BEL
...Justine who? Barbie who? It took her three sets in both matches, but Wickmayer managed to go 2-0 against Marta Domachowska and Agnieszka Radwanska in Belgium's win over Poland. She's now 13-1 on the season, and is scheduled to play in Paris this week. Is she trying to play as many matches as she can... just in case?
=============================
Kaia Kanepi/EST
...she went 2-0 to carry the heavily-favored Estonians past Argentina's team of ITF stars.
=============================
Dominika Cibulkova/SVK
...now cemented in the Slovak Republic's lead singles role, Cibulkova shook off her bad '10 start to go 2-0 against China in a 3-2 win.
=============================

[Zone Final MVPs]
Johanna Larsson/SWE
...with Sofia Arvidsson having some difficulty against top players in her #1 singles slot, world #149 Larsson picked up the slack and provided the wins that got Sweden into the surprising position of playing to advance to the WG II playoffs. She went 4-0 in total, and Sweden -- finally with a win from Arvidsson, as well -- advanced past Austria in the final.
=============================
Katarina Srebotnik/SLO
...in her first FC action since 2005, the still-fighting-back-from-injury world #427 Srebotnik had maybe her best string of results since she was battling the likes of Henin in '08. She went 3-0 in all, and Slovenia advanced past Switzerland (which was minus an ill Patty Schnyder).
=============================
Kimiko Date-Krumm/JPN
...she hadn't played FC since 1996, but you'd never know it. Date-Krumm went 4-0 in round robin and final play, including a momentum-turning win over Taiwan's Chan Yung-Jan after Ayumi Morita had dropped the opening match in the Asia/Oceania final.
=============================
Sharon Fichman/CAN
...Fichman went 4-0 in singles as Canada advanced out of the America's zone, edging out teammate Aleksandra Wozniak for the honor since A-Woz suffered that big upset at the hands of Maria Fernanda Alves in round robin play.
=============================

[RISERS]
Jelena Jankovic/SRB
...she carried the Serbian team as far as she could against the Russians, knocking off both Kleybanova and Kuznetsova. Pity she didn't receive even a little help from her country's former grand slam winner.
=============================
Anna-Lena Groenefeld/GER
...ALG's 2-0 mark, with wins over Lucie Safarova and Petra Kvitova, went unrewarded in the 1st Round tie against the Czechs as Andrea Petkovic's 0-2 singles record allowed things to be pushed to the doubles.
=============================

[FRESH FACE]
Chang Kai-Chen/TPE
...her win over Ayumi Morita in the opening match of Taiwan's Asia/Oceania promotional playoff tie against Japan forced Date-Krumm to "hold serve" in her matches. Chang, remember, got that big win over Safina at the end of last year and climbed into the Top 100.
=============================

[SURPRISE]
Bethanie Mattek-Sands/USA
...maybe not a "surprise," but after the disappointing year she had in '09 it was hard to tell what to think of Mattek-Sands for '10. Against France, she opened the tie with a close win over Alize Cornet to notch her first FC victory, then closed out the victorious weekend by joining with Liezel Huber to close out the Pastries by a 4-1 score.
=============================

[VETERAN]
Rennae Stubbs/AUS
...she's already back with Lisa Raymond, and now Stubbs is back with an Aussie FC team that has the potential to have some bite, too. She and Stosur won the deciding doubles match against Llagostera-Vives/MJMS to get the Australian team back to within one tie of playing in the 2011 1st Round.
=============================

[COMEBACK]
Kveta Peschke/CZE
...a year ago in the SF, Peschke and Iveta Benesova were a match point away from defeating Huber/Mattek-Sands and reaching the FC Final, which the Czechs hadn't done in two decades. But a wild error by Peschke set off the avalanche that washed the Maidens out of the tie. This time, against the Germans in the 1st Round, Peschke and Hradecka took out Groenefeld/Malek in straights in the deciding match against Germany in the 1st Round. Now, she and her teammates will get a semifinal "do-over."
=============================

[DOWN]
Ana Ivanovic/SRB
...Jankovic was supposed to be the "iffy" one in the tie with Russia, but it was AnaIvo who was Team Serbia's unlucky charm. She went 0-2 in singles, 0-1 and doubles and was 0-for-6 in total sets. Ouch. Not exactly the type of weekend that'll stoke her already-questionable confidence.
=============================
Nuria Llagostera-Vives/Maria Jose Martinez-Sanchez, ESP
...the Spanish pair won a hard court title at the year-ending championships last season, so the surface isn't an excuse. Their miserable performance in Oz was followed up by a not-close loss to Stosur/Stubbs in the deciding match against Australia in the World Group II playoffs.
=============================

ITF PLAYER: Arina Rodionova/RUS
...Anastasia's sister was one of three Russians to walk away with singles titles in the five ITF events decided this weekend. After getting wins over Yan Zi and Jessica Moore, Rodionova won the $25K in Burnie, Australia by taking out Jarmila Groth 6-1/6-0 in the final. She also took the doubles title with Moore.


1. FC 1st Rd - RUS/SRB #5: Kleybanova/Kuznetsova d. Ivanovic/Jankovic
...6-1/6-4. Kuznetsova gets the last laugh? Or maybe it's Tarpischev?
=============================
2. FC 1st Rd - CZE/GER #5: Hradecka/Peschke d. Groenefeld/Malek
...6-1/6-3. Redemption. Since the match wasn't really close, the Czechs didn't have much of a chance to choke it away again. But, then again, they led the Americans in the deciding match in the SF a year ago by a similar 6-2/5-2 score and had match point.
=============================
3. FC 1st Rd - ITA/UKR #2 - Pennetta d. K.Bondarenko
...7-5/6-3. Flavia, doing what a team leader is supposed to do. If the Italians win another Cup, this might be the most important match in the run.
=============================
4. FC 1st Rd - RUS/SRB #2/#3 - Jankovic d. Kleybanova 4-6/6-4/6-0; Jankovic d. Kuznetsova 6-3/4-6/6-3
... After being questionable to play at all in the tie, Jankovic ended up being arguably the best player on either team. Now, there's talk she's dropping Ricardo Sanchez as her coach, too. Hmmm, does this week count as our first Queen Chaos sighting in a while?
=============================
5. FC WG II - AUS/ESP #5 - Stosur/Stubbs d. Llagostera-Vives/Martinez-Sanchez
...6-4/6-2. Nuria & Maria Jose will be more than glad to hop that flight off the continent.
=============================
6. FC America's Zone - CAN/BRA RR - Alves d. Wozniak
...4-6/6-4/6-2. In one of the week's biggest FC upsets, the world #259 took out #36.
=============================
7. FC WG II - AUS/ESP #4 - Suarez-Navarro d. Molik
...6-1/6-1. The match ultimately didn't hurt the Aussies, but it wasn't exactly an award-winning FC return for the Steamer. A nice "road win" for CSN, though.
=============================
8. $25K Belfort Final - Bovina d. Oprandi
...7-6/5-7/6-4. Even if she never gets back anywhere close to where she once was, you've got to hand it to Bovina for just continuing to plug along. She also won the doubles.
=============================
9. $25K Sutton Final - Hlavackova d. Cecil
...6-1/4-6/6-4. While her doubles partner Hradecka was off being a Fed Cup star, Hlavackova won herself a singles challenger title.
=============================
10. Europe/Africa Zone - AUT/BLR RR - Bammer d. Azarenka
...5-7/6-4/2-0 ret. Azarenka was apparently sick, but she didn't play again the rest of the week.
=============================


**OVERALL FED CUP TITLES**
17...United States
6...Australia
5...Czechoslovakia
5...Spain
4...Russia
2...France
2...Italy
2...West Germany/Germany
1...Belgium
1...Slovak Republic
1...South Africa
[1960's]
4...United States
3...Australia
[1970's]
4...Australia
4...United States
1...Czechoslovakia
1...South Africa
[1980's]
5...United States
4...Czechoslovakia
1...West Germany
[1990's]
5...Spain
3...United States
1...France
1...Germany
[2000's]
4...Russia
2...Italy
1...Belgium
1...France
1...Slovak Republic
1...United States

=2010 Semifinalists=
Czech Republic
Italy
Russia
United States
=Group I Playoffs=
Australia
Belgium
Estonia
France
Germany
Serbia
Slovak Republic
Ukraine
=Group II Playoffs=
Argentina
Canada
China
Japan
Poland
Slovenia
Spain
Sweden





PARIS, FRANCE (Premier $700K/hard court intdoor)
09 Final: Mauresmo d. Dementieva
10 Top Seeds: Dementieva/Pennetta
=============================
=SF=
Dementieva d. Wickmayer
Pennetta d. Peer
=FINAL=
Dementieva d. Pennetta

...eventually, Wickmayer has to run out of gas. Just picking Pennetta to reach a final a week after Fed Cup is a real roll of the dice, so I can't consider picking her, as well. Dementieva is rested, so I'll go with her to become the first two-time champ of '10.


PATTAYA CITY, THAILAND (Int'l $220K/hard court outdoor)
09 Final: Zvonareva d. Mirza
10 Top Seeds: Zvonareva/Lisicki
=============================
=SF=
Mirza d. Chang
Lisicki d. Dushevina
=FINAL=
Lisicki d. Mirza

...Zvonareva could defend her title, but that ankle makes her a big question mark. I'll take a flier on Chang to get through in the Russian's quarter. Mirza, a finalist a year ago, now doesn't have to answer questions about retirement since she called off her engagement. If Lisicki is healthy, I'll go with her to get her season going down the right path after a hit-and-miss start. If her health is an issue again, or that pesky inconsistency resurfaces, a back-in-Asia Date-Krumm would be a nice choice in Lisicki's quarter, though.


All for now.

Read more...

2010 Dorothy Tour Awards

One slam down. Three to go. One month down. Nine more to go. And, in a few minutes, one Backspin monthly awards presentation down, too.

First, though, a casting call for the Backspin's 2010 production of "Oz":


DOROTHY GALE (Serena Williams, USA)
...do ruby slippers clash with white bandages?
Anti-Oz: Ana Ivanovic, also starring in the indie thriller "From Finalist to Afterthought in Two Short Years: The AnaIvo Story"
=============================
THE WIZARD (Stacey Allaster)
...she "rules against" the whereabouts policy. Is Dubai next?
Anti-Oz: Tennis Australia, who's decision to make Yanina Wickmayer go through qualifying only looked more and more foolish with each passing round in Melbourne. Just ask Flavia Pennetta, now 0-2 vs. the Belgian in '10, is she'd rather have faced her a little later in the draw.
=============================
THE SCARECROW (Victoria Azarenka, BLR)
...has she finally gotten a brain, and learned not to let herself and her anger be her own worst enemy?
Anti-Oz: the USTA, which for some reason believes that allowing anyone -- from Olympic skiing champs (Bode Miller) to possibly former Tom Cruise co-stars (Elisabeth Shue?) -- to play in an "open" tournament to gain a berth into the U.S. Open qualifying tournament. Can you say "sideshow?"
=============================
THE NOT-SO-COWARDLY LIONESS (Justine Henin, BEL)
...it takes some guts to try to change a game that's already produced seven slam crowns and 117 weeks at #1.
Anti-Oz: Venus Williams, who still hasn't managed to find a way to change her Melbourne script.
=============================
THE TIN WOMAN (Samantha Stosur, AUS)
...at the Australian Open, she found a way to find the heart to get past her own questions about her ability to traverse the new higher ground she finds herself occupying.
Anti-Oz: Jelena Jankovic, who USED to never lose early in slams in heart-less performances that make one wonder if the good ol' days are forever in the past.
=============================
THE GOOD WITCH (Yanina Wickmayer, BEL)
...winning eleven straight '10 matches after being banned means she would have likely found a way past a few trials in Salem, too. Of course, she really got the role because...
Anti-Oz: Pam Shriver campaigned for and easily beat out all challengers for The Wicked Witch. Hey, maybe she'll get a Broadway show out of it, though.
=============================
THE GOLDEN FLOWERS: (Li Na & Zheng Jie, CHN)
...future Chinese tennis generations will skip through their accomplishments en route to the Emerald City.
=============================
AUNTIE EM' (Cara Black, ZIM)
...the veteran has played three tournaments in '10, and reached four finals (winning three of them).
Anti-Oz: Caroline Wozniacki, the only teenager to reach the AO 3rd Round.
=============================
TOTO (Kim Clijsters, BEL)
...more bite than bark in Melbourne. I wonder if she donated her AO prize money to charity? I mean, it just wouldn't be as fun to grandstand and bask in the applause of the courtesy car drivers, after all.
=============================
THE MUNCHKINS (Karolina & Kristyna Pliskova, CZE)
...and more twins!
=============================
THE LOLLIPOP GUILD (Zhou Yi-Miao, Yang Hao-Chen & Han Xinyun, CHN
...the NextGen Chinese stars are starting to emerge.
=============================
THE WINGED MONKEYS (The Russians)
...suddenly, they're all flying away. No Russians reached the SF for a second straight slam. The last time the Hordettes when zero-for-slam SF for an entire season was 2002.
=============================

Hmmm, with so many Russian/monkey "accidents," I guess somebody has to play "The Janitor," too. Note to all auditioners: Bring Your Own Mop and Rubber Gloves!



*Dorothy Tour Awards - January/Wk.1-4*
**TOP PLAYERS**
1. Serena Williams, USA
2. Justine Henin, BEL
3. Williams/Williams, USA
4. Black/Huber, ZIM/USA
5t. Li Na, CHN
5t. Zheng Jie, CHN
7. Kim Clijsters, BEL
8. Yanina Wickmayer, BEL
9. Elena Dementieva, RUS
10. Maria Kirilenko, RUS

**RISERS**
1t. Li Na, CHN
1t. Zheng Jie, CHN
2. Yanina Wickmayer, BEL
3. Maria Kirileno, RUS
4. Victoria Azarenka, BLR
5. Alisa Kleybanova, RUS
6. Shahar Peer, ISR
7. Ekaterina Makarova, RUS
8. Alona Bondarenko, UKR
9. Hlavackova/Hradecka, CZE
10. Aravane Rezai, FRA
HM- Alla Kudryavtseva, RUS & Casey Dellacqua, AUS

**FRESH FACES**
1. Stefanie Voegele, SUI
2. Laura Robson, GBR
3. Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, RUS
4. Carla Suarez-Navarro, ESP
5. Han Xinyun, CHN
HM- Regina Kulikova, RUS

**JUNIORS**
1. Karolina Pliskcova, CZE
2. Timea Babos, HUN
3. Gabriela Dabrowski, CAN
4. Daria Gavrilova, RUS
5. Kristyna Pliskova, CZE
6. Tang Hao-Chen, CHN
7. Sachie Ishizu, JPN
8. An-Sophie Mestach, BEL
9. Irina Khromacheva, RUS
10. Silvia Njiric, CRO
HM- Ester Goldfeld, USA

**SURPRISES**
1. Maria Kirilenko, RUS
2. Andrea Petkovic, GER
3. Angelique Kerber, GER
4. Vania King, USA
5. Peers/Robson, AUS/GBR
HM- Valerie Tetreault, CAN & Shenay Perry, USA

**VETERANS**
1. Cara Black, ZIM
2. Elena Dementieva, RUS
3. Raymond/Stubbs, USA/AUS
4. Francesca Schiavone, ITA
5. Kimiko Date-Krumm, JPN
HM- Alberta Brianti, Tathiana Garbin & Roberta Vinci, ITA

**COMEBACKS**
1. Justine Henin, BEL
2. Yanina Wickmayer, BEL
3. Raymond/Stubbs, USA/AUS
4. Nadia Petrova, RUS
5. Casey Dellacqua, AUS
HM- Sesil Karatantcheva, KAZ & Alize Cornet, FRA

**DOWN**
1. Dinara Safina, RUS
2. Maria Sharapova, RUS
3. Svetlana Kuznetsova, RUS
4. Jelena Jankovic, SRB
5. Vera Zvonareva, RUS
HM - Sabine Lisicki, GER & Jelena Dokic, AUS
=AO=
Singles: Kim Clijsters, BEL
Doubles: Llagostera-Vives/Martinez-Sanchez, ESP
Junior: Heather Watson, GBR

**ITF PLAYERS**
1. Ajla Tomljanovic, CRO
2. Natalie Piquion, FRA
3. Zhou Yi-Miao, CHN
4. Alize Lim, FRA
5. Sarah Gronert, GER
HM- Aleksandra Krunic, SRB & Annika Beck, GER


*OSCAR NOMINATION DAY SPECIAL*
Avatar (Serena Williams)
...what player wouldn't want to take her form? They'd hardly be blue at grand slam time.
=============================
The Blind Side (Maria Sharapova)
...courtesy of Maria Kirilenko.
=============================
District 9 (Vera Zvonareva)
...an Oz semifinalist in '09, Zvonareva was the #9 seed in '10. She lost the last nine-plus-one games against Azarenka in the 4th Round, and now she's ranked #14 (9+5).
=============================
An Education (Heather Watson)
...on the bright side, I guess it's good to learn early that expectations can be a b-i-you know what.
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The Hurt Locker (Dinara Safina)
...maybe Obama should work on getting universal health care for all the Russian women tennis players?
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Inglourious (Belgien) (Kim Clijsters)
...she saved one match point against Henin in Brisbane, then won one game against Petrova in Melbourne.
=============================
Precious (Laura Robson)
...if she starts spinning Gatorade ads during post-match ceremonies -- "My mum might declare that victory a 'G moment,' but I frankly think she's gone daft" -- something great will have been lost.
=============================
A Serious Man (Chris Fowler)
...he deserves SOMETHING for having to deftly maneuver around some of Shriver's wilder comments.
=============================
Up (Chinese tennis)
...the beginning of something outrageous?
=============================
Up in the Air (Russian tennis?)
...but likely only until the Hordettes get off the injured reserve list.
=============================

"You know that little voice we all have in our heads? Mine was talking a lot that afternoon. It was telling me Roger winning the French was very special. But it so bothered me to see him win. It made me think how much I'd missed by not winning Wimbledon" - Justine Henin, speaking about Roger Federer's 2009 title at Roland Garros

**TOP PERFORMANCES**
[1]
Serena Williams wins a fifth Australian Open title, her twelfth career slam singles crown
[2]
Justine Henin's comeback yields eleven wins and two finals in her first two events
[3]
Williams sisters win the Australian Open doubles, their fourth slam title in the last five majors
[Nations]
China puts two players in the AO singles SF, and another in the Girls SF, as Li Na becomes first Chinese woman to reach the Top 10 in the same week that Zheng Jie re-enters the Top 20 for the first time since last summer. Three weeks earlier, Belgium filled three of the four tour singles finalist slots in Week 1 as Kim Clijsters and Yanina Wickmayer both titles, while junior An-Sophie Mestach won a girls singles title the same weekend.

"As long as I'm playing great, I'm not putting a number on it yet." - Venus Williams, before the start of her seventeenth season on tour, answering a question about how much longer she intends to play

*TOP MATCHES*
Brisbane Final - Kim Clijsters def. Justine Henin
...6-3/4-6/7-6(6). In 2:30, Clijsters went from walking on air with a 6-3/4-1 lead to nearly suffering a monumentally personal collapse against her countrywoman, who held two match points at 5-4 in the 2nd. In the tie-break, Clijsters led 4-0 and 6-3, but still had to sweat out another Henin comeback that closed the score to 6-6. Even though it occurred in the first week of the season, we might not see a batter match-up all year long.
=============================
Australian Open 2nd Rd. - Justine Henin def. Elena Dementieva
...7-5/7-6(6). Punch Sober pulled the AO Joker card, drawing La Petit Taureau early in Melbourne. In 2:50, Henin served for the match twice, and fell behind 3-1 in the 2nd set tie-break, but still managed to succeed against Dementieva in all the areas where she'd failed against Clijsters two weeks earlier.
=============================
Australian Open 3rd Rd. - Justine Henin def. Alisa Kleybanova
...3-6/6-4/6-2. Kleybanova, who'd yet to face a break point in her any of her own service games, led 6-3/3-1 40/15 on Henin's serve. The Belgian survived the game, then used her experience to gradually take control of the match.
=============================
Australian Open SF - Serena Williams def. Li Na
...7-6/7-6. Just to prove that there were indeed other good matches Down Under that DIDN'T involve Henin.
=============================
Australian Open 4th Rd - Justine Henin def. Yanina Wickmayer
...7-6/1-6/6-3. In another all-Belgian clash, and yet another Henin match, La Petit Taureau saved three set points in the 1st to defeat Wickmayer and end her 12-match 2009-10 winning streak. Wickmayer is still the current high-ranking Belgian on the WTA computer.
=============================
Australian Open 1st Rd. - Vania King def. Dominika Cibulkova
...6-3/6-7/7-6. King held match point in the 2nd set, only to see Cibulkova surge back to tie the match. It was the Slovak who surged ahead in the 3rd, but the American erased a 5-1 deficit and claimed the match.
=============================

*COMEBACKS*
Australian Open QF - Serena Williams def. Victoria Azarenka
...4-6/7-6/6-2. In what has become an almost annual ritual Down Under, Williams managed to rise from the ashes of almost-sure defeat. Azarenka led 6-4/4-0 and twice served for the match. But Serena is never buried in Melbourne until the ground above her is level... and maybe not even then. When you face Serena, you have to play by her rules... or else.
=============================
Australian Open 2nd Rd. - Li Na def. Agnes Szavay 3-6/7-5/6-2
Australian Open QF - Li Na def. Venus Williams 2-6/7-6/7-5
... Serena wasn't the only player dodging her own demise at the Australian Open. Li survived two match points against Szavay in the 2nd Round, then battled back from a 6-2/5-3 deficit against Venus, who served at 5-4 and came within two points of reaching her first AO SF since 2003.
=============================
Australian Open 1st Rd. - Alla Kudryavtseva def. Melanie Oudin
...2-6/7-5/7-5. Oudin, who led 6-2/5-3 and had three match points, now knows what all those Russians felt like at last year's U.S. Open. Naturally, it was a Hordette who served up the payback, too.
=============================
Sydney SF - Serena Williams def. Aravane Rezai
...3-6/7-5/6-4. Rezai led 6-3/5-2 and served at 5-3, and even after she lost said she "wasn't impressed" by Serena's play. I think the AO field deserves a prompt letter of apology from Ms. Rezai.
=============================
Australian Open 4th Rd. - Victoria Azarenka def. Vera Zvonareva
...4-6/6-4/6-0. Azarenka turned a 6-4/3-1 (and point from 4-1) deficit and obscenity warning into a blur of a comeback that saw her win the match's last ten games.
=============================

"Well, like I said so many times before, if I would have gotten involved in what people said I would have never left the ghetto." - Venus Williams, after losing in the Australian Open QF and fielding more questions about people talking about the "end" of her career

*CHOKES*
Australian Open 3rd Rd. - Nadia Petrova def. Kim Clijsters
...6-0/6-1. In :52, Clijsters suffered the worst loss of her career in her first slam since being lauded last September as the most favorite player in world history who also plays tennis and is oh so nice and friendly and gives away all her money when everyone is looking and she can so conviently be patted on the back for doing it and who's also a mother, and we all know no woman has ever done anything in their life after having a baby. (Breath!)
=============================
Antwerp Exhibition - Kim Clijsters def. Venus Williams 6-1/7-5
... No, not Venus. And, no, not for Kim's play, either. But it's for winning this EXHIBITION in front of Belgian fans and then saying afterward that it was "more exciting" than winning the U.S. Open last year. Fans were given handkerchiefs on their way out the door so they could wipe Kim's lipstick off their rear ends.
=============================

"It sucks." - Kim Clijsters, on being so soundly defeated by Petrova at the Australian Open

*UPSETS*
Australian Open 1st Rd. - Maria Kirilenko def. Maria Sharapova
...7-6/3-6/6-4. In 3:22 on Day 1, Sharapova, in her first AO match since she won the title in 2008, suffered her earliest slam exit since the 2003 Roland Garros.
=============================
Hopman Cup Final Singles #1 - Laura Robson def. Maria Jose Martinez-Sanchez
...6-1/7-6. Coming back from a 5-3 hole in the 2nd, the 15-year old Brit finally converted her fifth match point. It didn't matter, though. Robson and Andy Murray lost the final to Spain. Yep, he finished second there, too.
=============================

=SERIES NOTES=
Kim Clijsters' win over Justine Henin is Brisbane cut Henin's career match-up lead to 12-11
=============================
For the second straight year, Elena Dementieva defeated Serena Williams in Week 2 in Sydney. For the second straight year, it was Williams, not Dementieva, who won the Australian Open title two weeks later.
=============================
Caroline Wozniacki might have predicted Li Na's run to the AO semifinals. She lost to her in Sydney, then again in Melbourne.
=============================
Nadia Petrova has lost three times to Justine Henin in her comeback, once in an exhibition in Cairo, then in Brisbane and the Australian Open. All three matches were tight two-set affairs, but Petrova's career mark against the Belgian still stands at 2-13.
=============================
A year ago, Victoria Azarenka saw the heat force her retirement in an AO match she was winning against Serena Williams in the 4th Round. In 2010, she blew a 6-4/4-0 lead against Serena in the QF. Hmmm, maybe it's time to re-think whether or not the Belarusian would have won that 2009 at all, heat or no heat.
=============================
Cara Black and Liezel Huber are still the #1-ranked doubles team in the world, but after losing to team #2 Venus & Serena the team veteran pair from Zimbabwe and the U.S. are now down 4-0 to the sisters when it comes to grand slam titles since the start of '09.
=============================
Venus Williams probably should have seen Li coming even earlier than Wozniacki, seeing that the Chinese star defeated HER at the Beijing Olympics in '08 before taking her out on yet another big stage in Melbourne.
=============================
Serena Williams and Justine Henin met in a grand slam final for the first time in Melbourne. Williams' win gives her an 8-6 advantage lifetime against the Belgian.
=============================

"I feel better today than when I retired, that's for sure. Better emotionally, mentally. Better with myself, and that makes a big difference." - Justine Henin, after defeating Nadia Petrova in the 1st Round of her first event back in Brisbane after her 20-month retirement

=THE GOOD=
Justine Henin quickly turns down a chance to taste some Vegemite on a cracker on the ESPN2 set
=============================
Yanina Wickmayer comes back from her brush with banishment with an even better attitude and great results
=============================
Nadia Petrova proving she's not through yet, notching Australian Open wins over defending U.S. Open champ Kim Clijsters and '09 RG winner Svetlana Kuznetsova
=============================
Tennis Australia's plans to add a roof to a third stadium -- Margaret Court Arena -- at Melbourne Park
=============================
Anastasia Rodionova and Jarmila Groth finally get to play under the Australian flag, Alicia Molik gets engaged, Casey Dellacqua returns to the court, Sam Stosur moves up to #11 in the rankings, Rennae Stubbs teams up with Lisa Raymond again, and Jelena Dokic is still banging away on the court even while her early-season results weren't as great as she'd have hoped.
=============================

=THE BAD=
Dinara Safina, believing she was past her back difficulties, decides to play Down Under and ends up retiring in the 1st set of her 4th Round Australian Open match when her back locks up.
=============================
Vera Zvonareva continues to be bothered by the ankle injury she suffered last spring.
=============================
Ekaterina Bychkova is suspended for a month and fined $5000 for failing to report an on attempt to get her to throw a match
=============================

=THE UGLY=
Auckland protesters demanded Shahar Peer pull out of the tournament because of Israel's treatment of the Palestinians. Maybe "The Ugly" should read "The Are-You-Serious?"
=============================
Russian Fed Cup coach Shamil Tarpischev publicly sparred with Svetlana Kuznetsova over the star's neglecting of her Fed Cup duties after winning Roland Garros last year.
=============================

=THE FORGOTTEN=
The talk about Serena's U.S. Open fine disappeared in a puff of smoke once she changed the headline by winning the Australian Open. Hmmm, I wonder if Tiger Woods took notes? Speaking of a puff of smoke, anyone else seeing the new Michael Phelps television ad all the time these days? People's memories are very short.
=============================
The new slam rule regarding treatment for cramping made little news in Melbourne, as the normally scorching heat was as mild over the two weeks as it's been in years.
=============================

=AND THE STILL TO BE DETERMINED=
Dubai has promised to give Shahar Peer a visa to enter the country for this year's tournament
=============================
Mary Joe Fernandez's Bannerettes "B"-team 2.0 consists of Melanie Oudin, Shenay Perry, Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Liezel Huber for the U.S.'s 1st Round Fed Cup tie vs. France. For how much longer can she gamble and win?
=============================

Well, she's managed to work with Pam Shriver for all these years without being arrested for assault, so who's to say what she can do?




ITF PLAYER OF THE WEEK (Wk.4): Annika Beck, GER
...the 15-year old made it through qualifying in the $10K in Kaarst, Germany, defeated Sarah Gronert in the SF and then took out France's Audrey Bergot in the final to claim her first challenger title.





FED CUP 1st Round
Italy def. Ukraina 4-1
...the defending champion Italian team hits the road, but they're not the annual FC contender most likely to go down in the 1st Round (see in a moment).
Czech Republic def. Germany 3-2
...the Czechs choked away a tie against the Americans a year ago, though.
Serbia def. Russia 3-2
...Kleybanova/Dushevina/Pavlychenkova & Makarova would be a pretty decent lineup for most nations, but not Russia. For the Hordettes, this is a definite "B"-team. Ivanovic and, especially, Jankovic thrive when playing for Serbia. Here's their chance to deliver a rare 1st Round knock-out punch to the most dominant FC team of the past decade.
United States def. France 3-2
...can MJF's second U.S. team fair as well as last year's surprising finalists? France's lineup of Cornet, Coin, Parmentier and Cohen Aloro isn't nearly as lethal as those that contained the likes of Mauresmo, Bartoli, etc. So, maybe this is the Americans' tie to lose, even on red clay.
=============================
FED CUP World Group II
Australia def. Spain 3-2
...in Europe on red clay, the Spaniards would be heavy favorites. But this one's on hard court in Adelaide.
Belgium def. Poland 3-2
...who needs Clijsters or Henin? I hope Wickmayer's back is strong enough to carry the load.
Estonia def. Argentina 3-2
...Argentina is being led not by Dulko, but by a slew of ITF stars (Auroux, Irigoyen, Ormaechea & Salut). Kanepi will need to shine again for Estonia.
Slovak Republic def. China 4-1
...the Chinese are still trying to get this Fed Cup thing right. It might take another year. Zheng and Peng are here, but the Slovak team of Hantuchova, Cibulkova, Rybarikova and K.Kucova is stronger. Maybe national momentum will rule the weekend, though.


All for now.

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