Wk.28- Shake It Up (Scrambled Backspin... with eggs and juice)

Ah, the heat of summer has arrived. Baby birds are leaving the nest. The U.S. Open Series is about to begin. And Backspin is scrambled (this year with eggs and juice).

Oh, joy. Oh, rapture.

Right? Right?




1. BG Doubles Final - Birnerova/Hradecka d. Gajdosova/Goerges
...4-6/6-2/12-10. Gajdosova & Goerges were the top two singles seeds, but both were bounced in the 1st Round. For a while, it looked like their weeks in Austria might turn out to have a happy ending... but, umm, no.
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2. Palermo Final - Medina-Garrigues d. Hercog 6-3/6-2
BG Final - Martinez-Sanchez d. Mayr-Achleitner 6-0/7-5

... You know it's a clay court week when the Spaniards dominate. MJMS's first title of '11 gives Spain three different tour singles titlists this season, tying the nation for the WTA lead in "spreading the wealth" along with Germany and Russia. Additionally, with both AMG and MJMS less than a month from their 29th birthdays, their pair of Week 28 titles means eleven singles champs this season (in 36 tournaments) have been at least 28 years old.
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3. Palermo 2nd Rd - Begu d. Vinci
...6-4/6-3. Just days earlier, Begu had lost to Vinci in the Budapest final. Maybe the Romanian felt a little TOO satisfied, as she lost her next match. Meanwhile, the Italian went on to win the doubles crown.
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4. BG 1st Rd - Pous-Tio d. Goerges
...6-1/2-6/6-1. This is the fourth time this season a player has defeated both the top seed and defending champion at a single event -- in this case, Goerges filled both roles, and Pous-Tio went on to become the second of that group to fail to claim the tournament title. Greta Arn (Auckland) and Daniela Hantuchova (Pattaya) are the only two who've gone on to lift the winner's trophy, while Han Xu (Bogota) -- who also knocked off #1-seed Goerges there -- never got the pleasure.
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5. Palermo 1st Rd - Johansson d. Rezai
...7-6/6-1. Rezai's string of failing to win two matches in any -- WTA or FC -- outing is extended to twenty-three attempts. She's back trying again this week in Baku. Maybe a hearty breakfast will help?

6. BG 2nd Rd - Meusburger d. Bammer
...6-2/6-1. The 31-year old Austrian vet had retired following her Wimbledon loss, but decided to come back for one more event in her home country before saying her (and she means it this time) final goodbyes. Hey, at least now she'll have more time for breakfast.
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7. North America Rules...the ITF
Atlanta $10K Final - Lauren Davis/USA d. Alexis King 1-6/6-2/6-2
Granby $25K Final - Stephanie Dubois/CAN d. Zhang Ling 6-2/2-6/6-1
Tanger $10K Final - Ximena Hermoso/MEX d. Fatina El Allami 6-1/7-6
...I guess it's a sure sign that the tour will soon shift to the continent of the year's final slam.
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8. And Another Young Czech Wins Something
Linz Junior Grade 1 Final - Klara Fabikova/CZE d. Alexandra Kiick/USA
...3-6/6-2/6-1. It's the 17-year old Maiden's first G1 event win. I'm sure she ate well before all her matches.
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BAKU, AZERBAIJAN (Int'l $220K/hard court outdoor)
10 Final: new event
11 Top Seeds: Zvonareva/Pavlyuchenkova
10 Doubles Champions: new event
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=SF=
#1 Zvonareva d. K.Bondarenko
#2 Pavlyuchenkova d. #7 Pervak
=FINAL=
#2 Pavlyuchenkova d. #1 Zvonareva

...Zvonareva becomes just the second Top 10 player to hit the courts since Wimbledon.




PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Lucie Hradecka/CZE
...hmmm, a Player of the Week who lost in the 1st Round of singles to Sandra Zahlavova? Well, yes, since Hradecka's DOUBLES accomplishment in Bad Gastein was quite remarkable. One wonders if the 2012 version of the tournament might consider renaming the Doubles competition the "Hradecka Invitational" -- yeah, I know, my "Wozniacki Open" idea in New Haven was always a long shot, too -- considering her title in Austria this weekend marks the fifth straight year the Czech has lifted the trophy. And she's done it with FOUR different partners, too. What began with Renata Voracova in '07, continued with Andrea Hlavackova in '08-'09, and occurred again with Anabel Medina-Garrigues in '10, was made a reality with the help of Hradecka's countrywoman Eva Birnerova this time around.
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RISERS: Sara Errani/Roberta Vinci, ITA & Tsvetana Pironkova/BUL
...the Italian pair's Palermo title is their third as a duo this season, one off world #1's Kveta Peschke & Katarina Srebotnik's tour-leading total of four. Normally, Errani's defense of her '10 Palermo doubles title, which she won a year ago with Alberta Brianti, would be worth mentioning, too. But, you know, with what Hradecka did in B.G., it seems a little less an accomplishment than it probably should. Meanwhile, Pironkova reached the QF of a tour event -- and it wasn't Wimbledon! What were the odds of that? The Bulgarian got Palermo wins over Anna Tatishvili and Sorana Cirstea before losing to Flavia Pennetta, but just the fact that she got a Final 8 result outside London -- only her third such non-SW19 feat over the last three seasons -- is more than enough to "celebrate."
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SURPRISES: Patricia Mayr-Achleitner/AUT & Dia Evtimova/BUL
...24-year old Austrian Mayr-Achleitner has had a solid presence on the ITF circuit for a while now, winning six titles there the last two seasons. But aside from a SF run in Bogota in '09, the Austrian has never been a name on the lips of too many WTA fans. At least for a few days (hours?), though, that changed with her run to her first career tour final in Bad Gastein after receving a wild card (as the world #109) into the main draw. Playing in front of a friendy crowd, she notched wins over Lourdes Dominguez-Lino, Petra Martic and Ksenia Pervak (a double-bagel!) to get to that final. One of PMA's victims was Dia Evtimova in the QF, who put up a career-best result of her own with the run to the final eight. A winner of a pair of ITF titles this season, the 24-year old Bulgarian (world #239) qualified to reach the main draw, and got wins there over Melanie Klaffner and Nikola Hofmanova.
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COMEBACK: Kateryna Bondarenko/UKR
...back in October '09, Bondarenko reached the Top 30 not long after coming within one match of reaching the U.S. Open semifinals. In February '10, though, the Ukrainian injured her knee and missed several months. She was never able to string together back-to-back main draw tour wins last season, and ended the year ranked outside the Top 100 for the first time since '06, though she did get a Top 10 win over Li Na last summer in the 1st Round at Flushing Meadows, as her best slam once again gave her a boost. Her comeback continued last week in Bad Gastein, where she notched wins over Nuria Llagostera-Vives, Johanna Larsson and Carla Suarez-Navarro en route to the SF, her best WTA result since she won the Birmingham title in '08. She's back in the Top 100 now, and surely looking to climb still higher between now and her return to New York.
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VETERANS: Anabel Medina-Garrigues/ESP & Maria Jose Martinez-Sanchez/ESP, and Petra Cetkovska/CZE
...finally, I get to this week's singles champions (oh, and a Czech). I'll get to 26-year old Cetkovska first, as she was coming off her Round of 16 Wimbledon result which included wins over A-Rad and AnaIvo. In Palermo, she reached her first career tour SF with victories over the likes of Akgul Amanmuradova and Sara Errani. Now, to AMG and MJMS. Both 28 and Spanish, they're a rather "obvious" pair of champions on the red clay (even if SOMEONE didn't pick them to win last week... grrrr). MJMS's win in Bad Gastein included wins over Zahlavova, Yvonne Meusburger, K-Bond and Mayr, and her fourth career title (in five finals, and fourth win a row) is her first since her surprise championship last spring in Rome. Meanwhile, after seemingly being on the downside of her career, AMG has really jumped up in recent months. Her Palermo title -- with wins over Begu, Cetkovska and Hercog -- is her second this season, and eleventh of her career (in 17 finals), tying her on the active list with Vera Zvonareva, one behind former #1's Dinara Safina and Jelena Jankovic, and just two behind two-time slam champ Svetlana Kuznetsova. She's still one behind Anna Smashnova's career total, though... something I'm pretty much contractually required to mention at this point.
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FRESH FACES: Polona Hercog/SLO & Ksenia Pervak/RUS
...one week after winning her first career tour title in Bastad, Hercog didn't slack off. Instead, she reached the final in Palermo, too. She lost to Medina-Garrigues, but the 20-year old's succession of wins over other veterans -- Brianti, Zakopalova and Pennetta -- in the draw, even while having a right to be "distracted," were impressive. Meanwhile, 20-year old Hordette Pervak, who just reached the 4th Round at Wimbledon, got to her second career WTA semifinal with a good run in Bad Gastein following wins over Alize Cornet and Laura Pous-Tio. She also advanced to the doubles semis with Lesia Tsurenko.
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DOWN: Julia Goerges/GER
...even while currently sporting a Top 20 ranking, the German's consistency is still wanting on occasion. She won the Bad Gastein title a year ago, and came into this event as the #1 seed. She lost in the 1st Round to Laura Pous-Tio, doing even worse than she did the previous two times she was the top seed at an event in '11. She lost in the 2nd Round on both of those occasions.
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ITF PLAYER: Iryna Bremond/FRA
...the Pastry won the $50K challenger in Contrexville, her third circuit crown this season. After defeating Arantxa Rus and Renata Voracova, Bremond defeated fellow Frenchwoman Stephanie Foretz-Gacon in the final. SFC, by the way, is now 0-5 in ITF finals this season.
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JUNIOR STAR: Indy de Vroome/NED
...before Wimbledon, the 15-year old Dutch girl won the title on the grass at Roehampton, then reached the Girls semifinals at the All-England Club. Playing last week in a Grade 1 clay court event in Casablanca, de Vroome's success translated rather well, as she won the title with a 6-3/6-0 win in the final over Waffle Elise Mertens. Indy doesn't like waffles... I hear she prefers eggs.
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FED CUP WG II MVP: Ayuma Morita/JPN
...in the World Group II playoff postponed from April after Japan's multiple disasters, Morita led the Japanese to a 4-0 victory as the home nation lost just twelve total games. Morita, who was also listed in this space as Japan's MVP in Zone play earlier this season, went 2-0 singles.
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*WEEK 28 CHAMPIONS*
PALERMO, ITALY (Int'l $220K/red clay outdoor)
S: Anabel Medina-Garrigues def. Polona Hercog 6-3/6-2
D: Errani/Vinci d. Hlavackova/Zakopalova
BAD GASTEIN, AUSTRIA (Int'l $220K/red clay outdoor)
S: Maria Jose Martinez-Sanchez def. Patricia Mayr-Achleitner 6-0/7-5
D: Birnerova/Hradecka d. Gajdosova/Goerges
FED CUP WG II PLAYOFF
Japan def. Argentina 4-0




**2011 WTA LEADERS**
[titles]
5...Caroline Wozniacki
4...Petra Kvitova
3...Roberta Vinci
2...Victoria Azarenka
2...Li Na
2...ANABEL MEDINA-GARRIGUES
[semifinals]
9...Caroline Wozniacki (7-2)
6...Marion Bartoli (3-3)
5...Petra Kvitova (5-0)
5...Maria Sharapova (4-1)
5...Li Na (3-2)
5...ANANEL MEDINA-GARRIGUES (2-3)
5...Vera Zvonareva (1-4)
5...Peng Shuai (1-4)
[doubles titles - teams]
4...Kveta Peschke/Katarina Srebotnik
3...Iveta Benesova/Barbora Zahlavova-Strycova
3...SARA ERRANI/ROBERTA VINCI



**MOST CONSECUTIVE 2011 FINALS**
3...Kim Clijsters (January-February)
3...Caroline Wozniacki (February-March)
2...Li Na (January)
2...Victoria Azarenka (March-April)
2...Caroline Wozniacki (April)
2...Petra Kvitova (June- * )
2...POLONA HERCOG (July- * )
--
* - active streaks

**DEFENDED WTA TITLES IN 2011**
[singles]
Monterrey - Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, 2010-11
Copenhagen - Caroline Wozniacki, 2010-11
[doubles]
Dubai - Maria Jose Martinez-Sanchez, 2010-11
Bogota - Edina Gallovits-Hall, 2010-11
Monterrey - Iveta Benesova/Barbora Zahlavova-Strycova, 2010-11
BAD GASTIEN - LUCIE HRADECKA, 2007-11
PALERMO - SARA ERRANI, 2010-11

**FIRST-TIME FINALISTS IN 2011**
Mathilde Johansson, FRA - Bogota (L)
Rebecca Marino, CAN - Memphis (L)
Irina-Camelia Begu, ROU - Marbella (L)
PATRICIA MAYR-ACHLEITNER, AUT - Bad Gastein (L)

**QUALIFIER-LL-WC IN FINAL IN 2011**
Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, RUS (WC) - Monterrey (W)
Irina-Camelia Begu, ROU (Q) - Marbella (L)
PATRICIA MAYR-ACHLEITNER, AUT (WC) - Bad Gastein (L)

**LOW-RANKED FINALISTS IN 2011**
#138 Irina-Camelia Begu, ROU - Marbella (L)
#109 PATRICIA MAYR-ACHLEITNER, AUT - Bad Gastein (L)
#105 Magdalena Rybarikova, SVK - Memphis (W)
#100 Sabine Lisicki, GER - Birmingham (W)

**TWO UNSEEDED FINALISTS IN 2011**
Brisbane - Petra Kvitova/CZE def. Andrea Petkovic/GER
Bogota* - Lourdes Dominguez-Lino/ESP def. Mathilde Johansson/FRA
Estoril* - Anabel Medina-Garrigues/ESP def. Kristina Barrois/GER
Bad Gastein - MJ MARTINEZ-SANCHEZ/ESP def. PATRICIA MAYR-ACHLEITNER/AUT (WC)
--
* - all unseeded semifinalists



**2011 ITF TITLE LEADERS**
=CAPS: Week 28 champions=
[Romanians]
3...MIHAELE BUZARNESCU
2...Cristina Dinu
1...Irina-Camelia Begu
1...ANA BOGDAN
1...Sorana Cirstea
1...Elora Dabija
1...DIANE ENACHE
1...Edina Gallovits-Hall
[Australians/New Zealanders]
3...Marina Erakovic, NZL
1...Casey Dellacqua, AUS
1...Isabella Holland, AUS
1...JOHANNA KONTA, AUS
1...Sally Peers, AUS
[NORTH AMERICANS + P.Rico]
2...Eugene Bouchard, CAN
2...LAUREN DAVIS, USA
2...STEPHANIE DUBOIS, CAN
2...Sharon Fichman, CAN
2...Monica Puig, PUR
1...Robin Anderson, USA
1...Madison Brengle, USA
1...Gail Brodsky, USA
1...XIMENA HERMOSO, MEX
1...Chieh-Yu Hsu, USA
1...Alexis King, USA
1...Lina Litvak, USA
1...Christina McHale, USA
1...Kyle McPhillips, USA
1...Alexandra Mueller, USA
1...Ana-Sofia Sanchez, MEX
1...Noel Scott, USA
1...Chichi Scholl, USA
1...Sloane Stephens, USA
1...Ashley Weinhold, USA




All for now.