Wk.32- Serena's Super Adventures in Housekeeping

Serena Williams has always fashioned herself something of an actress (what, you didn't see her "Law & Order: SVU" tour-de-force?), and she certainly played a "role" last week in Toronto -- as the WTA's housekeeper, cleaning up a somewhat messy tournament and making her own handywork the talk of the grounds rather than it being the health/lack of success of the other high-end players in the draw.

As it turns out, Serena's itemized cleaning bill might go something like this, give or take a few accomplishments:

1) diverted attention from the (as usual) over-hyped aspects of U.S. Open Series. No, it most surely is NOT love... but between-slam beggars can't be choosers, I guess.

2) got a little attention for the women's game in this so-far-oh-so-sleepy pre-Open month during which most of the other top players/legit slam contenders have most been getting ready exclusively on the practice courts

3) not that help was particularly needed for this to happen, but also kept the general sporting public from (over)analyzing the lack of big-name, big-time success in Toronto at the so-far-biggest (joined arm-and-arm this week by Cincinnati) of the Open tune-up events. Just last week alone, Kim Clijsters retired from a match, Caroline Wozniacki failed to win one, Maria Sharapova lost to the the world's #135th-ranked player, Li Na was again a non-slam afterthought and Vera Zvonareva STILL couldn't beat Agnieszka Radwanska. Even Petra Kvitova had one of "those days" and was rocked in the early-going, but one tends to wish to give her something of a mulligan since last week was her first event in the month-plus since she won Wimbledon.

No matter how you look at it, Serena saved the tournament's -- and the tour's -- bacon last week. Essentially, Williams once again worked overtime to make the WTA relevant in the dog days of summer when it is very easy to ignore the sport... and maybe laid the groundwork for what might be a very big two weeks in Queens at the end of the month. In Toronto, Serena's list of vanquished foes might not have had quite the "star power" of her lineup of victims in Stanford -- including Maria Sharapova, Marion Bartoli and Wimbledon semifinalist Sabine Lisicki -- but it was longer (she played six matches in six days) and consisted of women who put up more of a fight. Williams lost the 1st set against both Zheng Jie and Lucie Safarova, handed heavy beatings to Alona Bondarenko and Julia Goerges (losing just four games in the first three sets against them in Rounds 1 and 2), and put straight sets ends to what had previously been very good weeks for Victoria Azarenka and final opponent Samantha Stosur. Even as she likely grew more tired, Serena's game (and, more importantly, will and exuberance) seemed to grow stronger as the week progressed.

She's in Cincinnati this week, where she could effectively wrap up her first U.S. Open Series overall championship. With so much recent tennis after nearly a year out of the game, a third North American hard court title on the summer would seem to likely be too much to ask. But we're talking about Serena, so it's just as crazy to think she WON'T do it.

Williams not only rose to the very top of the Open contender list last week, but she also made an interesting apperance off it, as well. The last two years, Wilson's tennis psychiatrist's couch ads have featured both Venus Williams and Roger Federer. Well, last week it was Serena's turn to assume yet another role in the latest Wilson spot. There she was, on cue, dragging out the familiar tennis ball yellow-colored piece of furniture onto the court to help out the latest actor/player work out the kinks in his game. As usual, her advice about playing within one's self and with control worked, and her patient returned to the couch and happily put his feet up, only to receive a quick scolding from Serena. Ordering him to take his feet down from her couch, she turned "angry" about the matter, saying "I know a foot-fault when I see-" before stopping herself in mid-sentence, taking a deep breath, and pointing out, "Now, THAT's control." With Serena's return to the U.S. Open for the first time since her foot-fault inspired f-bomb shower in '09 just a few weeks away, maybe this ad is a sign that she won't even be thinking of shrinking from the story of her last appearance at the Open (even if it HAS sort of been trumped by the multiple health crises she's experienced since then), and will likely even attempt to take the edge off the (overblown, IMHO) situation. One thing is sure, she'll be at the center of attention come August 29.

Ah, just another week's work for the (still) greatest of her generation. That said, it's probably no coincidence that Serena has been sporting a tight green outfit on the hard courts this summer. One might even say it's the sort of wardrobe one could see on those superhero types we see so often on the silver screen at this time of year. Personally, I was always a Spider-Man kid when it came to comic book exploits (I see that Marvel Comics just killed Peter Parker in print -- WTF?), but I'm still reminded of the Green Lantern when pondering Serena's re-appearance at the top of the list of slam contenders. The green tights-clad DC Comics icon is known for wearing a ring called "the most powerful weapon in the universe." With Williams, the "powerful weapon" in question is her racket, of course... or maybe it's Serena herself.

Apparently, the story goes that the strength of will of the ring's wearer makes the ring's powers that much more lethal. Yep, I'd say Serena has that more than covered, too.



*WEEK 32 CHAMPIONS*
TORONTO, ONTARIO CAN (Premier $2.05K/hard court outdoor)
S: Serena Williams def. Samantha Stosur 6-4/6-2
D: Huber/Raymond walkover Azarenka/Kirilenko


PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Serena Williams/USA

...Serena's second title of '11 -- the 39th of her career -- jumped her ranking from #80 to #31, within range of getting seeded at the Open.
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RISERS: Victoria Azarenka/BLR & Agnieszka Radwanska/POL
...with her Wimbledon SF still fresh in her mind, Azarenka finally began to prepare to return to the U.S. Open (one year after her on-court collapse) in Toronto, opening things with a double-bagel win over Stephanie Dubois and ending it with a barely-in-it loss in the SF to Serena Williams. She and Maria Kirilenko reached the doubles final, but the pair lost in a walkover due to a hand injury incurred by Azarenka. Needless to say, it was an up-and-down week for the Belarusian. Meanwhile, after a great week in Carlsbad, A-Rad looked none the worse for wear most of last week in Canada. She matched her Carlsbad wins over Vera Zvonareva and Andrea Petkovic with two more wins over the same women last week, reaching the SF before losing to Sam Stosur in three sets. Radwanska then pulled out of Cincinnati, citing the shoulder injury she was nursing while winning her title in California.
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SURPRISE: Galina Voskoboeva/KAZ
...the Russian-born Kazakh is overstaying her welcome a bit in the "Surprise" category, as her '11 singles success (including a recent win over Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova and a SF in Baku) is becoming more and more commonplace. In Toronto, after qualifying (wins over Anastasija Sevastaova and Kateryna Bondarenko) she pulled off an impressive trifecta of wins over Marion Bartoli, Flavia Pennetta and Maria Sharapova to reach the QF. After being ranked #162 when she reached the Final Four in Baku, and #135 as Toronto began, Voskoboeva is now at #87 (no longer too far below her career-best of #64).
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COMEBACK: Samantha Stosur/AUS
...2011 has not been a great season for Stosur, but her run to the final in Toronto (her first non-clay final since Osaka '09) gives her two consecutive (with Rome) appearances in the deciding match at "Premier Plus" (the top nine Premier level events, $2.05m or better events which are roughly the equivalent of the old "Tier I" tournaments) events. Wins over Ayumi Morita, Aleksandra Wozniak, Li Na, Roberta Vinci and Radwanska made the Aussie's exile from the Top 10, which began last Monday, a short one, as she jumped back to #10 today.
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VETERANS: Roberta Vinci/ITA & Liezel Huber/Lisa Raymond (USA/USA)
...from February to April, 28-year old Vinci had a string of eight consecutive losses. Since then, though, she's won three titles. Last week in Toronto she got a win over Yanina Wickmayer, followed it up with the upset of '10 Rogers Cup champ #1 Caroline Wozniacki and another over Ana Ivanovic to reach the QF. Her ranking is now in the Top 20 for the first time in her career. Hmmm, maybe Vinci should write a blog for the WTA's website, as she did last week, more often. In doubles, Huber (a week away from her 35th birthday) and Raymond got a win over Gisela Dulko & Flavia Pennetta in the semis, then picked up the title with a walkover in the final over Azarenka and Kirilenko. It's their first title as a duo, as Raymond is Huber's thirteenth different partner while gathering 45 career titles, while Raymond has picked up her 71 crowns with nine different women. The Toronto championship is Huber's second of '11, but it's Raymond first since picking up back-to-back grass win in Birmingham and Eastbourne in 2009. Raymond celebrated her 38th birthday in Toronto, and her ultimate win makes her the oldest champion on the WTA tour so far in 2011, bettering Kveta Peschke's achievement in Week 31 in Carlsbad.
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FRESH FACES: Yulia Putintseva/RUS & Caroline Garcia/FRA
...these two faced off in the final of the $50K challenger in Kazan, Russia which was won by 16-year old Hordette Putintseva. Ranked #336 in world (and #13 in the junior rankings), Putintseva also knocked off Vitalia Diatchenko, Mihaela Buzarnescu and Vesna Dolonts (who retired) along the way to to her third ITF title of the season. Roland Garros Pastry starlet Garcia, 17, ranked #153, notched wins over Anastasiya Yakimova, Evgeniya Rodina and Kristina Kucova, but is still in search of her first career ITF singles title (she's 0-2 in finals in '11).
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DOWN: Kim Clijsters/BEL & Maria Sharapova/RUS
...I've said it before, but maybe Clijsters should decide to avoid the Rogers Cup event like it's a post-earthquake/tsunami/nuclear meltdown Asia. In 2006, she injured her wrist in the tournament and didn't get to defend her '05 U.S. Open title. She soon retired, and didn't play in NYC again she returned to the sport in '09. Of course, she won the Open again that year. Last season, she hurt her hip in Montreal, putting her '10 Open defense in jeopardy. She ended up successfully pulling off the title less than a month later, though. But there she was playing in Toronto last week, after missing most of the clay court season and Wimbledon due to injuries that included ankle, toe, shoulder, wrist and foot ailments. Naturally, she once again failed to escape the event without hurting herself, retiring in her first match against Zheng Jie with a partially torn stomach muscle. Once again, her Open defense might be in jeopardy. Her ranking fell to #3 today, but the bigger question has to be when this mash-up of injuries is finally going to cause KC to throw up her hands (and hang up her tennis bag) all over again? As of now, I'm still standing by the notion that she won't be playing in any Opens beyond 2011... so I'm guessing she'll at least make an appearance in NY later this month to give it a go one more (final?) time in her best slam. Meanwhile, fresh off her disappointing QF performance against Serena in Stanford, Sharapova went out in the 3rd Round in Toronto to #135 Voskoboeva. The loss dropped her out of the Top 5, down to #7 behind 2011 slam winners Li Na (#5) and Petra Kvitova (#6). It's still a long way off, but Sharapova could get a second chance against Williams in the QF in Cincinnati this week.
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ITF PLAYER: Andrea Hlavackova/CZE
...Hlavackova is a Top 20 doubles player, and winner of three WTA doubles titles (including Roland Garros) this season, but she's been having some good moments in singles play this year, as well. The latest example arrives in the form of her crown at the $50K challenger in the Bronx, New York. There, the current world #111 singles player defeated the likes of Madalina Gojnea, Tamryn Hendler, Julia Cohen and Mona Barthel in the final to take the title.
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JUNIOR STAR: Victoria Kan/RUS
...the 16-year old Hordette (the #31 junior, and #943 on the WTA computer), off her recent first-ever pro title in a challenger in Bad Waltersdorf, reached the SF in a $10K in Innsbruck. Kan is 14-1 in ITF acton this summer, and 22-4 overall (qualifying and main draw) on the circuit in this the first season in which she's played any pro events.
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1. Tor Final - S.Williams d. Stosur
...6-4/6-2. From the tight spot of 4-4 in the 1st set, Serena took over. It's Williams' fifth consecutive season with two or more titles, the longest streak by any woman on tour (Wozniacki's four straight years is the next longest).
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2. Tor 2nd Rd. - Zheng d. Clijsters
...3-6/2-1 ret. Zheng went on to take Serena to three sets, then qualified in Cincinnati and got a 1st Round win over Julia Goerges today.
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3. Tor 2nd Rd. - Vinci d. Wozniacki
...6-4/7-5. The wind played havoc with Woziacki's service toss in the 1st set, and she lost a 5-1 2nd set lead.
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4. Tor SF - S.Williams d. Azarenka
...6-3/6-3. Hey, at least Vika didn't blow a lead and/or have to retire this time around against Serena. Of course, she DID have to skip out on the doubles final with that injured hand after this loss.
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5. Tor 3rd Rd. - Petkovic d. Kvitova
...6-1/6-2. Kvitova's overly-generous forehand helped in her demise in this one, but Petkovic seems to be getting close to peaking for the Open. We could get an interesting "Take Two" this week in Cincinnati if these two meet again in the 3rd Round.
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6. Tor 1st Rd. - Jovanovski d. Dokic
...2-0 ret.. Dokic's next project? Writing a quickie tourist book called "How to See Toronto in Nine Minutes & Twenty Seconds." That's how long this one lasted.
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7. Tor 1st Rd. - Voskoboeva d. Bartoli 6-3/6-3
Tor 2r - Voskoboeva d. Pennetta 2-6/6-3/6-2
Tor 3r - Voskoboeva d. Sharapova 6-3/7-5
...nice week, huh?
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8. Cin Q1 - K.Bondarenko d. Oudin
...6-1/6-4. Oudin has now dropped seven straight, and eighteen of her last twenty-one.
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9. Bronx $50K QF - Mona Barthel/GER d. Kristyna Pliskova/CZE 6-4/6-1
Bronx $50K SF - Mona Barthel/GER d. Karolina Pliskova/CZE 6-1/6-1
...I'm guessing Mona won't be getting any holiday greetings from the Pliskova family.
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10. Cin 1st Rd. - Peer d. Lisicki
...6-4/7-6. The Baroness' first real stumble since her dramatic exit in Paris.
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**2011 WTA TITLES**
5...Caroline Wozniacki, DEN
4...Petra Kvitova, CZE
3...Roberta Vinci, ITA
2...Victoria Azarenka, BLR
2...Li Na, CHN
2...Anabel Medina-Garrigues, ESP
2...SERENA WILLIAMS, USA
2...Vera Zvonareva, RUS

**ALL-TIME TIER I & PREMIER $2m+ TITLES**
31...Martina Navratilova
30...Steffi Graf
17...Martina Hingis
11...Lindsay Davenport
11...Chris Evert
11...Gabriela Sabatini
11...SERENA WILLIAMS *
10...Justine Henin
9...Conchita Martinez
9...Monica Seles
8...Maria Sharapova *
8...Venus Williams *
7...Kim Clijsters *
--
* - active

**2011 WTA/FC WIN STREAKS**
12...Victoria Azarenka, March-April
12...Kim Clijsters, January-February
11...SERENA WILLIAMS, July-August (active streak)
11...Li Na, January
11...Petra Kvitova, May
11...Sabine Lisicki, June
10...Julia Goerges, April-May
10...Maria Sharapova, May-June

**2011 CONSECUTIVE WTA TITLES**
2...Victoria Azarenka - Miami/Marbella
2...SERENA WILLIAMS - Stanford/Toronto (active streak)

**2011 - DEFEATED TOP SEED & DEFENDING CHAMP, DIDN'T WIN TITLE**
Bogota - Han Xu, CHN (def. Goerges/2nd Rd. & Duque-Marino/1st Rd., reached QF)
Bad Gastein - Laura Pous Tio, ESP (def. Goerges/1st Rd., reached QF)
Stanford - Marina Erakovic, NZL (def. Azarenka/2nd Rd., reached QF)
Toronto - ROBERTA VINCI, ITA (def. Wozniacki/2nd Rd., reached QF)

**2011 PREMIER $2m+ FINALS**
Dubai (HC) - #2 Wozniacki/DEN d. #23 Kuznetsova/RUS
Indian Wells (HC) - #1 Wozniacki/DEN d. #17 Bartoli/FRA
MIami (HC) - #8 Azarenka/BLR d. #13 Sharapova/RUS
Madrid (RC) - #18 Kvitova/CZE d. #5 Azarenka/BLR
Rome (RC) - #8 Sharapova/RUS d. #7 Stosur/AUS
Toronto (HC) - #80 S.Williams/USA d. #11 Stosur/AUS

**MOST CAREER TITLES - DOUBLES**
177...Martina Navratilova
112...Rosie Casals
106...Pam Shriver
101...Billie Jean King
80...Natasha Zvereva
76...Jana Novotna
71...LISA RAYMOND *
[players active in 2011]
71...LISA RAYMOND
60...Rennae Stubbs
54...Cara Black
45...LIEZEL HUBER

**2011 ATP FINALS**
9...Novak Djokovic, SRB (9-0)
8...Rafael Nadal, ESP (3-5)
5...Nicolas Almagro, ESP (3-2)
5...David Ferrer, ESP (2-3)
4...Robin Soderling, SWE (4-0)
3...Roger Federer, SUI (1-2)
3...Mardy Fish, USA (1-2)
3...Fernando Verdasco, ESP (0-3)



Tthe star-studded lineup for the 16th annual Arthur Ashe Kids’ Day presented by Hess has been announced. Reigning US Open Champions Rafael Nadal and Kim Clijsters, world #1 ranked Novak Djokovic and former US Open Champion Andy Roddick will take the court this year with actor Bradley Cooper, New York Knicks All-Star Carmelo Anthony and pop star Cody Simpson. The full day tennis and music festival, hosted by TV personalities/actors La La Anthony and Quddus, will take place on Saturday, August 27th and will kick-off the 2011 US Open, which runs from August 29th-September 11th in Flushing, NY. Additional information can be found at the U.S. Open's official website.





CINCINNATI, OHIO USA (Premier $2.05m/hard outdoor)
10 Final: Clijsters d. Sharapova
11 Top Seeds: Wozniacki/Zvonareva
10 Doubles Champions: Azarenka/Kirilenko
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=SF=
#6 Kvitova d. #3 Azarenka
S.Williams d. #2 Zvonareva
=FINAL=
S.Williams d. #6 Kvitova

...some early rematches of meetings from last week could pop up in Cincy, from Serena/Stosur in the 2nd Round to Vinci/Wozniacki, Petkovic/Kvitova and Serena/Safarova in the 3rd Round. As I said, it's probably a bridge too far to go with Serena yet again, but I feel like I'd be crazy not to.


All for now.



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