2012-13 Offseason Update - December 3rd

The first of several odds-and-ends updates from the offseason peanut gallery.



* - Kimiko Date-Krumm, 42, won the $75K challenger in Dubai, defeating 17-year old Yulia Putintseva in the final. All five of the Japanese vet's victims were at least twenty years her junior.

* - the Eddie Herr Girls 18s winner in Bradenton, Florida was 14-year old Ana Konjuh of Croatia, who handled Austria's Barbara Haas, 16, in the final by a score of 6-1/6-1. Haas had defeated junior #1 Taylor Townsend earlier in the tournament, and had teamed with Katerina Siniakova to defeat the all-Bannerette duo of Townsend & Gabby Andrews in the doubles final. And speaking of...

* - Townsend and Siniakova. As the final big junior event, the Orange Bowl, takes place this week in Plantation, Florida, the year-end Girls #1 ranking is still in question. #1 Townsend has the inside track, but she has to reach the final to assure herself of the top ranking. Of course, there is only one other girl who can catch her, and it's Siniakova. The Czech has a shot to end her season just as women's #1 Vika Azarenka began her's, by jumping from the #3 spot in the rankings all the way to #1.

* - get to know Francoise Abanda on the ITF site!

* - the 2nd Annual Grand Slam Master List will debut later this week, as I'll once again try to list -- in order of likelihood -- every player who might have even a glimmer of a chance of winning a slam, or at least getting within shouting distance, in 2013. Of course, this is just a pre-season gauge on the "perception" of the players on tour. I'm actually interested in seeing how some players rank in comparison to last December's debut list. For instance, I know Angelique Kerber will rank FAR higher this year, as she was perceived as something of a bit of a "2011 U.S. Open flash-in-the-pan" at this time last year. Boy, was that a wrong-headed assumption about the now #5-ranked player in the world!

All for now.