Wk.8-Justine's Port of Call

Justine Henin-Hardenne REALLY likes Dubai.

Maybe it's the weather. No, check that... the tournament had several rain delays last week, the first in a UAE-hosted event since the early 1990's. Hmmm, then maybe it's that she's never lost there. Her most recent title-winning Middle East sojourn makes her 13-0 over three trips.

Yeah, that's a "pretty good" reason. But is it as good as the axiom that says nothing sticks it to "the man" (and your overly-vociferous critics) quite like winning? Justine REALLY likes that one right about now, as well.

On her website the other week, JHH talked about how she should have never played the Australian Open final because of her condition (it might have saved her some grief... but probably not), and that "some understand and some don't. You can't make people like you."

No, but you can make them fear you. Again. So far in 2006, Le Petit Taureau is 14-1. 14-0 when she's been "healthy and able" (and, if you're so inclined, 0-1 when she's been "ably unwilling").

No matter how you look at it, by the end of the year, Melbourne will likely be a footnote written into the margins of a superior Henin-Hardenne season rather than the "tarnishing" agent it was cooked up to be.


==WEEK 8 CHAMPIONS==

DUBAI, UAE (II-HO)
S: Justine Henin-Hardenne d. Maria Sharapova 7-5/6-2
D: Peschke/Schiavone d. Kuznetsova/Petrova
------------------------

MEMPHIS, TENNESSEE USA (III-HI)
S: Sofia Arvidsson d. Marta Domachowska 6-2/2-6/6-3
D: Raymond/Stosur d. Azarenka/Wozniacki
------------------------

BOGOTA, COLOMBIA (III-RCO)
S: Lourdes Dominguez-Lino d. Flavia Pennetta 7-6/6-4
D: Dulko/Pennetta d. Szavay/Woehr
------------------------


==PLAYER AWARDS==
PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Justine Henin-Hardenne

...redemption in Dubai? Maybe not (as if it was really necessary). But career title #25, after a fourth straight win over Sharapova in the final, certainly sets the JHH ship back on a true course.
------------------------
RISERS: Sofia Arvidsson & Marta Domachowska

...both these twentysomethings faced off in the Memphis final in a fight to win their first WTA singles title. 22-year old Swede Arvidsson got it in her second career final appearance, while 20-year old "Poland's Pride" failed to do so in her third WTA final.
------------------------
SURPRISE: Lourdes Dominguez-Lino
...all of LDL's siblings -- Jose, Javier, Enrique, Carmen, Isabel, Patricia, Sara, Natalia & Maria (that's nine in case you were wondering) -- are proud of her today. The 24-year old Spaniard reached her surprise first career WTA final a year ago in Bogota, losing to Flavia Pennetta. This weekend, the two met up for a 2006 Bogota final rematch. LDL got her revenge.
-----------------------
VETERANS: Martina Hingis & Lisa Raymond
...sure, Martina lost in the Supernova rematch in the Dubai QF, but before that she easily handled Sania Mirza and Anastasia Myskina. Meanwhile, Raymond won the Memphis doubles (with Stosur... way to go, Sammy!), her first at a tournament where she won singles titles in 2002 and '03 (and was RU in '04).
------------------------
FRESH FACE: Maria Kirilenko
...in Dubai, she knocked out Nadia Petrova and Lucie Safarova, then pushed Lindsay Davenport to three sets in the QF.
------------------------
DOWN: Vera Zvonareva
...a year ago, Zvonareva won a title in Memphis. Last week, she skipped the small event in favor of the bigger one (with bigger names, and more prize money) in Dubai. Then she promptly lost to Salima Sfar in the 1st Round. After opening the season with four straight wins to reach the Auckland final, Zvonareva has since lost five straight.
------------------------


==MATCHES==
1.Dub F - JHH d. Sharapova
...7-5/6-2. Sharapova led 5-3 in the 1st set, and five times she was two points from the set. But she tightened, after already being tentative about moving toward the net (and losing some points that should have easily been her's as a result), and lost her advantage. JHH grabbed hold of the match at that point, and never relinquished it.
------------------------
2.Memph F - Arvidsson d. Domachowska

...6-2/2-6/6-3. Domachowska started extremely slowly in this match, while Arvidsson was as steady as could be. It was enough to withstand the pressure of Domachowska's eventual comeback. (By the way, the Swede's win fulfills one of my pre-season first-title predictions. Yay! Look how happy it makes Sofia, too!)
------------------------
3.Bog F - Dominguez-Lino d. Pennetta
...7-6/6-4. LDL winning her first title isn't as surprising as her out-of-nowhere trip to the Bogota final a year ago. What is somewhat shocking, though, is that Pennetta's RU means more Italian Noodles (4) have reached WTA singles finals than Russians (3) this season.
------------------------
4t.Dub QF - Sharapova d. Hingis
...6-3/6-4.
4t.Dub SF - Sharapova d. Davenport
...3-6/6-1/6-3. The Supernova was forced to complete this sweep of two former #1's in the same day thanks to the desert rain storms. It was a great accomplishment, but it likely left her fatigued against a third former #1 (JHH) in the final the following day.
------------------------
6.Memph 1st - Azarenka d. Vaidisova
...7-6/2-6/6-4. Too bad for Azarenka that her high didn't last very long, as she lost in the 2nd Round to Lilia Osterloh (though she did rebound to reach the doubles final with Caroline Wozniacki). For the record, this was Vaidisova's first opening match loss in a tournament since June of last year, in Eastbourne to Zvonareva.
------------------------
7.Dub QF - Kuznetsova d. Mauresmo
...7-6/6-4. Mauresmo was up 3-2 in the 1st set TB before rain stopped play for the day. When play finally resumed, her 16-match winning streak was soon over.
------------------------
8.Dub 1st - Hingis d. Mirza
...6-3/7-5. Princess Sania is learning (so far) what "the year after" is often like.
------------------------
9.Dub 1st - Sfar d. Zvonareva
...2-6/7-5/6-3. "The Tunisian Tornado" strikes! I say that because, well, how often do I get to mention Sfar over the course of a season? This could very well be the last mention in '06.
------------------------
10.Dub 2nd - Davenport d. Likhovtseva
...6-0/6-0. Double-bageled by Lindsay. Now Likhovtseva and Sharapova have something in common other than being Russian.
------------------------

===========================
===========================

**FEBRUARY AWARDS**

=PLAYERS OF THE MONTH=
1.Amelie Mauresmo
2.Elena Dementieva
3.Justine Henin-Hardenne
4.Maria Sharapova
5.Martina Hingis

=DOUBLES PLAYER OF THE MONTH=
Samantha Stosur

=RISERS=
1.Ting Li & Tiantian Sun
2.Tatiana Golovin
3.Sofia Arvidsson
4.Marta Domachowska
5.Mara Santangelo

=SURPRISES=
1.Jelena Kostanic
2.Lourdes Dominguez-Lino
3.Aleksandra Wozniak
4.Mariya Koryttseva
5.Caroline Wozniacki

=VETERANS=
1.Martina Hingis
2.Mary Pierce
3.Lisa Raymond
4.Lindsay Davenport
5.Kveta Peschke

=FRESH FACES=
1.Shahar Peer
2.Maria Kirilenko
3.Vania King
4.Victoria Azarenka
5.Tszvetana Pironkova

=DOWN=
1.Vera Zvonareva
2.Sania Mirza
3.Anna-Lena Groenefeld
4.Lucie Safarova
5.Na Li

TOP PERFORMANCE: Amelie Mauresmo in Antwerp
...a third consecutive title runs her winning streak to 15 matches, and she defeats Clijsters in Belgium, too.
------------------------
MATCH OF THE MONTH: Antwerp F - Mauresmo d. Clijsters
...3-6/6-3/6-3. #1 (that's Clijsters) vs #2 (that's Mauresmo). Kim's right... Mauresmo probably SHOULD be #1 right now, not her.
------------------------
COMEBACK OF THE MONTH: JHH rebounds from Melbourne retirement with title in Dubai
------------------------
BREAKOUT WIN OF THE MONTH: Memphis 1st Rd. - Azarenka d. Vaidisova
...7-5/2-6/6-4. The Belarussian teen wasn't the #1 junior a short time ago for nothing.
------------------------
UPSET OF THE MONTH: Tokyo SF - Hingis d. Sharapova
...6-3/6-1. This is the match that Hingis was looking forward to during all those months when she was preparing for a return to the tour.
------------------------
BIGGEST WIN (SINGLES): Tokyo F - Dementieva d. Hingis
...6-2/6-0. This is the one Punch-Sober was dreaming about, her first Tier I title -- and she wins it against her "favorite" player.
------------------------
BIGGEST WIN (DOUBLES): Pattaya Doubles F - T.Li/Sun d. Yan/Zheng
...3-6/6-1/7-6. That Battle of China... in Thailand.
------------------------
ODDS & ENDS:
...Samantha Stosur became new doubles #1
...Martina Navratilova announced that she'll play a full doubles schedule
...there were four (Peer, Santangelo, Arvidsson & Dominguez-Lino) first-time WTA Champions
...the Williams sisters continued to be M.I.A.
...Kim Clijsters bought a whole bunch of champagne
...and Maria Sharapova got about as close to naked in public as she's ever likely to get.



(Okay, I admit that last one was just a way to include a gratuitous Supernova-in-a-bikini shot.)

==========================
==========================

**WTA LISTS**

**HENIN-HARDENNE vs. SHARAPOVA**
05 Miami QF - Sharapova 6-1/6-7/6-2
05 Berlin QF - JHH 6-2/6-4
05 Roland Garros QF - JHH 6-4/6-2
06 Australian SF - JHH 4-6/6-1/6-4
06 Dubai F - JHH 7-5/6-2

**SHARAPOVA vs. DAVENPORT**
04 Wimbledon SF - Sharapova 2-6/7-6/6-2
05 Tokyo F - Sharapova 6-1/3-6/7-6
05 I.W. SF - Davenport 6-0/6-0
05 WTA Chsp RR - Sharapova 3-6/7-5/6-4
06 Dubai SF - Sharapova 3-6/6-1/6-3

**MULTIPLE 2006 WTA FINALS**
3...Mauresmo (3-0)
3...Henin-Hardenne (2-1)
2...Pennetta (0-2)
2...Kostanic (0-2)

**FINALISTS BY NATION**
5...France (4 titles)
4...Belgium (3)
4...Italy (1)
3...Russia (1)

**SEMIFINALISTS BY NATION**
12..Russia
5...Belgium
5...France
5...Italy
5...Spain

------------------------

**WEEK 9 PICKS**

DOHA, QATAR (II-Hard Outdoor)
05 F: Sharapova d. Molik
06 TOP: Mauresmo/Petrova
----------------------------
SF: Mauresmo d. Hingis; Myskina d. Petrova
FINAL: Mauresmo d. Myskina

...the potential QF matchup between Hingis & Kuznetsova could be one to keep an eye on, what with the Russian's power and evidence of her return to form (she's 12-3 overall this year, and got one of her biggest wins in a while over Mauresmo last week).


ACAPULCO, MEXICO (III-Red Clay)
05 F: Pennetta d. Cervanova
06 TOP: Pennetta/Groenefeld
----------------------------
SF: Pennetta d. Sanchez-Lorenzo; Castano d. Dulko
FINAL: Pennetta d. Castano

...a year ago, Pennetta took both the Bogota and Acapulco titles in back-to-back weeks. She was RU in Bogota last week, so she's trying to at least defend half her haul. Interestingly, assuming LDL plays and wins after claiming her first title over the weekend, Pennetta could get a quick shot at revenge against her Bogota conqueror in the 2nd Round in Acapulco.


All for now.

=======================

COMING UP SOON IN BACKSPIN: "The Blessed & the Cursed (& the great unwashed)" & "Non-Sequitur Jubilee"

Read more...

Wk.7-Woman of a Thousand Faces

Take a second to study this picture taken after Sunday's final in Antwerp. Look at the woman on the right. I think she might be a cleverly disguised impostor.



Or, at the very least, this person who's currently calling herself "Amelie Mauresmo" has mastered the art of the "quick-change."

Through the years, the "real" Mauresmo has been a choke artist... but also an artiste. She's been a young player who generated controversy for being "too manly" on the court... but also a maturing, and disarmingly charming, personality off it. At one time, she was a former #1-player without a slam title to her credit... but now she's a #2-ranked player with an Austalian Open championship. And she's currently eyeing Kim Clijsters and the seemingly inevitable "changing of the guard" that could take place at the top of the rankings before the end of the 1st Quarter.

Make no mistake, for all the headlines grabbed by a certain Miss Hingis, and all the internet hits generated by Maria you-know-who, 2006 has most assuredly been Mauresmo's personal playground.

Who knew a November win over Ai Sugiyama in the 2nd Round in Philadelphia would unleash the string a performances we've seen even since? Five titles in six events. A 23-2 record, and current 15-match winning streak. A WTA Championships crown. The Aussie Open. And, soon, the #1 ranking since Clijsters (probably, at least) can't be expected to repeat her Indian Wells/Miami double-Tier I title performance that kicked off her comeback a year ago come March. Either Mauresmo has made one whopper of a deal with the tennis gods (if so, I hope she checked the fine print on that contract), or we might be looking at an impostor. This just can't be the same Mauresmo, right?

(Has anyone seen the TV Show "Invasion"? Maybe she's one of those hybrids... though that's just a wild theory, I admit.)

Maybe we'll find out if... umm, "Mauresmo"... really is superhuman this week in Dubai when she goes for her FOURTH -- already! -- title on the season. (And looky-looky at who she could face in the semifinals... hint, hint... it could be a Pepto Bismal Moment Redux, if you get my drift.)

Good luck, "Amelie"... if that IS your REAL name. But, remember, Backspin's keeping a sharp eye out for any "clues" to this WTA mystery. Stay tuned.


==WEEK 7 CHAMPIONS==

ANTWERP, BELGIUM (II-GSI)
S: Amelie Mauresmo d. Kim Clijsters 3-6/6-3/6-3
D: Safina/Srebotnik d. Foretz/Krajicek
-------------------------

BANGALORE, INDIA (III-HO)
S: Mara Santangelo d. Jelena Kostanic 3-6/7-6(5)/6-3
D: Huber/Mirza d. Rodionova/Vesnina
-------------------------

==PLAYER AWARDS==
PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Amelie Mauresmo
...the hits keep coming. Three titles in 2006 to run her career total to 22. And again, no one retired -- not Benesova, Schnyder, Petrova nor Clijsters -- en route to the championship, either.
------------------------
RISER: Shuai Peng
...no, she didn't play last week. But her desire for some independence from the Chinese Tennis Federation, and the right to set her own training regimen and schedule, as well as split her prize money so she can pay her own way, is a revolutionary -- but not unexpected -- act. Peng has re-stated that she remains a part of the nation's squad, and will join it in the goal of striving for Olympic success in Beijing in two years. The Chinese will likely try to make it look like they aren't bending (hence, Peng's loyalty statement), but they will. A little, at least. They aren't stupid. 2008 is getting close, and they have to recognize that, right now, Peng is the best of the Cookies, the one with the biggest game, and the one with the most potential to grab a BIG title down the line... something hinted at with Peng's upset of Clijsters in San Diego before last year's U.S. Open. Trying to fit a square peg into a round hole doesn't exactly foster the most success, so expect the hole to undergo a little restructuring behind the scenes over time. Transitions of Communist systems, even within the sports establishment, take time, and are always undertaken in a way so that there is as little public egg on the Federation's face as possible. At the start of last season, in an Intriguing Question column, I wondered who'd be the "Chinese Natasha Zvereva" who would seek to break free of the Soviet-styled Chinese system. Looks like it might be Peng (though it should be noted that Na Li has echoed at least some of the same sentiments). Consider it a first step toward greater Chinese tennis success down the line.
------------------------
SURPRISES: Mara Santangelo & Maria Elena Camerin

...there was some big Italian news last week, and it had nothing to do with cross country skiing. Yes, the Noodles are becoming more and more delicious all the time. Italian 24-year old Santangelo won her first career WTA title with a comeback win in the Bangalore final against Jelena Kostanic. Meanwhile, countrywoman Camerin handled Pattaya City champ Shahar Peer a quick loss in India en route to a QF finish.
------------------------
VETERAN: Eleni Daniilidou
...maybe Eleni the Greek thought the Athens games were back on last week. She's been decidedly unspectacular since her hometown Olympics, but did manage a doubles SF in Antwerp, as well as a win over Klara Koukalova (and QF result, before losing to Elena Dementieva), in Antwerp.
------------------------
FRESH FACE: Vania King

...American tennis ingenues have been as difficult to find as Bode Miller Olympic medals lately, but maybe 17-year old King is ready to move into the void (along with junior doubles partner Alexa Glatch?). Her SF run in Bangalore was the best finish by ANY American woman so far in 2006 (thought I'd get that in before Davenport plays this week), and she's poised to enter the Top 100 (she's #107). Just ask Nicole Pratt if the kid's any good. She beat the Aussie vet 6-0/6-1 last week.
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DOWN: Sania Mirza
...when you're part of the tournament logo (or at least you were... funny how that changed on the event website after the tournament began, isn't it?), you'll not supposed to lose in the 2nd Round, as Princess Sania did in Bangalore to Camille Pin. To her credit, and no doubt the tournament organizer's great relief, she did rally to take the doubles title with Liezel Huber... Mirza's first since sweeping the Hyderabad singles & doubles a year ago.
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==MATCHES==
1.Ant F - Mauresmo d. Clijsters
...3-6/6-3/6-3. Clijsters said it's "a miracle" that she's as healthy as she is considering her Melbourne ankle injury. The bigger miracle might have been that the projected #1 vs. #2 matchup actually happened. It's only the fourth time the top two ranked players have met in a non-exhibition situation over the last three seasons.
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2.Bang F - Santangelo d. Kostanic
...3-6/7-6/6-3. Jelena Kostanic is NOT Janica Kostelic, apparently. The Croatian's now lost back-to-back finals. But, still, she's made twice as many WTA singles finals in the last ten days than she'd made in her entire career beforehand.
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3.Bang 2nd - Pin d. Mirza
...1-6/7-5/6-2. Mirza's now #36, but she's going to have to pick things up if she's to avoid some serious ranking hit soon. She plays Hingis in the 1st Round in Dubai, so...
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4.Bang Doub.F - Huber/Mirza d. Rodionova/Vesnina
...6-3/6-3. And the consolation prize goes to Sania. Oh, and Liezel, too.
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5.Ant 2nd - Clijsters d. Golovin
...4-6/7-6/7-5. After this match, Clijsters' bribe... err, I mean gift... of 11,000 bottles of champagne were distributed to the fans in attendence. They should have given them out before the match if they really wanted everyone to have a good time at the Diamond Games facility.
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HM- Bang 1st - A.Bondarenko d. K.Bondarenko
...6-4/7-5. With the Williams sisters disappearing like a drawing on an Etch-a-Sketch, this is as good a Sister vs. Sister match as the WTA has to offer. Not sure if that's a good thing, or a bad one.
------------------------


==WTA LISTS==

**#1 vs. #2 - 2003-06**
-2003-
Aust.Open F - #1 S.Williams d. #2 V.Williams
Filderstadt F - #1 Clijsters d. #2 Henin-Hardenne
-2004-
Aust.Open F - #1 Henin-Hardenne d. #2 Clijsters
Filderstadt F - #2 Davenport d. #1 Mauresmo
Athens Olympic F - #1 Henin-Hardenne d. #2 Mauresmo
-2005-
NONE
-2006-
ANTWERP F - #2 MAURESMO d. #1 CLIJSTERS

**MOST SINGLES TITLES - 2005/06**
9...Clijsters (9/0)
7...MAURESMO (4/3)
6...Davenport (6/0)
5...Henin-Hardenne (5/1)

**2006 FIRST-TIME CHAMPIONS**
Marion Bartoli (21, France) - Auckland
Shahar Peer (18, Israel) - Pattaya
MARA SANTANGELO (24, ITALY) - BANGALORE

**MOST 2006 FINALS - NATIONS**
5...France (4 titles)
3...Belgium (1)
3...Italy (1)
2...Czech Republic (1)
2...Russia (1)
2...Croatia (0)

**MOST 2006 WINS OVER FORMER/CURRENT #1's**
3...MAURESMO (Clijsters-2,Henin-Hardenne)
3...Henin-Hardenne (Hingis,Davenport,Sharapova)

**TOP 10 - WTA WON/LOSS**
15-1...Amelie Mauresmo
11-4...Nadia Petrova
10-1...Justine Henin-Hardenne
9-2....Kim Clijsters
9-3....Elena Dementieva
9-5....Patty Schnyder
7-2....Maria Sharapova
4-1....Lindsay Davenport
4-2....Mary Pierce
0-1....Venus Williams


==WEEK 8 PICKS==

DUBAI, UAE (II-HO)
05 F: Davenport d. Jankovic
06 TOP: Mauresmo/Davenport
===========================
SF: Mauresmo d. JHH; Davenport d. Sharapova
FINAL: Davenport d. Mauresmo

...Mauresmo has to lose sometime, and maybe it'll be in her potential SF rematch with Henin-Hardenne (hmmm... I wonder what Backspin's mood will be next week if is IS?). Of course, I'm picking against it to leave open the possibility of talking about underestimating Queen Justine, blahblahblah. You know the drill.


MEMPHIS, TENNESSEE USA (III-HI)
05 F: Zvonareva d. Shaughnessy
06 TOP: Vaidisova/Groenefeld
============================
SF: Vaidisova d. Domachowska; Frazier d. Arvidsson
FINAL: Vaidisova d. Frazier

...Zvonareva's actually won this title the last two years, but she's in Dubai this week (yeah, as if she'd three-peat if she was in Tennessee instead). I was ready to try to will Stosur into another final, but then she went and lost to Ashley Harkleroad on Monday (oh, Sammmmmy).


BOGOTA, COLOMBIA (III-RCO)
05 F: Pennetta d. Dominguez-Lino
06 TOP: Pennetta/Dulko
==========================
SF: Castano d. Pennetta; Loit d. Dulko
FINAL: Castano d. Loit

...oh, no. The first clay event of '06. Cover your eyes on these predictions. I know I'll be doing it... probably by Thursday. Interesting logo, by the way.


All for now.

========================

Oh, it's been suggested that an occasional picture of a skimpy bikini-clad Sharapova -- even for no apparent reason -- wouldn't be a bad thing. So... I offer this as a parting shot:

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Just For the Heck of It...

You know, because the place needed "sprucing up" a bit.

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Wk.6-Amelie and the Belgian Offensive

Time for a little fun with facts and opinions.

OPINION: Mary Pierce should have retired in the Paris Indoors final against Amelie Mauresmo on Sunday (apparently, she IS at least somewhat hobbled by yet another nagging injury at the moment)... you know, just to screw with the minds (and I use that word reservedly) of all the people who capriciously decide that one complaint of a stomach ache wipes out years of tooth-and-nail on-court battling. But maybe that's just a passive-aggressive idea that, if everyone cooperated, could turn ALL tennis aficionados against EVERY PLAYER on tour. Yippee! It shouldn't be too difficult to accomplish, since so many are so easily transformed into the hating public, anyway, as we've learned with such crystal-clear comprehension so far in 2006.

Speaking of passive-aggressive actions...

FACT: This week in Antwerp, Kim Clijsters is providing attending fans with 20,000 bottles of champagne, at $36 each (guess we now know where all that money went that should have gone to her coach, huh?). Pardon me while I kneel to kiss the feet of Nice Kim (welcome back, ol' Insincere Nickname Hall of Fame charter inductee)... after all, that IS the purpose of this opportunistic -- err, I mean "magnanimous" -- act, isn't it? To perpetuate the ever-present existence of that halo hovering just above Nice Kim's dome cap. Hmmm, and she does it in light of that "other" Belgian's crucifixion scenario in Australia. Coincidence? Not likely.

Okaaaaay, Kim. We get it. You're supposed to be "the nice one," while mean ol' Justine will spit in your eye and steal your dog (and who knows what she'd do to your drink) if you don't keep an eye on her. Does anyone have a bucket I can puke in?

Oh, well. Backspin can revel in the knowledge that at least this space will remain a sensible voice amongst the cacophony (emphasis on the "phony") of tennis opinions out there so far in '06.


**WEEK 6**

PARIS, FRANCE (II-GSI)
S: Amelie Mauresmo d. Mary Pierce 6-1/7-6
D: Loit/Peschke d. Black/Stubbs
=========================

PATTAYA CITY, THAILAND (IV-HO)
S: Shahar Peer d. Jelena Kostanic 6-3/6-1
D: T.Li/Sun d. Yan/Zheng
=========================


==WEEK 6 PLAYER AWARDS==
PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Amelie Mauresmo
...don't look now, but Overlooked Amelie has won four of her last five tournaments going back to Philadelphia last year. Her second win at the Paris Indoors was her 21st career WTA crown, and brings her to within just 43 points of Kil... err, I mean Nice Kim. Even better, the combo of French & Russian dressing -- Vera Dushevina, Dinara Safina, Tatiana Golovin and Mary Pierce -- DIDN'T include any menu entries that remotely resembled retirements... no matter how delicious another one would have been.
------------------------
RISERS: Ting Li/Tiantian Sun & Tatiana Golovin
...Li/Sun knocked off Oz titlists Yan/Zheng in the all-Chinese Pattaya City doubles final. Meanwhile, the Frussian Pastry looks like she might have put her disappointing 2005 season behind her. Golovin reached the Paris SF, gaining wins over Sania Mirza and Nadia Petrova before pushing Mauresmo to the edge of defeat.
------------------------
SURPRISES: Jelena Kostanic & Aleksandra Wozniak

...Kostanic hadn't made a WTA singles final since 2003 in Helsinki, until Pattaya City. A win over Noodle Maria Elena Camerin, and another in the SF against Emma Laine, put her in position for a RU finish against Shahar Peer. 18-year old Canadian teen Wozniak qualified in Pattaya, then the Canuck struck again with a main draw upset of Na Li.
------------------------
VETERAN: Mary Pierce
...Pierce didn't reach her first of five 2005 finals until Roland Garros, so at least she's ahead of the pace so far in '06. She lost in the Paris final to Mauresmo, and might be facing another series of "injury watches," but last week still has to be considered a positive development.
------------------------
FRESH FACES: Shahar Peer & Tszvetana Pironkova
...Israeli Peer, 18, reached her first WTA final in Pattaya City, and wasted no time grabbing her first title (well, she did have to endure a 90-minute rain delay) with a win over Kostanic. Pironkova's Melbourne exploits weren't a fluke, and she's now going about the rest of 2006 trying to prove it. In Paris, she qualified and took out Lucie Safarova by a 6-2/2-6/6-0 score. So far so good.
------------------------
DOWN: Vera Zvonareva & Anna-Lena Groenefeld
...Zvonareva won four straight matches to reach the Auckland final in Week 1, and has gone 0-4 ever since. Last week, she lost in the Pattaya 1st Round to Paola Suarez. It's a good thing Groenefeld has her doubles to get her some match play, because it isn't working out in singles. After getting smoked by Stephanie Foretz in Paris last week, she's 1-4 in WTA/ITF matches (and 1-7 overall).
------------------------

==MATCHES==
1.Patt.Doubles F - T.Li/Sun d. Yan/Zheng
...3-6/6-1/7-6. Whether or not the Cookies will ever produce a slam singles contender is a question mark, but (not surprisingly, when you think about it) China has already proven adept at outnumbering the field in doubles, as this all-Chinese final attests.
------------------------
2.Paris F - Mauresmo d. Pierce
...6-1/7-6. All French all the time. Mauresmo is winning easy ones as well as close ones now.
------------------------
3.Patt F - Peer d. Kostanic

...6-3/6-1. So, has Peer surpassed Smashnova as the top player from Israel yet?
------------------------
4.Paris SF - Mauresmo d. Golovin
...6-7/7-5/6-2. Not sure whether it says more about Golovin that she nearly took out Mauresmo in straights, or that Mauresmo toughened up and prevented it from happening.
------------------------
5.Paris 1st - Foretz d. Groenefeld
...6-1/1-6/6-0. Altogether now... C-U-R-S-E!! Sorry, Anna-Lena.
------------------------
HM-Paris QF - Schnyder d. Dementieva
...6-3/6-3. Obviously, Patty caught Dementieva on one of those bad days she talked about in Tokyo.
------------------------


**WTA LISTS**

**2006 WTA SF**
2...MAURESMO (2-0)
2...Henin-Hardenne (2-0)
2...PEER (1-1)
2...Hingis (1-1)
2...KOSTANIC (1-1)
2...Sharapova (0-2)

**TEEN CHAMPIONS**
17...Michaella Krajicek (Hobart)
18...SHAHAR PEER (PATTAYA CITY)
18...Lucie Safarova (Gold Coast)

**FIRST-TIME CHAMPIONS**
Marion Bartoli (21, Auckland)
SHAHAR PEER (18, PATTAYA CITY)

**2006 LONG WTA WINNING STREAKS**
11...MAURESMO (JANUARY-current)
10...Henin-Hardenne (January)

**ALL-TIME WTA DOUBLES #1's**
[in chronological order]
Martina Navratilova
Pam Shriver
Helena Sukova
Jana Novotna
Gigi Fernandez
Natasha Zvereva
Larisa Neiland
Arantxa Sanchez Vicario
Lindsay Davenport
Martina Hingis
Anna Kournikova
Corina Morariu
Lisa Raymond
Rennae Stubbs
Julie Halard-Decugis
Ai Sugiyama
Paola Suarez
Kim Clijsters
Virginia Ruano-Pascual
Cara Black
SAMANTHA STOSUR


==WEEK 7 PREDICTIONS==

ANTWERP, BELGIUM (II-GSI)
05 F: Mauresmo d. V.Williams
06 TOP: Clijsters/Mauresmo
============================
SF: Clijsters d. Pierce; Mauresmo d. Petrova
FINAL: Mauresmo d. Clijsters

...gee, those two months out went awfully fast for Clijsters, didn't they? What a weird event to forecast. Clijsters is back early, but is it too early? Will Pierce play, or pull out at the last minute? Venus already withdrew after the draw was made. And is Mauresmo tired yet? Meanwhile, lurking in the draw, if all those others aren't prepared, is Dementieva.


BANGALORE, INDIA (III-HO)
=new event=
06 TOP: Mirza/Peer
=======================
SF: Mirza d. Laine; Peer d. A.Bondarenko
FINAL: Mirza d. Peer

...rather than this month's stop in India being in Mirza's hometown of Hyderabad (where she won the title in' 05), it's in Bangalore. Will it make a difference? Sania hasn't exactly been on point so far this season, but I'm hardly going to pick against her here no matter the pressure (and there's bound to be a good bit of it when your image is in the tournament logo) she'll likely feel to "repeat."

(NOTE: the original logo for the Bangalore tournament featured an image of Mirza, but it was replaced with a more "unbiased" one without the Indian Princess after play began)


All for now.

Read more...

Wk.5-Punch-Sober Also Rises

In the land of the rising sun, the one who bays at the moon is king... or, in this case, queen.



For most of last week in Tokyo, Martina Hingis was (again) the big story as she ripped through the draw by decimating the likes of Maria Kirilenko and (yes, even) Maria Sharapova in straight sets while barely blinking an eye. In the end, though, the third Russian the Swiss Miss faced -- "one too many," in Hingis' own words -- did a fairly good impression of a brick wall in the final.

In doing away with her "favorite player," Elena Dementieva won her first Tier I title and helped to answer one of the burning questions that existed coming out of Melbourne that didn't have to do with either Hingis or Justine Henin-Hardenne's retirement in the final: Who is the best player without a slam title now that Amelie Mauresmo has crossed her name off the top of the list?

Punch-Sober was the likely choice, anyway, since she's the only active player who's reached a slam final without winning one. But Tokyo DID confirm Dementieva's role as the chief "bay at the slam moon" gal left on the WTA Tour.

Bring on Roland Garros?

=========================

TOKYO, JAPAN (I-CI)
S: Elena Dementieva def. Martina Hingis 6-2/6-0
D: Raymond/Stosur d. Black/Stubbs
=========================


**WEEK 5 PLAYER AWARDS**
PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Elena Dementieva
...said Dementieva after her dominating performance in the final, "I only have one good day every week -- otherwise I would be #1 already." Another big win and Punch-Sober's got #1 thoughts dancing in her head again, just like after she knocked off Kim Clijsters late last season. With injuries and inconsistency predominant stories amongst the Top 10 players, might Dementieva just be a "few days" away from being a real contender for the top spot?
------------------------
RISER: Samantha Stosur
...Sammy ran through the draw again -- knocking off Aiko Nakamura and Daniela Hantuchova -- before running into Sharapova in the QF. She did pick up the doubles title (with Lisa Raymond) that eluded her in Melbourne, and today became the twenty-first woman to hold the #1 doubles ranking in the world (way to go!). This week, she was supposed to finally participate in an event that counted and didn't include any blonde teenage phenoms or former #1's in the draw. Could have been a big week... then she pulled out. Oh, Sammy.
------------------------
SURPRISE: Brenda Schultz-McCarthy
...the performance of the 35-year old vet from the Netherlands didn't put her in this category (she went 1-1 in qualifying, getting a victory over Cara Black), it was simply the fact that she showed up in Tokyo at all for her first WTA tour action since 1999.
------------------------
VETERANS: Martina Hingis & Lisa Raymond
...Hingis bageled Yoon-Jung Cho (RU in Canberra in Week 2), and wiped out Kirilenko and Sharapova (her first win over a Top 10 player during her comeback) to reach the seventh Tokyo final of her career. Her ranking's already up to around #50 after just five weeks of action in 2006. Raymond made it through qualifying in singles, and won the Tokyo doubles title with Stosur.
------------------------
FRESH FACE: Virginie Pichet
...the 23-year old Pastry's ranking is in the mid-200's, but her back-to-back $10K titles in Tipton & Grenoble made her the first two-time ITF title winner in 2006.
------------------------
DOWN: Yoon-Jung Cho & Maria Sharapova
...Cho's returns continue to diminish since her Week 2 appearance in the Canberra final. In Tokyo, she lost in qualifying, got into the draw as a "lucky loser," then got baged by Hingis for her troubles. Sharapova came into Japan looking to defend her only career Tier I title, and left it with another SF loss and as the first Top 10 victim of Hingis II.
------------------------

**MATCHES**
1.SF - Hingis d. Sharapova
...6-3/6-1. Hingis never faced a break point on her serve. Anyone want to re-think (again) what Hingis' year-end ranking will be?
------------------------
2.Final - Dementieva d. Hingis
...6-2/6-0. Hmm... then again. As far as Dementieva is concerned, this was her fifth career title, but her first since October'04 in Hasselt.
------------------------
3.2nd - Stosur d. Hantuchova
...7-6/6-2. Sammy has to be getting close to something big pretty soon, right? And I'm not talking about the #1 doubles ranking, either. By the way, Stosur's the second Aussie woman to reach doubles #1, as Rennae Stubbs co-held the spot with Raymond for three weeks in 2000.
------------------------
4.QF - Dementieva d. Vaidisova
...3-6/6-1/6-2. At least Nicole showed up this time. Too bad it was only for one set.
------------------------
5.SF - Dementieva d. Myskina
...6-4/3-6/6-4. Looks like Punch-Sober had two or three good days last week.
------------------------
HM - Ortisei $75K 1st - Rezai d. Groenefeld
...7-6/2-6/6-3. Girl Friday shouldn't be losing on Mondays or Tuesdays in a challenger.
------------------------


**WTA LISTS**

**TIER I TITLES - ACTIVE**
15...Martina Hingis
11...Lindsay Davenport
9....Conchita Martinez
8....Justine Henin-Hardenne
7....Serena Williams
6....Venus Williams
6....Amelie Mauresmo
5....Kim Clijsters
5....Mary Pierce
2....Anastasia Myskina
2....Jennifer Capriati
2....Jelena Dokic
1....Maria Sharapova
1....ELENA DEMENTIEVA
1....Patty Schnyder
1....Daniela Hantuchova
1....Alicia Molik

**MOST 2006 WTA SF**
2...Henin-Hardenne (2-0)
2...HINGIS (1-1)
2...SHARAPOVA (0-2)

**2006 WTA SEMIFINALISTS**
[by nation]
8...RUSSIA
3...Belgium
3...Czech Republic
3...Italy
2...Spain
2...SWITZERLAND

**MOST CAREER TITLES - RUSSIANS**
10...Sharapova (2003-05)
10...Myskina (1999-05)
9....Morozova (1969-75)
5....DEMENTIEVA (2003-06)
5....Kuznetsova (2002-04)
4....Safina (2002-05)


==WEEK 6 PREDICTION CORNER==


PARIS, FRANCE (II-GSI)
05 F: Safina d. Mauresmo
06 TOP: Mauresmo/Pierce
========================
SF: Mauresmo d. Petrova; Pierce d. Dementieva
FINAL: Mauresmo d. Pierce

...unlike at Roland Garros, Mauresmo has been able to win in Paris at this tournament. She won it in 2001, and has reached the final four of the past six years.


PATTAYA CITY, THAILAND (IV-HO)
05 F: Martinez d. Groenefeld
06 TOP: Zvonareva/Asagoe
=========================
SF: Bychkova d. Nakamura; N.Li d. Santangelo
FINAL: Bychkova d. N.Li

...This was supposed to be Sammy's golden opportunity to win her first WTA title, but yet another chance slips away. So, I'll go with Bychkova to (hopefully) fulfill one of those pre-season predictions.


All for now.

Read more...

On Ya, Mates - The Dorothy Tour Awards

Anyone who saw the women's final in Melbourne (or what amounted to one, at least) knows that birds were having a grand old time chatting up the match from their perches in the (Pat?) rafters of Rod Laver Arena.

I wonder what they were talking about? Did they try to drop their own little "bombs" on Justine after she retired from the match, just like pretty much everyone else has over the last 24 hours or so?


=SINGLES=
#3 Amelie Mauresmo d. #8 Justine Henin-Hardenne 6-1/2-0 ret.
=DOUBLES=
#12 Yan/Zheng d. #1 Raymond/Stosur
=MIXED=
Hingis/Bhupathi d. #6 Likhovtseva/Nestor
=GIRLS SINGLES=
#8 Pavlyuchenkova d. #1 Wozniacki
=GIRLS DOUBLES=
#4 Fichman/Pavlyuchenkova d. #8 Cornet/Dentoni
========================

The Oz Open's 2006 champion list includes a Frenchwoman, two Chinese, a Slovakian-born Swiss, a 14-year old Russian (twice) and a Canadian. There was a little bit of something for everyone at the Australian Open this year. Including, it's turned out, a little blood in the water for all the sharks to frenzy about.

Isn't it amazing how in the span of about an hour on Saturday all the apparently latent hostility built up toward Justine Henin-Hardenne over the years burst out in one ridiculously far-reaching overreaction to her having the "audacity" to retire two games into the final's 2nd set against Amelie Mauresmo? Rather she lamely -- or, if the detractors are to be taken seriously, should I say "honorably?" -- stumble though a few more games (no doubt to catcalls from the crowd, then some opportunistic beaning by commentators... until she said afterward that she was sick, which would have then led to accusations of Venus-like excuse-making) in order to allow Mauresmo to celebrate her first slam title?

Hmmm, I wonder if those same people who complained about Maria Sharapova having the "gall" to celebrate after defeating an obviously-injured Serena Williams in the '04 WTA Championships would have also hounded Mauresmo for showing any glee after defeating an apparently-diminished JHH? I doubt it.

From here, I think far too many people are still harboring ill will toward Henin-Hardenne for "the wave" against Serena at Roland Garros in 2003, a long forgotten transgression whose cobwebs were brushed away this weekend. How else can the excessive handwringing be explained in any sort of context? Considering that JHH has been one of, if not the best competitor on tour for the past few seasons, playing in various states of physical duress that caused many to think she'd pull out of a previous grand slam final ('03 U.S. Open) before the first ball was struck, only to see her go on to win the title. It was just one in a series of "heart-and-guts" performances that gave birth to "Le Petit Taureau."

How quickly people forget... about the benefit of the doubt one would have thought she'd built up, as well as the cytomegalovirus that struck her down for much of '04 and likely sends phantom shivers down her spine anytime she questions her health less than two years later. Even when someone of some stature (though, if you've ever heard her commentary on ESPN in the past, you might question that sometimes) such as Pam Shriver at least manages to dredge her memory for a possible answer to JHH's retirement on Saturday, she still judges that this one moment will tarnish Henin-Hardenne's reputation forever. Get a grip, Pam. Just because some will seek to never let others forget something, it doesn't mean that anyone's reputation is "tarnished" in any meaningful way by anyone looking at the current situation with any objectively and respect for personal history.

I, for one, freely admit I'm not entirely objective on this subject. Anyone who reads this space with any regularity knows that I've come to hold JHH in high esteem, even after the long-ago exposure of one of her "flaws."

SI.com's Jon Wertheim frets that JHH's "doesn't get" that her actions might not have been "fair" to Mauresmo. Get over it. Henin-Hardenne's not perfect (NEWSFLASH: Clijsters isn't either, though you'd have a hard time convincing people of that considering all the glowing press she garners for being so "down to earth"... squeegeeing courts and running through the water as she does and all). Shocker. She has a selfish streak? Name a top tennis player (or athlete, for that matter) who doesn't.

I enjoy jabbing at Venus Williams with a blunt stick for some of her "seemingly ungrateful" post-match comments, but that doesn't mean I think anything she says or does after a loss in any way "tarnishes" her reputation or blots out any of the great things she's done (or might still do) in her career. An isolated incident (or even incidents) does not a career besmircher (yes, that IS a real word -- I looked it up!) make, especially when it takes place at an event that has a court named for Margaret Court, who made some famously nasty remarks about Martina Navratilova's homosexuality a few years back (comments that might make her an unwelcome dinner companion -- albeit an interesting one -- for some, but doesn't disrupt her "reputation" as one of the game's all-time greats, thanks to her 24 slam titles).

If anyone persists is casting JHH as a villain now, so be it. Every sport needs it dark princes (or Queens, in this case), if only to make all the "Miss Congeniality" contestants seems more congenial (even as they screw their coaches out of money, or their Olympic team over loyalty to a sponsor). But, hey, who's keeping score on such things? Right, Killer?

If we've learned aynything from this little "Melbourne mess" it's that even the tennis press isn't above sinking to the level of tennis messageboard hater when there's blood in the water, even if it means sullying the reputation of one of the sport's greatest fighters with "no mas" sneers and "quitter" smears.

From here, that's more sad a development than anything Henin-Hardenne did or said on Saturday.

==========================

Whew! Okay, that's that. Now, on with the "Dorothy Tour" Awards, as told to Backspin by the birds of Laver Arena. I'll serve as your humble translator:

==DOROTHYS OF THE MONTH==
1.Amelie Mauresmo
2.Justine Henin-Hardenne
3.Maria Sharapova
4.Martina Hingis
5.Kim Clijsters

==SHEILAS==
1.Samantha Stosur
2.Zi Yan & Jie Zheng
3.Daniela Hantuchova
4.Nadia Petrova
5.Marion Bartoli

==GOBSMACKERS==
1.Tszvetana Pironkova
2.Elena Vesnina
3.Olga Savchuk
4.Mara Santangelo
5.Yoon-Jeong Cho

==MUNCHKINS==
1.Michaella Krajicek
2.Lucie Safarova
3.Ekaterina Bychkova
4.Ana Ivanovic
5.Victoria Azarenka

JUNIOR MUNCHKIN: Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova
AUNTIE EM: Martina Hingis
COMEBACKS: Martina Hingis & Svetlana Kuznetsova

==WALKABOUTS==
1.Venus Williams
2.Serena Williams
3.Mary Pierce
4.Cara Black & Rennae Stubbs
5.Jelena Dokic

==TOP PERFORMANCE==
Amelie Mauresmo in Melbourne to win her first slam, even if she didn't have to finish three of her seven matches

Chirp, chirp, chirp. (Whoops, sorry for letting that stuff slip through... if any of you can speak avian, please forgive the crude language.)

==TOP MATCH==
Australian SF - Henin-Hardenne d. Sharapova
...4-6/6-1/6-4. Suddenly, the Supernova's the "hard-luck" girl.

Chirp.

(Thanks. I'm glad you like the Sharapova '07 Scenario.)

==WORST MATCH==
Australian Final - Mauresmo d. Henin-Hardenne
...6-1/2-0 ret. Pretty stinky, even before the untimely end and unseemly response to it.

==BIGGEST UPSET==
Australian 1st - Pironkova d. V.Williams
...2-6/6-0/9-7. We'd better not learn that THIS Bulgarian tested positive for anything after the match.

==QUOTES==
Pironkova, relaying the congratulations from fellow players after her 1st Round win: "Well job. Good done."
------------------------
Venus, explaining the loss: "Obviously, she benefitted from my largesse."
------------------------

==BIGGEST COMEBACK==
Sydney Final - Henin-Hardenne d. Schiavone
...4-6/7-5/7-5. The still-titleless Italian led 6-4/4-1, then 5-3 in the 3rd in this 3:00 match. If Schiavone had retired, I doubt if any JHH fans would have complained about any "unsportmanlike conduct."

==BIGGEST CHOKE==
Australian Doubles Final - Yan/Zheng d. Raymond/Stosur
...2-6/7-6/6-3. Raymond/Stosur blew a 3-1 lead in the 2nd, then 2 Championship Points in the tie-break. Sorry, Sammy.

CHIIIIIIRRRRRPPPPPP!!!!!

(Hey! Watch it! I like Sammy, too... but a spade is a spade.)

==WORST COMEBACK==
Australian 1st - Razzano d. Dokic
...3-6/7-6/6-1. The Debutante led 6-3/6-5 in her first AO match since 2001. She held 2 MP, and celebrated when she thought she'd converted one. But a chair overrule led to a tie-break loss, then a walkabout of a 3rd set.

==WORST...(take your pick)==
Serbian media reports of Damir Dokic threats to kidnap Jelena, bomb Australia and murder an individual who helped her return Down Under. Worst. Damir. Serbian media. They're all kind of synonymous, don't you think?

Chir-chir-chir-chirrrrp.

(Boy, you can say that again.)

========================


==WTA ODDS & ENDS==

**AUSTRALIAN OPEN GIRLS FINAL**

#8 Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova(RUS) def. #1 Caroline Wozniacki(DEN) 1-6/6-2/6-3

**AUSTRALIAN OPEN MIXED DOUBLES FINAL**
Hingis/Bhupathi def. #6 Likhovtseva/Nestor 6-3/6-3

**CAREER SLAM TITLES - ACTIVE**
[singles/doubles]
58...Martina Navratilova [18/40]
15...Serena Williams [7/8]
15...Martina Hingis [5/10]
13...Venus Williams [5/8]
9....Virginia Ruano-Pascual [0/9]


==WEEK 5 PREDICTIONS==

TOKYO, JAPAN (I-Carpet/Indoor)
05 F: Sharapova d. Davenport
06 TOP: Sharapova/Dementieva
==============================
SF: Sharapova d. Hingis; Vaidisova d. Myskina
FINAL: Sharapova d. Vaidisova

...hey, I've got the chance to pick a Sharapova/Vaidisova final, so I'm gonna do it. We should at the very least see how quick a learner the Czech Maiden is, in this first action since her uninspired Round of 16 performance in Melbourne.


And so ends the Daily Backspin (it'll return for Roland Garros), and the return of the regular once-a-week (with occasional extras, such as the upcoming WTA Media Guide Photo celebration) schedule.

All for now.

Read more...

Oz Open Day 13: Amelie Clicks Her Heels

Who knew the 2006 ruby slippers would fit Amelie Mauresmo perfectly?



What's going on here? First Kim Clijsters wins a slam, then Mauresmo ends her career-long slam drought just four months later? A year ago, it seemed like neither would EVER win one, and now they BOTH have.

Who does Backspin have left to kick around? I thought Amelie was going to be a "safe" punching bag for quite a while longer. But, now -- poof! -- the target has been removed from her back courtesy of a 6-1/2-0 ret. win over Justine Henin-Hardenne in the Aussie Open final. For two weeks, I waited for Mauresmo to pick the "perfect" time to collapse, but it never happened. Pardon me for being a little "sad."

Seriously, though, Mauresmo WAS the smoothest player in Melbourne, even if she wasn't the flashiest over the past two weeks. She was such a "clean machine" this Australian Open, hardly making any errors per match, one is forced to wonder whether she sold her soul to the tennis gods before last November's year-end championships. This just isn't the Mauresmo we (and her opponents) have come to know and "love."

Apparently, the confidence Mauresmo gained from winning the YEC did indeed mean something, after all. Of course, having three of her seven opponents en route to her first slam title either fall victim to the heat (Michaella Krajicek), the court (Kim Clijsters), or a stomach (Henin-Hardenne) is bound to smooth out any of the rough edges the Frenchwoman might have had under pressure. The old wounds never had a chance to be re-opened, since the closest anyone came to knocking Mauresmo off stride was Tiantian Sun, who pushed her to three sets in the 1st Round.

How ironic a sight the final turned out to be. The normally shaky Mauresmo held her nerves (and her serve), again committed few errors (combined with just three winners in the 1st set), while it was JHH's guts that were rumbling, even if they weren't spilling out Sampras-style on the side of the court.

Henin-Hardenne's retirement due to an upset stomach, apparently brought on by taking double inflammatories for a shoulder ailment, was likely a foregone conclusion -- at least in JHH's mind -- before the match even began. In her postmatch comments, she said she had a bad night, nearly going to the doctor at 3 a.m., and feeling that she had little chance to win the match when it started. Normally, Le Petit Taureau is at her best under such circumstances (see the '03 U.S. Open, or the Athens Olympics), but not this time. Of course, had Mauresmo opened the door a tad to allow the Belgian to stick a foot in the match, maybe things would have been different. But, to her credit, Mauresmo didn't budge an iota, then watched one of the greatest fighters in the sport become just the fourth woman to EVER retire from a slam singles final (and the first in the Open era).

**SLAM FINALS - RETIREMENTS**
1902 U.S. - Marion Jones def. Elizabeth Moore 6-1/1-0
------------------------
1933 U.S. - Helen Jacobs def. Helen Wills Moody 8-6/3-6/3-0
------------------------
1965 Australian - Margaret Smith def. Maria Bueno 5-7/6-4/5-2
------------------------
2006 Australian - Amelie Mauresmo def. Justine Henin-Hardenne 6-1/2-0
------------------------

Maybe this was meant to be. I know I felt a tinge of "omen recognition" when I learned before the match that this was the first women's slam final matching two players with one-handed backhands since the 1998 Wimbledon final. That was when Jana Novotna met Nathalie Tauziat. Connecting the memory of an often weak-kneed Novotna ending her career-long slam drought that day to the often weak-kneed Mauresmo trying to do the same in Melbourne on Saturday was far too easy. Her 5-0 start to the opening set felt like an avalanche quickly picking up speed.

JHH's end turned out to come even quicker than ever imagined. A break to open the 2nd set, a call for the trainer, one more game lost... and the image of Henin-Hardenne making the long walk to the net to concede, then hanging her head while waiting for Mauresmo to meet her there.



And, thus, Mauresmo is NO LONGER the only women's #1 to NEVER win a slam title, and now there's been eight different slam champions in the last eight slams (that's TWO FULL YEARS with no player winning more than one). Her reaction to the end of her career-long battle was muted, considering the circumstances of her triumph. But the mixture of relief, concern (for Henin-Hardenne), and a good-natured sense of humor (during her acceptance speech) made the moment a warm one for everyone. Well, except for Henin-Hardenne, of course.

Seven years after she bounded onto the scene in Melbourne, reaching the AO final amid stories of coming out as a gay woman and catty comments (from the likes of Martina Hingis and Lindsay Davenport) about her muscular build and "man-like" shots, Mauresmo ends up having the last laugh. She's no Cinderalla story, having been around the block a time or two since she was that 19-year old unknown quantity in 1999, but, at 26, she's not quite Novotna, either. This probably isn't a career-capping achievement for Mauresmo, and it's certainly not one that will now precipitate her early exit from the game (Novotna played barely a year beyond her Wimbledon title before retiring at age 30).

She DID deserve a chance to fully experience victory at the end of Saturday's final, something which JHH's retirement "robbed" her of. But who's to say she won't get another shot at a "make-up" celebration in the coming months?

Did I REALLY just say that?

Something odd IS in the air. How else do you explain that as everyone picks up and leaves Melbourne until next year, we have absolutely no idea what to make of the 2006 season so far. Henin-Hardenne played great, but is sick again. Venus & Serena didn't, and probably wish they could blame it on a Henin-like ailment. Kim Clijsters is out for two months. Maria Sharapova is STILL losing big matches. Lindsay Davenport isn't even getting into them, and is no longer #1... but she'll still probably regain the top spot thanks to Clijsters' bum ankle. And, geez, AMELIE MAURESMO is now a grand slam champion... and, unlike Sharapova at Wimbledon, actually had phone service on the court after the match.

Weird. Weird. Weird.

If this is what 2006 has in store for us, we're in for a wild and crazy year. (Especially if Mauresmo has to make an early payment on that soul "deal.")


==DAY 13 PLAYER AWARDS==
DOROTHY OF THE DAY: Amelie Mauresmo
...in the end, it was difficult not to be charmed by finally-content Mauresmo. So, now the question will be who could extend this different-slam-champion streak to nine straight in Roland Garros? Mary Pierce, maybe? Elena Dementieva? The Russian is the only active player who's reached a slam singles final (two, actually), but hasn't yet won one. To look even farther ahead, how about Lindsay Davenport at Wimbledon to make it ten different titlists in ten slams? Sounds far-fetched? Maybe. But if Mauresmo can be Dorothy...
========================
SHEILA: Caroline Wozniacki
...the #1-seeded Girl defeated Ayumi Morita to reach the junior final.
========================
GOBSMACKER: Sharon Fichman
...yes, a Canadian tennis champion. Wonders never cease. She won the junior doubles with Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova.
========================
AUNTIE EM: Amelie Mauresmo
...at 26, she's the oldest first-time slam champ since 29-year old Novotna at Wimbledon in 1998.
========================
MUCHKIN: Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova
...the Russian won the girls doubles title with Fichman, and defeated #2-seed Raluca Olaru in the SF to reach the singles final.
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WALKABOUT: Justine Henin-Hardenne
...Backspin can't not give the Queen the benefit of the doubt on her retirement. Sure, it'd been nice for Mauresmo to have been given the opportunity to win the title (and fitfully celebrate the end of her long trek), but after JHH's past health problems with cytomegalovirus in 2004, I think she's earned the right to not push her body to the edge if she feels that she's not up to it.
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==DAY 13 ODDS & ENDS==

**GIRLS SINGLES FINAL**
#1 Caroline Wozniacki (DEN) vs. #8 Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (RUS)

**GIRLS DOUBLES FINAL**
#4 Sharon Fichman/Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova def. #8 Alize Cornet/Corinna Dentoni

**CAREER WTA TITLES**
[active]
51...Lindsay Davenport
40...Martina Hingis
33...Venus Williams
33...Conchita Martinez
30...Kim Clijsters
26...Serena Williams
24...Justine Henin-Hardenne
20...AMELIE MAURESMO

**WOMEN'S #1 PLAYERS - 1st SLAM**
Margaret Smith-Court# - 1960 Australian
Billie Jean King# - 1967 Wimbledon
Evonne Goolagong# - 1971 Roland Garros
Chris Evert - 1974 Roland Garros
Martina Navratilova - 1978 Wimbledon
Tracy Austin - 1979 U.S.
Steffi Graf - 1987 Roland Garros
Arantxa Sanchez Vicario - 1989 Roland Garros
Monica Seles - 1990 Roland Garros
Martina Hingis - 1997 Australian
Lindsay Davenport - 1998 U.S.
Serena Williams - 1999 U.S.
Venus Williams - 2000 Wimbledon
Jennifer Capriati - 2001 Australian
Justine Henin-Hardenne - 2003 Roland Garros
Maria Sharapova - 2004 Wimbledon
Kim Clijsters - 2005 U.S.
Amelie Mauresmo - 2006 Australian
--
#--before computer rankings



All for now.

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TOMORROW: "Dorothy Tour" Awards (& Week 5 Picks)

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Oz Open Day 12: Sammy Up a Gum Tree

Samantha Stosur had two opportunities to shine on Friday. Unfortunately, things didn't turn out as well as she (and the Aussie faithful) would have hoped.


==DAY 12 PLAYER AWARDS==
DOROTHYS OF THE DAY: Zi Yan & Jie Zheng

...the #12-seeded Cookies became the first ever Chinese players to win a grand slam title (Ting Li & Tiantian Sun won Athens Gold in '04), besting Raymond/Stubbs after overcoming a 3-1 deficit in the 2nd set and two match points in the tie-break. They withstood three match points against Ruano-Pascual/Suarez in the QF, too.
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SHEILA: Martina Hingis
...Hingis will get her shot at her first slam title in four years, as she and Mahesh Bhupathi will face Likhovtseva/Nestor in the Mixed Doubles Final.
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GOBSMACKER: Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova
...the #8-seeded 14-year old from Russia knocked out my junior pick, Dominika Cibulkova in the Girls QF, 6-4/6-3. Guess I'll have to pick her to win now. It's never a bad decision to go with the Russian. (Well, unless it's Sharapova in a slam SF, right?).
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AUNTIE EM: Elena Likhovtseva
...who thought she'd be the last remaining Russian? Sure, it's in the Mixed Doubles, but it's something. She and Daniel Nestor knocked out Dechy/Paes 3-6/6-4/7-6 in the SF.
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MUNCHKIN: Ayumi Morita
...the Japanese 15-year old, the #4 Girls seed, advanced to the SF. She'll face top-seeded Dane Caroline Wozniacki next.
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WALKABOUT: Samantha Stosur
...two wrongs didn't make a right for Sammy on Day 12. She lost in the Doubles Final (with Lisa Raymond) to Yan/Zheng. Then she lost in the Mixed Doubles SF (with Paul Hanley) to Hingis/Bhupathi. Australia's last chance for a home grown AO champion will come in the Boys Final, where either Nick Lindahl or Ryan Bellamy will be playing for the title. From here, though, Sammy was still this AO's "It" girl.
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==DAY 12 MATCHES==
1.Doubles F - #12 Yan/Zheng d. #1 Raymond/Stosur
...2-6/7-6/6-3. Sammy will have to be content with the two slam titles she already has (Oz Mixed with Scott Draper, and U.S. Doubles with Raymond, both in 2005), and look forward to her remaining six opportunities in 2006.
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2.Mixed SF - Hingis/Bhupathi d. #5 Stosur/Hanley
...6-3/6-3. (See above.)
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3.Girls QF - #1 Wozniacki d. #12 Paszek
...3-6/6-1/6-3. By the way, the #1-seed-won't-win-the-slam streak doesn't carry over to the junior competition.
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==DAY 12 ODDS & ENDS==

**HENIN-HARDENNE vs. MAURESMO**
[JHH leads 4-3]
1999 US Open 1st - Mauresmo 6-1/6-4
2003 Berlin SF - JHH 7-6/6-4
2003 YEC SF - Mauresmo 7-6/3-6/6-3
2004 Sydney F - JHH 6-4/6-4
2004 A.Island SF - Mauresmo 6-7/7-5/6-3
2004 Olympic F - JHH 6-3/6-3
2005 Toronto SF - JHH 7-5/3-6/6-1

**JHH IN AUSTRALIA - 2004-06**
2004 Sydney (W) - 3-0/1 walkover
2004 Australian (W) - 7-0
2006 Sydney (W) - 4-0/1 walkover
2006 Australian...6-0 (vs.Mauresmo)

**LONG 2006 WTA WINNING STREAKS**
10...Justine Henin-Hardenne (current)
7....Michaella Krajicek
6....Amelie Mauresmo (current)
6....Marion Bartoli

**DAY 12 QUESTION**
...it's been reported that Martina Hingis bested Maria Sharapova for the most number of times her AO.com bio has been viewed (at the end of the week, by a 407,000+ to 272,000+ margin). I wonder if Cammie Neviere, Marcos Baghdatis' girlfriend, would have topped both of them had she had a bio on the tournament's official site? She's surely gotten as much TV time as either of them. Not that anyone's complaining...


**FINALS PICKS**

#3 AMELIE MAURESMO vs. #8 JUSTINE HENIN-HARDENNE
...how can a woman as slight as Henin-Hardenne manage to be so imposing? Winning with great heart is the ultimate weapon. Le Petit Taureau is 4-1 in slam finals, with four wins in her last four appearances. She's won 13 straight in Melbourne, and 20 in a row in Australia. Mauresmo hasn't been in a slam final since 1999. I already made this pick with my original AO preview, and again before the semifinals. You don't think I'm going to change my mind now, do you? Allez, Queen Justine... lift a fifth slam title, days after new world-#1 Kim Clijsters left Melbourne Park in a wheelchair as she prepares to sit out at least two months with a torn ankle ligament.

==MIXED DOUBLES FINAL (SUNDAY)==
Hingis/Bhupathi def. #6 Likhovtseva/Nestor
...why spoil a good story?


All for now. More tomorrow.

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