WTA Backspin by Todd Spiker

Saturday, July 04, 2009

The Power of One

Everyone was assembled at Centre Court. Venus and Serena were there, too, ready to parse out the eighth Wimbledon Ladies title this decade won by a member of the Williams family. One sister had performed as if a steamroller for the entire fortnight, while the other so desired to be present on this day that she battled back from match point down on Thursday to assure it.

All the variables seemed right for a great match. But it didn't happen.

Throughout the 1st set, it was apparent that the opening stanza of this fourth all-Williams final at SW19 was simply a feeling out period. Both were matter-of-factly holding serve with ease in the early going until, up 4-3, Venus finally grabbed a lead in a Serena serve game and held two break points at 40/15. Serena managed to hold, and the contest went forward.

Little did we know that the match turned right there.

Serena got as close as 30/30 on Venus' serve at 5-5, but could get no nearer a break chance. The sisters went to a tie-break with just one game in the first twelve actually being contested, and another only mildly so. In the breaker, though, Serena got a mini-break to take a 3-1 lead, then held onto and built upon it. She soon led 6-2, and put away the tie-break at 7-3 with a lob over Venus to break the two-time defending champion's thirty-four set winning Wimbledon winning streak. Throughout the Sisters' head-to-head history, the winner of the opening set was 18-2 going into this final. History was set to hold up, too, as Venus' twenty-match unbeaten string at the All-England Club was the next symbol of her dominance to be toppled by her best friend.

After having failed to convert two chances to break Serena in the eight game of the match, then dropping the tie-break, Venus was no longer the same player who'd run roughshod over her six previous opponents during the fortnight. Serena wasn't demonstrably better in the 2nd set, but her level of play didn't drop, either. Venus' did. It only took a few games to be able to peer into the crystal ball and see Serena lifting the Venus Rosewater Dish for a third time rather than Venus doing so on a sixth occasion.

With the elder Williams' look of determination and confidence gone, the atmosphere was extremely subdued on Centre Court. How much of this change was caused by any potential problems with her still-wrapped knee, a few discombobulating slips on the grass behind the baseline, or simply the force of will of her younger sister it's hard to tell. It very likely could have been a bit of all of the above. No matter how the reasons were sliced and apportioned, though, the ultimate result of this match was by now unchangable... even more unstoppable, on this day, than all the greatness that the phrase "Venus on Centre Court" had implied just twenty-four hours beforehand.

Serena got her first break point chance on Venus' serve at 3-2 in the 2nd set. Venus converted it for her with a double-fault. Serena held at love to go up 5-2, then got more chances to break her sister to claim the match two games later. It was here that Venus finally started to resemble her previous self, and maybe Serena got just a tad tentative on a few points (at least one forehand that I can remember, when she safely hit the ball back to Venus in the center of the court rather than pulverizing it down the open line). It took Serena four match point to win the title, but everyone watching knew it was never going to be anything but a slight delay of the celebration. After waiting all day for a great match to break out, it was over.

Serena won 7-6/6-2, losing just eight points on serve and winning her first Wimbledon title in six years, the longest time between wins by a woman in the Open Era.

Reuters

This latest slam title gives Serena eleven in her career, and moves her one win ahead of Venus (11-10) in their career series. But, maybe more importantly (not to mention intriguingly), she's currently the reigning champion at three of the four slams. Yet she's still #2 in the rankings behind Dinara Safina. With the Russian having gone a perfect three-for-three in '09 when it comes to being run out of a slam on a rail with very little fight coming from her side of the net, there's really no longer any reason for Serena to nudge and sarcastically cut down the legitimacy of Safina's #1 ranking (though, disappointingly, that's what she did after the match) between now and the U.S. Open. It's pretty clear who the best player in the world is at the moment, and it's highly likely that even the WTA computer might endorse the reality of it before everyone convenes in New York for the final slam of the season. Either way, something really needs to be done to make sure such a loophole ceases to exist... it's really something of an embarrassment for the women's game for a player with three slam wins in twelve months to NOT be ranked #1.

Last year, after losing to Venus in the Wimbledon final, the look on Serena's face alerted the world that the rest of the WTA field was in for some trouble at the Open a few months down the road. Not surprisingly, she won in NYC... then in Melbourne, too. Could you tell that Venus will now have the same drive to follow up her sister's slam with one of her own back home? Uh, no. Not really.

Venus hasn't reached a U.S. Open final since 2002, and hasn't won one since her back-to-back "Summer of Venus" titles in 2000-01. Venus's somewhat narrow focus makes Wimbledon HER special place to shine, with the rest of the season being "unimportant" to her if she can succeed there. Meanwhile, an intense need to be recognized as THE best player in the world serves to widen Serena's field of vision. EVERY slam has the potential to be Serena's proving ground. Today's result, and Serena's chance to get slam win #12 (which would tie her with Billie Jean King and Suzanne Lenglen for sixth on the all-time list) in the Open actually makes the successful defense of her '08 title there far more likely than that of Venus managing to make up for her lack of a new one at SW19 by taking the title at Ashe Stadium.

Still, it should be noted that the last time that only ONE Williams sister won a slam in a calendar year was 2003, which included the tail end of the "Serena Slam" in Melbourne than January.

But the Open is still a while away. No matter what happens at Flushing Meadows, the truth about the WTA Tour RIGHT NOW is that, in the post-Henin era that has for so many months produced what too many people have liked to denigrating dub a "power vacuum" in the women's game, Serena Williams has put a definitive period at the end of any sentence regarding the current hierarchy of women's tennis.

The "Power of One" has risen above ALL the rest... so much so that she made Venus Williams look ordinary at Wimbledon. What more can be said than that?

=DAY 12 NOTES=
...Serena and Venus won the Women's Doubles later in the day, defeating Sam Stosur and Rennae Stubbs 7-6/6-4 to claim their ninth slam Doubles title as a duo, fourth SW19 crown (two in a row) and second slam title this year (w/ the Australian).

...in the Girls singles final, Noppawan Lertcheewakarn showed that, for her, the second time was a charm. After losing to Laura Robson in last year's final, the #4-seeded Thai teen knocked off #1-seed Kristina Mladenovic 3-6/6-3/6-1 on Day 12. Tomorrow, the two will face each other again in the Girls Doubles final.

...#2 Nestor/Zimonjic defended their Men's Doubles title, knocking off the #1-seeded Bryan brothers in four sets in the final.

...and, finally, the "Decade's Best" edition for Wimbledon (2000-09) will be arriving soon.

*LADIES' SINGLES FINAL*
#2 Serena Williams def. #3 Venus Williams/USA 7-6/6-2

*GENTLEMEN'S SINGLES FINAL*
#6 Andy Roddick/USA vs. #2 Roger Federer

*LADIES' DOUBLES FINAL*
#4 Williams/Williams (USA/USA def. #3 Stosur/Stubbs (AUS/AUS) 7-6/6-4

*GENTLEMEN'S DOUBLES FINAL*
#2 Nestor/Zimonjic (CAN/SRB) def. #1 Bryan/Bryan (USA/USA) 7-6/6-7/7-6/6-3

*MIXED DOUBLES FINAL*
#1 Black/Paes (ZIM/IND) vs. #9 Groenefeld/Knowles (GER/BAH)

*GIRLS SINGLES FINAL*
#4 Noppawan Lertcheewakarn/THA def. #1 Kristina Mladeovic/FRA 3-6/6-3/6-1

*BOYS SINGLES FINAL*
Jordan Cox/USA vs. Andrey Kuznetsov/RUS

*GIRLS DOUBLES FINAL*
Lertcheewakarn/Peer (THA/AUS) vs. #2 Mladenovic/Njiric (FRA/CRO)

*BOYS DOUBLES FINAL*
Herbert/Krawietz (FRA/GER) vs. Obry/Puget (FRA/FRA)

*WIMLBEDON TITLES - WOMEN*
[all-time]
9...Martina Navratilova
8...Helen Wills-Moody
7...Steff Graf
7...Dorothy Lambert Chambers
6...Billie Jean King
6...Suzanne Lenglen
6...Blanche Bingley Hillyard
5...VENUS WILLIAMS
[Open Era]
9...Martina Navratilova
7...Steffi Graf
5...VENUS WILLIAMS
4...Billie Jean King
3...SERENA WILLIAMS
3...Chris Evert
2...Evonne Goolagong

*ALL-TIME SLAM TITLES*
[AO/RG/WI/US]
24...Margaret Smith-Court (11-5-3-5)
22...Steffi Graf (4-6-7-5)
19...Helen Wills-Moody (0-4-8-7)
18...Martina Navratilova (3-2-9-4)
18...Chris Evert (2-7-3-6)
12...Billie Jean King (1-1-6-4)
12...Suzanne Lenglen (0-6-6-0)
11...SERENA WILLIAMS (4-1-3-3)

*GRAND SLAM TITLES - ACTIVE*
11...SERENA WILLIAMS
7...VENUS WILLIAMS
3...Maria Sharapova
2...Svetlana Kuznetsova
2...Amelie Mauresmo
1...Ana Ivanovic
1...Kim Clijsters
-
ALSO: Davenport-3

*OVERALL SLAM TITLES - ACTIVE*
*[singles/doubles-mixed]
22...SERENA WILLIAMS (11/11)
18...VENUS WILLIAMS (7/11)
11...Virginia Ruano-Pascual (0/11)
9...Lisa Raymond (0/9)
8...Cara Black (0/8) #
-
#- Black to play in Mixed Final on Sunday

*SLAM DOUBLES TITLES - OPEN ERA*
21...Martina Navratilova/Pam Shriver
14...Gigi Fernandez/Natasha Zvereva
9...SERENA WILLIAMS/VENUS WILLIAMS
8...Virginia Ruano-Pascual/Paola Suarez

*SERENA SLAM WINS...the hard way*
2005 Australian - Sharapova held match point in SF
2007 Australian - Petrova (3r) and Peer (QF) served for match
2009 Australian - Kuznetsova served for match in QF
2009 Wimbledon - Dementieva held match point in SF

*"DOUBLES STARS" WINNERS*
=A0=
2006 Yan Zi/Zheng Jie, CHN
2007 Liezel Huber, RSA
2008 Alona Bondarenklo/Kateryna Bondarenko, UKR
2009 Sania Mirza, IND
=RG=
2006 Lisa Raymond/Samantha Stosur, USA/AUS
2007 Katarina Srebotnik, SLO
2008 Anabel Medina-Garrigues/Virginia Ruano-Pascual, ESP
2009 Virginia Ruano-Pascual, ESP
=WI=
2006 Yan Zi/Zheng Jie, CHN
2007 Cara Black, ZIM
2008 Samantha Stosur, AUS
2009 Serena Williams/Venus Williams, USA
=US=
2006 Martina Navratilova, USA
2007 Nathalie Dechy, FRA
2008 Cara Black, ZIM

TOP QUALIFIER: #1q Victoriya Kutuzova/UKR
TOP EARLY ROUND (1r-2r): #3 Venus Williams/USA
TOP MIDDLE-ROUND (3r-QF): #2 Serena Williams/USA
TOP LATE ROUND (SF-F): #2 Serena Williams/USA
TOP QUALIFYING MATCH: Q1: Vesna Manasieva/RUS d. Noppawan Lertcheewakarn/THA 6-7/6-4/6-1
TOP EARLY RD. MATCH (1r-2r): 1st Rd. - Ana Ivanovic/SRB d. Lucie Hradecka/CZE 5-7/6-2/8-6 (saved 2 MP)
TOP MIDDLE-RD. MATCH (3r-QF): 4th Rd. - Melanie Oudin/USA d. Jelena Jankovic/SRB 6-7/7-5/6-2
TOP LATE RD. MATCH (SF-F): SF - Serena Williams d. Elena Dementieva 6-7/7-5/8-6 (saved MP)
=============================
FIRST SEED OUT: #23 Aleksandra Wozniak/CAN (1st Rd.-Schiavone/ITA)
UPSET QUEENS: The Germans
REVELATION LADIES: The Italian vets
LAST QUALIFIER STANDING: Melanie Oudin/USA (4th Rd.)
IT GIRL: Sabine Lisicki/GER
MS. OPPORTUNITY: Elena Dementieva/RUS
COMEBACK PLAYER: Ana Ivanovic/SRB
CRASH & BURN: Maria Sharapova/RUS - lost to Gisela Dulko/ARG in 2nd Rd.
ZOMBIE QUEEN: Dinara Safina/RUS - in 4th Rd., down set and a break, then 3-0 in 3rd to Amelie Mauresmo/FRA; advanced to first Wimbledon SF
LAST BRIT STANDING: Elena Baltacha/GBR (2nd Rd.)
DOUBLES STARS Serena & Venus Williams/USA
JUNIOR BREAKOUT: Timea Babos/HUN & Miyabi Inoue/JPN

All for Day 12. More tomorrow.

Friday, July 03, 2009

W.11- Everything Old is New Again

So, the Federer vs. Murray final that so many Brits were hoping for won't come off after all. Honestly, I'm really not at all broken up about it.

Displaying a more varied game than he ever has in all his years of play at Wimbledon, Andy Roddick took out Andy Murray in four close sets on Day 11, reaching his third SW19 final and his first at any slam since the 2006 U.S. Open. With his usual solid serve, great net play and better fitness allowing him to play the ENTIRE court, after for too many years being a better version of Ivo Karlovic -- all serve, but with little else to call upon in a pinch if things started to go against him -- Roddick was without question the best player on the court in this day's matchup. I'm glad he was able to pull off this run, too. And not just because I predicted him to do it two weeks ago, either.

I've got nothing against Murray, but to this point I've just never been able to "get" him. I don't DISLIKE him or his game, but I have so far found myself with zero excitement to see him play since he climbed into the upper echelon in the ATP rankings. That'll probably change, as I often tend to take a while to warm up to certain men's players. For a long time, I actively disliked Lleyton Hewitt. Now, though, I found myself pulling for him at this Wimbledon. Roddick, too, has often been the object of slight disdain in the eyes of Your Friendly Neighborhood Backspinner.

Roddick was unlucky enough to be born into the same tennis generation as a pair of all-time greats in Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, virtually swiping away at least two or three additional slams he might have won since his '03 U.S. Open victory six years ago had the landscape been slightly less crowded. Hard to believe TWO players could make it seem crowded, but they surely have... and it's no coincidence that he's reached another slam final once one of them was taken out of the equation before the tournament began.

Still, while it's often been easy to feel bad about Roddick's predicament, he's sometimes made it difficult to do so. For years, he's been ever-present in ads on American television while winning nothing of true significance, and so often coming up very small when he played Federer. Add to that a certain smart-ass quality to his press conferences and interviews (such as the tiff that developed a while back when he started griping about Novak Djokovic), and it was easier to semi-sneer at his not-unexpected failures than pull for him to find his way back to something resembling relevance in the men's game.

Finally, though, that seems to have changed. Maybe it was his coaching switch to Larry Stefanki, altered game or long-overdue committment to fitness that did it. Maybe it was a settling down in his off-court life, courtesy of Brooklyn Decker. Whatever it was, it's worked.

As far as how I view Roddick, though, it was something else that was the catalyst. Ever since Roddick became the ONLY player to actually speak out in defense of Shahar Peer during the Dubai debacle earlier this year, I've viewed him differently. He pulled out of the men's event in the U.A.E., citing Peer's treatment as the reason, while so many others remained silent or played on. Even players who didn't play Dubai after the fiasco, like Federer and Nadal, listed injuries as their reasons for withdrawing and otherwise kept mum. Not Roddick, though. He stood up, and I think deserved to be given a large amount of respect for his position.

Ever since then, as his results have gradually improved, and I've found myself rooting for him, too.

While I still want Federer to win the title on Sunday, for history's sake, I wouldn't feel bad at all if Roddick took the crown. I never like rooting for a player simply because of them being an American -- I think it's akin to mindlessly voting for a straight ticket on election day -- but I do feel at least a small amount of pride that on Independence Day weekend, the only player who actually stood their ground when one of his or her fellow players was publicly wronged, was an American. And if he were to win Wimbledon, it'd probably make me smile.

Corny? Yeah, probably. But sometimes that's not so bad.

=DAY 11 NOTES=
...earlier in the Day, Federer took out Tommy Haas in straight sets to reach his seventh consecutive Wimbledon final and, get this, his SIXTEENTH appearance in the final of the last SEVENTEEN slams. A win on Sunday over Roddick and he'll break his tie with Pete Sampras for the all-time career slam mark with what would be his fifteenth title.

Before the tournament, I dubbed this year's men's competition at Wimbledon as a "Back to the Future/Back to the Federer" re-make, with the Gentlemen's final matchup being a carbon copy of the one that took place the last time Rafael Nadal didn't play in it. Before the trilogy of Roger/Rafa finals, Federer faced off agaisnt and defeated Roddick in the final from 2004-05.

Hmmm, that little history-tinged hunch turned out pretty well, I'd say.

...at this Wimbledon, American tennis has managed to trump the previously more-talked-about players from other countries. Three of the four main draw singles finalists are American. The Bryan brothers are in the Gentlemen's Doubles final, and Venus & Serena are in the Ladies' Doubles final. Meanwhile, Jordan Cox, a semifinal winner over fellow American Devin Britton in a 16-14 3rd set (the pair lost in doubles as a tandem later in the day), will face Russian Andrey Kuznetsov for the Boys singles final.

...in the Girls semifinals, the current junior #1 and the former top-ranked teen both advanced to the final. #1-seed Kristina Mladenovic ('09 RG Jr. champ) defeated Timea Babos 6-2/6-0, while '08 Wimbledon Girls RU Noppawan Lertcheewakarn reached a second straight SW19 final by way of a 6-1/6-2 win over Miyabi Inoue. With the two finalists already having a history of slam junior success, #6-seed Babos and unseeded Inoue will share this year's Wimbledon "Junior Breakout" award.

...FINAL PICKS: On Saturday, we might finally get to see what it's like to have BOTH Venus and Serena in top form in the same grand slam final. Serena's classic escape against Dementieva aside, both of the Sisters have pretty much run roughshod over all of their opponents (though, in comparison, it's nothing like what they've done to everyone in doubles). Often times, the only player who has seemed capable of defeating one has been the other. After a decade in which they've dominated the field at SW19 -- filling thirteen of twenty spots in the final, and now assured of winning eight of the ten titles -- this fourth all-Williams Wimbledon final is the natural conclusion to this final fortnight of the 2000's. Even if Centre Court is covered tomorrow, it wouldn't be a shock if the Sisters blew the roof off the place with something akin to the Nadal/Federer clash from a year ago. PREDICTION: VENUS IN THREE TIGHT SETS, with at least one of the first two sets going to a tie-break and the third going into "extra time," with the winner needing to win at least eight games to emerge with the title

On Sunday, it's difficult not to view the men's final as something of an offical coronation of Federer as the all-time slam champ. While Roddick has played better against Federer in recent meetings, the King Roger that's shown up in London this year off his pressure-relieving win in Paris once again has that invincible look of old. I could see Roddick possibly winning a set in a tie-break, and maybe even pushing another set into a breaker, but there's no way Federer is losing this one in any alternate reality. While I can't imagine Roddick winning it, though, I won't sneer when he likely loses as I often have had a tendency to do in the past. After his "transformation," he's due a measure of respect. PREDICTION: FEDERER IN FOUR

...and, finally, the latest edition of "Backspin Time Capsule" has been posted. "The Thrill and the Agony" deals with the infamous collapse of Jana Novotna in the 1993 Wimbledon final, as well as her triumph on the same Centre Court lawn five years later.

*LADIES' SINGLES FINAL*
#3 Venus Williams/USA vs. #2 Serena Williams/USA

*GENTLEMEN'S SINGLES FINAL*
#6 Andy Roddick/USA vs. #2 Roger Federer

*LADIES' DOUBLES FINAL*
#4 Williams/Williams (USA/USA vs. #3 Stosur/Stubbs (AUS/AUS)

*GENTLEMEN'S DOUBLES FINAL*
#1 Bryan/Bryan (USA/USA) vs. #2 Nestor/Zimonjic (CAN/SRB)

*MIXED DOUBLES FINAL*
#1 Black/Paes (ZIM/IND) vs. #9 Groenefeld/Knowles (GER/BAH)

*GIRLS SINGLES FINAL*
#1 Kristina Mladenovic/FRA vs. #4 Noppawan Lertcheewakarn/THA

*BOYS SINGLES FINAL*
Jordan Cox/USA vs. Andrey Kuznetsov/RUS

*GIRLS DOUBLES SF*
Lertcheewakarn/Peer (THA/AUS) vs. #5 Gavrilova/Kirillova (RUS/RUS)
Capra/Trevisan (USA/ITA) vs. #2 Mladenovic/Njiric (FRA/CRO)

*BOYS DOUBLES SF*
Bokuda-Purkiss/Souto (ESP/VEN) vs. Herbert/Krawietz (FRA/GER)
Obry/Puget (FRA/FRA) vs. Georgoudas/Vasilevski (GER/BLR)

*"JUNIOR BREAKOUT" WINNERS*
=A0=
2007 Madison Brengle/USA
2008 Jessica Moore/AUS & Arantxa Rus/NED
2009 Ksenia Pervak/RUS
=RG=
2007 Mariana Duque Marino/COL
2008 Simona Halep/ROU & Elena Bogdan/ROU
2009 Daria Gavrilova/RUS
=WI=
2007 Urszula Radwanska/POL
2008 Laura Robson/GBR
2009 Timea Babos/HUN & Miyabi Inoue/JPN
=US=
2007 Kristina Kucova/SVK
2008 Coco Vandeweghe/USA

TOP QUALIFIER: #1q Victoriya Kutuzova/UKR
TOP EARLY ROUND (1r-2r): #3 Venus Williams/USA
TOP MIDDLE-ROUND (3r-QF): #2 Serena Williams/USA
TOP LATE ROUND (SF-F): xxx
TOP QUALIFYING MATCH: Q1: Vesna Manasieva/RUS d. Noppawan Lertcheewakarn/THA 6-7/6-4/6-1
TOP EARLY RD. MATCH (1r-2r): 1st Rd. - Ana Ivanovic/SRB d. Lucie Hradecka/CZE 5-7/6-2/8-6 (saved 2 MP)
TOP MIDDLE-RD. MATCH (3r-QF): 4th Rd. - Melanie Oudin/USA d. Jelena Jankovic/SRB 6-7/7-5/6-2
TOP LATE RD. MATCH (SF-F): xxx
=============================
FIRST SEED OUT: #23 Aleksandra Wozniak/CAN (1st Rd.-Schiavone/ITA)
UPSET QUEENS: The Germans
REVELATION LADIES: The Italian vets
LAST QUALIFIER STANDING: Melanie Oudin/USA (4th Rd.)
IT GIRL: Sabine Lisicki/GER
MS. OPPORTUNITY: Elena Dementieva/RUS
COMEBACK PLAYER: Ana Ivanovic/SRB
CRASH & BURN: Maria Sharapova/RUS - lost to Gisela Dulko/ARG in 2nd Rd.
ZOMBIE QUEEN: Dinara Safina/RUS - in 4th Rd., down set and a break, then 3-0 in 3rd to Amelie Mauresmo/FRA; advanced to first Wimbledon SF
LAST BRIT STANDING: Elena Baltacha/GBR (2nd Rd.)
DOUBLES STAR xxx
JUNIOR BREAKOUT: Timea Babos/HUN & Miyabi Inoue/JPN

All for Day 11. More tomorrow.

BACKSPIN TIME CAPSULE: 1993 Wimbledon

(seventh in a series)

Winning isn't everything. Sometimes it's the losing that everyone remembers.

In perception, the careers of Steffi Graf and Jana Novotna couldn't be more different. The German Graf won twenty-two grand slam singles titles, including seven Wimbledon championship plates, and was ranked #1 a record 377 weeks during her career. In the eyes of tennis fans, she's the epitome of what a champion should be. Novotna reached #2 in singles and #1 in doubles, appeared in three slam singles finals, was an Olympic medalist, a WTA Championships titlist and grand slam singles champion. But all that is mostly relegated to paragraph TWO in the mental bio of her career, as she's most often remembered as the dictionary definition of a "choker."

Both Graf and Novotna had Hall of Fame careers, but that's not what links them together in the collective memory of tennis fans and historians alike. When the two met in the 1993 Wimbledon final, Novotna was a 24-year old finally coming into her own as a singles player after having hooked up with her coach, four-time slam champion Hana Mandlikova. Even while playing in the era of Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova, the fluid but often tempestuous Czech Mandlikova won every major but Wimbledon (she reached two finals in '81 and '86, losing once to both Chris and Martina). In July of 1993, Mandlikova seemed well on her way to finally "claiming" the elusive title by proxy, with Novotna as her pupil. When Novotna took out Navratilova in the '93 semfinals, and was dominating Graf in the final, the Czech tandem was about to become the talk of the women's game.

Novotna DID become that, but for all the wrong reasons. As a result, sixteen years later, saying a player "pulled a Novotna" has nothing to do with a hamstring injury.

After holding a commanding 6-7/6-1/4-1, with a point for 5-1, lead over Graf, the nightmare that nearly rendered Novotna's career the punchline to a repetitive joke officially began, as her big lead disintegrated in a matter of minutes in one of the most unfortunate -- let's call it what is was -- CHOKES in major tennis history. She couldn't hit a shot to save her life. Novotna wasn't just simply missing, either. She was spraying balls anywhere and everywhere -- an overhead attempt infamously hit the court's sideline tarp -- in ways that made the Centre Court patrons want to cover their eyes in horror at what they were witnessing. In the post-match ceremony, Novotna finally broke down and wept on the shoulder of the Duchess of Kent. The images and memories from that day are difficult to forget or replace in the mind of anyone who remembers them.

Novotna was one of the last of a breed -- a serve-and-volleyer by choice and without apology. She was a versatile player with a rare combination of power, aggression, touch and athleticism, and one whose game was virtually tailor-made for the grass of the All-England Club. Her signature stroke was a cutting slice backhand approach shot (it'd distress many of the upstarts that populate the game today who are often confused and frustrated by anything other than the pure power games that are the equal of their own) that bit even deeper into the green lawns, but she was also equipped with a serve that could put away a few cheap points when necessary and a volley perfected by years of spectacular doubles play. In a nutshell, Novotna was a complete player... but her own mental demons nearly did her in.

Her Wimbledon collapse was hardly her only mind-boggling come-from-ahead defeat. It was just the one that took place on the biggest stage in front of the most people. Among her other chokes was a loss to Chanda Rubin in the 3rd Round of Roland Garros in 1995 in a match in which she led 5-0, 40/love in the 3rd set and held nine match points. It was a pattern that it appeared she might never break.

With so much talent, and a game on par in recent years with that of Amelie Mauresmo's in terms of beauty (but with a bit more power), Novotna very well could have gone down in the eyes of many resembling the line about a talented pitcher in the movie "Bull Durham" who had a "million dollar arm, but a ten-cent head." It would have been so easy for Novotna to NEVER overcome her propensity to crumble at the most inopportune time. But she never gave up. She persevered, and ultimately triumphed over her inner demons, winning the Wimbledon Ladies title in 1998 to become the oldest (at 29 years, 9 months) first-time slam champ in the Open Era. What Novotna did five years after her Centre Court breakdown gave weight to and provided a foundation for her Hall of Fame career. After her entire lifetime in tennis was very nearly crystallized by a few tears on the shoulder of a royal, Novotna's unflinching inability to throw in the towel made her hard-found and well-earned success that much more sweet.

But in order to fully appreciate the glory of what happened to the determined Czech in 1998, one should re-live what occurred at Wimbledon in 1993. Novotna's ultimate victory at the All-England Club saved her from being preceived as a joke, but it was her most crushing loss -- not her biggest win -- that gave her career the flawed attractiveness that continues to make her a compelling figure in tennis history.

Here's how your friendly neighborhood (pre-)Backspinner saw it back then.

"The Thrill and the Agony" (July 3, 1993)

Wimbledon 1993 was supposed to be unnerved by the absence of the former #1 female player in the world after her tragic on-court stabbing.

Monica Seles was surely missed, but the outstanding 100th Ladies Championship final today which left two 24-year olds either on the doorstep of legendary status or in tears will certainly go down as one of the most enthralling and athletic in the tournament's grandiose history. Germany's top-seeded Steffi Graf defeated sixth-seeded Jana Novotna of the Czech Republic 7-6(6)/1-6/6-4 in a virtuoso display of power and finesse on the part of both players.

Novotna, plagued in the past by nerves, was seeking to tie the record as the lowest-seeded woman to win the title as she'd reached her second career grand slam final. With her talented all-court game at its finest, she seemed to have conquered her demons this week as she held her emotions in check and defeated fourth-seeded Gabriela Sabatini (to whom she had lost three matches in the past few years after having held match points) in the QF and nine-time champ Martina Navratilova in the SF. Graf had rolled through the tournament to get to the final, losing no sets and just three total games in the first week of play. The once-again #1 player in the world was looking for her thirteenth grand slam title, fifth Wimbledon crown, and to extend her twenty-match Wimbledon win streak and 32-1 mark as the tournament's top-seeded woman.

Although Graf held a 16-3 career advantage over Novotna, the Brno-born Czech with the hard serve and expert volley was believed to have a shot if she could only overcome the battle of nerves with her own psyche and win the one grand slam title her coach, Hana Mandlikova, could never snare. And for two and a half sets today, Novotna DID appear ready to make the biggest tournament in the world her final breakthrough. After holding her emotions in check for so long, the maxim that a confident and controlled Novotna was a lethal Novotna seemed about to be realized. But her rocky past came back to smite her one more painful time.

Knowing that she needed a fast start in order to avoid an early case of those nerves, Novotna rattled off a service break in the first game of the match. And even though she continued to miss first serves as she had all tournament, Novotna served out her game to go up 2-0.

The first opportunity for Novotna to succumb to the moment occurred when a net-cord volley by Graf dropped on Novotna's side of the net and prevented the German from falling behind love/40 in her second service game. Graf served out the game and then broke Novotna on her third break chance to knot the set at 2-2. After saving two break points against her, Novotna's shot down the line kept the match on serve at 3-3.

Graf broke Novotna to lead 5-3 and it appeared that the slide down the slippery slope had begun for Novotna. But after a disputed line call prevented Graf from reaching triple set point, Novotna pulled the game and her fraying nerves out of the weeds with four consecutive points to break Graf's serve and put the set back on serve at 4-5. Novotna had not crumbled, and her clutch play this past week finally looked like a normal occurrence in her game.

Still with problems getting her first serve in, Novotna nevertheless won her service game to send the 1st set into a tie-break. There, another opportunity presented itself for Novotna to fall apart.

Graf produced a mini-break to go up 2-1, but Novotna once again rose to the occasion to break back at 2-2 with one of her powerful volleys. And after twice successfully lunging for volleys to go up 4-3, Novotna hit behind Graf at the net to break her serve and go up 5-3. Up 5-4, the Czech had a chance to serve out the set.

A volley into the net by Novotna made it 5-5, but a netted Graf forehand gave Novotna a set point. Graf then served a powerful ace, followed by another point to give herself a set point at 7-6. Then, even after forcing Graf to employ a shot she rarely uses, Novotna saw a topspin backhand pass her at the net as the German won the 1st set tie-break 8-6.

Novotna had weathered the storm, but Graf had beaten her fair and square. She had not given the set away. Apparently sensing this, Novotna burst into the 2nd set and avoided yet another opportunity for a letdown to thwart her chances.

Passing the latest test, Novotna raised her dismal 1st set first serve percentage (43%, though she'd led Graf in winners 23-22) a bit and went through Graf like the defending champion was not even there. By not letting down, Novotna showed how good she CAN be. She broke Graf in games two and four, then hit a service winner to go up 5-0 and threaten an embarrassing bagel at Centre Court. Continually keeping her shots low to the grass, Novotna served out the 2nd set at 6-1 to knot the match.

With Mandlikova urging her from the stands to stay focused, Novotna continued her surge early in the 3rd set and forced Graf to make superhuman shots just to get one point. Placing first serves perfectly, making pinpoint volleys at the net, and using strategic lobs to keep Graf at bay on the baseline Novotna showed a game of power, finesse and athletcism rivalled only by Navratilova in past Championship years. Novotna lobbed over Graf to break her in game three, and broke her again in game five to take a 4-1 lead. The championship was within her grasp and, as Graf would later say, the defending champ felt the match was over.

Serving to go up 5-1 in the 3rd, Novotna held a game point at 40/30. She had one last chance to succumb to the moment. And, unfortunately, she could hold back the flood no longer, as the onrushing waters essentially drowned her.

She double-faulted. Deuce. She hit a very nervous volley well past the baseline. Advantage Graf. After not missing one all day, she hit an overhead into the net. Graf "broke" her serve and was still down 2-4, but the whistle of the falling bomb was apparent to all -- especially Novotna.

After Novotna was unable to break Graf after being up 40/15 on Graf's serve, the two-time defending champ, after being allowed a breath, smelled the sweet aroma of her fifth Wimbledon title in the air. Up 4-3, Novotna had one final chance to pull herself out of the fire she alone had started. At 30/30, she double-faulted once, twice, thrice in a row to give back Graf the break lead she'd earned earlier in the set as the match drifted past the two-hour mark.

With the tide of errors now coming ever so quickly, down 5-4, Novotna could not hold her serve for the third straight time and Graf seized the 3rd set 6-4, winning seventeen of the final twenty-one points in the taking the last five games of the match. It gave Graf her third straight Wimbledon crown and fifth in six years, edging her ever so close to Navratilova's once seemingly unreachable nine singles titles.

As Graf beamed at the twist of fate that had placed her on the doorstep of legendary status, Novotna was left to attempt to ascertain what had gone wrong. While Graf is a great champion, more that she won the match, Novotna had lost it. Given it away, in fact.

At the trophy presentation, the full extent of this loss' toll on Novotna was evident as she broke down in tears in the arms of the Duchess of Kent, who placed Novotna's head on her shoulder and hugged her. By going against her reputation and letting down her guard, Novotna had touched the hearts of the Centre Court throng, which cheered more lustily for her than for the equally-consoling Graf.

Graf is once again the Wimbledon champion. Seles is sill absent. But this year's tournament was nonetheless blessed by the coming out party of Novotna and her emergence as the new Czech force to be reckoned with. It is her indelible image, both triumphant and defeated, that will linger long after this Championships. She proved the past two weeks that she is capable of overcoming her nerves. Novotna is now 0-2 in slam finals, but remember that it took Andre Agassi and her countryman Ivan Lendl three losses before they finally overcame THEIR slam final demons, never to be tormented by them again.

Novotna has talent that can be matched by only Seles and Graf and has made progress in her battle against herself, but she has not quite reached her final goal. If she can just make it over that final hump, she will be crying tears of joy like those she did earlier this week rather than the painful ones she shed today.

But, either way, Wimbledon '93 will be the watershed event in Novotna's career. It is from this experience that she will either gain the strength to win an elusive grand slam title, or forever be haunted by the loss that she will never be able to forget.

*NOVOTNA - GRAND SLAM FINALS*
1991 Australian Open - lost to Monica Seles 7-5/3-6/1-6
1993 Wimbledon - lost to Steffi Graf 6-7(6)/6-1/4-6
1997 Wimbledon - lost to Martina Hingis 6-2/3-6/3-6
1998 Wimbledon - defeated Nathalie Tauziat 6-4/7-6(2)

*NOVOTNA'S SLAM HISTORIES*
=AUSTRALIAN=
RU = 1991
QF = 1994
Doubles Titles = 1990,1995
Mixed Titles = 1988-89
=ROLAND GARROS=
SF = 1990, 1996
QF = 1989, 1991, 1993, 1998
Doubles Titles = 1990-91, 1998
=WIMBLEDON=
W = 1998
RU = 1993, 1997
SF = 1995
QF = 1990, 1994, 1996, 1999
Doubles Titles = 1989-90, 1995, 1998
Mixed Title = 1988
=U.S. OPEN=
SF = 1994, 1998
QF = 1990, 1995-97
Doubles Titles = 1994, 1997-98
Mixed Title = 1987

*ALL-TIME WTA DOUBLES TITLES*
177...Martina Navratilova
112...Rosie Casals
106...Pam Shriver
101...Billie Jean King
80...Natasha Zvereva
76...JANA NOVOTNA
69...Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario

*NOVOTNA - DOUBLES-TEAM-OF-YEAR WINS*
1989 with Helena Sukova
1990 with Helena Sukova
1991 with Gigi Fernandez
1996 with Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario
1997 with Lindsay Davenport
1998 with Martina Hingis

*WTA SINGLES TITLES - CZECHS*
167...Martina Navratilova, 1974-94 #
27...Hana Mandlikova, 1978-87
24...JANA NOVOTNA, 1988-99
-
#- Navratilova won 4 titles representing Czechoslovakia (1974-75), 47 as a "stateless" player (1974-81) after defecting, and 116 representing the USA (1981-94)

That 1993 collapse defined Novotna's career, but it also served as the impetus for her 1998 victory.

Truth be told, Novotna is my personal all-time favorite player. I loved her style of play, and would always find myself attempting to replicate her patented slice backhand approach shot and put-away volley combo when I'd play on the weekend. It was such a beautiful shot, and one I think I'm going to try to hit again the next time I hit the court. Oddly enough, I was also a big fan of Mandlikova's game, even though I was initially turned off by her sometimes seemingly-foul disposition on the court. Backspin Tidbit: I was actually in attendence when Mandlikova won the final WTA singles title of her career in March 1987, defeating Barbara Potter in the Washington D.C. final.. I started to take an interest in Novotna in 1990, not knowing that Mandlikova was her coach. When I found out, well, the dye was cast and I was "in" for the long haul. Little did I know how strange a trip it would turn out to be.

For me, as a fan, the fulfillment of Novotna's career-long quest to win Wimbledon was one of my most favorite sports moments ever, if not THE favorite. Sure, Nathalie Tauziat wasn't the headline-grabbing opponent that would have given the '98 final a classic feel, but what Novotna accomplished that day, viewed from the outside, was more about the road TO it than the moment itself. It was the frustrating, ire-inducing, infuriating, forehead-slapping nearly decade-long trip that made the '98 Wimbledon all the more fantastic. Anyone who's felt the depression of seeing a favorite player with slam-winning potential dumped out of a major without winning it, and all the anger and wretchedness involved in that, should imagine experiencing that for about nine years... then seeing the player ACTUALLY WIN A SLAM. Wow. In a way, it made all the vicarious pain sort of worth it. As Novotna's dream was fulfilled, I felt a sense of accomplshment, too, after having unwaveringly experienced the lows and high of the wildest ride I've ever encountered while watching ANY sport.

For a few years after the '98 Wimbledon final, I even kept a framed copy of the newspaper account of Novotna's triumph on my wall (I still have it... somewhere). It was a moment worth commemorating.

Of course, a case could be made that maybe the vigil wouldn't have lasted quite so long had Jana simply admitted early on that she'd choked at Wimbledon in '93, and gotten on with things. She never would... and then it would happen again and again through the years. Still, she did it her way and it worked out for her in the end, so that's one of those "what if" topics that could forever spark a conversation concerning the potential arc of her career. But, at this point, it doesn't matter.

In her dream season of '98, Novotna not only won the Wimbledon singles crown, but also the doubles. She reached the U.S. Open singles semis later that summer, and claimed the doubles titles in both New York and Roland Garros, too. She won four tour singles titles, finished the year in the Top 3 in both singles and doubles, and became the fifth woman to surpass $10 million in career earnings. The phrase "pulling a Novotna" still has legs, but maybe it rightfully SHOULD stand for persevering as much as collapsing. Her '98 SW19 title run, during which she took out a young Venus Williams in the QF and #1 Martina Hingis in the SF before defeating veteran Tauziat in the final, likely opened the doors to the Hall of Fame to Novotna. She was elected in 2005, even though her other career numbers, even if she hadn't won a slam singles crown, should have been enough for her to warrent consideration for the honor, one is right to question whether they would have been enough (personally, I don't think the electors would have been able to cast aside the '93 collapse and see the great forest of a career for that single tree).

Novotna finished in the year-end singles Top 10 seven times from 1991-98, and was ranked in the Top 3 from 1996-98. She won twenty-four career tour singles titles, reached twenty-two slam QF and nine SF, was a three-time RU and won the one title. In her three career slam final losses, all went three sets and Novotna held leads in each one (along with '93, she won the opening set vs. Monica Seles at the '91 Australian, and again vs. Hingis in the '97 Wimbledon final). In 1997, she claimed the season-ending WTA Championships crown for her then-biggest career title, perhaps boosting her confidence for her SW19 run the following summer.

A potent dual threat, the Czech's doubles accomplishments were even more impressive. Novotna won 76 doubles titles (6th all-time), reached #1 in the rankings eleven different times beginning in 1990, and was the year-end top-ranked doubles player in 1991. She was part of the Doubles Team of the Year six times, with five different partners, and won sixteen slam titles (twelve Women's Doubles, four Mixed). She won the year-end Championships doubles title in '95 and '97, reaching seven consecutive finals in the event from 1991-97.

She was also a member of the 1988 Fed Cup-winning Czech team, and won three Olympic medals ('88 Doubles Silver, '96 Singles Bronze and Doubles Silver).

More than nearly every other tennis tournament on earth, Wimbledon (not to mention the confines of the entire All-England Club) tends to become "special" to a handful of players. Billie Jean. Martina. Steffi. Venus. And Jana, too. She reached three Wimbledon finals, had seven consecutive QF-or-better results (and eight of ten years) during the 1990's. Maybe the only other player who's created so much drama at Centre Court with less hardware to show for it has been Britain's own Tim Henman. Still, Centre Court was the site of Novotna's worst and best days, and one year after her '98 win allowed her to bask in the glory of her accomplishment one more time when she walked onto the hallowed ground as defending champion on Day Two of the '99 tournament.

(That day, June 22, 1999, was a remarkable day otherwise, as well. On Day Two, Jelena Dokic upset #1 Hingis in the 1st Round, and the previously-retired Boris Becker returned to Wimbledon and pulled off the last of his great dramatic SW19 moments, coming back from 0-2 sets down to defeat unknown Miles MacLaughlan.)

Ironically or not, Novotna and Graf ended up retiring from the game within months of each other late in 1999, after the German had salted away slam #22 in Paris in the springtime.

Novotna has returned to Wimbledon in recent years (including 2009), playing in the senior invitational matches at the Club during the fortnight. Looking super-fit while competing, and winning three consecutive 35+ titles from 2004-06, she made one wonder if she could still compete on tour. In a game where 38-year old Kimiko Date-Krumm can return to the court after a twelve-year absence, the now 40-year old Novotna, too, surely COULD be an intriguing factor today if she were to embark on a mini-comeback in doubles. But, alas, she has never expressed any Date-esque desires.

In the end, Novotna SHOULD be proof that if a player talented enough to win a slam chooses to keep working toward her goal she CAN achieve it. She had every reason to think her slam window had closed as she approached 30, but she never gave up hope and DID prevail before she called it a career. Seen in the correct light, her career story is one of encouragement to players such as current #1 Dinara Safina or past slam finalist Elena Dementieva (I'd say Nadia Petrova, too, but that might be a case of me wishing to re-live the magic of Novotna's career-long trek, if on a smaller scale), who have so far had a difficult time reaching their full potential on the grand slam stage. Hope should never be lost.

But, as I said, sometimes it's the losing that everyone remembers. From this day on, you'll surely see the image of Novotna crying on the shoulder of the Duchess of Kent more often than one of her holding the Venus Rosewater Dish... but BOTH should be remembered equally.

Novotna worked too hard for that to not be the case.

All for now.

PREVIOUS TIME CAPSULES: 1987 Roland Garros (Graf), 1989 Roland Garros (Sanchez/Chang), 1990 Wimbledon (Navratilova), 1990 Wimbledon (Edberg/Becker), 1991 U.S. Open (Connors), 1993 Australian Open (Seles & Courier)

NEXT UP IN 2009:
2003 U.S. Open - Queen Justine

Thursday, July 02, 2009

W.10- Something Funny Almost Happened on the Way to the Final

As it turned out, an all-Sisters Wimbledon final WAS inevitable... but, whew, it came THIS CLOSE to not happening.

In fact, in today's semifinal matchup between Serena Williams and Elena Dementieva, BOTH women gave performances worthy of a player ready to win a grand slam title. The difference between the two was often less than the width of a finger... or one-quarter or less of the width of the baseline stripe, made only barely apparent by the video challenge system on multiple occasions. But at this point in the careers of these two twenty-seven year olds, Williams has won ten slam singles crowns, while Dementieva has won none. By the end of this classic match, while the Russian didn't show why she HASN'T won, the American surely did prove why she HAS so many times through the years. Dementieva's performance was award-worthy, but with the equivalent of a multiple Oscar winner on the other side of the net, it just wasn't enough.

Still, she made Serena work for every single point she got in this match. And considering that Dementieva used to give away service points at the drop of a hat, that's quite an accomplishment.

From the start, it was apparent that Williams wasn't in for an easy day (unlike one member of the Williams clan, as you'll soon see). She fired an ace on the first point of the match, but the tone of the afternoon was set when Dementieva ended up breaking her in that initial serve game. Williams immediately broke back for 1-1, and the race was on.

Unlike her Russian countrywoman in the second match of the day, Dementieva held her nerves -- and serve -- throughout the tight 1st set. In fact, she was outhitting Williams not only on the ground, but also through the air. After coming up short so many times in her career in the past, today she wasn't a one-legged woman (server) in a two-legged race. With more unreturnable serves coming off her racket than Serena's, she won the opening set in a tie-break to give Williams her first lost set in the tournament.

The 2nd set opened with Williams breaking Dementieva's serve, but the Russian got the break back to knot the score at 3-3 in a game of give-and-take (take-and-take?) that lasted close to three hours. She saved a break point in the next game, and very nearly pushed Serena over the cliff in the one after that. Down 3-4, Williams saved a break point on a shot in the right corner that hit both lines and needed a failed Dementieva replay challenge to prove something that was hard to tell with the naked eye.

With those few milimeters going against her, Dementieva came THIS CLOSE to grabbing a 5-3 lead and serving to reach the final.

Williams saved a second break point with a forehand shot to the corner, held at love two games later to tie the score at 5-5, then broke Dementieva to take a 6-5 lead when Dementieva lost yet another razor-thin call on a challenge. Dementieva held a break point for another tie-break, but when she missed an open court return Serena grabbed the set at 7-5.

THIS CLOSE.

In the 3rd, Dementieva got an early break to go up 3-1, but lost the advantage in the next game as there was absolutely no give in either woman in a classic match that is just what grand slam tennis is supposed to be about -- two players giving their all, not succumbing to the moment, and with the best woman winning in the end even while it would be difficult to call the other a "loser." It was the longest women's semifinal match at SW19 in the Open Era.

It wasn't Nadal/Federer in the '08 Wimbledon final, but it was as close to it as a semifinal not played in fading light could get.

At 5-4, Dementieva finally carved out a match point for herself. She even got a look at a second serve, but when she failed to do enough with her return, Williams showed why she'll be playing for an eleventh slam title on Saturday. Showing absolutely no fear of the moment, she came in to the net behind her second serve and cut off Dementieva's return with a volley. It skidded off the net cord, then landed safely in the backcourt to put the score back to deuce. Williams hit an ace on the next point, and a few moments later it was 5-5.

Reuters/T.Melville

Two games later, Williams sneaked a cross court forehand pass just under Dementieva's arm at the net -- a wickedly pinpoint shot -- to tie the set at 6-6 and let out one of her patented primal screams. From there, you could see the thought-inevitable result of this match finally overcoming the reality of what it turned out to be. Serena broke Dementieva to go up 7-6, then served for the final. Less than half an hour after staring down a match point, Williams hit a shot that bounced off the top of the net to Dementieva, who was awaiting it in the corner. Perhaps the change of speed caught her off guard and turned an easy shot into an awkward on, as the Russian's backhand went just wide down the line and gave Williams the win.

Again, it was THIS CLOSE. Serena won 6-7/7-5/8-6. And no one is going to forget this one for quite a while.

Whew! What a day. And Williams still has to play a five-time Wimbledon champion in the final?

Lucky us.

=DAY 10 NOTES=
...meanwhile, in the other semifinal, Venus hit the ball against the Centre Court wall for about an hour.

Well, not really. But she might have gotten a better workout if she had. Since she and Serena didn't have a scheduled doubles match today, I suspect Venus might have ended up going out to hit a bit AFTER her match today since she barely broke a sweat on Centre Court against Dinara Safina.

From the start, it was apparent that Safina didn't feel as if she belonged (probably after another of those sleepless nights, foodless mornings like the one she endured before her no-show in the Roland Garros final). Amazingly, this one was even worse than Paris. Safina lost the first five games of the match, got one measly little game to avoid a shut-out in the 1st set, and then proceeded to make up for that "lapse" by putting a big goose egg on the board in the 2nd. Venus won 6-1/6-0 in sixty-one minutes.

It's moments like that makes one wonder if Safina will EVER get over the proverbial hump in a slam. Her countrywoman Dementieva comported herself far better today, but still couldn't even get into the final. Nothing is assured, especially since the Sisters have managed to fill the post-Henin vacuum with a dual late-career renaissance that is serving to write a remarkable Third Act to their story of WTA dominance. This will be the fourth of the last five slams claimed by either Venus or Serena, and they'll likely be the favorites to win in New York, as well. Escpecially since, by then, there's a good chance they'll be the #1 and #2 arnked players and will be assured of not having to face each other before a potential meeting in the final.

...the contenders for "Doubles Star" are still almost too numerous to count. Cara Black, Liezel Huber and Virginia Ruano-Pascual are all alive in the semis of both the Women's and Mixed Doubles. Plus, Venus and Serena could still run their career/decade record as a duo at SW19 to 29-1 if they win their fourth Wimbledon crown this weekend. THAT might be too hard to overlook.

...hey, with the Venus/Serena final, that means I've correctly predicted five of the six women's slam finalists in '09 in my pre-tournament predictions. The only miss was Svetlana Kuznetsova in Paris... who I'd pretty much predicted to get there two weeks prior to Roland Garros, but then got cold feet at the last second. So close, and yet so far. You know, sort of like Dinara.

...in the junior QF, RG Girls champ Kristina Mladenovic "pulled a Venus" on Sloane Stephens, winning 6-1/6-0. She'll next face unseeded Miyabi Inoue of Japan. 2008 SW19 junior RU Noppawan Lertcheewakarn (THA) will meet Hungary's Timea Babos, who knocked off upset princess Quirine Lemoine today, in the other semi.

The "Junior Breakout" winner for Wimbledon will likely come to down to either the unseeded Inoue or #6 Babos. If one of them reaches the final, either over former Girls #1 Lertcheewakarn or the current top-ranked Mladenovic, they'll wrap it up. If both win in the semis, it'll come down to the final.

...at least one American will reach the Boys final, as NCAA champ Devin Britton will face Jordan Cox in one semi, while Aussie Bernard Tomic goes up against Russia's Andrey Kuznetsov in the other.

...and, finally, was it some form of karmic "justice" that ESPN got to show the fabulous Serena/Dementieva match live today, while NBC's "exclusive" Venus/Safina match turned out to not even be broadcast-worthy? If the tennis Gods have a sense of humor, and I think they do, then that's the story I'm going to go with today.

*LADIES' SINGLES FINAL*
#3 Venus Williams/USA vs. #2 Serena Williams/USA

*GENTLEMEN'S SINGLES SF*
#6 Andy Roddick/USA vs. #3 Andy Murray/GBR
#24 Tommy Haas/GER vs. #2 Roger Federer/SUI

*LADIES' DOUBLES SF*
#1 Black/Huber (ZIM/USA) vs. #4 Williams/Williams (USA/USA
#3 Stosur/Stubbs (AUS/AUS) vs. #2 Medina-Garrigues/Ruano-Pascual (ESP/ESP)

*GENTLEMEN'S DOUBLES FINAL*
#1 Bryan/Bryan (USA/USA) vs. Blake/Fish (USA/USA) or #2 Nestor/Zimonjic (CAN/SRB)

*MIXED DOUBLES SF*
#1 Black/Paes (ZIM/IND) vs. #12 Ruano-Pascual/Huss (ESP/AUS)
Huber/J.Murray (USA/GBR) vs. #9 Groenefeld/Knowles (GER/BAH)

*GIRLS SINGLES SF*
#1 Kristina Mladenovic/FRA vs. Miyabi Inoue/JPN
#4 Noppawan Lertcheewakarn/THA vs. #6 Timea Babos/HUN

*BOYS SINGLES SF*
Devin Britton/USA vs. Jordan Cox/USA
#3 Bernard Tomic/AUS vs. Andrey Kuznetsov/RUS

*CAREER SLAM FINALS - ACTIVE*
14...SERENA WILLIAMS (10-3)
14...VENUS WILLIAMS (7-6)
5...Kim Clijsters (1-4)
4...Maria Sharapova (3-1)
4...Svetlana Kuznetsova (2-2)
--
(ALSO: 7-Davenport, 3-4)

*SLAM FINALS - 2000's*
13...SERENA WILLIAMS (9-3)
13...VENUS WILLIAMS (7-5)
11...Justine Henin (7-4)
5...Lindsay Davenport (1-4)
5...Kim Clijsters (1-4)

All for Day 10. More tomorrow.

Wednesday, July 01, 2009

W.9- A Day Before the Inevitable, more shenanigans

A day before the long-expected all-Williams final might be filed away for Saturday consideration, one would think that Day 9 would provide a stress-free occasion on which to watch a little men's tennis and not have to bother with what it all might mean, right?

Yeah, not with the not-so-silent hand of NBC around. More on the latest bit of network insanity in a few moments.

=DAY 9 NOTES=
...the sound you heard this afternoon was some of the air being let out of at least a few of the British tennis fans' balloons on Day 9. For Laura Robson, who took the second week of the tournament by storm a year ago en route to the Girls title, was summarily bounced today in both singles and doubles.

In singles, she lost her 3rd Rounder to another of those upset-minded Dutch Girls, Quirine Lemoine, in a 6-2/4-6/8-6 match. Yesterday, the unseeded Lemoine knocked off #14 Chanel Simmonds. In doubles, Robson and American Sloane Stephens, the #1 doubles seeds, were defeated in their 1st Round match by Brits Samantha Vickers and Lisa Whybourn. So, I guess all those new cheeky late-week comments from L-Rob will have to wait until next year.

Mr. Murray... looks like EVERYTHING is on your shoulders now.

...in other junior news, Richel Hogenkamp couldn't keep up her head of steam and lost to Hungary's Zsofia Susanyi in a three-setter. Meanwhile, my unofficial pre-tournament pick to be the junior champ at this Wimbledon, the aforementioned #7-seeded Sloane Stevens, took out #10 Camila Silva to advance to the quarterfinals.

In Boys action, American Alexander Domijan knocked out #1 seed and RG junior champ Daniel Berta of Sweden.

...Serena and Venus defeated Anna-Lena Groenefeld and Vania King in straight sets, running their career Wimbledon mark to 27-1 as a team and their current sets won streak to twenty-two. Just the top four seeds have advanced to the women's singles semis, the top four seeds in doubles -- Black/Huber, AMG/VRP, Stosur/Stubbs & Serena/Venus -- have done so, as well.

Speaking of doubles, with the Doubles SF and Mixed QF almost fully set as of this posting, there are a handful of women still in the running in both draws: Cara Black, Liezel Huber, Sam Stosur and Virginia Ruano-Pascual.

...in the men's quarters, Roger Federer, Andy Murray, Andy Roddick and Tommy Haas all advanced. Hey, those are the four guys I picked to get there at the start of the tournament. Of course, I'm not sure my Federer/Roddick final pairing pick will hold up over the potential Federer/Murray one, but we'll see on Friday. Well, I guess I should say we'll FIND OUT on Friday since I doubt much of the men's semis will actually be able to be viewed live on ESPN or NBC. Speaking of which.

...and, finally (sigh) NBC. I mean, what more can be said, right? Well, actually quite a bit after the latest Wimbledon coverage, or lack there of, hoisted upon the American viewing public.

The day began with Chris Fowler noting on ESPN that NBC was embargoing the Federer/Karlovic match, and that contracts wouldn't allow the network to give scores or results from the match. One probably wouldn't have been hearing things if they sensed a low boil under Fowler's surface, as either he's been seething about the insanity of such a situation or ESPN has been hearing an earful from people about it... or, likely, both. Highlighting the ridiculous of such a set up, Fowler made a point to quickly note that the score of the match could be found at other locations.

As things moved along, though, it looked as ESPN had lucked out. While Federer was on his way to a straight sets win over the Croat, the match that ESPN was ALLOWED to air between Haas and Novak Djokovic was developing into a far better match. The German grabbed a late break and took the 1st set over the #4 seed at 7-5, then looked like he was going to do it again late in the 2nd. But as soon as he broke the Serb for a 6-5 lead, Haas played an horrific serve game, lost it at love and was forced to go to a tie-break. He fell behind there 6-3 and looked like he was going to squander a lead just as he'd done in Paris when he won the first two sets against Federer. But Djokovic blinked, Haas won five straights points and was up by two sets once again.

As NBC's East Coast start time was coming up, I missed out on a bit of ESPN's coverage. Then when I returned to see what had happened during my absence, I was a little surprised to see that ESPN was no longer airing the Haas/Djokovic match, as it had been ALLOWED to do with the conclusion of yesterday's Safina/Lisicki contest. Ah, NBC must have picked up the live coverage, I figured. But then I turned to NBC... and it was airing the opening games of the Federer/Karlovic match from two hours earlier, a match which had already been completed.

Yep, NBC apparently refused to allow ESPN to continue to air the Haas/Djokovic match it'd been airing for two hours, then didn't pick up the live coverage when it came on air. Meanwhile, Djokovic won the 3rd set. As Federer was putting away Karlovic on tape, in the real world Haas was coming back in the 4th to advance to his first Wimbledon SF.

Many hours after Federer had actually done the deed, NBC finally showed him winning... THEN started to show the final forty-five minutes of the Haas/Djokovic match that could have and should have been shown live on the East Coast when the network came on air at 10am. Meanwhile, during all this, Andy Murray was winning his match and Andy Roddick and Lleyton Hewitt were starting their's under the cover of the NBC-imposed darkness.

Finally, the tennis television world was set back upright at 1pm. ESPN picked up coverage again... and took about five seconds to begin live coverage of what turned out to be the thrilling five-set Roddick/Hewitt match.

Obviously, this sort of set up is beyond ridiculous. NBC and NBC alone fails to recognize it. Meanwhile, with two more days left before the finals, it will surely continue to treat this tournament as if the network is a bored cat and Wimbledon is a captured mouse. The whiskered NBC bats it around a bit, yawns, bats the helpless thing around some more, finally becomes disinterested and then simply walks away.

Everyone else pulls out their hair. NBC doesn't care a whit.

ESPN, for all its faults, at least has something that resembles integrity when it comes to covering this and other sports. NBC, just as in its daily primetime schedule and dealings with its nighttime talent, has virtually none. With precious few exceptions, if you want schlock you turn to NBC. It's tennis coverage, which was once a breakthrough product with its Breakfast at Wimbledon beginning, is now an afterthought that is simply used to fill air time. It's pretty bad that with four grand slams on the calendear each year, one broken down network that USED to represent the gold standard in American television not that long ago can now make it so that two of those events can't even be expected to be enjoyed just when the matches start to become important.

Who knows what the combined ESPN/Tennis Channel (which at least work in conjunction with one another) and CBS coverage will provide come August, but at least NBC will be out of that mix. And that can't be a bad thing.

*LADIES' SINGLES SF*
#1 Dinara Safina/RUS vs. #3 Venus Williams/USA
#4 Elena Dementieva/RUS vs. #2 Serena Williams/USA

*GENTLEMEN'S SINGLES SF*
#6 Andy Roddick/USA vs. #3 Andy Murray/GBR
#24 Tommy Haas/GER vs. #2 Roger Federer

*LADIES' DOUBLES SF*
#1 Black/Huber (ZIM/USA) vs. #4 Williams/Williams (USA/USA
#3 Stosur/Stubbs (AUS/AUS) vs. #2 Medina-Garrigues/Ruano-Pascual (ESP/ESP)

*GENTLEMEN'S DOUBLES SF*
#1 Bryan/Bryan (USA/USA) vs. #9 Moodie/Norman (RSA/BEL)
Blake/Fish (USA/USA) vs. #2 Nestor/Zimonjic (CAN/SRB)

*MIXED DOUBLES QF*
#1 Black/Paes (ZIM/IND) vs. #11 Sugiyama/Sa (JPN/BRA)
#4 Hsieh/Ullyett (TPE/ZIM) vs. #12 Ruano-Pascual/Huss (ESP/AUS)
Huber/J.Murray (USA/GBR) vs. #15 Benesova/Dlouhy (CZE/CZE)
#5 Vesnina/Nestor (RUS/CAN) or #9 Groenefeld/Knowles (GER/BAH) vs. #2 B.Bryan/Stosur (USA/AUS)

*GIRLS SINGLES QF*
#1 Kristina Mladenovic/FRA vs. #7 Sloane Stephens/USA
Zsofia Susanyi/HUN vs. Miyabi Inoue/JPN
#11 Silvia Njiric/CRO vs. #4 Noppawan Lertcheewakarn/THA
#6 Timea Babos/HUN vs. Quirine Lemoine/NED

*BOYS SINGLES QF*
Alexander Domijan/USA vs. Devin Britton/USA
#4 Agustin Velotti/ARG vs. Jordan Cox/USA
#9 Dominik Schulz/GER vs. #3 Bernard Tomic/AUS
Andrey Kuznetsov/RUS vs. Dino Marcin/CRO

*RECENT WIMBLEDON GIRLS FINALS*
2004 Kateryna Bondarenko/UKR def. Ana Ivanovic/SRB
2005 Agnieszka Radwanska/POL def. Tamira Paszek/AUT
2006 Caroline Wozniacki/DEN def. Magdalena Rybarikova/SVK
2007 Urszula Radwanska/POL def. Madison Brengle/USA
2008 Laura Robson/GBR def. Noppawan Lertcheewarkern/THA

*RECENT SLAM GIRLS SEMIFINALISTS*
=2008 WIMB=
Tamaryn Hendler/BEL
Noppawan Lertcheewakarn/THA (RU)
Laura Robson/GBR (W)
Romana Tabakova/SVK
=2008 US=
Kristina Mladenovic/FRA
Melanie Oudin/USA
Gabriela Paz/VEN (RU)
Coco Vandeweghe/USA (W)
=2009 AO=
Ana Bogdan/ROU
Noppawan Lertcheewakarn/THA
Ksenia Pervak/RUS (W)
Laura Robson (RU)
=2009 RG=
Daria Gavrilova/RUS (RU)
Kristina Mladenovic/FRA (W)
Ksenia Pervak/RUS
Sloane Stephens/USA

All for Day 9. More tomorrow.

Tuesday, June 30, 2009

W.8- Middle-Round Maneuvers

Five rounds in, and things have (mostly) gone according to plan.

Things started last Monday with 128 women in the main draw. While there are but four remaining, ALL of the top four seeded women have reached the semifinals, including three of the same players who advanced to this point at the All-England Club a year ago.

Is there anything or anyone that can prevent another Williams vs. Williams final?

=MIDDLE ROUND AWARDS - 3rd-QF Rds.=
TOP PLAYER: Serena Williams/USA
...is Serena actually playing BETTER than Venus? Maybe, even though big sister has been mowing through opponents the last two rounds (it could be that Serena's great is just so much more flashy that she SEEMS to be playing better). Either way, if they meet in the final, the previous fortnight would go out the window, which could be a hell of a lot of fun to watch. (RU: Venus Williams/USA & Williams/Williams in doubles... I sense a theme)
RISER: Dinara Safina/RUS
...she's too good to be totally bummed out and distracted by what happened in Paris. Of course, she still might leave London with a bad taste in her mouth and a a SafinaScowl on her face. (ALSO: Agnieszka Radwanska/POL)
SURPRISES: Elena Vesnina/RUS & Melanie Oudin/USA
...Vesnina's surges probably shouldn't be so much of a surprise six months into the season, though. Ditto for Oudin, who's now flashed in Fed Cup AND at a slam before her eighteenth birthday. (ALSO: Alisa Kleybanova/Ekaterina Makarova, RUS/RUS)
VETERAN: Elena Dementieva/RUS
...again, she proved she should never be counted out until she's TOTALLY out. And I mean airplane leaving the tarmac out. (ALSO: Francesca Schiavone/ITA)
FRESH FACES Victoria Azarenka/BLR & Sabine Lisicki/GER
...it's just a matter of time before Azarenka does something grand. Like, say, by the end of next season. Lisicki seems to be on a rocket trip to the Top 10 before the 2010 Wimbledon. (ALSO: Richel Hogenkamp/NED)
DOWN: Svetlana Kuznetsova/RUS
...she's not going to go five years before she rediscovers her slam mojo again, is she? (ALSO: Zi Yan/Zheng Jie, CHN)
COMEBACK: Ana Ivanovic/SRB
...things didn't end well but, assuming she's healthy, she might have gotten back enough confidence to be a factor in North America after being anything but for the past thirteen months. (ALSO: Daniela Hantuchova/SVK)

HISTORIC, but Amelie would probably rather forget about it: 4th Rd. - #1 Safina d. #17 Mauresmo 4-6/6-3/6-4
...the first match played (partially) under the Centre Court roof, Mauresmo might remember it as maybe her last chance to make an impact at SW19 -- she was up a set and a break, then 3-0 in the 3rd. Thankfully, 2006 cemented her Hall of Fame credentials.
INTRODUCING THE BASELINE ACCORDING TO MISS MELANIE OUDIN: 3rd Rd. - (Q)Oudin d. #6 Jankovic 6-7/7-5/6-2
...the bloom is off Queen Chaos' rose. Can it grow back before she gets to New York?
"UNKNOWN" JUNIOR ALERT: Girls 2nd Rd. - Hogenkamp d. #3 A.Bogdan 3-6/6-1/6-4
...when was the last time an unseeded junior came into a slam with such a head of steam as this one?

MS. OPPORTUNITY: Elena Dementieva/RUS. Punch-Sober strikes yet again with a second straight SW19 SF result out of her weak section of the draw.
IT GIRL: Sabine Lisicki/GER. Can she be what ALG never could? You know, the long-awaited heir to Graf's German throne.
LAST QUALIFIER STANDING: Melanie Oudin/USA. The American reached the 4th Round, and made even more fans in London than she did when she saved Mary Joe Fernandez's Fed Cup coaching credibility a few months ago.
ZOMBIE QUEEN: Dinara Safina/RUS. Naturally, the Russian Cat showed she had more lives in reserve when she escaped Mauresmo in the Round of 16, then advanced to her first Wimbledon semi. Of course, her grass-hating big brother reached the same round at SW19 a year ago, but it didn't change his opinion of the lawns (he lost in the 1st Round this year in what he says was his final appearance at the All-England Club).
COMEBACK: Ana Ivanovic/SRB. Of course, we won't know if her "recuperative" Round of 16 run really meant anything until the end of this summer.

TOO BAD: Vera Zvonareva, finally making her return from torn ankle ligaments in Charleston several months ago, had to give Virginia Razzano a walkover victory in the 3rd Round when her injury flaired up.
TOO GOOD: Venus Williams, on Day 7. She eliminated AnaIvo 6-1/0-1 in singles early in the day, then she and Serena took out former Wimbledon Doubles champs Yan & Zheng 6-0/6-0 later.
TOO LITTLE: Caroline Wozniacki lost in the 4th Round to nemesis Lisicki, who also wiped her out in the Charleston final, and is still in search of her first slam QF result. She and Anabel Medina-Garrigues are the only players currently in the Top 20 who've never done it.
TOO MUCH... and that's a good thing: Victoria Azarenka made quite a few points here at Backspin HQ by hitting back at the Anti-Grunting Brigade. I knew she was probably just having a bad few days in Paris, and I'd likely forgive her quite quickly. All is well again with the A-Train.

Now, who does Richard Williams think is going to win this title anyway?

=DAY 8 NOTES=
...only one of today's women's quarterfinals was much of a contest, and even it wasn't a great match in the end.

Venus easily blasted through A-Rad 6-1/6-2 (she actually had a point for a bagel opening set twenty-two minutes into the match). Dementieva did the same against Schiavone, 6-2/6-2, and even Serena was simply too much for Azarenka (who at least kept her head about her, only slamming down her racket a few times after immediately giving back the one break she'd grabbed in the match at 3-2 in the 2nd set). Williams had a 13-to-1 winners/unforced errors ratio in the 1st set of the 6-2/6-3 win, and when she served for the match with new balls you almost had to feel sorry for the Belarusan.

The only match that went three sets was the one between Dinara Safina and Sabine Lisicki. The German took the 1st set 7-6, then the Russian managed to win a close 2nd set despite having issues with her serve. In the 3rd, for a while, it looked like neither player wanted to win the match (neither could hold serve in the opening stages of the set). But, just as was the case against Mauresmo yesterday, Safina was bailed out of a potential jam when her opponent seemed less ready to take the match than she was. After having twelve aces in the first two sets, Lisicki has none in the 3rd and then couldn't hold her serve down 1-5 to at least force Safina to have to hold her nerves and serve out the match. In the end, Safina had ZERO aces and FIFTEEN double-faults, but still managed to take the match 6-7/6-4/6-1.

It's hard to beleive she'll get such assistance against Venus in the SF. And Dementieva, after getting to the final four without facing a single seeded player (quite amazing in the era of 32 seeded players at a slam), might be in for a very rude awakening when she gets Serena next.

At this point, as has been the case from Day 1, everything on the women's side of the draw seems to just be a prelude to the final matchup that was one of the most predictable ones in a slam since the days when Evert and Navratilova were winning nearly every slam, or Graf and Seles were reaching so many finals in the early 1990's... or, really, maybe it'd be more appropriate to say it's similar to when the Williams Sisters were battling so often at the start of this decade.

...a few years ago, the ATP used the slogan "New Balls" to promote the tour. At this Wimbledon, the WTA could almost use the phrase "Old Balls" to describe the semis, what with both Williams Sisters and Dementieva, three of the more veteran players in the draw when things began, still alive. For that matter, the men's QF have a very familiar, "old school" look, as well, with mainstay Federer joined by the likes of Hewitt, Roddick, Ferrero, Haas and even Karlovic (he's 30-years old, in spite of this really being his first great Wimbledon run after years of wowing everyone with his serve and then losing earlier than expected).

Additionally, the top four seeds have advanced to the women's singles SF. It's only the seventh time since 1989 that it's happened, and five of those times were at Wimbledon. Grass just seems to have a way of eradicating Cinderella's dreams, I guess. Here are the occurrences during the span:

*TOP 4 SEEDS TO SLAM SF - 1989-09*
1992 Roland Garros (Seles-Graf-Sabatini-Sanchez Vicario)
1992 Wimbledon (Seles-Graf-Sabatini-Navratilova)
1993 Australian (Seles-Graf-Sabatini-Sanchez Vicario)
1995 Wimbledon (Graf-Sanchez Vicario-Martinez-Novotna)
2003 Wimbledon (S.Williams-Clijsters-Henin Hardenne-V.Williams)
2006 Wimbledon (Mauresmo-Clijsters-Henin Hardenne-Sharapova)
2009 Wimbledon (Safina-S.Williams-V.Williams-Dementieva)

...the 2nd Round junior match that I mentioned the other day came off on Day 8, and Dutch girl Richel Hogenkamp DID continue her recent run by knocking off #3-seed Ana Bogdan 3-6/6-1/6-4. Meanwhile, unseeded Akiko Omae of Japan upst Roland Garros Girls finalist #15-seed Daria Gavrilova.

...and, finally, East Coast viewers lucked out today since the order of the Wimbledon schedule allowed the Venus/A-Rad match to be shown live on ESPN, along with the last half of the Safina/Lisicki match (though not a lick of the first set and a half, since it was apparently decided that it was more important to air every point of Williams' thrashing of Radwanska). The end of Safina/Lisicki was also simultaneously shown on NBC, followed by live coverage Serena/Azarenka on the peacock network. But I suspect, what with NBC's 10am-in-all-time-zones coverage, the rest of the country got royally screwed today since even the net's LIVE coverage wasn't live there. Then, when ESPN returned to air at 1pm Eastern, when NBC was still on air in some portions of the U.S., it had to wait even more hours before showing a replay of the Serena/Azarenka contest despite having promoted last night that it'd be shown at 1pm.

Thus, I didn't really have major complaints today, but I'm sure many others did.

*LADIES' SINGLES SF*
#1 Dinara Safina/RUS vs. #3 Venus Williams/USA
#4 Elena Dementieva/RUS vs. #2 Serena Williams/USA

*GENTLEMEN'S SINGLES QF*
Lleyton Hewitt/AUS vs. #6 Andy Roddick/USA
#3 Andy Murray/GBR vs. Juan Carlos Ferrero/ESP
#24 Tommy Haas/GER vs. #4 Novak Djokovic/SRB
#22 Ivo Karlovic/CRO vs. #2 Roger Federer

*LADIES' DOUBLES QF*
#1 Black/Huber (ZIM/USA) vs. #11 Llagostera-Vives/Martinez-Sanchez (ESP/ESP)
#4 Williams/Williams (USA/USA) vs. #12 Groenefeld/King (GER/USA)
Barrois/Garbin (GER/ITA) vs. #3 Stosur/Stubbs (AUS/AUS)
Kleybanova/Makarova (RUS/RUS) vs. #2 Medina-Garrigues/Ruano-Pascual (ESP/ESP)

*GENTLEMEN'S DOUBLES QF*
#1 Bryan/Bryan (USA/USA) def. #5 Soares/Ullyett (BRA/ZIM)
#4 Bhupathi/Knowles (IND/BAH) vs. #9 Moodie/Norman (RSA/BEL)
Aspelin/Hanley (SWE/AUS) vs. Blake/Fish (USA/USA)
#2 Nestor/Zimonjic (CAN/SRB) def. #8 Kubot/Marach (POL/AUT)

*MIXED DOUBLES QF*
#1 Black/Paes (ZIM/IND) vs. #11 Sugiyama/Sa (JPN/BRA)
xx vs. #12 Ruano-Pascual/Huss (ESP/AUS)
xx vs. #15 Benesova/Dlouhy (CZE/CZE)
xx vs. #2 B.Bryan/Stosur (USA/AUS)

*2009 WOMEN'S SLAM SF - BY NATION*
7...Russia
3...United States
1...Australia
1...Slovak Republic

*2009 WTA SF - BY NATION*
31...Russia (W: 2)
12...France
11...United States (W: 2)

*2009 WTA SF*
8...DINARA SAFINA (6-1)
7...ELENA DEMENTIEVA (2-3 +W)
6...SERENA WILLIAMS (2-2 +L)
5...Caroline Wozniacki (5-0)
5...VENUS WILLIAMS (2-2)

*CAREER SLAM SF - '09 WIMBLEDON SEMIFINALISTS*
18...Venus Williams (13-4)
16...Serena Williams (13-2)
8...Elena Dementieva (2-5)
5...Dinara Safina (3-1)

*SLAM "MS. OPPORTUNITY" WINNERS*
[Wimbledon]
2004 Maria Sharapova, RUS
2005 Venus Williams, USA
2006 Severine Bremond, FRA
2007 Marion Bartoli, FRA
2008 Zheng Jie, CHN
2009 Elena Dementieva, RUS
[2009]
AO: Vera Zvonareva, RUS
RG: Samantha Stosur, AUS
WI: Elena Dementieva, RUS

*SLAM "IT/IT GIRL" WINNERS*
[Wimbledon]
2006 Li Na, CHN
2007 Ana Ivanovic, SRB
2008 Agnieszka Radwanska, POL
2009 Sabine Lisicki, GER
[2009]
AO: Carla Suarez-Navarro, ESP
RG: Dominika Cibulkova, SVK
WI: Sabine Lisicki, GER

*SLAM "COMEBACK" WINNERS*
=2007=
AO: Serena Williams, USA
RG: Patty Schnyder, SUI
WI: Venus Williams, USA
US: Vera Zvonareva, RUS
=2008=
AO: Yan Zi/Zheng Jie, CHN
RG: Elena Dementieva, RUS
WI: Tamarine Tanasugarn, THA
US: Anna-Lena Groenefeld, GER
=2009=
AO: Jelena Dokic, AUS
RG: Maria Sharapova, RUS
WI: Ana Ivanovic, SRB

All for Day 8. More tomorrow.

Monday, June 29, 2009

W.7- The New Deal

As noted earlier, after a Sunday of rest and the busiest Monday on the grand slam calendar, everything changes. Well, at least a LITTLE.

Well, not really THAT much, now that I think about it. Here are the women's final eight, a some quick thoughts and a prediction for each quarterfinal matchup:

#1 Dinara Safina/RUS vs. Sabine Lisicki/GER: Safina was lucky enough to have an opponent in Amelie Mauresmo today who steadfastly refused to take advantage of the opportunities she carved out for herself. The Russian is now one win away from reaching the SF at a fourth straight slam, and five of the last six. She's gotten this far without having any pressure on herself to succeed on grass, but now that changes since she's THIS CLOSE to reaching a third slam final in '09. While she's picking up confidence with each win at SW19, it's hard to get past the thought that if she has a bad stretch against Lisicki she might not be able to get past it now that the stakes are higher. We'll soon see if she learned anything from her Paris collapse, not to mention the one in Melbourne and Paris again before that. Lisicki, who took out Caroline Wozniacki today (boy, it'd been nice to see some of that one... thanks, ESPN), has never been this far in a slam, but she handled pressure well in Charleston and is really the dark horse to break through and reach the final in the top half. PREDICTION: LISICKI IN THREE SETS

#3 Venus Williams/USA vs. #11 Agnieszka Radwanska/POL: Venus played a singles and doubles match today... and lost two games. Ana Ivanovic injured her thigh and retired down 1-6/1-0, then the all-Sisters doubles team double-bageled Zheng Jie & Zi Yan, ending a particularly disappointing SW19 for '08 singles semfinalist Zheng. Williams' Wimbledon streaks now stand at eighteen matches and thirty sets, and Agnieszka Radwanska might be in for a heap of trouble tomorrow. A-Rad, in her second straight Wimbledon QF, DID manage to break out of her "you-lose-it" pattern that always makes me question her ability to go deep into a draw, though. Instead, against Melanie Oudin today, she pressed the issue a bit and showed why she so often wins on her smarts and puckishness (remember her dancing around at the service box during that defeat of Sharapova at the U.S. Open a while back?). THAT was the Radwanska that climbed into the Top 10 and I noted always seemed to get better every time I saw her about a year ago. I thought THAT A-Rad was in hibernation, but there she was today. Only because of that, I guess A-Rad could push this one to three sets if Venus' forehand starts to fail her, but there's been NO evidence of that happening at SW19 so far this year. Radwanska's soft serves just seem like they'll provide target practice for Williams. PREDICTION: WILLIAMS IN TWO SETS

#4 Elena Dementieva/RUS vs. Francesca Schiavone/ITA: Does this one really matter in the long run (you know, like two days after this match is over)? Won't the winner simply lose the SF to the winner of Williams/Azarenka? Probably. Schiavone is a true surprise, but her '09 grass season (she was two matches in Birmingham and reached the Netherlands SF) means this result isn't as much of a fluke as it might appear, even if her last slam QF WAS almost six years ago. Meanwhile, Dementieva has continued her pattern of getting a good result right when everyone starts to discount her. She has yet to lose a set. Of course, since that pre-tournament scenario in which I noted that Punch-Sober might be able to reach the semis without facing a seed has actually played out to the letter, I'm not sure how much that stat really means. Still, it's hard to argue with a player who is one win away from reaching her fourth SF in the last five slams after having reached four in her previous THIRTY-EIGHT slams. She's doing something right, and I think she will again here. PREDICTION: DEMENTIEVA IN TWO SETS

#2 Serena Williams/USA vs. #8 Victoria Azarenka/BLR: Serena has a shot to reach the final in a fourth of the last five slams. The Dementieva/Schiavone winner should only be a minor obstacle, so Azarenka is all that's left in her way before that expected rematch with Venus. Somehow, though, even with so much anticipation for this third big-time meeting between these two this season, I don't think this is going to be much of a match. If Azarenka, who took a tumble to the grass late in her match today (she didn't seem to injury herself badly, though she appeared to possibly hyperextend her knee), has a hard time getting past Nadia Petrova -- having to win a set in a tie-break and going three -- then it's hard to imagine the two-time slam quarterfinalist challenging an in-form Serena at the All-England Club. Still, I must say, after turning on Azarenka in Paris after her antics against Suarez-Navarro in their hotly-contested match, I'm right back on board the A-Train after her frisky responses over the past week to those media members and fans who attempted to chide her for her in-point grunting. Even though I can easily gravitate to a please-the-crowder like Wozniacki, as I showed with La Petit Taureau, I'm often a bigger sucker for a player who's not afraid to ruffle a few feathers when it comes to people who complain because they like to hear themselves talk. PREDICTION: WILLIAMS IN TWO SETS

Of course, ANYTHING could happen, right? (All right, butt "technically" covered.)

=DAY 7 NOTES=
...while the Safina/Mauresmo match was the first official match played under the Centre Court roof, the one between Andy Murray and Stanislas Wawrinka, which played out while the sun shined outside (the roof remained closed) AND after nighttime darkness had swallowed up the grounds, was the first FULL match to be played indoors.

Murray won in a four-hour five-setter after being pushed once again. Truthfully, one wonders how many more times he can keep that up if he intends to have a shot to reach and/or win the final and erase that "no British man since Fred Perry in 1936" business.

The match ended at around 10:40pm London time. Ah, nothing beats nighttime tennis. Not in New York. Not in Melbourne. And, now, not at SW19, either.

...a few additional comments about a few of today's women's matches:

--Oudin's inexperience finally did her in against A-Rad. She was up a break in both the 1st and 2nd sets, but lost the advantage both times. She held game point for 5-5 in the 1st, but was ultimately broken after some ill-timed errors, and served for a tie-break at 5-6 in the 2nd, only to be broken again to end the match. Still, she learned a great deal at this Wimbledon.

--of course, the same can't be said for Mauresmo. The draw opened up big-time for the '06 champ to put forth one more (final?) run for a Wimbledon SF-or-better. She had her chances against Safina today. She erased a break disadvantage in the 1st set to take it 6-4, but couldn't hold her own advantages the rest of the match. She was up a set and a break in the 2nd, but failed to secure the set (the roof was closed with the Russian up 4-1). In the 3rd, she led 3-0 but lost six of the final seven games of the match. The Williams Sisters were always going to be a tough nut for Mauresmo to crack at this tournament, but she could have and probably should have handled Safina. Turning 30 on the final day of this Wimbledon, she probably won't get an opportunity like this again.

--yet another grand slam ended with tears fallling down AnaIvo's cheeks, but at least this exit was the result of something beyond her control. A 6-1/6-1 loss to Venus might have hurt her psyche more than her thigh hurts after injuring it today. Thank the tennis Gods for small favors?

...AWARDS UPDATES: filling the role for the third time in a little over a year, Safina wins the "Zombie Queen" title for her comeback-X-two today against Mauresmo. "Ms. Opportunity" will be given to the winner of the Dementieva/Schiavone quarterfinal match. Lisicki will win the "It Girl" award, unless Azarenka upsets Serena and keeps the title in play going into the semis.

...ITF/JUNIOR UPDATE: While all the attention of the tennis world is focused on London, there ARE matches going on elsewhere. One ITF title-winner of note from this past weekend was Ukraine's Julia Vakulenko, as the tour's hard-luck woman won a $25K clay event in Perigueux, France. Another was 17-year old American Jacqueline Cako, who won a $10K in Wichita, Kansas.

Meanwhile, at the Grade 1 junior grass event at Roehampton, France's Kristina Mladenovic, the junior #1 and top seed in the Wimbledon Girls, won the title with wins over Brit Heather Watson (QF), Noppawan Lertcheewakarn (SF) and Olivia Rogowska (Final). The Boys title was won by the NCAA champ, American Devin Britton.

...congratulations to Lindsay Davenport on the birth of her daughter, Lauren. Soon, Jagger will have a playmate.

...a Wimbledon official has apparently admitted to scheduling matches featuring the likes of Gisela Dulko, Maria Kirilenko and Sorana Cirstea on bigger courts over players such as Safina, Serena and Svetlana Kuznetsova because of their looks. I think we all sort of knew that such things went on, but it's amazing that someone woulld actually ADMIT it.

...unfortunately, I didn't realize the other day that NBC will be "broadcasting" Wimbledon every day this week, so ESPN's coverage can be screwed ALL THE WAY to the semifinals. It's already started, too.

1) ESPN's announcers couldn't reveal the result of the Venus/Ivanovic match during the 7am to 1pm coverage (leading to Dick Enberg talking about Williams having won 29 straight sets at Wimbledon "going into her match" today, well after the match had already been completed). Although, the network pulled a "screw you, NBC" again by allowing the final score to be run in the sports score ticker at the bottom of the screen on ESPN2 while other matches were being aired. Where there's a will, there's a way. Still, if Williams had been the one who'd retired, this would have meant the biggest story of the tournament so far would have taken place off air without the network televising the event as it happened being able to discuss the draw-changing result during a six-hour telecast.

2) And how pathetic it was to hear Chris Fowler have to say that NBC "graciously allowed" ESPN to show the final points of the Roger Federer/Robin Soderling 3rd set tie-break that were taking place just after 10am East Coast time (a few minutes into the start of NBC's coverage), even though the network had been televising the match from the start. Isn't the deal usually that the televising network gets to show the conclusion of a match that it began showing, even if it happens to overlap into another net's coverage window? What sort of deal did ESPN sign in order to cover Wimbledon anyway? Does Chris Fowler have to turn over his next born child to Jeff Zucker, too? Does Brad Gilbert have to shine the floor after Conan O'Brien finishes "The Tonight Show?" Does Pam Shriver have to hit the "applause" bottom during the first week of "The Jay Leno Show"? Does Mary Carillo have to knock some sense into Ann Curry (though that could be a life-long job)? Does Mary Joe Fernandez have to gain seventy pounds so that she can go on next season's "The Biggest Loser"? All right, I'm out of 'em.

3) Naturally, NBC chose that moment to actually break away from its longtime policy of not showing any sporting event until it knows precisely down to the milisecond when it will end and televise LIVE tennis, showing the final points of Federer's victory.

It was going to be the ONLY live tennis NBC showed during its three hours of coverage. But then it started to rain (well, a LITTLE), and the Centre Court roof was closed. Someone at NBC decided to cut into the regular taped coverage to show the historic moment, then the conclusion of the 2nd set of the Safina/Mauresmo match and the start of the 3rd until 1pm came around. Of course,, no one on NBC bothered to answer the question of why the Safina/Mauresmo match wasn't being televised live at the time anyway, and it wasn't until play actually began after the roof opening delay that the SCORE of the Safina/Mauresmo match was even mentioned at all.

This just in: NBC just started running ads for its Winter Olympics 2010 coverage for next February. Ooh, I can't wait.

THIS JUST IN: not surprisingly, NBC is embargoing the Williams/Azarenka match tomorrow.

...and, finally, be on the lookout this week for the latest versions of "Backspin Time Capsule" (Novotna's collapse in the '93 Wimbledon final)and "Decade's Best" for Wimbledon 2000-09, which will also include the cutdown of the "Players of the Decade" list to the official finalists which will be counted down every week to #1 starting after the U.S. Open.

*LADIES' SINGLES QF*
#1 Dinara Safina/RUS vs. Sabine Lisicki/GER
#3 Venus Williams/USA vs. #11 Agnieszka Radwanska/POL
Francesca Schiavone/ITA vs. #4 Elena Dementieva/RUS
#8 Victoria Azarenka/BLR vs. #2 Serena Williams/USA

*GENTLEMEN'S SINGLES QF*
Lleyton Hewitt/AUS vs. #6 Andy Roddick/USA
#3 Andy Murray/GBR vs. Juan Carlos Ferrero/ESP
#24 Tommy Haas/GER vs. #4 Novak Djokovic/SRB
#22 Ivo Karlovic/CRO vs. #2 Roger Federer

*LADIES' DOUBLES QF*
#1 Black/Huber (ZIM/USA) vs. #11 Llagostera-Vives/Martinez-Sanchez (ESP/ESP)
#4 Williams/Williams (USA/USA) vs. #12 Groenefeld/King (GER/USA)
Barrois/Garbin (GER/ITA) vs. #3 Stosur/Stubbs (AUS/AUS)
Kleybanova/Makarova (RUS/RUS) vs. #2 Medina-Garrigues/Ruano-Pascual (ESP/ESP)

*GENTLEMEN'S DOUBLES QF*
#1 Bryan/Bryan (USA/USA) vs. #5 Soares/Ullyett (BRA/ZIM)
#4 Bhupathi/Knowles (IND/BAH) vs. #9 Moodie/Norman (RSA/BEL)
xx vs. Blake/Fish (USA/USA)
#8 Kubot/Marach (POL/AUT) vs. #2 Nestor/Zimonjic (CAN/SRB)

*2009 WOMEN'S SLAM QF - BY NATION*
[3 slams/24 berths]
9...Russia (Wimb.'09: 2-Dementieva/Safina)
4...United States (2-Williams/Williams)
2...Australia
2...Belarus (1-Azarenka)
1...France
1...Germany (1-Lisicki)
1...Italy (1-Schiavone)
1...Poland (1-Radwanska)
1...Romania
1...Slovak Republic
1...Spain

*2008 WIMBLEDON QF/2009 RESULTS*
Elena Dementieva (to QF)
Nadia Petrova (out 4th Rd.)
Agnieszka Radwanska (to QF)
Tamarine Tanasugarn (out 1st Rd.)
Nicole Vaidisova (out 1st Rd.)
Serena Williams (to QF)
Venus Williams (to QF)
Zheng Jie (out 2nd Rd.)

*SLAM "ZOMBIE QUEENS"*
=2007=
WI: Venus Williams, USA
=2008=
AO: Jelena Jankovic, SRB
RG: Dinara Safina, RUS
WI: Nicole Vaidisova, CZE
US: Jelena Jankovic, SRB
=2009=
AO: Dinara Safina, RUS
RG: Victoria Azarenka, BLR
WI: Dinara Safina, RUS

TOP QUALIFIER: #1q Victoriya Kutuzova/UKR
TOP EARLY ROUND (1r-2r): #3 Venus Williams/USA
TOP MIDDLE-ROUND (3r-QF): xxx
TOP LATE ROUND (SF-F): xxx
TOP QUALIFYING MATCH: Q1: Vesna Manasieva/RUS d. Noppawan Lertcheewakarn/THA 6-7/6-4/6-1
TOP EARLY RD. MATCH (1r-2r): 1st Rd. - Ana Ivanovic/SRB d. Lucie Hradecka/CZE 5-7/6-2/8-6 (saved 2 MP)
TOP MIDDLE-RD. MATCH (3r-QF): xxx
TOP LATE RD. MATCH (SF-F): xxx
=============================
FIRST SEED OUT: #23 Aleksandra Wozniak/CAN (1st Rd.-Schiavone/ITA)
UPSET QUEENS: The Germans
REVELATION LADIES: The Italian vets
LAST QUALIFIER STANDING: Melanie Oudin/USA (4th Rd.)
IT GIRL: xxx
MS. OPPORTUNITY: xxx
COMEBACK PLAYER: xxx
CRASH & BURN: Maria Sharapova/RUS - lost to Gisela Dulko/ARG in 2nd Rd.
ZOMBIE QUEEN: Dinara Safina/RUS - down set and a break, then 3-0 in 3rd to Amelie Mauresmo/FRA, advances to first Wimbledo QF
LAST BRIT STANDING: Elena Baltacha/GBR (2nd Rd.)
DOUBLES STAR xxx
JUNIOR BREAKOUT: xxx

All for Day 7. More tomorrow.

Saturday, June 27, 2009

W.6- Blade Runners, Pt.II

So, can anyone prevent Venus from reaching the final?

That's surely the prevailing -- and ONLY, really -- question with eight women now remaining in the top half of the Ladies' singles draw. With each round, the few players around who might be able to challenge Williams on a day when they play great and she plays poorly has shrunk just a little bit more. As of right now, I'd say there's really only one player left who might have an inkling of a shot. If you were to stretch, there might be THREE... but the draw says Venus could only possibly face one of them.

Here, in order, is how I'd rank the chances of the Bottom 8 to reach the final (not necessarily by their simple ability, but according to how the draw has panned out for them):

1. #3 Venus Williams/USA: From the start, the berth in the final has been her's to win or lose. The only player with a real shot to beat her would seem to be Mauresmo, on a good day for her and a semi-off one for Venus. Often, Williams takes a while to get into her groove at SW19, usually escaping an early-round upset bid. Right now, she's on a 17-match, 29-set winning streak there and seems to be grasping her career destiny at the All-England Club with both arms (and maybe both legs, too). If she keeps playing as she has this past week, the only other person who could beat Williams lives in the same house as her and shares her last name. Nothing against the rest of the players in this draw, but it would be an incredible gift to the sport if the Sisters could continue to play at their current level and meet in the final. It might actually produce the women's tennis equivalent of the Federer/Nadal final from last year.

2. #17 Amelie Mauresmo/FRA: The '06 champion's game is better suited to grass than any other surface, and that means her only legit chance to win a third career slam is at SW19. But probably not this one, not with BOTH Venus and Serena looking so good. While she has the best shot to defeat Venus -- that is, if Williams EVER has a slightly bad day at this tournament -- compared to the other six women in the top half, it's hard to imagine she will. She seems to be rounding into better form with each round, though. If she gets a shot at Venus in the semis, it'll mean Mauresmo has gotten past Dinara Safina and a potential headache of an opponent in either Caroline Wozniacki or Sabine Lisicki and has continued her improvement. At that point, a shot is all she could ever ask for.

3t. #9 Caroline Wozniacki/DEN & Sabine Lisicki/GER: Their 4th Round clash should be a great match. Both are wild fun to watch and pull for. While Wozniacki is a past Wimbledon junior champ and won a grass title a week ago, Lisicki said today that she'd never won a match on grass before this tournament. Considering C-Woz's tendency to get involved in long matches, even while she's breezed past opponents the last two rounds, this could be a real humdinger... and a long one, too. The winner, if they're not tired out, would have a good shot to knock off Mauresmo in a QF, and would be the likely pick to take out Safina if she's there.

5. #1 Dinara Safina/RUS: So far, so good. The lack of attention is just what she needed after her Paris debacle in the final. In the 4th Round, though, Mauresmo provides a huge obstacle. The Pastry goes in knowing her best surface is grass, while Safina believes in her heart that it's her worst. That sort of equation wouldn't seem to work too much in the Russian's favor. But if Amelie lets HER nerves get the best of her, Safina's whole mindset might change. That's the only reason she's as high as #5 on this list.

6. #13 Ana Ivanovic/SRB: Is she back or not? At the very least, AnaIvo didn't duck-and-cover and exit this tournament the first chance she had. And that's SOMETHING. After merely surviving in the 1st Round against Lucie Hradecka, she's gotten better each time out. Venus will probably take care of that possible surge in confidence in the 4th Round, though.

7. Melanie Oudin/USA: She can't believe she's still around. Obviously, it'd be a stunner of epic proportions if the American reached the final, but she surely CAN go further in this draw. Agnieszka Radwanska doesn't provide enough power for Oudin to be run off the court in their 4th Round meeting. If Oudin can just keep her head and not fall into the A-Rad you-make-the-mistake-and-I'll-just-watch-and-win trap, she's going to be in the QF facing Venus Williams. Now THAT would be a different kettle of fish, but no matter what happens next the last week has been the best of Oudin's career and might have changed it forever.

8. Agnieszka Radwanska/POL: She depends on her opponent to make the costly mistake. That gets a player only so far in a slam and the rankings. While her game is somewhat reminiscent of former #1 Martina Hingis', the Swiss Miss was a better athlete and big point player in her prime. In her favor, though, the Pole seems to be in good control of her emotions, the opposite of which was ultimately Hingis' undoing once she started to lose to power players in the late 1990's... so A-Rad can stick around long enough in a match with anyone to win it if she gets a few breaks. Radwanska is interesting to watch, not to mention a real head-thumper for an inconsistent opponent, but there's no way she's not going to run into SOMEONE who has enough shots to keep her from reaching a slam final in London.

Now, after a day of rest, everything can change.

=DAY 6 NOTES=
...in the conclusion of what was probably the best match of the tournament so far, Tommy Haas came back from being match point down twice yesterday (after losing a two sets to none lead, and holding two match points of his own on Day 5) to defeat Marin Cilic. Tied 6-6 in the 5th set going into today, Haas ended up winning the deciding set 10-8.

...hey, hey. The roof was finally closed today, but it was at the end of the day's Centre Court play.

...after Daniela Hantuchova eliminated doubles partner Ai Sugiyama is singles one day ago, on Day 6 the pair lost as a team to Alisa Kleybanova and Ekaterina Makarova.

...a quick rundown of today's 3rd Round women's results:

--American Melanie Oudin knocked out #6 seed Jelena Jankovic 6-7/7-5/6-2, rebounding from the disappointment of failing to convert three set points in the 1st. Showing herself to still be the fighter who saved the U.S.'s bacon in Fed Cup play earlier this season, Marietta, Georgia's own Oudin thus becomes the Last Qualifier Standing. While JJ won the opening set tie-break, she sure didn't look like she was playing to win it, just not to lose. It worked, but that's not how she reached the U.S. Open final last year and solidified her former #1 ranking during the closing weeks of the '08 season. THIS Jelena is but a shell of the player from last year, and it's no longer just because of her trip to Mexico, either. It goes deeper than that, and if she doesn't turn things around in her head soon it'll be AnaIvo who is the highest-ranked Serb at the end of the season. In this one, she complained of dizziness and said after the match she thought she might need to be taken away by an ambulance (now that would have been a sight). Hmmm, last year she talked about helicopters at SW19, and this year an ambulance. What is it about alternate forms of transportation, Queen Chaos and the All-England Club, anyway?

--Ana Ivanovic had a much easier time than expected with Samantha Stosur, and appears to have handled this year's early-round escape much better than she did last year's. Unfortunately for her, she faces Venus next. Williams bageled CSN in the 1st set and extended her Wimbledon streaks to 17 matches and 29 sets.

--Caroline Wozniacki ended Anabel Medina-Garrigues' tournament, two rounds before the QF (naturally).

--Agnieszka Radwanska failed to convert two match points against Li Na when serving at 6-4/5-4, but won the match two games later despite being outnumbered by Li in total winners by a six-to-one margin (35-6)... thanks largely to Li's additional forty-eight errors.

--Svetlana Kuznetsova, ending this post-Roland Garros Wimbledon not that differently from how Ivanovic did last year, was bounced by Sabine Lisicki without too much of a fight.

--Amelie Mauresmo double-faulted on a match point against Flavia Pennetta, but advanced in straight sets. She'll face #1-seed Dinara Safina, who continued to move through the draw under the radar since her Wimbledon expectations are so low. If she wins the next match, though, that could change.

...the junior draws have been announced, and play has begun...

*GIRLS TOP 10 SEEDS*
1. Kristina Mladenovic, FRA
2. Laura Robson, GBR
3. Ana Bogdan, ROU
4. Noppawan Lertcheewakarn, THA
5. Olivia Rogowska, AUS
6. Timea Babos, HUN
7. Sloane Stephens, USA
8. Ajla Tomljanovic, CRO
9. Christina McHale, USA (lost 1st Rd.)
10. Camila Silva, CHI
*BOYS TOP 10 SEEDS*
1. Daniel Berta, SWE
2. Huang Liang-Chi, TPE (lost 1st Rd.)
3. Bernard Tomic, AUS
4. Agustin Velotti, ARG
5. Andrea Collarini, ARG (lost 1st Rd.)
6. Gianna Mina, FRA
7. Shuichi Sekiguchi, JPN
8. Julen Uriguen, GUA (lost 1st Rd.)
9. Dominik Schulz, GER
10. Julien Obry, FRA

...interestingly, there's a good chance that #3-seed Ana Bogdan might meet unseeded Richel Hogenkamp in the 2nd Round (Hogenkamp, fresh off her recent junior title and ITF $10K challenger win, has already won her 1st Round match)

...and, finally, the silent hand of NBC reared its ugly head today on ESPN... but not nearly as thunderously as it might have. From how it appeared, with NBC's coverage not beginning until 3pm, the network must have had the option to embargo either the Roddick/Melzer or Murray/Troicki match today. It was said earlier in ESPN's coverage, which began at 8am rather than 7am as it had all week (who knows why), that the Murray match was the one embargoed, but it was the Roddick match that ended up not being shown or the result given (while the Murray match was aired live later on ESPN).

Possibly jumping through a loophole, though, ESPN DID show the Roddick post-match press conference where it became quickly obvious that he'd won the match, though the announcers didn't actually say it at the time. Take that, NBC.

Thankfully, there's no Sunday coverage, so NBC's damage to ESPN's production (which really can't stand outside sabotage, considering the internal problems it already has) will be kept to a minimum this weekend. Of course, had the rains come today during the Roddick match and the roof had to be closed, American TV viewers wouldn't even have been able to see the first match played under the roof live... even though it would have included an American player! For the life of me, I still can't quite figure out a television contract that allows a network that hasn't aired a second of coverage to direct that of another, especially on the Orwellian level such as the one with NBC/ESPN where the cable network seems to not even be able to actually SAY the result of a match, such as Darren Cahill saying "if form holds, Tomas Berdych would face Andy Roddick next" well after Roddick had already won his match (which is why the airing of the presser was so potentially sly and smart). I don't remember a similar set-up at the U.S. Open between USA Network and CBS in the past, but then again, CBS doesn't believe that events haven't happened yet just because its coverage window is still six hours away.

Since the rain held off, what was prevented was yet another embarrassment on the heels of ESPN not being able to air the Nadal loss at Roland Garros because NBC wouldn't allow it, and the horrific coverage of that Federer near-loss during the second week in Paris. Of course, there's always the possibly of tape-delayed coverage of the semifinals next week for NBC to screw up on two separate networks thanks to sports television's most insane set of "rules," isn't there?

*FINAL 16's - BY NATION*
[women/men]
5...Russia (4/1)
4...United States (3/1)
3...France (2/1)
2...Czech Republic (0/2)
2...Germany (1/1)
2...Serbia (1/1)
2...Spain (0/2)
2...Switzerland (0/2)
1...Australia (0/1)
1...Belarus (1/0)
1...Croatia (0/1)
1...Denmark (1/0)
1...Great Britain (0/1)
1...Israel (0/1)
1...Italy (1/0)
1...Poland (1/0)
1...Slovak Republic (1/0)
1...Sweden (0/1)

*FINAL 16 WOMEN*
[ranking]
#1 Dinara Safina, RUS
#2 Serena Williams, USA
#3 Venus Williams, USA
#4 Elena Dementieva, RUS
#8 Victoria Azarenka, BLR
#9 Caroline Wozniacki, DEN
#10 Nadia Petrova, RUS
#12 Ana Ivanovic, SRB
#14 Agnieszka Radwanska, POL
#17 Amelie Mauresmo, FRA
#23 Virginie Razzano, FRA
#32 Daniela Hantuchova, SVK
#37 Elena Vesnina, RUS
#41 Sabine Lisicki, GER
#43 Francesca Schiavone, ITA
#124 Melanie Oudin, USA
[age]
17...Melanie Oudin
18...Caroline Wozniacki
19...Sabine Lisicki
19...Victoria Azarenka
20...Agnieszka Radwanska
21...Ana Ivanovic
22...Elena Vesnina
23...Dinara Safina
26...Virginie Razzano
26...Daniela Hantuchova
27...Nadia Petrova
27...Elena Dementieva
27...Serena Williams
29...Amelie Mauresmo
29...Francesca Schiavone
29...Venus Williams

*LAST QUALIFIER STANDING - BEST RESULTS, 2006-09*
=QF=
Severine Bremond ('06 Wimb.)
Carla Suarez-Navarro ('08 RG)
=4th Rd.=
Marta Domachowska ('08 AO)
Anna-Lena Groenefeld ('08 US)
Hsieh Su-Wei ('08 AO)
MELANIE OUDIN ('09 WIMB.)...vs. A.Radwanska in 4th Rd.

*SLAM "CRASH & BURNS"*
=2007=
US: Maria Sharapova (3r-A.Radwanska)
=2008=
AO: Svetlana Kuznetsova (3r-A.Radwanska)
RG: Serena Williams (3r-Srebotnik)
WI: Maria Sharapova (2r-Kudryavtseva)
US: Ana Ivanovic (2r-Coin)
=2009=
AO: Venus Williams (2r-Suarez-Navarro)
RG: Elena Dementieva (3r-Stosur)
WI: Maria Sharapova (2r-Dulko)

TOP QUALIFIER: #1q Victoriya Kutuzova/UKR
TOP EARLY ROUND (1r-2r): #3 Venus Williams/USA
TOP MIDDLE-ROUND (3r-QF): xxx
TOP LATE ROUND (SF-F): xxx
TOP QUALIFYING MATCH: Q1: Vesna Manasieva/RUS d. Noppawan Lertcheewakarn/THA 6-7/6-4/6-1
TOP EARLY RD. MATCH (1r-2r): 1st Rd. - Ana Ivanovic/SRB d. Lucie Hradecka/CZE 5-7/6-2/8-6 (saved 2 MP)
TOP MIDDLE-RD. MATCH (3r-QF): xxx
TOP LATE RD. MATCH (SF-F): xxx
=============================
FIRST SEED OUT: #23 Aleksandra Wozniak/CAN (1st Rd.-Schiavone/ITA)
UPSET QUEENS: The Germans
REVELATION LADIES: The Italian vets
LAST QUALIFIER STANDING: Melanie Oudin/USA (xx)
IT GIRL: xxx
MS. OPPORTUNITY: xxx
COMEBACK PLAYER: xxx
CRASH & BURN: Maria Sharapova/RUS - lost to Gisela Dulko/ARG in 2nd Rd.
ZOMBIE QUEEN: (Temporary: Ana Ivanovic/SRB - saved two MP vs. Lucie Hradecka/CZE in 1st Rd.)
LAST BRIT STANDING: Elena Baltacha/GBR (2nd Rd.)
DOUBLES STAR xxx
JUNIOR BREAKOUT: xxx

All for Day 6. More tomorrow.

Friday, June 26, 2009

W.5- Blade Runners, Pt.I

So, can anyone prevent Serena from reaching the final?

That's surely the prevailing -- and ONLY, really -- question with eight women now remaining in the bottom half of the Ladies' singles draw. With each round, the few players around who might be able to challenge Williams on a day when they play great and she plays poorly has shrunk just a little bit more. As of right now, I'd say there's really only one of THOSE players left. Well, actually, there's two -- but they play each other in the next round.

Here, in order, is how I'd rank the chances of the Bottom 8 to reach the final (not necessarily by their simple ability, but according to how the draw has panned out for them):

1. #2 Serena Williams/USA: From the start, the berth in the final has been her's to win or lose. The only player with a real shot to beat her would seem to be Azarenka, but that Williams lost to her in Miami and probably SHOULD have done so in Melbourne, as well, tells me that in NO WAY will she lose to the teenager in London if they meet next week.

2. #4 Elena Dementeiva/RUS: Looking at Punch-Sober's draw before the tournament, I said she had a good chance to reach the QF without facing a seed. If she defeats the unseeded Elena Vesnina in her next match, that'll happen. I also said that if things fell just right, she could even reach the SF without having a seeded player as an opponent. If she wins and Schiavone knocks off Razzano, there'd be a chance THAT could happen, too. While I couldn't bring myself to pick her to repeat her '08 SF performance here a week ago, it's almost difficult to think she WON'T now. If she doesn't reach the SF, then either Razzano, Vesnina or Schiavone will. Raise your hand if you picked any of them to have a shot to go that far... and don't be a fibber. Ah, just what I thought. Still, even as the #2 player here, I think she has ZERO shot to reach the final.

3. #26 Virginie Razzano/FRA: Hey, she can reach the SF without playing a true grass courter, and if someone could somehow upset Serena, or if Williams were to be injured, she might not even have to face her to reach a stunning slam final. That pretty much means she has as good a chance as anyone else, if not a better one than most...

4. #8 Victoria Azarenka/BLR: ...including Azarenka. With Serena's generally ticked-off attitude in recent months not helped by that loss in Miami to HER, Azarenka might find herself in the wrong place at the wrong time in the QF if she DOES defeat Petrova and faces Williams in the final eight. Even though her hard groundstrokes and fiery attitude are reminiscent of those of the Supernova who defeated Serena on Centre Court five years ago, THAT teenager was something of an unknown to Williams. The American knows just who and what Azarenka is, and would never overlook her for a second. That's bad news for the Belarusan.

5. Elena Vesnina/RUS: She's either battling a back injury, or very cagey. I think she's got a chance to upset Dementieva in the 4th Round, but then I remember her Shakespearean dramatics against Wozniacki in that match a few months ago and just can't imagine that she could hold it together long enough to reach the final even if she somehow finds herself in the semifinal.

6. Nadia Petrova/RUS: Talent-wise, I'd rank Nadia third -- at worst -- on this list when it comes to grass court ability. But even if she manages to upset Azarenka next time out, which she's got the ability to do, she'd STILL likely have to defeat Serena... and she'd need ANOTHER win more after that to reach the final. As much as I wish she was capable of doing it all, I don't think she is without throwing in a stinker performance somewhere in that mix.

7. Daniela Hantuchova/SVK: She plays Serena in the 4th Round. Hantuchova likes the grass, and anything COULD happen when they meet. (pause) Yeah, I don't really buy that one, either.

8. Francesca Schiavone/ITA: Considering how long it took the Italian vet to win a tour singles title, and that her best slam result has been a pair of QF (the last of which was six years ago), it's hard to see her surprising SW19 run lasting much longer. Plus, Round of 16 opponent Razzano didn't even have to play today, and instead got an extra day of rest.

Tomorrow: thoughts about the top half of the draw.

=DAY 5 NOTES=
...in some of the actual matches today, the "according-to-form" personality of this Wimbledon continued on many levels.

Serena Williams didn't have much difficulty with Roberta Vinci, and almost seemed bored much of the time. Victoria Azarenka won over Sorana Cirstea in straight sets on Day 5, as well. People on ESPN today, while looking forward to the potential QF meeting, were constantly bringing up the Miami final in which Azarenka defeated an injured Serena. But, really, the match that makes a QF pairing something to look forward to is the Williams/Azarenka match in Melbourne from January, where the Belarusan teenager was whacking Williams before the heat caused her to retire, then Serena went on to win the title. Hopefully, IF they meet again, BOTH will be healthy this time. Next, Serena plays Daniela Hantuchova, who defeated doubles partner Ai Sugiyama today. Williams should win, but on occasion Hantuchova flashes the talent that got her to the Top 5 a few years ago. Things COULD get interesting when they meet. (Nope, I'm still not sure I'm buying that line.)

If nothing else, at least Serena shouldn't get bored.

Elena Vesnina, possibly using the time-honored perfectly-timed visit from the trainer to her full advantage, saw her match against Dominika Cibulkova turn in her favor after she had her back treated in the 3rd set. Thus, Vesnina's careening ride through the 2009 season continues to tilt in her favor. Her next opponent will be Elena Dementieva, who so far is taking full advantage of her easy draw.

Unfortunately, the great season that Vera Zvonareva was having a few months ago once again has been stalled. After tearing ligaments in her ankle in Charleston, she'd come back this week and managed to get to the 3rd Round. But today her opponent, Virginie Razzano, advanded to the Round of 16 in a walkover because the Russian's injury was not sufficiently healed enough for her to continue in the tournament. It's too bad, but if this decision gets her on the court full-time sooner down the line this summer then I suppose it's a good thing. It's too bad, though, because that section of the draw is SO wide open. Meanwhile, the Razzano/Marion Bartoli match-up won't come off now that La Trufflette has been dispatched from singles by Francesca Schiavone.

Showing why she's always been such a frustrating presence on tour, Gisela Dulko couldn't follow up her upset of Maria Sharapova with another win. At least she lost to a capable player in Nadia Petrova, though, and not a player she was favored to defeat, as often occurs the match AFTER a large upset.

...and, finally, with so little news to talk about coming out of Wimbledon today, I thought I'd take a few moments to talk about the sudden death of Michael Jackson yesterday.

Not long after I posted yesterday's Daily Backspin, it all happened fairly quickly on Thursday, as reports about Jackson that first came at about 5:30pm Eastern time went from those of a hospitalization to a coma and, ultimately, to his death over the course of less than an hour.

I supppose it says a great deal about the direction that Jackson's life had gone over the past twenty-five years that my first reaction was that this might all be a trumped up story to delay his scheduled London concerts in July, or even cancel them altogether. When it became apparent how real the situation was, while stunned at the news, I couldn't say that I hadn't figured Jackson's life would come to some sort of abrupt end before he reached old age for quite a while now. How much of that was a case of facing reality, and seeking to distance myself from someone who'd gone from the biggest enterainment star I'll ever see in my lifetime to being the subject of constant jokes about his eccentricities and changing appearance to being reviled by many when those child molestation charges gave weight to all the raised eyebrows about his actions over the years, I don't know. What Jackson had become over the years made it so easy to lose the memory of what he'd once been. The reports of his death were somewhat surreal, but hardly flooring. I think so many people either had, or should have, prepared themselves for such a moment for a few years now, no matter what the ultimate CAUSE of his death turns out to be.

Unfortunately, now he'll surely be dragged through the tabloids again. There's already talk of prescription drugs maybe having played a role in this, and since the toxicology reports won't be known for weeks it'll lead to a whole new round of speculation on his life. Hopefully, though, in the end, he'll be remembered for his immense talent and, of course, the music. In the long run, I think he will be. The songs and video will survive. But, like Elvis Presley, there'll always be a potent mix of talent, eccentricity, scandal and tragedy that's attached to his memory. But that also means he's not going to be forgotten, and we might even see some sort of renaissance in terms of an appreciation for his career (not to mention, naturally, the inevitable movie about his life that will try to look behind the curtain of his fame, and determine whether or not it turned out to be his undoing).

His music was the theme for the first week of "American Idol" this past season, and it was nice to hear the songs on a big stage again. "Thriller" hit just before I went into junior high school, right before I became a teenager. So, obviously, I was very into his music and everything back in the mid and late-1980's. I can remember getting the VCR copy of his long-form "Thriller" video (I still have it) and watching it over and over again with my friends. One even got the "Beat It" jacket and wore it to school, as both it and the one from "Thriller" were being sold in stores at the time. I heard someone today call Jackson the "Elvis of Generation X," and I think that's right on target. Seeing such a person die serves to remind you of the passing of time, and that in and of itself makes you look at yourself and those around you in different ways than you might have before, even if only for a day or two.

Over the years, there'd always been the hope that he'd somehow resurrect something of his once brilliant career, but as time went by it seemed less and less likely. I suppose the London concerts were the last chance for that, and I wondered whether, if they were a success, he might one day have some sort of Elvis Presley-like career in Las Vegas, as there had been rumors about such a thing a year ago. Truthfully, I figured he'd do one or two London concerts, get decent reviews, but then suddenly cancel all the rest of them. Again, I guess recent years made that sort of thought natural. It would have been fascinating to see what happened. Now we'll never know.

Of course, there's a big media reaction o his death here in the U.S., but that happens when someone of far less importance in the entertainment industry and culture at large (think Anna Nicole Smith) passes, as well, so I'm not sure that means anything. I was glad to see people -- well, the REASONABLE people, at least -- focusing on his music last night and today rather than the scandals and "freakish" things, though it's difficult to separate the two when talking about his celebrity. The talent put him in the public eye, but after that it sort of eventually degenerated into a circus at times. It's not the first time it's happened, and it won't to be the last. As in tennis, sometimes the bigger they are the harder they fall in the end. Still, whenever Jackson gave a rare interview, I always watched it and came out liking him all over again, sometimes maybe even against my better judgment. You just WANTED to believe some of the things he said, even the sketchier ones, because you didn't want to see someone who was once so on top of the world become just the opposite over the course of a few years, ala say, O.J. Simpson. I never was among the group of people who'd come to view Jackson as a joke waiting for another punchline. He'd provided too much entertainment to too many for that.

Now, history will be his judge. Some will always appreciate the music and the talent. Others will focus on everything else. In the end, both will views will coexist to form the legacy of one of the most fascinating lives of the past century. But I'm sure that neither really tells the story of a life or its effect on so many others, whether it be as an inspiration to many of the artists we listen to every day in 2009 or those who will "discover" Jackson in the future, or even as a cautionary tale of what can happen to even an invididual blessed with so much talent and with seemingly so many opportunites in life.

Love him, hate him or disregard him personally, until yesterday, Jackson was quite possibly the most famous living individual on earth. And now it's over.

Nothing lasts forever. Above all else, that's probably the final lesson learned from the life and death of Michael Jackson.

TOP QUALIFIER: #1q Victoriya Kutuzova/UKR
TOP EARLY ROUND (1r-2r): #3 Venus Williams/USA
TOP MIDDLE-ROUND (3r-QF): xxx
TOP LATE ROUND (SF-F): xxx
TOP QUALIFYING MATCH: Q1: Vesna Manasieva/RUS d. Noppawan Lertcheewakarn/THA 6-7/6-4/6-1
TOP EARLY RD. MATCH (1r-2r): 1st Rd. - Ana Ivanovic/SRB d. Lucie Hradecka/CZE 5-7/6-2/8-6 (saved 2 MP)
TOP MIDDLE-RD. MATCH (3r-QF): xxx
TOP LATE RD. MATCH (SF-F): xxx
=============================
FIRST SEED OUT: #23 Aleksandra Wozniak/CAN (1st Rd.-Schiavone/ITA)
UPSET QUEENS: The Germans
REVELATION LADIES: The Italian vets
LAST QUALIFIERS STANDING: xxx
IT GIRL: xxx
MS. OPPORTUNITY: xxx
COMEBACK PLAYER: xxx
CRASH & BURN: (Temporary: Maria Sharapova/RUS - lost to Gisela Dulko/ARG in 2nd Rd.)
ZOMBIE QUEEN: (Temporary: Ana Ivanovic/SRB - saved two MP vs. Lucie Hradecka/CZE in 1st Rd.)
LAST BRIT STANDING: Elena Baltacha/GBR (2nd Rd.)
DOUBLES STAR xxx
JUNIOR BREAKOUT: xxx

All for Day 5. More tomorrow.

Thursday, June 25, 2009

W.4- Early-Round Endeavors (or should I say "endeavoUrs?"

Two rounds in, and things have (mostly) gone according to plan.

Things started on Monday with 128 women in the main draw. While there are but thirty-two remaining, ALL of the top fifteen seeded women have reached the 3rd Round, and nineteen of the top twenty.

If things continue to hold to this sort of form, is there anything that can prevent another Williams vs. Williams final?

=EARLY ROUND AWARDS - 1st/2nd Rds.=
TOP PLAYER: Venus Williams/USA
...at this point, just losing a set would be a headline-grabbing moment. (RU: Serena Williams/USA & Victoria Azarenka/BLR... heading toward a QF collision)
RISERS: Caroline Wozniacki/DEN & Sabine Lisicki/GER
...C-Woz is currently working on a seven-match winning streak. Lisicki seems to finally be over the injury bug that infested her game after she won in Charleston. (ALSO: Samantha Stosur/AUS & Virginie Razzano/FRA)
SURPRISES: Regina Kulikova/RUS & Gisela Dulko/ARG
...one of the last qualifiers standing, and one of the most talented players in women's tennis who is still capable of "surprising" everyone because she DIDN'T let a match slip away. (ALSO: Carla Suarez-Navarro/ESP & Kirsten Flipkens/BEL)
VETERANS: The Italians
...perhaps giving us a preview of their potential Fed Cup championship later this year, Pennetta, Schiavone and Vinci are all still alive at SW19. (ALSO: Elena Dementieva/RUS)
FRESH FACES Sorana Cirstea/ROU & Melanie Oudin/USA
...Paris was no fluke. Neither was the Fed Cup QF. (ALSO: Tatjana Malek/GER & Michelle Larcher de Brito/POR)
DOWN: Maria Sharapova/RUS & Zheng Jie/CHN
...the '04 champ and an '08 semifinalist. One will probably get back to her former heights (maybe by the end of the summer?), while the other will probably always be left to savor her result from a year ago. (ALSO: Aleksandra Wozniak/CAN)
COMEBACKS: Daniela Hantuchova/SVK & Ai Sugiyama/JPN
...in singles, with doubles still left to be played. (ALSO: Vera Zvonareva/RUS)

BEST ESCAPE WITH A NET: THE SEQUEL: 1st Rd. - Ivanovic d. Hradecka 5-7/6-2/8-6
....AnaIvo once again gets help from a Wimbledon net cord and advances after saving two match points. But, without the net, will she feel relief and play with renewed heart and confidence the rest of the way, or question her survival like she did after the "Kiss of Life?"
NO LONGER SUBSISTING ON PAST ACCOMPLISHMENTS: 2nd Rd. - Dulko d. Sharapova 6-2/3-6/6-4
...it's now been half a decade -- and shoulder surgery -- since the Russian went Supernova in London.
SHOWING HER TENDENCIES: 1st Rd. - Wozniacki d. Date-Krumm 5-7/6-3/6-1
...down 7-5/3-1, C-Woz finally found a back door into the match. As usual.
WHAT FOCUSING ON SINGLES CAN DO FOR A ONE-TIME DOUBLES "SPECIALIST": 2nd Rd. - Stosur d. Malek 4-6/7-6/6-4
...call it the Novotna Principle: try, try, try again and you might just win in the end. More on this one in Day 4 Notes.

FIRST VICTORY: Russia's Anastasia Pavlyuchenko was the first woman to reach the 2nd Round. She was one of the first two players to advance to the Final 64 (with Li Na) in Paris, too.
FIRST SEED OUT: #24 Aleksandra Wozniak (lost to Francesca Schiavone/ITA)
UPSET QUEENS: The Germans. Anna-Lena Groenefeld lost her 1st Round match, but Sabine Lisicki defeated Anna Chakvetadze and has reached the 3rd Round. Meanwhile, qualifier Tatjana Malek upset Jelena Dokic, and nearly took out #18 Samantha Stosur, too.
REVELATION LADIES: The veteran Italians. Francesca Schiavone knocked out the first seed en route to the 3rd Round, and her countrywomen pulled their own weight, too. Roberta Vinci got wins over Birmingham champ Magdalena Rybarikova and Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova to reach the Final 32. Tathiana Garbin got a 1st Round win, and Flavia Pennetta is still alive in the 3rd Round, as well.
ZOMBIE QUEEN (1r-2r): Ana Ivanovic, who was given a mulligan by the tennis Gods once again courtesy of a forgiving opponent and a friendly net cord. Still, one doubts that she'll be the "walking dead" for much longer. Stosur might take care of her "undead stroll" in the 3rd Round.
CRASH & BURN (1r-2r): Maria Sharapova, who went out in the 2nd Round for the second straight year. At least Dulko didn't unsuccessfully try to make a joke about Sharapova's outfit that was somewhat lost in translation by everyone in the room, though. Somewhere, Alla Kudryavtseva is smirking... and someone mistakenly thinks she's angry with them.
LAST BRIT STANDING: Elena Baltacha, who reached the 2nd Round.
LAST QUALIFIERS STANDING: Yet another Hordette, Regina Kulikova, has reached the 3rd Round along with American Melanie Oudin.

BIGGEST NON-STORY: The ability of young female athletes to kick-start the destruction of civilized (civilised?) Western society simply by making a noise when they hit a tennis ball.
BIGGEST STORY THAT AMOUNTED TO NOTHING: Jelena Dokic's return to Wimbledon. Rather than re-live her exploits as a qualifier ten years ago, she lost in the 1st Round to a qualifier.

BEST SIGN FOR BRITISH WOMEN'S TENNIS: Laura Robson, 15, was the youngest female in the main draw since Martina Hingis in 1995. And she very nearly upset Daniela Hantuchova, too.
WORST SIGN FOR BRITISH WOMEN'S TENNIS: Of the six Brits in the main draw, only Elena Baltacha won her 1st Round match, a victory that prevented a worst-ever performance by the home nation.

Meanwhile, we'll still waiting for the Centre Court roof to make its official debut. Watch, wouldn't you know it, this'll end up being one of those once-in-a-decade Wimbledons where it doesn't rain at all during the entire fortnight.

=DAY 4 NOTES=
...what a difference a year makes. Last year, Samantha Stosur blew a big lead against Nicole Vaidisova in the Wimbledon 2nd Round, losing a match after being one point from going up 3-6/6-0/4-0. Today against qualifier Tatjana Malek, who knocked off a pair of other Aussies (Anastasia Rodionova in qualifying, then Jelena Dokic in the 1st Round) earlier in the tournament, Stosur avenged her countrywomen's losses and made up for her own '08 choke three times over.

Against Malek, Stosur lost the 1st set and was down an early break in the 2nd. She battled back to force a tie-break. She fell behind there 4-0, only to climb back into the proceedings and win 8-6. In the 3rd, she was down 3-0 and 4-1, but managed to pull things together and advance to the 3rd Round, winning 4-6/7-6/6-4. Stosur's looked-forward-to grass court season got off to a slow start, but it's finally starting to come together. Next up is Ana Ivanovic and, if she wins that one, probably Venus.

...HERE SHE COMES AGAIN? Carla Suarez-Navarro's best results have come at the slams over the last two years, reaching the QF at both Roland Garros and the Australian. In the 1st Round at SW19, she upset #25-seed Kaia Kanepi the other day, and today knocked off Ekaterina Makarova to reach the 3rd Round. Could she be about to pull off a surprise run again? Well, hold your horses. She plays Venus Williams next. Of course, she DID get a win over Venus in Melbourne en route to that quarterfinal. If she did it again at the All-England Club it'd be a victory of about a million times more shock and awe. Not likely.

...speaking of Venus, she made the all-sisters meeting with Kateryna Bondarenko today a thoroughly lopsided affair. Of course, what else would be exected when she loses just six point on her serve all day and never faces a break point? This win gives her sixteen consecutive victories at Wimbledon, and twenty-seven straight sets won.

...AMG UPDATE: we know that Spanish vet Anabel Medina-Garrigues won't be reaching the QF, as she's never done that in a slam in her career and is just one WTA singles title away from joining Anna Smashnova as the only player in tour history to win ten-or-more titles without ever reaching a slam quarter, but when WILL she be leaving the Ladies' draw in this tournament? Well, she faces Caroline Wozniacki, who destroyed Maria Kirilenko 6-0/6-4 today (ESPN was busing doing other things to bother with showing even a single point of that one, by the way)... so I'm going to cross my fingers and say that AMG's estimated departure time will be in the 3rd Round.

...chalk one up for the "old" Aussie. Yet another player given a shot in the arm by the subtraction of Rafael Nadal from the Gentlemen's draw is Lleyton Hewitt. Seeing him winning his 2nd Round match against #5-seed Juan Martin del Potro wasn't a stretch (I mean, I picked it before the tournament... proving that I CAN at least get ONE prediction right for this Wimbledon), but it's hard to believe anyone -- Hewitt included -- could have in their wildest dreams thought he'd win in straight sets as he did today. Sure, something might happen that could bring down the house of cards, but, as of now, the moves that would allow a "let's get the band back together" QF meeting between Hewitt and Andy Roddick are coming off right on schedule.

...and, finally, after rightfully killing ESPN so often, I thought I'd say some nice things for a change. As seems to always be the network's pattern, four days into the tournament the coverage is doing a much better job of updating scores from around the grounds (and even showing a little action from the outer courts). Why it takes several days for these things to always happen is anyone's guess, since they'd be a much more effective component of coverage were they employed during the first couple of days. But, heh, I said I'd be nice, didn't I? So, to tip things over on the "good" side, let me just say that I absolutely love the "Big Babe Tennis Demonstration" segment with Mary Carillo, Pam Shriver and Mary Joe Fernandez. Funny, informative and all the things that ESPN's coverage should always be. Hopefully, this'll be the first of many such segments from the trio.

*FINAL 32 - BY NATION*
[women]
7...Russia (Dementieva/Kulikova/Kuznetsova/Petrova/Safina/Vesnina/Zvonareva)
3...France (Bartoli/Mauresmo/Razzano)
3...Italy (Pennetta/Schiavone/Vinci)
3...United States (Oudin/Williams/Williams)
2...Serbia (Ivanovic/Jankovic)
2...Slovak Republic (Cibulkova/Hantuchova)
2...Spain (Medina-Garrigues/Suarez-Navarro)
1...Argentina (Dulko)
1...Australia (Stosur)
1...Belarus (Azarenka)
1...Belgium (Flipkens)
1...China (Li)
1...Denmark (Wozniacki)
1...Germany (Lisicki)
1...Japan (Sugiyama)
1...Poland (A.Radwanska)
1...Romania (Cirstea)
[men]
6...Spain (Almagro/Ferrer/Ferrero/Montanes/Robredo/Verdasco)
3...Germany (Haas/Kohlschreiber/Petzschner)
3...United States (Fish/Levine/Roddick)
2...Croatia (Cilic/Karlovic)
2...Czech Republic (Berdych/Stepanek)
2...France (Simon/Tsonga)
2...Russia (Andreev/Davydenko)
2...Serbia (Djokovic/Troicki)
2...Switzerland (Federer/Wawrinka)
1...Australia (Hewitt)
1...Austria (Melzer)
1...Chile (F.Gonzalez)
1...Great Britain (Murray)
1...Israel (Sela)
1...Italy (Seppi)
1...Romania (Hanescu)
1...Sweden (Soderling)

*UNSEEDED WOMEN REMAINING*
Gisela Dulko, ARG
Kirsten Flipkens, BEL
Daniela Hantuchova, SVK
Regina Kulikova, RUS (Q)
Sabine Lisicki, GER
Melanie Oudin, USA (Q)
Francesca Schiavone, ITA
Carla Suarez-Navarro, ESP
Ai Sugiyama, JPN
Elena Vesnina, RUS
Roberta Vinci, ITA

*WIMBLEDON "UPSET QUEENS"*
2004 Brits
2005 Americans
2006 Brits
2007 Austrians
2008 Russians
2009 Germans

*WIMBLEDON "REVELATION LADIES"*
2006 Serbs
2007 French
2008 Russians
2009 (veteran) Italians

TOP QUALIFIER: #1q Victoriya Kutuzova/UKR
TOP EARLY ROUND (1r-2r): #3 Venus Williams/USA
TOP MIDDLE-ROUND (3r-QF): xxx
TOP LATE ROUND (SF-F): xxx
TOP QUALIFYING MATCH: Q1: Vesna Manasieva/RUS d. Noppawan Lertcheewakarn/THA 6-7/6-4/6-1
TOP EARLY RD. MATCH (1r-2r): 1st Rd. - Ana Ivanovic/SRB d. Lucie Hradecka/CZE 5-7/6-2/8-6 (saved 2 MP)
TOP MIDDLE-RD. MATCH (3r-QF): xxx
TOP LATE RD. MATCH (SF-F): xxx
=============================
FIRST SEED OUT: #23 Aleksandra Wozniak/CAN (1st Rd.-Schiavone/ITA)
UPSET QUEENS: The Germans
REVELATION LADIES: The Italian vets
LAST QUALIFIERS STANDING: xxx
IT GIRL: xxx
MS. OPPORTUNITY: xxx
COMEBACK PLAYER: xxx
CRASH & BURN: (Temporary: Maria Sharapova/RUS - lost to Gisela Dulko/ARG in 2nd Rd.)
ZOMBIE QUEEN: (Temporary: Ana Ivanovic/SRB - saved two MP vs. Lucie Hradecka/CZE in 1st Rd.)
LAST BRIT STANDING: Elena Baltacha/GBR (2nd Rd.)
DOUBLES STAR xxx
JUNIOR BREAKOUT: xxx

All for Day 4. More tomorrow.

Wednesday, June 24, 2009

W.3- Most Definitely NOT Your Supernova's Mother's Same Old Maria

You just knew it was going to happen. You just knew she wouldn't be able to keep it up.

No matter who had won the 2nd Round match between Maria Sharapova and Gisela Dulko on Day 3, those words would have been appropriate. As it is, the Argentine emerged with the victory as the first big cleaver of this Wimbledon came down on the head of the Supernova.

Finally, we can say that this tournament has officially begun.

Reuters

Truthfully, even Sharapova admitted before this tournament began that she didn't think she was a TRUE contender to win it. As noted in this space before, much of the Sharapova "threat" at SW19 is based on hope and a single result from five years ago. Never a great mover around the court, a necessity for a true grass court stylist, Sharapova still isn't and never will be anything resembling a pre-Mexico Jelena Jankovic. Back from her shoulder surgery and nearly ten months off tour, her ever-important serve is not what it once was, either. She knows it, too. And when even a three-time slam champion doesn't have confidence in what used to be her best weapon, all sorts of bad things can happen on game day, as things are just a hop, skip and jump away from NO shot being dependable in the most crucial moments of a contest.

Watching Sharapova today, it was obvious that while she remembered how things were SUPPOSED to go, and DID for a while, her ability to convert opportunities simply by muscle and mental memory was severely cramped. Even though this match was her fifteenth since her return to action, most of her wins have been of the seat-of-her-pants (back-of-her-dress?) variety where she's often looked very bad at times, only to dig deep to find her champion's spirit and eventually emerge with the victory. During her surprise QF run in Paris, Sharapova often did just enough to get by. Just barely. That's what happened in her 1st Round match against qualifier Victoriya Kutuzova, too, and it appeared as if it was going to once again against Dulko.

But it didn't. No, this is most definitely NOT your Supernova's mother's same old Maria. Not yet.

Of course, Dulko is often an entirely different player every few minutes in a match. Blessed with a diverse game that works on all surfaces, the Argentine has often shown an ability to defeat top players (she's knocked off both Jelena Jankovic and Victoria Azarenka this year). But she's won only three career titles, has only reached a ranking as high as #26 and usually is flirting with falling out of the Top 50. Today, all of Dulko's sides were on display.

Dulko was in control of the match... until she was in control of the match.

Early on, she was confident and nearly flawless. She won the 1st set 6-2 and took a 3-0 lead in the 2nd. Sharapova was as good as gone. But that's when Dulko lost her edge. Her shots were tentative and her nerves were apparent. After giving back a break, she soon double-faulted on break point and gave Sharapova a 4-3 lead. Sharapova ran off a total of seven consecutive games, winning the 2nd set at 6-3, and had points for an eighth straight game after taking a 1-0 lead in the 3rd.

Normally, this would be where you'd expect Sharapova to seize control of things and run a wobbly Dulko off the court by shear will. But that's not what happened. The Sharapova who could have done that wasn't on Centre Court on Day 3.

Dulko went up a break at 2-1, but was immediately broken back the next game. She failed to take advantage of Sharapova's ailing serve a few games later when the Russian opened a game with two double-faults and was down two break points, but it was Sharapova who couldn't get it done in the big moments down the stretch.

Well, there WERE a few vestiges of the old Supernova. She saved four match points, forcing a semi-shaky Dulko into baseline errors, crushing a second serve return in the corner and employing a successful drop shot to at least give herself a chance to not allow her comeback in this match to have been in vain.

But is was. Sharapova had a chance on a break point that would have knotted the 3rd set at 5-5, but she missed her shot. Soon after, Dulko's fifth MP went in the Argentine's favor when the Russian made an error on another big point. Dulko won 6-2/3-6/6-4, and can say that she's defeated both Sharapova and Martina Navratilova at Wimbledon (when she made a name for herself in 2004 by knocking off the all-time great at both Roland Garros and SW19 when she made a brief singles comeback in her mid-40's) during her career.

While Dulko moves on, so does Sharapova for the second straight year after having played just two matches at the All-England Club. On to the North American hard courts where her lack of movement won't be as much of a detriment, and where she can begin to repair the confidence lost during her long stretch of inactivity and barely-surviving-even-when-she-wins series of efforts in her comeback. But how difficult is that going to be if the serve that made her a superstar ON the court refuses to cooperate? Quite possibly very.

On ESPN today, Brad Gilbert suggested going back to her old service motion once she's physically able to do so. Maybe she should, but who knows what that might do to that already-questionable shoulder and her career as a whole. One never knows. We may never see the Supernova of old again. But Sharapova certainly isn't going to give up trying to find that creature, and we'll all be wondering if she'll reappear in New York in a few months.

And that's a good thing for tennis, and us. Even with a "lesser" Sharapova around than the one we've been used to seeing for so long, the tour is a far more interesting place to visit.

=DAY 3 NOTES=
...while Sharapova is gone, the buzz has already started about a potential Serena Williams/Victoria Azarenka QF match. Serena breezed through Jarmila Groth today, while Azarenka totally dismantled Raluca Olaru 6-0/6-0.

While Nadia Petrova is still lurking, and might get past Dulko in the 3rd Round now that her career-long nemesis Sharapova is out of the way, I'm going to keep with the recent Backspin tradition of letting Nadia be Nadia and hoping for the best... and talking about a possible Williams/Azarenka matchup rather than something more "exotic."

...QUALIFIERS UPDATE: Regina Kulikova knocked off Alisa Kleybanova 0-6/6-4/6-1 to put her name in the mix for Last Qualifier Standing.

...and, finally, as expected, the talk on ESPN and elsewhere today was filled with a bunch of whining and complaining about Michelle Larcher de Brito's grunting/shrieking/whatever you want to call it. Oh, boo-hoo. Booo-hooo. I guess they're happy now, as the Portugese teen was beaten today by Francesca Schiavone 7-6/7-6. Of course, now what will they complain about?

A few bravos should go out before Larcher de Brito leaves town, though:

1) to The Kid for being unapologetic, and saying that if people don't like how she sounds they don't have to show up to watch her play

2) to Azarenka, for standing up for her brethren.

3) and to Darren Cahill, who successfully was able to change the overhyped-and-overheated conversation on ESPN this morning about on-court sounds by simply saying, "I could care less about the grunting," and immediately launchng into a complaint about players taking an excessively long time between points.

While I can understand opposing players being a little unhinged by the "noise" -- I know when I play I get ticked off by someone walking silently along the road fifty yards away -- I still don't get why "fans," including those who aren't in the stadiums and arenas, twist themselves into a knot about this issue. I don't even notice the "grunting" anymore. As Azarenka says, 70% of the players do it, so to try to cause an uproar over something that's been a part of the game since Monica Seles emerged in the early 1990's seems more-than-silly "fake outrage."

Are we sure Governor Palin doesn't have something to do with this?

*FINAL 32 - BOTTOM HALF*
[by nation]
5...Russia (Dementieva/Kulikova/Petrova/Vesnina/Zvonareva)
2...France (Bartoli/Razzano)
2...Italy (Schiavone/Vinci)
2...Slovak Republic (Cibulkova/Hantuchova)
1...Argentina (Dulko)
1...Belarus (Azarenka)
1...Japan (Sugiyama)
1...Romania (Cirstea)
1...United States (S.Williams)

TOP QUALIFIER: #1q Victoriya Kutuzova/UKR
TOP EARLY ROUND (1r-2r): xxx
TOP MIDDLE-ROUND (3r-QF): xxx
TOP LATE ROUND (SF-F): xxx
TOP QUALIFYING MATCH: Q1: Vesna Manasieva/RUS d. Noppawan Lertcheewakarn/THA 6-7/6-4/6-1
TOP EARLY RD. MATCH (1r-2r): xxx
TOP MIDDLE-RD. MATCH (3r-QF): xxx
TOP LATE RD. MATCH (SF-F): xxx
=============================
FIRST SEED OUT: #23 Aleksandra Wozniak/CAN (1st Rd.-Schiavone/ITA)
UPSET QUEENS: xxx
REVELATION LADIES: xxx
LAST QUALIFIERS STANDING: xxx
IT GIRL: xxx
MS. OPPORTUNITY: xxx
COMEBACK PLAYER: xxx
CRASH & BURN: (Temporary: Maria Sharapova/RUS - lost to Gisela Dulko/ARG in 2nd Rd.)
ZOMBIE QUEEN: (Temporary: Ana Ivanovic/SRB - saved two MP vs. Lucie Hradecka/CZE in 1st Rd.)
LAST BRIT STANDING: Elena Baltacha/GBR (xx)
DOUBLES STAR xxx
JUNIOR BREAKOUT: xxx

All for Day 3. More tomorrow.

Tuesday, June 23, 2009

W.2- She Has a Tendency to Excite... and worry

In a tournament with so many personal favorites either already out -- Jelena Dokic & "HeninLite" -- or giving no reason to believe they'll make any sort of mark in this tournament -- Jelena Jankovic & Nadia Petrova -- what's a Backspinner to do when it comes to finding a fun story to root for as this year's Wimbledon goes along?

Ah, enter the "savior," for however long she lasts.

She fights. She smiles. She laughs. She has a seemingly breezy personality. Sound like a tennis player you know?

No, I'm not talking about Queen Chaos. I COULD be, but I'm not. No, of course, I'm referring to Caroline Wozniacki. JJ, version 2.0, with a slightly bigger game, enough youth to believe there's still big-time improvement around the corner, and just enough of an edge-of-your seat combination of excitement and worry that follows her around like a lost puppy that you can't take your eyes off any match she's involved in. While Jankovic's drama is usually the byproduct of chaos, Wozniacki's drama follows along on something of a pre-scheduled path.

In an act of slightly cheeky scheduling, both Jankovic and Wozniacki, were both playing at the same time today on Courts 3 and 2, respectively, on Day 2. While JJ pushed through Julia Goerges in straight sets, Wozniacki found herself in a heap of trouble against 38-year old Kimiko Date-Krumm, who was making her way in the sport before C-Woz had even learned to walk, as it took her quite a while to learn how to handle the Japanese veteran's unorthodox ("old-school," as the ESPN commentators dubbed it) game.

After missing an opportunity to break Date-Krumm and take a 5-4 1st set lead when she missed an open shot down the line, things got very sticky. Date-Krumm held serve, won the set 7-5 and quickly jumped to a 3-1 lead in the 2nd. But, when it comes to Wozniacki, even a deficit like that isn't the time to panic. "Give her time and she'll find a way to get herself back in the match" is the way to go, and that's just what happened against Date-Krumm.

In the nick of time, Wozniacki turned things in her favor. Then, as a limping Date-Krumm was visited by trainers on multiple occasions in the 3rd set, she closed out the match by winning by a deceptively "easy" 5-7/6-3/6-1 scoreline.

Just how close to a major slam breakout is Wozniacki? Even though she's proven to never be out of a match no matter what the score, it's hard to tell. She's won hard, clay and grass court titles over the past eleven months, but her tendency to go "the long way around" to get them means her chances of making it through two weeks (and five, six or seven matches) without being tripped up on a bad day when she CAN'T reel back a match that nearly gets away from her aren't all that great. At Roland Garros, she survived a tight three-setter against Vera Dushevina... only to lose in the 3rd Round to Sorana Cirstea.

Wozniacki might not lose her 2nd Rounder to Maria Kirilenko, but it'll certainly be one to keep on eye on... and not just because C-Woz just replaced the Russian as the player who'll be sporting the tennis designs of Stella McCartney, either. Though that certainly IS an interesting little match note, isn't it?

Wozniacki's 1st Round win DID prevent a three-match sweep of all the women who won pre-Wimbledon tuneup events, but it didn't ease the lingering worty that C-Woz's SW19 show might have a short-lived engagement at THIS Wimbledon.

But, hey, give her time... she'll figure things out eventually. For now, enjoy the fun for as long as it lasts.

=DAY 2 NOTES=
...late in the day, we were "treated" to another Jankovician ride on a rollercoaster courtesy of the other Serb, Ana Ivanovic, as another chapter in AnaIvo's constant post-Roland Garros struggle was written on Court 4 in her match against Lucie Hradecka.

It was late in the proceedings that things really got interesting, as Ivanovic served for the match at 5-2 and 5-4 and was broken twice, the second coming just moments after she'd held a match point against the Czech. But when the Serb slipped in the backcourt on break point, it was suddenly 5-5 and she was dancing with yet another early round slapdown in a slam.

It was like watching somebody slap themselves across the face, straighten up, then deliver more stinging self-punishment. Down 6-5, Ivanovic had a game point to knot the 3rd set, but couldn't convert. Hradecka held two match points on Ivanovic's serve, but AnaIvo won them both and held, flashing that close-to-the-body clenched fist that became her signature move last spring. She then broke the Czech at love to go up 7-6. In what turned out to be the final game of the match, a net cord shot that dribbled onto Hradecka's side of the court game Ivanovic another match point.

She won 5-7/6-2/8-6, and lives to "fight" another day. Of course, if form holds, she'll go out in the 2nd Round to Sara Errani. Remember, a year ago AnaIvo escaped a 2nd Round match with Nathalie Dechy by way of the "Kiss of Life," but rather than breath a sigh of relieve and collect herself she quickly went out to Zheng Jie in straights the next time out.

Is AnaIvo a "Zombie" or a "Crash & Burn" waiting to happen? I doubt even she could harbor a confident guess... which really isn't a good thing when it comes to her chances to survive much longer in this tournament.

...hmmm, Last Brit Standing? Well, by default, it was going to be Elena Baltacha, no matter what. There were six British women in the main draw when the 1st Round began. On Day 1, Laura Robson and Melanie South lost. Today, Anne Keothavong, Katie O'Brien and Georgie Stoop did the same. Yep, that was an 0-5 after both Keothavong and Baltacha won opening round matches in 2008. Why was Baltacha going to be the LBS then? Well, of course, because her match against Alona Bondarenko was the last scheduled to be played. As it turned out, though, Baltacha DID win and became the only British woman to advance. Thus, order was restored to the Backspin SW19 Awards... but probably not to British women's tennis.

With only Laura Robson seen as a real threat down the road (though teenager Amanada Carreras has been doing well on the ITF circuit lately), the LTA is surely going to get hammered for its lack of organization and player development again, if not after this "near-miss" shutout then some other time. Already, Keothavong and others have made a regular habit of coming down quite hard on the country's tennis "hierarchy," though, so it'll be nothing new.

Just throwing something at the wall to see if it might stick, maybe there should be some consideration given to importing players, ala Australia and Kazakhstan?

...as it turned out, even Wimbledon couldn't stop the rapid descent of one Nicole Vaidisova. After going from slam semifinalist to forgotten thought-to-be-future star, the Czech at least had QF results at the past two Wimbledons to keep her head above water. Now, that's gone. Today, after at first looking as if she was going to be run out of Londontown on a rail in straight sets, she battled back and managed to win a tie-break and force her match against veteran Rossane de los Rios to three sets. She still lost, as DLR prevailed 6-4/6-7/6-4. Who knows when Vaidisova will reach "rock bottom." But now she can see the day from here.

All the "sure-things" of 2009, from the likes of Azarenka to Wozniacki to Larcher de Brito and Robson, should take heed. Every rising star has weapons, but also an Achilles heel that can overrule any talent, drive or so-called destiny. If the past travails of former Top 5ers Dokic, Hantuchova and Chakvetadze weren't enough to remind everyone that NOTHING is assured in the tennis world, then Vaidisova should be.

...speaking of Dokic, her three-set loss to qualifier Tatjana Malek on Day 2 must have provided her a case of deja vu for all the wrong reasons. Remember, it was exactly ten years ago YESTERDAY that a 16-year old Aussie qualifer named "Jelena" made a name for herself by taking out #1-seed Martina Hingis on Day 2 of another Wimbledon. Malek isn't likely to make a run into the final eight as Dokic did back then, transforming the story from one about Hingis' fall to one about Dokic's rise, but I guess one never knows, does one?

Now Dokic heads off back to Serbia to visit her jailed father. Oh, joy. Her past life always seems to intervene in the Aussie's current one, doesn't it? Maybe some day she'll be able to experience a happy balance, or at least come close.

...and, finally, I'll keep talking about it until I fully understand it (which is never, so I'll keep talking about it). While I understand that ESPN shows additional court coverage on 360.com, and other sites do the same, I don't think I'll ever get why the powers-that-be don't attempt to make the actual live television broadcast as entertaining and expansive as possible. Why follow the general rule that it's better to show nearly all the action on one court (usually Centre) rather than moving around throughout the match and showing action in other matches, too, rather than waiting for ends of sets and the like to do it? The way ESPN has covered this tournament the first two days, when a slam is really buzzing with over a dozen matches taking place at the same time, it's as if the network isn't covering a tournament, just a court. In the early rounds, he WHOLE is what makes a slam great, and gives it its personality. Someone just doesn't seem to understand that simple fact.

Years ago, HBO understood it, though. During it's twenty-five years of airing Wimbledon, it made a practice of shifting between matches and getting a sense of all the big moments happening around the grounds without losing focus on whatever happeend to be the "feature" match of the moment. On ESPN, a close "outer court" match is talked about and some points shown... then ignored for ten, fifteen, twenty minutes. Once things are updatedm some interesting things have already occurred in the interim... while the network was airing the routine middle games in a 1st set of a match on Centre Court.

Again, I understand the multiple sources for coverage during the day and many ways for things to seen by viewers. But if you're going to cover a TOURNAMENT, then cover a TOURNAMENT. It's far more entertaining.

But I guess that's why I'm not a producer and/or director for ESPN, huh?

*LAST HOME NATION PLAYER STANDING*
=2008=
AO: Casey Dellacqua, AUS (4th Rd.)
RG: Alize Cornet & Emilie Loit, FRA (3rd Rd.)
WI: Elena Baltacha & Anne Keothavong, GBR (2nd Rd.)
US: Serena Williams, USA (W)
=2009=
AO: Jelena Dokic, AUS (QF)
RG: Virginie Razzano & Aravane Rezai, FRA (4th Rd.)
WI: Elena Baltacha, GBR (xxx Rd.)

*QUALIFIERS/WILD CARDS/LL in 2nd ROUND*
Kristina Kucova, SVK (LL)
Regina Kulikova, RUS
Michelle Larcher de Brito, POR (WC)
Tatjana Malek, GER
Melanie Oudin, USA
Arantxa Parra-Santonja, ESP

TOP QUALIFIER: #1q Victoriya Kutuzova/UKR
TOP EARLY ROUND (1r-2r): xxx
TOP MIDDLE-ROUND (3r-QF): xxx
TOP LATE ROUND (SF-F): xxx
TOP QUALIFYING MATCH: Q1: Vesna Manasieva/RUS d. Noppawan Lertcheewakarn/THA 6-7/6-4/6-1
TOP EARLY RD. MATCH (1r-2r): xxx
TOP MIDDLE-RD. MATCH (3r-QF): xxx
TOP LATE RD. MATCH (SF-F): xxx
=============================
FIRST SEED OUT: #23 Aleksandra Wozniak/CAN (1st Rd.-Schiavone/ITA)
UPSET QUEENS: xxx
REVELATION LADIES: xxx
LAST QUALIFIERS STANDING: xxx
IT GIRL: xxx
MS. OPPORTUNITY: xxx
COMEBACK PLAYER: xxx
CRASH & BURN: xxx
ZOMBIE QUEEN: (Temporary: Ana Ivanovic/SRB - saved two MP vs. Lucie Hradecka/CZE in 1st Rd.)
LAST BRIT STANDING: Elena Baltacha/GBR (xx)
DOUBLES STAR xxx
JUNIOR BREAKOUT: xxx

All for Day 2. More tomorrow.

Monday, June 22, 2009

W.1- Been There, Done That... and it's a good thing, really

Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova may one day be the LAST woman to win a match at a future Wimbledon. But on Day 1, she'll have to be content with having been the FIRST to do so in 2009.

After the Russian defeated Petra Cetkovska to advance to the 2nd Round, for the most part, the rest of the day was about experience and accomplishment triumphing over pretty much everything else.

Elena Dementieva passed her first test, turning a tight 1st set in her favor with a late break that led to a 6-4/6-1 victory, and #23 Aleksandra Wozniak became the first women's seed sent packing by veteran Francesca Schiavone.

But there were two better examples.

First, Maria Sharapova found herself backed into a Court 1 corner by qualifier Victoriya Kutuzova. She fell behind 4-1, and the Ukrainian served for the 1st set at 5-2 and 5-4. She even held a set point on Sharapova's serve. But being a former champion who has seen far more days on such a grand stage than Kutuzova, Sharapova kept her head and punched her way through to a 7-5/6-4 win.

Later, Serena Williams was cruising to an easy 1st Round win over another qualifier, Neuza Silva. But then the veteran Portugese slam newcomer started to put up a fight. With Serena serving at 4-4, 30/30 the time had come for Williams to show why if she's not THE "favorite" to win this title then she's number "1b." The next two points? Two aces.

Serena won 6-1/7-5, and her comfort level on the grass appears to be extremely high. Uh-oh.

Such was the day that rewarded experience and accomplishment at the All-England Club.

But it didn't end there. The no-surprises-here theme held up in a fashion sense, too, as, in keeping with recent tradition, BOTH Sharapova and Roger Federer once again debuted brand new crisp -- and sparkling white -- outfits from Nike on Day 1. Obviously, experience and accomplishment come with perks... and a little gold trim.

Things won't necessarily hold to form quite like this the rest of the fortnight, but you never know. I mean, if two sisters are playing against each other on the final Saturday, and Federer is the last man standing the following Sunday, would anyone be the slightest bit surprised?

Of course, when it comes to tradition-laden Wimbledon, these are all good things.

=DAY 1 NOTES=
...as far as "big moments," Monday was a rather uneventful day at the All-England Club. Of course, in comparison to today's completion of the rain-delayed final round of golf's U.S. Open -- where Phil Mickelson stumbled, Tiger Woods missed a huge opportunity and a champion whose name everyone will forget in three days was crowned -- it was a wonderful afternoon.

Oh, there was one "big" event at Wimbledon today -- the new Court 2 was opened by the Duke of Kent (nice, but not as fun to see as the Duchess, even with Jana Novotna nowhere in sight). Then 15-year old Laura Robson threatened to christen the new court with a big win... only to ultimately go down, as expected, at the hands of Daniela Hantuchova 3-6/6-4/6-2.

Oh, well. There's always next year... and the Girls competition, of course.

...one "exception" to the "experience rules" trend of the day was veteran Patty Schnyder losing... but since it was even-more-veteran Ai Sugiyama that did her in, I guess it really doesn't count.

...perhaps looking ahead to getting another shot at each other in the 4th Round, both Virginie Razzano and Marion Bartoli (who I SHOULD have picked as my surprise semifinalist... but more on that in a moment) showed little mercy for their 1st Round opponents. Razzano was wiping out Tamira Paszek 6-0/3-1 before the Austrian retired. Meanwhile, Bartoli cruised past Chan Yung-Jan 6-0/6-0.

...and apparently there's a new Backspin curse -- the Curse of the Surprise Semifinalist. With the last two slam draws setting up one wide open quarter, I'm so far 0-for-2 in my picks. That's 0-2... in matches! I picked Kaia Kanepi at Roland Garros, and she was promptly the first seed dumped out of Paris. At Wimbledon, I went with Yanina Wickmayer (coming off QF and RU grass performances that maybe tired her out) over Bartoli... and today she was ousted 6-1/6-1 by Elena Vesnina. Beware potential surprise breakout semifinalists... Backspin has an eye on you. An "evil eye," that is..

...speaking of pre-SW19 results meaning nothing. Birmingham champ Magdalena Rybarikova lost to Roberta Vinci today. And 's-Hertogenbosch titlist Tamarine Tanasugarn lost to qualifier Arantxa Parra-Santonja in another of those "experience exceptions." Hopefully, Eastbourne winner Caroline Wozniacki will put an end to the madness. She's playing on Court 2, the former "graveyard" for high seeds... but THAT court is now Court 3, so maybe IT doesn't count, either.

...aside from Parra-Santonja, Regina Kulikova (def. Karolina Sprem) was the other qualifier to reach the 2nd Round on Day 1. Wild card Michelle Larcher de Brito knocked out qualifier Klara Zakopalova, so the potential for her to cause a great deal of "fake" damage to complainers' eardrums and senses of decorum remains alive. All right!

...some weekend housekeeping: ITF Player of the Week goes to Spaniard Eva Fernandez-Brugues, who won her second challenger event in three weeks in the $25K in Padova, Italy. Fernandez-Brugues is the same woman who made some minor waves on the WTA tour in Estoril earlier this year, qualifying and getting a win over Anastasiya Yakimova.

Week 24's Junior Star is Richel Hogenkamp. The 17-year old teen from the Netherlands, who won her first junior Grade 2 event in Week 18 and soon after upset Noppawan Lertcheewarkarn in the Roland Garros Girls competition last month. This weekend, she won her first PRO tournament in the $10K Alkmaar challenger in her home nation. In just her second pro event, Hogenkamp defeated Cindy Chala, #1-seed Dariya Jurak, Laura Pous Tio and then RG Girls revelation Bianca Botto in the final. Michaella Krajicek's Dutch star might have stopped ascending, but it appears as if Hogenkamp's is just beginning to rise.

...and, finally, probably a very telling programming decision from ESPN today. Rather than show the majority of the Sharapova/Kutuzova match this morning the network subjected its viewers to yet another 1st Round slam flame-out by James Blake. The American lost in three sets to Andreas Seppi in a match which included him fumlbing away a 5-0 lead in the 3rd set tie-break. Seppi had been 14-19 on the season coming into Wimbledon.

So, instead of airing the tight 1st set of a contest featuring a Russian female who's the most famous player in women's tennis, it was decided that it was better to show an underachieving American man doing what he does best -- crumble on the big stage? Oh, the tight Sharapova 1st set WAS shown... late in the day's coverage when other matches were still being played.

Well, hey, at least everyone got to see Blake lose LIVE.

Oh, I can already sense that the U.S. Open on ESPN is going to be so "fun" in a few months. Sigh.

*RECENT FIRST WIMBLEDON SEEDS OUT*
2005: #10 Patty Schnyder (lost to Ant.Serra-Zanetti)
2006: #28 Sofia Arvidsson (lost to Birnerova)
2007: #30 Olga Puchkova (lost to Vesnina)
2008: #30 Dominika Cibulkova (lost to Zheng)
2009: #23 Aleksandra Wozniak (lost to Schiavone)

*SHARAPOVA RECORD ON GRASS*
2003: 9-2 (L: Kuznetsova, Asagoe)
2004: 12-0 (2 titles)
2005: 10-1 (L: V.Williams; 1 title)
2006: 8-2 (L: Jackson, Mauresmo)
2007: 7-2 (L: Jankovic, V.Williams)
2008: 1-1 (L: Kudryavtseva)
2009: 5-1 (L: Li) #
-
#-through 1st Round of Wimbledon

TOP QUALIFIER: #1q Victoriya Kutuzova/UKR
TOP EARLY ROUND (1r-2r): xxx
TOP MIDDLE-ROUND (3r-QF): xxx
TOP LATE ROUND (SF-F): xxx
TOP QUALIFYING MATCH: Q1: Vesna Manasieva/RUS d. Noppawan Lertcheewakarn/THA 6-7/6-4/6-1
TOP EARLY RD. MATCH (1r-2r): xxx
TOP MIDDLE-RD. MATCH (3r-QF): xxx
TOP LATE RD. MATCH (SF-F): xxx
=============================
FIRST SEED OUT: #23 Aleksandra Wozniak/CAN (1st Rd.-Schiavone/ITA)
UPSET QUEENS: xxx
REVELATION LADIES: xxx
LAST QUALIFIERS STANDING: xxx
IT GIRL: xxx
MS. OPPORTUNITY: xxx
COMEBACK PLAYER: xxx
CRASH & BURN: xxx
ZOMBIE QUEEN: xxx
LAST BRIT STANDING: xxx
DOUBLES STAR xxx
JUNIOR BREAKOUT: xxx

All for Day 1. More tomorrow.

Sunday, June 21, 2009

Wimbledon Preview: A Decade's Best... ever?

Six of one... half a dozen of another?

Occasionally, what you see at Wimbledon isn't really so. Take this year, for example. Court Two is there, but it's not REALLY Court 2, the old "graveyard of champions." What was that structure is now Court THREE, while what's being called Court TWO this year is a new construction, and is in name only (so far) the infamous court where so many monumental upsets have occurred over the years.

Venus Williams, though, is just what she appears to be -- one of the most accomplished grass court players in Wimbledon history. And if she lifts the (naturally-named) Venus Rosewater dish for the sixth time in her career at the end of this fortnight she'd cement her legend as possibly THE most dominant woman in any decade at Wimbledon. Ever. If she wins the title again this year she will have claimed six Ladies Championships in the 2000's, tying Martina Navratilova's (six in the 1980's) best-ever women's Wimbledon decade.

Here are the women who've won multiple titles each decade since the abolishment of the "challenge round" (the defending champion automatically advanced to the final the next year) in 1922:

1920's: 3-Suzanne Lenglen (won 2 more under "challenge" system), 3-Helen Wills-Moody, 2-Kitty McKane
1930's: 5-Helen Wills-Moody, 2-Dorothy Round
1940's: 2-Louise Brough
1950's: 3-Maureen Connolly, 2-Louise Brough, 2-Althea Gibson
1960's: 3-Billie Jean King, 2-Margaret Court
1970's: 3-Billie Jean King, 2-Martina Navratilova, 2-Chris Evert
1980's: 6-Martina Navratilova, 2-Steffi Graf
1990's: 5-Steffi Graf
2000's: 5-Venus Williams, 2-Serena Williams

Navratilova reached eight finals (all consecutive) during her decade of dominance. Through nine years, Venus has now reached seven (losing twice to Serena). While Martina's success in the Singles, Doubles and Mixed competitions at Wimbledon has her tied with Billie Jean King with a record twenty career titles at SW19, Venus (who has three doubles crowns) is at least edging ever so close to the Czech-born American's all-time record of nine singles titles at the All-England Club.

Steffi Graf threatened the mark, but ultimately came up two short. As of today, Venus has stated no desire to be going away anytime soon. If she manages to one day tie Navratilova, as someone has speculated about in the past, the "big debate" could officially begin.

As it is, in 2009, Venus has the opportunity to finally put herself on par with Navratilova, Wimbledon's greatest player ever, in ONE category... and it would be an important one on which to build the foundation on which any argument in her favor would be based a few years from today.

All right, that takes care of this year's Wimbledon history lesson. What about the actual tournament that's about to begin? Here's a quick breakdown of the draw, quarter-by-quarter:

(1)SAFINA QUARTER: So much for getting an advantage by being the #1 seed. Safina's quarter is loaded (Mauresmo, Wozniacki, Kuznetsova), and it'll likely be her undoing. Had she landed in an easier section (say, like Elena Dementieva's), one might be able to talk someone into believing that Safina could play her way through and, with a little luck, reach the SF. Not here, though. RANKS: 1. Mauresmo... 2.Wozniacki... 3.Kuznetsova... 4.Safina... 5.Szavay

(3)V.WILLIAMS QUARTER: Venus' section isn't INCREDIBLY tough, but there is the potential for an early-round slip-up for a player who has been upset or nearly so by the likes of a pre-Chaos Jelena Jankovic, Karolina Sprem, Lisa Raymond, Akiko Morigami and Alla Kudryavtseva in recent years. Some potential traps: Kateryna Bondarenko in the 2nd Round and Ekaterina Makarova in the 3rd. Will a big upset happen? Probably not. Will Venus' fate be decided in either the semis or final? It's likely, though it's not as sure of a bet to all work in her favor in the end as it seemed a year ago at this time. RANKINGS: 1.V.Williams... 2.Stosur/Dokic... 3.Li... 4.A.Radwanska... 5.Jankovic

(4)DEMENTIEVA QUARTER: Talk about a crap shoot of a quarter, and a dream draw for Punch-Sober. Still, something says she won't be able to take advantage of the gift the draw Gods have bestowed upon her. Logic said in recent weeks that Dementieva would have no chance to repeat her SF result from a year ago, but it's conceivable that she might be able to reach the QF without facing a seed (and maybe even the semis if the dominoes fall just right, and Vera Zvonareva isn't up to snuff just yet, and the war-of-words between Marion Bartoli and Virginie Razzano ends up seeing both dumped out early). Still, as I said, I can't see Dementieva pulling it out. In fact, she might just be ousted by Alla Kudryavteva -- conqueror of Sharapova in '08, and nearly of Venus in '07 -- in the 1st Round. I'm expecting a "stunner" semifinalist out of this quarter. RANKS: 1.(vacant)... 2.Dementieva (by default)... 3.Bartoli/Razzano... 4.Wickmayer... 5.Zvonareva

(2)S.WILLIAMS QUARTER: The semifinal berth is Serena's to win or lose, but a potential major QF meeting with a player with whom Williams has a past will be eyed throughout the first week. If everything holds to form, the Round of 16 meeting between Maria Sharapova and Victoria Azarenka will provide Serena with an opponent with which she has a score to settle -- and whoever it is, they might be tired after surviving what could be a long 4th Round match. In other words, no matter whether it'd be Sharapova or Azarenka (one still on the comeback trail, and the other battling niggling injuries of late), the advantage would still be with Williams. RANKS: 1.S.Williams... 2.Sharapova... 3.Azarenka... 4.Petrova... 5.Zheng

Let the mind games begin.

=QUALIFYING ROUNDS=
TOP PLAYER: Victoriya Kutuzova/UKR
...in keeping with recent tradition, in lieu of another obvious choice, the award goes to the #1 Q-seed who lived up to the part.
RISERS: Tatjana Malek/GER & Aiko Nakamura/JPN
...Nakamura has never lived up to her early promise. Malek consistently surprises.
SURPRISES: Neuza Silva/POR, Vesna Manasieva/RUS & Regina Kulikova/RUS
...two Hordettes and a Portugese player not named Michelle.
VETERANS: Klara Zakopalova/CZE & Alberta Brianti/ITA
...as usual, it wouldn't be slam qualifying if a Czech didn't make it through. Brianti tied for Last Qualifier Standing in Oz.
FRESH FACES: Melanie Oudin/USA & Anastaija Sevastova/LAT
...her RG qualifying debacle aside, Oudin has been a bit on fire the last few months. Just how much of a "world sport" is tennis? Well, we've got a Latvian in the draw -- and it's the second time in a row she's qualified for a slam this season.
DOWN: Julia Vakulenko/UKR
...tennis' hard luck woman falls short yet again (but at least she wasn't injured in the process this time).
COMEBACKS: Sesil Karatantcheva/KAZ & Arantxa Parra-Santonja/ESP
...ah, Sesil is in the main draw. Joy to the world. Parra-Santonja looked as if she might amount to something a few years ago. But that was a few years ago, and she's pretty much been A.W.O.L. since then.
WILD CARDS: Elena Baltacha/GBR, Kimiko Date-Krumm/JPN, Alexa Glatch/USA, Michelle Larcher de Brito/POR, Katie O'Brien/GBR, Laura Robson/GBR, Melanie South/GBR, Georgie Stoop/GR

=QUALIFYING MATCH=
Q1: Manasieva d. Lertcheewakarn 6-7/6-4/6-1
...Tanasugarn will have to make due as the only Thai woman in the main draw.

*MULTIPLE 2009 SLAM QUALIFIERS*
2 - Alberta Brianti, ITA (AO/WI)
2 - Sesil Karatantcheva, ex-BUL/KAZ (AO/WI)
2 - Victoriya Kutuzova, UKR (AO/WI)
2 - Melanie Oudin, USA (AO/WI)
2 - Anastasija Sevastova, LAT (RG/WI)
2 - Chanelle Scheepers, RSA (AO/RG)

=POTENTIAL FIRST SEEDS OUT?=
[TOP HALF]
#20 Medina-Garrigues vs. Domachowska
...well, at least we know AMG won't reach the QF.
#29 Bammer vs. Oudin
...fire meets Austrian ice... on grass.
#32 Chakvetadze vs. Lisicki
...there's as good a chance (or better?) that it'll be her as anyone else.
[BOTTOM HALF]
#22 Cornet vs. Dushevina
...I think I'll mark this one down.
#4 Dementieva vs. Kudryavtseva
...one caveat -- Kudryavtseva retired from her last match.
#21 Schnyder vs. Sugiyama
...Sugiyama is aging as a singles player. But, then again, so is Sneaky Patty at this point.
#28 Cirstea vs. Gallovits
...I'll go with the Romanian.
#14 Cibulkova d. Coin
...the French vet has taken down bigger -- literally and figurately -- foes in grand slam action than Cibulkova.
#27 Kleybanova vs. Karatantcheva
...if only to prevent Sesil from wreaking havoc on London with a lot of free time on her hands.

=LAST QUALIFIER STANDING?=
1. Alberta Brianti, ITA
2. Melanie Oudin, USA
3. Klara Zakopalova, CZE
4. Vesna Manasieva, RUS
5. Aiko Nakamura, JPN
HM- Sesil Karatantcheva, KAZ
[LAST BRIT]
1. Melanie South, GBR
2. Katie O'Brien, GBR

=BIZARRO SEMIFINALS?=
Wozniacki vs. Dokic, Wickmayer (as close to Henin as I can get, I guess) vs. Petrova
...the All-Your Friendly Neighborhood Backspinner's Faves Final Four.
Safina vs. Jankovic, Dementieva vs. Petrova
...the All Slam-Less Final Four.

=TEN INTRIGUING EARLY-ROUND MATCHES=
1st Rd. - #5 Kuznetsova vs. Morigami
...the Japanese vet served for the match against Venus in the 3rd Round in '07.
1st Rd. - #18 Stosur vs. Mattek-Sands
...does Stosur's looked-forward-to grass season go poof this soon?
1st Rd. - #23 Wozniak vs. Schiavone
...A-Woz has been an all-surface revelation, but veteran guile often wins out in early-round slam meetings.
1st Rd. - (WC) Larcher de Brito vs. (Q) Zakopalova
...get ready for the Shriek-o-Meter, and a field day for the London tabloids if The Kid sticks around for a few rounds.
1st Rd. - Hantuchova vs. (WC) Robson
...the cheeky British 15-year old is the youngest in the Ladies' main draw since Martina Hingis in 1995.
2nd Rd. - #1 Safina vs. Vaidisova
...can the Czech find herself at the slam where she's reached the QF the last two years?
2nd Rd. - #18 Stosur vs. Dokic
...both Aussies have made slam runs in '09. So, naturally, the draw Gods deign them to possibly meet to battle in out at SW19. Could Dokic catch a Wimbledon wave again ten years after her first wild ride? Plus, putting off that post-tournament trip to see dad for a few days probably wouldn't be a bad thing, either.
2nd Rd. - #11 A.Radwanska vs. (WC) Glatch
...the American has made a habit of taking down "name" players of late.
3rd Rd. - #1 Safina vs. #30 Szavay
...Szavay took out Venus on her worst surface in Paris. Might she pull a two-fer on Safina's worst in London?
3rd Rd. - #3 V.Williams vs. (Q) Makarova
...might the "unknown" X-Factor Russian make a name for herself right here?

=ROUND OF 16 PREDICTIONS=
#17 Mauresmo d. #1 Safina
#9 Wozniacki d. #5 Kuznetsova
#3 V.Williams d. Dokic
#19 Li d. #6 Jankovic
#12 Bartoli d. #26 Razzano
Wickmayer d. #4 Dementieva
#24 Sharapova d. #8 Azarenka
#2 S.Williams d. Tanasugarn

...Amelie's last stand? C-Woz's first? Jelena gets her chance. The Fightin' Frenchies face off. Punch-Sober goes home, with Chaos by her side. And the Serena vs. take-your-pick showdown is set.

=QUARTERFINAL PREDICTIONS=
#17 Mauresmo d. #9 Wozniacki
#3 V.Williams d. #19 Li
Wickmayer d. #12 Bartoli
#2 S.Williams d. #24 Sharapova

...Serena will never let Maria forget about 2004. Wickmayer is a real long shot, but I've been stuck in a predict-her-to-do-well rut the last few weeks (and she's improved each week, so far, with QF and RU results) and don't seem to be able to get out of it. The lacking Dementieva section of the draw leaves the spot open to more than a half dozen fairly equal players on grass.

=SEMIFINAL PREDICTIONS=
#3 V.Williams d. #17 Mauresmo
#2 S.Williams d. Wickmayer

...hmmm, looks a little familiar, doesn't it?

=FINAL PREDICTION=
#3 V.Williams d. #2 S.Williams

...if this is the matchup, Venus is the pick on history's side. But Serena's recently P.O.'ed attitude makes me wonder if I should reconsider and go with her to grab SW19 title #3 rather than Venus getting #6. Too late now, though.

*RECENT WIMBLEDON TOP SEEDS*
2004 Serena Williams, USA
2005 Lindsay Davenport, USA
2006 Amelie Mauresmo, FRA
2007 Justine Henin, BEL
2008 Ana Ivanovic, SRB
2009 Dinara Safina, RUS
--
NOTE: During the same 2004-09 span, with Rafael Nadal's withdrawal from this year's Wimbledon, Roger Federer has been the tournament's top seed every year

*RECENT WIMBLEDON FINALS*
2000 Venus Williams d. Lindsay Davenport
2001 Venus Williams d. Justine Henin
2002 Serena Williams d. Venus Willaims
2003 Serena Williams d. Venus Williams
2004 Maria Sharapova d. Serena Williams
2005 Venus Williams d. Lindsay Davenport
2006 Amelie Mauresmo d. Justine Henin
2007 Venus Williams d. Marion Bartoli
2008 Venus Williams d. Serena Williams

All for now. Day 1 awaits.

Wk.24- Bare Bones Backspin: One-Sentence Wonders Edition

In a Bare Bones week, even the champions get short-changed... luckily for Caroline Wozniacki, she was one of the subjects in a double-headline Backspin a few months back, so it all evens out.

*WEEK 24 CHAMPIONS*

EASTBOURNE, ENGLAND (Premier $600K/grass)
S: Caroline Wozniacki def. Virginie Razzano 7-6/7-5
D: Amanmuradova/Sugiyama d. Stosur/Stubbs

's-HERTOGENBOSCH, NETHERLANDS (Int'l $220K/grass)
S: Tamarine Tanasugarn def. Yanina Wickmayer 6-3/7-5
D: Errani/Pennetta d. Krajicek/Wickmayer

PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Caroline Wozniacki/DEN
...After getting her second '09 title in her fifth final of the season in Eastbourne, C-Woz moved past Dinara Safina (who reached four straight finals and a semi) for most wins during the 2nd Quarter.
=============================
RISER: Virginie Razzano/FRA
...she defeated the Eastbourne #1 seed (Dementieva) and defending champ (A.Radwanska), but came up short in the final against C-Woz.
=============================
SURPRISE: Aleksandra Wozniak/CAN
...with wins over a slam champ (Kuznetsova) and Wimbledon semifinalist (Zheng), A-Woz extended her season's success to a third surface.
=============================
VETERANS: Tamarine Tanasugarn/THA & Ai Sugiyama/JPN
...after a five year span between her '03 Hyderabed and '08 's-Hertogenbosch titles, Tanasugarn got her second in twelve months by defending her crown in the Netherlands (becoming the first player to defend all season, though Venus will be going for a three-peat at SW19). Sugiyama, who turns 34 in two weeks, got her first '09 doubles title and became the oldest champion on tour this season in Eastbourne.
=============================
FRESH FACES: Yanina Wickmayer/BEL & Ekaterina Makarova/RUS
...in the Netherlands, Wickmayer became the eighth woman to reach the singles and doubles final at the same event in '09, but was only the second (with Dulko in Bogota) to lose BOTH finals. Makarova, a qualifier and quarterfinalist in Eastbourne, continued to mark herself as the most under-the-radar Russian threat since the Cold War.
=============================
DOWN: Ana Ivanovic/SRB & Jelena Jankovic/SRB
...losses to Russians, AnaIvo to Petrova and JJ to Chakvetadze, marked another week where player personnel changes proved to have no effect for the non-Contessova crowd.
=============================

1. East SF - Wozniacki d. Wozniak
...3-6/6-4/6-4. As was the case in Ponte Vedra Beach, C-Woz's sprawling, legs flailing, from the seat of her pants return of an A-Woz smash late in the 3rd set was just another example of the good vibes that permeate the day when these two meet.
=============================
2. Neth SF - Tanasugarn d. Safina
...7-5/7-5. Make that two consecutive years the Thai vet has gotten the best of Safina in the Netherlands.
=============================
3. East 2nd Rd - Makarova d. Mauresmo
...7-6/7-6. A little disappointing for Mauresmo, but there were quite a few big name players NOT named Amelie last week whose Wimbledon tune-ups consisted of far less than a three-set win over a returning Vera Zvonareva and a pair of tie-break sets that allowed her the chance to get match tough.
=============================
4. East 1st Rd - A.Radwanska d. U.Radwanska
...6-1/6-1. After losing to her little sister the first time they met on the court, A-Rad put a big sisterly beating on her this time raound.
=============================
5. East SF - Razzano d. Bartoli
...6-4/1-0 ret. After Razzano made comments about Bartoli's questionable tactics that show she'll "do anything to win" (like call for a trainer at crucial moments in a match, etc.), Bartoli refused to shake her countrywoman's hand at the end of this one (oh, who else hopes they meet again in the Round of 16 at Wimbledon?).
=============================
HM- East 1st Rd - Wozniak d. Kuznetsova
...6-0/6-3. Svetlana will always have Paris, but it's time to put it behind her.
=============================

**2009 WTA FINALS**
6...Dinara Safina (2-4)
5...CAROLINE WOZNIACKI (2-3)
3...Victoria Azarenka (3-0)
3...Elena Dementieva (2-1)
3...Svetlana Kuznetsova (2-1)

**WTA TITLES - 2008-09**
6...Dinara Safina (4/2)
5...Venus Williams (3/2)
5...Serena Williams (4/1)
5...Elena Dementieva (3/2)
5...CAROLINE WOZNIACKI (3/2)
5...Jelena Jankovic (4/1)

**YOUGEST 2009 CHAMPIONS**
18y,9m - Caroline Wozniacki (Ponte Vedra Beach)
18y,10m - Petra Kvitova (Hobart)
18y,11m - CAROLINE WOZNIACKI (EASTBOURNE)
19y,5m.2w - Victoria Azarenka (Brisbane)
19y,6m,3w - Yanina Wickmayer (Estoril)

**2009 OLDEST CHAMPIONS**
32y,1m - TAMARINE TANASUGARN ('s-HERTOGENBOSCH)
29y,7m,1w - Amelie Mauresmo (Paris)
28y,8m,2w - Venus Williams (Acapulco)
28y,8m,1w - Venus Williams (Dubai)

The Wimbledon preview arrives later on Sunday, and the Daily Backspin begins on Monday.

All for now.

Saturday, June 20, 2009

Wimbledon Men's Preview: Back to the Federer

All right, everybody into the De Lorean. We're about to take a trip... back to the future.

With defending champion Rafael Nadal's withdrawal from the Wimbledon draw, the entire landscape of the happenings at the All-England Club changes. Why, it's going to be like we've jumped into a time machine, but ended up back in the current day. Roger Federer is the top seed. Andy Roddick is a legitimate threat to reach the final (as he did from 2004-05, before the run of three straight Roger/Rafa matchups). And a Brit (now named Andy, not Tim) will be carrying the hopes of a nation on his back.

Keeping with the theme, the crowning of an old-but-also-new champion that would set yet another all-time slam record would seem to be in the cards. Hmmm, do I sense a well-worn prediction coming on?

**ROUND OF 16**
Hewitt d. #23 Stepanek
#6 Roddick d. Mathieu
#3 Murray d. #19 Wawrinka
#10 Gonzalez d. #8 Simon
#24 Haas d. #17 Blake
#4 Djokovic d. #18 Schuettler
#9 Tsonga d. #7 Verdasco
#2 Federer d. #13 Soderling

...Blake usually disappoints, but I'll save his vanishing act until this round rather than earlier. The absence of Nadal really opens up the top section for the likes of Hewitt. Federer meet a familiar Roland Garros foe... but his name is Robin, not Rafael.

**QUARTERFINALS**
#6 Roddick d. Hewitt
#3 Murray d. #10 Gonzalez
#24 Haas d. #4 Djokovic
#2 Federer d. #9 Tsonga

...maybe Haas' recent title is pushing a too-deep pick here, but so be it. Britain's hopes are still afloat.

**SEMIFINALS**
#6 Roddick d. #3 Murray
#2 Federer d. #24 Haas

...if we're going back to the future, then we have to go back to the last time we didn't have a Roger/Rafa final, right? And that would mean the American, possibly the most helped by Nadal's absence here, returns to the final Sunday, preventing "Murray McFly" (who, even now with a grass title under his belt, isn't a sure thing at Wimbledon) from commandeering the De Lorean and turning the Gentleman's Championship into something to behold.

**FINAL**
#2 Federer d. #6 Roddick

...if anyone didn't see this one coming, they weren't paying attention. Really, Murray is the only "second pick" for this title, and I just can't see everything lining up to allow that to become a reality. Federer seems destined to finally overtake Pete Sampras on the career grand slam list at the end of the fortnight. Unless, of course, the PSEUDO-Roger returns. But, especially after RG and the career Grand Slam, will that happen at SW19? Probably not.

Back to THE Federer... and away we go.

All for now.

Monday, June 15, 2009

Wk.23- A Short List Grows Longer

Last week, Magdalena Rybarikova turned out to a bit more than just the opponent that Jelena Jankovic ran roughshod over in the 2nd Round of Roland Garros a few weeks back.

AP Photo / Simon Dawson

Now, Rybarikova is a first-time WTA singles champion, having won the same Birmingham title that Jankovic herself won two years ago. While admitting to being nervous during a 2nd set tie-breaker that she ultimately won handily, the 20-year old former Wimbledon junior Girls runner-up (2006) still managed to handle the biggest moment of her career to date far better than Li Na did in her sixth career final, winning 6-0/7-6 to bump her ranking into the Top 50 (#42) for the very first time.

But she didn't just become one of the nearly ninety active players with tour singles titles on their resumes, she also added her name to the short list of just eighteen current players who've won grass court WTA titles. With only four weeks, and (at the moment) four tournaments, dedicated to playing on the green stuff, a grass title is the most difficult-to-get leg of any career "surface slam" that a player might endeavor to achieve. Just ask Jelena Dokic, who completed a career surface slam with her Birmingham title in 2002... and has now officially gone seven years without winning another tour crown (and just saw her father sentenced to prison -- but that's another story).

*WTA GRASS COURT TITLES - ACTIVE*
5...Venus Williams, USA
3...Maria Sharapova, RUS
2...Kim Clijsters, BEL
2...Serena Williams, USA
1...Kateryna Bondarenko, UKR
1...Anna Chakvetadze, RUS
1...Eleni Daniilidou, GRE
1...Jelena Dokic, AUS
1...Jelena Jankovic, SRB
1...Michaella Krajicek, NED
1...Svetlana Kuznetsova, RUS
1...Amelie Mauresmo, FRA
1...Agnieszka Radwanska, POL
1...Lisa Raymond, USA
1...Magdalena Rybarikova, SVK
1...Tamarine Tanasugarn, THA
1...Klara Zakopalova, CZE
1...Vera Zvonareva, RUS

While I did predict Rybarikova to reach her first career WTA final back in January, who would have thought a couple of weeks ago, after that 6-1/6-2 loss at the hands of Queen Chaos, that the Slovak was THIS CLOSE to becoming a WTA singles titlist?

But, then again, grass court tennis is an exotic beast that can either be the best friend or worst enemy of any given player, isn't it? So don't be surprised if something similar happens at at least one of Week 24's two tour events, as well.

*WEEK 23 CHAMPIONS*

BIRMINGHAM, ENGLAND (Int'l $220K/grass)
S: Magdalena Rybarikova def. Li Na 6-0/7-6
D: Black/Huber d. Kops-Jones/Spears

PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Magdalena Rybarikova/SVK
...Rybarikova didn't just rule Birmingham, she pretty much took on all of Asia, too. Some of her wins last week en route to her first career title included a virtual who's who of players from Asian countries -- Akgul Amanmuradova (UZB), Sania Mirza (IND), Zheng Jie (CHN) and Li Na (CHN).
=============================
RISERS: Li Na/CHN & Sania Mirza/IND
...a year after countrywoman Zheng reached the Wimbledon SF, Li made a case that she can play on grass, too. In Birmingham, Li got wins of Jarmila Groth, Aravane Rezai and Maria Sharapova to reach the final. Still "recovering" from her win over the Supernova, she didn't show up for the final against Rybarikova until it was too late. Meanwhile, perhaps Mirza's doubles success is helping out her singles. She's still barely keeping her head above water in her attempt to stay in the Top 100, but she has to be encouraged by a SF run in Birmingham that included victories over Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova and Melinda Czink (not to mention a doubles SF with Chuang Chia-Jung).
=============================
SURPRISES: Stefanie Voegele/SUI & Kristina Kucova/Zuzana Kucova, SVK
...Swiss Miss Voegele, 19, reached her first career tour QF in Birmingham with wins over Carly Gullickson, Ekaterina Makarova and Naomi Cavaday. In the $50K in Zlin, Czech Republic, another of the seemingly-exponentially-expanding number of all-sisters doubles teams was a big hit. The Slovak sibling duo of Kristina Kucova, 19, and her big sister Zuzana, 26, won the doubles with a win in the final over the NON-sisters team of Nikola/Klaschka.
=============================
VETERANS: Cara Black & Liezel Huber, ZIM/USA
...the clay season is over, and Black/Huber not surprisingly rose to the occasion. The pair's Birmingham win was their fourth of 2009, and the fiftieth Women's Doubles title of Black's career.
=============================
FRESH FACES: Yanina Wickmayer/BEL & Urszula Radwanska/POL
...Wickmayer didn't get her second title of '09 in Birmingham, but she did get wins over Michaella Krajicek (a previous grass court champion) and Roberta Vinci, then pushed Maria Sharapova to three sets in a QF loss. Meanwhile, on the other side of the Edgbaston draw, U-Rad also reached the QF. She got wins over Maria Kirilenko and Julia Goerges. After that, the Polish teenager jumped over to Eastbourne and qualified for the main draw there with wins over Ayumi Morita, Galina Voskoboeva and Lucie Hradecka.
=============================
DOWN: Alla Kudryavtseva/RUS & Nicole Vaidisova/CZE
...a year ago, Kudryavtseva upset Sharapova at Wimbledon. So far, her grass court season isn't off to a great start this time around. In Birmingham, she was bounced in the 2nd Round by Rezai, then she had to retire in her Eastbourne qualifying match against Lourdes Dominguez-Lino. Vaidisova has reached the QF at Wimbledon the last two years, two of the few brights spots in the former Top 10er and slam semifinalist's elongated slide from prominance. This weekend, her lack of success spread to grass when she was tossed out in straight sets by Melanie South in Eastbourne qualifying.
=============================
ITF PLAYER: Ioana-Raluca Olaru/ROU
...Olaru won the clay $100K ITF event in Marseilles, defeating Zuzana Ondraskova, Tathiana Garbin, Andrea Petkovic and Masa Zec-Peskiric along the way.
=============================
JUNIOR STARS: Elena Bogdan/ROU & Cristina Dinu/ROU
...the Swarm continues to, well, swarm. After a disappointing run in the Roland Garros Girls competition, 17-year old E-Bog played the $10K in Bucharest and knocked off five of her countrywomen to walk away with her first career ITF singles title. Meanwhile, another Romanian, 16-year old Dinu, won HER first career Grade 1 singles title in Offenbach, Germany.
=============================

1. Birm Final - Rybarikova d. Li 6-0/7-6
Birm 3rd Rd - Rybarikova d. Zheng 7-6/6-4
...consider the Slovak on CHINA'S tennis radar.
=============================
2. Birm QF - Sharapova d. Wickmayer
...6-1/2-6/6-3. Still, I will not waver on Wickmayer (maybe it's an Henin thing... as Wickmayer HAS received coaching assistance from Carlos Rodriguez). See below.
=============================
3. Birm SF - Li d. Sharapova
...6-4/6-4. As this rematch of the Roland Garros 4th Rounder that the Supernova won proved, five matches in six days was just too much too soon for Sharapova so early in her comeback.
=============================
4. El Paso $25K Final - Tetreault d. Washington
...6-4/6-3. The Canadian won her second ITF title in three weeks. In other news, I guess we'll have to check the El Paso police blotter to find out the condition of Washington's hotel room after this one.
=============================
5. Birm 1st - U.Radwanska d. Kirilenko
...6-3/6-3. Today, Kirilenko was quickly knocked out of Eastbourne in the 1st Round by Elena Dementieva, too.
=============================
HM- Birm QF - Rybarikova d. U.Radwanska
...6-3/6-3. A week and a half before play at the All-England Club was set to begin, it was a case of the '06 Wimbledon junior runner-up besting the '07 Wimbledon junior champion.
=============================

**2009 FIRST-TIME CHAMPS**
Brisbane - Victoria Azarenka, BLR (age 19)
Hobart - Petra Kvitova, CZE (age 18)
Bogota - M.J. Martinez-Sanchez, ESP (age 26)
Charleston - Sabine Lisicki, GER (age 19)
Estoril - Yanina Wickmayer, BEL (age 19)
Strasbourg - Aravane Rezai, FRA (age 22)
Warsaw - Alexandra Dulgheru, ROU (age 19)
BIRMINGHAM - MAGDALENA RYBARIKOVA, SVK (AGE 20)

**2009 - MOST WINS OVER #1-SEEDED PLAYERS**
3...Victoria Azarenka (def. Wozniacki/Safina/S.Williams)
2...Svetlana Kuznetsova (def. Safina/Safina)
2...MAGDALENA RYBARIKOVA (def. PENNETTA/ZHENG)

**WORST FINALS WIN PCT. - MULTIPLE '09 FINALS**
.000 - LI NA (0-2)
.000 - Ekaterina Makarova (0-2)
.250 - Caroline Wozniacki (1-3)
.250 - Dinara Safina (2-4)

**DOUBLES TITLES - INDIVIDUALS**
5...LIEZEL HUBER (4 DOUB/1 MIXED)
4...CARA BLACK
3...Nathalie Dechy
3...Nuria Llagostera-Vives
3...Maria Jose Martinez-Sanchez
3...Bethanie Mattek-Sands
3...Mara Santangelo

**2009 - ITF TITLES BY CANADIANS**
2...Sharon Fichman
2...VALERIE TETREAULT
1...MELANIE GLORIA

EASTBOURNE, ENGLAND (Premier $600K/grass)
08 Final: A.Radwanska d. Petrova
09 Top Seeds: Dementieva/Kuznetsova

=SF=
A.Radwanska d. Bartoli
Stosur d. Petrova
=FINAL=
Stosur d. A.Radwanska

...it was something of a toss-up picking Stosur or Mauresmo in their potential QF matchup. Same with Petrova and Kuznetsova in the same round. As it is, we'll see if Stosur, an Eastbourne semifinalist a year ago, can carry her momentum to her first tour singles title.

's-HERTOGENBOSCH, NETHERLANDS (Int'l $220K/grass)
08 Final: Tanasugarn d. Safina
09 Top Seeds: Safina/Cibulkova
=============================
=SF=
Tanasugarn d. Safina
Wickmayer d. A.Bondarenko
=FINAL=
Wickmayer d. Tanasugarn

...I'll go with Tanasugarn over Safina in the SF, though the world #1 DID reach the final here last season (where she lost to Tanasugarn). I'll stick with Wickmayer as a champion pick for the second straight week.

ALSO: WIMBLEDON QUALIFYING

All for now.

Links of the Moment

2009 2Q Grass Schedule

All-Decade Series

Backspin Blogtown

Tennis-Training-Central

Wimbledon Action

Recent Updates

Tennis Links

Tennis Instruction

Tennis Shop

Tennis Blogs

The Best of 2009

What If... Series

Time Capsule Series

Backspin Specials

2009 Preview Series

"all for now" Archives

Saturday, July 04, 2009

The Power of One

Friday, July 03, 2009

W.11- Everything Old is New Again

BACKSPIN TIME CAPSULE: 1993 Wimbledon

Thursday, July 02, 2009

W.10- Something Funny Almost Happened on the Way to the Final

Wednesday, July 01, 2009

W.9- A Day Before the Inevitable, more shenanigans

Tuesday, June 30, 2009

W.8- Middle-Round Maneuvers

Monday, June 29, 2009

W.7- The New Deal

Saturday, June 27, 2009

W.6- Blade Runners, Pt.II

Friday, June 26, 2009

W.5- Blade Runners, Pt.I

Thursday, June 25, 2009

W.4- Early-Round Endeavors (or should I say "endeavoUrs?"

Wednesday, June 24, 2009

W.3- Most Definitely NOT Your Supernova's Mother's Same Old Maria

Tuesday, June 23, 2009

W.2- She Has a Tendency to Excite... and worry

Monday, June 22, 2009

W.1- Been There, Done That... and it's a good thing, really

Sunday, June 21, 2009

Wimbledon Preview: A Decade's Best... ever?

Wk.24- Bare Bones Backspin: One-Sentence Wonders Edition

Saturday, June 20, 2009

Wimbledon Men's Preview: Back to the Federer

Monday, June 15, 2009

Wk.23- A Short List Grows Longer