Tennisrulz.com
WTA Backspin
August 23, 2004

ATHENA WOULD BE PROUD
by Todd Spiker

The Queen is back.  Long live the Queen... she's now an Olympic Gold Medalist.

With the Goddess Athena surely looking down with pride, Justine Henin-Hardenne proved once again why there's no more reliable female player (or maybe, simply PLAYER, considering Roger Federer's Olympic fate) on the tennis landscape than the world's current (and ongoing) women's #1.

That sound you hear is the rest of the WTA field taking a deep breath, wondering if last week's events means the U.S. Open will soon have the same
distinct -- and familiar -- appearance that so many other tournaments have taken on since a large portion of the WTA tour was annexed as "Queen Justine's Kingdom."  Certainly the Belgian's actions in Athens were more reminiscent of her Flushing Meadow heroics last fall than any other event she's played in the twelve months since.

In Greece, JHH knocked off two of her three (so-called?) challengers for her coveted #1 ranking.  She overcame one, Anastasia Myskina, after staring down a 5-1 disadvantage in the 3rd set of their semifinal match, maintaining her composure -- despite three months of recuperation from a very nasty viral infection -- in the face of less-than-stellar play and oncoming leg cramps to advance to the Gold Medal Match.  In the final, as she did a day after
her epic win over Jennifer Capriati in the U.S. Open semi, JHH came back the next day and easily handled her opponent (Amelie Mauresmo in Athens, Kim Clijsters in NY) with her usual sterling effort.

Henin-Hardenne's absence allowed the Group of Three, the two vanquished Athens foes and Lindsay Davenport, to jockey for position to overtake her in the eyes of the WTA computer.  Meanwhile, in England, Maria Sharapova moved to the top of the popularity polls (not that JHH has ever cared about such things) after her Wimbledon triumph.  Serena Williams returned, then left again.  Her sister Venus did the same, though it wasn't because of another injury.  And, in news a little closer to home, fellow Belgian Clijsters remained a ghost with a newly-operated on wrist.  The soap opera of the WTA tour has been intriguing both in spite, and because, of the invisibility of the top player in the world.  That ends now as the pint-sized female with the Jimmy Connors'-sized heart attempts to show everyone how it's done. Again.

The odds never seem to be in Queen Justine's favor, but for most of the past year and a half she's found ways around that.  Her string of consecutive weeks at #1 is now assured of reaching 46 (only six women have ever been #1 for more weeks in their careers), and the site of her biggest challenge for that ranking will still be Flushing Meadow.  But Athens makes one question whether, on the morning of September 12, the final outcome of the previous day's Open women's singles tournament will have been any different than the one from last year.  The odds would seem to be against it, but that was the case in Athens, too.

Go ahead, Athena.  It's all right to smile.  Queen Justine just reminded us why she rose to the top of the women's tennis mountain in the first place... and now it's difficult to see her giving up her position as the "WTA's Athena" anytime in the near future.

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>>WEEK 33<<

ATHENS, GREECE (Olympics-HO)
S: Justine Henin-Hardenne d. Amelie Mauresmo 6-3/6-3
D: Li/Sun d. Martinez/Ruano-Pascual
Bronze: Alicia Molik, Suarez/Tarabini
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CINCINNATI, OH USA (III-HO)
S: Lindsay Davenport d. Vera Zvonareva 6-3/6-2
D: Craybas/Weingartner d. Gagliardi/Groenefeld

>>PLAYER AWARDS<<

PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Justine Henin-Hardenne
....at least for one week, JHH put to rest the notion that a player needs to develop match toughness to win big matches after an extended absence. Little known fact:  Henin-Hardenne now needs just a Wimbledon title to join Steffi Graf and Andre Agassi as the only players, male or female, to win all four slams plus an Olympic singles gold.
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RISER: Alicia Molik
....Athens' version of Miss Opportunity was surely the Bronze Medal-winning Aussie, who finally proved that she CAN string together a run of successful events.  Last week, she knocked off Top 10ers Myskina, Dementieva and Sugiyama.  Three weeks ago, she upset Mauresmo, and two weeks ago she won a title in Stockholm.  She's now at a career-high #18.
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SURPRISES: Ting Li & Tian Tian Sun
....not really a surprise that this Chinese pair, one of the up-and-coming doubles teams, would do well in Athens.  But not many expected the #8 seeds to win the Gold, upsetting V.Williams/Rubin and Martinez/Ruano-Pascual along the way.  Right on schedule, the Olympics (and the surging Chinese contingent) land in Beijing in 2008.
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VETERANS: Lindsay Davenport & Mary Pierce
....Davenport got the headlines with her sixth title of 2004 in Cincinnati, and fourth in her last four events (a 17-match winning streak, the longest on tour this season), but Pierce's wins over Petrova and Venus could mean she'll be a major presence at Flushing Meadow next week, as well.
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FRESH FACES: Michaela Krajicek & Timea Bacsinszky
....time to recognize the two other 15-yeard olds who grabbed titles the same week that Nicole Vaidisova did so in Vancouver.  Krajicek won a challenger event in Koksijde, her second of 2004; while Switzerland's Bacsinszky won her second crown of the season at Martina Franca (and no, that's not the name of the latest Swiss Miss).
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DOWN: Venus Williams & Anastasia Myskina
....Venus was 11-0 in Olympic singles/doubles play before Athens, but just 2-2 in Greece.  Her 3rd Round Olympic exit now rests all-too-comfortably right beside her 3rd Round exit in Oz and 2nd Round ouster at Wimbledon this year.  To think, two or three years ago everyone was worried that the Williams sisters' dominance would mean no one else would have a shot at anything.  As for Myskina... well, let's first make it clear that Backspin loves the Czarina.  But a choke is a choke, and Myskina just proved that gold -- or at least potential gold -- CAN rust... in about 24 hours.  One game from playing the Gold Medal Match, serving at 5-1 (and 5-3) in the SF against JHH, the Russian ended up without a medal of any color.  But that haunting memory of her "Golden Choke" will linger.  She wasn't over it in time for her Bronze Match against Molik, but will she finally be come the U.S. Open?  Well, the fight for #1 was fun while it lasted.

>>MATCHES<<

1.Athens SF - JHH d. Myskina
....7-5/5-7/8-6.  JHH blew 4-2 and 5-3 leads in the 2nd set, but Myskina trumped her by giving away a 5-1 & serving advantage in the 3rd.  Neither woman would get a medal for the quality of play in the UE-strewn final set, but in a test of wills it's generally smart to put the money on
Henin-Hardenne.
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2.Athens F - JHH d. Mauresmo
....6-3/6-3.  You can't give Mauresmo grief this time for losing a big match (though maybe "Scream" she should be looked at for any involvement in that Eduard Munch art heist this weekend... good for her she has a pretty good alibi).  Facing JHH following one of her patented improbable SF victories is a big little mountain to climb.  Maybe Mauresmo could sue Myskina for non-support?
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3.Athens 1r - Sugiyama d. Zheng
....4-6/6-3/8-6.  Zheng served at 6-5 in the 3rd.  That won't play well in China.  Good thing Li/Sun won the doubles Gold.  Maybe Zheng can sneak through with her collapse unnoticed now.
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4.Athens 3r - Pierce d. V.Williams
....6-4/6-4.  The defending Gold Medalist from Sydney didn't come close to repeating.  That's nothing new for Venus since 2000.
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5.Athens 1r - Molik d. Dementieva
....4-6/6-0/6-3.  Punch-Drunk returns?
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6.Cincy F - Davenport d. Zvonareva
.....6-3/6-2.  An afterthought?
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7.Athens Bronze Match - Molik d. Myskina
.....6-3/6-4.  The perfect end to a great week for Molik, and a hugely disappointing one for the Czarina.
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8.Athens 2r - Daniilidou d. Maleeva
.....2-6/6-4/6-4.  Eleni the Greek's big comeback moment.  She put up a minor fight against Myskina in the 3r, playing to 5-5 in the 1st set before falling in straights.
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9.Athens 1r - Raymond d. Kurhajcova
.....6-4/4-6/6-3.  Hey, at least Kurhajcova didn't blow a 6-0/5-0 lead to Raymond this time.
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10.Athens Doubles 1r - Suarez/Tarabini d. Medina Garrigues/Sanchez Vicario
.....6-7/7-5/6-2.   Four-time Olympic medalist ASV came back for Athens, but maybe her results before this will mean she'll move into the "Champion Emeritus" role next season that's currently inhabited by Martina Navratilova (who, by the way, advanced to the QF in Athens w/ Raymond).

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>>WTA LISTS<<

*2004 SINGLES TITLES*
6...Davenport
5...Henin-Hardenne
3...Mauresmo

*2004 SINGLES FINALS*
8...Davenport (6-2)
6...Mauresmo (3-3)
5...Henin-Hardenne (5-0)
4...V.Williams (2-2)
4...Kuznetsova (1-3)

*OLYMPIC GOLDS 1988-04*
=SINGLES=
1988 Steffi Graf, W.Germany
1992 Jennifer Capriati, USA
1996 Lindsay Davenport, USA
2000 Venus Williams, USA
2004 Justine Henin-Hardenne, Belgium

=DOUBLES=
1988 Shriver/Garrison, USA
1992 MJ Fernandez/G.Fernandez, USA
1996 MJ Fernandez/G.Fernandez, USA
2000 Williams/Williams, USA
2004 Li/Sun, China

*SANCHEZ VICARIO OLYMPIC MEDALS*
=SINGLES=
1992 Bronze (Barcelona)
1996 Silver (Atlanta)
=DOUBLES=
1992 Silver (Barcelona)
1996 Bronze (Atlanta)

*C.MARTINEZ OLYMPIC MEDALS*
1992 Doubles Silver (Barcelona)
1996 Doubles Bronze (Atlanta)
2004 Doubles Silver (Athens)

*MOST CONSECUTIVE MATCH WINS - 2004*
17...Davenport (Jul-Aug)#
16...Henin-H. (Jan-Mar)
14...Sharapova (Jun-Jul)
---
#-active streak

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==BACKSPIN "PLAYER OF THE YEAR" RANKINGS==
.....some movement this week in the rankings as all four "serious" contenders for "POY" were in action, with varying degrees of success

1.Henin-H.(3)...back in the limelight, back on top
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2.Davenport(1)...was the favorite for the US Open, until Athens
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3.Mauresmo(4)...always the bridesmaid, never the bride (in most states, at
least)
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4.Myskina(2)...JHH isn't Dementieva and wasn't about to fold like a cheap
tent
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5.Sharapova(5)...the spotlight is waiting for her in NY
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6.Suarez(6)...the Athens doubles Bronze is just another honor in a career
year
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7.Zvonareva(9)...she finally got over the SF hump for the second time in '04
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8.Kuznetsova(-)...her Olympic QF might mean she's finally absorbed her Eastbourne title and can get back to playing consistently well again
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9.Ruano-Pascual(-)...the Athens doubles Silver gives her some cushion for the title of "best doubles player" for 2004
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10.V.Williams(7)/S.Williams(8) ..."forgotten," but not forgotten

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>>WEEK 34 PREDICTIONS<<

NEW HAVEN, CT. USA (II-Hard)
03 F: Capriati d. Davenport
04 TOP: Davenport(w/d)/Dementieva
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FINAL: Sharapova d. Golovin

.....Davenport was a late pullout from this event, leaving some rather interesting possibilites in her wake.  Can Capriati make a final (she's defending champ) in Davenport's absence despite playing just three matches since Wimbledon?  I'm guessing no, and rolling the dice on an upset by the Frussian Pastry in the 2nd Round.  Sharapova's the pick here partly by default, since Dementieva looked more like Punch-Drunk than Punch-Sober in Greece.  On the other hand, the Supernova probably won't experience her slight post-Maria World Tour hangover for much longer.  And if you're looking for a little mystical guidance for Flushing Meadow, know that in Sharapova's final Wimbledon tuneup she played in the Birmingham final and defeated, you guessed it, Tatiana Golovin.  And, well, you know what happened after that.

FOREST HILLS, NY USA (V-Hard)
[new event]
TOP: Likhovtseva/Loit
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FINAL: Likhovtseva d. Flipkens

....a tiny tournament.  A tiny 15-player field.  A hunch prediction.

Finally, a Backspin salute to the Blue Angel.  A week after being kicked in the teeth by the German Olympic Committee, Marlene Weingartner walked away from Cincinnati with a doubles title (w/ Jill Craybas) -- her first WTA title of any kind.  In Athens, Florian Meyer got nothing... except the experience of competing for his country as an Olympian.   Somehow, I bet that feeling will last longer in his memory than Weingartner's Tier III doubles title will in her's.  And where the Olympics are concerned, isn't that SUPPOSED to be the point?

Oh, well.  At least Weingartner made the most of a heartless decision.

All for now.