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Tennisrulz.com
WTA BACKSPIN September 14, 2004 FINALLY A BRIDE by Todd Spiker Here we go again. Last week in New York, after a season of constantly finding herself in the role of "bridesmaid" to her Russian-born countrywomen, 19-year old Svetlana Kuznetsova finally put together a bride-worthy performance (sorry, I couldn't come up with a "mail-order" reference that wouldn't strain everyone's patience) that officially puts her near the top of the invitation list of Horde nominees hoping to snare the honor of "best Russian" -- and since she's been hovering in the weeds all season, Kuznetsova's U.S. Open crown might just give her the right to claim the now-exalted title as 2004 swiftly comes to a close. Consider this. Kuznetsova held a match point against Anastasia Myskina at Roland Garros, only to fail to convert it and then watch the Czarina become the first female Russian slam champion. During the grass season, Maria Sharapova won a grasscourt title two weeks before Wimbledon. Kuznetsova, for her part, took the more prestigious Eastbourne crown the week before play began at SW19 and went to the All-England club as many people's dark horse to challenge for the title. Of course, it was Kuznetsova who was bounced in the 1st Round while the Supernova went on to claim her eventual destiny -- a little earlier than most expected -- at age 17. Also, Kuznetsova's had the most consistent season of all the Russians. After an 0-3 run in finals earlier this year, she's now won two in a row. She 5-0 in singles semifinals (the best mark on tour), and this week is #6 in the singles rankings and #3 in doubles -- the only player to show up in both Top 10s. And how's this for a little known fact? The two longest WTA match winning streaks in 2004 have belonged to Lindsay Davenport (22) and Justine Henin-Hardenne (16). Guess who snapped both streaks. Yep, it was Kuznetsova. It'll be interesting to see how Kuznetsova immediately responds to being the third straight Russian slam winner (she's playing in Bali this week). Myskina has been a bit of a disappointment since Roland Garros, overscheduling herself during the hardcourt season (and is that her name again in the Bali draw?! -- what is she doing to herself?), imploding in Athens, then leaving her head in Greece while she lugged her body to Flushing Meadows. The post-Wimbledon Sharapova, too, has been as shaky as a 17-year old slam winner would be expected to be, even if it seems an ungainly reality for a Supernova such as she. It's the rugged game of Kuznetsova, though, that caused her to be befriended early-on by the likes of Martina Navratilova and Arantxa Sanchez Vicario (with 22 slam singles crowns between them). Maybe they were onto something. Maybe the best Russian has only now taken her turn on the big-time international stage. Considering the exploits we witnessed earlier this summer in England, wouldn't THAT turn of events be a stunner? =========================== ==BACKSPIN PLAYER-OF-THE-YEAR UPDATE== ...at this getting-late point in the season, the POY race is now essentially down to three players. I'm tossing Myskina and Sharapova out of legitimate contention for just not consistently having their game up to par beyond their isolated slam runs. Of the final three, Amelie Mauresmo is ranked #1 on the computer and Lindsay Davenport is #1 in the 2004 points race... but only Justine Henin-Hardenne has won a slam title (and an Olympic gold) this season. In fact, the other two haven't even made a single slam final this year. So, the question is this: Can a Player of the Year be a woman without a slam title (or RU) for the season? That'll be answered during the 4th Quarter. For the time being, with neither Mauresmo nor Davenport seizing the moment in New York, Queen Justine re-assumes her spot atop the race board despite her 4r exit. The race: [Tier I] 1.Henin-Hardenne...Open disappointment tempered by 5 titles, 1 slam and 1 Gold --------------------------- 2.Davenport...6 titles, but nary a slam final in '04 --------------------------- 3.Mauresmo...the reigning (dubious) #1, she's had great Tier I event success but choked in the slams yet again [Tier II - Russian Division] 4.Myskina...was handed RG on a silver platter, then ran herself into the ground on hardcourts --------------------------- 5.Kuznetsova...might catch Myskina in race soon. Plus, she's #3 in doubles, too. --------------------------- 6.Sharapova...only "pretty good" year seems so much better with Wimbledon title in the mix --------------------------- 7.Dementieva...hasn't won a title yet, but was RU in two slams [Tier III] 8.Suarez...quick start has slowed, but doubles plays keep ahead of "the rest" --------------------------- 9.Zvonareva...having breakthrough year, but still falling back into Horde pack --------------------------- 10.V.Williams...how easily we forget her stellar spring on clay. And think what her hardcourt summer would have been like without Davenport getting in her way -- she was 0-3 vs. Davenport, and 11-1 against everyone else. --------------------------- H.M.--Serena Williams & Virginia Ruano-Pascual...VRP is the doubles #1, while Serena is, well, just Serena -- and that's enough for honorable mention =========================== ==FLUSHING MEADOWS WINNERS & LOSERS== *5 WINNERS* 1.Dementieva and Kuznetsova, for their heartfelt addresses to the crowd after the US Open singles final. In the shadow of the September 1 Russian school tragedy, and on the three-year anniversary of 9/11, the players' pleas for unity against worldwide terrorism revealed the two to be more than just ball-striking machines. --------------------------- 2.Mary Pierce...with summer wins over Venus and Sharapova, is she looking to be the Davenport of '05? -------------------------- 3.Young American females: with the likes of Davenport and Capriati nearing the end, finally a little light was shining on the red, white & blue's youngsters as Angela Haynes made some waves in the main draw, 16-year old Jessica Kirkland was the girls' RU and 15-year old Julia Cohen quietly won her first ITF title in Mexico City while everyone else was in New York. --------------------------- 4.Anna Kournikova... even while not playing, she's getting more and more credit for ushering in what has become the Horde's current wave of success. It's far more complimentary than the things most said about her game when she was a Top 10 player herself. --------------------------- 5.Pierre Cantin...yes, it's the Tennisrulz honcho himself making the list! Remember, he WAS correct about a Russian winning a third straight slam crown. And he was right about Vera Zvonareva winning her first slam title, as well. Sure, the Russian singles winner turned out to be Kuznetsova rather than his pick of Vera Z, whose first slam title came in Mixed Doubles, not the biggie he forecast two weeks earlier. A little disconnect? Sure. But the thread of a psychic prophecy was there, so let's forget that it was a tad "off." Good job, anyway! *5 LOSERS* 1.Mariana Alves... move over Ted Watts, you've got some company in the "Disgraced Umpire of the Year" contest. Sure, replay wouldn't be "full proof." But we already know that the current system is anything but. To err is human, but ineptitude needn't be tolerated. --------------------------- 2.Amelie Mauresmo... yeah, I know she's the new #1, but she could have clinched it with a QF win against Elena Dementieva and instead pulled her usual in-need-of-the-Heimlich act when it really counted the most. --------------------------- 3.Lindsay Davenport...so much for going out on top, huh? Sure, she was injured in "practice." But one wonders if that hip flexor would have happened if she hadn't decided to jam Cincinnati into her schedule at the last minute when her real goal was supposed to be success at Flushing Meadows. As it was, she blew another slam SF lead to a Russian teenager who went on to win the title. --------------------------- 4.Black Monday/Tuesday: the top three seeds on the women's side all fell within 24 hours in 4th Round and QF matches. --------------------------- 5.The Boo Award: It goes to Alan Schwartz. You're president of the USTA but can't pronounce the name of a Top 10 player (and #3 in doubles) who's playing the final your organization supports? That's downright embarrassing. And it's not as if "Kuznetsova" is the most difficult of the Horde surnames to decipher. Just imagine what would have happened had Schwartz tried to congratulate Anna Chakvetadze or, worse yet, Ekaterina Bychkova. =========================== =========================== >>US OPEN CHAMPIONS<< S: Svetlana Kuznetsova d. Elena Dementieva 6-3/7-5 D: Ruano-Pascual/Suarez d. Kuznetsova/Likhovtseva M: Zvonareva/B.Bryan d. Molik/Woodbridge GS: Michaella Krajicek d. Jessica Kirkland 6-1/6-1 GD: Krajicek/Erakovic d. Gojnea/Niculescu ==PLAYER AWARDS== [WEEK 2 - 4r to F] PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Svetlana Kuznetsova ...is she the first slam champion to wear braces since Tracy Austin? --------------------------- RISERS: Kuznetsova & Elena Dementieva ...#5 Dementieva's still ranked ahead of #6 Kuznetsova on the WTA computer. --------------------------- SURPRISE: Shinobu Asagoe ...Miss Opportunity. The 28-year old Japanese vet took advantage of Myskina's ouster from her section of the draw to, at #62, become the lowest-ranked quarterfinalist since #66 Venus Williams in 1997. --------------------------- VETERANS: Virginia Ruano-Pascual & Paola Suarez ...they won their third straight US Open doubles title, and their third slam crown in 2004. --------------------------- FRESH FACES: Michaella Krajicek & Jenifer Widjaja ...Krajicek swept both the girls singles and doubles titles in Flushing Meadows. The Brazilian Widjaja, 17, won back-to-back-to-back ITF titles in the period before and during the Open. --------------------------- DOWN: Jennifer Capriati ..twice this summer, Capriati advanced to a slam SF with a golden opportunity to grab her fourth slam title in an otherwise underwhelming year. She went 0-2 vs. the Russians, never showing up against Myskina in Paris (after which she fired Heinz Gunthardt) and dropping the first set at love against Dementieva in Flushing (is Stefano next?). At 28, it's feeling like #4 won't be happening. ==MATCHES (4r-F)== 1.QF - Capriati d. Serena ...2-6/6-4/6-4. The most poorly officiated contest since the last time a Williams got jobbed at a slam. --------------------------- 2.F - Kuznetsova d. Dementieva ...6-3/7-5. What'll the Russians do for an encore in 2005? Hmmm, I smell an "Intriguing Question" coming on. --------------------------- 3.4r - Petrova d. Henin-Hardenne ...6-3/6-2. This was the JHH we expected in Athens. After 46 weeks, #1 is history...for now. --------------------------- 4.4r - Pierce d. Sharapova ...4-6/6-2/6-3. Sharapova had 14 DF, and blew a 3-1 lead in the 3rd set. --------------------------- 5.4r - Davenport d. Venus ...7-5/6-4. Davenport went 4-0 vs. Serena & Venus this summer after not beating them during the previous four years. --------------------------- 6.QF - Dementieva d. Mauresmo ...4-6/6-4/7-6. Dementieva's serves were in the mid-60 mph range. She had a groin injury, suffered from an upset stomach, had 15 DF, needed a I.V. after the match and was down a set and a break to Mauresmo. And she STILL won. --------------------------- 7.SF - Kuznetsova d. Davenport ...1-6/6-2/6-4. What's the bigger Davenport story this summer -- the four straight titles, or the two blown slam SF leads? --------------------------- 8.SF - Dementieva d. Capriati ...6-0/2-6/7-6. Was Capriati feeling "unworthy" after that Serena match? --------------------------- 9.Mixed SF - Molik/Woodbridge d. Navratilova/Paes ...will Martina's last slam act be a DF on matchpoint? After all the farewell talk at Wimbledon, there was decidedly little fanfare in NY in what is "supposed" to be her grand slam sayonara. --------------------------- 10.Jr.F - Krajicek d. Kirkland ...6-1/6-1. Krajicek was the 2003 US Open girls RU. =========================== >>WTA LISTS<< ==RANKINGS== -SINGLES- 1.Mauresmo (4527) 2.Myskina (4155) 3.Davenport (4057) 4.Henin-Hardenne (4004) 5.Dementieva (3368) 6.Kuznetsova (3014) 7.Clijsters (2815) 8.Capriati (2598) 9.Sharapova (2570) 10.S.Williams (2273) -2004 POINTS- 1.Davenport (3967) 2.Mauresmo (3386) 3.Myskina (2981) 4.Kuznetsova (2945) 5.Henin-Hardenne (2884) 6.Dementieva (2707) 7.Capriati (2300) 8.S.Williams (2273) -DOUBLES- 1.Ruano-Pascual (4856) 2.Suarez (4834) 3.Kuznetsova (3221) 4.Likhovtseva (3201) 5.Black (3065) -POINTS RACE- 1.VRP/Suarez (4423) 2.Kuznetsova/Likhovtseva (2966) 3.Petrova/Shaughnessy (2608) 4.Black/Stubbs (2516) ==MOST WTA FINALS== 8...Davenport (6-2) 6...Mauresmo (3-3) 5...Henin-H. (5-0) 5...Kuznetsova (2-3) 4...V.Williams (2-2) ==WOMEN'S #1's== [age at 1st WTA title] 14...Tracy Austin 14...Jennifer Capriati 15...Monica Seles 15...Martina Hingis 16...Chris Evert 16...Steffi Graf 16...Lindsay Davenport 16...Arantxa Sanchez 16...Kim Clijsters 16...Justine Henin 17...Serena Williams 17...Venus Williams 17...Martina Navratilova 20...Amelie Mauresmo ==2004 WEEKS IN TOP 10== [of 36 weeks] 36...Mauresmo* 36...Myskina* 36...Davenport* 36...Henin-Hardenne* 36...Dementieva* 36...Clijsters* 36...Capriati* 26...S.Williams* 20...Sugiyama 15...Kuznetsova* 12...Rubin 11...Sharapova* 10...V.Williams 9....Petrova 5....Zvonareva 1....Suarez -- (*)-current Top 10er ==2004 TOP 10ers== [W/L in 3rd Quarter] 22-1...Davenport 14-3...Mauresmo (2-0) 14-5...Myskina (2-0) 14-5...Zvonareva (1-0) 14-6...Dementieva 13-3...Kuznetsova (0-1) 11-4...V.Williams 10-2...S.Williams 10-5...Rubin (1-1) 10-5...Sugiyama 9-1....Henin-Hardenne 8-3....Capriati 8-6....Petrova 5-4....Sharapova 5-5....Suarez 0-0....Clijsters -- ()-Fed Cup W/L ==2004 LONG WTA WIN STREAKS== ()-ended by 22...Davenport (Kuznetsova) 16...Henin-H. (Kuznetsova) 14...Sharapova (Myskina) ==2004 RUSSIAN WTA RESULTS== 1Q: 2 W, 5 RU, 4 SF 2Q: 4 W, 2 RU, 5 SF 3Q: 3 W, 4 RU, 9 SF ==2004 FINALISTS BY COUNTRY== (wins in parenthesis) 20...USA (10) 20...Russia (9) 12...France (6) 8....Belgium (7) ==2004 SLAM SF SEEDS== Australian Open ...[#1 d. #2] #22,#32 Roland Garros ...[#6 d. #9] #7,#14 Wimbledon ...[#13 d. #1] #4,#5 US Open ...[#9 d. #6] #5,#8 ==BACKSPIN SLAM DESIGNATIONS== -MISS OPPORTUNITY- A: Fabiola Zuluaga R: Myskina/Dementieva W: Maria Sharapova U: Shinobu Asagoe -UPSET QUEENS- A: Hungarians R: Ukranians W: British U: Russians ==2004 GIRLS SLAM CHAMPIONS== A: Shahar Peer R: Sesil Karatancheva W: Katerina Bondarenko U: Michaella Krajicek ========================== ========================== >>WEEK 37 PREDICTIONS<< BALI, INDONESIA (III-HO) 03 F: Dementieva d. Rubin 04 TOP: Myskina/Kuznetsova ========================= SF: Dulko d. Sugiyama; Kuznetsova d. Rubin FINAL: Kuznetsova d. Dulko ...why are Myskina and Kuznetsova playing here? Especially after the Czarina's long summer, it seems positively insane for Myskina to play yet again. You'd think Kuznetsova might take at least a week off after her Open triumph, too. Oh, well. It'd be crazy to pick Myskina here after she admitted to still being emotionally in Athens after her Flushing upset, and it'd be crazy NOT to pick Kuznetsova after how well she's played the last two weeks. So there you have it. Later this week, look for the 3rd Quarter Quiz. Next week, it's time for Backspin's 3Q Awards. All for now. Visit the Elena Dementieva page here
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