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Tennisrulz.com
WTA BACKSPIN
October 5, 2004
BACKSPIN'S AWARDS FOR SEPTEMBER
by Todd Spiker
Overdue notice for the latest mover and shaker in the "old"
revolution, just as Week 39 finally gives us tangible evidence of the
beginning of the "new" one.
==PLAYERS OF THE MONTH==
(Weeks 35-39 + US Open)
1.Svetlana Kuznetsova
2.Serena Williams
3.Elena Dementieva
4.Na Li
5.Maria Sharapova
PERFORMANCE OF THE MONTH:
...Kuznetsova wins the US Open, claiming the third
slam for the Horde in 2004.
MATCH OF THE MONTH:
...Beijing Final - S.Williams d. Kuznetsova
4-6/7-5/6-4. Kuznetsova's 14-match winning streak ends on Serena's
23rd birthday, but only after Williams overcomes a MP at 4-5 in the
2nd set.
COMEBACK OF THE MONTH:
...Beijing 2r - Kuznetsova d. Na Li 6-3/6-7/7-6.
Kuznetsova survives five match points against the would-be first
Chinese WTA women's champion ever.
==OTHER SEPTEMBER PLAYER AWARDS==
RISER: Elena Dementieva
SURPRISE: Maria Elena Camerin
VETERANS: Virginia Ruano-Pascual & Paola Suarez
FRESH FACE: Na Li
DOWN: Kim Clijsters
CHOKE OF THE MONTH:
...US Open QF/SF: Mariana Alves' horrific umpiring assists Jennifer
Capriati's second trip into a 2004 slam SF. But, once again, Capriati
fails to advance.
BREAKOUT OF THE MONTH:
...in Guangzhou, Na Li becomes the first Chinese woman
to win a WTA singles title.
UPSET OF THE MONTH:
...Bali 2r - Camerin d. Myskina 6-3/1-6/6-2.
Myskina's post-Athens tumble continued in Asia.
STAT OF THE MONTH:
...Jelena Dokic has lost a career-high nine straight WTA singles
matches, AND a career-high seven straight doubles matches.
STAT OF THE MONTH, RUNNER-UP:
...the doubles team of Ruano-Pascual & Suarez won
three of the four slam titles in 2004, and have made it to ten of the
last eleven slam doubles finals (winning six of the team's seven slam
titles during the span).
STAT OF THE MONTH, HONORABLE MENTION:
...Russians have not only won three straight slam championships, but
six of the last eight WTA singles titles overall (and Kuznetsova held
matchpoint in a seventh of the finals).
===================================
===================================
==WEEK 39 & THE ASIAN ASSAULT==
*CHAMPIONS*
===========
HASSELT, BELGIUM (III-HI)
S: Elena Dementieva d. Elena Bovina 0-6/6-0/6-4
D: Russell/Santangelo d. Llagostera-Vives/Marrero
-----------------------------------
SEOUL, KOREA (IV-HO)
S: Maria Sharapova d. Marta Domachowska 6-1/6-1
D: Cho/Jeon d. Chuang/Hsieh
-----------------------------------
GUANGZHOU, CHINA (III-HO)
S: Na Li d. Martina Sucha 6-3/6-4
D: T.Li/Sun d. Yang/Yu
*PLAYER AWARDS*
===============
PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Elena Dementieva
...Punch-Sober's made two slam finals this year, but she was missing a
singles title after grabbing the first three of her career in 2003.
She did it the hard way, coming back from losing the 1st set at love
and battling back from a 1-4 3rd set deficit, but she finally put the
finishing touches on a championship in Hasselt.
-----------------------------------
RISERS: Maria Sharapova & Elena Bovina
...some lulls (Hantuchova/Dokic) last seasons, but the Supernova's
lasted about two months as she went to Seoul and claimed her first
title since winning Wimbledon. Sure, it was a Tier IV and the draw
was lacking any top talent (the same will mostly be the case for her
in Tokyo this week), but it says something about the expectations for
Sharapova when her winning a WTA singles title is a footnote in the
week's tennis news. Speaking of footnotes, Bovina made the final in
Hasselt and blew a 4-1 3rd set lead -- but her week might end up being
known for her retirement win over Kim Clijsters in the SF in what
could be the former #1's final match if the tournament doctor's
(perhaps overstated) fears prove true.
-----------------------------------
SURPRISES: Ting Li & Maria Elena Camerin
...China's Ting Li was a major player in the week's Asian assault.
Winning the doubles title with fellow Athens Olympic gold medalist
Tian Tian Sun wasn't a shock, but she also topped Nicole Pratt, Aniko
Kapros and Shuai Peng en route to the singles SF there. Camerin has
been making a living of late upsetting top players (Myskina, Dokic,
etc.). In Hasselt, she joined the growing list of players who've
recently knocked off Karolina Sprem on her way to the SF.
-----------------------------------
VETERAN: Kveta Peschke
...the 29-year old Czech Peschke (formerly Hrdlickova)
gets the nod this week for her first singles title since 1998, a
victory in the final of the Biella challenger over Virginie Razzano.
-----------------------------------
FRESH FACES: Na Li & Marta Domachowska
...in becoming the first Chinese women's titleist in WTA history, Na
Li moves into the Top 100 (#92, from #145 last week) as the Asian
Revolution I talked about in the "Intriguing Questions" column back in
January is officially underway. Li's work in Guangzhou included wins
over Vera Douchevina, Jelena Jankovic, Kristina Brandi and, in the
final, Martina Sucha. Her first WTA crown is joined by her previous
six ITF titles (four this season, all in China -- where she's played
all her events in 2004 other than a challenger in the Bronx, NY in
August). Meanwhile, Poland's Pride Domachowska made her first career
WTA final in Seoul, losing to Sharapova.
-----------------------------------
DOWN: Kim Clijsters
...everything seemed to be going well for Clijsters' return to the
tour in her home country after five months away following wrist tendon
surgery. But Hasselt turned to hell when she was forced to retire
from her SF match against Bovina with more damage to the wrist.
Tournament doctor Bruno Willems said, "This injury could mean the end
of her career. I hope she comes back, but I'm pessimistic." Late
word is that it looks like surgery won't be necessary. So, while
Clijsters is done for 2004, there's still hope for a return some time
in 2005.
*MATCHES*
=========
1.Guang F - Na Li def. Sucha
...6-3/6-4. Li qualified in Guangzhou, so she had to string together
eight straight victories to claim her first WTA title. Of course, she
won 29 in a row on the ITF circuit (four straight titles and a RU)
earlier this year, so last week was "child's play."
-----------------------------------
2.Hass F - Dementieva d. Bovina
...0-6/6-0/6-4. For most players, a scoreline like that would be odd.
But not for Punch-Sober. It's always an internal struggle for her,
but it's one that Dementieva finds ways to win more often than not
these days.
-----------------------------------
3.Hass SF - Bovina d. Clijsters
...6-4/2-2 ret. Justine Henin-Hardenne also pulled out of two events
last week, still suffering from the effects of her virus. But the
Queen's caution is now respected and desirable, considering Clijsters'
fate.
-----------------------------------
4.Seoul F - Sharapova d. Domachowska
...6-1/6-1. As if to rub in the "afterthought" quality of this title,
Sharapova's ranking actually DROPPED to #10 on Monday.
-----------------------------------
5.Seoul 1r - Domachowska d. Weingartner
...6-1/6-3. looks like the tennis gods have finally abandoned the
Blue Angel. If there was any doubt,
Weingartner's 0-6/0-6 loss to Fabiola Zuluaga in Filderstadt erased
it.
-----------------------------------
HM-Hass QF - Clijsters d. Maleeva
...6-3/6-4. The final victory?
-----------------------------------
HM-Seoul QF - Spears d. Peer
...well, Mrs. Spears took time off from planning her latest tabloid
stunt to play a little tennis in Korea. Oh, my mistake -- it's ABIGAIL
Spears. Nevermind.
===================================
===================================
==BACKSPIN PLAYER OF THE YEAR==
>>THE RACE...and what each woman needs to do to gain legitimacy in it
-TIER I-
1.Mauresmo...win the "near-slam" WTA Championship
2.Davenport...2 more titles
3.Henin-H...sweep Zurich/WTA Championship and reclaim #1
-TIER II-
4.Kuznetsova...taking tough Filderstadt competition would move to Tier
I
5.Sharapova...win something bigger than a Tier IV
6.Myskina...uh, just win two matches in a row again
(take away Roland Garros and she's had an average year for a Top 10
player)
7.Dementieva...two more titles (her two slam RU are more than Mauresmo
& Davenport can claim in 2004)
-TIER III-
8.Ruano-Pascual/Suarez...hey, doubles are nice -- but you can't be POY
by starring in it
===================================
===================================
==LISTS==
*WTA SINGLES TITLES**
6...Davenport
5...Henin-Hardenne
3...Mauresmo
3...Kuznetsova
3...Sharapova
*BEST FINAL WIN PCT. (3 or more)*
100%...Henin-Hardenne (5-0)
100%...Sharapova (3-0)
75%....Davenport (6-2)
*RUSSIAN 2004 TITLES*
3...Kuznetsova
3...Sharapova
2...Myskina
1...Dementieva
1...Zvonareva
1...Bovina
1...Likhovtseva
*2004 FIRST-TIME CHAMPIONS*
[by age]
30...Nicole Pratt (Hyderabad)
24...Emilie Loit (Casablanca)
21...Iveta Benesova (Acapulco)
22...Na Li (Guangzhou)
22...Flavia Pennetta (Sopot)
20...Claudine Schaul (Strasbourg)
19...Jelena Jankovic (Budapest)
15...Nicole Vaidisova (Vancouver)
*2004 QUALIFIER WINS TITLE*
[by rank]
#180 Nicole Vaidisova (Vancouver)
#145 Na Li (Guangzhou)
#99 Iveta Benesova (Acapulco)
*2004 FINALISTS BY COUNTRY*
25...Russia (12 wins)
21...USA (11)
12...France (6)
8....Belgium (7)
===================================
===================================
==WEEK 40 PREDICTIONS==
FILDERSTADT, GERMANY (II-HI)
03 F: Clijsters d. JHH
04 TOP: Mauresmo/Davenport
----------------------------
SF: Kuznetsova d. Dementieva; Davenport d. Myskina
FINAL: Davenport d. Kuznetsova
...revenge.
TOKYO (AIG), JAPAN (III-HO)
03 F: Sharapova d. Kapros
04 TOP: Sharapova/Golovin
---------------------------
SF: Sharapova d. Karatancheva; Golovin d. Brandi
FINAL: Sharapova d. Golovin
...Birmingham rematch. Again, the Supernova defeats the Frussian
Pastry. But a title here WOULD pretty much wrap up a magnificent
season for Golovin with a nice big (nearly falling off, in true Pastry
fashion style) bow.
All for now.
Visit the Andy
Roddick's page here
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