The Unfortunate Tale of Ms S

A short post today, because what more can I say about Serena that has not been said?

I think we were all really, really looking forward to having her back. When she went out, Serena was so far above the rest of the field that I think everyone was subconsciously expecting her to return there - to immediately re-ascend her throne and command the WTA during the Slams. And it looked like Roland Garros was her comeback time, and we were all excited, and...

And now Serena's been admitted to hospital with a pulmonary embolism and a subsequent hematoma and could be out for another year. And the question is beginning to be asked - not by me yet, I would hasten to add, but the question is out there - will she ever come back?

I'm sure there's a bunch of Serena skeptics out there who, just like when she was in the boot for an extended time, thought that she was faking it and it was all a big act, ra ra ra. I hope these people have the taste and decency to bite their tongues this time, because this is serious business. According to her statement, Serena is recuperating at home under strict medical supervision and hopes to be back by early summer. (Is anyone else confused as to what 'early summer' means? Which summer?) But her main goal, if she is to come back, is to come back safely.

Which, duh.

It is terribly, terribly sad that Serena's experienced another setback on her road to recovery. What seemed like a reasonably little deal at the beginning - Serena cutting her foot on broken glass outside a restaurant - has blossomed into something very big and scary and worrying. The WTA is not the same without Serena. And I'm sure she wants to be back playing as much as we want her back.

Get well soon, Serena.

Advent

Hola, my reader friends! As you know, December is a bit of a quiet month in the tennis world - but the December Showdown starts today, and our coverage of it will start tomorrow. Well, when I say 'coverage', I mean, 'me talking about matches I didn't actually see', but I'm sure we can make something out of that.

So yes. This is going to be a short one today, due to lack of content.

But a few quick words on the Hopman Cup - a few months ago, they had such a sweet line up, and now they're dropping like flies. First we lost Serena, who's been replaced by Bethanie Mattek-Sands; then Steve Darcis, who has been replaced by Ruben Bemelmans (he who played Lleyton pretty tight in Davis Cup); and now Gael Monfils has got all injured.

I heartily approve of his replacement, though. Nicolas Mahut and Kristina Mladenovic might not stand a great chance of taking the trophy, but any man who can play a 70-68 fifth set is all right by me. I wonder if Nico has a hair gel endorsement yet...

Putting 2010 to Bed

Kim Clijsters won the year end championships, just like I said she would. Caro tried her best but when it comes down to it, her game relies on the other person making mistakes, and Kimmie just did not make enough mistakes to make it worth Caro's while.

And you know what? Kim Clijsters may well be the player of 2010 for the women. Even though she didn't have the bestest year of all the years. And that is really saying something about women's tennis.

You can't say it was Serena's year, because even though she did win two Slams, she was out of the mix for nearly the whole thing. You can't say it was Caro's year, because even though she did reach #1, she only made one Slam semi final and mostly won smaller tournaments. That leaves Kimmie by default - she won a Slam, a couple of Premier titles and the year ending championships. That's not a bad haul...

...but it feels like it should be more.

I'm not saying that there should always be someone who has a year like Rafa had this year. But the women's tour has really felt like it's flailing this year, especially in these Serena-less months.

I don't want to naysay what Kim Clijsters has achieved this year, because she's done some awesome stuff. But dominate? there's been none of that. It's really highlighted, this year, just how far above the rest of the game Serena is. She may not be #1 at the moment, but she is very, very obviously the best player around. And that is all that can be said about that.

I'm glad we've put 2010 to bed for the ladies. It was a messy, ugly affair, when all's said and done. Here's to a better 2011.

Consistency Isn't Everything

People are falling all over themselves to make Caro Wozniacki's ascension to #1 okay. I can't count the amount of 'oh, but she's so consistent' etc I have read overnight. And sure, points wise, she is #1. Points don't lie.

But come on. Seriously.

You thought Jankovic and Safina were weak #1s? Safina made three Slam finals! Jankovic made one too! I know Woz has made one, but it doesn't count towards her current points count. She's only won one Tier 1 event, for heavens' sakes.

I'm not saying that Serena deserves to be #1. While she is clearly the best player in the world, if you haven't played - not her fault, obviously, but still - your name's not in the game. You have to be in it to win it, etc. But look at players like Zvonareva. Look at Clijsters. They're achieving real grown up results without playing week after week after week. Sure, they have taken a couple of weak losses, but they've followed them up with some big results.

There is a lot to say for consistency. But consistency in lower level tournaments? Consistency born of simply playing a lot? I know Caro works hard - no one is going to deny that - and consistency is something lacking on the WTA tour. But there's something seriously whack when this kind of consistency gives you a #1 ranking. Bring back Dinara.

The Oncoming Storm

It's hard to let go of the Slam year. 2010 is, for all effects and purposes, over. We have learned what we are going to learn over the best of five sets thing, and now it's time to phone it in till the end of the year.

Or, if you are that way inclined, pick up some points, and that would not be the worst thing in the world ever to do, Mr I-Would-Be-Ranked-6-if-I-hadn't-won-the-Australian-Open.

And it's a time when we should be reflecting on what we've learned, but I'm not very reflective. Instead, I'm restless.

What have we learned? Well, we have learned that Rafa Nadal is a force to be reckoned with, and outside of being that guy that always denies Federer at the most inopportune times, we need to start talking about him as a great player in his own right. We have learned that Andy Murray might not, contrary to popular belief, ever win a Slam. We have learned that when Serena's out of the mix, just about anyone can win a WTA Slam... but when she is in the mix, you have to pull out something pretty special to beat her.

These are all valid lessons to have learned, but even though the year is effectively over, I have the feeling that we're not quite done with 2010 yet. Rafa has year end #1 all sewn up and I wouldn't be betting against Serena on the women's side, but there's the sense that there is something coming. Surprises are in store.

There's a storm coming. I couldn't tell you what it is, whether it will be for the ATP or the WTA or both, or whether I am just making this up, but I have the feeling that 2010 isn't quite finished yet. We may not have the big tournaments left to warrant it, but there are still a few surprises left in store for us this year.

Oudinisation

I suppose the match of the day we have to talk about is Sergiy Stakhovsky and Ryan Harrison. And don't get me wrong, this was a good match. Very entertaining stuff.

But... USA, I say this with love. I say it because I am from a country that does exactly the same thing to its sportspeople (hello, Casey Dellacqua?) You do not do your up and comers any favours when you deify them as the next big thing. It is possibly the most spectacularly unhelpful thing you could do for their careers.

It's a horrible process called... Oudinisation. And Ryan Harrison is being Oudinised.

I bet Harrison is kicking himself that he lost that match - any self respecting tennis player would be. But you know what? For the sake of any future career he might have, I reckon it might be a good thing. If he had got to the third round, had gone further, the Oudinisation process would have gone further. He must have become fully Oudinised. And that is not a good thing.

Players that are Oudinised have incredible expectations placed on their shoulders. Tennis is a game where only the toughest survive, and it is only the extremely rare player in whom that toughness is innate (Rafa and Serena come to mind). In most others, it is learned. I would include Roger Federer in this category, so this is not necessary a bad thing - look how he turned out. But the process of Oudinisation does not help.

Look at what happens to British players at Wimbledon. This is an extreme case of Oudinisation which can affect even those who are legitimately the next big thing (hi, Andy Murray). But when you heap the expectations of a nation on the shoulders of someone as young as Ryan Harrison or Beatrice Capra or Melanie Oudin, you are not allowing them that necessary growth period. The time when they can play their way into toughness.

It so happens that sometimes young players have good results. We know this happen. Melanie Oudin had a spectacular run at the US Open, and this cannot be denied. But when players this young have that one run and then get expected to repeat, that is when you open the mental floodgates to the demon. These players can be literally destroyed by hope - the hope of a nation desperate for someone to be the next be thing - and a lot of the time, that second result is going to be a long time in coming. If it ever comes. Oudinisation can mess with your head.

So what I'm saying is that just because one young player had one young result, do not go and make them your Messiah. You may have dodged a bullet when you fluffed those three match points, Ryan Harrison - it might all work out better for you in the long run.

And in other news, Dustin Brown has awesome hair. This is all.

She Who Loses Last

News item #1: I have tickets to the first week of the Australian Open! (again!) I am very excited about it! Australian Open membership is the bomb.

News item #2: Caroline Wozniacki is a serious contender for the US Open.

I don't want to think Caro is a real contender. I can't think of anyone whose game I like less. The great headcases of our game - the Ivanovics and Safinas of the world - at least they went for stuff. They might have made some spectacular errors, but at least they died trying, in a manner of speaking. Caro seems to have got to where she is by waiting for her opponent to make a mistake, and while that is obviously within the rules of the game, I don't think it's within the spirit.

But nevertheless, CazWoz is a serious contender and may well be the #1 seed, now we've lost Serena. If she keeps forcing everyone else to make mistakes before she does - like she did in Montreal this week - then she's going to be near impossible to beat. What needs to happen is that someone needs to hit her straight off the court. Someone needs to go for the lines and hit them, not just miss them. Otherwise, Caro is going to make the final again and this time go one better.

But now Serena is out, here's the question - who's going to be the one to take down the game's greatest pusher? Who is going to step up to the plate? Will it be Clijsters again? Venus? Jankovic? Kuznetsova? Someone else entirely?

Or is pushing - not losing instead of winning - going to be enough?

The Asterisk Problem

It really hasn't been a good news weekend so far. There's a hung parliament in Australia, Tony Abbott might end up being the Prime Minister, Serena and del Potro are definitley out of the US Open...

I won't subject you to my whinging on Australian politics, but if you want whinging about the absence of these two key figures from the year's last Slam, then you have come to the right place. I don't believe in the concept of the asterisk - you know, when someone wins but it's with reservations because of something that happened, like Amelie Mauresmo in Australia in 2006 when Justine Henin retired in the final - but the US Open is just not going to be the same without these two.

We kind of already knew del Potro wasn't going to be there, so this is hardly surprising. And ordinarily, I wouldn't really be too bothered. I managed to get through all of Roland Garros and Wimbledon without missing Delpo at all (in fact, sometimes I'm pretty sure I forgot he even existed). But New York is a different matter. He's a defending champion. And while that has its own mystique but doesn't actually necessarily mean anything given the field, I find that we do miss him more on hard courts. He's a bigger force here than anyone else. You never know what's going to happen when Delpo steps on court. And I think that level of volatility will be missed.

But the real shocker is, of course, Serena.

I didn't expect this one, and I spent some time going 'oh no, both defending champions are out' until I realised that Serena was not, in fact, the defending champ. I just sort of assume she won something if I can't quite remember who won at that moment (sorry, Kimmie) and that, right there, is one of the reasons she'll be missed. In Serena, you always know you have a Slam contender. Sometimes, given the nature of the WTA, she's the only Slam contender you have. One of the things I like most about Serena is that she wins things, she doesn't just lose last. And that is what I am afraid is going to happen at the US Open.

Of course, we could have another Clijsters or Schiavone fairy tale victory. Who knows what will happen? It will definitely be a surprise and that will be exciting. But without Serena - and, for that matter, without Henin - I'm a little worried the WTA will be she who loses last, not she who wins.

Making Sense of Cincy

Well, here we are in Cincy. Incy wincy Cincy.

When I see we I obviously mean the men's tour - it is no secret that I find it more interesting than the ladies' tour right now - but let's talk Cincy last week, when the ladies played here. There were some totally interesting results that came out of that tournament that I forgot about in the haze of strawberry milkshakes and chocolate icecream.

Our winner was Kimmie, and it seems to me like she hasn't won anything for a while, so this is a good result for her, especially if she's looking to defend her title at the US Open - which I personally think would be awesome and, if she keeps playing like this, she has a great chance of doing. The final against Sharapova was definitely one of the better women's matches we've seen this year, and I would say that both ladies were in great shape heading towards New York...

...if Shaz hadn't gone and half-broken her foot.

Oh Maria. Will your injuries never cease?

Nonetheless, if the injury isn't too bad and if MaSha can recuperate in time, she has as good a chance as anyone to do well at the US Open, especially considering Serena might be entering on exactly zero matches (and may well still be wearing an orthopaedic boot.) And if Kimmie keeps her level up, I'm not going to gainsay her.

But the real mover and shaker for the ladies last week - in my opinion anyway - was Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova. I wouldn't rate her as a shot at winning the Open or anything - I think Nastia has a way to go before she gets there - but she could definitely pull a Wickmayer and go very deep and pull some major upsets. She very nearly overcame MaSha and that is no mean feat. So yeah... keep an eye on that one!

Hurrah for the Hopman Cup!

As regular readers of this blog will be aware, I embarked on an epic tennis adventure around the nation last year, stopping in at four cities. One of these was Perth, where I paid my first ever visit to Western Australia and the Hopman Cup.

Now, even though I had an absolute blast last year, I was tossing up whether to go to Perth again this year, because when you live in a country as big as Australia, flights clear across the country are expensive. It's like a punch directly to the wallet. But with the announcement of some of the teams, I think my decision's been made for me. I couldn't not go.

John Isner and Serena Williams are the American entry, and they have to be the top seeds for sure. Big Is played there last year (opposite tiny Melanie Oudin) and I think Perth will be very glad to see him back! And Serena, well… pulling a #1 player is a huge coup for an exhibition tournament like Hopman Cup! I'm assuming they pay appearance fees and that their bucket of money is very deep indeed, because they've also got Novak Djokovic and Ana Ivanovic. (I know Ana's ranking is not that high, but I still think she could demand big time fees!)

Oh, and Justine Henin, partnered with Steve Darcis. Minor coup. Pfft.

And then there's the French team! Gael Monfils is going to be very entertaining, and I'm really looking forward to seeing his partner, Kristina Mladenovic, one of the top juniors in the world. And Lleyton Hewitt is back (again), with a yet to be decided partner.

It would be pretty hard to dream up an exho field better than this! This has the two finalists from this year's AO and I for one am gagging to see them play. Perth 2011, here I come!

Breaking Glass, Breaking the Draw Open

What is it with American tennis players and freak glass related injuries? First Sam Querrey goes through a coffee table and needs some stupid amount of stitches, and now Serena is out for a good few months after treading on broken glass on a restaurant.

I can't quite understand how that happened, but I do know that there must be one terrified restaurant owner out there quivering in their boots anticipating the wrath of Serena.

Is this just bad luck for Serena? Or is it the universe's way of ensuring she doesn't win three Slams this year and make the rest of the women in the field look a little bit ridiculous?

I mean, if Serena says she'll be ready for the US Open, I believe her. But coming in on no matches is definitely not the bestest prep ever. And it's a little bit sad that even though she'll be coming in matchless and to the scene of her greatest ever humiliation, she's still the favourite.

So if Serena doesn't win in New York, who is going to step up to the plate? That is the question now. Will it be Kim Clijsters in a fairy tale repeat? Or will someone else make a dash on it? Given Serena's injury, basically any winner is going to be a surprise winner. That broken glass just broke the draw wiiiiiiiide open. It's going to be an interesting US Open indeed.

Truth and Wimbledon 2010

Let's be honest. This was not the bestest Wimbledon ever. And I'm not just saying that because I'm a thwarted Fedfan. I'm saying this because despite the number of five set matches and shenanigans going on, one match managed to overshadow the whole tournament. One lonely little first round match out on the back courts is going to be the reason Wimbledon 2010 is remembered.

Wimbledon 2010: the year of Isner and Mahut.

Normally I would try and cover a number of stories that went on over the week, but the fact is that everything, even the victories of Nadal and Serena, pale beside the achievement here. They won Wimbledon. Isner and Mahut won an enormous victory for tennis. Has any match ever garnered such public attention? John Isner is now some massive media dude in the US - everyone wants a piece of Izzy - and I'd be surprised if the same thing isn't happening to some extent with Nico as well.

After and during this match, people were all like, 'blah, this is why we need fifth set tiebreaks!' Um, no. It is matches like these and prove exactly why we don't. How could a fifth set tiebreaker adequately have described the drama that was this match? It deserved to go to 70-68, because the match was just that close. That is the truth of the matter, plain and simple. It's right that this match effectively went for fifteen odd sets, because no one was giving ground.

The person that blinks first is the one that loses. That is the truth of tennis. This match showed exactly what it means to be a tennis player, and a good one - not blinking. For ages and ages and ages. It is a cruel truth, but that is the nature of the sport. And there is no way a fifth set tiebreaker would have done justice to the drama of Isner and Mahut.

And so, not to devalue the immense and awesome achievements of Serena and Rafa, that is who really won Wimbledon this week. Isner. Mahut. Tennis. Because these are the things that will be remembered about Wimbledon 2010 for always.

Surprise, Surprise

There was always a certain inevitability about Serena winning this tournament. Once it got to the quarters - especially once it got to the semis and Venus was out - it was always going to happen.

There's a reason Serena is so good, and it's not because she has a first serve that is better than anyone else's on the tour, and it's not because she knows what shot to make when. It's because she's got tunnel vision when it comes to winning. Sometimes that tunnel vision can articulate itself in unpleasant ways - the US Open last year comes to mind - but on the whole, it is the driving force behind her success.

I've heard it compared to Nadal's state of mind, and while I think there are similarities, I think they are not the same thing. Rafa has an intense concentration - more intense than any other player I've ever seen. It's a kind of point by point concentration which is quite unique - he has a fierce will to win every point he plays. Serena also has a great deal of concentration, but it's not quite Rafa-esque - what is behind her is her overwhelming will to win. Not the will to win the point, like Rafa, but a more abstract will to win the set, the match... and, I would extrapolate, at life.

This is also, I would contend, one of the key differences between Serena and Venus. Serena has some more weapons than Venus does, sure, but that singular focus? That's all Serena, amigo.

I wasn't expecting a lot of Vera in this final but I was, I confess, a little disappointed. She played great to keep Serena to 3-all in the first set, but once Serena got the break, it was pretty much all over Red Rover for Vera. She's definitely come a long way mentally but she has a while left to go, I think. Nonetheless, a very successful two weeks for her, and I think she can come away very proud.

But surprise, surprise... Serena triumphed. Congratulations, Rere. You deserved this one big time.

Breaking Out

Let's talk ladies' tennis. I'm actually pretty excited for this final - given the rate of knots that seeds have fallen at during this tournament, ending up with a Serena/Zvonareva final is better than any of could have expected.

To be honest, I think Serena's going to romp home with very little trouble at all. Vera is an awesome player, but I don't know if she has the chops to take down Serena on grass. Serena has been playing super solidly all week and she's definitely looked to be the best player here, in my opinion. Getting through the Sharapova match was key - that was the match which really announced her as the firmest of favourites. So yeah. I think Serena's going to win.

This is not to say, however, that this tournament has not been a breakout tournament for many others. Zvonareva, for one - after all this 'oh no, the Russians are fading fast' palaver, here we have one in the final, which is a massive achievement for her. I'm really hoping that Bepa puts up a good account of herself, because boy can she play. It will be mostly mental for her, I think - if she can keep her head together, it should be an entertaining match.

But let us pause for a moment and consider the enormity of this tournament for Petra Kvitova and Tsvetana Pironkova.

I think this result is going to be a big springboard for Kvitova. I think she is going to rocket up the rankings and do great things. I hadn't seen a lot of her play before this week but now I am convinced that she has top ten potential. The Czech Republic has produced a lot of very-nearly-almost-but-not-quite women of late - there's Safarova and Benesova, not to mention Kvitova herself. But I think is really going to take her places. Watch out for Petra!

Pironkova, on the other hand... I can't really see her going to top tennishness or anything, which is sort of counter-intuitive, because I actually like her game more than Kvitova's. Scratch that, I love the way Pironkova plays. Her variety is a massive asset, and she's outstanding to watch. But I guess I feel with her that she's been doing the same thing for a while now, and this has been the first really big result she's pulled since she beat Venus back in, what, 2006? She's the kind of player who is always dangerous but never quite there - a Philipp Kohlschreiber, if you will. I think that if she was going to be glorious, it would have happened already...

...but Tsveta, in the tiny chance that you ever read this, don't listen to me. Prove me wrong. Because I love, love, love your game!

Anything Can Happen. Literally, Anything.

So, um, if anyone picked a Zvonareva/Pironkova semi in their bracket they just made a killing. Hell, people that picked a Serena/Kvitova semi also made a killing. We've seen some weird results in the WTA lately, but this just takes the case.

You thought Stosur vs Schiavone was a weird Slam final? What, then, would you call Kvitova vs Pironkova? Because this could happen.

I was very disappointed with the performance of my title pick, Kim Clijsters. Vera Zvonareva totally got her act together in the second two sets, but Kimmie was spraying that forehand something fierce. This was not the Kimmie we saw beat JuJu. It also wasn't the Kimmie that lost to Petrova in Australia, but it was closer to her than the Kimmie we saw in the last round. Saddening.

But hey! at least this result shows that all is not lost for the Russians. Their big guns, Sharapova, Safina, Kuznetsova, Dementieva... all gone. But up pops forgotten little Vera with the big result. Never underestimate a Russian lady.

But upset of the day surely has to go to Tsvetana Pironkova. She has, I would like to note, beaten Venus before. But Venus at Wimbledon is a whole other kettle of fish. Venus is the queen of this tournament. And yes, she was looking a little out of sorts, but Tsveta absolutely schooled her in that match. It was quite remarkable. Beating Venus on grass isn't quite beating Federer on grass or Nadal on clay, but it's in the ballpark next door. This is a massive, massive result for Tsveta.

And now only Serena is left upholding what remains of WTA normalcy. You have to think that her path to the title is pretty clear now, but we know perfectly well that anything - and I mean anything - can happen. Tsvetana Pironkova, Wimbledon champion. IT COULD HAPPEN.

Wrong Place, Wrong Time

I think the first round losses of Stosur and Schiavone show one thing - the fact that the WTA is really anyone's game at the moment. One day, you might be playing in the final. The next, you're losing in the first round. It's open and it's unpredictable and it's hard to know what's going on.

That said, Serena Williams is looking fierce and I defy anyone to beat her, no matter what I predicted.

But let's go back to Sam Stosur. She looked all at sea on the grass and Kaia Kanepi trod all over her at the end. Kanepi played an awesome match and this was a tough, tough first round draw for Sam, mark my words - Kanepi was ranked #18, like, last year. But Stosur did not really acquit herself well at all.

Stosur does well on clay because of the Nadal-esque she can get on her groundies, particularly the serve. The new string she's started using has only helped her. But I think she fell into the same trap that Roger did last night and was kind of trying to play clay court tennis on a grass court. She's one of the best doubles players of the last decade. She's very comfortable at the net and can hit a sweet, sweet volley. She had some good success at the net in this match, but did not come in anywhere near enough. A few serve and volleys or even chip and charges might have been a good idea. She did try it a couple of times but not enough.

Kanepi played good tactics - going into the backhand in particular. In Roland Garros Sam danced round a lot of these to hit the forehand, but here she didn't have the time, what with the nature of the surface. And also her forehand was misfiring a bit, so not the best idea anyway.

In short, this is a bit disappointing from Sam but not really surprising. She's never been that comfortable a) at Wimbledon and b) under scrutiny, and here she was both.

Someone who is comfortable in both these places is Serena Williams, and she looked positively lethal today. Larcher de Brito pulled it together a bit in the second set but it was too much, too late. It looks like I was a little quick to write off Serena. I, for one, am hoping for a similarly awesome performance from MaSha and a big, big R16 clash...

Wimbledon 2010 - The Ladies

It's that time again - le predictions de Jodi, Wimbledon edition. Let's start with the ladies.


Serena's quarter: This quarter isn't terrible for Serena, but it's not great either. Normally I'd expect her to come through it without any problems at all, but I'm just a little concerned about her level of injury at the moment. Still, if the girl is going to get to quarters and very-nearly-almost of Roland Garros (which is what she did last year, when she won Wimbledon...)


The biggest name lurking in this section has to be Maria Sharapova. She's not doing too badly - she made a final last week - but she could be doing better (she should have won that final.) She could meet Serena in the round of sixteen, and wouldn't that be a screamathon (even more so if Michelle Larcher de Brito got through - all of SW19 is going to be able to hear Serena's first round encounter with the young screamer.)


Winner: Serena. You'd be a fool to bet against her.
If not her, then: Maria Sharapova. No shocks there.
Dark horses: Na Li. I'm never counting this lady out. And also, randomly, Dominika Cibulkova. I heard she's working with Zeljko Krajan now, and maybe that'll give her a little sumthin' sumthin'.
First round encounters to watch: Serena/Screamer, Cibulkova/Safarova and Keothavong/Rodionova.


Caro's quarter: This is a much better draw for Sam Stosur than she had at Roland Garros, and consequently, I don't expect her to go as far. She places best as the underdog, when there's no pressure on her, and I don't think it would be unfair to call her favourite for this quarter, as Caro doesn't seem to be in much form.


One to watch out for, however, is Caro's teen queen frenemy, Vika Azarenka. She's hit a nice patch of form right at the right time - however, I'm not sure if playing a final the Saturday before Wimbledon will help or hinder her. Jury's out there. And is it a fluke? Who knows.


Oh, and miss gold lame dress herself is in this quarter (though presumably wearing a different dress.) What can she make happen here?


Winner: Vika Azarenka. I just have a feeling.
If not her, then: Sam Stosur. I don't expect it, but it'd be nice if it happened. Or maybe Pavlyuchenkova - I like her game a lot.
Dark horses: I like the look of Alexandra Dulgheru, but I'm not quite sure what she can do on grass. Oh, and maybe Rezai.
First round matches to watch: Pavlyuchenkova/Benesova, Cirstea/Kvitova and Stosur/Kanepi.


Jankovic's quarter: They might as well have just named this quarter the Belgian quarter, as all three of the big Belgian contenders (and Kirsten Flipkens) are in here. Surprise! they're all major chances in my book. I love Kimmie's game on grass - and if she can beat someone in 38 minutes (even though she lost the next round) I appreciate it. JuJu definitely has the drive. And I just really like Yanina Wickmayer.


As to JJ herself - I don't know if she's really recovered from the mental beatdown Stosur put on her at Roland Garros. But I am ready to be proved wrong.


Also watch out for Nadia Petrova. You never know what she can do.


Winner: Kim Clijsters. I like her game on grass the best of all the Belgians - oops, I mean, everyone.
If not her, then: Justine Henin. You know she wants this one.
Dark horses: Yanina Wickmayer. Belgian surprise! And also Nadia Petrova. And Jankovic - can I call her a dark horse in a quarter she's seeded to win?
First round matches to watch: Jankovic/Robson, Oudin/Flipkens and Kirikenko/Voegele.


Venus's quarter: Not only do we have Venus 'I care only about Wimbledon and nothing else' Williams in this quarter, but the recently crowned Roland Garros champ Francesca Schiavone, proof that anything can happen (and frequently does). That said, I'm not expecting lightning to strike twice for Frankie, but definitely keep an eye out for her - I think she'll play out her seeding, if nothing else.


It's hard to pick against Venus at Wimbledon, even though she's been so pathologically underwhelming for a while now. This quarter isn't too bad for her, because the major headcases of the game - Ivanovic and Safina - are in there, and should Venus meet them, I don't expect she'd have too much trouble dispensing with either one.


Do watch out, however, for Yaroslava Shvedova. She's been playing some good ball lately.


Winner: Venus. Not betting against her in her backyard. She wants revenge against Serena for last year.
If not her, then: Frankie. Don't think it'll happen, but who's going to count her out now?
Dark horses: Shvedova, as noted above. And also Marion Bartoli - we know she's gone deep here before, maybe she can do it again. And maybe even Safina, now that the pressure's off a little and no one's really talking about her.
First round matches to watch: Peer/Ivanovic, Mirza/Kerber and Safina/Groenefeld.


This leaves us with the following semi final match ups:


Serena vs Vika
Kimmie vs Venus

I bet you think I'm going to pick the Williams sisters, don't you? It's been the all-Williams show for a wowzand years now. But guess what? My finals pick is...


Vika vs Kimmie


That's right, not even one Williams in the final in the Jodi draw. Neither have been playing well enough for me to merit picking them. (That said, neither is Vika, but she is totally due a win over Serena). And I have a feeling.


And the winner is...


Kimmie.


Probably not the safest bet, but I have a really good feeling about Kim Clijsters in this tournament - a holding up the trophy feeling. And it's always a feelgood victory when Kimmie wins.


What do you think?

Slammin' Sam

Well, well, well. For all my Zen, the tournament seemed a little empty to me with Federer out. But Samantha Stosur, you have given me reason to get right back into this Roland Garros shenanigan.

It's not exactly news that I'm not the most parochial tennis fan ever - I like to see the Aussies do well, don't get me wrong, but I'm a fan of individual rather than nation. So my fandom of Sam Stosur is not just because we share a country of origin, but because hot DAMN I love that girl's game.

I'm not, obviously, a massive fan of her chokiness, and if she had lost this match after serving for it at a set and 5-3, I don't know if she could ever have forgiven herself. But in a strange way, I think it did her more good beating a player like Serena, of notorious mental toughness, in a tight third set. That took more guts and nerves and chutzpah than serving out a routine straight sets victory ever could. Not that I wouldn't have liked to see her serve it out... but knowing that she can hang tight and hang tough with the toughest of players deep in the third, in the disadvantaged position of serving second - that is something something SOMETHING.

It was a brilliant first set and a half from Stosur. Not Serena's greatest match at all, but what is so important is that Sam capitalised. And if she can beat Henin and Serena back to back, there is nothing she can't do.

Whoever wins out of Jankovic and Stosur will win the tournament, I think. And there is absolutely no reason that in a few days, we couldn't say Sam Stosur, Roland Garros champion. That girl has every chance in the world.

A Year To The Day

A year to the day that Robin Soderling did the seemingly impossible and knocked out Rafa Nadal at Roland Garros, Sam Stosur has done exactly the same on the women's side. And much as I love Justine Henin, I am ecstatic for Sam.

People were calling Sam the dark horse of this incredibly difficult quarter, but I don't think anyone actually expected her to come through Justine realistically. But she has a chance - a damn fighting chance - of actually repeating her semi final performance here last year and maybe going further. If she can beat JuJu on clay, you can bet that she has as good a chance as anyone against Serena...

The winners: Sam Stosur. For all the reasons listed above. And for being freaking AWESOME.

Rafael Nadal also, for being a complete force of nature on a clay court.

And I have to give a shout out to Jurgen Melzer. So much talent, never really did too much with it, being the first Austrian to really do much of anything after Thomas Muster retired. And now - quarters at a major. Not too shabby at all! And considering the way Djokovic is playing, he stands a pretty decent chance of making semis if he keeps his head screwed on.

The losers: I'm sorry, JuJu, but you have to go in this column. Sam Stosur played lights out to beat her, but I seriously thought JuJu was going to win the tournament. She won't be happy with this result - even though it will give her a little longer to plan her assault on Wimbledon. And maybe that will be the difference for JuJu there... only time will tell.

And it might seem a little unfair, but Shahar Peer has to go here too. She started out fantastically against Serena and then completely lost it. What happened there, Shahar - apart from you realising that, oh yeah, Serena was on the other side of the net?

The disappointments: Raise your hand, Nando Verdasco. I know you have your whole toenail deal going on, but I was really feeling you this clay court season. I really feel like you have it in you to go super deep at Roland Garros - obviously your year is not this year.

And I know he won, but Novak Djokovic has been very disappointing this whole tournament, and it didn't stop here. Considering Robby Ginepri has won a grand total of eleven clay court matches in his entire career, you'd think the world #3 would be able to beat him without meekly dropping a set for what seemed like no reason.

The scraped-in-by-skin-of-teeth: No one really - no extremely tight matches today. So let's call this one the sneaking-through-the-draw-without-really-drawing-attention-to-themselves category today, and point our fingers at Nico Almagro and Jelena Jankovic, who have been silent and deadly so far. Nico will obviously stop next round, as he's playing some dude called Rafa whom I hear is a bit good on this surface, but Jelena really has the potential to go all the way here.

One to watch/story of the day: Watch out world. Here comes Sam Stosur!

WTA WTF (again)

I kind of wish I hadn't used the headline 'WTA WTF' yesterday, because I want to use it again today. Serena, really?

Come on, Serena. I haven't always been your biggest fan and that you don't peak till the Slams, but I thought I could count of you to keep some semblance of normalcy in this wacky tournament, particularly as pretty much everyone who might be considered competition is out already.

But no. Not to be.

And so we're left with Venus... Jankovic... a few other randoms... and one Sam Stosur.

At this point, I think I might be picking Jankovic to win the tournament, but what a shot for Sam Stosur. She made relatively quick work of Patty Schnyder at the moment and is looking fierce. She's been one of the form players this season - even though 'form' basically constitutes 'losing last' for the WTA these days (though Sam has been playing genuinely well) and a win here in Madrid would not only be HUGE for her career, it would catapult her with a whole ton of momentum into Roland Garros and, I believe, the top five.

Now there is a bit of something.