US OPEN 2011: Women's Final Preview

Serena Williams USA (28) v. Samantha Stosur AUS (9). 

by Mad Professah, contributing writer

The 2011 US Open finalists are the two women in the draw with the two best serves in women's tennis. Serena demonstrated the importance of having an effective serve in her 6-2 6-4 drubbing of the now and future World #1 Caroline Wozniacki in a routine semifinal whose result was never in doubt. Serena served 11 aces and hit another 23 winners from all over the court--and she was probably playing at about 80% of her ability. Her "B" game. Wozniacki simply had (and has) no weapons with which to bother Serena and almost no offensive intent or capacity so Serena simply bided her time, broke the 21-year-old Dane at will and was content to serve out the match. When suddenly she played a loose match game at 6-2, 5-3 she calmly broke back easily to reach the final.

Stosur's route to the final was more complicated. She played the unheralded (some would say unknown) Angelique Kerber from Germany, at 6pm on the Grandstand court (capacity 6,000) when the second men's semifinal was still going on on the main stage at Ashe which holds 23,000+. Instead of winning easily, Stosur won a relatively tight 6-3 2-6 6-2 victory. Stosur has had a pretty dramatic tournament overall, playing the longest tiebreak in Grand Slam history in the 4th round (losing it 17-15) against Maria Kirilenko and playing the longest U.S. Open women's match (in terms of games played) against Nadia Petrova in the 2nd round, eventually winning7-6(5) 6-7(5) 7-5 in 3 hours, 16 minutes.

Stosur is the probably the only other player in the draw who is not overwhelmed by Serena's physicality. The Australian 27-year-old has very broad shoulders herself and probably an even better kick-serve than Serena's. However, Stosur has one distinct weakness: her backhand. She can either slice it (not very effectively) or she can hit it with two hands, often not very cleanly or powerfully. Sitting in the stands, literally 15 feet from her in the now-famous tiebreak with Kirilenko I was very surprised how softly the ball came off her racquet on the backhand side. Serena can just pin her into the backhand corner with forehands down the line and it will be a very short day. However, Stosur does possess an excellent topspin inside-out forehand so if her footwork is good she may be able to run around her backhand and hit her powerful forehand but unless she hits a winner against a very fit and fast Serena, Stosur will be off the court and unable to reach the reply. Mentally, since Stosur has been in a major final before (losing badly to Francesa Schiavone in the 2010 French Open final) she should not be overwhelmed today, but she simply does not play finals well, having won only twice in 11 attempts. Serena is playing in her 5th U.S. Open final in 12 appearances, with wins in 1999, 2002 and 2008. We all know what Serena's mental toughness is like.

In the 2011 U.S. Open I have correctly predicted 2 of 4 women's quarterfinals and 2 of 2 women's semifinals. Last year I correctly predicted 2 of 2 women's semifinals and 4 of 4 women's quarterfinals. This year I have also correctly predicted 3 of 4 men's quarterfinals, and 1 of 2 men's semifinals. My prediction for the women's final is that Serena Williams will win her 14th major title, putting her a scan 4 titles away from the all-time greats: Martina Navratilova and Chris Evert (but still behind Steffi Graf's 22).

MadProfessah's pick: Serena Williams.

Ana Ivanovic Hires New Coach

by Craig Hickman


Reuters

Serbia's Ana Ivanovic and Jelena Jankovic play a shot against Russia's Alisa Kleybanova and Svetlana Kuznetsova during their Fed Cup tennis match in Belgrade February 7, 2010.

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For fans of the former No. 1 and Roland Garros champion and women's tennis alike, this development must be considered good news.

Basel, Switzerland - Slumping Serbian former number one Ana Ivanovic Monday turned over what she hopes is a new page in her career by hiring Staffi Graf's former mentor Heinz Gunthardt as coach.

The Ivanovic management made the announcement, which brings to an end the number 23 player's coaching relationship with the adidas team, still her clothing sponsor.

Swiss television commentator Gunthardt, 51, guided Graf to a dozen Grand Slam titles.

The relationship will start next week in a New York exhibition, with 2008 Roland Garros champion Ivanovic replacing Serena Williams in a field with Venus Williams, US Open winner Kim Clijsters and double Grand Slam champion Svetlana Kuznetsova.

Ivanovic has been in a slump since her last title, earned in Linz in October, 2008.

The 22-year-old last played to a pair of defeats in Fed Cup this month while winning her only match of the season in the Australian Open first round.

It really can't get any worse for the Serb at this point. Here's hoping she can find her service toss.

(Thanks, Savannah)

Serena Williams Wins Lengendary No. 12

Reuters

It wasn't always pretty, but Serena Williams rained on Justine Henin's fairytale comeback parade to take her fifth Australian Open crown, an Open Era record.

Fighting through nerves, sticky feet, and legs heavy as wet hay, the world No. 1 picked apart Henin's game at the most crucial moments of the match for a gritty 6-4, 3-6, 6-2 victory on Rod Laver Arena last night.

It's the first time the American defended a Slam since Wimbledon 2003. The first to defend a title Down Under since Jennifer Capriati in 2002. And she finally broke the even-year jinx, winning a title in the first year of the decade to go with crowns in 2003, 2005, 2007, 2009.

Serena has now won a Slam in three different decades, beginning with her maiden US Open title in 1999 at age seventeen.

With the victory, she claimed her 12th major title, equaling her idol Billie Jean King for sixth place on the all-time list. Serena now trails only Margaret Smith Court (24), Steffi Graf (22), Helen Wills Moody (19), Martina Navratilova (19) and Chris Evert (18).

With her five Australian Opens, she surpasses Smith Court, Graf, Monica Seles, and Evonne Goolagong for the most won in the Open Era. And she improves her overall winning percentage in Grand Slam finals to 12-3 (.800) the best among active players, woman or man.

Henin, who retired in a cloud of questions 20 months ago, was trying to repeat Kim Clijsters' comeback success by winning her first major entered, and to become the second unranked woman to win a Slam in the Open Era. (Bet I know who Clijsters was rooting for last night.) Despite Henin's run to the finals, she'll remain unranked on Monday. The WTA rankings system requires three events on the computer before spitting out a number before your name.

The Little Backhand That (Almost) Could played brilliantly in stretches and fought like she always fights, but it wasn't enough to overcome a determined defending champion. Despite being mummified with tape on her right thigh and left calf, and playing every day of the event for the last week and a half, including defending her doubles title with her big sister the day before, Serena had two practice sessions earlier in the day to get her feet moving and prepare for Henin's low slices.

In the first few games of the match, you would've never known. Serena had to serve 29 times, fight through two break points and five deuces just to hold her opening service game. She broke Henin's serve to lead 3-1 but faced another 15-40 deficit. She saved the first break point with a 119 MPH service winner.

On the second, a controversial line call denied the Belgian a break back. Henin played a great point to win the game but it had to be replayed because the linesperson called Henin's short volley out, corrected herself, but Serena chased the ball down and got her racquet on it. The crowd booed. When Serena struck another service winner to save break point, Henin cursed behind the baseline, and the crowd booed again. From thereon, it was firmly in Henin's corner.

Serena dropped the next three games to level the set and 4-4, but composed herself and broke Henin again in the ninth game to take the first set.

40 for 40 in wins Down Under after taking the first set, Serena was poised to run away with the match. Leading 3-2 in set two, she earned a break point on Henin's serve, but hit a forehand into Melbourne. After a few more deuces, Henin held on.

At 3-3, 30-0, Serena tossed in a wild double fault that landed halfway between the service line and the baseline. I gagged. So did Serena. She won a single point the rest of the set. Her feet froze, her mind wandered, and Henin took full advantage, striking line-cleaning winners off both wings from all over the court to win the set 6-3 and level the match.


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Surely the match was now Henin's to lose, right? After all, she had the advantage of opening the third set on her serve.

After both players took an extended bathroom break, Serena returned to the court composed and ready to take names. After the match, she told Mary Jo Fernandez she might not ever get another chance and had to "man up", dig in and go for it. But that's not exactly what she did.

The intensity when these two play is unrivaled and I wasn't sure who would raise her game, hold it together, and seize control of the match. Was this see-saw affair headed to 12-10 in the third?

Momentum still on her side, Henin opened the set with a strong hold at love. Serena once again had to save 15-40 on her serve to level the match. After trading three nervy breaks, Serena finally consolidated one to lead 4-2. The finish line in view, the defending champ switched tactics, adding more topspin and less pace to her shots, spreading the court with angles instead of depth. Henin had trouble creating her own pace on the higher bouncing shots and finally capitulated another break to a fiercely focused Serena who was not to be denied.

Reuters

With a strong service game, including the fastest ace of the match at 123 MPH, Serena closed out the tug of war in two hours and seven minutes. Falling on her back in victory, relief broke over her face like surf. When she finally got up to approach the net, she could hardly walk, a fortnight of fatigue on full display. Almost thought she was going to fall down again before reaching the stands and sharing celebratory hugs with her mother and sister.


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A double duty champion Down Under two years running and fifth overall, Serena the Great put out an extraordinary effort. Now that she's reached her goal of equaling King's Slam victories, she may be more relaxed on the crushed brick of Paris and finally win another crown there.

Henin surely will have something to say about that.


Reuters

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Cross posted to The Huffington Post

Blame It On Steffi

by MMT

There’s been a great deal of discussion at this year's US Open about the problems that top WTA players have serving today. Almost as curious is the paucity of good analysis as to source of their problems. If all of a sudden women on tour are having problems properly serving, and all at once, it makes sense to compare the serves of women say 20 years ago, to modern players and analyze the difference.

I am a firm believer in the philosophy that all problems in tennis are essentially technical – even the ones that appear to be mental, and nothing has made that more apparent to me than the serving issue. In the past, weilding unforgiving 85 square inch 15 ounce wood racquets, a player couldn't get away with bad technique on the serve - today they have oversized composites to help them hide the fact that their technique is sorely lacking.

More...

Face Of The Day

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Former tennis international star Steffi Graf stands during the awards ceremony following the Roland Garros women's final.

Quote For The Day

"I mean, of course it wasn't easy at the end. I was getting tight, and I started to feel it in my hamstring. I was just trying to jump around. I was looking on the other side, and I saw she was tired, also. So I knew it was also a little bit mental who is going to stay stronger,and I was just trying, you know, to keep the energy coming and just try to hit and keep the points shorter.

"I grew up in Romania, and I started tennis when I was four. That was a new thing for Romania, because it never happened before. I started playing because of Steffi Graf. I saw her on TV all the time. I mean, I always wanted to be professional. I always wanted to be like her since I was really young. I remember always like focusing and trying to take tennis serious. Now I'm at a level that honestly I was hoping one day, and I mean, it's good to be here."--Sorana Cirstea

She was a Daily Discovery at the 2008 Australian Open:

Feisty, fearless, fearsome, ferocious. Sorana Cirstea showed all of it in her straight set loss to Ana Ivanovic. And after bludgeoning her way to serving for the first set with backhands straight outta hell, Ivanovic had to hope for a crack in the Romanian's armor to avoid a three-set battle. Ana got her wish as the inexperienced 17-year-old playing her first Slam couldn't make a first serve and found herself on her back foot from the brute force of Ana's returns. If Sorana develops some mental toughness, and from the poise she exhibited in her Slam debut that's almost certain, she'll become a firecracker no one will want to play.

Didn't take long.

No Thanks

Reuters

That's what Kim Clijsters said to Tim Phillips, the All England Club chairman, when he offered her a wild card to play at the Championships this year.

She's not ready yet. Though she is excited about coming back to professional competition:

“A lot of questions popped into my mind, mostly about rules and regulations, how much I’d need to play, who might I turn to for help, how much at ease I would feel about coming back,” Clijsters said. “I never used to be much of a planner, I took everything pretty much as it came, but now there’s when to eat, when to sleep, when to feed.

“I don’t want to be seen as a powerful woman who is doing anything superhuman, but it is nice to show it is possible to have children and still have a professional sports career. The old-fashioned image is of a mother staying at home to take care of the children, but things are changing. I know there will be a lot of attention because of the career I had and I suppose people are bound to compare. I’m just intrigued as to how much I’ll enjoy it.

“In the 2½ years I have been away, I was married, fell pregnant, my daughter was born, my dad became sick. I didn’t have a chance to miss it. I would not change much of what has happened, I was so happy my dad got to see his grandchild, that was very special. I got to read James Blake’s book [Breaking Back - How I Lost Everything and Won Back My Life], which talks so vividly about how he coped with the loss of his father. It was incredible to find out so much more about someone I saw a lot but didn’t really know at all.”

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Clijsters was on the grounds for the exhibition Wimbledon: Celebrations that's on ESPN Classic live now and will re-air tonight on Tennis Channel at 7:00 pm EDT. She'll be featured along with Steffi Graf, Andre Agassi and Tim Henman. They'll be playing for the first time in history under the covered lawns of Centre Court's new retractable roof.

Should be fun.

Wedding By Candlelight

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I know, I know. It's People again. But they get the scoop on this stuff, no?

Andy Roddick married his fiancée, Brooklyn Decker, in a twilight ceremony at his Austin, Texas, home on Friday, PEOPLE has confirmed.

The tennis pro, 26, and the swimsuit model, 21, exchanged vows in an intimate candlelit ceremony before a group of close friends and family.

"They are absolutely perfect for each other," a family friend tells PEOPLE. "I think they knew that from the moment they met that they were perfect for each other."

At the ceremony, bridesmaids wore strapless, chocolate-colored gowns, and the setting was decorated with bright, tropical flowers. The bride's gown was by Vera Wang. Guests – including tennis greats Steffi Graf and Andre Agassi – were also treated to a musical performance by Roddick's longtime friend, Sir Elton John.

The wedding was followed by dinner at Roddick's local country club.

Roddick and Decker, who started dating in 2007, announced their engagement in March 2008. The pair first met after Roddick asked his agent to track down a number for Decker, who appeared in Sports Illustrated's swimsuit edition.

Five Minutes

That's how long it took for the Wimbledon exhibition featuring Andre Agassi, Steffi Graf, Tim Henman, and Kim Clijsters to sell out.

Big Ticket Item

This news will excite the people:

Steffi Graf and husband Andre Agassi are being lined up for a nostalgic return to Wimbledon to play in exhibition matches which will test conditions under the new Centre Court roof.

Negotiations with the couple are said to be at an advanced stage for the event on May 17 that is hoped to be played before a full house of 15,000.



Graf retired in 1999 while Agassi has been out of the game for two years and the pair spend most of their time at their main home in Las Vegas. The American would face Tim Henman in a singles match while Graf's opponent could be Belgium's former world No 1 Kim Clijsters.

Strange Suit

With (former) agents like this, who needs enemies?

Just weeks after splitting from his client, Andre Agassi's former agent and longtime friend has filed a lawsuit against the retired tennis star's wife, Steffi Graf.

Sports agent Perry Rogers filed the lawsuit Friday in Clark County District Court. The suit claims Graf, also a former tennis star, owes $50,000 to Rogers and his Alliance Sports Management Company for services outlined in a 2002 agreement.

Graf declined to comment through a spokesman. Agassi released a statement saying he was "saddened and disappointed" by the lawsuit.

Ambassador of Elegance

Longines, the famous Swiss watchmaker, has named the most accomplished singles player in history its new ambassador of elegance to promote the brand.

"Longines is proud that Stefanie Graf has joined her husband [Andre Agassi, who became an ambassador in 2007] in our family of ambassadors," Longines President Walter von Kanel said in a release issued on Thursday. "Her excellence, her courage and her commitment to serve others are values that we also respect and promote."

(...)

"Longines has a long reputation of quality and elegance," Graf said in the release. "We share many values and a strong commitment for children in need. I am looking forward to enter into a valuable partnership with Longines, which will also benefit my foundation, Children for Tomorrow."

Do your thing, lady.

Queen of Miami

She did it. For the first time since 2004, Serena Williams defended a title. With her fifth Sony Ericsson Championship, Serena ties Steffi Graf in all-time wins in Miami by a WTA player. Graf's husband, Andre Agassi, holds the all-time record with six championships.

It wasn't easy. Or it was. That would depend which part of the match you watched. Jelena Jankovic had no answers for Serena in the first half of the twisted affair. I've said it before and I mean it again, when Serena's return of serve is in peak position, she can break you at will and break your will on serve. In just over half an hour, Jelena found herself down 1-6 and two breaks at 0-3.

But then a funny thing happened on the way to victory. Serena was overcome by an anxiety that blew in like the southern Florida wind. She gifted away one of those breaks and struggled on serve the rest of the set. The woman who stepped up to serve for the match at 5-4 was not the same one who appeared to be cruising to a crushing victory. This woman lost the last three games of the set.

But Serena rebounded and opened the final set with a break. After which the Vitch full of silly exhibited her silliness. Jelena gets on my last nerve with her injury timeouts and her melodrama when her back is against the wall. I can't breathe, I can't serve, my head is about to explode, I'm coughing, I'm not going to be okay, I can't go on! And then the Vitch full of silly and the painted black fingernails rises from her histrionics and runs around the court like a hyena. She's a grifter. Angelica Huston had nothing on her in the film.

But her opponent was unaffected.

Serena the Great reemerged and ran the grifter around to earn a 5-0 lead. Serena's returns were once again precise, her forehand once again deadly. But the anxious one returned to serve for the championship on her second attempt. She fought off two break points, earned a match point, but couldn't close the deal. She squandered a few more match points on Jelena's serve and the Serbian fans, who had been rowdy all match, went crazy. Serena earned three more match points on her serve at 5-2, 40-0, but five consecutive errors later, she destroyed her racquet before the changeover.

I guess that outburst was all she needed. She broke Jelena at 15 on her seventh match point and let out a shout of defiant relief.

Defending a title isn't easy. The last title she defended was, well, right here in Miami in 2004 when she came back from knee surgery after an 8-month recovery. Matching a Steffi record isn't easy either. I can't imagine Serena's collapses had to do with anything else. Certainly nothing her opponent did. The mind is a terrible thing in a tennis match.

All's well that ends well.

Monica Seles

by Savannah

A lot of things happened this week but I want to take a moment and talk about one of my all time favorites, Monica Seles.

As every tennishead knows Monica, 34, officially retired this past week. There had been rumors about a comeback but even those faded as it became clear that Monica had other things on her mind.

We all remember the giggly screeching phenomenon who burst on the scene at the tender age of 15 with a game that revolutionized women's tennis and ushered in the Big Babe era in the women's game.

What was her record? Let me post excerpts from an article by Richard Pagliaro that quotes Jimmy Connors on her talent and heart:

The owner of a 595-122 record, Seles won concluded 1991 and 1992 as World No. 1. In a sensational, sustained span of dominance she won eight of the 11 Grand Slam tournaments she entered from 1989 to 1993. She inspired a legion of top players, including Venus Williams and Serena Williams, Ana Ivanovic and Jelena Jankovic. In a past interview with Tennis Week, Hall of Famer Jimmy Connors said Seles' fighting spirit, willingness to play even closer to the lines on pivotal points and her aggressive baseline style made her the player that most reminded him of himself.

"Who reminds me of me? Monica Seles is the player I think who played the game the way I tried to play it." Connors told Tennis Week in a past interview. "She always played as hard as she could every single match and left it all on the court. I have tremendous respect for Seles."

A stress fracture in her foot caused Monica to step away from the game five years ago but it was the incident in Germany when she was nineteen that stopped Monica's march to what would have been uncontested greatness in the WTA. Here is a report from the New York Times with details.



Monica spoke about the incident in a radio interview before a recent appearance in California with Steve Hartman, Mychal Thompson and Vic "The Brick" Jacobs on "The Loose Cannons Show". Here are excerpts from that interview that appear in the Richard Pagliaro article.

On being stabbed at a match April 30, 1993 in Hamburg, Germany:
"I was only 19 when I got stabbed. It would never have happened in any other sport. I said to myself, `Why me,’ but I was proud of myself that I was able to move on and to get back to the sport that I loved and adore. That to me was the final triumph after a few bad years."

On the lack of punishment to her attacker:
"I really felt that I could not justify in my own brain someone stabs you in front of 7,000 people, admits that he planned it, and never spends a night in jail. I don’t feel safe playing there (in Germany) again after what happened to me."

On returning to tennis after her stabbing:
"I was lucky. My mom and dad had really strong personalities and supported me. At the end of the day, the love I had for the game I started at 7 years old motivated me to come back. I never imagined I would make a great living and travel throughout the world. I started playing tennis because I loved it. I tell kids, `don’t look at the fame and the money. Play tennis because you love it.’ I missed it."

On not hearing from other players after her stabbing:
"The women's tour is very competitive. There’s a lot of money at stake. It is what it is. It was very unfortunate. It changed my career and it changed Stefi’s (Graf). That’s life. It is a business."

On playing in the 1998 French Open after her dad, Karoly, died:
"My dad passed away a couple days before the French (Open). I thought, `What would my dad want me to do?’ He battled cancer. I thought, `follow your heart,’ and my heart told me to go out and play for my dad. He was a cartoonist. He always saw the lighter side of everything. Part of me said stay home, but I knew that was not what my dad would have wanted."

On her dad’s coaching philosophy:
"He saw the bigger picture of sports, instead of just win or lose. He was human. Sports is a business and cutthroat and people will do anything to win, but I was lucky I had my dad as my coach and he never put pressure on me. Win or lose, the love he gave me was the same. Sadly I see too many cases are the other way now."

On the state of women’s tennis:
"(Justine) Henin has on average dominated the (WTA) tour, but if you look at the championships in Madrid, you see Henin beat (Marion) Bartoli 6-0, 6-0. Those scores shouldn’t happen in the championships. You want to see the top players play each other. That’s the only way the fans will tune in."

On tennis players having shorter careers due to other distractions:
"It’s harder now. You have to be a multi-media athlete. You have to look good, speak well and do all the off the court stuff. In the old days, we did much less. Tennis is a brutal sport. We play 10 and a half months a year. It’s hard to stay injury-free. A lot of the top players struggle with that. Roger (Federer) has a different game. It doesn’t take as much out of him as Serena (Williams). Roger has played every Grand Slam since 1999. That statistic alone is amazing."

On becoming a U.S. citizen in 1994:
"It was the happiest day of my life. Playing in the Olympics in Atlanta in 1996 and representing our country was the biggest honor I’ve ever had. It surpasses all the tournaments I played in."

I was a novice tennis fan when Monica burst on the scene. I had been used to watching Chrissie and Martina, Gabriella and remember wondering who this kid was. I'm sure many younger fans can only imagine how intense the rivalry was between Monica and Steffi and how you were a fan of one or the other woman.

How high passions ran are symbolized by what happened in Germany. When you go to a major to watch the current crop of players and see all the security when a player enters or leaves the court you have to remember that this guy just walked up to Monica and stabbed her in the back. Conversations on fan boards get heated these days and maybe that's a good thing. We can virtually pummel each other and the players we don't like instead of trying to attack someone physically. If you get to a major and hang on the practice courts when a major star is around you see the security as well. Fans pushing and shoving to see their fave when he or she comes off the court may seem harmless to many fans. Unfortunately the player's security has to be taken into consideration first.



We are fortunate that someone of Monica's talent came along when she did. I don't think the image meisters of tennis would have allowed her to get the endorsements and publicity. She wasn't a babe, she wasn't rail thin, and her hair had a mind of it's own. It was all about the tennis.



In my opinion Monica was the greatest of her time because her effect on the game has lasted and made it impossible to go back to the genteel days of women's tennis. There were top players who did not play big babe tennis, Steffi Graf and Martina Hingis come to mind, but to me they were transitional greats. Their style of tennis won't get you past a first round in a Tier IV these days.



I hope Monica hangs around and decides to play an exho or two or three. I mean if Pete Sampras can still make millions playing exho's I don't see why Monica can't as well. I don't want to dictate to her what to do but it would be nice to see her on a court again.

Thank you Monica for all you gave this fan, and all of tennis.