US OPEN 2011: Women's Semifinals Preview

by Mad Professah, contributing writer

After a rain delay cancelled the scheduled women's quarterfinals matches last night, all four matches were able to be completed today, the women's semifinals are now set.

This year, I correctly predicted 2 of 4 women's quarterfinals. Last year I correctly predicted 2 of 2 women's semifinals and 4 of 4 women's quarterfinals.

These are my predictions for the 2011 women's semifinals, which for the first time will be played Saturday night in prime time, with the women's final on Sunday, and the men's final moved to Monday's day session.

Caroline Wozniacki DEN (1) v. Serena Williams USA (28). This is the match on the women's side everyone has been waiting for. Can the putative #1 player in the world prove her dominance against the fan's #1? As the #28 seed Serena has munched through "higher seeded players" Victoria Azarenka (#4), Ana Ivanovic (#16), and Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (#17) in the last three rounds. As the #1 seed Wozniacki has dispatched Andrea Petkovic (#10), Svetlana Kuznesova (#15) and unseeded Vania King in the same rounds. Serena and Caroline have met on court twice in their careers (both in 2009), with Serena winning both times.
Wozniacki has only been to one major final, while Serena has won 13 finals and appeared in 3 others, losing to her sister Venus Williams twice (2001 US Open and 2008 Wimbledon) and Maria Sharapova once (2004 Wimbledon). The problem that Wozniacki has is that many people feel that she can be hit off the court. Her game is built around counter-punching, and she (often) plays her best tennis when she is behind in the score. But getting behind on the score against someone as mentally tough as Serena Williams is not the same thing as getting behind the score against 2004 US Open champion Svetlana Kuznetsova. It does show that Wozniacki likes pace and can feed off her opponent's power and use it against them. There is no more powerful a female player than Serena, and she will demonstrate the danger of Wozniacki's strategy to blast past her and reach her fifth US Open final. PREDICTION: Serena.


Angelique Kerber GER v. Samantha Stosur AUS (9). Although I didn't pick either one of these players to reach this point in the tournament, I am delighted to see that Samantha Stosur is in her second major semifinal, with an excellent opportunity to reach her second major final, where hopefully she can acquit herself better than she did in the 2010 Roland Garros final. 

Kerber is the only unseeded player among the semifinalists and since she's ranked around 92 in the world will make more money from this tournament than she made in the last year (or two) on the tour. In other words, Kerber is just happy to be here and will not put up much resistance if the match gets tough. The rap against Stosur is that she's mentally fragile, and the fact that she has played 11 tournament finals and only won 2 of them is evidence of that. However, she impressed a lot of people with her mental fortitude in her match against Maria Kirilenko when she lost the second set 15-17 in the longest women's tiebreaker in grand slam history (blowing 5 match points in the process). Stosur was able to survive the emotional rollercoaster of playing such an intense tiebreaker (where twice she was denied match point wins due to Kirilenko's successful electronic line challenges) to win the deciding set relatively easily 6-3. This new toughness should serve the hard-hitting Australian well in the final on Sunday night. PREDICTION: Stosur.

Roland Garros 2011: Women's Semifinals Preview

by Mad Professah, contributing writer

Here are my predictions for the women's semifinals at the 2011 French Open. Last year I was correct in 2 of 2 2010 French Open women's semifinal predictions.

Marion Bartoli FRA (11) vs. Francesca Schiavone ITA (5). The 2010 French Open defending champion made an astonishing escape to win her quarterfinal match with hard-hitting Anastasia Pavlyunchenkova. The Italian was down 1-6 1-4 but came back to lead 5-2 in the final set and gutted out the win 7-5 in the 3rd after the youngster stormed back to even the match at 5-all in the 3rd. Bartoli is in the semifinal of her country's major, a significant feat that 2-time major champion and former World #1 Amelie Mauresmo was unable to accomplish. Bartoli's dream is to play in and win the final in Roland Garros, but that will not be happening this year.

The Frenchwoman did well while Svetlana Kuznetsova committed one of her patented meltdowns to ruin my potential 100% accuracy rate in quarterfinal predictions.

Bartoli hits two-handed on both wings with impressive power and has increased her fitness level so that she can survive long rallies but her movement is suspect and Schiavone has the shot variety to expose the gaping weaknesses in Bartoli's unorthodox game.

The two have never met on clay, which is Schiavone's best surface, but the Italian still leads the career head-to-head 6-1, including a win on Bartoli's best surface, grass. Even though the two have not played each other in over two years I suspect even the new and improved Bartoli will be no match for the new and improved Schiavone who truly believes "nothing is impossible." PREDICTION: Schiavone in 2 sets.

Maria Sharapova RUS (7) vs. Na Li CHN (6). This should be an excellent match, with the winner most likely going on to win the title. Who would have thought the only woman on the tour to be in two major semifinals this year would be Li Na from China? Head-to-head Sharapova leads 5-2 but Li has won the last two times the two have played (which were both on the relatively slow grass of Birmingham in 2009 and 2010). The one time they played on clay was in Paris two years ago and Sharapova eked out a truly bizarre 6-4 0-6 6-4 victory. Sharapova is playing the clay as if it is a hard court, blasting serves and hitting groundstrokes even harder. She demolished Andrea Petkovic 6-0 6-3, a player who took her out in the year's first major tournament to reach this point. Li was able to dismiss heavy favorite World #4 Viktoria Azarenka 7-5 6-2 to reach her first major semifinal in Paris.

However, clay rewards great movement and there's no question Li is the superior mover between the two. Sharapova does hit the ball hard, but Li also has her own firepower, with one of the best backhands in the women's game. Sharapova, however, has 3 major titles and has been in 10 major semifinals. Li has been in one major semifinal, but it was this year--Sharapova's last major semifinal was 3 years ago in Australia when she won the entire tournament in 2008. Sharapova is on a clay court winning streak, having won the Rome title two weeks before Paris over 2010 Roland Garros finalist Samantha Stosur. If Sharapova serves well and is accurate off the ground she should win the match, but if Li is able to withstand the onslaught Sharapova's penchant for painting the lines will become a liability as those shots slowly turn into errors and Li will be in her second major final. The mental edge should favor Sharapova since she is undefeated against both Schiavone and Bartoli. For Sharapova, this match is the final, and she would desperately love to be in the panoply of great women players who have completed the career slam (like Navratilova, Evert, Graf, S.Williams, King and Court) . For Li, she makes history every time she steps on the court and may be satisfied by being the most successful Chinese player ever. PREDICTION: Sharapova in 2 sets OR Li in 3 sets.

Roland Garros 2011: Women's Quarterfinals Preview

by Mad Professah, contributing writer

Here are my predictions for the women's quarterfinals at Roland Garros this year. Last year, I was correct in 2 of 4 2010 French Open women's quarterfinal predictions.

Svetlana Kuznetsova RUS (13) vs. Marion Bartoli FRA (11). The 2007 Wimbledon finalist has reached her first quarterfinal at her country's major tournament for the first time. She will face Kuznetsova, one of only two women left in the tournament who have won the entire event (the other, of course is Francesca Schiavone who won last year). In fact, Kuznetsova lost the final in 2006 and won the final in 2009. While Bartoli won her match when Gisela Dulko retired in the second set, Kuznetsova won a hard-fought 3-set affair with Daniela Hantuchova who had easily dismissed World #1 and top-seeded Caroline Wozniacki the round before. This could be a very ugly affair, with both players trying to lose the match, I believe that Kutnetsova's prodigious talent will be the deciding factor. PREDICTION: Kuznetsova in 3 sets.

Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova RUS (14) vs. Francesca Schiavone ITA (5).  The 2010 French Open defending champion made it through to this quarterfinal by winning a marathon 2 hour, 40-minute battle with 3-time French Open semifinalist (and former World #1)  Jelena Jankovic which featured over 30 breakpoints combined. The passionate Italian faces the talented Russian youngster who took out the last remaining top seed in World #3 Vera Zvonareva to reach her first career major quarterfinal. Pavlyuchenkova hits the ball hard and flat on both wings, while Schiavone rarely hits the ball the same way twice, and actually wants to move forward to show off her sterling net play. Plus Schiavone has the benefit of knowing that her style of play can be rewarded on the red clay courts of Paris from last year.   PREDICTION: Schiavone in 2 sets.

Petra Kvitova CZE (9) Na Li CHN (6) vs. Victoria Azarenka BLR (4). The hard-hitting lefty Petra Kvitova was my call to win the entire tournament before it began. But, 2011 Australian Open finalist Li is also one of my favorite players. Kvitova was up 3-0 in the deciding set but then collapsed completely to lose 6 consecutive games and the match. Li continues to make history, becoming the first Chinese player, male or female, to reach the quarterfinals at the French Open. Azarenka is one of the hottest players on the women's tour, and despite never having won a quarterfinal at any major is the betting favorite to win the tournament, primarily due to her position as the top remaining seed in the draw at #4. Head-to-head Li actually leads Azarenka 3-1, including a straight set beating in the Round of 16 in Melbourne this year, but the two have never met on clay. Azarenka should use this opportunity to make her breakthrough at a major, but will the pressure of being the favorite get to her head? Li has the advantage of already making her breakthrough in a grand slam earlier this year. This match should be decided by who wants it more and should be a high quality affair. PREDICTION: Li in 3 sets.

Maria Sharapova RUS (7) vs. Andrea Petkovic GER (15). Could this really be Sharapova's year to win the French Open? If so, she needs to get through matches like this next one. In Petkovic she is playing a player who beat her in the previous major played this year and is unafraid of the 3-time major champion's firepower. Sharapova was able to get revenge a few months later in Miami and leads their career head-to-head 2-1, all played on hard courts. The two have never played on hard courts, but this match will be played on clay which us Sharapova's worst surface. Both players have won clay court titles this year. I have seen all of Sharapova's matches played at Roland Garros this year but none of Petkovic's. I suspect that the fact that Sharapova is in her 14th major quarterfinal (only her 2nd in the last two years) while Petkovic is in her second quarterfinal of her career despite the two being born in the same year will be the ultimate deciding factor. PREDICTION: Sharapova in 3 sets.

Quote For The Day

"We lived through a decade of Carlos Rodriguez coaching Justine Henin after every single point and nobody called it on them."

--Lindsay Davenport, Tennis Channel commentary during the Maria Sharapova, Samantha Stosur match on Monday, March 28, 2011.

Apparently, Sharapova was called out for on-court coaching from the stands during a previous match in Miami. Davenport seemed to be underscoring a double standard. Or maybe she was simply stating her perception of a widely known "fact."

I put fact in quotations for I remember Carlos and Maria being called out once. But only once. Back in 2004 during Justine's quarterfinal against Svetlana Kuznetsova in Indian Wells. I remember being surprised by the call out, but not by the coaching, which only the blind couldn't see. Those in denial wouldn't admit. Carlos was telling his charge to charge the net more in order to turn around the second set. Sveta was leading 5-4 or 5-3, according to my memory. Justine took her coaching advice and won the last 3 or 4 games to take the match in straights.

Fed Cup Photos

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Petra Kvitova, left, from Czech Republic is embraced by the team's captain Petr Pala, right, as she celebrates after defeating Daniela Hantuchova from Slovakia in their world group first round tennis match in Bratislava, Slovakia, Sunday, Feb. 6, 2011. Kvitova won the match 6-4, 6-2 and gave Czech Republic a decisive 3-0 lead.

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Aleksandra Krunic (L) and Bojana Jovanovski of Serbia celebrate after beating Sharon Fichman and Marie-Eve Pelletier of Canada during their Fed Cup doubles tennis match on February 6, 2011, in Novi Sad, Serbia. Serbia won the tie.


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US player Bethanie Mattek-Sands returns the ball against Belgian Kim Clijsters during the Fed Cup first round match on February 6, 2011 in Antwerp. Belgium won the tie.



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Russian Svetlana Kuznetsova (L) is congatulated by her former teammate Anastasia Myskina (R) as they celebrate a victory over the French duo of Alize Cornet and Julie Coin during their doubles match of the Fed Cup tennis match in Moscow on February 6, 2011. Russia won the tie.

Australian Open 2011 Women's Quarterfinals Preview

BY MAD PROFESSAH


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From top row left to right: Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark, Vera Zvonareva of Russia, Kim Clijsters of Belgium, Francesca Schiavone of Italy. From bottom row left to right: Li Na of China, Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland, Petra Kvitova of the Czech Republic and Andrea Petkovic of Germany.

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Here are my predictions for the women's quarterfinals at the Australian Open this year.

Caroline Wozniacki DEN (1) vs. Svetlana Kuznetsova RUS (23) Francesca Schiavone ITA (6). After the historic marathon match between Svetlana Kuznetsova and Francesca Schivaone, most observers expected the quarterfinal involving the "winner" to be scheduled last in order to increase the likelihood of a competitive match. Unfortunately, the powers that be have decided that the World No. 1's quarterfinal would not be a featured night match, opting for a women's doubles quarterfinal instead. There are very few men's 5-set matches that have lasted the 4-hours and 44 minutes of "Franlana." After the titanic first round match between David Nalbandian and Lleyton Hewitt was won by the Argentine, it resulted in the "winner" retiring meekly after playing about a set and a half of tennis 48 hours later. Schiavone finished her match around 8:05pm on Sunday and is scheduled to play her match against Wozniacki on Rod Laver Arena following the all-Swiss Federer-Wawrinka quarterfinal which will not be before 12:30pm on Tuesday. That is much less than 48 hours of recovery time. I know that the Italian has already proved that "Impossible is Nothing" with her incredible 2010 French Open win but I think that asking her to be 100% (even 50%) for her match with Wozniacki less than 48 hours after playing the longest women's grand slam match in history is a hill too high for even this dynamic athlete to climb. PREDICTION: Wozniacki in 2 sets.

Maria Sharapova RUS (14) Andrea Petkovic GER (30) vs Li Na CHN (9) Victoria Azarenka BLR (8). I really like the play of the veteran Chinese player (so much so I named my dog after her!) and am very excited that she is playing even better than last year, where she reached the semifinals of this tournament, losing to the eventual winner Serena Williams. Li Na has been a trailblazing icon of Chinese tennis; she is the first Chinese player to reach the Top 50, Top 40, Top 30, Top 20, Top 10 and to win a Tier 1 title (when she defeated Kim Clijsters in Brisbane earlier this year). She dismissed what some people thought was a legitimate contender to win the title in Victoria Azarenka in straight sets. Li has excellent power on both wings and is currently brimming with confidence since she is undefeated so far in 2011. Petkovic is no slouch and has improved upon her best result in a major (4th Round at the 2010 U.S. Open) at this year's 2011 Australian Open. I think it is highly unlikely she will prevent Li Na from attempting to improve her best result in a major and become the first Chinese player to reach a major final. PREDICTION: Li in 2 sets.

Agnieszka Radwanska POL (12) vs. Kim Clijsters BEL (3). Kim Clijsters is simply the best player on hard courts still left in the tournament, as evidenced by her three consecutive US Open titles. She does have a tendency to go off sometimes, and can get frustrated by counter-punchers. She had a surprisingly tight match with the diminutive Alize Cornet of France in the third round. Aggie Radwanska is the epitome of the kind of player who could give Clijsters fits, since she plays a game resembling the late, little lamented Martina Hingis. Clijsters had a pretty good record against Hingis and the one time she played Radwanska (more than 5 years ago) she won that match as well. I suspect this match will either be a 2-set blowout or a seesaw 3-setter where none of the individual sets are very close. PREDICTION: Clijsters in 3 sets.

Samantha Stosur AUS (5) Petra Kvitova CZE (25) vs. Vera Zvonareva RUS (2). Petra Kvitova is the most dangerous player in the draw. She is a very confident, powerful lefty with tremendous power on both wings and she's an excellent mover with a good serve. She's also undefeated for 2011; in fact she's only lost one set all tournament, to the hard-hitting and crafty Italian Flavia Pennetta. Kvitova dismissed the host country's great hope Samantha Stosur in straight sets with no regard for the audience.Vera Zvonareva has defeated every player she has faced in her half of the draw in the last two majors she has played (Wimbledon 2010 and US Open 2010) and has done an admirable job of turning around her reputation as "head case" by embodying consistency. But when consistency meets power, I usually put my money on power. Zvonareva has also lost only one set so far in the tournament (to hard-hitting young Serb Bojana Jovanovski) and almost lost another one to the hard-hitting lefty Lucie Safarova from the Czech Republic. I'm pretty sure that streak will end when she faces an even harder hitting lefty Czech player. PREDICTION: Kvitova in 3 sets.

Blood All Over The Place

by Craig Hickman


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US OPEN 2010: Women's Semifinals Preview

by MadProfessah

Here are my predictions for the women's semifinals at the 2010 US Open. I previously predicted 4 of 4 women's quarterfnals correctly.

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Caroline Wozniacki DEN (1) vs. Vera Zvonareva RUS (7). Interestingly, these two have a tied career head-to-head (2 and 2, 1 on 1 on hard courts), with Wozniacki winning the last time these two played in the final of the Rogers Cup 6-3 6-2 in Montreal during the Dane's great run through the US Open Series this summer. They have both been in one major final (Wozniacki US Open 2009, Zvonareva Wimbledon 2010) with Zvonareva being in 3 major semifinals to Wozniacki's 2. Can Zvonareva play real big babe tennis more consistently than Maria Sharapova was able to? I say yes. There's a reason why Zvonareva is ranked #8 in the world.. Then again Wozniacki is ranked #2 in the world and is the top seed here, thanks to the absence of World #1 Serena Williams. Even though I was convinced by her performance against Sharapova that Wozniacki is "for real" I still have a feeling that Vera will not go away quietly. Regardless, I think the eventual titleholder of this year's event will not come from this semifinal. PREDICTION: Zvonareva in 3 sets.

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Venus Williams USA (3) vs. Kim Clijsters BEL (2). Venus Williams and Kim Clijsters have played each other twelve times and their career head-to-head is tied at 6-all. However, on hard courts Clijsters leads 4-3 with Clijsters winning every hard court match the two have contested since 2005. Additionally, Clijsters has won 19 matches in a row at the US Open dating back to 2005 (she did not play the event in the years 2006 through 2008). Venus has not really been tested (despite 2010 French Open champ Francesca Schiavone's best efforts), and has somehow managed to make it to the semifinals of the US Open (for the first time since 2007, when Justine Henin took out both Serena and Venus to win the title over Svetlana Kuznetsova) without losing a set. That will almost certainly change on Friday, especially since Venus' mobility is clearly sub-optimal. These two played one of the most bizarrely lopsided matches of all time (6-0, 0-6, 6-4) won by Clijsters on the way to the title. It is very likely Clijsters will become the first player in 9 years (since her opponent did it in 2001) to defend her US Open title. PREDICTION: Clijsters in 3 sets.

US Open Series Champs

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Argentina's David Nalbandian celebrates after beating Marcos Baghdatis of Cyprus to win the finals of the Legg Mason Tennis Classic in Washington August 8, 2010.


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Svetlana Kuznetsova of Russia poses with the trophy after defeating Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland during the championship match in the Mercury Insurance Open at La Costa Resort and Spa on August 8, 2010 in Carlsbad, California.

WIMBLEDON 2010: Women's Semifinals Preview

BY Mad Professah

Here are my predictions for the women's semifinals at the Wimbledon Championships for 2010. This Wimbledon is very special for me, because it will be one where I will finally visit the All-England Tennis Club for the first time.

I previously predicted the women's quarterfinals and was right in 2 of 4 matches.

Serena Williams USA (1) vs Petra Kvitova CZE. This match could be trickier than it looks on paper. Although I predicted this match up, not playing her best tennis and experiencing movement difficulties. The two have played once before, in the second round of this year's Australian Open, with Serena winning a straight sets match which was closer than the 6-1 6-2 scoreline. Kvitova is a lefty, and has a good serve and powerful groundstrokes. She's also a good mover. But with Serena serving up an average of a dozen aces per match, she is practically unbeatable. This match will be closer, but the end result will be the same, with Serena Williams the overwhelming favorite to reach her third consecutive Wimbledon Ladies' final and win her fourth Wimbledon singles title.
PREDICTION: Serena in 2 sets.

Venus Williams USA (2) Tsvetana Pironkova BUL vs. Vera Zvonareva RUS (21).One of the most stunning upsets in Wimbledon history occurred earlier this week when 5-time Wimbledon champion lost in straight sets to the unheralded Bulgarian. Pironkova is dangerous, with tricky spin and deceptive power, but clearly she can be overpowered. Venus hit 29 unforced errors in 17 games of tennis (but she also hit 22 winners). The problem was with her feet, which got her to balls late (or early) causing her to hit them feet out of the court. Zvonareva has long been one of my favorites (so is Kuznetsova) but there's no question that she's a headcase. Getting through a 3-set slugfest with Kim Clijsters was an excellent result for the Russian. It's possible that Venus' loss today and Clijsters' win yesterday were the bigger factors in the Belgian's defeat in the quarterfinal. The two have played once before, last year on hard courts in Moscow after Zvonareva had been out for months with a tn ankle injury and Pironkova won easily in straight sets. That will not be the case this time. Zvonareva deserves to win this match and I believe she will. PREDICTION: Zvonareva in 3 sets.

Face Of The Day

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Serena Williams speaks to the press during the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour at the Foro Italico Tennis Centre on May 2, 2010 in Rome, Italy.

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Hope the Australian Open champion is at least fit and can win more than one match. Her draw is tricky.

The defending Roland Garros champ is already out.

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Monday, May 3, 2010

Singles - Second Round
Maria Kirilenko (RUS) d. (5) Svetlana Kuznetsova (RUS) 62 36 64

Singles - First Round
(11) Yanina Wickmayer (BEL) d. (Q) Karolina Sprem (CRO) 63 16 64
(12) Flavia Pennetta (ITA) d. (Q) Akgul Amanmuradova (UZB) 62 63
(13) Francesca Schiavone (ITA) d. Daniela Hantuchova (SVK) 36 62 62
(16) Shahar Peer (ISR) d. (WC) Corinna Dentoni (ITA) 62 61
Aravane Rezai (FRA) d. (Q) Ayumi Morita (JPN) 64 62
Dominika Cibulkova (SVK) d. (LL) Pauline Parmentier (FRA) 61 36 75
Yaroslava Shvedova (KAZ) d. (Q) Bojana Jovanovski (SRB) 62 62
Lucie Safarova (CZE) d. Olga Govortsova (BLR) 62 67(9) 63
Alexandra Dulgheru (ROU) d. Sara Errani (ITA) 26 61 64
Patty Schnyder (SUI) d. Gisela Dulko (ARG) 67(5) 62 76(5)
Timea Bacsinszky (SUI) d. Sandra Zahlavova (CZE) 60 64
Ana Ivanovic (SRB) d. Elena Vesnina (RUS) 61 63
Roberta Vinci (ITA) d. Alisa Kleybanova (RUS) 76(6) 76(5)
Katarina Srebotnik (SLO) d. (Q) Varvara Lepchenko (USA) 67(2) 75 63
(Q) Bethanie Mattek-Sands (USA) d. Melanie Oudin (USA) 61 63

Doubles - Second Round
(2) Llagostera Vives/Martínez Sánchez (ESP/ESP) d. Poutchek/Senoglu (BLR/TUR) 62 60

Doubles - First Round
(8) Chuang/Govortsova (TPE/BLR) d. (WC) Brianti/Camerin (ITA/ITA) 62 76(4)
Errani/Vinci (ITA/ITA) d. Kudryavtseva/Zalameda (RUS/USA) 62 61
Kirilenko/Pavlyuchenkova (RUS/RUS) d. Azarenka/Zvonareva (BLR/RUS) 62 75
Rosolska/Shvedova (POL/KAZ) d. Borwell/Kops-Jones (GBR/USA) 75 62
Dushevina/Jans (RUS/POL) d. (WC) Dentoni/Oprandi (ITA/ITA) 64 57 10-3

Best (Women's) Matches of 2009

After a year's hiatus in 2008, MadProfessah's list of the Best Tennis Matches of the Year has returned, this time, twice as long! You can still see that inaugural post, the Best Women's Matches of 2007.

Here are the most memorable tennis matches by women in 2009:

1. S. Williams USA d. E. Dementieva RUS, 6-7(4) 7-5 8-6,Wimbledon Championships semifinal, London.

Unanimously recognized as the best match of 2009 by competitors, fans and commentators, the semifinal showdown between Elena Dementieva and Serena Williams was the pivotal moment in the most important tournament of the year. The Russian was popularly regarded as having the most powerful ground strokes of any player on tour but also one of the weakest serves. Serena, of course, is well-known for having the best serve of any player on the WTA Tour and is also very powerful on both wings. Even so, few expected the battle royale which resulted with Dementieva holding a match point at 7-6(4), 5-4 which Serena saved after an extended rally ending with an error by the Russian. Despite the disappointment of not winning the match in the second set, Dementieva was able to exhibit incredible mental fortitude by extending the match to a record 2 hours and 49 minutes, the longest women's semifinal in Open tennis history. But Serena was able to prevail and it was this match which demonstrated that no one was going to be able to stop her from winning her 3rd career Wimbledon title, not even her sister, the best grass court player of her generation.

2. S. Williams USA d. D. Safina RUS, 6-0 6-3, Australian Open final, Melbourne.

None of the 2009 Grand Slam finals were stellar matches, but Serena Williams' dismantling of the World #1 player in the final of the Australian Open was still noteworthy. Although not as devastating as the incredible beatdown of Maria Sharapova Serena displayed in the 2007 final (in that match Sharapova was not playing badly but there's absolutely no one who could have beaten Serena the way she was playing that day), the 2009 final still ended up with a similar result: the humiliating defeat of the Russian player in the final of the Australian Open. It was Serena's 10th major title and her second consecutive Grand Slam title in a row.

3. S. Kuznetsova RUS d. S. Williams USA, 7-6(3) 5-7 7-5, Roland Garros quarterfinal, Paris.

It was clear at the outset that the person who won this match would go on to win the French Open title. The surprising aspect of this match was that the person who exhibited the superior mental toughness was Svetlana Kuznetsova, not 10-time major champion Serena Williams. Kuznetsova faced a set point in the first set but won that point and ended up winning the first set in a tiebreak. In the second set Kuznetsova held a significant lead at 5-3 and was 3 points from victory but ended up losing 4 consecutive games to lose the second set. Serena was up a break and had a lead of 3-1 in the decisive set when things fell apart and she never held a lead again. As Serena said, "It was like, 'Here, do you want to go to the semis? Because I don't.' She was like, 'OK.'" The win was a huge boost for the Russian, who Serena had beaten to win the first major of the year, and Kuznetsova went on to win the second major of the year and her second career major title.

4. C. Wozniacki DEN d. S. Kuznetsova RUS, 2-6 7-6(5) 7-6(3), U.S. Open 4th Round, New York City.

The teenaged sensation had made a name for herself on the tour all year long but it was only at the final major of the year that the Danish player made her major breakthrough to defeat 2-time major champion Svetlana Kuznetsova. The Russian was dominating in the first set, firing on all cylinders and simply overwhelming the youngster with her forehand and backhand. However, in the second set Kuznetsova started to make more errors and Wozniacki improved her retrieving abilities, often making the Russian hit two or three attempted winners to try to win the point, eventually leading to an overhit error. Eventually the second set was won by Wozniacki due to at most two points that could have gone either way. In the third set both players held and consolidated breaks of service but, surprisingly, it was the more inexperienced player who ended the match the victor. Wozniacki would go on to reach her first career Grand Slam final and end the year ensconced in the Top 5.

5. V. Williams USA d. D. Safina RUS, 6-1 6-0, Wimbledon semifinal, London.

Venus Williams humiliated the world #1 by delivering the worst thrashing in a Grand Slam to a top-seeded player ever and one of the most lopsided scores in a grand slam semifinal in the Open era. For the third time in the third major of the year, Safina's mental infirmities overwhelmed her not insubstantial strengths as a player but this time the meltdown occurred in a semifinal and not a final. Strangely, none of the supreme confidence and expert shotmaking Venus displayed in this match were apparent in the final against her sister the next day. Then again, it's easier to look good when your opponent is busy trying to look so awful.

6. M. Oudin USA d. M. Sharapova RUS, 1-6 7-6(3) 6-3, U.S. Open 3rd Round, New York.

Melanie Oudin is the third highest-ranked American player after the Williams sister who made a name for herself by dismissing former World #1 Jelena Jankovic in the fourth round of Wimbledon. She is nearly a full foot shorter than the statuesque 3-time major champion Maria Sharapova. However, despite losing the first set easily, Oudin never seemed to panic or feel that she was unable to win the match despite the stark difference not only between the two player's heights but the difference in their levels of success on the WTA tour. Oudin was aided by Sharapova's wobbly serve--the Russian former #1 double-faulted 21 times, the most of any player in a WTA tour match all year. The American also had a very partisan and rowdy New York City crowd behind her who never gave up on the diminutive American despite Sharapova's service-break lead in the final set. The 17-year-old became the youngest American semifinalist at the U.S. Open since Serena Williams nearly 10 years before on her way to winning the first of her 11 major titles.

7. S. Williams USA d. V. Williams USA, 7-6(2) 6-2, Wimbledon Championships final, London.

It's not often the Wimbledon final doesn't make into the Top 5 Best Matches of the Year but 2009 was that kind of year (on the Women's side). For the fifth time of the decade (and second consecutive year) the Williams sisters would face each other in the Wimbledon final. At the time, Venus was widely regarded as the finest grass court player of her generation with 5 titles and Serena was the current defending champion of two of the four majors and is clearly the best player of the decade. Unfortunately (as usual) the showdown did not live up to its potential. Venus demolished her semifinal opponent without breaking a sweat the round before and was never seriously challenged in London until the final. Serena got through the match of the year by defeating Elena Dementieva in an incredible match that lasted nearly 3 hours. However, in the final it was Venus who seemed the less physically present, and Serena was definitely the more mentally focused, thus leading to the relatively lopsided score after the relatively close first set, which was filled with deep powerful hitting and incredible ball retrieval by both players.

8. C. Wozniacki DEN d. V. Azarenka BLR, 1-6 6-4 7-5, Sony Ericsson Championships round-robin, Doha.

In the last tournament of the year, the young Caroline Wozniacki met the young Victoria Azarenka for the third time in 2009, having lost both matches played against the feisty Belorussian . After losing the first game of the match, Azarenka won 6 games in a row to take the first set. The second set featured an amazing 14-deuce fifth game and lasted almost 80 minutes, nearly half the duration of the entire match. Despite losing the second set, Azarenka served for the match at 5-3 in the deciding set but only had a match point on Wozniacki's serve at 4-5 but made an error to even the match at 5-all in the third. Eventually Wozniacki broke to go up 6-5 and won the match on a service winner. Azarenka and Wozniacki will most likely be rivals for many major titles well into the future.

9. K. Clijsters BEL d.V. Williams USA, 6-0 0-6 6-4, U.S Open 4th Round, New York City.

The first two sets of this highly anticipated match-up between the beloved mother of Jada and the 7-time Grand Slam champion were the two most lopsided sets of tennis of the year, with Clijsters starting off hot and Venus Williams committing error after error followed by a set where Williams settled down and started painting the lines with successive winners despite the Belgian's legendary flexibility. This match was a canonical example of "Big Babe Tennis" with both players banging away from the baseline, impressing the audience with huge serves, blistering groundstrokes and powerful athleticism. In the end, Clijsters' superior control was the edge that gave her the victory.

10. F. Pennetta ITA d. V. Zvonareva RUS, 3-6 7-6(8) 6-0, U.S. Open 4th Round, New York City.

Flavia Pennetta became the first Italian women to reach the Top 10 in August 2009 a few weeks before this classic showdown with the always combustible Russian Vera Zvonareva in the 4th Round of the U.S. Open. In the second set, Pennetta saved no less than SIX match points, several with winners on her racquet and ended up winning the middle set. Zvonareva was so mentally frazzled by this result that she failed to win a single game and lost the deciding set 6-0. An incredibly memorable result for the popular Italian.

HONORABLE MENTIONS:

Here are some honorable mentions for memorable matches of the year by women

D. Safina RUS d. A. Mauresmo, 4-6 6-3 6-4, Wimbledon 3rd Round.
S. Williams USA d. S. Kuznetsova RUS, 5-7 7-5 6-1, Australian Open quarterfinal.
J. Dokic AUS d. A. Kleybanova USA, 7-5 5-7 8-6, Australian Open 4th Round.
M. Oudin USA d. J. Jankovic SRB, 6-7(8) 7-5 6-2, Wimbledon 3rd Round.
C. Suarez Navarro ESP d. V. Williams USA, 2-6 6-3 7-5, Australian Open 2nd Round
K. Clijsters BEL d. S. Williams USA, 6-4 7-5, U.S. Open semifinal.
K. Clijsters BEL d. C. Wozniacki DEN, 7-5 6-3, U.S. Open final.
M. Oudin USA d. N. Petrova RUS, 1-6 7-6(2) 6-3, U.S. Open 4th Round.
V. Williams USA d. S. Williams USA, 6-1 2-6 7-6(3), Dubai Championships semifinal.
V. Azarena BLR d. S. Williams USA, 6-3 6-1, Sony Ericsson Open final.
S. Williams USA d. V. Williams USA, 6-2 7-6(4), Sony Ericsson Championship semifinal.

Doha Open Thread

Sunday, November 1, 2009

Singles - Final
(2) Serena Williams (USA) d. (7) Venus Williams (USA) 62 76(4)

Doubles - Final
(4) Llagostera Vives/Martínez Sánchez (ESP/ESP) d. (1) Black/Huber (ZIM/USA) 63 46 10-7

Saturday, October 31, 2009

Singles - Semifinals
(2) Serena Williams (USA) d. (4) Caroline Wozniacki (DEN) 64 01 ret. (left abdominal strain)
(7) Venus Williams (USA) d. (8) Jelena Jankovic (SRB) 57 63 64

Doubles - Semifinals
(1) Black/Huber (ZIM/USA) d. (3) Stosur/Stubbs (AUS/AUS) 36 76(3) 10-8
(4) Llagostera Vives/Martínez Sánchez (ESP/ESP) d. (2) Williams/Williams(USA/USA) 26 64 10-8

Friday, October 30, 2009

White Group
(8) Jelena Jankovic (SRB) d. (4) Caroline Wozniacki (DEN) 62 62
(10) Agnieszka Radwanska (POL) d. (6) Victoria Azarenka (BLR) 46 75 41 ret. (cramping)

Maroon Group
(3) Svetlana Kuznetsova (RUS) d. (5) Elena Dementieva (RUS) 63 62


Getty

Sony Ericsson WTA CEO Stacey Allaster and Elena Dementieva of Russia pose for photographers after Dementieva was presented the ACES award during the Sony Ericsson WTA Championships at the Khalifa International Tennis and Squash Complex on October 29, 2009 in Doha, Qatar.


Getty

Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark cries with the pain from cramp in her leg as she celebrates match point against Vera Zvonareva of Russia in their round robin match during the Sony Ericsson Championships at the Khalifa Tennis and Squash Complex on October 29, 2009 in Doha, Qatar.


Reuters

Venus Williams of the U.S hits a return to Svetlana Kuznetsova of Russia during their WTA Tour Championships tennis match in Doha October 29, 2009.

Thursday, October 29, 2009

White Group
(4) Caroline Wozniacki (DEN) d. (9) Vera Zvonareva (RUS) 60 67(3) 64

Maroon Grouup
(2) Serena Williams (USA) d. (5) Elena Dementieva (RUS) 62 64
(7) Venus Williams (USA) d. (3) Svetlana Kuznetsova (RUS) 62 67(3) 64

::


AP

Serena Williams of the United States reacts during her singles match against sister Venus Williams of the United States at the WTA Tennis Championships, in Doha, Qatar Wednesday, Oct. 28, 2009.

AP

A cat runs across the court during the match between Venus and Serena Williams of the United States at the WTA Tennis Championships, in Doha, Qatar Wednesday, Oct. 28, 2009.

Getty

Dinara Safina of Russia fields questions from the media after retiring from her match against Jelena Jankovic of Serbia, and the tournament, due to injury in her first match in round robin play during the Sony Ericsson WTA Championships at the Khalifa International Tennis and Squash Complex on October 28, 2009 in Doha, Qatar.


Getty

Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark is congratulated by her father Piotr Wozniacki after match point against Victoria Azarenka of Belarus in their round robin match during the Sony Ericsson Championships at the Khalifa Tennis and Squash Complex on October 28, 2009 in Doha, Qatar.

Wednesday, October 28, 2009

White Group
(8) Jelena Jankovic (SRB) d. (1) Dinara Safina (RUS) 11 ret. (low back injury)
(4) Caroline Wozniacki (DEN) d. (6) Victoria Azarenka (BLR) 16 64 75

Maroon Group
(2) Serena Williams (USA) d. (7) Venus Williams (USA) 57 64 76(4) (saved 1 M.P.)

::

Tuesday, October 27, 2009

White Group
(6) Victoria Azarenka (BLR) d. (8) Jelena Jankovic (SRB) 62 63

Maroon Group
(2) Serena Williams (USA) d. (3) Svetlana Kuznetsova (RUS) 76(6) 75
(5) Elena Dementieva (RUS) d. (7) Venus Williams (USA) 36 76(6) 62

::



Reuters

Jelena Jankovic of Serbia, Victoria Azarenka of Belarus, Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark, Serena Williams of the U.S. , Dinara Safina of Russia, Svetlana Kuznetsova of Russia, Elena Dementieva of Russia and Venus Williams of the U.S. (L-R) pose for a picture during the draw for the WTA Tour Championships at the Museum of Islamic Art conference centre in Doha October 25, 2009. The tournament will take place in Doha from October 26 to November 1.

::

White Group
Dinara Safina
Caroline Wozniacki
Victoria Azarenka
Jelena Jankovic

Maroon Group
Serena Williams
Svetlana Kuznetsova
Elena Dementieva
Venus Williams

I suppose it's merely coincidence that the white group includes two of the propagandists' darlings and a No. 1 seed given an advantage, yet again, by an establishment uninterested in credibility, while the maroon group features the veterans and the women of color. And, of course, the players with championship resumes.

Are people still going to drive by and insist that these draws are purely random just because they're performed in public?

I suppose I'll cover the event here. But I'm not making any promises. When the establishment of the sport I loves stares me in the face and calls me stupid, I tend to become preoccupied with other things.

Maybe one of our front-page contributors will do the honors (hint, hint), and take our readers through all the action in Doha.

Or, how about a regular commenter? Send an email to craighickmanontennis at gmail dot com if you're interested.

I've got to get back out into the field. Way-too-early frost, family visits, more B&B guests and catering gigs than I ever have this time of the year has thrown me for so many loops, I'm all discombobulated of late. The ground is already beginning to freeze, and I haven't even started planting bulbs for next spring.