2008 Rome Draw

What's up with Henin? She is not playing due to fatigue?

Serena is playing again this week, which I don't think is a good idea.

Venus and Sharapova are on the same side of the draw.

Amelie dropped out too, so with my 2 faves out, I am not much interested. Venus and Serena are both entered, #7 and 5 respectively. I like Venus, but not at much as the francophones.

Serena has a tough first match against Alona Bondarenko. Apparently Bondarenko played Sharapova hard in Indian Wells and Amelia Island. She is solid on both sides and moves very well. Serena has been hitting the ball cleaner and has been making fewer unforced errors since Miami, so I shouldn't be too worried.

Venus also has a tough match against Stosur. Venus will be very rusty because she hasn't played since losing to Kuznetsova in Miami and it will be her first match on clay for the season.

Stosur hasn't played in forever, but based on the score in her first match, she won comfortably.

That really was a nice win for Stouser, coming back from injury that has kept her off the tour for what seems like forever. However, I wouldn't expect her to give Venus too much trouble.

Serena needs to be on against Bonderenko. She's had a few silly losses this year, but Serena is going to have to come out firing (with the ball going in) in order to win.

I'm glad to see Safina take the week off. I do not see her as a serious threat for the French, and I hate that the winner one week has to pull out the next, but so be it with the scheduling.

I would love to see Vera Z do well here. Keep up the good work of the year...

Henin withdrew due to fatigue? I guess its all those finals she has been in this year. Seriously though...I've heard she has some knee issues and who knows...perhaps that virus of hers is acting up again. But to go into the French Open with this little bit of clay prep should mean the most wide open singles draw in years.

I think had Serena won Berlin she would've withdrawn from Rome. I think she knows she needs to still work on some things on the red clay. So it would be cool for her to get some more matches under her belt. The clay season is so short and it being her worst surface means she really can't get too much practice and match play on it.

It will be interesting to see what both Venus and Sharapova do. Venus has been out for quite a bit and this will be Sharpies first time on the red dirt too.

But Terp, don't you realize, only Venus and Serena Williams should be questioned about missing tournaments!

Never, ever, ever should Justine Henin or Maria "Pick and Choose" Sharapova be subjected to such treatment.

I guess the WTA doesn't agree, seeing as how Henin just got whacked $20k for her latest withdrawal.

Never let a message board reflect the reality of the tour. If Henin can be fined 20k like that then surely Venus and Serena should be fined and criticized into infinity for not playing Indian Wells.

Oh lord I'm almost scared to even go there with the Indian Wells thing again but its going to be interesting to see what happens next year that Indian Wells is one of the mandatory tournaments. Venus and Serena have already said that it would take an act of God for them to play there. No amount of the chorus of "oh its been years so they should get over it" will make them nor should make them play there in my opinion. So...we shall see.

Well, that's just it. It's a messageboard.

It's more than obvious you have a problem with people criticizing the Williams sisters. I've been screamed at for my Hingis trashing. Some people defend Retireovic until they're blue in the face, some people blast him until they're blue in the face.

People are going to express themselves and their opinions. That's what messageboards are for. Weird, huh?

Please don't take the tough love the wrong way...

...but...

...unless you're deliberately continuing to beat an already long since dead horse with the intentions of trying to pick a cyber-fight, or longing for some kind of cyber-drama, is it really constructive to carry on about people using messageboards for their actual purpose just because you don't happen to agree with their point of view?

Point taken, TG, you're right.

But (and you knew there'd be a but ) I should at least be allowed to point out the double standard. Maybe it's blindingly obvious to most everyone.

And by all means people can criticize V&S and be right in doing so. I guess I'm just carrying a grudge from feeling baited in recent times, it was low to succumb to that urge. In the future I'll take a cue from Terp and Dedric, who don't waste their time, and just l-e-t i-t g-o...

Agreed, and that's a good outlook...and I should know, because I've been baited, and have readily taken said bait recently...in case you hadn't noticed.

It's pretty damn cold of the WTA to fine Henin for having a chronic virus. But what's $20K to JH, who's earned mega-millions on the tour? Similarly, if the WTA wants to fine the Williamses for skipping Indian Wells, the sisters should just pawn some of the rings on their fingers to pay for it. And then give the WTA the finger.

Big surprise today with Pironkova knocking out Ivanovic. Pironkova hasn't beaten a player in the top 40 since 2006.

Ivanovic didn't look so hot in Berlin either. This one is a bit of a shocker. Nice to see Kirilinko continue her nice season though.

Bit of a suprise at how easily Serena defeated Alyona Bonderanko. I'm curious if she was just on or if Alyona was off, as she has been some this year, or a bit of both.

(and to TG).

Crazy results today, JC. I love it when Pironkova pulls off an upset. I hope our resident Pironkova-ette is savoring the victory! Errani demolished Szavay. I guess fatigue is setting in and the players who did well last week are especially vulnerable. Except Azarenka, who is doing well in Italy so far.

Good news: instead of indulging in Williams whining, I'll celebrate at least one day of clear skies on clay. It's encouraging and even a bit surprising to see Serena so convincingly wallop Bondarenko, and see Venus begin with such a convincing win over Stoser.

That's true.

Tsvetana has so much more potential than her ranking shows. Credit to her for staying the course on the top tier of the tour, not giving up and heading back to a consistent diet of ITF's and Tier 4's. She has routinely drawn the top ranked players in the 1st and 2nd rounds of grand slams and tier 1's tournaments. She has had some top ten players on the ropes in the past year but couldn't close out matches.

Today she nearly blew another one, but came through in the 3rd for the long overdue victory vs a top ten player.

What exactly does Bonderanko have that could've hurt Serena. Why people thought Serena was to have to bring out her best in this match confused me. Is there something about this girl's game that I haven't seen?

I expected Serena to win, even in straights, but the extremity of the scoreline did surprise me. Bondarenko got to one pre-RG final last year and troubled Sharapova mightily on hard courts and clay this spring (three sets both times and "should have" beat Maria the first time). She's a good clay player who hits relatively hard and moves well.

On the other hand, Venus really beat her badly at the USO last fall (and from Alona's face at the handshake it smarted), so maybe she and Serena have what it takes to win easy over her.

Azarenka unsurprisingly had to retire from her match after a lot of matches in three weeks (Prague final, Berlin semis, a couple in Rome), which makes me wonder why she took the wildcard at all. A shame for her since Ivanovic's exit seemed to pave the way to a third consecutive quarter or semi. Instead Pironkova gets to enjoy the limelight a bit more, and since it seems she'll face Chakvetadze next I bet she has another upset left in her.

Jelena has been all business. I really hope she gets to play Venus in the next round but Zvonareva is no small obstacle.

This is really turning into a breakthrough tournament for Pironkova Do we like her chances vs Chakvetadze? I was hoping she wouldn't have to play Radwanska, Tsvetana has struggled with her in the past. Anna certainly hasnt had the stellar season she had last year.

Great quarters tomorrow with big stars in play, both Williams, Sharapova, Jankovic, Pironkova, what a line up...

Both WS go down in Rome today. Jelena comes back from a set down to take the second and third sets. Venus is just too inconsistent and Jelena exposes her big time on clay. With Justine gone I think Jelena could breakthrough at the French. Thats a surface where not having a big serve won't hurt you as much. Serena withdrew vs the talented Cornet. That sucks because I would've liked to have seen how that match played out. Nice to see Anna Chak get some consistency right before the French Open. She's been a hot mess lately.

Interestingly enough...Jelena Jankovic has a 7-6 combined H2H vs both Williams sisters. Whatever it is...she likes the way her game matches up with them and she's been quite successful. Thats not something the other players can brag about.

This is so true. The sad thing is, I don't really think there is much to it except that she is a damn good retriever that has the capacity to outlast the sisters on the slower courts. She can exploit this only to the point that the sisters beat themselves. I also think the more drastic angles with power that the sisters hit with allows her to redirect her counterpunching style with more power and helps her create better angles on her own shots.

I do think that counterpunchers fare better against the Williams Sisters on the whole. They won't beat them at their best, but they're not at their best often enough that there will be days that if you just keep getting the ball back, they'll eventually slip up...and they do give you pace to play with if you're good at redirecting the ball. Players like Sharapova and Davenport don't get enough balls back to entice errors from the sisters, so they have to play at a much higher level to beat them.

The walkovers and retirements (in matches) this tournament and others recently seems unprecentdented to me. Serena was a major surprise, after reading what she said about her reason....that she felt a twinge of some pain in her back but that she was generally fine and would definitely play the French. And now Sharapova... What is going on? Serena says <jokingly, of course> that it is the Rome air.....

"17/05/2008 13:30
SHARAPOVA NOT FIT TO PLAY
Maria Sharapova pulls out of the tournament


Russian, Maria Sharapova will not face Jelena Jankovic in todays semifinal of the 2008 Internazionali BNL d'Italia.

The 21 year old and futur world number 1 (no matter the outcome of this years tournament) woke up with a painful left calf. Surely a direct result of her hours upon hours spend on the court (7h29 in 3 matches)in the 2008 edition.

Second direct result Jelena Jankovic is qualified for the final of the Rome tournament for the second consecutive year.

Third direct result, the Cornet-Chakvetadze semifinal was rescheduled to 4pm. " [color=#330033]

The withdrawals are constant and it's not even mid-year. Venus was undone by unforced errors and Jelena's steady groundstrokes. I think all the players are being oh so careful right now with the FO about to begin so Serena's smart to be careful - especially with a back thing which can get worse very fast.

I think Jelena has an amazing temperment for tennis and will outlast a few more of these big hitters before her career is over. I also think that this FO is Jelena's big chance to get her first slam.

With Henin out, no one benefits more than Jelena. Especially because she's indomitable on the clay. We'll see, though. I still don't view her as the favorite going into RG. I'd put Serena and maybe Ivanovic ahead of her.

Venus has made exactly zero progress against Jelena on clay. That scoreline is just like their matches on the surface last year.

**Spoiler Alert*

Wow, Alize Cornet has had some good wins this year. I sense a clear new top tenner if she keeps going.

Although the Dokic lookalike lost to Cornet, the real Dokic won her ITF event today.





Who can spot the real Dokic?

Who can spot the real Dokic?

the one in the very unusual gray outfit. Looks ready for a business meeting. I am hoping Cornet makes up for the loss of my 2nd favorite francophone.

Your quiz might have been tougher without the copyright dates included, since it could only be Chakvetadze at the FO in 2007 (where she reached the quarters in fact) and 2002 was the last time Dokic was relevant. Glad to hear she's still steadily coming back however.

Another good result for Cornet as I anticipated, although Anna really should have closed her out (and not, say, lost six games in a row from 3-0 up in the second). I think Jankovic might've dodged a bullet. If Anna had kept stringing wins together she would have gone into the final with confidence, where she would have been motivated to keep her perfect 7-0 record in finals (including one earlier this year and one against Jankovic at the Ordina last year), not to mention she dominates her H2H against Jelena at 6-3 (5-1 without retirements included). Who knows what might've happened.

But although Cornet will be a tough nut to crack for sure, I would expect Jelena's experience at this level (her fifth or sixth Tier I final and just the first for Alizé) as well as her good record at this event (she not only won it last year but it was where she finally snapped her 10-match losing streak in 2006 with a run to the QFs) to see her through. Should be some good tennis.

Well...Jelena beats Cornet with a pretty easy scoreline although Alize definitely had break point opportunities. I think Jelena has to go into the French as a pretty big favorite. The girl is just so consistent. She's made the quarterfinals or better in all of the tournaments she's been in this year and she's played a lot. She's another iffy one though with her injuries so who knows. With Henin gone, the French Open is so wide open this year. Serena can play great and then you are waiting for the other shoe to drop with an injury. Maria wakes up with calf pains. Dinara should like her chances going in with her great play in Berlin. Ivanovic may have some issues going in. Not so sure she'll defend her runner up points. Venus is too inconsistent on clay and tries to play hard court tennis on a clay court. Yeah she got to a final once before but it was during a time when the WS were so much better than anyone else that the other players feared them and the WS confidence level was through the roof. I can't even pick a clear favorite going in this year but Jelena has to feel good about her chances.

You're right. The bottom line is that women's tennis is now wide open at the top. I don't see anyone being a favorite at the French. Possibly Serena if there is nothing wrong with her. She seems to think she is fine and said so.
Amelie...now would be a good time to peak.

It's not too hard for me to pick out Dokic. She has the amble bosum and is bootylicious. I used to think of her as the white Serena.