Well Flavia has been playing rather spirited as of late although up 5-0 in the second set she almost let Justine back in. It went from 5-0 to 5-3, 30-30. I think had Justine gotten it to 5-4 it could have been an entirely different story. I don't care for Justine but I have always given her props for being one of the biggest fighters on tour. She has a lot of heart.

But Flavia has posted some decent results and hasn't played poorly lately. For Justine I think its a combo of lack of match play, the injury, the virus, lack of confidence that contributed to losing the match. Her options are limited this time of year and I believe indoor hard courts aren't exactly where she has exceled in her career.

Seems as though she's trying to go for power on the serve instead of accuracy and spin like she used to. I don't know.

[ October 05, 2005, 02:20 PM: Message edited by: ltskinmdterp ]

Justine has to find the balance point between wearing herself out and being rusty due to lack of match play. Martina N. suggested back in January that her problem may be overtraining.

Hey, it just occurred to me that except for Kim last week, none of the slam winners this year have won another tournament subsequently. Venus' post-Wimbledon record is much like Justine's, and Serena's is worse.

She played well lately (except the US open sinlge tournament.)

Damn..on her FIRST day as a pro, Michelle Wie is one of the highest paid female athletes. I like Michelle Wie...wish her lots of success and luck on the pro tour. Sharapova better watch out. Wie is knockin on the door and could seen be the highest paid female athlete. The fact that she is Asian gives her an advantage over Sharapova as a lot of those Japanese companies will be lining up to sign Wie. Nike and Sony are already 2 of the big deals Wie has deals with.

[ October 05, 2005, 04:52 PM: Message edited by: ltskinmdterp ]

Remember way back in 1990 when Capriati had $5 million or so in endorsements before she even hit her first ball (Prince, Diadora)? That seems like lunch money these days compared to what some of the big stars are getting!

As a side note, I'd also read somewhere awhile ago that Fila didn't renew Capriati's contract. It will be interesting to see what she shows up wearing. I was kinda of suprised that no one gave Mary Pierce a 1-match clothing deal for the U.S. Open that they could have negotiated further after the Open if they chose. The primetime coverage would have been great, and considering it was her second GS final of the year she would have been a pretty good investment.

mec, remember that the deals for Capriati were done in 1990, that is 15 years ago. It would have been substantial, for that time, just the same.

I read on wtaworld that Serena was done for the year. It hasn't been posted officially on a more credible website. Mind you this is the same website I read that Brad Gilbert was going to be her coach, but if it is true I think its a good move. The only thing left for her to defend is the YEC and she won't lose THAT many points. She'll probably finish the year around 15. I think she's gonna take the time to get in better shape and get the strength back in her knee and be ready to come back with a vengence in defending her title in Australia.

If by some reason she doesn't play the Aussie Open she will be out of the top 50, but I'm sure she'll be in Melbourne. Being as though she really has nothing to defend next year except Australia, if she's healthy, she could leap back into the top ten rather quickly.

Clearly $5 million was a ton of money in 1990--as it still is today, at least to me it is. My point is simply that the It Girl in 1990 was getting $5 million where the It Girl of 2005 (Sharapova) is getting $22 million. It's definitely saying a lot about how things have changed!

Dementieva defeated Clijsters today in Filderstad 6-3 3-6 6-2

Davenport won over Myskina 62 36 61
Hantuchova defeated Pennetta 63 64

Very nice win for Dementieva today ... I don't even try to think about how her serve will act indoors, but her groundies must have been very sharp today. She was standing outside of the Championships race prior to Filderstadt (Personally, I'm glad that this is the last year of the event because I always have to look up the spelling.), but with today's win, she has vaulted herself inside of the Top 8.

I'm excited about Hantuchova-Davenport because I think that Dani has a shot at the Big D on this surface. The faster the court, the more I like Dani's groundstrokes, although ... Lindsay wants short quick points, which favors her game as well.

Tokyo seems to be the event of the "Next Big Thing." Mirza, Kirilenko, Vaidisova and Golovin are in the semifinals. I really like Vaidisova to win the event ... she's been rocketing up the rankings and she's had some nice wins this year, temper tantrums at the US Open aside.

Nick

Mauresmo lost the first set to Petrova 6-2. Solid play by Petrova and lots of mistakes by Mauresmo.

Hantuchova is playing well. Solid match against Pennetta today. I liked her.

[ October 07, 2005, 10:03 AM: Message edited by: andrea ]

Good second set by Mauresmo.

Momo is a slow starter. She loses the first set ALOT!

Allez Amelie

Apparently, Kim was exhausted going into the match, and both Kim and Elena said that the Russian played her best match ever! Elena even said that she knows that Kim is the best in the world right now...She'll rest, she'll be back in ten days...Elena - good for her...she's still gotta be sore for losing to MP, the injury timeout queen...
Question for all: What do think Pierce's 2006 will look like?

Oh damn, just turned on teh computer and the tv--LIVE Dementiava vs Mauresmo on the Tennis Channel, adn I have a 10am appt down the street--cancel? Mau takes the first set 6-3 and is up a break in the second, serving, but suddenly is having trouble with her serve. But a beautiful backhand gives her 30all. But a breakpoint for Dem now,, and she gets it. Back on serve.

And some hot German line judges--young men in jeans and black polos.

Mau breaks back at love, just heard it was five straight breaks of serve--and the winners to errors numbers confirm that this is an ugly game 8-20 for Maur and 6-20 for Dem.

home now, watching the encore of the DAvenport-Hantuchova match, and they are both playing hard and well, but Davenport has more game, up a break in the second after winning the first, DH serving at 2-4, leading in her game 40-0 and Lindsay comes back to take the game to Ad Davenport. Now to duece. LIndsay runs DH all around the court and again gains a breakpoint. But DH holds. 3-4.

Daniella is to Lindsay what so many good (but not great) players were to Chris -- the perfect matchup. Daniella's pace and shot selection is the perfect practice session for Lindsay. They have played five times (was this six?) and Daniella just struggles. Her game gives Lindsay everything she likes, especially indoors on a hard court. Lindsay was just clicking.

And it was so nice to see her smiling and taking the match in stride. No sulking or mumbling or any of the bad signs. She had to be disturbed with her exceptionally poor play at the Open against Dementieva. Another great Slam opportunity out the door.

Mauresmo is another good matchup for Lindsay. Amelie hits the ball in a way that plays right to Lindsay's strengths. Amelie is more aggressive, but cannot really control the match from the net. Lindsay's accuracy and pace makes it hard for someone to rush her by taking the net.

It looks like Lindsay will be taking a third Porsche home with her, if she plays the way she did today.

I must disagree with the Lindsay-Daniela commentary, to a certain extent.

While she has yet to win a match against Lindsay, they have played quite a few tight matches in the past. (Personally, I'd like to see Dani face Lindsay on clay. Out of their 5 previous encounters, 4 were on hardcourts, 1 was on indoor carpet.) For instance, at New Haven this year, Lindsay was down 2 set points against Hantuchova. Prior to this year, both of their matches were 3 set affairs.

I agree that Hantuchova's game does feed into Lindsay's strengths. Dani's textbook groundies are right into Davenport's strike zone and currently, she doesn't seem to have very much variety in her game. Personally, I wish that Dani would try to bring back the "avant garde" tacticts that she seemed to show earlier in her career. I recall her match against Venus in Melbourne gosh, 2001 or 2002, where she actually attacked the net consistently. Back to the issue at hand ... I think that Hantuchova is a solid matchup for Davenport, as evidenced by their previous matches.

Nick

Lindsay cruises to title win #50. She was so sharp to begin the match today. It reminded me of her win earlier this year over Maria in Indian Wells. Amelie was able to assert herself a little more today, and Lindsay fell off for a game or two, but the precision and decisiveness of many shots was amazing.

Amelie had a small ray of hope, but Lindsay relaly came out of her dip very quickly. Nice way of closing out the match by winning the final four games.

Lindsay is so deadly when she had it going on. I really don't think anyone can dictate play against her. It makes her loss to Dementieva in New York all the more frustrating. She destroyed Dechy two days earlier and looked to be on fire. Then she came out and looked like she had not played in six months.

It looks like Lindsay is planning to make a serious run at the #1 year end ranking. She is currently scheduled to play the Tier I event in Zurich next week and then Philly the week before the Championships.

Amelie is on tap to play a lot of fall tennis. She plays well indoors.

Loved that beautiful red Porsche. Does anyone know -- does the car count as part of the winner's prize money, or is it like the trophy -- a nice add-on to the prize money?

I believe they have a choice, the Porsche or the prize money. Since the winner's prize money is usually less than the car, the players have usually chosen the car.

No suprise in Lindsay's rout of Mauresmo. She's a mess. I mean she focuses on tennis it seems and has no slam. Yet, Justine was out for months and came back to grab the French Open. Venus and Serena have outside interests and struggle with injuries and conditioning and blah blah blah and whatever people want to blame them for this week, but still managed to snag a slam this year. Heck, Mauresmo didn't even take advantage like Justine did when Venus and Serena were out after Wimbledon 2003 to even get a sniff at winning a slam. I honestly don't think Mauresmo will EVER win a grand slam. Has there ever been a player who has reached #1 and did not win a slam in their career?

Maria is in Moscow, *scratches head* ... I thought that she was going to withdraw. *shrug*

This truly adds an interesting kink into the battle for #1. With Zurich, Philly and the EOYC coming off, Maria defends approximately 1125 ranking points over the next month. In order to stand a chance at maintaining her #1 ranking, she must have a solid result this week.

Fortunately for Sharpie, her draw is workable. Safina is a test indoors, Molik (when healthy) is a stellar indoor player, but I feel that Maria (if healthy ... lord, every player should contain an "if healthy" percursor for any discussion), should coast to the semifinals.

Piece, who has almost nothing to defend before the EOYC, could be a difficult opponent indoors. Schnyder has posted awful results lately and while I respect her attempt to play indoors, she would be better off in Thailand versus playing on carpet here. If Pierce plays Sharpie, that could be a fun match.

In the bottom half of the draw ... *scratches head*, lots of potentially solid matches. Myskina-Dementieva makes for a wonderful quarterfinal. I'd like to see Linetskaya get back on track ... problems with her psycho tennis father aside. I really like a Kuznetsova-Mauresmo matchup, with Sveta pulling out the win.

In Thailand, if that heiffer Petrova doesn't win the event, the girl ... *backsnap*, she just doesn't have it. Mashona needs a solid result this week with her finalist points coming off rather soon and hopefully, Nadia will see how soft her draw is and play like ass against Mashona. *shrug*

I like Peer to make a smash at this event ... she's improved her ranking immensely this year and her draw doesn't look too tough befor the semifinals.

Chi Chi could do well here ... she has a knack for fouling up youngsters with major power in their game, *cough Vaidisova cough*. Nicole is shooting up the rankings and she could easily be a Top 15 player prior to Melbourne, even after her Tashkent title falls off her ranking.

I like Mirza, but the Top 20 opponents are really starting to gear up on her game. Her sketchy 2nd serve (who doesn't have a sketchy 2nd serve really, however ... hers is exceptionally attackable) and powerful forehand can be attackable. I wouldn't be surprised if Nagyova sends her packing in the 1st.

I like Sharpie in Moscow against Sveta and *shrug*, Chi Chi versus Mashona in Thailand. If it actually happens, I will parade around town butt-ass nekkid and post pictures for the villagers to see.

Nick

ltskin...how could you possibly forget the charming and effervescent Marcelo Rios!

Does he really count? I think you should have to be number one for longer than 2 hours for that to count.

Wasn't Thomas Muster also #1 for a nanosecond?

Muster won the French Open, though.

D'oh! Forgot that one!

I thought so...I was going to look it up, but I thought so.

He won it in 1995.

Stockholm Update:

Thomas Johansson (1) def. Ervin Eleskovic, 7-6 (7-4), 7-6 (7-4)

James Blake (6) def. Guillermo Garcia-Lopez, 7-6 (7-4), 6-4

George Bastl def. Tomas Cakl, 6-4, 7-5

Julien Benneteau def. Paul-Henri Mathieu, 6-1, 6-3

Johannson faces Spadea next
Blake gets the winner of Acasuso/Christophe Rochus

Dent, Verdasco, and Ferrer have already been sent home.

Maria Sharapova was gettin her ass handed to her by Groenfeld today 6-1, 4-1 when Groenfeld got injured. It got to 4-2 but Groenfeld was in obvious pain and was crying and had to retire. That really sucks. Maria said she hates to have to win a match like that but its a part of tennis. Sucks though cuz Groenfeld is one of my favorite up and comers along with Vaidisova and Mirza. I don't know if its Maria's pec injury that had her losing like that or if it was just a bad day at the office. Bottom line...she escaped cuz she was goin down in flames.

That is too bad. Groenfeld will be top 10 by this time next year for sure. It would have been nice to see Maria lose, now she gets the points and gets to move on. Lucky for her. I'm glad to hear that she said she doesn't like to win that way though.

Curious question ... For those who dislike Sharpie, is the hatred because of her game, i.e., shrieking, or more so due to the antics of her father? I'm surprised to see the constant negative comments about her because I think that she's great for the game.

Besides, like it or not, after Davenport, she has been the most consistent Slam performer this year with 3 semifinals and a quarterfinal on her worst surface, clay. She's had a very solid year, pec injury aside.

As for today's match ... she was INCREDIBLY lucky. Groenefeld has such a powerful game and the surface suits her style of play perfectly. Safina or Stosur could post a stiff challenge given Maria's current form.

Nick

I've wondered about this too. I don't think people dislike Sharapova per se, but rather don't like all the hype that surrounds her--in this post-Kournikova era, the media has made her out to be the blue eyed, blond haired savior of women's tennis.

I can't stand her crazy-ass father and his obnoxious sideline screaming, but I like Sharapova as a player. In all honesty, it was easier to root for her when she was an up-and-comer, since I tend to support underdogs. But she really is good for the game, and she seems pleasant and personable in interviews.

Yes, my issue is with the hype that surrounds her which I think just went overboard. The tennis establishment wanted this kind of poster girl, not Serena, nor other Russians who have 1 slam as well but who aren't "pretty". Her beat down of Serena at Wimbledon last year just left so many people wet and they figured with Serena and Venus not playing as well, Kim and Justine out, Amelie still not living up to the potential, that Maria was going to take the tour by storm. I mean I like her game because I'm a fan of big babe tennis. Her father does get on my nerves but that has nothing to do with her.

Yeah she was the most consistent at the slams this year with 3 semis and a quarter with cupcake draws and got beaten each time by the eventual champ. I mean she had an amazing Wimbledon win and a great 2004. 2005 was still very good for her in getting the #1 ranking but I also think its been a reality check for her and her most ardent fans who thought she was about to dominate the tour and rack up the slams. Not the case.

I honestly think that like Davenport, her movment will be her achilles heel in her career. These up and coming girls are not scared of her because they are playing with the same big games and there is just so much depth in the game. I think the hype machine just went overboard with her and thats been my biggest issue. She's still young though and she's got time to come up with something though cuz she needs a plan B. She hits hard and when she's down she hits harder. Thats her plan B. She's started to add a little bit of spin on some shots and hits lobs every now and then and will throw in a drop shot every now and then but its not a part of her usual game. She would do well to play some doubles and improve her net game. Serena won the US Open early and then was sort of in an average place for awhile before she just upped the ante, got more consistent and took over.

The thing about Sharapova is..she's played well. Did she really have a sophomore slump or is this as good as its gonna get. I don't think I'd call 3 semis and a quarter a slump. Is it simply that she's as good as its gonna get or can she get better? Overall she's pretty consistent. She's got a great first and second serve, hits as hard as almost anyone yet the only top 10player she's beaten since April is Nadia Petrova (and that ain't sayin much). I think 2006 will be telling. I'm still up in the air right now. We've seen players get off to hot streaks before and then just decline or not live up to the hype that was thought they would achieve. The jury is still out.

I'd say Maria had an excellent year, given that she was the center of a lot of attention, both directly on the tour and with advertisers. That is not uncommon for a Wimbledon champion, especially when that person is a surprise champ, a new face, beats the defending champ and reigning dominant player, plays without fear, and is also very pretty. I mean, even a lot people who don't follow tennis know that Wimbledon is big. Her ability to play at a high level during her "sophomore" year was impressive, even if she didn't win a major. Not a great year, of course. But still a big year, learning, growing, being the target instead of just the challenger. The comparison with Serena's early arrival as a major winner is a good one, I think.

The intensity and interest in Maria is actually akin to the interest in Venus and then Serena when they were up and coming. It's easy to forget now that people were excited about Venus and that Serena quickly joined her as a tennis player even non-tennis players knew about. For a lot of fans, Venus and Serena were women's tennis and American women's tennis, even though Hingis was #1 and Lindsay was the first native born to win the US Open, Wimbledon, and the Aussie since Chris Evert. As so often happens, when someone is on top, a lot of people start rooting for the underdog, even when they still might admire the play of the reigning champ, which is what I think happened with Maria.

When Steffi took Martina to the wall in the semis of the 1986 US Open, she generated a buzz that went far, far beyond that match (and she didn't even win it), because people saw her as the one finally to challenge Martina and Chris' reign over women's tennis. Then, just a few years later, a lot of people pulled for Gaby, because they wanted someone to beat Steffi. Not out of dislike for Steffi (speaking of tennis fans in general), but because they wanted a new face. It didn't hurt that Gaby was gorgeous, with those dark, sexy looks.

No denying that there's interest in having a blue-eyed blond pushing products. But no denying that Maria is one very fine looking women, and is well-spoken (as much as an 18 y.o. can be), speaking American accented English.

2006 will be another challenging year for Maria. But it might take 2 or 3 more years to see if she, like Serena or Pete Sampras on the men's side, can harness that talent and competitive fire and raise the level of her play, or if she, like some other players, will remain good, competitive, entertaining, but ultimately not be able to put it together to win another major. Please don't misread what I wrote--I don't see the innate talent Serena and Pete showed early on, so I'm not expecting her to dominate the way they did. But she does have a champion's fire, and could, if she improves, win several more majors.

In other Kremlin Cup news, Amelie Mauresmo lost to Francesca Schiavone 6-1, 6-1!

WHAT?
THE?
HELL?

Mauresmo does everything infinitely better than Francesca. Amelie must have some sort of injury. Other than the one inside her head, I mean.

I guess she's been too busy to get with you so you could share our analysis of what she needs to do. wink Maybe she could at least read the posts on here. Especially now that she has extra time this week.

I think what a lot of people react to in Sharapova (other than those drooling over her legs, which presumably doesn't count many of the (male) posters here), is the whiff of attitude. It's hard to blame her of course -- she's only 18 and already world famous, rich and beautiful. Maybe a little like what Kournikova would have been like had she ever made it to #1 (OK, an abusrd hypothesis).

Contrast this situation with all the Seles lovers. Seles was the epitome of graciousness, modesty and humility. But as Martina N. has pointed out (regarding Venus, many years back),its hard to be humble when you're 18.

It seems like she was just having an off day and Schiavone played too well. Something about the high bounce of the court, although MoMo should like that also. I dunno. Maybe it was just one of those days.

I'll send Amelie a link to Outsports ... just as a subtle hint. wink

I am not surprised at all by Amelie's loss. She's been consistently inconsistent at times and she's lost to players in ways that make you just want to scratch your head. I hadn't heard anything about an injury. Her post match statements didn't mention an injury. She said "its one of those days where everything goes bad". I mean ::shrugs:: I'm not a Mauresmo fan and she's never lived up to the potential she has because she doesn't have it between the ears. I really think she'll be a player to reach #1 and never win a slam. I'm no longer going to expect her to win a slam. If she does it would be a nice surprise because she's one of the best players to never win a slam out there.

Meanwhile, over in Stockholm:

Jonas Bjorkman def. Mario Ancic (4), 7-5, 7-6 (9-7)

Olivier Rochus (5) def. Julien Benneteau, 6-4, 6-2

James Blake (6) def. Christophe Rochus, 6-7 (9-11), 7-5, 6-2

Paradorn Srichaphan def. Alexander Waske, 6-3, 6-2

Alberto Martin def. Xavier Malisse, 3-6, 6-3, 7-6

Blake really shouldn't have had that much trouble with Christophe Rochus but he got through and thats the bottom line. He lost the first set and was down a break in the second. The James of a couple years ago would've probably lost that match but its nice to see him continue to pull out these 3 setters and keep his head together. He plays Alberto Martin next. Srichipan plays Johansson

[ October 13, 2005, 11:53 AM: Message edited by: ltskinmdterp ]

I didn't really think MoMo was injured. I like Schiavone, too. Good win for her.

G4G, That was a surprising score loss by Mauresmo as was the thrashing Sharapova was getting from Groenfeld two days ago.There are often these very strange losses that happen from time to time on the womens tour.

One of the reasons, and not an excuse, albeit a very delicate one, could best be be summed up in remarks made by Pam Shriver (as only Pam could do)while commentating a few few years ago at the Sydney Open. It went something like this "professionalism and fitness aside, there are just some days in the month where the last thing a woman wants, or feels likes doing, is going out at 1pm in 31o heat and playing three hard sets of tennis for 2 hours"

Being on the rag was also Steffi's reason for not beating Arantxa Sanchez in the 1989 French Open final. ha ha. It's a fact of life, I guess. wink

[ October 14, 2005, 05:58 AM: Message edited by: Gaga4Gaby ]

Sharapova escaped the other day but she could not escape Dinara Safina today who posted a 1-6, 6-4, 7-5 victory over Maria. Maria made it interesting in the third set, climbing from 1-5 to 5-5 before Safina closed the door. Good job by Dinara who will enter the top 20 for the first time next week.

Dementieva whipped Myskina today in str8s. Thats a nice win for Dementieva who has been playing nice as of late.

In Stockholm, James Blake whipped up on another Spanish boy; this time it was Alberto Martin. He's been whipping those Spaniards since his summer tear. I don't think he's lost to a single one since. Blake drummed him 6-1, 6-2 to reach the semifinals where he will face Olivier Rochus who beat Jonas Bjorkman in 3 sets. Blake already beat Christophe Rochus. Will Olivier be looking for revenge? Will James be looking for revenge from Fed Cup? This is hard court and not clay so James' chances are better because of the surface. Still...Olivier is no pushover. He's played Federer pretty well a couple times this summer. But, James can really dictate if he serves well and is able to hit that forehand. Go James!

Apparently, the courts in Moscow are playing slow this year according to some of the tennis writers online, so Maria's struggles make a little more sense. This is a huge win for Safina ... she's been stuck in the rankings around 25-30 for a few years, so the win will help her ranking immensely.

Pierce pulled the win over Likhovsteva out of her ass ... I've never seen a player down 0-6 in a breaker come back to take the set. Pierce-Safina will be a blowout, but ... to who?

Dementieva-Schiavone ... WHO KNEW? Go Franzi, I like the blondie at home, but I'd like to see a total shocker of a final.

Nick

Glad to see the American boy Blake keep playing with intensity and purpose. He has ability, glad to see him figuring out how to put it together for the whole match, and much more consistently week after week.

Nice updates...helps give me a fix.

A HUGE WTF in Moscow ... Pierce-Schiavone in the finals. Pierce ousted Safina in 2 tight sets, but the big shocker is that Franzi ousted Dementieva 3 and 1. Wow ... Schiavone is now Top 20, Pierce is now a solid #5. If Franzi wins the event, she's around #15 while if if Pierce wins the event, there is a slight chance that she could pass Mauresmo by the EOYC since she has little to defend while Momo has Philly and a semifinal at the EYOC. Whoever Pierce sold her soul to before this season has some power.

In Thailand ... meh, if Petrova doesn't win the event, I will whole-heartedly contend that the girl has the worst mental capabilities of all of the Russian tennis players. Hell ... she lost a set to Antonella Serra Zanetti. (I know there are Italian posters on the board, but you must confess .. the girl has the WORST serve in the history of women's tennis. She trumps Aniko Kapros and makes Martina Hingis look like Groenefeld.) Dulko-Vaidisova have game, but she's recorded wins over Nicole and frankly, Dulko is more of a pretty face than a tennis player.

Nick