Ok folks,
after nearly over a year, full of hard work and stuff i'm finally back again to update this fantastic weblog!
Even though there are not more than just one comment on here but it still motivates me to do better and write more about tennis than ever!!!
in the next few days or hours,i'll try my best to have some updates about what happened in the womens' tennis for the 2nd half of 2008... and don't get worried you ATP fans,i'll also have a special update for this year's incidents specially about Rafael nadal,what a year did he have indeed.
So please get back again and check here out to see my latest update,
take care ,
bye
Friday, November 14, 2008
Saturday, January 26, 2008
Congratulations to everyone...
Welcome back after months of being away and not blogging!
this is my first post here after nearly 6 months of hiatus but i'm really happy!!!
guess what? YUP,finally my favorite player won her 3rd grand slam title since 2004,maria sharapova won her thrid different slam title after having already won wimbledon and u.s. open!
she was so excited of that feat as i was and as tons of her fans were...
she played a completely formidable fortnight beating #1 player justine henin after 32 matches streak since wimbly last year,beating jankovic,dementieva and finally ivanovic all handily and all in control!
what would have been better than this? winning your 3rd GS title without dropping a set and even dropping less than 35 GAMES!!!
even justine henin couldn't do it... anyways, i thought it's better to give you'al a buzz after half a year being off and now it's time to get back on track!
i'll try to write this blog at least twice a week or 3 times a months,as usual giving you a bunch of good stats and results of each week...
so that's all for now,
till then it's good-bye!
this is my first post here after nearly 6 months of hiatus but i'm really happy!!!
guess what? YUP,finally my favorite player won her 3rd grand slam title since 2004,maria sharapova won her thrid different slam title after having already won wimbledon and u.s. open!
she was so excited of that feat as i was and as tons of her fans were...
she played a completely formidable fortnight beating #1 player justine henin after 32 matches streak since wimbly last year,beating jankovic,dementieva and finally ivanovic all handily and all in control!
what would have been better than this? winning your 3rd GS title without dropping a set and even dropping less than 35 GAMES!!!
even justine henin couldn't do it... anyways, i thought it's better to give you'al a buzz after half a year being off and now it's time to get back on track!
i'll try to write this blog at least twice a week or 3 times a months,as usual giving you a bunch of good stats and results of each week...
so that's all for now,
till then it's good-bye!
Saturday, August 25, 2007
Quick previes dedicated to the USO!
Today i'm gonna write out about the USO which will starton monday ,august 27.
well there are lots of things to write about and tell about thembut the most imortant thing is who's Hot and who's Not??in the men's side,well,definitely roger federer has the best chance to make it 4 straight,but how could we write off likes of nadal,djokovic,roddick and hewitt??
yes,nadal and roddick didn't have the best possible preparation forthe open but still they're top 5 players,huh?
djokovic maybe had the second best results on american hard courtseason standings and he is obviously a favorite for this GS.
and don't forget,lleyton hewitt is back in form that took him 2 yearsas top ranked player with good results and wins over good playerslike gasquet and ferrero...indeed he was just two games away frombeating federer in cincy MS,that's not an easy thing to forget soon!fed's too the clear favorite for the 4th win at flushing meadows,NY.
...in the women's draw also there are good players to see such as JH,sharapova,ana Ivo,JJ,anna CHAK...
anna chakvetadze was unlucky that her cincinai title wasn't a part of USOS ,otherwise she'd have won the bonus one million dollar.
JH too won her 6th season title despite her shoulder problem whichhad bothered her for nearly 2 months,
Jelena Jankovic was also hoping of her 1st win over JH which could have even taken her as the winner of the USOS!
ana ivanovic (Ana Ivo?) also was hoping for a repeat of her lastyear's USOS title to book her name as the only guy on the earth todo so and defend her USOS title,which faced a very tough montreal draw and went down at her 1st match in canada.
and supernova still won the USOS with only one title (which was atitle defense of her san diego win) and one SF appearance the weekafter that...which she withdrew due to a shoulder injury and couldnot afford for a 2nd successive final!
anyways,i predict a very open GS at this year's USO than what we hadin last few years in both men and women's section...
=== my prediction ===
women: maria sharapova
men: rafael nadal
yes,i expect rafa nadal to win this year's USO even if he's injuredhis left hand and even if he's not won a title on his way to thenew york city...
and yes i could easily see roger federer going down to either andyroddick or rafa nadal even if he's the clear favorite of USO!
again i see sharapova as the 2nd favorite in the women's side,that'sno meaning that she's 2nd favorite IMO cuz she's #2 in the ranks,the only reason is i believe JH is on the best shape ATM and sothat's why everybody calls out on her as the clear favorite in thewomen's draw!have you ever seen anymore open event than this year's USO?
all 4 now,
good luck,bye...
well there are lots of things to write about and tell about thembut the most imortant thing is who's Hot and who's Not??in the men's side,well,definitely roger federer has the best chance to make it 4 straight,but how could we write off likes of nadal,djokovic,roddick and hewitt??
yes,nadal and roddick didn't have the best possible preparation forthe open but still they're top 5 players,huh?
djokovic maybe had the second best results on american hard courtseason standings and he is obviously a favorite for this GS.
and don't forget,lleyton hewitt is back in form that took him 2 yearsas top ranked player with good results and wins over good playerslike gasquet and ferrero...indeed he was just two games away frombeating federer in cincy MS,that's not an easy thing to forget soon!fed's too the clear favorite for the 4th win at flushing meadows,NY.
...in the women's draw also there are good players to see such as JH,sharapova,ana Ivo,JJ,anna CHAK...
anna chakvetadze was unlucky that her cincinai title wasn't a part of USOS ,otherwise she'd have won the bonus one million dollar.
JH too won her 6th season title despite her shoulder problem whichhad bothered her for nearly 2 months,
Jelena Jankovic was also hoping of her 1st win over JH which could have even taken her as the winner of the USOS!
ana ivanovic (Ana Ivo?) also was hoping for a repeat of her lastyear's USOS title to book her name as the only guy on the earth todo so and defend her USOS title,which faced a very tough montreal draw and went down at her 1st match in canada.
and supernova still won the USOS with only one title (which was atitle defense of her san diego win) and one SF appearance the weekafter that...which she withdrew due to a shoulder injury and couldnot afford for a 2nd successive final!
anyways,i predict a very open GS at this year's USO than what we hadin last few years in both men and women's section...
=== my prediction ===
women: maria sharapova
men: rafael nadal
yes,i expect rafa nadal to win this year's USO even if he's injuredhis left hand and even if he's not won a title on his way to thenew york city...
and yes i could easily see roger federer going down to either andyroddick or rafa nadal even if he's the clear favorite of USO!
again i see sharapova as the 2nd favorite in the women's side,that'sno meaning that she's 2nd favorite IMO cuz she's #2 in the ranks,the only reason is i believe JH is on the best shape ATM and sothat's why everybody calls out on her as the clear favorite in thewomen's draw!have you ever seen anymore open event than this year's USO?
all 4 now,
good luck,bye...
Sunday, August 19, 2007
SUNDAY'S FINALS PRE-VIEW...
Hi there,
well yesterday we saw a fantastic Lleyton Hewitt battling hard and fighting for every point against the arch rival current #1. roger federer!
hewitt took simply a while to get used to the atmosphere and after losing the first set 6-3 ,could make the 2nd set one of the toughest sets that fed has played for quite some time now.
roger had many things to worry after the 2nd one finished and maybe was thinking of another lose this year??
to be honest, LH was simply capable of making the final and having his 8th win over fedex but he missed maybe the best chance to beat him in the third when he broke fed to 15 at 3-3...
though he lost his serve and missed a good chance at 4-3 when he could have made it 5-3 in his favor and pretty much assure himself of a win over RF in nearly 4 years.
of course i have to admit it that RF was so lucky in the final set's Tie Break when LH missed a ForeHand and he got the upper hand where it was due!
anyways,what one can take off this match is that LH has improved a lot at the moment than i.e. 5 months ago,even when he reached to the SFs of AMS in hamburg.
in the other SF match-up of this event american #2 and local favorite james blake won russian nikolay davydenko.
davydenko is having his life's toughst moments when he's being invested by the ATP's responsibles in a project that shows he's been involved in a betting fair and all the crap!
anywa,blake truly deserves this F and he's even more motivated to register his first ever win over RF...
in WTA's canada event in toronto, women's #1 player Justin Henin won a very easy match against an unknown chinese player...yan zi,a chinese player who's more specialist in the doubles than singles! a GS doubles titlist who had already beaten seeded players like defending champ and #3 seed Ana Ivanovic and wimbly finalist Marion Bartoli!
JH beat YZ 6-3 6-0 and went to the final for the first time since 2005 when she lost to compatriot kim clijsters.
in another women's SF,in a match that took nearly 3 hours to determine the other finalist french #12 seed tatiana golovin lost a tight and nearly-won match to Jelena Jankovic 7-5 3-6 3-6.
the match was full of breaks of serves and both players got each other's service game 4 times throughout the match!
it wasn't really a thriller but had some great moments in it and especially with the way tati hits powerful FHs it was a great match to see rather than that one-sided JH vs ZY match!
to tell ya the truth i was favoring TG to win rather than JJ but have to admit that Tatiana lost mostly to herself than JJ...she lost maybe 5 or 6 smashes and especially on important stages of the match she hit some of them right into the middle of net!
=== my prediction of tonight's finals===
ATP'S CINCY EVENT:
J.blake def. R.federer in 3 sets
WTA'S TORONTO EVENT:
J.henin def. J.jankovic in straight sets
that's all 4 now,
best of luck for all of you,
and bye,
well yesterday we saw a fantastic Lleyton Hewitt battling hard and fighting for every point against the arch rival current #1. roger federer!
hewitt took simply a while to get used to the atmosphere and after losing the first set 6-3 ,could make the 2nd set one of the toughest sets that fed has played for quite some time now.
roger had many things to worry after the 2nd one finished and maybe was thinking of another lose this year??
to be honest, LH was simply capable of making the final and having his 8th win over fedex but he missed maybe the best chance to beat him in the third when he broke fed to 15 at 3-3...
though he lost his serve and missed a good chance at 4-3 when he could have made it 5-3 in his favor and pretty much assure himself of a win over RF in nearly 4 years.
of course i have to admit it that RF was so lucky in the final set's Tie Break when LH missed a ForeHand and he got the upper hand where it was due!
anyways,what one can take off this match is that LH has improved a lot at the moment than i.e. 5 months ago,even when he reached to the SFs of AMS in hamburg.
in the other SF match-up of this event american #2 and local favorite james blake won russian nikolay davydenko.
davydenko is having his life's toughst moments when he's being invested by the ATP's responsibles in a project that shows he's been involved in a betting fair and all the crap!
anywa,blake truly deserves this F and he's even more motivated to register his first ever win over RF...
in WTA's canada event in toronto, women's #1 player Justin Henin won a very easy match against an unknown chinese player...yan zi,a chinese player who's more specialist in the doubles than singles! a GS doubles titlist who had already beaten seeded players like defending champ and #3 seed Ana Ivanovic and wimbly finalist Marion Bartoli!
JH beat YZ 6-3 6-0 and went to the final for the first time since 2005 when she lost to compatriot kim clijsters.
in another women's SF,in a match that took nearly 3 hours to determine the other finalist french #12 seed tatiana golovin lost a tight and nearly-won match to Jelena Jankovic 7-5 3-6 3-6.
the match was full of breaks of serves and both players got each other's service game 4 times throughout the match!
it wasn't really a thriller but had some great moments in it and especially with the way tati hits powerful FHs it was a great match to see rather than that one-sided JH vs ZY match!
to tell ya the truth i was favoring TG to win rather than JJ but have to admit that Tatiana lost mostly to herself than JJ...she lost maybe 5 or 6 smashes and especially on important stages of the match she hit some of them right into the middle of net!
=== my prediction of tonight's finals===
ATP'S CINCY EVENT:
J.blake def. R.federer in 3 sets
WTA'S TORONTO EVENT:
J.henin def. J.jankovic in straight sets
that's all 4 now,
best of luck for all of you,
and bye,
Thursday, August 16, 2007
WEEK'S EVENT IN TORONTO
ANA IVANOVIC
THE MARK OF LAST WEEK'S L.A. EVENT!
RENAE STUBBS
KVETA PECSHKE
VICTORIA AZARENKA
P.S.#2: some of pics are courtesy to "Todd spiker's blog"
Ok,it's a good time to put the pictures related to last entry's at this posting!
wish you all the best,and bye 4 now!
Next week's preview
This summer we've witnessed the continued step-by-step process of the making of a WTA star... so don't think it was simply a cosmic coincidence that her latest triumph took place so close to Tinseltown. For the "Star of Tomorrow," it was actually quite fitting.
With all due apologies to a certain Russian Doll, who's likely ridiculously used to being overlooked under such circumstances by now, there's a certain Serbian teenager who is currently crouched on the sport's baseline, ready to pounce on a slew of moments and opportunities that could make her a multimedia top-tier celebrity by this time next year... heck, maybe even by this time next month, actually. Remember it was Ana Ivanovic, not Maria Sharapova or Nicole Vaidisova, who won that Tennis Channel poll that ranked the "hottest" players on tour last year... so all the things that have happened over the past twelve months have only been steps along her road to stardom.
Since AnaIvo won the Rogers Cup in Montreal a season ago and clinched the '06 U.S. Open Series title, her trajectory has been nothing but onward and upward. That win in Canada was actually Ivanovic's only SF-or-better result last season, but she's been busy in 2007 making up for lost time. As a result, we might be on the literal eve of the 19-year old Serb making a serious challenge to the Justine's and Maria's of women's tennis. At a new career-high of #4, only three women remain in her path... and she's already struck the fear of the tennis Gods (or at least the fear of an AnaIvo serve) into one of them.
A few months ago, Ivanovic had a single Tier I title and one slam QF to her credit, but since then she's collected a second Tier I (in Berlin), as well as produced both slam RU (Roland Garros) and SF (Wimbledon) results. This weekend in Los Angeles, she won her fourth career title and staked a claim to another U.S. Open Series crown.
But it was the WAY she did it that's most important.
At the start of the U.S. hard court circuit, this space labeled AnaIvo as the player potentially "verging on greatness." The Supernova's many NYC scenarios aside, nothing that happened in California will dissuade that notion from firmly taking root between now and Day 1 of play on Arthur Ashe Stadium. While Ivanovic is still looking for the signature final weekend of a slam victory that remains the next logical step in her career, she has "star" written all over her, from her covergirl smile down to the blistering forehand that served her so well this weekend (not to mention that bludgeoning serve that she pulled out on the biggest points, which Jelena Jankovic termed so "scary" she felt like she "was playing against a guy").
So, what are some of the things we've learned about Ivanovic so far this summer?
Well, first, that those talked-about similarities between her big serve/big forehand game and that of the soon-to-be-returning Lindsay Davenport are hardly rumors and/or half-truths. The girl can whack the life out of the ball when she puts her mind to it.
Oh, and she's seemingly most dangerous when she has nothing to lose. Now, that's often the case with players who can blast winners from all areas of the court (see Elena Dementieva in the old "Punch-Drunk" days), but few have the weapons to scare the bejesus out of Top 5 players as AnaIvo does. Jankovic won't be the last to be frightened, though I doubt too many will use the same phraseology that she did to describe her fellow Serb (the last time anyone said anything like that it was Miss Hingis commenting on Miss Mauresmo back in 1999, after all).
At Wimbledon, Ivanovic stormed back from three match points down to evict Vaidisova from the QF. In L.A., she pulled the trick against Jankovic in the SF. Down 4-1 and a point from 5-1 in the 3rd, AnaIvo decided she didn't want to prepare so soon for her Rogers Cup defense. She saved two match points at 15-40 & 4-5 down on her own serve, then came back from Love-40 down on Jankovic's serve in the next game with four consecutive forehand winners (and forced a Jelena error with another blistering FH for good measure). At that moment, Jankovic had every reason to be fearful. Given the opportunity to serve her way into the final, Ivanovic did what Jankovic could not.
Where as Jankovic is developing a history of succumbing in matches like this, as if she's itching to inherit Dementieva's old "Punch-Drunk" moniker, Ivanovic looks to be assuming the "Henin role" in this two-headed Serbian women's tennis monster. The SF win ran her career record against Jankovic to 4-1, but perhaps the most telling stat of the match was AnaIvo being 5-of-9 on break points compared to Jankovic's 4-of-21.In the final against Nadia Petrova, Ivanovic wrapped up her second '07 title with a love game to win 7-5/6-4, punctuated by an AnaIvo ace in the corner of the service box on match point. I guess she couldn't help herself.
Moments like that are what help to construct the foundation of a champion. Sure, we'd have a better gauge on whether AnaIvo might be ready for the next step had she faced Sharapova in the final, but a last minute shin injury ended the Russian's L.A. run with a walkover in the SF. So, this week's defense in Toronto will have to do, with the likes of Henin, Chakvetadze, Kuznetsova and Jankovic in the field. After last week, Ivanovic should be saying, "Bring 'em on."
Ivanovic flashed the ability to raise her game to an entirely different level once she faced down match point against Jankovic. She practically glistened with slam-winning promise in the California sun. But can she maintain that aura over the span of two weeks in New York? If so, after the Herculean feat that Novak Djokovic pulled off in Montreal this weekend, it wouldn't be crazy to actually go out on a limb and utter "Serbian sweep" come U.S. Open time (just don't say it too loud, for Roger and/or Serena might hear and, well, you wouldn't want to be blamed for the collateral damage that could produce... it's sort of akin to shouting "fire" in a crowded theater). No matter, we'll soon know just how ready AnaIvo is for her turn in the spotlight.
Don't be surprised if Ana's more than ready. For the star of tomorrow, tomorrow might be just around the corner.
*WEEK 32 CHAMPIONS*
LOS ANGELES/CARSON, CALIFORNIA USA (II-Hard)
S: Ana Ivanovic d. Nadia Petrova 7-5/6-4
D: Peschke/Stubbs d. Molik/Santangelo
PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Ana Ivanovic
...AnaIvo's impressive string of victims in Carson included not only Jankovic and Petrova, but Kirilenko and Safarova, as well. She's 23-3 in her last five events.
=============================
RISERS: Nadia Petrova & Maria Kirilenko
...Petrova is in the midst of a fairly deceptive season. The general consensus is that her campaign hasn't been anything to write home to Moscow about, but she's won a title, reached two singles finals, claimed the Hopman Cup in January and carried Team Russia into the Fed Cup final. A good U.S. Open run (say, QF?) would be a nice way to send herself into the indoor season that proved to be a friendly haven for her last year. Prior to the North American hardcourt season, Kirilenko's 2007 record stood at 10-17. She's 7-3 since, with a QF in L.A. -- along with wins over Bartoli and Dulko, plus a doubles SF -- being her latest eye-opening result. But, as has often been the case with her career so far, now we're left to wonder when things will get back to "normal."
=============================
SURPRISES: Virginie Razzano & Olivia Sanchez
...two Pastries, one for both the WTA and ITF tours. In L.A., Razzano's string of upsets included Shahar Peer and Sania Mirza before she finally went out in three sets to Nadia Petrova in the QF. Boy, do you think Virginie was ticked off when she realized how close she got to her second career final after Sharapova pulled out of Petrova's SF at the last minute the next day? 24-year old Sanchez polished off her second ITF title in two weeks in the $25K in Coimbra, where the world #185 knocked off Neuza Silva, who herself has won three circuit singles titles this season, in straight sets in the final.
=============================
VETERANS: Elena Dementieva & Kveta Peschke/Rennae Stubbs
...after winning the L.A. title a year ago, Dementieva followed up with a respectable QF result after a win over Daniela Hantuchova. She's now all the way down to #17 in the world (just slightly below Nicole Vaidisova, who's pretty much been out of sight out of mind the last month or so), but she's managed to put together a 21-7 record since the middle of the clay court season in May. Meanwhile, 32-year old Peschke and 36-year old Stubbs combined to win their first doubles titles of the season in Carson. It was Maiden Peschke's 9th career title, and Aussie Stubbs' 56th.
=============================
FRESH FACES: Victoria Azarenka
...the 18-year old Belarussian is starting to edge closer to a big breakout tournament, and nearly got over the hurdle in Los Angeles. Wins over Meghann Shaughnessy and Kateryna Bondarenko led to a QF matchup with Jelena Jankovic, which ended with a three-set loss for Azarenka. The next twelve months could see her add her name to the suddenly burgeoning list of new teenaged stars on tour.
=============================
DOWN: Martina Hingis
...well, this award was supposed to go to the slumping Shahar Peer. But after Hingis' on-court spin-out continued with a 2nd Round L.A. loss to Sania Mirza, her just-announced off-court split with Radek Stepanek was just too much to overcome. Sorry, Martina... but it looks like it's time to spin the Martina Curse wheel once again. Where it stops, nobody knows.
=============================
1. L.A. SF - Ivanovic d. Jankovic
...4-6/6-3/7-5. AnaIvo flashed that slam-winning potential by outdistancing Jankovic 11 aces to 0, almost all of them coming when she desperately needed them.
=============================
2. L.A. Final - Ivanovic d. Petrova
...7-5/6-4. AnaIvo flashed that slam-winning potential by producing 23 forehand winners in the match, almost all of them putting rather emphatic periods at the end of sentences that will make her one of the two or three favorites in New York in a few weeks.
=============================
3. L.A. 2nd - Razzano d. Peer
...6-1/4-6/7-6. The Corporal has to hope she's just having a slow start to this hardcourt season after her early loss in L.A. dropped her to 2-3 this quarter. After her win over Michaella Krajicek in Toronto on Monday, maybe that IS the case.
=============================
4. L.A. 2nd - K.Bondarenko d. Safina
...6-2/7-5. Looks like it might be another toss-up when it comes to whether it'll be Dinara or Marat who lasts longer at the Open.
=============================
5. L.A. 2nd - Mirza d. Hingis
...6-2/2-6/6-4. And then the Swiss Miss (and JUST "Miss" once again) was part of the announcement that she and Radek Stepanek has called off their marriage and broken up, too.
=============================
HM- L.A. Doubles Final - Peschke/Stubbs d. Molik/Santangelo
...6-0/6-1. This match aside, the Steamer's doubles success has at least taken the edge off what could have been a trying few months as her comeback singles results have really tailed off (she went out to Osterloh in the 1st Round in Carson).
=============================
**2007 SINGLES TITLES**
5...Justine Henin
4...Jelena Jankovic
4...Anna Chakvetadze
2...ANA IVANOVIC
2...Serena Williams
2...Venus Williams
**2007 U.S. OPEN SERIES FINALS**
Stanford: Chakvetadze (RUS) d. Mirza (IND)
S.D.: Sharapova (RUS) d. Schnyder (SUI)
L.A.: IVANOVIC (SRB) d. PETROVA (RUS)
Toronto: ??
New Haven: ??
**2007 - OLDEST DOUBLES TITLISTS**
36...RENNAE STUBBS (AUG-L.A. w/ Peschke)*
33...Lisa Raymond (5)
33...Nicole Pratt (2)
33...Virginia Ruano-Pascual (1)
32...KVETA PESCHKE (1)
-
*-36 years, 4 months, 2 weeks
**2007 FINALISTS BY COUNTRY**
[titles]
21...RUSSIA [9]
10...SERBIA [6]
10...France [3]
8....Belgium [6]
5....United States [5]
5....Italy [2]
TORONTO, ONTARIO CAN (I-HCO)
2006 FINAL: Ivanovic d. Hingis
2007 TOP: Henin/Jankovic
==============================
QF=
Henin d. Schnyder
Ivanovic d. Kirilenko
Dementieva d. Safarova
Jankovic d. Chakvetadze
=SF=
Ivanovic d. Henin
Jankovic d. Dementieva
=FINAL=
Ivanovic d. Jankovic
...and the winner of the 2007 U.S. Open Series is... Backspin's favorite Fantastovic.
P.S. sorry folks,'cause it's too late in my time,i can put the pics related to this entry's instead in tomorrow's blog!
That's All for now.
bye till the next time...
With all due apologies to a certain Russian Doll, who's likely ridiculously used to being overlooked under such circumstances by now, there's a certain Serbian teenager who is currently crouched on the sport's baseline, ready to pounce on a slew of moments and opportunities that could make her a multimedia top-tier celebrity by this time next year... heck, maybe even by this time next month, actually. Remember it was Ana Ivanovic, not Maria Sharapova or Nicole Vaidisova, who won that Tennis Channel poll that ranked the "hottest" players on tour last year... so all the things that have happened over the past twelve months have only been steps along her road to stardom.
Since AnaIvo won the Rogers Cup in Montreal a season ago and clinched the '06 U.S. Open Series title, her trajectory has been nothing but onward and upward. That win in Canada was actually Ivanovic's only SF-or-better result last season, but she's been busy in 2007 making up for lost time. As a result, we might be on the literal eve of the 19-year old Serb making a serious challenge to the Justine's and Maria's of women's tennis. At a new career-high of #4, only three women remain in her path... and she's already struck the fear of the tennis Gods (or at least the fear of an AnaIvo serve) into one of them.
A few months ago, Ivanovic had a single Tier I title and one slam QF to her credit, but since then she's collected a second Tier I (in Berlin), as well as produced both slam RU (Roland Garros) and SF (Wimbledon) results. This weekend in Los Angeles, she won her fourth career title and staked a claim to another U.S. Open Series crown.
But it was the WAY she did it that's most important.
At the start of the U.S. hard court circuit, this space labeled AnaIvo as the player potentially "verging on greatness." The Supernova's many NYC scenarios aside, nothing that happened in California will dissuade that notion from firmly taking root between now and Day 1 of play on Arthur Ashe Stadium. While Ivanovic is still looking for the signature final weekend of a slam victory that remains the next logical step in her career, she has "star" written all over her, from her covergirl smile down to the blistering forehand that served her so well this weekend (not to mention that bludgeoning serve that she pulled out on the biggest points, which Jelena Jankovic termed so "scary" she felt like she "was playing against a guy").
So, what are some of the things we've learned about Ivanovic so far this summer?
Well, first, that those talked-about similarities between her big serve/big forehand game and that of the soon-to-be-returning Lindsay Davenport are hardly rumors and/or half-truths. The girl can whack the life out of the ball when she puts her mind to it.
Oh, and she's seemingly most dangerous when she has nothing to lose. Now, that's often the case with players who can blast winners from all areas of the court (see Elena Dementieva in the old "Punch-Drunk" days), but few have the weapons to scare the bejesus out of Top 5 players as AnaIvo does. Jankovic won't be the last to be frightened, though I doubt too many will use the same phraseology that she did to describe her fellow Serb (the last time anyone said anything like that it was Miss Hingis commenting on Miss Mauresmo back in 1999, after all).
At Wimbledon, Ivanovic stormed back from three match points down to evict Vaidisova from the QF. In L.A., she pulled the trick against Jankovic in the SF. Down 4-1 and a point from 5-1 in the 3rd, AnaIvo decided she didn't want to prepare so soon for her Rogers Cup defense. She saved two match points at 15-40 & 4-5 down on her own serve, then came back from Love-40 down on Jankovic's serve in the next game with four consecutive forehand winners (and forced a Jelena error with another blistering FH for good measure). At that moment, Jankovic had every reason to be fearful. Given the opportunity to serve her way into the final, Ivanovic did what Jankovic could not.
Where as Jankovic is developing a history of succumbing in matches like this, as if she's itching to inherit Dementieva's old "Punch-Drunk" moniker, Ivanovic looks to be assuming the "Henin role" in this two-headed Serbian women's tennis monster. The SF win ran her career record against Jankovic to 4-1, but perhaps the most telling stat of the match was AnaIvo being 5-of-9 on break points compared to Jankovic's 4-of-21.In the final against Nadia Petrova, Ivanovic wrapped up her second '07 title with a love game to win 7-5/6-4, punctuated by an AnaIvo ace in the corner of the service box on match point. I guess she couldn't help herself.
Moments like that are what help to construct the foundation of a champion. Sure, we'd have a better gauge on whether AnaIvo might be ready for the next step had she faced Sharapova in the final, but a last minute shin injury ended the Russian's L.A. run with a walkover in the SF. So, this week's defense in Toronto will have to do, with the likes of Henin, Chakvetadze, Kuznetsova and Jankovic in the field. After last week, Ivanovic should be saying, "Bring 'em on."
Ivanovic flashed the ability to raise her game to an entirely different level once she faced down match point against Jankovic. She practically glistened with slam-winning promise in the California sun. But can she maintain that aura over the span of two weeks in New York? If so, after the Herculean feat that Novak Djokovic pulled off in Montreal this weekend, it wouldn't be crazy to actually go out on a limb and utter "Serbian sweep" come U.S. Open time (just don't say it too loud, for Roger and/or Serena might hear and, well, you wouldn't want to be blamed for the collateral damage that could produce... it's sort of akin to shouting "fire" in a crowded theater). No matter, we'll soon know just how ready AnaIvo is for her turn in the spotlight.
Don't be surprised if Ana's more than ready. For the star of tomorrow, tomorrow might be just around the corner.
*WEEK 32 CHAMPIONS*
LOS ANGELES/CARSON, CALIFORNIA USA (II-Hard)
S: Ana Ivanovic d. Nadia Petrova 7-5/6-4
D: Peschke/Stubbs d. Molik/Santangelo
PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Ana Ivanovic
...AnaIvo's impressive string of victims in Carson included not only Jankovic and Petrova, but Kirilenko and Safarova, as well. She's 23-3 in her last five events.
=============================
RISERS: Nadia Petrova & Maria Kirilenko
...Petrova is in the midst of a fairly deceptive season. The general consensus is that her campaign hasn't been anything to write home to Moscow about, but she's won a title, reached two singles finals, claimed the Hopman Cup in January and carried Team Russia into the Fed Cup final. A good U.S. Open run (say, QF?) would be a nice way to send herself into the indoor season that proved to be a friendly haven for her last year. Prior to the North American hardcourt season, Kirilenko's 2007 record stood at 10-17. She's 7-3 since, with a QF in L.A. -- along with wins over Bartoli and Dulko, plus a doubles SF -- being her latest eye-opening result. But, as has often been the case with her career so far, now we're left to wonder when things will get back to "normal."
=============================
SURPRISES: Virginie Razzano & Olivia Sanchez
...two Pastries, one for both the WTA and ITF tours. In L.A., Razzano's string of upsets included Shahar Peer and Sania Mirza before she finally went out in three sets to Nadia Petrova in the QF. Boy, do you think Virginie was ticked off when she realized how close she got to her second career final after Sharapova pulled out of Petrova's SF at the last minute the next day? 24-year old Sanchez polished off her second ITF title in two weeks in the $25K in Coimbra, where the world #185 knocked off Neuza Silva, who herself has won three circuit singles titles this season, in straight sets in the final.
=============================
VETERANS: Elena Dementieva & Kveta Peschke/Rennae Stubbs
...after winning the L.A. title a year ago, Dementieva followed up with a respectable QF result after a win over Daniela Hantuchova. She's now all the way down to #17 in the world (just slightly below Nicole Vaidisova, who's pretty much been out of sight out of mind the last month or so), but she's managed to put together a 21-7 record since the middle of the clay court season in May. Meanwhile, 32-year old Peschke and 36-year old Stubbs combined to win their first doubles titles of the season in Carson. It was Maiden Peschke's 9th career title, and Aussie Stubbs' 56th.
=============================
FRESH FACES: Victoria Azarenka
...the 18-year old Belarussian is starting to edge closer to a big breakout tournament, and nearly got over the hurdle in Los Angeles. Wins over Meghann Shaughnessy and Kateryna Bondarenko led to a QF matchup with Jelena Jankovic, which ended with a three-set loss for Azarenka. The next twelve months could see her add her name to the suddenly burgeoning list of new teenaged stars on tour.
=============================
DOWN: Martina Hingis
...well, this award was supposed to go to the slumping Shahar Peer. But after Hingis' on-court spin-out continued with a 2nd Round L.A. loss to Sania Mirza, her just-announced off-court split with Radek Stepanek was just too much to overcome. Sorry, Martina... but it looks like it's time to spin the Martina Curse wheel once again. Where it stops, nobody knows.
=============================
1. L.A. SF - Ivanovic d. Jankovic
...4-6/6-3/7-5. AnaIvo flashed that slam-winning potential by outdistancing Jankovic 11 aces to 0, almost all of them coming when she desperately needed them.
=============================
2. L.A. Final - Ivanovic d. Petrova
...7-5/6-4. AnaIvo flashed that slam-winning potential by producing 23 forehand winners in the match, almost all of them putting rather emphatic periods at the end of sentences that will make her one of the two or three favorites in New York in a few weeks.
=============================
3. L.A. 2nd - Razzano d. Peer
...6-1/4-6/7-6. The Corporal has to hope she's just having a slow start to this hardcourt season after her early loss in L.A. dropped her to 2-3 this quarter. After her win over Michaella Krajicek in Toronto on Monday, maybe that IS the case.
=============================
4. L.A. 2nd - K.Bondarenko d. Safina
...6-2/7-5. Looks like it might be another toss-up when it comes to whether it'll be Dinara or Marat who lasts longer at the Open.
=============================
5. L.A. 2nd - Mirza d. Hingis
...6-2/2-6/6-4. And then the Swiss Miss (and JUST "Miss" once again) was part of the announcement that she and Radek Stepanek has called off their marriage and broken up, too.
=============================
HM- L.A. Doubles Final - Peschke/Stubbs d. Molik/Santangelo
...6-0/6-1. This match aside, the Steamer's doubles success has at least taken the edge off what could have been a trying few months as her comeback singles results have really tailed off (she went out to Osterloh in the 1st Round in Carson).
=============================
**2007 SINGLES TITLES**
5...Justine Henin
4...Jelena Jankovic
4...Anna Chakvetadze
2...ANA IVANOVIC
2...Serena Williams
2...Venus Williams
**2007 U.S. OPEN SERIES FINALS**
Stanford: Chakvetadze (RUS) d. Mirza (IND)
S.D.: Sharapova (RUS) d. Schnyder (SUI)
L.A.: IVANOVIC (SRB) d. PETROVA (RUS)
Toronto: ??
New Haven: ??
**2007 - OLDEST DOUBLES TITLISTS**
36...RENNAE STUBBS (AUG-L.A. w/ Peschke)*
33...Lisa Raymond (5)
33...Nicole Pratt (2)
33...Virginia Ruano-Pascual (1)
32...KVETA PESCHKE (1)
-
*-36 years, 4 months, 2 weeks
**2007 FINALISTS BY COUNTRY**
[titles]
21...RUSSIA [9]
10...SERBIA [6]
10...France [3]
8....Belgium [6]
5....United States [5]
5....Italy [2]
TORONTO, ONTARIO CAN (I-HCO)
2006 FINAL: Ivanovic d. Hingis
2007 TOP: Henin/Jankovic
==============================
QF=
Henin d. Schnyder
Ivanovic d. Kirilenko
Dementieva d. Safarova
Jankovic d. Chakvetadze
=SF=
Ivanovic d. Henin
Jankovic d. Dementieva
=FINAL=
Ivanovic d. Jankovic
...and the winner of the 2007 U.S. Open Series is... Backspin's favorite Fantastovic.
P.S. sorry folks,'cause it's too late in my time,i can put the pics related to this entry's instead in tomorrow's blog!
That's All for now.
bye till the next time...
Tuesday, August 7, 2007
THE WEEK OF AUG.6 PREVIEW...
well i'm gonna write a full page of previews entry this time,so please check it out...
as most of you may know this week (week of aug.6) there are only 2 events one for ATP and the other for WTA tours.
we'll have the AMS event in montreal,canada. and the L.A. tournament in wta's zone!
we begin with wta's tournament in L.A. in the USA, just a quick look at the event:
the last week's wta tier I titlist (in san diego) maria sharapova is the top seed here too. last weeks she won her first title of the year after having reached to only her 2nd final of season. after winning in zurich event last october it was her 1st title and in overall her 16th career title! the russian is experiencing her worst season in nearly 5 years.now this week she's again the top seed and everything's going on like last week with the only change of ana ivanovic's appearance this week. the second seed is jelena jankovic, another serbian girl. ana ivanovic,nadia petrova, daniela hantuchova,marion bartoli,martina hingis and dinara safina are all among the top 8 seeds,so all of them will receive a "bye" in the first round. the only dangerous player in sharapova's top half of the draw is elena dementieva who's her compatriot too, as we shouldn't count that much on hantuchova and hingis! swiss miss too is experiencing one of her worst seasons as she's not that lucky off the court too. with her possible-break-up brawl with atp player radek stepanek! the bottom half the draw sees a hot and nice match-up possibilities... as there's a chance of having an all serbian SF,or a spectacular match between dinara safina and ivanovic. this WTA event is a tier II t'ment, with $600.000 as its prize money. the defending champ,russian #9 seed elena dementieva is a possible QF opponent of supernova!
ok,now i'm gonna have another preview of this week's! the AMS event in montreal,canada. last year's champ, roger federer, is still the top seed here as the second seed is spaniard rafael nadal. with novak djokovic's run of form at this year's hard court tournaments it's just expectable to see him as a contender for this event. andy roddick who won his season's 2nd title last week is the #5 seed ,with nikolay davydenko from russia getting on as the 4th seed...however next week we'll probably have A-rod as the #3 seed. i predict a very hard tournament for rafa nadal,as there's a possible 2nd round encounter with wither marat safin or robin soderling. roger federer too has a pretty tough top of the draw as he must get past of likes of lleyton hewitt,tommy robredo,tommy haas and fernando gonzales with a 2nd round possible match versus tall great server ivo karlovic. there's no other outstanding match ups looming from now,as rafael nadal and roger federer's nice rivalry has overshadowed other players... this montreal event is a Masters Series tournament and has offered a total of $2.450.000 as prize money.with the winner's checkpay of $400.000!
==MY PREDICTION FOR WTA==
QF: sharapova def. dementieva
petrova def. mirza
ivanovic def. kirilenko
safina def. jankovic
SF: sharapova def. petrova
ivanovic def. safina
F: sharapova def. ivanovic
PRE-i predict supernova as this event's champion...let's see if it'll be right!
==MY PREDICTION FOR AMS==
QF: federer def.hewitt
haas def. gonzalez
roddick def. moya
nadal def. gasquet
SF: federer def. haas
nadal def. roddick
F: nadal def. federer
P.S. yes,last year everybody thought they'd play the final but it didn't happen,but it's not a good reason for them to not play each other this year too!!!!
a quick look at this week's events:
------------------------------------
WTA= L.A. EASTWESTBANK:
last year's final: E. dementieva d. J. jankovic 63 46 64
DBLs winners: ruano pascual ESP /paola suarez ARG
surface: Hardcourt/Outdoors tier II, P'money: $600.000
ATP= AMS MONTREAL,CANADA:
last year's final: R. federer d. R. gasquet 26 63 62
DBLs winner: B.bryan USA/M.bryan USA
surface: Hardcourt/Outdoors
an ATP MS event, P'money: $2.450.000
that's all for now,
as most of you may know this week (week of aug.6) there are only 2 events one for ATP and the other for WTA tours.
we'll have the AMS event in montreal,canada. and the L.A. tournament in wta's zone!
we begin with wta's tournament in L.A. in the USA, just a quick look at the event:
====WTA L.A. PREVIEW====
the last week's wta tier I titlist (in san diego) maria sharapova is the top seed here too. last weeks she won her first title of the year after having reached to only her 2nd final of season. after winning in zurich event last october it was her 1st title and in overall her 16th career title! the russian is experiencing her worst season in nearly 5 years.now this week she's again the top seed and everything's going on like last week with the only change of ana ivanovic's appearance this week. the second seed is jelena jankovic, another serbian girl. ana ivanovic,nadia petrova, daniela hantuchova,marion bartoli,martina hingis and dinara safina are all among the top 8 seeds,so all of them will receive a "bye" in the first round. the only dangerous player in sharapova's top half of the draw is elena dementieva who's her compatriot too, as we shouldn't count that much on hantuchova and hingis! swiss miss too is experiencing one of her worst seasons as she's not that lucky off the court too. with her possible-break-up brawl with atp player radek stepanek! the bottom half the draw sees a hot and nice match-up possibilities... as there's a chance of having an all serbian SF,or a spectacular match between dinara safina and ivanovic. this WTA event is a tier II t'ment, with $600.000 as its prize money. the defending champ,russian #9 seed elena dementieva is a possible QF opponent of supernova!
====AMS MONTREAL PREVIEW====
ok,now i'm gonna have another preview of this week's! the AMS event in montreal,canada. last year's champ, roger federer, is still the top seed here as the second seed is spaniard rafael nadal. with novak djokovic's run of form at this year's hard court tournaments it's just expectable to see him as a contender for this event. andy roddick who won his season's 2nd title last week is the #5 seed ,with nikolay davydenko from russia getting on as the 4th seed...however next week we'll probably have A-rod as the #3 seed. i predict a very hard tournament for rafa nadal,as there's a possible 2nd round encounter with wither marat safin or robin soderling. roger federer too has a pretty tough top of the draw as he must get past of likes of lleyton hewitt,tommy robredo,tommy haas and fernando gonzales with a 2nd round possible match versus tall great server ivo karlovic. there's no other outstanding match ups looming from now,as rafael nadal and roger federer's nice rivalry has overshadowed other players... this montreal event is a Masters Series tournament and has offered a total of $2.450.000 as prize money.with the winner's checkpay of $400.000!
==MY PREDICTION FOR WTA==
QF: sharapova def. dementieva
petrova def. mirza
ivanovic def. kirilenko
safina def. jankovic
SF: sharapova def. petrova
ivanovic def. safina
F: sharapova def. ivanovic
PRE-i predict supernova as this event's champion...let's see if it'll be right!
==MY PREDICTION FOR AMS==
QF: federer def.hewitt
haas def. gonzalez
roddick def. moya
nadal def. gasquet
SF: federer def. haas
nadal def. roddick
F: nadal def. federer
P.S. yes,last year everybody thought they'd play the final but it didn't happen,but it's not a good reason for them to not play each other this year too!!!!
a quick look at this week's events:
------------------------------------
WTA= L.A. EASTWESTBANK:
last year's final: E. dementieva d. J. jankovic 63 46 64
DBLs winners: ruano pascual ESP /paola suarez ARG
surface: Hardcourt/Outdoors tier II, P'money: $600.000
ATP= AMS MONTREAL,CANADA:
last year's final: R. federer d. R. gasquet 26 63 62
DBLs winner: B.bryan USA/M.bryan USA
surface: Hardcourt/Outdoors
an ATP MS event, P'money: $2.450.000
that's all for now,good luck everybody,
bye
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