Tennis: Best and worst of '09

It was a year of turnover for women's tennis as Stacey Allaster took over the WTA helm from Larry Scott, the No. 1 ranking got passed around like a relay baton and two former stars changed their minds about retirement. Some of the thrills and spills are detailed below.

Player of the Year
Serena Williams

This was a murky category in 2008. Not so this year. The younger Williams sister won her 10th and 11th Grand Slam events in Australia and at Wimbledon along with the WTA's season-ending championship, and finished as the year-end No. 1 for only the second time in her career. Williams also gave women's tennis its most dramatically distasteful moment when, on the brink of being eliminated by Kim Clijsters in the U.S. Open semifinal, Williams lost control after a dubious foot-fault call, advanced on the line judge and unleashed a profane tirade. With several highs and one major low, Williams' 2009 season makes it look as if she has no lack of leading-lady turns left in her.

That may be true, but I'm hoping someone else can give her a run for her money next year ( 2 Belgians come to mind).

Match of the Year
Kim Clijsters (BEL) def. Serena Williams (USA), 6-4, 7-5, U.S. Open semifinal

Years from now, what other match will anyone remember from 2009? Despite its bizarre ending, with Williams forfeiting match point because of her behavior, this meeting between two worthy adversaries was a triumphant milestone for Clijsters. It confirmed that the Belgian star -- who would go on to win the Open championship -- was back for real, capable of rising to the most meaningful occasions with a stronger, more straightforward game than before.

Yep, this one will stick in everyone's minds for a long time to come.

Most Improved Player
Samantha Stosur (AUS)

Stosur's long fight to come back from illness and injury finally paid off this season as she rose from No. 52 at the end of 2008 to her current career-high perch at No. 13. The French Open semifinalist played capably on all surfaces and won her first-ever WTA singles title late in the year at Osaka. Stosur also played a full schedule in doubles, reaching the Wimbledon final and qualifying for the year-end championships with partner Rennae Stubbs.

Boy, did she ever have a good year!. And it was fun to watch. Hopefully that good fortune will continue in 2010.

Iron woman
Caroline Wozniacki (DEN)

The 19-year-old has played 169 matches in the past two seasons, the heaviest workload of any top player. After some -- including yours truly -- questioned whether she was running out of gas in the second half of 2009, Wozniacki promptly defended her title in New Haven and advanced to her first Grand Slam final in New York. Hopefully there will be no repeats of her odd, ill-advised retirement in Luxembourg, where a hamstring strain prompted her to hand victory to an opponent she was trouncing.

Most Improved American
Melanie Oudin

The pint-sized counterpuncher burst into mass consciousness by defeating Jelena Jankovic en route to reach the fourth round at Wimbledon as a qualifier; then she single-handedly mowed down three top Russians at the U.S. Open, coming from behind in every match, then dealt with difficult questions about her parents' divorce. This will be a critical year for the 18-year-old Georgia native, who also made herself available for Fed Cup duty and is one of the young players U.S. captain Mary Joe Fernandez hopes to build around.

I'm definitely keeping my eye on her!. Aside from Kim she's what made the U.S. Open this year remotely worth watching.

Young Player to Watch
Sloane Stephens (U.S.)

This 16-year-old's potential is so obvious that she spurred a bidding war among management agencies when she decided to turn pro this fall. She also showed tremendous maturity in her dealings with the media after the death of her father, with whom she had only recently connected, during the U.S. Open. Her transition year should be interesting.

Biggest Upset
Kimiko Date Krumm (JAP) def. Anabel Medina Garrigues (ESP), 6-3, 6-3, Seoul final

Yes, this may be a relatively obscure late-season match between two players unknown to casual fans, but it's worth recognizing, not for the score, but for the winner. Krumm, 39, married to a German racing driver, had been out of competitive tennis since 1997 before coming back last year, primarily at the urging of her husband. Krumm predictably treaded water in WTA matches for many months before making her run in Seoul, defeating three top-50 players on the way, and ended 2009 ranked No. 71.

One is the loneliest number

Has there ever been a rougher year for former No. 1 players? Dinara Safina and Ana Ivanovic, linked in mutual misery, actually had very different seasons. Safina lost two more Grand Slam finals to make her 0-for-3, and the loss in Paris to Svetlana Kuznetsova may have hurt more than being routed by Serena Williams in Australia. Yet Safina had decent results elsewhere, winning three events, reaching three other non-Slam finals and advancing to the Wimbledon semis before the wheels came off the wagon late in the season. Ivanovic changed coaches, fought injuries and her own confidence and wasn't able to win back-to-back matches in the second half of the season, becoming so obviously unmoored that she elected to shut down in early October. Jelena Jankovic had a zigzagging year, with disappointing results in Slams, while Maria Sharapova returned to the circuit full-time in May and showed encouraging progress in her efforts to return to vintage form.

Yep, there's no denying that #1 ranking (at least on the women side) was a complete curse this season.

Debacle of the year

Israel's Shahar Peer was assured she would get a visa to compete in Dubai if she qualified and wished to play in one of the most lucrative events on the WTA calendar, despite the fact that the country normally does not admit Israeli citizens. But organizers pulled a bait-and-switch on the WTA, waiting until the eve of the event to deny Peer the right to cross the border. Peer's fellow players mounted no formal protest, but international outcry was intense. WTA officials fined the tournament heavily and exacted a pledge that it wouldn't happen again. Although the fallout from the Peer affair probably helped the ATP force Dubai to admit Israeli doubles player Andy Ram the following week, the entire incident exposed flaws in the contention that the sport is about building bridges as well as bank balances.

Strongest start

Victoria Azarenka of Belarus went 23-2 in her first five tournaments, winning titles in Brisbane, Memphis and Miami.

Biggest 180

Justine Henin announced she would jump back on the WTA carousel in September, less than four months after declaring no-way in a cameo appearance at the French Open. It seems the seeds for her reversal actually were sown on the red clay, as Henin said Roger Federer's breakthrough victory there -- not Belgian compatriot Clijsters' comeback later in the season -- provided the impetus for her to reconsider her brief retirement.

Dubious distinctions

Three talented women who made headlines for the wrong reasons: Portugal's Michelle Larcher de Brito, whose amplified shrieking at the French Open was a horror movie soundtrack for her opponents; Russia's Vera Zvonareva, whose attempts to rein in her volatility unraveled as she wept with frustration and feverishly unwound the tape on her leg between points during a U.S. Open match; Belgium's Yanina Wickmayer, whose rise has been interrupted by her failure to meet anti-doping paperwork standards. A few New Year's resolutions might be in order here.

Parting Words

"My only regret is that I was not successful in persuading tennis that now was the time for a [WTA-ATP] merger, to go forward and do it.'' -- former WTA chairman and chief executive Larry Scott, who left to become the commissioner of the Pacific-10 Conference last spring.

"If I were able to enter the court, play and shine, of course I could continue, but to achieve this, you need to put in such hard work. And I'm not capable of that. I dreamt of this career, I dreamt of winning a Grand Slam title. I lifted trophies in every city in the world and I lived 10 magical and unbelievable years.'' -- Amelie Mauresmo, at her retirement news conference.

Source: ESPN Sports

An entertaining sum-up to the sport of Tennis

I read this a few days ago, and it had me howling with laugher. So as always I am sharing it here in hopes that it does the same for all of you, enjoy;).

Season's Greetings!

As you already know, our darling Martina Hingis was caught vending at the coke machine earlier this year and subsequently decided to call it a career. This head-scratching anomaly caused quite a ruckus in our little gated community, but we're counting our blessings anyway. Why? Because this year we can subtract Radek Stepanek's place setting from the dinner table. Weird looking manimals belong on the menu, not the furniture.

Let's eat.

Yes, Martina broke his baboon heart, and Radek has now transplanted his love onto 18-year-old fresh-from-jailbait, Nicole "Vacuous" Vaidisova. In fact, they just filed for a marriage license in Florida, proving that it's never too late to rebel against your parents.

Let's drink.

That's what our prodigal son Andy Roddick was saying after he finally won his beloved Davis Cup after seven years of dedicated participation. In fact, since the Bryan Twirps had already clinched the tie that Saturday, it's precisely why he didn't play the dead rubber on Sunday. However, Andy should have delayed his Jager imbibing one more day to give the Oregon crowd their money's worth. Bob Bryan playing singles is not exactly a camera phone-worthy moment.

Quick, in the true spirit of Christmas, repress that unpleasant thought and project the negativity onto someone else. One, two, three: Hillary! Scary.

Let's be merry.

Aunties Mary Pierce, Jennifer Capriati, Monica Seles, Lindsay Davenport are all women in their -- shhh -- 30s with visions of comebacks dancing in their heads. Is it too early to call them tennis cougars? Regardless, three months after giving birth, Lindsay pounced all over a shaky WTA Top 50 and won two titles. Look for her to continue icing the cake in 2008. A woman with a nanny and nothing to lose is dangerous thing. (Heavens to Betsy, why do all roads lead to Britney?)

Pierce and Capriati are still making like Amy Winehouse and rehabbing, but Seles just announced a potential return in March. Va Va Voom Monica is turning heads these days with her fit and willowy figure. And she's glowing like an angelic tree topper. Hopefully this luminescence will translate into a few headlining results of the non-embarrassing variety. No one deserves them more.

And we're so proud to announce that after eight years of sporadic enrollment, Venus Williams has graduated from the Fashion School for the Mildly Interested Millionaire. She's selling her clothing line exclusively through those fine retailers of disposable clothing, Steve & Barry. No need to do laundry; the fabric will disintegrate. Just throw it away!

Lastly, Great Uncle Johnny McEnroe has been seen wandering about town declaring that the Russian mafia has infiltrated tennis. Somehow we think the mafia has bigger fish to fry than Mardy Fish, but it's easier if we let him throw his you-know-what at the wall to see what sticks. Or lure him into the basement with a plate of fish sticks.

Let's open presents.

http://www.islandpacket.com/opinion/columns/clark/story/109474.html

Tennis: Another year in review

Sadly these aren't as amusing as last year's but still interesting nonetheless.

Player of the Year: Justine Henin did two remarkable things in 2007: She compiled the most impressive record of any player in tennis, and remade her image from austere and aloof to accessible and sympathetic.

The fact that these two accomplishments sprang from the same root seems obvious. Henin repeatedly said that hard-won personal growth made her more at ease in her own formerly prickly skin and expanded her comfort zone on the court.

What she did competitively this year while enduring a divorce and reconciling with her long-estranged family would be admirable for a person in any profession, let alone someone under the media microscope.

Some fans will never forgive Henin for past transgressions, like the first-you-see-it, then-you-don't gesture on Serena Williams' serve in the 2003 French Open semifinal, or her midmatch withdrawal from the 2006 Australian Open final against Amelie Mauresmo.

We think it's time to put those incidents to rest. Unless there's a reprise of that behavior, Henin deserves the benefit of the doubt now, and credit for coming of age, at last, with grace.

I have to wholeheartedly agree, Justine has had an extraordinary year, despite all her personal troubles she still came out on top. Hopefully with all the recent accolades people will start forgetting her aforementioned mishaps.

Part of me really wished that Hingis would have been able to draw some inspiration from Henin and rise above as well. But sadly the whole drug fiasco put the kibosh on everything.

Match of the Year: A tie between the Henin-Venus Williams U.S. Open semifinal and Henin's marathon, last-woman-standing victory over Maria Sharapova in the year-end championships.

Honorary mention to Serena Williams' cat burglar performance in the Miami final. She was bagled in the first set, then staved off two match points and clawed back to pilfer the title.

I remember the U.S. Open semi's that was a hell of a match! it's matches like that that make the women's game so much more exciting then the men's. Sadly I did not see the year end championships. But reading that makes me want to YouTube it;).

Worst High-Level Match of the Year: The other U.S. Open semifinal was as wretched as Justine-Venus was great. Svetlana Kuznetsova survived Anna Chakvetadze in a demolition derby that featured 81 unforced errors against just 31 winners. Kuznetsova carried that negative mojo into the final and didn't give Henin much of a match.

Yep, this was a definite yawn-fest. I have a feeling there'll be more of those to come next year.

Comeback Player of the Year: Jointly awarded to Venus and Serena Williams, who won a Slam apiece in the same season for only the second time in their careers (2005 was the first).

A year ago, the sisters had been written off. Now they're cozied up at Nos. 7 and 8 on the WTA hit parade, and their penchant for defying convention shouldn't negate their accomplishment. Honorary mention to Lindsay Davenport, who fooled a lot of us by bundling up baby son Jagger and going back out on tour, apparently healthier and just as motivated as she was when she left 11 months earlier.

She won two of the three singles events she played and has her sights set on the Beijing Olympics. All three of these players should remind us that women's tennis careers in the 21st century could be a lot more fluid, as great athletes feel increasingly free to get on and off exit ramps.

If there were 2 players in the WTA I care less about those 2 would be it. Well, ok I have to give props to Venus for being the more mature of the pair, her playing ability is not too bad either.

Ah, yes Lindsay the strategist lol. That move was brilliant. I have to say I was genuinally surprised when she announced she would return after having the baby but I'm certainly glad she did. In fact I hope more veteran players have as much success as her. What I wouldn't give to see Monica Seles back next year, here's hoping it happens.

Here to stay: Ana Ivanovic has a terrific game, a terrific personal story that began with practices in an empty swimming pool, and a terrific impact on people.

Now all the fourth-ranked Serbian needs to do is figure out how to solve Henin and the Williams sisters.

The Williams sisters are definitely beatable, as for Henin well there's a reason why people are calling her the female Roger Federer.

Player to Watch in 2007: Hungary's soon-to-be-19-year-old Agnes Szavay won a midseason clay-court tournament, then showed she had stuff on hard court as well when she reached the final in New Haven, Conn., and the U.S. Open quarterfinals before beating Jelena Jankovic indoors in the Beijing final.

Szavay is ranked 20th with a bullet. Honorable mention to No. 26 Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland, whose cherubic exterior masks a nervy game. Radwanska, 18, charmed the press corps by rattling on about her pet rats in Miami and again six months later at the U.S. Open when she rhapsodized about Louis Vuitton handbags after upsetting Sharapova. How quickly they grow up. P.S.: Her younger sister Urszula can play, too.

I'm in total agreement once again Szavay is definitely the one to watch, and after watching the Sharapova/Radwanska match earlier this year I totally became a fan. Granted Sharapova played that match horribly but all credit goes to the 18 year old for over coming her nerves and holding her ground.

Most intriguing newcomer: Seventeen-year-old Tamira Paszek of Austria has precocious poise and shotmaking skills that were displayed to best advantage this year at Wimbledon, where she knocked off two top-20 players. The next chapter should be interesting.

Hmmm.... the name is very familiar I just can't place the face, but I think I'll definitely be on the look out for her in the future.

Biggest upset: No contest here. Who knew that France's Marion Bartoli would be the last player to upend Henin in 2007 when she played her unorthodox two-handed, double-winged game to perfection in the Wimbledon semifinals?.

This was THE match of the tournament for sure, and no doubt made Bartoli a more household name.

Jaw-dropper of the year: We were ready to nominate Martina Hingis' sudden and sad revelation last month that she had tested positive for cocaine at Wimbledon, accompanied by a vehement denial of wrongdoing.

The looming battle to try to clear her name, along with nagging injuries, compelled her to retire for the second time in five years.

Then the other shoe dropped. Head-spinning news crossed our transom this week that Hingis' former fiancé Radek Stepanek, 29, has apparently proposed to fellow Czech Nicole Vaidisova, 11 years his junior, only a few months after he and Hingis split. We'll refrain from bad jokes about bouncing Czechs.

No big surprise here, this was a given really. The marriage thing however was a low blow to Hingis, he certainly didn't waste any time.

Put us out of our misery: Ditch on-court coaching. Please.

I second that statement.

Ill-advised shot of the year: A Sharapova overhead smash that hit Serena Williams in the first set of their lopsided Australian Open final. Williams was up 5-0 at that point and didn't need further kerosene dumped on the fire.

The long, malevolent stare and muttered response Williams gave Sharapova was operatic in its intensity. Maybe it's coincidence, but Sharapova and her serve didn't fully recover until the end of the season.

LOL, Yeah maybe there's something behind that.

Most testy exchange with reporters: Serena Williams, deeply perturbed by her third straight quarterfinal loss to Henin at a Slam, told reporters at the U.S. Open she only showed up for the news conference because she didn't want to get fined. If there was a bright side to the churlish four-minute session, it showed that Serena still cares -- a lot.

Yes, just like Sharapova, Serena has always been a class act LOL. Just one more of the many endless reasons why I will always love Hingis.

Good call: We dubbed Jankovic our Player to Watch a year ago when she ended the year ranked 12th. OK, so that wasn't exactly going out on a limb -- but we REALLY hit the bull's-eye.

The personable Serb has figured out what it takes to close big matches, set a real example with her fitness, and wrestled her volatile emotions to the floor.

Heck, her flirtatious chemistry with Jamie Murray at Wimbledon even made mixed doubles interesting. The more we see of Jankovic, the better, but we would like her to think about pacing herself a bit more so she's not played out at the end of the season.

Out of all the Serbian players on tour at the moment she's my favourite and my pick to perhaps one day be #1.

Click here to read the rest

Tennis: A year in review

Yep, found another best and worst of tennis article this one has a bigger list.

Once again here are my personal favourites:

Comeback player of the year: Even Martina Hingis' most ardent fans might not have predicted how surely and methodically she made her way back up to the top 10 after three years of tennis inactivity. Does it say more about her or the competition? That's debatable, but no one can dispute that her brand of shot-making is still an effective tool. Hingis scrambled up the rankings week by week, won two tournaments, stayed healthy, went 53-19 and finished at a season-high No. 7. It will be interesting to see if she can improve on this year's 5-12 record against top-10 players.

Yep, that's what I'll be looking forward too:D.

Determined-to-go award: Kim Clijsters, 24, stuck to her guns, saying 2007 will be her last on the tour because of her other priorities, which include starting a family with fiancé and former Villanova basketball player Brian Lynch, getting more education and perhaps working with children.

Can't say I disagree, but I will definitely miss her on the tour. She's such a great competitor.
Most provocative public scolding: Chris Evert penned a letter in Tennis Magazine that called out Serena Williams for recent subpar results that were "hard to fathom."
"I wonder whether 20 years from now you might reflect on your career and regret not putting 100 percent of yourself into tennis," Evert wrote. "I don't see how acting and designing clothes can compare with the pride of being the best tennis player in the world."

Amen to that Chris! lol. No one else but her would have the courage to say that publicly.

Unfortunate irony:
It seemed as if the Williams sisters spent almost as much time in a courtroom as they did on the tennis court this year, testifying in a breach-of-contract case brought against them and father Richard Williams in West Palm Beach, Fla., by the would-be promoters of an exhibition event.

Such is the price you pay for not sticking to your commitments.
Best sporting gesture: Vera Zvonavera reacted quickly and compassionately when Mary Pierce tore up her knee during their match in Linz, Austria in October. Zvonareva rushed over with a bag of ice -- arriving before the trainer -- and stayed on the fringes of the group attending to Pierce until the veteran was carried off on a stretcher. Pierce faces a long rehab of the potentially career-ending injury.

That's what I'm talking about respect and good sportsmanship.
Worst sporting gesture: Maria Sharapova literally turned her back on former Bollettieri Academy classmate Tatiana Golovin as the Russian-born French player writhed in pain on her end of the court after injuring her ankle late in their match in Miami. Golovin had come back from a set down to win a tiebreaker and was making the third set a barn burner until she hurt herself. No one expects a player fighting for her competitive life to be Mother Teresa, but Sharapova's willful obliviousness, bouncing a ball and jogging beyond the baseline with nary a glance toward or inquiry about the condition of her opponent seems the height of cold, not cool.

Another proof the woman is a freakin' cyborg, she could give "The Terminator" a run for his money lol. Oh, wait he actually understood human emotion, never mind.

Testiest exchange with reporters: This was Sharapova's post-U.S. Open championship press conference, which she initiated with a schoolmarmish: "Let's make this a positive session tonight -- please, por favor." Things deteriorated from there. Sharapova tried to shut down talk of her posse's obvious signaling from the stands -- "I just won a Grand Slam. The last thing I'm going to talk about is some fingers or a banana, all right?" -- but spent much of the session verbally chopping fruit salad. WTA officials are considering scrapping the prohibition on remote coaching. If that would spare us similar unpleasantness, all we can say is, muchas gracias.
Ah, the words of a gracious champion *snort*.
Click here to read the whole article from ESPN.