Celebrity Friday: Elena Dementieva

Elena Dementieva, widely regarded as the most talented active player to not have won a major title, retired at the age of 29 on Friday Octobet 31 from competitive tennis.

Dementieva reached two major finals, the 2004 French Open (lost to Anastasia Myskina) and the 2004 U.S. Open (lost to Svetlana Kuznetsova), and won the Gold medal in Singles at the 2008 Beijing Olympics as well as 16 WTA Tour titles. Her career record was 576 wins and 273 losses.

In 2009, Dementieva played the best match of the year in the semifinals of the Wimbledon Championships, losing to Serena Williams despite holding a match point, who commented on Dementieva's retirement thusly:

Elena you will be missed. The matches we competed in were always so intense. You helped make me better both on and off the court...

All the best to you Love, and to all your endeavors.

US OPEN 2010: Women's Semifinals Preview

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

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

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

US OPEN 2010: Women's Quarterfinals Preview

Here are my predictions for the women's quarterfinals at the 2010 US Open.

Caroline Wozniacki DEN (1) Maria Sharapova RUS (14) vs Dominika Cibulkova SVK Svetlana Kuznetsova RUS (11). The top seed and last year's US Open finalist Caroline Wozniacki had never won a big match against a "Big Babe" like Maria Sharapova, Serena Williams, Venus Williams or Kim Clijsters and I doubted that she would even win 5 games against the 2006 US Open champion. But Wozniacki showed that she is not just an incredible retriever but has the consistency of a backboard. Sharapova didn't help her cause by throwing in 10 double faults. That being said, Wozniacki has made a believer out of me by dismissing Sharapova 6-3 6-4. The tall Russian was pounding away, shrieking as she pounded the ball nto the corners but almost every rally over 10 strokes was won by Wozniacki as eventually, Sharapova went for too much and committed an error to concede the point. I still believe that a "Big Babe" who is actually comfortable at the net would still be able to overpower Wozniacki, but it is doubtful that she will face someone who matches that description before the top seed reaches the final for the second consecutive year. However, I still don't see how the Danish youngster wins that final against someone with more power from the bottom half of the draw. PREDICTION: Wozniacki in 2 sets.

Vera Zvonareva (7) RUS  vs. Kaia Kanepi EST (31) Yanina Wickmayer BEL (15). It's odd how the 2010 Wimbledon finalist is silently making her way through the draw, even though she has reached the quarterfinals without dropping a set. The hard-hitting Kanepi is in her second consecutive Grand Slam quarterfinal and will presumably manage the occasion better than her meltdown in London. Especially since she managed to win a match where she was down a bagel set and a break against last year's semifinalist Yanina Wickmayer. Zvonareva's birthday is Tuesday and she has been playing a more mature brand of tennis which will take her deep into the draw. PREDICTION: Zvonareva in 3 sets.  

Venus Williams USA (3) vs.  Francesca Schiavone ITA (6). Venus Williams has only lost 3 sets in the 7 matches she has played against the 2010 French Open champion, and never lost to her. However, after Schiavone became the first Italian woman to win a major title ever, she has made the phrase "Impossible is Nothing" seem like reality. Venus has not dropped a set in the tournament yet, but she should have lost one to a determined Shahar Peer in the fourth round, and if anyone can exploit what is her obviously sub-optimal mobility, it is Schiavone with her clay-court toughness and European flair. Happily, Venus' unreported injury is making her more aggressive and more likely to approach the net in order to shorten the points. That, and a decidedly gentle draw should give her a fighting chance to reach a non-Wimbledon final, her first since the 2003 Australian Open. I do think that the thought that she will not have to face her sister in order to win the tournament should give Venus some extra motivation and confidence to try to do so. PREDICTION: Williams in 3 sets.

Kim Clijsters BEL (2) vs. Samantha Stosur AUS (5). Clijsters is on an 18-match winning streak at the US Open, having last lost a match in New York in the 2003 final(!) to Justine Henin. She is absolutely devouring the draw and she has to be considered the favorite to repeat as Champion here. However, the very talented Sam Stosur, who played one of the best women's matches of the year to eliminate Elena Dementieva in the 4th round stands in the Belgian's way. Stosur has finally broke through into the top of women's tennis and is a legitimate Top 5 player. I sort of think of her as the female Robin Soderling, since none of the players ranked above her will be very pleased that they picked the short straw and have to face her in order to reach the final. That being said, Stosur till has not quite made the leap to actually winning a major title, and I suspect it will be that lack (and Clijsters' preternatural defensive skills plus her offensive artillery) that will result in Clijsters victory. It could be a scorcher of a match though, in the words of Jim Courier "a real popcorn match." PREDICTION: Clijsters in 2 sets.

US OPEN 2010: Federer, Venus, Roddick, Soderling, Jankovic Win 1st Round

Day 1 of the 2010 US Open is over with basically no upsets. Andy Roddick won on his 28th birthday. Also winning easily were Venus Williams and  Roger Federer. Robin Soderling was up two sets and had match points against his 214-th ranked opponent when suddenly the kid refused to miss and Soderling ended up winning in a tough 5-setter.

Day 2 of the US Open has begun with Jelena Jankovic and Svetlana Kuznetsova pulling out 3-set wins and Marco Baghdatis losing a 5-setter against veteran Arnaud Clement.

What most people are talking about is Federer's amazing between the legs trick shot winner, reminiscent of what he did against Novak Djokovic in the men's semifinals last year.

Venus Beats Sveta & Kim To Win Billie Jean Cup Exo

Venus Williams continued her winning ways by winning the Billie Jean Cup and $400,000 by defeating Kim Clijsters 6-4 3-6 7-5 on Monday night at Madison Square Garden in New York City. Ana Ivanovic replaced Serena Williams who had pulled out recently despite beating Venus at this same exact event last year.

Hat/tip to Women's Tennis Blog.

Best (Women's) Tennis Matches of 2009

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

HONORABLE MENTIONS:

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

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

WTA Year-End Championships Begin in Doha

The Sony Ericsson Championships have begun in Doha, Qatar. The prestigious tournament is the last tournament of the year and one of the most lucrative. This year it will also determine who ends up the year as #1: Dinara Safina, who has lost in not one but two major finals this year (Australia and Roland Garros), or Serena Williams who won in two (Australia and Wimbledon).

Craig Hickman has the draw:

White Group
Dinara Safina
Caroline Wozniacki
Victoria Azarenka
Jelena Jankovic

Maroon Group
Serena Williams
Svetlana Kuznetsova
Elena Dementieva
Venus Williams

The year-end championships features an unusual format where the eight competitors are split into two groups, playing a round-robin tournament for the top two spots. Then the top two in each group play against the top two in the other group in an elimination semifinal round for the last match of the year.

Venus Williams won last year, beating her sister along the way. Today she plays Serena again.

US OPEN 2009: Women's Final Preview

Caroline Wozniacki DEN (9) vs. Kim Clijsters BEL. Unseeded Kim Clijsters should win easily over the ninth-ranked teenager from Denmark playing in her first major final while the young mother of 18-month old Jada is playing in her sixth (one win, four losses).

I suppose the less said about the unfortunate result that lead Clijsters into this final. However, this should lead the Tour(s) to consider video replay, not just electronic line calling that players can resort to when bad calls are made. As I've noted before, it's very curious that these unfortunate incidents only seem to happen to Black players in a predominantly White sport. It was an egregious line call that went against Serena Williams in a quarterfinal match against Jennifer Capriati in 2004 that eventually led to the current electronic line calling that everyone agrees has been a resounding success. I hope that something good can come out of last night's incident that can improve the game again.

Wozniacki is not out of her depth; she absorbed the formidable power of Russian Svetlana Kuznetsova in the quarterfinal, eventually earning the right to (easily) dismiss "America's new sweetheart," the diminutive Melanie Oudin and another Belgian Yanina Wickmayer to reach this final.

However, it is hard to find another person who has been as severe an underdog in a recent Women's US Open final as Wozniacki is against Clijsters tonight. Maybe she'll use this opportunity to play out of her head, with no pressure, but even doing that, this Belgian will be able to turn defense into offense so quickly the result will not be in doubt. Clijsters will become the first mother to win a major tennis title since Evonne Goolagong in 1980.

MadProfessah's pick: Clijsters in 2 sets.

US OPEN 2009: Kuznetsova Blows Lead Against Wozniacki

2009 French Open champion Svetlana Kuznetsova blasted 59 winners in 3 sets of play against 16 winners by 19-year-old Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark and lost 2-6 7-6(5) 7-6(3) in the fourth round in New York City last night. Unfortunately, the Russian had 63 unforced errors to the Dane's 25.

Clearly, the result of the match was on Kuznetsova's racquet; in fact she was up an early break in the third set but managed to lose that advantage and did well to save several match points and force a deciding set tiebreaker. In the tiebreaker Kuznetsova was very streaky again. She lost the first three points, then won the next three points and then lost the last four points and the match.

Kuznetsova was blasting the ball on both sides in the first set, completely overpowering Wozniacki. Starting in the second set she would blast the ball occasionally but when she started missing she curtailed this strategy, which was working for her. Wozniacki did well to stay focussed and defended well to maker her first Grand Slam quarterfinal, where she will face Melanie Oudin, the youngest American quarterfinalist since Serena Williams in 1999.

US OPEN 2009: Potential Semi: Venus vs Serena

Last year Serena Williams refused to lose a set (despite facing 10 set points) to her sister Venus in the quarterfinals of the 2008 US Open and went on to (relatively easily) win her 9th major title, after losing to Venus in the 2008 Wimbledon final. This year, Serena won the Wimbledon final against her sister, and will face her in the semifinals, if the recently released 2009 US Open Women's draw holds to form.

As for the rest of the draw, does it really matter? This is Serena's tournament to lose.
"World #1" Dinara Safina hasKleybanova, Lisicki and Jankovic in her quarter of the draw. Dementieva and Kuznetsova are also in Safina's half.

Venus is the unfortunate seed who has Kim Clijsters in her quarter and would face the 2005 US Open champion in the round of 16 and Victoria Azarenka in the quartfinal.

Serena has the nicest draw of all the contenders, although she has people like Samantha Stosur, Amelia Mauresmo and Daniela Hantuchova, all people who could beat her, but who are also serious head cases.

Let the games begin! Brackets, anyone?

Clijsters Returns; Beats Bartoli, Schnyder & Sveta

Former World #1 Kim Clijsters of Belgium returned to the WTA Tour in Cincinnati Open and has dispatched 2007 Wimbledon finalist Marion Bartoli (6-3 6-2), crafty lefty Patty Schnyder (6-2 7-5) and 2009 French Open champion Svetlana Kuznetsova (6-4 4-6 6-2 ) in consecutive matches. Clijsters plays World #1 Dinara Safina in the quarters on Friday.


The day did not go as well for the Williams Sisters, who less than 5 weeks after meeting each other in the Wimbledon final forthe second consecutive year played their worst tennis in years to lose hours apart. Venus Williams lost to Flavia Penneta (who has turned into something of a bete noire for the 7-time major champion) 7-6 (2) 6-4 while Serena Williams lost 7-5 6-4 to Sybille Bammer.

FRENCH OPEN 2009: MadProfessah's Tournament Review

Here is my review of the 2009 French Open. Look how pretty Sveta (and Roger) look. That's one way to dispel those gay rumors.

MadProfessah made fourteen predictions, 7 each for the last three rounds of the Men's and Women's draws at Roland Garros.

On the men's side I was correct in 3 of 4 quarterfinal matches, 2 of 2 semifinal matches and 1 of 1 final matches. That's 6 out of 7 correct predictions. The only match I got wrong was Fernando Gonzalez defeating Andy Murrray. That's pretty good, overall!

On the women's side I was correct in 1 of 4 quarterfinal matches, 2 of 2 semifinal matches and 0 of 1 final matches, that's 3 of 7 correct predictions. I did not predict Kuznetsova defeating Serena, Stosur defeating Cirstea and Cibulkova defeating Sharapova. I am happy that Kuznetsova defeated Safina, but I expected the World #1 to come through in that match instead.

Overall, my record was 9 correct calls out of 14 predictions.

Here are my grades for the new members of the Top 10 (Men's and Women's rankings released on Monday June 8th).

1 Rafael Nadal ESP. 4th Round loss (to Robin Soderling). It was only a matter of time before The King of Clay would be dethroned at Roland Garros, but very few people felt that it would be this year. It should be interesting to see how Nadal bounces back from winning in places very few ever expected him to (Melbourne and Wimbledon) and losing in a place very few ever expected him to (Paris). Grade: B.
2 Roger Federer SUI. Champion. After being the second best player on clay for the last five years, finally Federer was able to sieze on the stumble of his greatest rival to complete his career grand slam and (mostly) silence the naysayers who would deny his place in the pantheon of tennis greats. Grade: A+.
3 Andy Murray GBR. Quarterfinal loss (to Fernando Gonzalez). Did pretty well until he ran into the buzzsaw that is Gonzalez' forehand. Murray is still showing that he is still improving and it is probably only a matter of time before he breaks through and wins a major title like his contemporaries. Grade: B+.
4 Novak Djokovic SRB. 3rd Round loss (to Phillip Kohlschreiber). A very disappointing result for an alleged top 4 player, who had played very well during the run-up clay court season, especially in an absolutely stunning match that he lost against Nadal in the Madrid semifinal. Grade: C-.
5 Juan Martín del Potro ARG. Semifinal loss (to Roger Federer). Demonstrated that despite being the most physically dangerous of the "up and comers" he is not happy with having achieved his highest ever ranking and best ever result at a slam, but wants much much more, as demonstrated by manging to impressively claw his way back to even in the 5th set of his winnable semifinal match against the Great Roger Federer. Grade: A-.
6 Andy Roddick USA. 4th Round loss (to Gael Monfils). The recently married American had his best ever result at the clay court major, losing to a resurgent Monfils who appears to be the only French player to relish playing in front of his home crowd. This result bodes well for Roddick's chances in his strongest section of the year, which is yet to come. Grade: A-.
7 Gilles Simon FRA. 3rd Round loss (to Victor Hanescu). A weak result for the top-rated French player at his home country's slam. Grade: C-.
8 Fernando Verdasco ESP. 4th Round loss (to Nikolay Davydenko). The vastly improved Spaniard was unfortunate to run into the Russian on a day when he was simply playing flawless tennis (6 unforced errors in 3 sets!) Grade: B.
9 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga FRA. 4th Round loss (to Juan Martín del Potro). Unfortunately, the always fun to watch Frenchman was simply overpowereed by someone stronger, faster and hungrier. Grade: B+.
10 Fernando Gonzalez CHI. Semifinal loss (to Robin Soderling). Gonzalez made a lot of tennis fans into believers by his demolition of the latest addition to the Nadal-Federer conversation in the quarterfinals and his nearly complete come back against Soderling in the semifinals, only to lose the last five games of the match not due to weakness on his end, but due to strength of his opponent. Grade: A-.

Here are the Women's grades:

1 Dinara Safina RUS. Finalist (lost to Kuznetsova). Lived up to her seeding by making the Roland Garros final for the second consecutive year, then demonstrated why she probably will not remain at the top of the game for much longer by completely disintegrating right before our eyes. Grade: B+.
2 Serena Williams USA. Quarterfinal (lost to Kuznetsova). Did well to make the fourth round of the clay court major despite zero matches on clay beforehand, although her curious lack of resolve leading 3-1 in the 3rd to the eventual champion may indicate troublesome fissures in her confidence as she tries to repeat her appearance in the last two major finals of the year. Grade: A-.
3 Venus Williams USA. 3rd Round (Lost to Agnes Szavay). For the third year in a row Venus lost in the third round, disappointing her legion of fans who want her to perform as well at the beginning of the summer as she does at the end of it, in odd-numbered years. Grade: B-.
4 Elena Dementieva RUS. 3rd Round (lost to Samantha Stosur). Another disappointing major from the Beijing Olympic singles gold medallist. Grade: C.
5 Svetlana Kuznetsova RUS. Champion. Finally Sveta exceeded her seeding and took advantage of her opportunities to overcome her well-publicized demons, both by defeating Serena Williams in a tight three-set match (the best of the tournament) and following it up with a demolition of the World #1 to win her second major title, her first in five years. Grade: A+.
6 Jelena Jankovic SRB. 4th Round (lost to Sorana Cirstea). The former World #1 is now in serious danger of not even being considered of ever being a one-slam wonder. Grade: C-.
7 Vera Zvonareva RUS. Did Not Play. Grade: INCOMPLETE.
8 Victoria Azarenka BLR. Quarterfinal (lost to Safina). For one set Azarenka beat the **** out of the ball and made the #1 player in the world look like the confused and unsteady player she is. Grade: A.
9 Caroline Wozniacki DEN. 3rd Round (lost to Sorana Cirstea). The hard-hitting Danish youngster did not play up to expectations, but was another one of the victims of the true standouts in this year's tournament: Romanian Sorana Cirstea. Grade: B.
10 Nadia Petrova RUS. 2nd Round (lost to Maria Sharapova). Petrova had an excellent opportunity to finally defeat the most successful of her Russian peers, but again blinked when faced with the finish line. Her consolation prize was to take out the Williams sisters in doubles. Grade: B-.

On to Wimbledon!

FRENCH OPEN 2009: Kuznetsova Wins 2nd Major Title

Svetlana Kuznetsova defeated Dinara Safina 6-4 6-2 to win her second major title, the 2009 French Open, in Paris on Saturday. Safina is the World #1 and will remain there on Monday. She has appeared in 3 major finals, 2008 French Open, 2009 Australian Open and the 2009 French Open and lost all 3. She also lost the Gold Olympic medal match to Elena Dementieva in Beijing in August 2008.

Kuznetsova won the 2004 US Open and lost the 2006 French Open final and the 2007 US Open finals to Justine Henin. She is now at 2-2 in major finals, with a surprising 11 wins and 18 losses overall in WTA tour finals.

On to Wimbledon!

FRENCH OPEN 2009: Women's Final Preview

Dinara Safina RUS (1) vs. Svetlana Kuznetsova RUS (7)

The two best players on clay this season are Dinara Safina and Svetlana Kuznetsova and they will meet in the 2009 Roland Garros final tomorrow. It should be a classic match, but all-Russian matches, like all-Williams matches, disappoint more often than not.

Safina has been plowing through the draw like a scythe, with only one slight hiccup against Belarussian youngster Victoria Azarenka who had the World #1 plaintively asking her coach "I don't know what to do, tell me what to do!" Kuznetsova, because of her now-deserved reputation for mental infirmity late in important matches has not been the favorite of most tennis pundits. However, since she was able to beat Serena Williams in one of the best matches of the year in the quarterfinals: 7-6(3) 5-7 7-5 and despite showing some mental weakness again in her semifinal against Samantha Stosur Kuznetsova again was able to gut out a win 6-4 6-7(5) 6-3. Can she make it three in a row? I doubt it.

It is fascinating that the 2006 finalist (Kuznetsova, lost to Justine Henin) is playing against the 2008 finalist (Safina, who lost to Ana Ivanovic). The 2007 finalist (Ivanovic) won the title the following year. Can the 2008 finalist (Safina) repeat this effort? Most likely.

Both Russians are closely matched physically, with huge serves, excellent forehands and backhands as well as exquisite movement on clay. I still believe that Kuznetsova is the most talented, but tennis is also (at least) 50% mental, and by getting to #1 in the world, Safina has demonstrated the mental toughness required. While Kuznetsova has demonstrated improvement in that area in this tournament I still give Safina the edge in this category.

Head to head, Safina leads their rivalry 8 to 5, although they are tied 4-4 in matches on clay and 1-1 at matches on clay at Roland Garros. I believe the match will be close but Safina will win her first major title on Saturday in Paris.

MadProfessah's pick: Safina in 3 sets.

FRENCH OPEN 2009: Women's Semifinals Preview

Here are my predictions for the women's semifinals at Roland Garros this year. I went 3 out of 4 in my predictions of the men's quarters but sadly predicted only 1 out of 4 in the women's quarters correctly.

Dinara Safina RUS (1) vs. Maria Sharapova RUS Dominika Cibulkova SVK (20). "Marat's little sister" no more, Dinara Safina is playing like she is a woman on a mission to win her first major title. Although she finally lost a set (to a Victoria Azarenka playing out of her mind) in the quarterfinals, she should have no difficulty getting past giant-killer Dominika Cibulkova to get to the Roland Garros final for the second consecutive year, and her second consecutive Grand Slam final of 2009. Cibulkova was lucky to face a Maria Sharapova who had completely run out of gas but the diminutive youngster took advantage of her opportunity and is in her first Grand Slam semifinal. When you're 5 foot, 3 inches taking out one 6-foot-plus Russian is a surprise, but taking out two in a row is an impossibility.

PREDICTION: Safina in 2 sets.

Serena Williams USA (2) Svetlana Kuznetsova RUS (7) vs. Sorana Cirstea ROU Samantha Stosur AUS (30). This is the semifinal I did not see coming at all. After seeing how well Cirstea dealt with the pressure against Jelena Jankovic to reach this point I picked her to take out doubles specialist Samantha Stosur however, instead experience bested youthful exuberance.

In one of the best matches of the tournament, Sveta finally won one of those heart-breakingly close matches that she has been losing for years. She beat Serena Williams for only the second time in 8 meetings despite the fact that Serena had come back from facing imminent defeat in the second set to be up a break in the final set. Sveta finally hung tough and was able to claw back to even and surprisingly, Serena was the first to crack under the pressure at 4-all and 5-all in the final set.

Against Stosur, I am confident that Sveta will find a way to make it to the final for the second time in four years, where the 2006 Finalist and 2008 Finalist will face each other for the 2009 title.

PREDICTION: Kuznetsova in 2 sets.

FRENCH OPEN 2009: Women's Quarterfinals Preview

Here are my predictions for the women's quarterfinals at Roland Garros this year.

Dinara Safina RUS (1) vs. Victoria Azarenka BLR (9) Ana Ivanovic SRB (8) . Dinara Safina has been playing like she is the best player in the world. Oh, wait, she IS the #1 ranked player in the world! Safina has been improving in every round, losing a mere 5, then 3, then 2, then 1 games in her first four straight set victories. However, I don't think Victoria Azarenka is (or even should be) scared of being double bageled in her first Grand Slam quarterfinal. The talented and fearless Belarussian took out Serena Williams in the 5th slam in Miami in straight sets earlier this year and thrives on big matches. However, although the youngster is indomitable she is not unbeatable. This will be a prototypical Big Babe tennis match--Mary Carillo should be ecstatic and, as she says, "the better athlete will win." PREDICTION: Safina in 2 (close) sets.

Dominika Cibulkova SVK (20) vs Maria Sharapova RUS. Cibulkova is a deceptively difficult opponent to beat, but Sharapova has done it twice in their only two meetings, last year, both on clay. Sharapova (listed at 6'2" but probably taller) has nearly a foot on the diminutive Dominika (listed at 5'3" but probably shorter) and this may very well turn out to be a straight set rout. However, Sharapova is nowhere near match tough, having had to go the distance in her first four matches (including choking on a middle set bagel served by hard hitting Li Na in her previous match) and I expect the Drama Queen will not advance without more drama, but advance she will, right into the buzz saw that is Dinara Safina. PREDICTION: Sharapova in 3 sets.

Jelena Jankovic SRB (5) Sorana Cirstea ROU vs. Virginie Razzano FRA Samantha Stosur AUS (30). The surprise quarterfinalists. Cirstea was two points away from losing against former World #1 Jelena Jankovic multiple times in the third set and kept on bashing away at the ball, painting the lines in a manner reminiscent of a young Monica Seles. Jankovic "served" for the match at 5-4 and was promptly broken, eventually going down 3-6 6-0 9-7. Stosur is more well-known as an excellent doubles player and so I had put my money on the French veteran Razzano getting to the quarterfinals in front of her countrymen. This one is really a toss-up which is likely to include some truly horrendous tennis as the two fight to see who really wants to stand on the big stage of a Grand Slam semifinal more. In these cases it is often the veteran who comes out the loser because they more firmly understand the significance of the moment and I expect this case to be no different. Youth will be served. PREDICTION: Cirstea in 3 sets.

Svetlana Kuznetsova RUS (7) vs. Serena Williams USA (2). This should be the best match of the tournament to date. But "How do you solve a problem like Sveta?" Sigh. Long famous for being singled out as "the most talented" of the Russians by none-other than Living Legend Martina Navratilova Kuznetsova (Sveta to her friends, which includes basically everyone on the Tour) has been in three major finals but has started to garner a reputation for being mentally weak deep in the final deciding set when it really counts. These two champions have looked at the draw and know they are really playing for a slot in the 2009 Roland Garros final; Serena Williams is very cognizant of her place in tennis history books and would like to add another unique entry with a win in Paris for a "Williams slam" and maintain the possibility of a calendar grand slam sweep. Serena has only lost once to Kuznetsova in 6 previous meetings and actually beat the Russian in the Quarters of the first Grand Slam event of 2009. I suspect histiry will be repeated, and made, here. PREDICTION: Williams in 3 sets.

Safina Routs Sveta 6-3 6-2 To Win Italian Open

World #1 Dinara Safina won the Italian Open on Sunday by defeating fellow Russian Svetlana Kuznetsova 6-3 6-2. It was Safina's first title since becoming #1.

Venus Loses Semi To Safina; Rises To World #3

Venus Williams lost to World #1 Dinara Safina in a tough 3-set clay court match 6-7(3) 6-3 6-4 in the semifinals of the Italian Open. Despite losing, Venus will rise to World #3, right behind her sister Serena Williams at World #2.

Safina will play World #6 Svetlana Kuznetsova on Sunday in the final.

Kuznetsova Ends Title Dought By Defeating Safina

Svetlana Kuznetsova defeated World #1 Dinara Safina 6-4 6-3 at the Porsche Grand Prix open in Stuttgart to win her first title since September 2007 despite reaching 6 finals in that period. 

Safina was playing in her first tournament after becoming World #1 two weeks ago after Serena Williams lost points after pulling out of a clay court tournament. 

Jelena Jankovic To Beome World #1

Jelena Jankovic of Serbia will become World #1 on Monday August 11 despite losing to Dominika Cibulkova at the Rogers Cup in Montreal. Svetlana Kuznetsova, who lost in the quarterfinals to Dinara Safina, also failed to clinch the top ranking, despite having won the 2004 US Open and appearing in the finals of the 2006 French Open and 2007 US Open. Current World #1 Ana Ivanovic will be exactly 8 points behind her Serbian compatriot. Maria Sharapova, winner of this year's Australian Open and #1 earlier this year has a shoulder injury and will miss the Beijing Olympics and the 2008 US Open.