2009 in Review: Fed Cup Moments

The third in the series puts the spotlight on the best Fed Cup moments this season

1. Italy repeats as Fed Cup Champions.
A Williams-less US squad didn’t stand a chance against the determined Italian team. Recognition should also be accorded to Flavia Pennetta (the first Italian woman in the top ten) for being this season’s Fed Cup MVP.

2. Italy oust defending champ Russia
The Schiavone-Pennetta led Italian squad took advantage of costly miscalculations on Shamil Tarpishev’s part. The win avenged the 2006 champion’s lost to Russia in the 2007 final.

3. US reaches Fed Cup Final
Mary Joe Fernandez led her B team to the final by beating Czech Republic. Rookie Alexa Glatch’s heroic wins and recently naturalized Leizel Huber’s efforts carried Team America to a showdown against Italy

4. Serbia and Ukraine qualifies to the World Group
Led by two former numbers ones, Jelena Jankovic and Ana Ivanovic, Team Serbia joins the elite group next year displacing Spain. With the recent career blows on Ivanovic though, it would be interesting to see if she would still sign up for Fed Cup duty next season. Meanwhile Ukraine bageled a Dulko-less Argentina, thanks largely to Alona Bondarenko.

5. Williams Sisters skipped Fed Cup (again)
Both sisters did not bother to include Fed Cup into their schedules. Serena was supposed to appear in the final but withdrew eventually, only days after the initial announcement of her participation. Really, we should not be that surprised about it anymore.

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2009 Headliners: Svetlana Kuznetsova

A Destination: Doha favorite, world number three Svetlana Kuzntesova has been featured many times this year and another full-length article for the 2009 Headliners series would be overkill. So to recognize her best season instead, here’s a photo feature on the woman who took over the pole position in the Russian Revolution while the Siberian is still suffering from the setback of an injured shoulder.

Winning in Roland Garros, Sveta reversed a very disappointing start in the season and turned it to her career best.

With two additional titles in Stuttgart and Beijing, Sveta finished the year at number three. She also improved on her previously cringe-worthy tournament final record

A little bit more consistency and she could have the world at her feet next year. Well, if she can keep up with Kim, Maria, Justine and Serena, that is.

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2009 Headliners: Kim Clijsters

Surely, there is no way for her to win. Not after a two year absence. Not with both William sisters on her side of the draw. Kim Clijsters, however, did win the 2009 US Open.

A decent display in the US Open Series was not enough to convince analysts that Clijsters could win it all. The odds were simply stacked against her. While surprises were plenty in the top draw, the bottom half didn’t give Kim an easy pass.

Fourteenth seed Marion Bartoli pushed her into three sets in the second round. In the round of sixteen, she split two bagel sets with Venus Williams before proceeding with a 64 win in the third. Serena Williams (having an off day) still managed to force Kim into tight two sets before the now infamous spat with a lineswoman sent Kim to her third US Open final. Nerves were on display in the final but Kim did just enough to beat first time Slam finalist Caroline Wozniacki for her second Major.

The Belgian has been very open about her greatest regret, failing to defend her 2005 title. Injury ruled her out of contention in 2006 and when she recovered, she has lost the momentum. 2007 was witness to uninspired play from Clijsters. After the long wait for her overdue Slam, it seemed she got nothing more to prove. She has had her redemption. Retirement logically followed.

While happily playing the role of wife and mother, away from the competition, Kim regained the capacity to dream. A shot at a de facto US Open defense four years after she won became too irresistible. Mrs Lynch came out of her hiatus, ignoring the stigma that usually accompanies people who come out of retirement. Clijsters’ unwavering commitment led to the fulfillment of what initially seemed an over ambitious goal.

Clijsters celebrated her victory with her husband and daughter Jada. Pictures of the family showed that her return to competitive tennis didn’t interfere with the roles she assumed since her retirement, proving that being a happy family woman and Slam champion are not mutually exclusive.

Keeping her family in mind, Kim announced an extremely abbreviated schedule next year. But that would be another story. For now, two-time US Open champion Kim Clijsters is the first of the 2009 Headliners.

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Coming Soon on Destination: Doha
2009 in Review: Fed Cup Wrap Up
2009 Headliners: Svetlana Kuznetsova
2009 Headliners: Caroline Wozniacki
2009 Headliners: Serena Williams
2009 in Review: DD Housekeeping

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Doha Watch: Mission Accomplished

When Serena declared she has her sight on doing well in Doha, eye brows have been raised. After all, it is not a Slam. I have criticized the younger Williams for vocally expressing her displeasure over the rankings hullabaloo and yet refusing to do anything proactive about it. Accruing the necessary ranking points by playing well outside of the Slams would have been chicken feed for Serena if she only focused more. Well, the arguments are now moot. She finally delivers by winning the Season-Ending Championships without dropping a match.

Serena has already been assured of finishing the year as number one, following Dinara Safina’s early exit due to back injury. Anything less than a victory in Doha, however, would have been unsatisfying. Serena left no room for criticism this time. She sealed the deal by beating sister and SEC defending champion Venus in straight sets 62 76(4).

Surprising to some, this would only be the second time for Serena to top the year-end rankings. The only other time was during her banner year in 2002.

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More on Serena on the 2009 Headliners series. Coming Soon on DD.


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Doha Photo Round Up: Family Showdown

A heavily strapped Williams Sisters won their respective semifinal matches to set up a final showdown.Venus outlasted a classic duel against rival Jelena Jankovic while Serena advanced after Caroline Wozniacki retired. Serena won their last meeting in a round robin match earlier this week. Venus is the defending champion but a win for the undefeated Serena would end the ranking controversy once and for all in a very convincing fashion. That said, I'll probably be rooting for V.

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Doha Watch: Beginning of the End?

Not a single minute did I really believe that an epic three set final would settle the ranking controversy. In my draw analysis, I have said that there was no way for Dinara Safina to make it through her group. But I did not expect her to play just one match, retire and have a back injury threaten her appearance at next year’s Australian Open.

When the Russian ascended to the top of the rankings, many were quick to claim she was undeserving. While she did address the accusation with a “blame-the-computers-not me” attitude, it was her brilliant performance in the RG tune ups and a very promising shot at a redeeming first Slam that momentarily silenced the critics. She looked great in her first six matches in Paris. She walked and talked like a champion. The final match against perennial choker Svetlana Kuznetsova seemed merely a formality. But the occasion proved to be too much for Dina. In the end, it was Kuznetsova who received the Coupe Suzanne Lenglen from Steffi Graf.

Dinara surprised everyone by bouncing back to reach the semifinal of Wimbledon. Her lack of faith on the surface, however, showed itself as she got crushed by defending champion Venus Williams. She has not been the same ever since.

With the exception of the title in Portoroz, Safina’s play has since been uninspired. Maybe it was the pressure of being the most maligned top ranked player in history. Maybe it was due to frustration on her own inadequacy. The Russian is surely lacking confidence. To make matter worst, she now, too, has to contend with a bad back. Injury on top of advancing age and threats from returning former Slam champs means it won’t be easy on Safina next season. It may seem a hasty prediction but I won’t be surprised if she follows her brother into retirement next year.

As it is, her legacy in the sport is not looking so shiny.

Her career trajectory is so similar to fellow Slam-less former world number one Jelena Jankovic. They both debuted on Tour with a lot of promise that they have failed to deliver. Both were given second chances with their Slam breakthroughs (JJ- US Open ’06, Dina RG ‘08) and both reached the top of the rankings without winning a Major. Perhaps self-doubt has been deeply ingrained on them during the intervening years. Perhaps, it is the mammoth mental demon that is still hindering them in taking the final steps. Maybe it is what is holding them back once glory is within reach. They never really figured out how to be great nor did they really believe they could be.

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2009 in Review: The Breakthroughs

The second in the Review Series features the five most amazing star-making turns this season.


1. Caroline Wozniacki reaches her first Slam final
Tournament wins including three this year has proven that the Dane has got game but Slam success remains elusive. Entering Flushing Meadows, there were worries that the trend was bound to persist, that too much match play would once again lead to disappointment at NYC. The 19 year old proved the projections wrong as she reached the US Open final. She lost the opportunity of joining the elite group of teenage Major champions but if her run at the Open is any indication, her time would come.

2. Yanina Wickmayer at 20 announces her arrival
The anointed heir to the Henin/Clijsters Belgian legacy lived up to expectations when she surprisingly joined her Slam-winning compatriots as a US Open semifinalist. Taking advantage of the string of upsets on her part of the draw, she joined Kim in the last four. Backing up her Slam breakthrough are two maiden titles in Estoril and Linz this year. Watch out for this young lady next season.

3. Melanie Oudin makes noise at Flushing Meadows
She may be the youngest in the list but her breakthrough may be the most celebrated. Proving that her bragging-right worthy victory against Jankovic at SW19 was not a fluke she reached the quarterfinal at NYC. Her demolition of the Russian Squad (Pavlyuchenkova, Dementieva, Sharapova, Petrova) at the US Open are evoking references to being the Great White Hope for American women’s tennis. Impressively, she achieved all that before her 18th birthday.

4. Victoria Azarenka beats Serena in Miami
Her first Tour title may have taken longer than expected of the former Junior World Champion but when she did win Brisbane she was on a roll. Her entry to the big leagues was ushered in by her routing of eleven-time Major champ Serena Williams in Miami. It seemed sky was the limit on what more she could achieve at that point. Her back to back Slam quarterfinal appearances in Paris and London may seem less impressive than her Dane-archrival’s feat at the Open but the Azarenka-Wozniacki rivalry has just started to simmer.

5. Sabine Lisicki reaches Wimbledon quarters
The relative unknown who dared to upset three-time Slam champ Lindsay Davenport in a Fed Cup match last year gained further ground this season. She won her first title in Charleston, beating no less than the lady on top of this list in the final. Her greatest achievement this season is reaching the Wimbledon quarterfinal, beating newly-crowed Roland Garross champ Kuznetsova along the way. At that time it looked like she may turn the Azarenka-Wozniacki rivalry into a formidable trifecta. Just like the Belarusian, Sabine has been plagued by injury after Wimbledon, though, but her run into the Luxembourg final last week may mean she is back on track.

Honoroble Mentions: Cibulkova and Cirstea in RG
If you bend the rules: Dokic in Melbourne, Stosur in Paris and Li Na at NYC

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