===============
AUSTRALIAN OPEN (Melbourne, Australia; outdoor hard (Rebound Ace); Grand Slam)
=============== http://www.australianopen.com/
Contents
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This is an Anna-filtered subset of my Day 10 round-up...
1. Photos & video
3. Quarter-final report: Sharapova v Chakvetadze
...merged with an Anna-filtered subset of my final round-up:
3. Wooden-Spoon List
7. Jon Wertheim's parting-shots
8. WTA Singles Rankings
The new Section 3 has been renumbered Section 4.
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1. Photos & video (Anna-filtered)
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1.1 Photos
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Anna Chakvetadze:
http://www.wtaworld.com/showthread.php?t=280396&page=2 (pp.2-4)
http://www.australianopen.com/en_AU/players/wtaq416.html
Anna Chakvetadze and Maria Sharapova:
http://news.search.yahoo.com/search/news/?c=news_photos&p=chakvetadze
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/tennis/6293219.stm
http://preview.tinyurl.com/yt5zrx (wtatour.com)
http://www.tennis.info/AusOpen7.html (Quarterfinals - day 2)
Search Getty Images for "chakvetadze"
1.2 Video
---------
BBC Sport's round-up of Wednesday's quarter-finals:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/tennis/6293197.stm
Anna Chakvetadze interview after 3r:
http://preview.tinyurl.com/2nlrrc (Eurosport.co.uk)
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3. Quarter-final report: Sharapova v Chakvetadze (Wednesday 24th January)
------------------------------------------------
Very nice winner, very nice loser:
+ MARIA SHARAPOVA [1,EF] d. ANNA CHAKVETADZE [12,EF], 7-6 (7/5) 7-5
A very similar match to the one against Vera Zvonarëva, but even tougher than that. Straight sets, but it took 2h15m!
Statistically it wasn't a very high-quality match: Maria with a W:UE ratio of 32:41, Anna 14:28. It sounds like Anna had to rely on her retrieval-skills - which are very good because she anticipates so well, and knows how to make her defensive shots awkward for her opponent. And Maria struggles the most against opponents who get a lot of balls back.
And the media don't describe it as a high-quality match either, describing Maria's performance as "lacklustre", "unconvincing", "failed to find any rhythm" and "a slew of errors", while Anna looked "painfully nervous on some easy putaways" [Miles Evans for Reuters].
But, as
www.wtatour.com puts it, Maria "played clutch-tennis at the most critical junctures," as she so often does.
There were a lot of breaks in this match, and while Anna broke Maria twice in each set, those lucky enough to watch the match said that Anna's serve was weak, as though that was a
general weakness. But I know that Anna's serve is usually very good - not a huge serve like Maria's, but she does place it very well and set up a lot of one-two punches. In this match, Anna had a right-shoulder injury.
Anna had her chances: she served for the first set at 5-3, had Maria serving to stay in it again at 5-6, and had two separate mini-break leads in the tiebreak.
In the second set, it was Maria who failed to serve it out at 5-3, and she also had to recover from 5-5 (0/30) before sealing victory.
Anna may have been nervous in her first Grand Slam quarter-final, but to come away with 11 games against the pending world number one, despite a shoulder-injury, is something to be proud of, along with winning her first nine matches of the year!
Wintermute:
>>>
Yeah, not a great match. Anna served a lot better in Moscow than here but I think maybe that was her shoulder. But all those short balls that she didn't put away - I think it was nerves, otherwise she really needs to work on that. For the whole first set she just pushed the ball straight back to Maria instead of taking it in the air into the open court. Smashes weren't good either.
Maria made lots of errors and while she didn't get a lot of rhythm I think this is because Anna was not letting her have any.
<<<
Derek (re. Anna):
>>>
Nerves may have gotten to her, because she definitely was not agressive enough.
She couldn't put away short balls, especially off the forehand side.
<<<
Miles Evans (Reuters):
>>>
Both parents started the match with anxious, uneasy faces as if their daughters were preparing for the opening night of an ambitious school-play.
Chakvetadze's silver-haired father Djambuli grimaced and winced with every error, roared with approval at every winner, and pulled his baseball-cap over his eyes when an easy put-away for his 19-year-old daughter went begging.
Yuri Sharapov, the 19-year-old Maria's combustible father, was even more emotive, punching his fist with delight at each advantage eked out, and shaking his fist in frustration every time the top seed failed to meet expectation.
<<<
The match started at 11:14 AEST, and with no day-session coverage on BBCi, I followed live scores at
www.australianopen.com:
First set
---------
SHARAPOVA _* *__@ @* * 7(7)
CHAKVETAD * * *@ @__*_ 6(5)
Anna serving 0-0: 15/0, 15/15, 30/15, 30/30, 30/40 (BP), 40/40, ad Anna, held.
Well recovered by Anna. Important to get that first game on the board, especially as Maria is such a good frontrunner (although she
has been known to squander 5-0 leads in third sets!).
Maria serving 0-1: 0/40 (3 BPs) -> 40/40, ad Maria, held.
And what a start by Anna! But Maria so good at saving break-points, and generally pegging her opponent back to deuce so that she can win the games in which she was behind.
Anna serving 1-1: 15/0, 15/15, 40/15, 40/30, held.
Maria serving 1-2: 15/0, 15/15, 40/15, held.
Anna serving 2-2: 15/0, 15/15, 40/15, held.
This is intriguingly similar to Maria's first set against Vera Zvonarëva - just as Anna herself is intriguingly similar to Vera: cute, flairsome power, very emotional, and a tremendous fighter.
But Anna is holding her service-games more easily than Vera was doing...
Maria serving 2-3: 0/15, 30/15, 30/30, 30/40 (BP), broken.
First blood to Anna!
Anna serving 4-2: 0/30 -> 30/30, 30/40 (BP), broken.
But Maria, like all great champions, breaks back immediately. Maria is renowned for her terrific serve, but she also has fearsome returns, eating up first
and second serves.
Maria serving 3-4: 15/0, 15/40 (2 BPs), broken.
Well well! Maria and Anna are both reliable holders of serve, so I wasn't expecting
this match to degenerate into a pattern of break-and-counterbreak - although Maria will certainly be hoping that pattern continues for one more game!
Anna serving 5-3: 0/15, 15/15, 15/40 (2 BPs), broken.
It was a lot to ask of Anna to come through that test against as fierce a competitor as Maria.
My loyalty is to Maria at the moment: Anna has shown her that she means business - which is great - but I don't want Maria to lose, because with her proven track-record, she has a much better chance than Anna of winning this title for my Eternal Fanship.
Maria serving 4-5: 30/0 -> 30/30, 40/30, held.
Anna giving Maria a taste of her own medicine there: pegging her back on her service-game. Maria didn't pay for it there, but that can be the kind of thing that gets into your head and makes you nervous in later service-games.
Anna serving 5-5: 30/0, 30/15, 40/15, held.
Maria again serving to stay in the set, but this time the momentum is more in Anna's favour, because this time she
won the game before.
Maria serving 5-6: 30/0, 30/15, 40/15, held.
And now we have what the Maria v Vera match lacked: the Russian Roulette of a tiebreak... Mental strength will be important, but luck plays a greater role as there's no time for Maria to dig in.
6-6 tiebreak: Maria *1/0, *1/1; Anna *2/1, *2/2; Maria *3/2, *3/3; Anna *4/3, *4/4; Maria *5/4, *6/4 (2 SPs), 6/5* (SP #2). Anna netted a shot. Maria won the first set 7-6 (7/5) at 12:14 (60 minutes).
What a curious pattern! Each player then the other getting a mini-break, but unable to consolidate.
Wintermute: "Anna's forehand isn't working too well now. She gifted Sharapova a couple of points by putting some tame forehands into the net during the tiebreaker."
Who should I support in the second set?
* My Passion says Anna, because matches between members of my Eternal Fanship should be three-set thrillers!
* My Reason says Maria, because I don't want her tired for her semi-final tomorrow - nor do I want a tired Anna (she'd have to win in three now) in the semi-finals instead of Maria.
Six-minute delay after the first set - that's about the time it takes for a bathroom-break. But I later learned that Anna took a medical time-out for her right shoulder (the trainer rubbed some anti-inflammatory cream in - I wouldn't mind that job!
).
Second set
----------
SHARAPOVA *@__* *@__*@ 7
CHAKVETAD __@* *__@*__ 5
Maria serving 0-0: 40/0, 40/30, held.
A bit of pegging-back by Anna in that game, but Maria will be looking to step it up after that tough first set.
I hope Anna doesn't have a lapse of concentration, as Vera did in the fourth round after losing the first set. I want Maria to win in straight sets so that she's not tired for the semis, but I want Anna to give a good account of herself in the second set too.
Anna serving 0-1: 0/30 -> 30/30, 30/40 (BP), broken.
A blow across the bows for Anna, going a set and a break down. I can imagine her in tears and chewing wasps at this moment, but she's such a fighter - and on-form - that I wouldn't write her out of this match yet.
Against Vera, there was an air of inevitability about Maria's victory as soon as she went a break up in the second, but Anna has already broken Maria's serve twice, while Vera at the same stage hadn't even had a break-point.
Maria serving 2-0: 15/0, 15/15, 15/40 (2 BPs), broken.
She's a fighter all right!
This match needed that break back, or the atmosphere could have gone very flat, as Maria v Vera did in the second set.
Wintermute: "Anna's making quite a few errors on her forehand and keeps feeling her shoulder - it's really bothering her. But Maria's making tons of errors herself and keeping Anna in this. Atmosphere is a bit flat in the arena, not a pretty match."
cosmoose: "trainer out for Anna again, massaging her right shoulder. This could be the reason for Anna's weak serving."
Anna serving 1-2: 15/0, 15/15, 40/15, held.
cosmoose: "Lack of pace from Anna is driving Maria crazy. Maria has no rhythm on her strokes = zillion UE"
Anna still has a 25% chance of winning this match if we assume that each remaining set is 50/50 - which seems quite reasonable after the first set went to a tiebreak, although Maria
is the mistress of the decisive moments.
Maria serving 2-2: 15/0, 15/15, 30/15, 30/30, 30/40 (BP), 40/40, ad Maria, Deuce #2, ad Maria, Deuce #3, ad Anna (BP #2), Deuce #4, ad Maria, held.
If I wasn't also an Anna-fan, I'd be breathing a huge sigh of relief after Maria saved those break-points! Being broken twice in a row is not what this doctor ordered.
As an Anna-fan, I'm so proud that she's giving the top seed such a tough match. As a Maria-fan, I'm concerned about her rising fatigue-levels because the last thing I want to see is Kim Clijsters in the final.
Maria took a medical time-out for a blisters on her left foot.
Anna serving 2-3: 0/15, 30/15, 30/30, 40/30, 40/40, ad Anna, Deuce #2, ad Maria (BP), Deuce #3, ad Maria (BP #2), Deuce #4, ad Anna, held.
Again, I'm so proud of Anna's resistance there - two break-points saved!
Wintermute: "Anna is lucky to get out of that game. She has made astonishing errors on short balls that she should have easily put away."
A set and *4-2 would have been a very commanding lead for Maria, but 7-6 3-3 is the tightest possible scoreline for this many games played - they're absolutely in the thick of battle!
Maria serving 3-3: 0/30 -> 40/30, held.
Well recovered by Maria! Of course, it's not just
her fatigue-levels I have to worry about if this goes to a third set, but my own - half an hour more, and this will be the third night in a row I've had less than five hours' sleep!
It was around this time that Yuri Sharapov got his daughter a code-violation for coaching. The officials always watch him very closely at Maria's matches these days - especially after the Sharapovs' monkey-see monkey-do antics at the US Open 2006 (the media-reaction to which, IMO, was blown out of all proportion).
Anna serving 3-4: 30/0 -> 30/40 (BP), broken.
You have to feel for Anna there. Looked like she was cruising to an easy hold at 30/0, and suddenly, almost out of nowhere, Maria's serving for the match!
Can she close out this match more smoothly than she did the one against Vera, where from *5-2 she needed two tries at serving for it? She won't have that luxury in this set.
Maria serving 5-3: 15/0, 15/40 (2 BPs), broken.
Well well! This failure of Maria to serve out matches is becoming quite a worry! It happened from 5-0 in the third against Camille Pin in the first round (Maria won 9-7!), again against Vera, and now this.
This is a major lifeline for Anna. Is she tough enough and good enough to make Maria pay the ultimate price? I think she is - the onus is on Maria to save herself, because I don't think Anna's going to roll over for her.
Anna serving 4-5: 15/0, 15/30, 30/30, 30/40 (MP #1), 40/40, ad Anna, Deuce #2, ad Anna, held.
There's a lot of baggage building up for Maria now: a failed attempt at serving out the match, and now a missed match-point. Would be amazing if Anna could turn this match around and win, and the greater part of that amazement is already behind us!
My Passion is beginning to overtake my Reason now. I'm so excited for Anna: if she wins this match - especially from a losing position - it would be such a major landmark in her career, and would make her that much more famous (not that Anna likes a lot of attention, but I as a fan crave more media-coverage).
Maria serving 5-5: 0/30 -> 40/30, held.
Maria steadies the ship after tremendous danger at 0/30, and is once again within one game of victory. She needs to win this in straight sets to conserve her energy for the semi-finals - if it does go to a third set, I might as well support Anna for all the good it would do for Maria to reach the semi-finals with an empty tank.
Anna serving 5-6: 0/30, 15/30, 15/40 (MP #2), 30/40 (MP #3). Anna netted a forehand. Maria won 7-6 (7/5) 7-5 at 13:29 (second set 1h15m, match 2h15m).
That was a very long two-setter! I'm concerned about Maria's fatigue even now, without a day off to recover for the semi-finals. At least it wasn't played in extreme heat - only 20°C in Melbourne right now.
Maria quotes
------------
"Overall I thought I was up and down - a bit scratchy. First set, I'm down a break. The tiebreak was up and down. We broke each other quite a few times. Then when I got a break in the second set, I gave it back to her - let her back in it.
"It was very difficult; I didn't feel like we had a lot of easy rallies. I felt I had to work on every point. When you're a set and a break up, it's still tough - I'm glad I got through.
"But I was just very competitive. Against a girl like that, who gets a lot of balls back, it's just a matter of who can be a little bit smarter, who can get an extra ball back, who is a little tougher. I thought I did the job really well today.
"I still feel like there's more room for improvement. But against her, she's not a player that's going to make you feel great about your game, either. I feel like she doesn't give you much rhythm.
"Coming out with a win against her - someone who's playing well, someone who beat Schnyder 4 and 1, someone who's playing with a lot of confidence - if you can beat them in straight sets, it definitely gives you a lot of confidence."
[Re. the problems with holding serve]
"It was strange. I warmed up indoors. I came out. It's always pretty gusty on that court. The wind just blows one way. I got broken most of the time from that side because my serves were going long.
"On the other side, I didn't feel like I was getting enough pace on the serve. I'm not sure if I just didn't adjust quickly. It just took me a long time. Then when you start thinking, it's like a little snowball.
"Yeah, uhm, you know, didn't serve as well as I did my previous round. But it's tough to get a lot of easy points from her. She gets a lot of balls back, and she makes you work even if you do hit a pretty big first serve.
"I could have served a little bit better if I didn't give her too many looks on my second serve. When you give your opponent those chances - even when you break them - they feel they can break back, because you're not completely confident in your service-games."
[Re. Anna]
"Sometimes I feel like I don't know if she knows what she's doing! I feel like she tricks herself into her own game. She definitely has a lot of variety. If she wants to step in, she has a lot of power behind her strokes."
[Re. their fathers]
"I mean it's normal, I've been with my dad every single day. I'm sure Anna has as well. They both want you to win; they're both very excited over the opportunities you have."
[Re. the code-violation for coaching]
"I asked the umpire if it was in between those points. I didn't see anything - I didn't even look at him [Yuri]."
Anna quotes
-----------
"Maria won today; she played better than me. She is stronger. I guess she played very well. She's a great fighter. I think she deserved this win. I can just wish her good luck in semis.
"I think I need to improve to be more aggressive on important points especially because, yes, she was a little bit more aggressive than me. Definitely I will work on it. But, you know, it's tough to be aggressive because Maria, she's hitting the ball so hard! Especially in the warm-up, I thought, 'She will kill me!' <laughing>
"I couldn't put one ball on court, because she played one ball on me, and the other ball like somewhere. I couldn't, you know, get where is the ball going, she was hitting so hard.
"It's tough to play aggressively against these kinds of players because
they play aggressive, and you should mix your game a little bit more. But, on important balls, you should be more aggressive.
"My game-plan was to move her. If I would play all balls to her, it will be very difficult. I was running well today. But my hands and my arms was little bit sore and stiff. You know, especially those easy shots, I couldn't put it where I wanted. That was the problem, especially important points.
"I think she won all the important balls. I didn't use my opportunities in the first as well as second set, because it was like two or three games Love/30 on her serve. I just didn't use them. That's why I lost.
"It was a close match, but Maria won. I think she played better than me today and she deserves it, definitely.
"I wasn't nervous at all - not at all. Maybe on the tiebreak, because I was up like 5-3 and I had so many opportunities. I just didn't use it. That's, you know, a little bit strange because on the tiebreak, so many points are lost so easy balls. I don't think it's because nerves. I just need to be more aggressive on the important points."
[Re. her right-shoulder strain]
"It was tight in the morning. I had some treatment on it. During the match I felt pain, strain from the backside. I definitely should call the trainer earlier - not after first set. I think I should call it before I'm serve on that game at 5-4. Maybe it would help me. I got some anti-inflammatories, and pain gone in second set after few games. But maybe Maria's hitting so hard, my shoulder was getting tighter.
"It's amazing, because something is happening when I'm playing important matches. Like against Hingis in Montréal I had injury, again, my right hand. Here, as well. I should do something to myself. Should stay healthy, you know, to beat these kind of players.
"I mean, it was my tenth match in a row. I felt tired. I just need to stay healthy, and maybe not play tournament before a Grand Slam."
[Re. the first time she ever saw Maria]
"I just remember her dress, that's it. It was a pink dress. I just remember the colour actually."
That would be the US Open 2003 then.
Anna quotes before the match
----------------------------
[Re. comparisons with Martina Hingis]
"Martina is a great player - a former number one - and it's a compliment that they say that, but I think I hit the ball little harder than Martina.
"My groundstrokes are okay, and when I feel my return, I'm really okay. I'm trying to play smart, but I don't always do it.
"After I beat Petrova in San Diego, I started to believe I can beat top players. Then I started playing better and better at every tournament. I didn't play well against Golovin at the US Open, but she played great. But I already believed by then that when I got on court, that I could win. It's all confidence.
"I'm concentrating more now, not losing easy points.
"I am pretty hard on myself. That's how I'm thinking. I don't want to talk like some of the players: they like to say, 'I will win a Grand Slam.' All the players want to win a Grand Slam. I just play.
"I'm happy to play in second week. It's different, because the pressure is on. I'm just trying to stay calm because when I don't - when I'm excited - I can't play tennis. I'm still working on that. I start to think more about the next point, how to beat my opponent and not get frustrated after the point I lost. Now I have more confidence, and I know how should I play. If I use my game-plan right, then I can win."
[Re. Djambuli]
"He's not like my coach - he's just my dad. He helps a little, but I'm trying to think by myself about my game."
Barbara Schett about Anna
-------------------------
"She's a little bit in the shadow of the others - Sharapova, Petrova, Myskina, Kuznetsova - and that probably suits her. The attention is not that big on her, and she can just quietly slip through the draw.
"When I played against her [US Open 2004], her serve was not good, but now it's a lot better. She's a pretty consistent player out there now."
Tracy Austin about Anna
-----------------------
"It's the way that she uses the court, the way she is always balanced. She doesn't really look rushed.
"Some people seem to put a lot of effort into everything they do. Someone like Janković, you feel like she is working so hard every point, digging and grinding. Chakvetadze, she just seems to kind of be there."
A telling snapshot
------------------
From
The Age - full article at
http://www.theage.com.au/news/tennis/chakvetadze-emerges-from-russian-wannabes/2007/01/22/1169330831807.html
>>>
Chakvetadze reads the game beautifully, as if she's already watched it on TV and knows every line in the script.
Schnyder jumped out to a 4-1 lead, at which point Chakvetadze said she found some rhythm against the Swiss' heavily spun balls.
Schnyder had been to the last eight here in each of the previous three years, but her body-language soon smacked of resignation, and the realisation that she was up against a player who was already her equal, perhaps better.
She won just one more game for the match, becoming visibly distressed by the precision of Chakvetadze's anticipation, as if she were tapping into her thoughts.
Schnyder turning to her entourage, arms outstretched and asking, "What can I do?" was a telling snapshot.
<<<
It's so great to see that the media are really starting to analyse Anna now, and confirming the observations that I have already seen for myself. I'm so proud to have known her before she was really famous.
--------------------
4. Wooden-Spoon List
--------------------
http://geocities.com/andrewbroad/tennis/wooden_spoon/
1. Serena Williams
2. MARIA SHARAPOVA (1)
3. NICOLE VAIDISOVA (10)
4. KIM CLIJSTERS (4)
5. SHAHAR PEER (16)
6. ANNA CHAKVETADZE (12)
7. Lucie Safarova
8. MARTINA HINGIS (6)
9. JELENA JANKOVIC (11)
10. VERA ZVONAREVA (22)
11. ELENA DEMENTIEVA (7)
12. DANIELA HANTUCHOVA (15)
13. SVETLANA KUZNETSOVA (3)
14. PATTY SCHNYDER (8)
15. AMELIE MAURESMO (2)
16. LI,NA (19)
17. NADIA PETROVA (5)
18. TATHIANA GARBIN (30)
19. KATARINA SREBOTNIK (21)
20. ALYONA BONDARENKO (29)
21. TATIANA GOLOVIN (20)
22. Jelena Kostanic Tosic
23. Anastasiya Yakimova
24. Aiko Nakamura
25. Victoria Azarenka
26. ANA IVANOVIC (13)
27. Maria Elena Camerin
28. Ashley Harkleroad
29. MARIA KIRILENKO (26)
30. Alicia Molik (WC)
31. Eva Birnerova
32. DINARA SAFINA (9)
33. Anne Kremer (Q)
34. Anastassia Rodionova
35. Milagros Sequera
36. Akiko Morigami
37. Meilen Tu
38. Laura Granville
39. FRANCESCA SCHIAVONE (14)
40. Alla Kudryavtseva (Q)
41. Virginia Ruano Pascual
42. Tamira Paszek (Q)
43. Martina Muller
44. Emilie Loit
45. Monique Adamczak (WC)
46. Peng,Shuai
47. Olga Poutchkova
48. Lourdes Dominguez Lino
49. Gisela Dulko
50. Renata Voracova (Q)
51. Iveta Benesova
52. Virginie Razzano
53. Zuzana Ondraskova
54. SAMANTHA STOSUR (24)
55. AI SUGIYAMA (23)
56. Sania Mirza
57. MARION BARTOLI (18)
58. Agnieszka Radwanska
59. Elena Vesnina
60. ANNA-LENA GROENEFELD (17)
61. Julia Vakulenko (Q)
62. Kaia Kanepi
63. Julia Schruff
64. Youlia Fedossova (WC)
65. MARA SANTANGELO (27)
66. Camille Pin
67. Jill Craybas
68. Vasilisa Bardina
69. Romina Oprandi
70. Sybille Bammer
71. Alberta Brianti
72. Nathalie Dechy
73. Aleksandra Wozniak
74. Tzipora Obziler
75. Stephanie Foretz
76. Alize Cornet (Q)
77. Jessica Moore (WC)
78. Madison Brengle (WC)
79. Shenay Perry
80. Elena Bovina
81. Tamarine Tanasugarn
82. Emmanuelle Gagliardi
83. Casey Dellacqua (WC)
84. Stephanie Cohen-Aloro (Q)
85. Anna Smashnova
86. Sophie Ferguson (WC)
87. Laura Pous Tio
88. ELENI DANIILIDOU (32)
89. Yuliana Fedak
90. Vania King
91. Kirsten Flipkens
92. Yuan,Meng
93. Karolina Sprem
94. Chan,Yung-Jan
95. Martina Sucha
96. Ekaterina Bychkova
97. Michaella Krajicek
98. Roberta Vinci
99. Jarmila Gajdosova
100. Tsvetana Pironkova
101. Edina Gallovits
102. Yulia Beygelzimer
103. Sandra Kloesel
104. Emma Laine
105. Melinda Czink
106. Severine Bremond
107. Jorgelina Cravero (Q)
108. Aravane Rezai
109. Iroda Tulyaganova (WC)
110. Andreja Klepac (Q)
111. Marta Domachowska
112. Ahsha Rolle (Q)
113. Sun,Tiantian
114. Meghann Shaughnessy
115. Galina Voskoboeva
116. Nicole Pratt
117. Clarisa Fernandez
118. Klara Zakopalova (Q)
119. Sofia Arvidsson
120. Olga Savchuk
121. Vera Dushevina
122. Varvara Lepchenko
123. ANABEL MEDINA GARRIGUES (25)
124. Sandra Zahlavova (Q)
125. Elena Likhovtseva
126. FLAVIA PENNETTA (28)
127. ZHENG,JIE (31)
128. Catalina Castano
-------------------------------
7. Jon Wertheim's parting-shots (Anna-filtered)
-------------------------------
Jon Wertheim <
SI.com>:
>>>
47. Overheard in the press-room:
Reporter A: "Anna looked good the last time I saw her."
Reporter B: "Chakvetadze or Ivanović?"
Reporter A: "Kournikova. I guess we need to use her last name now."
<<<
Full article at
http://sports.yahoo.com/ten/
-----------------------
8. WTA Singles Rankings (as of 29th January 2007)
-----------------------
1. Maria Sharapova (3918)
2. Justine Henin-Hardenne (3311)
3. Amélie Mauresmo (2900)
4. Kim Clijsters (2577)
5. Svetlana Kuznetsova (2554)
6. Martina Hingis (2139)
7. Nadia Petrova (2057)
8. Elena Dementieva (2013)
9. Nicole Vaidišová (1782)
10. Jelena Janković (1558)
11. Patty Schnyder (1544)
12. Dinara Safina (1527)
13.
Anna Chakvetadze (1470)
14. Serena Williams (1269)
15. Shahar Peer (1209)
16. Ana Ivanović (1160)
17. Li,Na (1106)
18. Daniela Hantuchová (988)
19. Tatiana Golovin (950)
20. Anna-Lena Grönefeld (944)
21. Vera Zvonarëva (932)
It's frustrating to see that Anna's still stuck at #13 despite winning the Hobart title and reaching her first Grand Slam quarter-final.
Only 88 points separate Anna from the top ten, and she has nothing to defend until March!
--
Dr. Andrew Broad
http://geocities.com/andrewbroad/
http://geocities.com/andrewbroad/tennis/
http://geocities.com/andrewbroad/tennis/chakv/
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Anna_Chakvetadze/
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/jeldani/
Australian Open: Andrew's reports (completed)
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