Lord, Lord Mary...

Wow. I don't think anyone expected maam to have this much progress this week. A jump from 48 to 32, giving Clijsters a scare in the first set, I really think she has it going on again. Here she is in this weeks rankings.

29 28 E. DANIILIDOU 1106.75
30 29 L. RAYMOND 1045.00
31 48 M. PIERCE 927.00
32 32 T. TANASUGARN 922.75

She has zero to defend for the rest of the year, and faces Srebotnik in the first round of Zurich, which sholud be a win for her - followed by Clijsters . She's off the next week, but then plays the Bell Challenge in Montreal. If rankings stay like they are now until Montreal, she will be seeded number one, and even for a tier III, it's a pretty weak draw, and Mary has a really good chance of taking it, for her first tournament title since Rolland Garros 2000. That would send her up a bit more in the rankings. With her year end ranking in the top 30, it would be a big accomplishment.

Next year, I believe it will be a "re-break-out" year for maam. Because her ranking will begin in the top 30, she would get direct entry into most tier I's and II's, and get her seeded in grand slams again. She get's to play much more. Playing like she is now, she could do serious damage in those draws. She has almost zero to defend until Wimbledon, and so she can go for everything before that - nothing to lose. If her play keeps up next year, I really think she can make it back to at least the top 15. Any thoughts?