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Singapore, Monterrey, Tianjin Still Finalists To Host WTA Championships In 2014 And Beyond: This Week in Tennis Business with Justin Cohen

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By Justin Cohen @JustinCohen44

Monterrey, Tianjin and Singapore still in the running to host 2014 WTA Championships

According to a tweet from Daniel Kaplan (@dkaplanSBJ) of the SportsBusiness Journal, Monterrey, Mexico, Tianjin, China and Singapore have made the final cut to host the year-end WTA Championships starting in 2014 and beyond. Previously a finalist, Kazan, Russia has been eliminated from the list of possible host cities. WTA Chairman and CEO Stacey Allaster will visit Monterrey this week, Singapore the week of February 25 and Tianjin the week of March 4. The winning host city will be announced in April. “The WTA Championships provide cities around the world a stage on which their cities can be showcased. I am very pleased with the amount of international interest the Championships’ bidding process has received,” Allaster said. “I look forward to meeting with each finalist city and having the opportunity to review, in-person, the details of each bid.” The WTA Championships, which current site is in Istanbul, Turkey, features the Top 8 singles players and Top 8 doubles teams of the season competing for $4.9 million in prize money.

Several attendance records set during 2013 Australian Open

The overall tournament attendance this year at the 2013 Australian Open in Melbourne was 684,457, which fell just short of the 2012 record of 686,006 fans. A new second-Sunday record of 25,061 fans attended the Men’s Championship between World No. 1 Novak Djokovic and No. 3 Andy Murray, witnessing Djokovic become the first man in the Open Era (1969) to win three consecutive titles in Melbourne en route to his fourth overall Australian Open crown. The previous second-Sunday record was set in 2009 with 22,098 fans packing the stands. Day 13 attendance was 20,036, a new second-Saturday record. Day 13 was the day of the Women’s Championship between World No. 1 Victoria Azarenka and China’s Li Na. Also noteworthy, a second-Friday record of 22,103 fans was in attendance, breaking the previous record of 20,230 set in 2012.

Broadcast/Media and Digital/Social Media Facts from 2013 Australian Open

At this year’s Australian Open in Melbourne, more than 720 journalists, photographers and videographers were credentialed as media, including 315 international media from 40 different countries. Asian media were represented as 22 percent of all international media. More than 27 different television networks were on site during the first Grand Slam of the year, broadcasting to more than 200 countries. As of January 26, there were 14.1 million unique visitors to the official Australian Open website. The most popular female players of the event were Sloane Stephens (252,444 player profile views), Maria Sharapova (222,476), Victoria Azarenka (193,901), Li Na (184,469) and Serena Williams (143,909). The most popular male players were Roger Federer (348,799), Novak Djokovic (239,884), Andy Murray (178,949), Jeremy Chardy (116,689) and Bernard Tomic (113,062). This year’s Australian Open Facebook Fan Page grew to 887,158 likes and a weekly reach of 6.1 million, while the official Twitter Page grew to 155,738 followers. The official Australian Open Android App attracted roughly 47 million page views throughout the two-week event.

China contributed the third-highest number of visitors to the 2013 Australian Open official website

According to the Australian Financial Review, China is now contributing the third-highest number of visitors to the Australian Open’s website, displacing the UK. This year, 9.3 percent of online visitors are from China, behind Australia (23 percent) and the US (16.4 percent). It may have a lot to do with Tennis Australia’s decision this year to use Chinese social media sites Sina Weibo (the equivalent of Twitter) and a new online partnership with one of the big four portals in China, sports.qq.com. In the first few days of the tournament, downloads of the Mandarin scoreboard built into this site were just over 1 million. Through the first Sunday of the tournament, China’s Li Na and Serena and Venus Williams were the most tweeted about WTA Tour players.

Mary Heath named Chief Marketing Officer for International Tennis Hall of Fame & Museum

The International Tennis Hall of Fame & has announced the promotion of Mary Heath to the new position of Chief Marketing Officer. Heath has been the Senior Director of Sales & Partnership Marketing for the Hall of Fame since 2008. Heath brings more than 30 years of experience to the new role, having previously held positions as a Vice President of IMG’s Tennis Division and as an ATP World Tour and WTA Tournament Director. For more than a decade, she was the co-owner of Rhode Island based Perennial Events, a firm that handled sponsorship sales and event management for clients including Target, Peter Jacobsen Productions, CVS Caremark, the Preservation Society of Newport County, and Swarovski. ”I am very pleased to announce Mary’s well-deserved promotion to Chief Marketing Officer of the International Tennis Hall of Fame & Museum,” said Mark L. Stenning, CEO. “In recent years, she has successfully developed the Hall of Fame’s relationships with sponsors, resulting in increased awareness for our mission and development of the Hall of Fame’s programs. With Mary’s great talents and expertise, and her dedication to the sport, she is the right person to lead our sales and marketing efforts as we look to grow the organization in the future.” In her new role, Heath will be responsible for sponsorship sales and activation of sponsor programs for the International Tennis Hall of Fame & Museum, as well as the Hall of Fame Tennis Championships, an ATP World Tour tournament, and the annual Hall of Fame Enshrinement Weekend. She will also continue her role as event director for The Legends Ball, the Hall of Fame’s annual gala fundraiser hosted during the US Open in New York City. In addition, Heath will have oversight of all sales, marketing, and public relations initiatives of the organization.

Davis Cup in Jacksonville to hold free, open practice sessions today

The U.S. and Brazil Davis Cup teams will each hold free, open practice sessions for fans to come watch the players practice prior to competing in the World Group First Round at Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Fla. Doors will open for the Wednesday, Jan. 30, 2013 open practice at 3:45 p.m. The event is free and limited to the first 600 fans. Fans will not need a ticket and may enter the arena through the main entrance along A. Philip Randolph Blvd. Free parking is available on a first-come, first-serve basis in Lot Z on the corner of Duval Street and Palmetto Street. The U.S. team will practice from 4-5 p.m., and the Brazil squad from 5-6 p.m. (the USTA cannot guarantee that all players will be in attendance during these practice windows). The U.S. team is comprised of John Isner, Sam Querrey, Bob and Mike Bryan, and Captain Jim Courier. The Brazil team features Thomaz Bellucci, Thiago Alves, Marcelo Melo, Bruno Soares, and Captain Joao Zwetsch. The Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena Box Office will also be open until 4 p.m. for fans who wish to purchase tickets for the Feb. 1-3 matches.

Delray Beach International Tennis Championships adds Monfils, Cilic, Dolgopolov to player field

Former Top 10 player Gael Monfils, current World No. 13 Marin Cilic and No. 23 Alexandr Dolgopolov have committed to play in the 2013 Delray Beach International Tennis Championships, joining early signees John Isner and Kei Nishikori. Monfils will be playing in the South Florida event for the first time in his career. This year’s tournament will be held at the Delray Beach Tennis Center on Atlantic Avenue from February 22-March 3.

World No. 19 Kohlschreiber commits to ATP World Tour 250 event in Kitzbühel

Following his third-round loss at the Australian Open in Melbourne, World No. 19 Philipp Kohlschreiber hit the slopes at the world famous Hahnenkamm Mountain ahead of this weekend’s Alpine Ski World Cup event, to announce that he will compete in the ATP World Tour 250 event in Kitzbühel. The German joins top-ranked Austrian Jurgen Melzer as early commitments. This year’s bet-at-home Cup 2013 will take place from July 28-August 3.

Former Wimbledon Champion Conchita Martinez named Captain for Spain’s Fed Cup team

The Spanish Tennis Federation announced that former Wimbledon Champion Conchita Martinez will take over as Captain of Spain’s Fed Cup team. She is replacing Arantxa Sanchez Vicario, who resigned. The 1994 Wimbledon singles champion will lead the Spanish squad against Ukraine in their first round tie in World Group II from February 9-10 in Alicante.

A BACKHANDED GIFT, A Novel By “A Terrible Splendor” Author Marshall Jon Fisher

A BACKHANDED GIFT is a funny, moving literary work with tennis serving as the backdrop. The book tells the story of Robert Cherney, a 30-year-old aspiring writer, who has left New York City for a job teaching tennis in Munich in the late 1980s. Aside from private lessons, he coaches the Mattathias Club men’s league team, a motley group of neurotics whose eccentricities seem exacerbated by their situation as Jews living in Germany. They have made fortunes in postwar Germany but are hounded daily by the ghosts of the past and wracked with guilt over living so blithely among their parents’ tormentors. One of the players on Robert’s team is his best friend in Munich, Max Altmann, a successful and wealthy young businessman who is also Robert’s employer, landlord, provocateur, and guide to Munich’s nightlife. In addition to trying to figure out his life and not go crazy teaching tennis, Robert is trying to forget Lexa, the focus of years of erotic obsession back in New York. Helping him are Ingrid, a 40-ish Mattathias member and tennis pupil, and Veronique, a Jewish graduate student whom Max tries to set up with Robert. Love, tennis, sex, frustrated artistic ambition, and the dilemma of being a German Jew are all ingredients of this literary delight that is at times serious and comedic. A BACKHANDED GIFT is available now in paperback or as an e-book at Amazon (http://m1e.net/c?96018505-0KdaR93tggfbA%408405759-NrHwpOB8C.CCg and via other major outlets. Fisher’s most well-known previous work is the PEN award-winning “A Terrible Splendor: Three Extraordinary Men, A World Poised for War, and the Greatest Tennis Match Ever Played,” which was published to great acclaim in 2009. “Rich and rewarding,” wrote the Wall Street Journal of “A Terrible Splendror,” while the Washington Post called it “enthralling…a gripping tale.”

Upset In Oz Begs The Question – Does Samantha Stosur Believe She Is a Major Champion

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As Sam Stosur’s 33rd and final unforced error touched down a few inches beyond the baseline, sealing the first upset of the Australian Open, I found myself wandering back to last year’s U.S. Open, where Stosur became the accidental Grand Slam champion of the year.

Oh yes, she played well that day. Maybe even very well, but who can say for sure in a New York final in which, at least in my mind, Serena Williams was about 50 percent fit to go on court.

If Serena had been at 75 percent, Stosur would not have won that match, and she wouldn’t be carrying around the debilitating weight of that victory, either.

Samantha Stosur
Samantha Stosur at the Australian Open

One can’t help but wonder if, despite her first and probably only major title, Stosur really believes she’s a Grand Slam champion. She certainly didn’t look it on Day 2 at Melbourne in a 7-6 (2), 6-3 loss to world No. 59 Sorana Cirstea.

Was Serena indeed playing on a still-unhealed foot that day at the Open? To her credit, she didn’t overtly plead any excuses after that loss. However, I’ve got one remark memorized from that post-match press conference.

“Well, I’m here,” she replied when asked directly about her lingering foot problems. “No athlete is ever 100 percent. I’ll just leave it at that.”

As you no doubt know, Williams didn’t play another match the rest of the season and, despite three months to regain at least a semblance of full fitness, she’s playing the Aussie Open hurt, giving a third-round walkover last week in a work-up event to Melbourne. Draw your own conclusions about Williams’ condition for that Open final.

Stosur, meanwhile, has played since her U.S. Open triumph, and had a couple of pretty good matches at the WTA Championships at the end of the 2011 season. But this embarrassing lost to Cirstea leaves her just 8-8 since she became the Accidental Grand Slam Champion.

I have a certain level of empathy with Stosur, as we both live in Tampa. But that wouldn’t keep me from pegging her as one of the great mysteries of women’s tennis.

No one on the WTA Tour, and I think I’ll include Serena here, looks as physically athletic as Stosur. The triceps . . . the biceps . . . the lean but muscled legs. . . It all looks particularly impressive, too, with a thin coat of Melbourne sweat emphasizing the cut lines.

Then there’s the technically perfect Stosur service motion. If you could win tennis matches on cosmetics alone, she’d be No. 1. The problem is that her game doesn’t often enough match how good she looks on court.

It’s easy to be seduced by Stosur’s fluidity, but while I admire fluidity, I’m less interested in that than in results, and as good as that serve looks, mechanically, she’s no ace machine, and her second serve lacks punch, depth and location.

Moreover, she has a very mediocre backhand that doesn’t complement a strong forehand.

Cirstea played this match the way you’d expect from someone 54 spots below in the rankings – going for the lines and playing risky ball. She had early success and Stosur apparently thought she could just push back defensively until Cirstea’s hot streak ran its course.

That’s not a bad strategy, but it needs to be combined with an appropriate amount of aggression, which Stosur did not bring to court. All the air Sam put under her forehands left Cirstea plenty of time to measure and crunch, and she did.

And Cirstea just fed on Stosur’s second serves.

Sam came in to do press after this match and was, as always, quite cordial. But you can see how she’s trying to grapple with the sort of results which are unacceptable for the No. 5 player.

“Part of it is just that heightened expectation of wanting to do well, all that kind of thing,” she said. “I struggled for a couple weeks after the U.S. Open and than finished well at The Championships, had a month off, then trained for a month.”

To what end, Sam? Where did you leave it? In the locker room?

And so, in front of an admiring Melbourne audience, Stosur is one-and-out for the second time in a row, having lost to Francesca Schiavone, a top-20 player, last week at Sydney.

It’s also the second time in her last three majors that she’s gone in the first round, or did you forget the loss at Wimbledon last year to No. 262 Melinda Czink.

Sam Stosur. It would be easy to excuse all this disappointment by suggesting she’s still getting used to success. But she’s closing in on 28 years of age. There is supposed to be a high level of maturity by this time.

Maybe she is just what the rankings say she is — a very fine player who is a clear cut below the best in the game, Grand Slam title or no Grand Slam title.

Charles Bricker can be reached at nflwriterr@aol.com

Djokovic, Kvitova Are 2011 Champions – Mondays With Bob Greene

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STARS

Lu Jia-Jing of China was a double winner at the USD $10,000 LIC-ITF women’s tennis championships in Pune, India. Ranked 504th in the world, Lu easily beat 316th-ranked Nicha Lertipitaksinchai of Thailand 6-3 6-2 to earn USD $1,568 along with 18 WTA points. Earlier in the tournament, the 22-year-old Jia-Jing teamed with her twin sister Lu Jia-Xiang to capture the doubles title, beating Tamara Curovic of Serbia and Anna Shkudun of Ukraine 6-7 (6) 6-1 10-5 (match tiebreak).

SAYING

“Starting with victory in last year’s Davis Cup Final, this has been an almost perfect 12 months for me. I have always dreamed about becoming the best in the world, and to have won three Grand Slam titles and finished the year as number one is very special.” – Novak Djokovic, on being named ITF World Champion.

“I will cherish this award, which is the cherry on top of a wonderful year in which I managed to win Wimbledon, the WTA Championships, and together with the Czech team the Fed Cup. It was a dream year and something I will never forget.” – Petra Kvitova, who was named the women’s ITF World Champion.

“I was just in the zone today. I was just wondering after the first set if I could really stay with it. I wasn’t expecting to come out like that. I know Robby’s fit and in shape, I just didn’t expect to come out like that and was wondering if I was going to be able to keep it up. Everything seemed to go my way and I was moving well and hitting the ball well all day. I’m back in the Big Show so it feels really good.”

“The things with men’s tennis is that it’s set up a bit differently and I feel it’s more relaxed. They just don’t seem to stress about the small things. That might also be a difference between guys and girls generally. Girls take everything so personally. Everything is more emotional for us.” – Ana Ivanovic, on the difference between the men’s and women’s tennis tours.

“I would really love to go (to the 2012 London Games). I think New Zealand would like to be represented in as many sports as it can at the Olympics, and at the moment I’m the only tennis one out there.” – Marina Erakovic, New Zealand’s highest-ranking tennis player.

SEIZING THE SPOILS

Novak Djokovic and Petra Kvitova were named 2011 International Tennis Federation World Champions for the first time. Djokovic, who won three of the four Grand Slam tournaments, began the year with a 43-match winning record. He won a total of 10 titles in 2011, compiling a 70-6 overall win-loss record. Kvitova became the first Czech player to become a singles world champion since Ivan Lendl was named for the fourth time in 1990. Kvitova won Wimbledon and led the Czech Republic to the Fed Cup title. She won six tournaments during the year, including the year-ending WTA Championships. The ITF World Champions will receive their awards at the annual ITF World Champions Dinner in Paris during the French Open.

STRAIGHT IN

Americans Madison Keys and Jesse Levine captured wild card entries into the main draw of next month’s Australian Open. The two won the 2011 Kia Motors USTA Australian Open Wild Card Playoff in Norcross, Georgia, USA. The 16-year-old Keys bested Gail Brodsky 6-3 6-4 before Levine surprised Robby Ginepri 6-0 6-2 6-1 in a match that lasted just one hour, 24 minutes. Both players had to win three matches in three days to grab the automatic berths in the year’s first Grand Slam tournament.

STEPS ASIDE

Former Wimbledon winner Richard Krajicek has stepped out of the race to become the next chief executive of the ATP. A Dutch newspaper reported that Krajicek took himself out of the running because he believed he didn’t have enough support from ATP board members. Krajicek won Wimbledon in 1996 and is director of the ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament in Rotterdam, Netherlands. He was in the running to take over for American Adam Helfant, who is stepping down this month after serving three years at the helm.

STEEP PAYCHECK

Former Wimbledon champion Goran Ivanisevic won’t be the next captain of Croatia’s Davis Cup team. The Croatian tennis federation said Ivanisevic wanted USD $130,600 for a one-year contract and that was felt to be too expensive. Ivanisevic will lead Croatia against Japan on a one-time, unpaid basis when the two nations meeting in a first-round Davis Cup tie February 10-12. The Croatian squad had been captained by Goran Prpic before he unexpectedly resigned last month. The Croatian tennis federation also announced that their new Fed Cup captain will be former French Open champion Iva Majoli.

SIGNED

Martin Jaite has replaced Tito Vazquez as captain of Argentina’s Davis Cup team. Vazquez’s contract was not renewed after Argentina lost the Davis Cup final to Spain earlier this month. The Argentine Tennis Association said Jaite will be in charge for the next two years with Mariano Zabaleta as vice-captain. Argentina has never won the Davis Cup, but has been runner-up in 1981, 2006, 2008 and 2011.

SPANISH LEADER

After leading Spain to two Davis Cup titles in three years, Albert Costa has stepped down as captain of the champions. The Spanish tennis federation (RFET) announced Costa’s decision to take a new role as overseer of all the country’s national teams. “For the RFET it is a great satisfaction that we can continue working with a person with his great sporting experience,” federation president Jose Luis Escanuela said in a statement. “It is great news for Spanish tennis to know that Costa, after three exceptional years in the Davis Cup, is from now coordinating and working on the strategies of our men’s and women’s national teams.” The 36-year-old Costa, a former French Open champion, will head up a new structure overseeing the captains of the Davis Cup, Fed Cup and 2012 Olympic teams and act as an assessor in other areas of Spanish professional tennis. The federation did not say who will take Costa’s place as Davis Cup captain.

SINGAPORE WINNER

Italy’s Flavia Pennetta captured the inaugural Singapore Women’s Tennis Exhibition tournament by beating Poland’s Agnieszka Radwanska 6-4 7-5. “I’m really happy because I didn’t expect to play that well,” Pennetta said. In an earlier match, Australian Samantha Stosur beat China’s Peng Shuai 2-6 6-4 6-4 for third place. There are plans to put Singapore on the regular WTA schedule, with the first regular tournament being played as early as November 2012 or January 2013.

SINO REVENGE

Avenging her Wimbledon defeat, China’s Li Na beat Germany’s Sabine Lisicki 6-3 7-6 (3) in an exhibition match in Wuhan, China. Lisicki won their Wimbledon meeting on the way to the semifinals of the grass court Grand Slam tournament. This time Li Na won the first five games of the match en route to the victory. Li Na then teamed with Pete Sampras to squeak out a 7-6 (4) one-set victory over Lisicki and Carlos Moya. A large enthusiastic crowd cheered the four players who participated in the Wuhan Tiandi 2011 Li Na and Friends, especially Li, who became the first native of Asia to win a Grand Slam tournament singles title when she captured the French Open. “It’s very important what Li Na did by winning Roland Garros this year,” said Moya, who won Roland Garros in 1998. “She took tennis to another level in China. There were good female players from China before, but they never won a slam. She proved a Chinese player can do that. For sure, now they want to play tennis. If they have a hero that is doing well in tennis, kids don’t only want to be football players, they also want to be tennis players. Tennis is much bigger now than it used to be a few years ago and it is very important to take advantage of that.”

SAYS “I DO”

Pakistan’s Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi has married British citizen Faha Akmal in a ceremony in Lahore, Pakistan. The tennis star wore a white sherwani and red turban, while his bride wore a conventional red ‘lehnga’ dress. Among the wedding guests was Qureshi’s Indian tennis partner Rohan Bopanna. According to the Express Tribune newspaper, Akmal recently earned a masters degree in psychotherapy from the University of Greenwich in the United Kingdom. Akmal’s father, Dr. Muhammad Akmal Makhdum is the son of renowned educationist and former education secretary Prof. Muhammad Ajmal.

SELECTED FOR WILD CARD

Because of her recent play, Casey Dellacqua has been awarded a wild card entry into next month’s Australian Open. After reaching a career-high ranking 39 in 2008, Dellacqua suffered a series of serious shoulder and foot injuries. This year she won 30 consecutive matches and six tournaments in what is considered the sport’s minor leagues. After Dellacqua lost her opening match in the Australian Open wild-card playoffs to rising teenage star Ashleigh Barty, Tennis Australia (TA) officials felt Dellacqua had to enough to earn a wild-card spot in the year’s first Grand Slam tournament. The 26-year-old has also been awarded wild cards for the Australian Open lead-up events in Brisbane and Hobart. “It’s nice to know my summer is set and hopefully I will get a few more wins and gain even more confidence coming into the Australian Open,’” said Dellacqua, who is currently ranked 133rd in the world.

SUPER SERB

Novak Djokovic has been chosen Balkan Athlete of the year. The tennis star won out over Croatian skier Ivica Kostelic and Bulgarian marathon swimmer Petar Stoychev in a poll organized by 11 national news agencies from the region. The world’s top-ranked player, Djokovic won three Grand Slam tournaments this year. He received 91 votes in the poll, while Kostelic earned 61 and Stoychev 40.

SURFING

Ankara:

www.atk.org.tr

Tyumen:

www.tyumentennistour.ru

ITF:

www.itftennis.com

TOURNAMENTS THIS WEEK

(All money in USD)

WOMEN

$50,000 Ankara Cup, Ankara, Turkey, hard

TOURNAMENTS NEXT WEEK

WOMEN

$50,000 Siberia Cup, Tyumen, Russia, hard

Petra Kvitova captures WTA Championships

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STARS

Petra Kvitova beat Victoria Azarenka 7-5 4-6 6-3 to win the TEB BNP Paribas WTA Championships in Istanbul, Turkey

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga beat Juan Martin del Potro 6-7 (5) 6-3 6-4 to win the Erste Bank Open in Vienna, Austria

Marin Cilic beat Janko Tipsarevic 6-3 3-6 6-2 to win the St. Petersburg Open in St. Petersburg, Russia

Kimiko Date-Krumm beat Elena Baltacha 7-6 (3) 6-4 to win the Internationaux Féminins de la Vienne in Poitiers, France

Carlos Moya beat Younes El Aynaoui 6-2 7-6 (6) to win the Chengdu Open in Chengdu, China

Petra Kvitova

DAVIS CUP

Americas Zone Group I relegation round:

Columbia beat Mexico 5-0 at Mexico City, Mexico

SAYING

“When I started this season I didn’t have any goals. I just wanted to improve my game. But first Wimbledon, and now the year-end Championships and getting to number two in the world, it’s just a dream. We both played some of our best here in Istanbul today – it was a final, so why not.” – Petra Kvitova, who won the year-ending singles title in Istanbul, Turkey.

“I gave it my all today. The crowd kept me fighting all the way through – they were amazing today and all week. I have no words to describe it. It’s hard to lose, but I’m glad I lost to such a champion who deserved to win. Petra was amazing today. She really did a great job.” – Victoria Azarenka, after losing to Petra Kvitova in the WTA Championships final.

“It was very special because at the end there was the retirement of Thomas Muster, and Goran Ivanisevic, one of my favorite players, was there. It was a great final and it’s going to stay in my memories.” – Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, after winning in Vienna.

“I’m sad because I lost but it was a good tournament for me. Jo played much better in the important moments and took his opportunities. He’s difficult to play because he’s very fast and has a good forehand.” – Juan Martin del Potro, following his loss to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the title match in Vienna.

“It was a very good match at a high level. I managed to push myself into a higher gear in the last set. I was close in my other finals (this year) and I think I learned a little bit from them. Today, that pushed me, and in the third set I played my best tennis of the season.” – Marin Cilic, after beat Janko Tipsarevic in the St. Petersburg Open final.

“In order to beat Marin you need to play a certain style of game, and for me it was really tough. I gave everything I had in the second set and beginning of the third set. I didn’t manage to make a break and after that, I went completely down.” – Janko Tipsarevic, after losing to Marin Cilic.

“The first part of the season is long forgotten. We’ve worked very hard and have learned a lot about our own character. I think the chemistry now is that we really want to play together, and we’ll do anything to make it work. This is a fantastic moment for us right now.” – Liezel Huber, after teaming with Lisa Raymond to win the WTA Championships doubles.

“Istanbul is an absolutely beautiful city. But I think the highlight was the fact that we were able to pack this place for every session, singles and doubles. The crowds have been phenomenal… I have never played a doubles match in front of that many people – you know, even at a Slam, even in a final. That was awesome. I think that they love their tennis here. They’re proving that.” – Lisa Raymond.

“It feels good to get back in the winners’ circle. We haven’t won a title since Wimbledon. Hopefully it bodes well for the rest of the indoor season and hopefully we continue playing well and build toward London.” – Mike Bryan, who teamed with brother Bob to win the Erste Bank Open doubles.
“We’re pretty healthy physically and mentally, and we’re obviously happy to beat two legends out there today. Whenever you beat Danny and Max, you have to play your best tennis.” – Bob Bryan, who with his brother Mike beat Max Mirnyi and Daniel Nestor in the doubles final.

“It’s a fantastic day for us. We’ve played Alexander and Mikhail about four times in the past 12 months, and all were very close matches, so we knew they would play very well and bring a high level. They’re good tennis players so it was a tough match and we’re happy to get this one.” – Ross Hutchins, who teamed Colin Fleming to win the St. Petersburg Open doubles title.

STRIKE UP THE BAND

Petra Kvitova showed her Wimbledon title wasn’t a fluke. The Czech left-hander captured the TEB BNP Paribas WTA Championships and moved up to number two in the world rankings. Kvitova beat Victoria Azarenka 7-5 4-6 6-3 to become just the third player to make their debut in the season-ending Championships and leave with the title. Serena Williams did it in 2001 and Maria Sharapova three years later. Kvitova was ranked 34th in the world to begin the year, but has won six titles in 2011, tying top-ranked Caroline Wozniacki as the leader. “It’s unbelievable to play here,” Kvitova said of playing in Istanbul, Turkey. “I didn’t expect that I would be sitting here as a champion. It’s really a big step for me.” She also became the third Czech to win the season finale. Jana Novotna was victorious in 1997, while Martina Navratilova won the event in 1978-79 prior to becoming an American citizen. Kvitova earned USD $1.75 million for posting her fourth straight victory over Azarenka. The 22-year-old Azarenka collected USD $775,000 and raised her ranking to third in the world.

STILL ON TOP

Caroline Wozniacki finished the season as the WTA’s top-ranked player for the second straight year. The Dane, who won six tournaments in 2011, held the number one spot for the entire year with the exception of one week when Belgium’s Kim Clijsters took over. Wozniacki is the ninth longest-serving world number one and joins Chris Evert, Martina Navratilova, Steffi Graf, Monica Seles, Lindsay Davenport, Justine Henin and Martina Hingis as the only WTA players to be ranked number one in the world for consecutive seasons. “It’s amazing for me to finish the year as world number one once more,” Wozniacki said. “Only very few players have finished a year as number one, and to do it two years in a row is very special. I’m only in the beginning of my career, and to have achieved so much already, it’s a dream come true.”

Liezel Huber will finish the year ranked world number one in doubles for the fourth time in her career. Through the week of January 2, 2012, Huber will have extended her total number of weeks as doubles number one to at least 164, passing former partner Cara Black to move into second place on the all-time list behind Martina Navratilova’s 237 weeks.

Katarina Srebotnik and Kveta Peschke will conclude the season as the WTA’s number one doubles team. The pair won six doubles titles together this year, including Wimbledon for their first Grand Slam tournament title.

STILL IN THE HUNT

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga moved closer to clinching a berth in the season-ending Barclays ATP World Tour Finals by rallying to win the Erste Bank Open, defeating Juan Martin del Potro 6-7 (5) 6-3 6-4 in the final at Vienna, Austria. With his latest title, Tsonga moves past Mardy Fish to the seventh spot on the points list. The top eight qualify for the ATP World Tour Finals in London next month. It was Frenchman’s first victory over del Potro in four career meetings. It was the 12th ATP final this season that featured the top two seeds, but only the fifth time the number one seed actually won the title.

SEEKING FED CUP TITLE

Petra Kvitova, fresh off her victory in the year-ending WTA Championships, will lead the Czech Republic when it takes on Russia in the 2011 Fed Cup by BNP Paribas World Group Final on November 5-6. The competition will be held at Olympic Stadium in Moscow. Joining Kvitova will be Lucie Safarova, Lucie Hradecka and Kveta Peschke. The Russian team is composed of Vera Zvonareva, Svetlana Kuznetsova, Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova and Maria Kirilenko.

SWINGING IN BALI

The WTA season will wrap up this week with the Commonwealth Bank Tournament of Champions in Bali, Indonesia. The six who qualified for the season-ending event include Marion Bartoli of France, Sabine Lisicki of Germany, Roberta Vinci of Italy, Daniela Hantuchova of Slovakia, Anabel Medina Garrigues of Spain and Nadia Petrova of Russia. Defending champion Ana Ivanovic of Serbia and China’s Peng Shuai have been awarded wild cards, rounding out the field. Lisicki is also returning to Bali after playing in 2009. Making their T of C debuts are Vinci, Peng and Petrova.

SHANGHAI BOUND

Since she had already been eliminated from the season-ending WTA Championships in Istanbul, Turkey, top-ranked Caroline Wozniacki flew to Shanghai, China, to watch her boyfriend, golfer Rory McIlroy, win the Shanghai Masters. The playoff victory gave McIlroy the biggest payday of his career, a check for USD $2 million.

SAYS HE’S RETURNING

American John Isner will return to defend his title at the Campbell’s Hall of Fame Tennis Championships next year. The tournament will be played July 9-15 on the historic grass courts of International Tennis Hall of Fame in Newport, Rhode Island, USA. “Newport was a great week for me this year and I look forward to playing there again next summer,” said Isner. “It’s a great tournament, good fans and it’s a lot of fun to play in a venue with such an important history as the Hall of Fame.” This year, Isner beat Olivier Rochus of Belgium in the final, capturing the title without dropping a set. Isner is best known for winning an epic record-setting match at Wimbledon in 2010, defeating Frenchman Nicolas Mahut in a contest that last 11 hours, 5 minutes and set numerous records, including 113 aces by the winner.

SENIOR CHAMPION

By winning the Chengdu Open, Carlos Moya took over the top spot in the ATP Champions Tour rankings. The Spaniard defeated Younes El Aynaoui in the final 6-2 7-6 (6). Earlier in the Chengdu, China, tournament, Moya knocked off Pete Sampras and Marat Safin. “It’s obviously a good feeling to be number one,” Moya said. “It’s my first year, so having the chance to be number one is great for me. Just being out there and playing against all these familiar faces is such a great feeling in itself.” Sampras captured third place by besting Thomas Enqvist 6-4 6-4. Safin made his debut on the senior circuit.

SWITCH

Alex Bogomolov Jr. is America’s fourth-highest ranked ATP player. But he wants to play Davis Cup for Russia in February. The 28-year-old Bogomolov Jr. was born in Moscow but his family moved to Mexico when he was 9 years old, and to the United States in 1992. He’s currently is 36th in the ATP world rankings, behind fellow Americans Mardy Fish, Andy Roddick and John Isner. Bogomolov Jr., who has never represented the United States in Davis Cup, is the son of a renowned tennis coach in the former Soviet Union who coached Yevgeny Kafelnikov and Andrei Medvedev, among others. “It was my dream (to play for Russia) and I want to finish my career playing for Russia,” said Bogomolov Jr., who has dual citizenship in the United States and Russia. Austria and Russia meet in the first round of Davis Cup on February 10-12.

SAYONARA – FINALLY

Thomas Muster says he is retiring from the men’s tennis tour. Maybe. The 44-year-old Muster lost in straight sets to a teen-age compatriot at the Erste Bank Open in Vienna, Austria. “I never had a chance to say goodbye,” Muster told the crowd after his match. “This is such a great goodbye. This is definitely my last appearance on the ATP. It was my last match, it was very exciting to end it in Vienna and very emotional. It was such a send-off. I didn’t know whether to cry or play.” The Austrian never officially retired, but merely stopped playing for 11 years. He then made a return in September 2010, playing lower-level Challenger tournaments and winning just two of 25 matches over 14 months. He was the oldest player to compete on the circuit since 43-year-old Jimmy Connors in 1996.

SAFIN THE POLITICIAN

Former tennis star Marat Safin is running for parliament in Russia. “I am an intelligent guy and I have a lot to bring and a lot of ideas about things and what to do,” Safin said. “I am very committed to it.” The former world number one is up for election to the State Duma on December 4 and could join other Russian sports stars, including gold medalist Svetlana Khorkina, in the lower house of parliament. The 31-year-old Safin retired from the men’s tour in 2009 after winning two Grand Slam tournament titles and reaching the world number one ranking in 2000. In the last couple years Safin has been working for the Russian tennis federation and has become a member of the Russian Olympic committee. He also began playing last week on the ATP Champions Tour at the Chengdu Open in Chengdu, China. Safin participated in the primaries in the Nyzhny Novgorod region, and now awaits the December vote to take one of the 450 seats in the Duma. “I could be the best looking guy in the Duma,” Safin joked. “But that’s only because all the other guys are over 60.”

SUPER GIFT

Gaming pioneer Kirk Kerkorian has given a record USD $18 million to support the Andre Agassi College Preparatory Academy for at-risk students in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA. Agassi said the donation will “outlive all of us” as the funds guarantee the charter school’s future in perpetuity. “If it wasn’t for Mr. Kerkorian’s kindness to my family long before I ever hit a tennis ball, I wouldn’t be here today,” Agassi told the Las Vegas Review-Journal newspaper. “He hasn’t just helped my family, but millions of people in the state of Nevada. For him to now give a gift that assures a future for Agassi Prep is a luxury I’m not sure I ever imagined.” A spokesman said the 16th annual benefit held at a Las Vegas hotel raised an estimated USD $26.1 million, including Kerkorian’s donation. The star-studded benefit concert is the main fundraiser for Agassi’s foundation. According to its website, the Andre Agassi College Preparatory Academy provides a tuition-free high standard of education through extended school days, small class sizes and advanced technology. The kindergarten through 12th grade school is home to 1,045 students, said Agassi, who added there is a lengthy waiting list. The tennis Hall of Famer said the endowment pays for the school’s mortgage, daily operations and the roughly USD $5,000 per pupil spending beyond annual state funding.

SHOWING OFF STARS

Tennis Channel will continue to show women’s tennis through 2016. The new six-year deal with the WTA keeps at least a dozen Premier-level tournaments on the cable network each season, as well as the season-ending WTA Championships. Tennis Channel has televised WTA tennis since 2004. Under the new agreement, the network will continue to hold US television rights to at least 12 Premier-level tournaments from Australia, Asia, Europe and the Middle East. Besides the TEB BNP Paribas WTA Championships, which is played in Istanbul, Turkey, other events that will televised in 2012 will be played in Brisbane and Sydney, Australia; Paris, France; Dubai, United Arab Emirates; Doha, Qatar; Stuttgart, Germany; Rome, Italy; Madrid, Spain; Brussels, Belgium; Eastbourne, England; Tokyo, Japan; Beijing, China, and Moscow, Russia.


SURPRISE

Viewers in Great Britain will be watching the French Open on ITV instead of the BBC. Under a three-year deal, ITV1 will air the men’s and women’s finals from Roland Garros as well as live coverage of two other matches during the two-week tournament. Digital channel ITV4 and ITV.com will show six hours of play each day as well as a highlight show. “It’s the first time that a Grand Slam has been shown live on ITV and with around six hours of coverage over each day of the tournament we’ll be offering viewers more free-to-air coverage of the tournament than ever before,” said Niall Sloane, ITV’s controller of sport. BBC will continue to broadcast Wimbledon until at least 2017.

SIGNED

Christine Frost has been appointed to the new position of chief development officer at the International Tennis Hall of Fame & Museum in Newport, Rhode Island, USA. She will be responsible for developing donor relationships, leading targeted fundraising campaigns, and advancing the organization’s annual fund, planned giving and membership programs. Frost has more than 20 years of experience in fundraising, strategic planning and marketing. For the past 11 years she has been with Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island, most recently serving as associate director, regional development.

STAYING ON

Stacey Allaster has had her contract as chairman and CEO of the WTA extended for an additional five years through 2017. The WTA Board of Directors announced the move during its meeting in Istanbul, Turkey. Since becoming head of the WTA in July 2009, Allaster has led women’s tennis to global expansion, record revenue gains, business success, prize money increases and greater broadcast exposure. With the extension, Allaster will become the second-longest serving CEO in the WTA’s history. “Stacey understands players incredibly well, most importantly when it comes to player health and player marketing,” said Venus Williams, chairman of the Player’s Council. “She has worked effectively with players by working in collaboration with us and our tournament partners to advance our collective interests and those of our fans and partners.”

SHARED PERFORMANCE

Istanbul:

Liezel Huber and Lisa Raymond beat Kveta Peschke and Katarina Srebotnik 6-4 6-4

Poitiers:

Alize Cornet and Virginie Razzano beat Maria Kondratieva and Sophie Lefevre 6-3 6-2

St. Petersburg:

Colin Fleming and Ross Hutchins beat Mikhail Elgin and Alexander Kudryavtsev 6-3 6-7 (5) 10-8 (match tiebreak)

Vienna:

Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan beat Max Mirnyi and Daniel Nestor 7-6 (10) 6-3

SURFING

Valencia:


www.valenciaopen500.com/

Basel:


www.swissindoorsbasel.ch/

Bali:


www.commbanktennis.com/

Taipei:


www.taipeiarena.com.tw/

Fed Cup:


www.fedcup.com

Paris:


http://www.fft.fr/bnp-paribas-masters-0

Phoenix:


www.goldwaterwomensclassic.org

Geneva:


http://www.atpgeneva.com/

Ortisei:


http://www.atpvalgardena.it/

TOURNAMENTS THIS WEEK

(All money in USD)

MEN

$1,872,387 Valencia Open 500, Valencia, Spain, hard

$1,690,254 Swiss Indoors Basel, Basel, Switzerland, hard

WOMEN

$600,000 Commonwealth Bank Tournament of Champions, Bali, Indonesia, hard

$100,000 OEC Taipei Ladies Open, Taipei, Taiwan, hard

FED CUP

Championship

Russia vs. Czech Republic at Moscow, Russia, hard

TOURNAMENTS NEXT WEEK

MEN

$3,155,000 BNP Paribas Paris Masters, Paris, France, hard

$90,600 Sparkasse ATP Challenger, Ortisei, Italy, carpet

$90,600 Geneva ATP Challenger, Geneva, Switzerland, hard

$75,000 Copa Topper, Buenos Aires, Argentina, clay

WOMEN

$75,000 Goldwater Women’s Tennis Classic, Phoenix, Arizona, USA

Bethanie Mattek-Sands becomes first female spokesperson for eyeBlack.com: This Week in Tennis Business with Justin Cohen

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Mattek-Sands signs deal with Eyeblack.com

World No. 31 Bethanie Mattek-Sands, who is known to wear innovative outfits on and off the court, has signed with Eyeblack.com, which is a company that produces glare protective adhesive strips that are used by athletes around the world to enhance their performance, and by fans to express their support of a specific team or player. Mattek-Sands, who will be the company’s first female spokesperson, noticed a need to use the Eyeblack.com product after unsuccessfully using different pairs of sunglasses at the Australian Open in Melbourne in January. “Eye black is a perfect fit for tennis,” said Peter Beveridge, Founder of Eyeblack.com. “It’s mostly played outdoors and the ball is in the air, so this is a totally new market for us.” Eyeblack.com plans to use Mattek-Sands on retail packaging. “As a person and a player, I have been known to push the limits of tennis both with my fashion and my play, and now I think I have found a great combination of both, so I’m very excited to partner with EyeBlack.com,” said Mattek-Sands. “EyeBlack.com not only offers a great product to help me see better out on the court, but allows me to be creative and have fun with what I wear.” Financial terms of the agreements were not disclosed.

Bethanie Mattek-Sands

Rolex becomes official timekeeper of year-end TEB BNP Paribas WTA Championships

It was announced on Friday that Rolex has been named the official timekeeper of the year-end TEB BNP Paribas WTA Championships for the next six years. Rolex will receive global exposure across all WTA marketing platforms including broadcast, digital and on-court branding. The watch-maker will also be the official sponsor of the Hawkeye electronic line-calling system at the year-end championships. “Rolex is a world-class global partner of professional tennis, and will make a terrific addition to our year-end finale in Istanbul,” said Stacey Allaster, Chairman and CEO of the WTA. “Rolex’s brand values include prestige, accuracy and the pursuit of excellence and I can’t think of a better brand for the WTA to align with based on our shared values. Having one of the world’s most prestigious brands as the official timekeeper shows the business alignment of women’s tennis as a global marketing platform.” Rolex’s deal marks the sixth major deal signed by the WTA Tour since the beginning of 2010.

Italian coffee brand Lavazza teams up with Wimbledon in three-year commercial partnership

Lavazza, an Italian coffee brand, has agreed to a three-year commercial partnership deal with The Championships at Wimbledon to supply their products at 60 service points at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club (AELTC), including 13 public cafes and restaurants, all corporate hospitality areas and the media room. Lavazza plans to spread the word of their affiliation with Wimbledon through a European-wide print, outdoor and online media advertising campaign. The organization will also launch a new website dedicated to the partnership. “We expect to serve well over one million coffees during this year’s tournament and will use this opportunity to demonstrate Lavazza’s strength in the away-from-home market,” said Luca Piccini, Lavazza UK Managing Director. “As well as being Italy’s favorite coffee, Lavazza is also a firm favorite among Londoners, where it is brand leader with a 14% share of the roasted coffee market in the region. The sampling program will give even more people the opportunity to try Lavazza and to be convinced they want to reproduce the experience at home.”

Dunlop signs Michael Russell

Dunlop recently announced the sponsorship signing of American Michael Russell, who is currently ranked No. 90. Russell, who was most recently seen playing Rafael Nadal on Centre Court at Wimbledon on Monday, will play with a Dunlop Biomimetic 500 racquet. “Mike came to us looking for more power than he was getting with his old rackets, but he certainly wasn’t willing to sacrifice control,” said Hunter Hines, Dunlop’s Tour Level Racket Specialist. “We tested several different options, and ultimately that led us to the Biomimetic 500 which fit his game perfectly.” A 14-year ATP World Tour veteran, Russell reached the second round at the Australian Open in January and the quarterfinals in Memphis in February. “I tested quite a few frames from all the manufacturers, and these are the best rackets I’ve ever used,” said Russell. “They allow me to do many more things with the ball that I could before.”

Mercury Insurance Open ballperson tryouts set for Sunday, June 26 at LaCosta Resort and Spa

The Mercury Insurance Open presented by Tri-City Medical Center will hold an on-court tryout for prospective ballpersons on Sunday, June 26 at 1 p.m. at the LaCosta Resort and Spa in Carlsbad, Calif. “It is a very unique and positive experience to be a ballperson at a Premier Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) event like the Mercury Insurance Open,” said Raquel Giscafre, Mercury Insurance Open Tournament Director. “No one else on the court has a better view of the action than the ballpersons. You really get to experience and enjoy a different perspective of women’s professional tennis.” The session is open to experienced tennis players ten years old and older. Those selected to serve as ballpersons will be asked to work qualifying matches scheduled for Saturday, July 30 and Sunday, July 31, plus two additional days during the main draw from August 1-7. For more information regarding the ballperson tryout, please contact Ron Marquez at sdballkids@gmail.com. WTA players already committed to playing in this year’s tournament include Kim Clijsters, Ana Ivanovic, Svetlana Kuznetsova, Agnieszka Radwanska, Daniela Hantuchova, Flavia Pennetta, Maria Kirilenko, Julia Goerges and Yanina Wickmayer.

Telvent to provide weather forecasts for ATP World Tour tournaments

ATP World Tour officials announced on Tuesday that Telvent, the leading real-time IT solutions and information provider for a sustainable world, will provide its highly accurate weather forecasts and patented lightning alerting capabilities to protect players and fans from severe weather at all outdoor tournaments on tour. The ATP has chosen Telvent’s MxVision WeatherSentry Online® global edition technology to provide online displays of current and forecasted weather conditions, patented and location-specific alerts, real-time lightning detection and display, and mobile accessibility that allows ATP staff to receive the alerts, radar, and forecasts on their mobile phones. In addition, the ATP will have the ability to access custom daily forecasts for any of its events worldwide and will have access to a Telvent professional meteorologist 24 hours a day. The ATP will also have the ability to create watch and warning alerts for lightning within a particular radius of a tournament and will receive an alert when lightning has been detected within the set radius. This will allow the ATP ample time to suspend tournament play and ensure that players and fans are in a safe location before the lightning is upon them. There are a total of 62 tournaments in 32 countries across six continents each year on the ATP World Tour.

Date-Krumm becomes third oldest winner at Wimbledon

Fifteen years after losing to Steffi Graf in the Wimbledon semifinals in 1996, and three years out of a 12-year retirement, 40-year-old Kimiko Date-Krumm of Japan defeated British wild card Katie O’Brien 6-0, 7-5 on Monday to become the third oldest player to win a singles match at the All England Club. Martina Navratilova holds the record as the oldest singles match winner, when she won at the age of 47 years old. Next up for the tennis veteran is five-time champion and 31-year-old American Venus Williams.

Querrey undergoes surgery in New York, out for a couple months

World No. 40 Sam Querrey underwent surgery for bone spurs in his right elbow in New York and will likely be out for a couple months, according to his doubles partner John Isner. Querrey, who had to withdraw from Wimbledon, injured his elbow at the AEGON Championships at Queen’s Club in London two weeks ago.

British teenager Robson splits with coach Mouratoglou

British teenager Laura Robson, 17, has parted ways with coach Patrick Mouratoglou and will not search for a new coach until after she competes at Wimbledon. According to a recent Twitter post by Judy Murray, Andy’s mother, she is currently working with the adidas Player Development program, specifically Sven Groeneveld, who also helps Andy and WTA world No. 1 Caroline Wozniacki.

Sybille Bammer retires from tennis following loss at Wimbledon

According to her coach, Juergen Waber, Austrian Sybille Bammer has announced her retirement from the sport of tennis following her loss on Monday in the first round at Wimbledon to Monica Niculescu of Romania. “Sybille Bammer played today her last match at an international tournament and she retired from professional tennis after a successful career,” said Waber. The 31-year-old, who reached a career-high ranking of No. 19 in 2007, won two career WTA Tour singles titles. Her best showing at a Grand Slam in singles was at the 2008 US Open where she beat No. 12 seed Marion Bartoli in the fourth round before losing to No. 2 seed Jelena Jankovic in the quarterfinals. Bammer, who has a 9-year-old daughter, earned victories during her career over Serena Williams, Svetlana Kuznetsova, Elena Dementieva, Nadia Petrova and Agnieszka Radwanska.

Li Na’s mother didn’t watch her win French Open

Defending French Open champion Li Na told Time that her mother didn’t watch her become the first Chinese player to win a Grand Slam singles title just a couple weeks ago. “I’ve asked her many times. She always answers, “’No, I have my life, and I don’t want to change,’ and also she really doesn’t enjoy the sport,” said Li. “So even after the French Open, I didn’t call her. I sent a text message saying, ‘I’m good. Now in Paris, on my way back to Munich.’ And she said, ‘I heard you won a tournament.’

Caroline Wozniacki’s ’09 Doha Cramping Overlooked in run to the top

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Conspicuously absent from the wealth of copy written from the recent WTA Championships in Doha was Caroline Wozniacki’s brave performance in fighting off severe cramping to defeat Vera Zvonareva at the same tournament a year ago.

I bring it up now because we’re about to discuss how good Wozniacki can be and whether there is still upside to a 20-year-old No. 1 who looks more and more to me like Martina Hingis with a lot more punch.

I can still see the terrible grimace on Wozniacki’s face when the 2009 cramping occurred. She had just completed a point in the final game of a three-set match when her left leg began to twitch and she collapsed to the court, as if someone had slapped her feet out from under her.

She had to take a point penalty warning because it took so long for her to roll over and get to her feet. But she trooped on and, after Zvonareva choked away the game (Caro was serving at 5-4), Wozniacki was in tears, her mouth just a wide, horrifying gash, her legs so stiff she seemed to be going to the net on stilts for the handshake.

She was 19 then and that match was an early tipoff as to how mentally tough she is, and that is a factor in the judgment of professional tennis players that you must never undervalue.

Fast forward to this year’s WTA Championships, where she reached the final and lost in three sets to Kim Clijsters, though she will finish the year at No. 1 and probably carry that honor into the Australian Open in mid-January.

No reasonable person is going to anoint her the best player in women’s tennis right now, no matter what the rankings say, but that doesn’t mean she can’t ascend to the top of the mountain. She is only 20 and, yes, there is plenty of upside there. Her game already is very mature. It’s rare to see this kind of rally patience and extremely savvy shot selection in one so young. But there is even more she can do.

Where is her game right now? She’s a bit like an earlier Andy Murray, playing to force errors from her opponents rather than run up dozens of winners, and while that’s a great tactic if you’ve got the quickness and patience to grind the long points, it will take you only so far.

When you reach the final four of a big tournament (Grand Slam, Indian Wells, Key Biscayne, WTA Championships), you’ve got to add an element of risk, and already we’re seeing signs of that from Caro.

Typically, a three-set match for her produces something on the order of 15 winners and 13 unforced errors. She was at 31 and 30 in the Clijsters final, playing with more (but selected) aggressiveness without losing her basic long-rally style.

It’s not unlike the game Hingis visited upon women’s tennis in that void in the 1990s between Steffi Graf’s greatest moments and the rise of the Williams sisters. But Hingis never hit her serve, first or second, with as much gusto as does Wozniacki, and Hingis could only dream of having a return of serve as good as Wozniacki’s.

So, where can Caro get better? Of course you can always get better at everything you do on court, but the question is more a matter of what MUST she do better to establish some real dominance in women’s tennis.

* First serve: She averages a bit over 100 mph and gets a very high percentage in (well over 65 percent usually). Pump it up about five mph in order to start collecting free points. Make opponents fear not just her first ground stroke after the serve, but the serve itself.

* Volleying: Average and at times better than average, but never brilliant. When you hit ground strokes with as much accuracy as Wozniacki there’s no reason why you can’t get in behind it and end points earlier. It’s not just a matter of how she contacts the volley. It’s also a matter of the path she takes to net, where she sets up and her ability to read the passing shots. All that can get better. This is not a criticism. How many 20-year-olds are polished volleyers — men or women? But volleying became a major improvement in Hingis’ game as she got older and it can be for Caro as well.

* Picking her spots to play riskier ball: She did a good job against Clijsters in the final and if she continues to become more selectively aggressive she’ll more intuitively know when the time is right to shoot for the killer shot from the baseline.

* Finally, physical strength. She has an excellent frame at 5-foot-10 and she’s got the sturdy lower body that is so conducive to highest quality ground stroking. She can still get stronger and it’s a safe wager that she’ll be doing a lot of gym work this off-season. Maybe more than hitting.

In the Doha final last Sunday, she lost to Clijsters (now 0-2 lifetime vs. Kim) because Clijsters has the ability to hit anyone off the court with her power. There are two other players out there who have the consistency or potential consistency and the physical strength to beat Wozniacki in the same way — Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova.

How Wozniacki does against those two players in 2011 will tell us how good she can be. With Williams, who knows when or if they’ll play again (Williams holds a 2-0 head-to-head) because of Serena’s frequent injuries.

As for Sharapova, she’s dropped to No. 17 in the rankings, but I’d like to believe that, despite a lack of progress in the Slams this season, she can still recapture her elite status. Cut Maria some slack. Yes, it’s a year and a half since she came back from shoulder surgery, but she spent a lot of months re-finding her serve, and a lot of her game flows out of her serve.

She’s engaged to be married and that could settle her life down a bit. She trains hard and she’s gifted, but she showed a noticeable lack of staying power in the long rallies in 2010. She’s only going to get that back through increased practices and, when she’s right, she has enough gusto to overpower Wozniacki’s win-by-attrition tactics.

One other factor is Justine Henin, who missed half of this year with injury. She doesn’t bring the power factor of Williams, Clijsters or Sharapova, but if she gets back to her pre-retirement level, she’s the one player out there who can out-grind Wozniacki.

All the more reason why Caro is going to have to produce more risk in the big matches. But she’s so young and, because of her age, she doesn’t have to be the faux No. 1 that some make her out to be.

She’s got all the ability, plus the heart and drive to overcome cramps. There’s no reason why she can’t collect a fistful of Slam titles and be a No. 1 that no one will question.

Mondays with Bob Greene: Kim Clijsters Wins WTA Championships

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STARS

Kim Clijsters beat Caroline Wozniacki 6-3 5-7 6-3 to win the WTA Championships in Doha, Qatar

Gael Monfils beat Ivan Ljubicic 6-2 5-7 6-1 to win the Open Sud de France in Montpellier, France

Jurgen Melzer beat Andreas Haider-Maurer 6-7 (10) 7-6 (4) 6-4 to win the Bank Austria Tennis Trophy in Vienna, Austria

Mikhail Kukushkin beat Mikhail Youzhny 6-3 7-6 (2) to win the St. Petersburg Open in St. Petersburg, Russia

Sofia Arvidsson beat Pauline Parmentier 6-2 7-6 (4) to win the Internationaux Feminins de la Vienne in Poitiers, France

SAYINGS

“At the moment I’m kind of relieved it’s over. It seemed like it would never end. It was a tough battle. We showed some great tennis and some great fitness. I think we showed the crowd some great women’s tennis tonight.” – Kim Clijsters, after winning her third season-ending WTA Championships.

“I had to step it up, and I did and I had the momentum. I just couldn’t keep it all the way through. You know, you cannot win every match. I’ve made the finals of the Championships and I lost one match today. I’ve had a fantastic week, a fantastic year. I won six tournaments, I’ve beaten so many good players.” – Carolina Wozniacki, who lost to Kim Clijsters in the WTA Championships final.

“I’m happy with the first final, but I was up 7-6 5-3, I served for the match. I had big chances to win this title, but it’s the first time. I was a little bit nervous. Jurgen played good in this moment and I lost.” – Andreas Haider-Maurer, after losing to Jurgen Melzer in Vienna, Austria.

“I am so happy about this title, and it’s even more special because it is in France and in front of my crowd.” – Frenchman Gael Monfils, following his victory in Montpellier, France.

“Four hundred (wins) is special. It’s a lot of matches, a lot of history, but I hope I’m not going to stop here.” – Ivan Ljubicic, who won his 400th career match victory in Montpellier, France.

“It wasn’t a goal I set for myself to hit more than 1,000 aces, but I knew coming into these last three tournaments that I was close and that I was very likely to reach it. It’s pretty neat being the company of these four really good players.” – John Isner, who became the fifth player to hit 1,000 or more aces in a single season.

“It was unbelievable walking out to a standing ovation on a national holiday. It was just a great atmosphere. It’s all been worthwhile, all the practice, and it was a good start. … The main thing is that there’s no pain. I’m fit and I know I can go long matches. … It’s awesome to be back playing.” – Thomas Muster, playing his first ATP Tour-level match since 1999 and losing to fellow Austrian Andreas Haider-Mauer in Vienna, Austria

“To have the opportunity to play Pete at Madison Square Garden is thrilling. Playing in front of the New York fans has always been exciting and I’m sure Pete and I will give them something to cheer about.” – Andre Agassi, on an upcoming exhibition he will play against Pete Sampras in New York’s Madison Square Garden.

SOARING

Kim Clijsters crowned one of her best seasons by winning her third WTA Championships singles title, defeating top-seeded Caroline Wozniacki 6-3 5-7 6-3 in the final. With her 40th career tournament title, Clijsters becomes only the fifth player in WTA history to win the season-ending event three of more times. Martina Navratilova won the tournament eight times, Steffi Graf five, Chris Evert four and Monica Seles three. In 2010, Clijsters won five tournaments, including her third US Open. Against Wozniacki, the Belgian mother jumped out to a 6-3 4-1 lead before her Danish opponent won seven of the next eight games, including breaking serve to begin the third set. After that, it was all Clijsters. “This may be disappointing for Caroline, but she has a great future,” said Clijsters, who during the week became the eighth player to surpass the USD $20 million career prize money mark.

It wasn’t all fun and games for Clijsters during his stay in Doha, Qatar. She escaped injury when the official car taking her to her WTA Championships semifinal match was hit by a truck that “came out of nowhere,” she said. “There was a lot of glass.” Despite the accident, Clijsters went on to defeat Samantha Stosur.

Clijsters, who left the women’s tennis tour to get married and have a daughter, said she plans on retiring from tennis again following the London Olympics in 2012 and having a second child. She told the Guardian newspaper of London that she owns a tennis club in Belgium. “We’re going through the process of rebuilding it, so when I retire from tennis that’s something that will interest me very much,” she said.

STANDING ON TOP

Despite losing in the WTA Championships final, Caroline Wozniacki finishes the year as the WTA’s top-ranked player. The 20-year-old Dane sealed the year-end number one ranking by beating Italian Francesca Schiavone in the season-ending tournament. “I’m only the 10th one to finish the year as number one, so I’m really proud of what I’ve achieved,” she said. Wozniacki won six titles this season and took over the number one ranking in October after reaching the quarterfinals of the China Open.

SET TO LEAD

Four-time Grand Slam tournament champion Jim Courier has taken over as captain of the United States Davis Cup team, replacing Patrick McEnroe. “I’ve always known, once I got a taste of playing Davis Cup, if I were given an opportunity to be the captain I would certainly want to take it,” Courier said. McEnroe served as captain for 10 years and led the US to the Davis Cup title in 2007.

Kim Clijsters

STARRING

Gisela Dulko of Argentina and Flavia Pennetta of Italy finished the season as the number one-ranked doubles team in the world for the first time. The duo captured six titles this season, including the season-ending WTA Championships. During the season the two won 17 consecutive matches, the WTA’s longest streak since March 2007. They reached the semifinals at Wimbledon and the quarterfinals at the Australian Open, Roland Garros and the US Open.

SURPRISE

Mikhail Kukushkin was the surprise winner when he captured his first career title by upsetting top-seeded Mikhail Youzhny 6-3 7-6 (2) at the St. Petersburg Open in St. Petersburg, Russia. The winner’s previous best result came in Moscow last year when he reached the semifinals. Ranked 88th in the world, Kukushkin grabbed a 6-2 lead in the second-set tie-break, and then won the title on his first match point. “I won because I was running for every ball and played solid tennis,” Kukushkin said.

SAYONARA

Elena Dementieva announced her retirement after 13 years on the WTA tour. The Russian won the Beijing Olympics singles gold medal in 2008 and 16 WTA singles titles. Twice she reached the final of a Grand Slam tournament, only to lose to a fellow Russians – Anastasia Myskina at the 2004 Roland Garros and Svetlana Kuznetsova at the 2004 US Open. She won two tournaments this year, the Medibank International in Sydney, Australia, and the Open GDF Suez in Paris, France. Dementieva has been ranked inside the Top 20 for almost eight consecutive seasons and reached a career-high singles ranking of number three in the world. She also was ranked in the top five in doubles. She won a silver medal at the Sydney Olympics in 2000 and represented Russia in 18 Fed Cup ties, leading the team to the title over France in 2005.

SWISH

John Isner has joined an illustrious group. The American slammed 12 aces in his three-set loss to Frenchman Gael Monfils in Montpellier, France, bringing his total number of aces for the season to 1,011. Isner joins Goran Ivanisevic, Ivo Karlovic, Pete Sampras and Andy Roddick as the only players to hit 1,000 or more aces in a single season. The record is 1,477 aces hit by Ivanisevic in 1996. Isner slammed more than 100 of his aces in his record-breaking match at Wimbledon against Nicholas Mahut.

SUPER SUPPORT

Billionaire Kirk Kerkorian will pay former pro tennis player Lisa Bonder more than USD $10 million in back child support plus USD $100,000 a month for a child Bonder has admitted was not Kerkorian’s biological daughter. Bonder was married briefly to the casino mogul after a long relationship. She acknowledged during a child support battle that she had faked a DNA paternity test by using saliva she obtained from Kerkorian’s adult daughter. She said the biological father actually was Hollywood movie producer Stephen Bing. Kerkorian, 93, has had joint custody of the girl, who lives with her mother. Bonder, 45, was married to Kerkorian for 28 days in 1999. Once the majority shareholder of what is now MGM Resorts International, Kerkorian is the legal father of the child because the couple married.

SAYS PAY UP

India’s Supreme Court has ruled that Mahesh Bhupathi must pay taxes on money the player claims he gave his father for tennis tips before turning pro in 1995. Chief Justice S H Kapadia and Justices K S Radhakrishnan and Swatanter Kumar took less than five minutes to toss out Bhupathi’s appeal against an earlier verdict. The justices also refused to remove the stinging observation made by the Karnataka High Court that the agreement for payment by the son to the father was a sham transaction.

SECOND PLACE

Vera Zvonareva is the fifth Russian to be ranked in the top two in women’s tennis as she supplanted Serena Williams behind top-ranked Caroline Wozniacki. The 26-year-old Zvonareva joins Anastasia Myskina, Maria Sharapova, Svetlana Kuznetsova and Dinara Safina as the Russian players who have been ranked in the top two spots on the WTA Tour. Sharapova and Safina are the only Russians to be ranked number one.

SAYS NOT FOR PROFIT

Australian tennis star Lleyton Hewitt says he wasn’t trying to profit from his newborn baby when he encouraged fans to pay for a text service revealing the child’s name. The 29-year-old Hewitt instead blamed the media for putting a “spin on reality” by criticizing his use of the Text A Star service to announce the name. “Some sections of the media have, as usual, found it opportune to place some spin on reality by suggesting we have taken this approach just to make money,” Hewitt wrote on his website. “Certain media people believe that (they) are the only ones who should have an exclusive. In this instance, we made a decision that my fans deserve to know first and the general public second.” Text A Star charges subscribers $2 (Australian) per text to receive two messages a week from their favorite sports stars. It is not known how much Hewitt would make from the venture.

STOSUR HONORED

Samantha Stosur has won the Diamond ACES Award for the 2010 season. The ACES Award is given to the player who consistently goes above and beyond to promote the sport of women’s tennis to fans, media, and local communities by performing off-court promotional and charitable activities. “Sam is not only one of the world’s best athletes, she is extremely aware of the opportunity of giving back to women’s tennis and connecting the sport with media and sponsors,” WTA CEO Stacey Allaster said. The ACES award was first introduced in 1995 in memory of former Tour CEO Jerry Diamond. Since then, 10 players have won the award: Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario, Gabriela Sabatini, Amanda Coetzer, Lindsay Davenport, Martina Hingis, Anastasia Myskina, Svetlana Kuznetsova, Ana Ivanovic, Elena Dementieva and Stosur.

SHARED PERFORMANCES

Doha: Gisela Dulko and Flavia Pennetta beat Kveta Peschke and Katarina Srebotnik 7-5 6-4

Montpellier: Stephen Huss and Ross Hutchins beat Marc Lopez and Eduardo Schwank 6-2 4-6 10-7 (match tiebreak)

Poitiers: Lucie Hradecka and Renata Voracova beat Akgul Amanmuradova and Kristina Barrois 6-7 (5) 6-2 10-5 (match tiebreak)

St. Petersburg: Daniele Bracciali and Potito Starace beat Rohan Bopanna and Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi 7-6 (6) 7-6 (5)

Vienna: Daniel Nestor and Nenad Zimonjic beat Mariusz Fyrstenberg and Marcin Matkowski 7-5 3-6 10-5 (match tiebreak)

SITES TO SURF

Valencia: www.valenciaopen500.com/

Basel: www.davidoffswissindoors.ch/

Bali: www.commbanktennis.com/

Taipei: www.taipeiarena.com.tw/

Paris: www.fft.fr/bnpparibasmasters/2010/

Ortisei: www.itfvalgardena.com

Phoenix: www.goldwaterwomensclassic.org/

Sydney: www.thechampionsdownunder.com.au/

TOURNAMENTS THIS WEEK

(All money in USD)

ATP

$1,900,000 Valencia Open 500, Valencia, Spain, hard

$1,707,000 Swiss Indoors, Basel, Switzerland, hard

$125,000 Challenger Astana President’s Cup, Astana, Kazakhstan, hard

WTA

$600,000 Commonwealth Bank Tournament of Champions, Bali, Indonesia

$100,000 Taipei Ladies Open, Taipei, Taiwan, carpet

SENIOR

The Residences at the Ritz-Carlton Grand Cayman Legends Championships, Grand Cayman

TOURNAMENTS NEXT WEEK

MEN

$3,075,000 BNP Paribas Masters, Paris, France, hard

$88,000 Val Gardena – Sudtirol, Ortisei, Italy, hard

WOMEN

$75,000 Goldwater Tennis Classic, Phoenix, Arizona, USA, hard

SENIOR

The Champions Downunder, Sydney, Australia, hard

Assessing the State of American Women’s Tennis

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Another WTA Tour season is close to conclusion. While Serena Williams won two more major titles to keep a strong U.S. presence in the top 10, there isn’t much evidence to suggest that women’s tennis in this country is going to flourish in a post-Williams era.

There were only five U.S. women in the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour top 100 when this season began and there are seven today, but when you examine the details it’s not that encouraging.

Young Melanie Oudin has not made progress and, while Vania King is into this week’s WTA Championships with doubles titles at Wimbledon and the U.S. Open, it’s singles we’re interested in primarily.

Serena Williams

Player by player, here’s the rundown:

* Serena Williams: Began the season at No. 1, is now No. 2 after cutting her foot, then pulling a muscle during her training to get back on court, missed the U.S. Open, played only six tournaments in 2010 and was done early for the year. Had a 25-4 record and you could argue she’s the best player in women’s tennis, when she’s able to play. Repeat: When she’s able to play. Won two titles, at the Australian Open and Wimbledon. Out in the quarters at the French.

* Venus Williams: Began the season at No. 6, now No. 5. Won two titles — at Dubai against a good but not brilliant draw, and against second and third-level competition at Acapulco. Hasn’t won an important event since the tour championships in 2008. Also hurt and finished for the season early. Was 38-7. Quarters at the Aussie Open, 4th round at the French, quarters at Wimbledon and semis at the U.S. Open. She’s in a slow but discernible slide from the elite in the game.

* Bethanie Mattek-Sands: Began the season at No. 152, is now No. 60 for a +92 improvement. Solid comeback year from hip surgery. Was 38-18 in all matches, which include qualifying and ITF tournaments. Real WTA record, though, is only 16-14. No titles. At the Slams: 2nd round at the Aussie Open and U.S. Open, 1st round at the French and Wimbledon. High marks for courage and competitiveness, but she’s not going to reach top 20. She’s a great personality, but she is not the future of American tennis.

* Oudin: Began the year at No. 53, is now No. 68, a -15 drop. No titles and a 20-23 record. When she reached the quarters at the 2009 U.S. Open, the tennis dilettantes had her skyrocketing to the top 10. She’s very quick, very athletic and very committed, but without a bigger serve, and especially a second serve, she’s just another player out there. At the Slams: 1st round at Australia and the French, 2nd round at Wimbledon and the U.S. Open.

* Vania King: No singles titles, but what a year in doubles. Unseeded, she and Yaroslava Shvedova, the fake Kazahkstani who was born in Russia, lives in Russia and takes money from Kazakhstan to play for that country, won Wimbledon and the U.S. Open. They then got into the four-team WTA Championships when the injured Williams sisters withdrew. King has won $695,129 this year and stands to make a lot more in Doha this week, so good for her. But her singles play isn’t impressing anyone. She began the season at No. 73 and is now No. 84, a -11 drop. Record for the year is 21-23, but only 14-17 in real WTA events. At the Slams: 2nd round at the Aussie Open and U.S. Open, 1st round at the French and Wimbledon. Could her doubles success help her singles game? That’s a coin flip. She’s extremely doubtful to reach top 20.

* Varvara Lepchenko: The naturalized U.S. citizen (born in Uzbekistan) began the season at No. 114 and is now No. 88 (+26 spots). No titles and a lot of minor league play (34-11) has given her a heavy dose of playing time. But she’s only 4-10 in real WTA matches. In the Slams: 1st round at the Aussie Open, 2nd at the French and Wimbledon, didn’t play New York.

* Jill Craybas: Bless her heart, she’s still playing at 36 years old. Began the season at No. 77 and is now No. 100 (-23 spots). No titles and a 12-23 real WTA record, plus a lot of qualifying matches. The U.S. Open (1st round again) was her 44th Slam and 41st Slam in a row. When she retires, she deserves the thanks of the USTA for her support of U.S. tennis over the years.

Three young prospects, but they are still only prospects at this point.

* Coco Vandeweghe: Turns 19 on Dec. 6 and has risen 240 spots since Jan. 1, from No. 354 to No. 114. Showed at Tokyo she can compete at the WTA level, reaching the quarters before losing to Victoria Azarenka. Two ITF titles this year. Was 6-6 in WTA matches, 18-12 overall. Big Southern California kid with a family background of notable athletes. Hits a big ball, but she’s not going to break any 20-meter dash records on court.

* Christina McHale: 18 years old and moved up 103 spots this year from No. 218 to No. 115. Reached the semis at lower-level WTA event in Quebec City, where she lost to Tamira Paszek. She was 8-10 in WTA matches, 24-10 overall. OK, we’ve got a watch on her. No one is celebrating her yet.

* Alison Riske: Blossoming a little later than Vandeweghe and McHale at age 20. Up 104 spots this year from No. 222 to No. 118. Won three ITF titles and that’s important because winning at any level is a confidence builder. Played 55 matches this year, which is very good, winning 36. But only 4-4 at the WTA main draw level. Into Wimbledon and lost first round.

And what about the U.S. juniors?

* Sloane Stephens of Fort Lauderdale, Fla.: At 17, she continues to make progress, reaching the semis of the U.S. Open juniors after going out in the quarters at the French and Wimbledon. Fair size physically, but very strong. Getting excellent coaching from Nick Saviano.

* Lauren Davis of Cleveland: She’s also 17 and has won a couple of entry-level pro events, so there’s talent there. Unfortunately, drew the No. 1 seed at the U.S. Open juniors, losing to eventual winner Daria Gavrilova of Russia, who also beat Stephens.

One final note. It’s very unfortunate that the No. 1 doubles player on the WTA Tour, Liezel Huber of the U.S., is unable to play the WTA Championships this week. If she and Cara Black hadn’t had a falling out and split after the Australian Open, they’d both be in Doha working for big money. Huber went through a succession of partners after she and Black cut their ties, but, though Huber is No. 1 in the individual doubles rankings, she and Nadia Petrova, her best partner, finished 11th in the race to the Championships.

Conclusion? The U.S. still has the Williams sisters in the top 10, but with every injury one wonders how much longer they will play. And if they retire, there is nothing on the horizon at this point that would indicate the U.S. has another top-20 in the making.

A Serena Williams Foot Injury Conspiracy? Not Quite…

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It’s not up there with the Kennedy assassination or UFOs, but the conspiracy theorists are having a right jolly time with Serena Williams’ reported foot injury, which she says required surgery after she stepped with her bared feet on glass at a German restaurant following Wimbledon.

On a web site called terezowens.com, which I’ve never heard of until now, an online reporter suggests that Serena had rhinoplasty (a nose job) and the boot on her right foot was there only to deflect one’s attention from her face.

There’s also the Daily Mail in London, which suggests she skipped the U.S. Open this year not because she was recovering from the operation but because she was still cheesed off about the famous foot fault controversy at the Open in 2009.

Serena Williams

Finally, there is Greg Couch, writing for AOL Fanhouse, who bizarrely claims she’s faking all this stuff because she likes the publicity.

OK, let’s see if we can get it straightened out.

For starters, all Sony Ericsson WTA players are required to submit medical verification and/or confirmation, including medical documentation, from a doctor for each injury that involved a tournament withdrawal. Williams complied.

The tour, then, as a matter of policy releases general information about the injury (or illness) and, in fact, will release detailed additional information about the injury and surgery, if an operation took place, but only with the player’s authorization. Williams did not give that.

So, what do we know for sure?

We know that Williams did indeed gash the bottom of her foot on glass. We know she had surgery. We know that she is recovering from the surgery. We suspect she’ll be back on court in time for the WTA Championships in November.

We don’t know if it happened at a restaurant in Germany, why she was in Germany and I’m not sure why we care, except that the alternative answer might be more titillating. We also know that the Williams family is very practiced at feeding reporters a lot of nonsense about their private lives.

ANALYZING WIMBLEDON LOSSES FROM VENUS AND ANDY

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By Charles Bricker

This was a surprising loss by Venus Williams on Tuesday, but it was not shocking and anyone who is “stunned” or in “disbelief” that the older of the sisters won’t win Wimbledon this year hasn’t been watching her closely enough.

There are nine super-major tournaments on the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour schedule (the four Slams, Key Biscayne, Indian Wells, Madrid, Beijing and the playoff championships at the end of the season). Williams hasn’t won any of the last 13.

In May, just before the French Open, I wrote: “Is she still a world class player? Yes. Is she still a threat on one of those ‘any given Sundays? Or Mondays? Or Tuesdays? Yes. But she’s 29 (now 30). The forehand is in and out and there are players who can exploit it. There is now a major dropoff between her first and second serves. That second serve at times looks as big as a pumpkin.”

With Wimbledon temperatures into the 80s for a second straight day, Williams once again displayed nothing even remotely close to an adequate second serve and was soundly beaten by the No. 82 player in the world, Tsvetana Pironkova, a tall, lean Bulgarian and career qualifier who has been around long enough not to get nervous at the mere sight of a Williams sister. The score was 6-2, 6-3.

Venus was only 12-15 on her second serve (6-9 in the second set).She had only three break-point opportunities, cashing in just one. Meanwhile, Pironkova was 4-for-12 on break-point chances.

Venus Williams
Venus Williams

Let’s go over the litany of Williams non-title performances in the biggest women’s events, going backward.

* 2010 Wimbledon: Out in the quarters to No. 82 Pironkova.

* 2010 French Open: Out in the round of 16 to No. 20 Nadia Petrova.

* 2010 Madrid: Runner-up to No. 24 Aravane Rezai.

* 2010 Key Biscayne: Runner-up to No. 16 Kim Clijsters.

* 2010 Indian Wells: Did not play, personal choice.

* 2010 Australian Open: Out in the quarters to No. 17 Li Na.

* 2009 WTA Championships: Runner-up to No. 2 Serena Williams.

* 2009 Beijing: Out in the round of 32 to No. 39 Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova.

* 2009 U.S. Open: Out in the round of 16 to unranked Kim Clijsters.

* 2009 Wimbledon: Runner-up to No. 2 Serena Williams.

* 2009 French Open: Out in the round of 32 to No. 31 Agnes Szavay.

* 2009 Madrid: Out in the round of 32 to No. 26 Alisa Kleybanova.

* 2009 Key Biscayne: Out in the semis to No. 1 Serena Williams.

* 2009 Indian Wells: Did not play, personal choice.

* 2009 Australian Open: Out in the round of 64 to Ni. 46 Carla Suarez Navarro.

* 2008: WTA Championships: Winner, defeating No. 9 Vera Zvonareva in final.

You could argue a case that she’s been runner-up at four of these tournaments, losing twice times to Serena, which is certainly no upset. No one is saying Venus Williams doesn’t continue to be a major threat at an event, but I wouldn’t have made her the favorite at this Wimbledon if her sister was unable to play.

She remains a top player, but she’s not, as the rankings currently suggest, No. 2, and I doubt if most of the players on tour would consider her No. 3, either.

The Andy Roddick loss on Monday to Yen-Hsun Lu, however, WAS shocking. Roddick’s best set was the fifth, and he lost it when he was broken for the only time in the match.

I thought he was hurt by two major problems in this match. First, as well as he served, he was surprisingly flat too much of the time on service returns. I didn’t see a lot of bounce in his step, as if he was waiting for Lu to make an error.

Second, the backhand which he had improved so greatly over the last three years, looked like 2005 all over again. It was never going to be a lethal backhand in ground stroke rallies, but Roddick had turned his backhand into a passing-shot weapon and, in the baseline rallies, it had become a solid, reliable stroke.

He wasn’t going to beat you with his backhand, but he wasn’t going to hurt himself with it, either. It had developed into a backhand that kept him in rallies, allowing him to become more of a grinder, which greatly aided his game.

Against Lu, however, there were so many unforced, really unfathomable backhand errors. And his lack of confidence with the stroke, as the match wore on, gave Lu more chances to seize control of the rallies.

Andy will go home to Texas, blow off some steam and get ready for the U.S. hardcourt season. If the next two months don’t get him pumped up higher, it will be time to start thinking he’s going into a fade.

*

Rafael Nadal vs. Robin Soderling on Wednesday and it’s a toss-up. Nadal played spectacularly on Monday in beating Paul-Henri Mathieu, while Soderling, who hadn’t been broken in his first three matches, lost serve four times to David Ferrer, whom he struggling enormously to defeat in five. Soderling’s serve went seriously south in that match, but he’s had a day to get it ironed out. And he’s got to return better to win this.

Charles Bricker can be reached at nflwriterr@aol.com

ARE THE DAYS OF VENUS WILLIAMS AS AN ELITE PLAYER NUMBERED?

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By Charles Bricker

I’ve not only seen this Venus Williams comeback before, I think I’ve previously seen that red frock she was wearing on Monday at the Sony Ericsson Open.

Didn’t Miss Kitty wear that outfit in an episode of “Gunsmoke?”

That was a real dance hall costume Williams played in for her round-of-16 win over Daniela Hantuchova, but she wasn’t boogeying very well for much of this match and, though she won and still looks like a bonafide top-10 player, the reality for Venus is that her championship days are probably over.

Venus Williams
Venus Williams

Is she still a world class player? Yes. Is she still a threat on one of those “any given Sundays?” Or Mondays. Or Tuesdays. Yes. But she hasn’t won any of the top eight Sony Ericsson WTA Tour tournaments she enters since the WTA Championships of 2008, and she doesn’t look as if she has the stuff to win Key Biscayne this week, either.

This 1-6, 7-5, 6-4 victory, extending her record against Hantuchova to 10-0, could easily have been another embarrassing loss.

Her forehand accounted for 14 unforced errors in the first set alone and her second serve continues to give opponents another place to attack. She’s still gritty, of course, and used all of her personal confidence, plus Hantuchova’s case of third-set yips, to revive herself down the stretch to earn a quarterfinal meeting with No. 6 Agnieszka Radwanska.

She’s going to win her share of matches, and I don’t dispute that she could reach the semis here. But it’s a very real question if she’ll ever win another big event ($4.5 million in prize money or more), for a number of reasons.

She’s 29. That doesn’t mean she needs a wheelchair to get on court, but it does mean that there is going to be more of a fatigue factor as she gets deeper into the draws of these major events. The forehand is in and out and there are players a lot better than Hantuchova who will do a better job of exploiting it. There is now a major dropoff in quality and pace between her first and second serves. That second serve at times looks as big as a pumpkin. Finally, the competition at the top is much tougher — not just from her sister, but from Justine Henin and Kim Clijsters, and there are a couple of ingenues out there who also could be a major factor by the end of the year — most notably Yanina Wickmayer and Caroline Wozniacki.

Let’s look at what Williams has done in the last 16 months in the eight biggest tournaments she enters:

* Out in the second round of the 2009 Australian Open to No. 46 Carla Suarez Navarro.

* Out in the semis of the 2009 Key Biscayne to No. 1 Serena Williams.

* Out in the semis of the 2009 Madrid to No. 1 Dinara Safina.

* Out in the third round of the 2009 French Open to No. 31 Agnes Szavay.

* Out in the final of the 2009 Wimbledon to No. 2 Serena.

* Out in the round of 16 of the 2009 U.S. Open to Kim Clijsters, who had no ranking because she had just come back on tour.

* Out in the second round of the 2009 Beijing to No. 39 Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova.

* Out in the final of the WTA Tour Championships to No. 2 Serena.

* Out in the quarters of the 2010 Australian Open to No. 17 Li Na.

We haven’t even gone into injuries here, but with the secretive Williams family, one never knows how serious things are until one of the sisters pulls out of a tournament. Venus is wearing a pretty heavy wrapping on her right leg, from just above the knee to mid-thigh, during the Sony Ericsson Open. It didn’t look to inhibit her running in the least, as she pulled off a couple of running backhands that got people to their feet.

But she’s missed significant time in the past with physical problems and, at 29, it’s only realistic to think she’s going to miss more.

Notwithstanding her tennis garb for this tournament, she’s usually pretty elegant — on and off the court. If she’s going to win something big, it probably will be Wimbledon, where the points are quicker and her serving is more of a plus on the grass. But it’s not the mid-2000s any longer and while she’s still a very competitive force in any match, the championship days are probably over.

Charles Bricker can be reached at nflwriterr@aol.com