We’re only 5 days away from the start of the WTA Year End Championships a.k.a. the Sony Ericsson Championships in Doha, Qatar. And with Jelena Jenkovic progressing to the quarterfinals of the Kremlin Cup this week (and Vera Zvonareva being upset in the second round), the Serbian’s secured the 8th and final spot in the line up:

(Graphic swiped from the the Sony Ericsson Championship’s website.)

Dinara Safina will be back to number one this Monday, and is therefore the tournament’s top seed. With the year end number one ranking up for grabs in Doha, I think Serena Williams will have that extra bit of motivation to do well. It’s also interesting to see Svetlana Kuznetsova and Caroline Wozniacki in spots 3 and 4, benefiting from some late-season play. And does Venus have any chance of defending her title?

I, for one, wish that the WTA had “pulled a Lucy” as Jon Wertheim put it, and given US Open champ, Kim Clijsters, the final spot as a special exemption. I don’t think it’s unfair. The YEC should be about the 8 best players in the world slugging it out. I think Kim belongs in this group more than Jelena Jankovic does this year, no matter how much I (really do) adore ol’ J.J. Plus Fila’s sponsoring this year!

Only 4 doubles teams participate in the Championships: Black/Huber, Williams/Williams, Llagostera/Martinez, Stosur/Stubbs. Could we see a Williams sister sweep?

The Sony Ericsson Championships run from October 27 – November 1.

Justine Henin claims it was Roger Federer, not Kim Clijsters, who really inspired her return to tennis – by sparking her longing for the one Major she hasn’t won: Wimbledon. These quotes come from her t.v. appearance on RTL-TVI:

“Roger Federer’s victory at Roland Garros spoke to me much more (than Clijster’s comeback) because it made me think of a lot of things in relation to Wimbledon.”

“I felt a lack and maybe for the first time I really felt that Wimbledon was missing from my list of trophies.”

“Winning Wimbledon is a dream. It’s more than an aim, it’s really a dream.”

“I’m giving myself the means to look to achieve great things but will that be enough to win Wimbledon? At the moment I don’t have the answer to that. I know I’m going to work for it though.”

Wow, that’s quite amazing, isn’t it? That one victory could re-ignite Justine Henin’s competitive fire?

Quotes via Sporting Life and thanks to HCFoo’s Tennis Blog for finding them!

Will the thought of Justine Henin back on the court – sporting her no-nonsense Adidas kit and a stick-straight ponytail – strike fear into the hearts of her WTA colleagues? Will the threat of her steely resolve, butterfly feet and whipping forehand cut beach holidays short? Will the words of Carlos Rodriguez make the blood of many a hitting-partner-cum-coach run cold?

“The desire to win Wimbledon is one of the main reasons she’s come back and I’ll do everything to help her do it.”

Here’s my best guess at what everyone’s thinking.

Dinara Safina: “No! Not another Real No. 1!”

A major milestone on Dinara’s journey to the top of the rankings was her win over Justine Henin in Berlin, 2008. Justine retired just days later, while still ranked No. 1 in the world. Safina’s victory over Henin and subsequent success seemed to represent a changing of the guard in women’s tennis. And now, just sixteen months later, Justine says she’s ready to compete with the best again. And with another multi-Major winner in the mix, the still slam-less Safina’s spot at the top appears to be more of a fluke of circumstance than the WTA’s new status quo.

Safina/Henin head-to-head: 1/5. Dinara’s victory marked the end of Justine’s professional career.

Serena Williams via Twitter: “Anyone know what time my anger management class is?”

Serena Williams is scared of no one. But her recent blow ups, threatening bodily harm on a lines person at the US Open and on a cheating opponent, Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez, at the French, have revealed a dangerous crack in Serena’s body armour. If Justine tries to pull anything like the French Open’s infamous “hand incident” again (click here), we should all be scared.

Serena/Henin head-to-head: 7-6. Justine has the 4/2 advantage in Majors.

Venus Williams: “It’s great for women’s tennis! But Wimbledon is mine! All mine!”

Didn’t Justine get the memo? Wimbledon belongs to Venus. She may play puzzling, ramshackle tennis at other tournaments, but when it comes to the greens of Wimbledon, she’s the one (for Serena) to beat. Venus loves the place so much, I think she’d marry it if she could:

“I just love Wimbledon. I have true love in my heart and when you have true love you do your best and nothing can stop you.” (via The Independent)

I suspect Venus has herself to blame for Justine’s comeback. Watching Venus destroy World No. 1 Dinara Safina, 6-1, 6-0 in this year’s semifinals must have made Justine’s Wimbledon dream seem pretty achievable.

Venus/Henin head-to-head: 7-2. At Wimbledon, Venus has beaten Henin both times they’ve played.

Kim Clijsters: “Whatever, JuJu!”

Who would blame Miss Congeniality for being a little peeved? She was thinking this postpartum comeback would be a breeze – some training, a couple exos and a Major title or two between Jada’s play dates. But with her Belgian rival returning things are bound to get more stressful – and less smiley.

Really, how could Kimmie not roll her eyes at this:  “Subconsciously it might have had an impact,” Henin said, referring to Clijsters’ success.“But it certainly was not the most important reason.“

Clijsters/Henin head-to-head: 10/12. Justine enjoys a 5/2 advantage over Clijsters in Majors.

Melanie Oudin: “Dang, there go all the Justine Henin comparisons.”

I love Melanie, but I never really bought the Justine Henin comparisons the media started spouting during the US Open. Sure, they’re both small, blonde, and quick, but so what? So’s Olivier Rochus.

Oudin/Henin head-to-head: 0/0

Maria Sharapova: “Hi. I have my own problems.”

I don’t think Maria Sharapova gives a hoot about anyone else on the WTA tour now. She just wants to learn how to serve again. If anything, Justine’s return could inspire her – they played what many called the best WTA match of 2007 at the year end Championships. Maria lost that one, but then annihilated Justine a couple months later in the Australian Open quarterfinals: 6-4, 6-0. Masha went on to win that tournament and Justine started planning her singing career.

Jelena Jankovic: “I’m still JJ, right?”

Don’t worry, Jelena. Justine’s nickname is JuJu – you’re safe.

Jankovic/Henin head-to-head: 0/9.

Ana Ivanovic: “I’d like to announce my return to professional tennis!”

We all know poor Ana is struggling right now. But at least she took advantage of her window and got a Major while the time was ripe (see the photo at the top of this post.) She should just pretend she’s been retired all of this year, and announce her own comeback at the Australian Open. Shoot, stranger things have happened.

Ivanovic/Henin head-to-head: 0/4.

Oh the wild, wacky world of the WTA Tour! The Australian Open can’t come soon enough.

Juan Martin del Potro made a media splash after beating Roger Federer in the US Open final

Here’s Juan Martin doing his best Roger Federer impression at the US Open champion photo shoot.

Sorry, I know it’s not always about Roger. Except that it is:

Here’s a little wrap of the men’s final featuring some new post-match presser footage of both Roger and Juan Martin. I don’t know why, but I always love a good dueling microphones shot:

Footage of the trophy ceremony – or should I say the big check and free car ceremony. Not available en Español:

Forget Serena-gate, Dick Enberg’s gag order was the real outrage of the US Open. Here’s Juan Martin giving an (uninterrupted) message to fans via Sports Illustrated. No one tells Juan Martin to be quiet, okay!

Juan Martin was also on the Today Show, where Regis and Kelly did most of the talking for him. Click here to watch. (Thanks, Lorrie, for the link!)

Here’s the vid:

BTW: I’d love to do a Kim Clijsters Film Festival, but there’s not too much available. I think she flew back to Belgium to do the milk and cookies thing. Here’s the best I got:

But Kim and family did take some lovely parting shots:

This is making the Christmas card, for sure:

Bye bye US OPEN!

REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque (UNITED STATES SPORT TENNIS)

Kim Clijsters won the US Open on Sunday night, defeating Caroline Wozniacki: 7-5, 6-3.

She was playing in her third tournament since coming off of a two year maternity leave. She was unranked, unseeded, and “defending” her title from 2005, the only major she’d ever won. After defeating both Williams sisters and a total of 5 seeds along the way, she became only the second wild card in history to win a Major title (the other being Goran Ivanisevic at Wimbledon in 2001.) Clijsters is also the first mom to win a major in 29 years and her toddler daughter was “watching” her performance in the stands. Oh, and I hear Kimmie is a pretty nice person, too.

Yep, that’s a feel-good story! Let’s enjoy!

My favorite exchange from her post-match presser:

Q. If 18 months ago we called you in the hospital and said, Guess where you’re going to be in a couple of years, what would you have said?

KIM CLIJSTERS: I would have gone click. (laughter.)

No, yeah, until the start of this year, that’s when it came back. So 18 months ago or 18 and a half months ago, tennis wasn’t even on my mind at all, you know. I was just a new mom and just going through those experiences, as well, which is a lot of fun.

But, you know, yeah, no, I would have definitely hung the phone on you. Sorry.

Hey, maybe she’s not so nice, after all! Threatening to hang up on reporters. But at least she apologized for her imaginary behavior.

Back to the feel-good stuff. As if tears of joy weren’t enough, we also have Clijsters embracing her husband, Brian Lynch, and sharing the moment with her daughter, Jada. And a composed Wozniacki grinning and bearing it.

REUTERS/Shaun Best (UNITED STATES SPORT TENNIS)

REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque (UNITED STATES SPORT TENNIS)

REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque (UNITED STATES SPORT TENNIS)

REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque (UNITED STATES SPORT TENNIS IMAGES OF THE DAY)

REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque (UNITED STATES SPORT TENNIS)

REUTERS/Shaun Best (UNITED STATES SPORT TENNIS)

REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque (UNITED STATES SPORT TENNIS)

REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque (UNITED STATES SPORT TENNIS)

All together now: AWWWWWWWWWW!

Kim’s future tennis plans are not set in stone, but do include an appearance at the 2010 Australian Open.

Kim Clijsters outplayed Serena Williams in the US Open semifinals on Saturday night, despite being only three tournaments into a comeback and having a dismal pre-retirement record against Serena. (Saturday’s straight-set victory brings Clijsters win-loss record to 2-7 vs. S. Williams.) The unseeded Belgian will play teenager and first time Major finalist, Caroline Wozniacki, for the title on Sunday evening.

This should be the big US Open story after almost two days of rain delay, but it isn’t. Instead, we have The Great Serena Williams Meltdown of 2009.

Here’s the sterilized statement from the Tournament Director:

Statement from Tournament Referee Brian Earley regarding the end of the Kim Clijsters vs. Serena Williams match: Serena Williams was assessed a Code Violation, Warning, for racquet abuse after losing the first set, 6-4.

At 5-6, 15-30, Miss Williams was called for a foot fault on her second serve, making the score 15-40. She then yelled something at the line umpire, who reported it to the chair umpire. Based on the report, Miss Williams was assessed a Code Violation, point penalty, for Unsportsmanlike Conduct, ending the match.

Thanks for clearing that up, Mr. Earley, but inquiring minds want to know: What exactly did Serena say to the linesperson who (mistakenly?) called the foot fault?

Answer: “I swear to God I’ll fucking take this ball and shove it down your fucking throat! Do you hear me? I swear to God. You better be glad–you better be fucking glad that I’m not, I swear.”

I love the scratchy quality of the above video – it’s like a tennis snuff film. Not that I know what a snuff film looks like or anything. . .ick.

This video shows the meeting of minds under the umpire’s chair:

To recap. . .

Brian Earley to the linesperson: “What did she say to you?”

Lines person: “She said ‘fuck you.’”

Serena runs up:  “Are you scared? Because I said I’d get you? I’m sorry because a lot of people have said a lot worse.” Awkward pause and then Serena digs her hole a little deeper: “I didn’t say I would kill you! Are you serious?”

(Psst! Serena! You’re only making it worse.)

In her post match presser, Serena admitted that she’d misheard the linesperson’s report – the linesperson actually didn’t tattle about Serena’s threats.

Q. On court it was picked up where you said, I would never say such‑and‑such to you.

SERENA WILLIAMS: Because I think she said I would kill you, and I was like, What? I was like, Wait a minute.

But then I had misheard. She had never said that. So that was just something ‑‑ I was like, Whoa. Because I was like, Wait a minute. Let’s not ‑‑ because I’m not that way. So.

She was like, No, I didn’t say that. She said something else. I said, Oh, okay. I get it. And I was totally fine, because at that point I realized I got a point penalty and it was match point.

What can I do? I’m not going to complain. It was what it was.

Am I the only one who finds all of this mildly amusing? Maybe I’m just twisted. Too many tennis snuff films.

It appears that Serena was remarkably subdued in her post match press conference.  (I’ll try to update with a better quality one when it becomes available):

Best excuse ever:  “My idol is John McEnroe.”

But this is the line Serena will need to cut out and tape to her bathroom mirror: “It pays to always play your best and always be your best and always act your best no matter what.” Amen.

Click here for the full transcript.

What’s your take?

Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post's poll.

The always upbeat Kim Clijsters Twittered her thoughts at around 2am, NYC time:

That’s great, Kim, but get some rest, okay? The women’s final is Sunday evening, broadcast live on ESPN2 starting at 9:00pm, Eastern.

Serena will be looking for consolation/redemption on Monday, when she and Venus play for the US Open doubles title. Their opponents are still TBD – the Black/Huber vs. Stosur/Stubbs semifinal will be played on Sunday. The women’s doubles final will be broadcast on Monday at 1:00pm ET on ESPN2.

Oh, and to “wrap” Day 13: Rafael Nadal is finally into the semis with a straight sets win over Fernando Gonzalez. He and Juan Martin del Potro will play on Sunday at noon, ET – the match will be broadcast live on ESPN2. Federer vs. Djokovic follows at 4:30pm. CBS will broadcast the match, ominously, “following football.”

At least we don’t have the old “Roger gets lucky with the scheduling” controversy. Right?

So Roger Federer played second fiddle today, taking the court against Tommy Robredo after Melanie Oudin’s big win over Nadia Petrova. He did his best to wow the crowd in his own way, coming back from a tight first set to dominate the Spaniard in vintage Fed style: 7-5, 6-2, 6-2.

I loved what Roger had to say about finding motivation, even against players like Robredo who he’s now beaten all nine times they’ve played (via usopen.org):

“It’s not like even trying to beat him again; it’s just about having fun out there, playing a good match, playing good tennis, enjoying the moment, playing in packed stadiums. It’s something not many people get an opportunity to do. I think everybody would love to be in my shoes. Why should I give away my spot, really, because I enjoy too much and people love to come see me play? So this is motivation alone for me. It’s plenty.”

No. 6 seed Svetlana Kuznetsova lost a nail biter to Caroline Wozniacki: 6-2, 6-7, 6-7. And she wasn’t too happy with either of their performances afterwards:

“I don’t think she (Wozniacki) did something too well, you know. I just did unforced errors all the time. And you don’t have to do much. You just have to put the ball back. I was creating the point or I was losing it. This was it.

Robin Soderling advanced to meet Roger Federer in the quarterfinals after Nikolay Davydenko retired down two sets to one.  This is the second time this tournament that a player has retired against Soderling – Marcel Granollers lasted all of two games against him in the second round.

Side note – Venus, Vera and Melanie are sporting mummy-wrapped legs, Acasuso and Simon retired in the third round and Davydenko tapped out in the Round of 16, Nadal and Almagro were both splayed out on court getting treatment on Sunday. This isn’t hard court season, this is injury season.

Fernando Verdasco, who is nursing his own abdominal injury, edged out the lone American left in the men’s draw, John Isner, in four sets. I’m so missing Andy Roddick right now.

Novak Djokovic worked the crowd after dominating Radek Stepanek 6-1, 6-3, 6-3 on Monday night. He thanked the crowd for staying, challenged Todd Martin and John McEnroe to a hit (guess who accepted) and did a Johnny Mac impression (click here for the video.) Personally, I love seeing Nole up to his old antics. And I also love knowing that he’ll probably piss off everyone again before the tournament is over.

The women’s quarterfinals are set:

Yanina Wickmayer vs. Kateryna Bondarenko (Say wha?)

Melanie Oudin vs. Caroline Wozniacki

Li Na vs. Kim Clijsters

Flavia Pennetta vs. Serena Williams

The men are still working on the Round of 16:

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga vs. Fernando Gonzalez

Gael Monfils vs. Rafael Nadal

del Potro vs. Ferrero in the battle of the Juans

Marin Cilic vs. Andy Murray

Sunday at the US Open saw yet another upset of a top female seed by a lower ranked “nobody.” Oh wait, that wasn’t a nobody – that was Kim Clijsters, 2005 US Open Champion! And the top player was Venus Williams, who has been working the mummy-wrap on her knee since Wimbledon. The crazy scoreline – 6-0, 0-6, 6-4 – hasn’t been seen in a women’s match at the Open since 1975 (per Tennis Channel.) The last set took longer than the first two sets combined.

Even crazier than the score – the No. 3 seed losing to an unranked wildcard wasn’t that big of an upset.

Don’t mind Kim’s tears:

Kimmie explained her joyful reaction after the match:

I think it was the emotions of that last game especially and the crowd and everything. I think, yeah, it just all built up, and it just came out as soon as it was over, after that ace. Yeah, it just felt so good. Just looking at whoever was in the box, just seeing my friends and my family and coach and everybody, was just very special.

The ever-stoic Venus Williams still found a reason to smile on Day 7 – she and Serena beat Wozniacki/Cirstea in doubles and will head into the quarterfinals.

Speaking of smiles and tears. . .I have to mention the Vera Zvonareva vs. Flavia Pennetta match. I tuned in during the second set, just before Flavia got busy saving those six match points Vera had against her. It was an amazing stretch of tennis from both players and some clutch play from Flavia, who won the match 3-6, 7-6 (6), 6-0. She’s obviously dealing well with the new pressures of being a Top 10 player, but she’ll need to find yet another level when she plays Serena Williams next in the quarters.

REUTERS/Jeff Zelevansky (UNITED STATES SPORT TENNIS) via Daylife

Vera, who was reportedly crying hysterically during her bathroom break, could not keep it together when she returned to court to start the third set. She clawed at the heavy tape wrapping her knees, was reprimanded for an F-Bomb by the chair ump, and eventually plopped down on the court and smacked her legs with the relish of a pimp on payday.

“I didn’t lose my temper.” Vera said after the match. (via NYTimes.)

It’s not a full line-up of the Day 3 roster, but we thought we’d share some photos we snapped of Marat Safin, Kim Clijsters, Rafael Nadal, Richard Gasquet, Victoria Azarenka, a semi-shirtless David Ferrer and others from Wednesday at the US Open.

 

The attractive woman you might not recognize is Polona Hercog - an eighteen year old Slovenian player who partnered up with Roberta Vinci in doubles (they lost on Wednesday to Glatch/Gullickson.) She was in the singles draw, but lost to another American, Christina McHale, in the first round. Basically, FreakyFritters just thought she was cute. . .

There are two story lines to any tournament – what you experience as a fan and what actually happens on court. For example, these are the experiences that stick in my mind after attending Day 3 of the US Open on Wednesday:

1.   Witnessing a lady puking near the big fountain at about 11:30 a.m. (Hope she just had one too many Honey Deuces!)

2.  Cracking up at Marion Bartoli’s over-zealous practice swings between points.

3.  Taking a deep, yogic breath upon learning that the concession stand was out of chicken fingers (after standing in line for 10 minutes specifically for chicken fingers.)

Obviously these are not the major stories coming out of the US Open on Wednesday, so let’s move on. . .

I also witnessed Marat Safin’s four-set flame out to Jurgen Melzer in his first and last match of the 2009 US Open. It was more painful than normal because this is Marat’s last US Open – the tournament being the site of his first Major title almost ten years ago against Pete Sampras.

Painful for me, I mean, not Marat. “I don’t care about losses anymore,” he said after the match.

But what did I expect? Marat Safin is a heartbreaker – he’s not the guy who’s going to make that one last run to glory (with the help of a stoic girlfriend, an elderly coach and a cheesy soundtrack.) He has movie star looks, sure, but he never promised a Hollywood ending.

“Bye bye, bye bye, and bye bye again.” Marat summed it up.

Another popular player played his last singles match at the US Open on Wednesday – Fabrice Santoro – who lost to veteran Juan Carlos Ferrero: 6-4, 6-3, 6-3. (Santoro is still alive in doubles.)

Santoro, who has been on tour for over twenty years – almost twice as long as Safin’s pro career has lasted – said that it was the love of the game that’s kept him playing as long as he has. This is how he said he’d like to summarize his career:

If I use one word, I would say passion. I love my sport. I did it in this life for so many years. I was so happy to be on the court. You can’t do it if you’re not completely in love with your sport. Can you do it for two, five, eight years maybe, but not 21. One thing I will never forget for sure is when Pete (Sampras) said in Indian Wells probably 2000, he’s a magician. That’s one I will never forget.

Sniff! Sniff!

But for every retirement, nowadays, there seems to be a comeback – and today Kim Clijsters was the feelgood story. The 2005 US Open Champ took out 14th seed Marion Bartoli in three sets:

It was also nice to see Mama Mirka making her comeback, as well:

And then there’s the other woman:

Roger Federer is through to the third round after a tough, 3 set night match against Simon Greul. He faces Lleyton Hewitt next. Rafael Nadal beat Richard Gasquet easily in his first round match. (Click here for more on Rafa and Roger.)

In other men’s results, Del Potro defeated Juan Monaco, Monfils defeated Chardy and Hewitt defeated Chela. Kiefer advances to play Nadal in the second round and Ginepri, Simon and Ferrer are also through. Click here for more men’s results.

On the women’s side, both Williams sisters advanced, Wozniak took out Mauresmo, Pennetta double-papdumed Mirza, and Vania King upset US Open darkhorse Sam Stosur. Kirilenko scored another upset over Agnieszka Radwanska. Zvonareva and Azarenka are also through. Click here for more women’s results.