Marcos Baghdatis? Him we remember, we think so anyway. But Olivier Rochus in a final? Or how about Francesca Schiavone and Olga Govortsova? We must be nearing year's end
It was another week in tennis reflecting the approaching end of the season, with a number of lower-ranked players carving their unlikely paths into finals. The bigger names appear to have already packed it up and headed for home, allowing the little guys and girls to run around a bit and grab some glory. I use "little" both in the metaphorical sense (they are not in the Top Ten), and in a couple of cases they are little in stature to boot.
Take Olivier Rochus for instance. He's reinforced my notion that little guys can be quite cute, and what's that all about? The god-figure gives them looks to make up for lack of height? Anyway, I think he's as cute as a button, and - at 5'5" - he may even be a button, who knows. He is not a guy who shows up in a lot of finals, and when he did on Sunday he had his hands full with an in-form Marcos Baghdatis. How often have we said that of late about the Cypriot? I thought if Baggy was a little off that Olivier might stand a chance, but Marcos looked nearly back to where he was when he shot to fame at the Australian Open a few years ago. Gee, the guy is only 24, but it feels like he's been around forever. He served well and hit the ball very cleanly, and his smaller opponent did not have any answers. This is Baghdatis's first win in nearly three years. He credits it all to his staying healthy for long enough to start playing with some consistency. Let's hope he can keep the body together, the game can always use a guy with the emotional heft Baghdatis offers the fans.
Robin Soderling held the Number One seeded spot in Stockholm, and he was playing like he was Number One, up until his shoulder gave way in the semis and Baghdatis got the walkover. Such a shame, that, but at least Robin qualified for London. That he richly deserved. He was the "big mover" in men's tennis if ever there was one this year, with his astounding defeat of Nadal at the French, and then his continued tough play into the fall. Now let's hope he can cap it off by at least getting to play without injury at the year-end championship.
Jelena Jankovic got some love too this weekend, by clawing her way to a win at the Kremlin Cup that earned her that coveted last 8th spot at the women's year-ender in Doha, which starts tomorrow. Thank you very much, said Jelena, who was so relieved to take care of that little bit of business that she promptly went out and lost to Alisa Kleybanova in the next round. Kleybanova has earned a reputation this past year as a killer of giant women, but the lower-ranked girls can give her fits on occasion, particularly when her timing goes awry. It did in the semis against a very unheralded Olga Govortsova, who served big and clubbed enough huge forehands of her own to make her way into Sunday's final in Moscow against Italy's Francesca Schiavone.
Francesca Schiavone, do I love saying that name. Francesca is a midget too, she's also 5'5", but she played about ten feet tall in the final. Her game is just absolutely beautiful, even if it is sometimes a bit top-heavy in the topspin department. For such a little sprite her serve was working really well. She can hit it with gusto and with the confidence that she can place it just about anywhere she wants to. The backhand is one of the loveliest in the women's game, and just about the only one-hander left, until Henin returns early next year.
We could never call Schiavone a net-rusher, but she's got enough savvy to know when to move forward, and when she does get to net she's not - unlike more than a few of the women - a total embarrassment when she gets there. The woman put away a ton of decent volleys. In fact, you could argue Govortsova lost simply because she faced a style of play not many of the women ever get to see. It's hard to defeat what you don't really know, which is why I hope there are a few other Francesca Schiavones lurking out there, ready to pop up and baffle big blonde Russian women. Govortsova does not have the experience yet to come through a final like Sunday's, whereas Schiavone has the world of it. Good to see her, at a ripe 29, playing her best tennis. I hope she sticks around.
Doha begins tomorrow for the top eight women and two alternates. The line-up from top to bottom is Dinara, Serena, Kuzie, Caroline, Elena, Vickie, Venus and Jelena. Vera Zvonareva and Aggie Radwanska are the alternates. This is arguably the most enjoyable time of year for women's tennis, as we don't have to see through what I call those "splatter matches." You know, those early-round blowouts that really do feel like you're watching some gory movie and not a tennis match at all. Hopefully all the women will be physically up to snuff and chomping at the bit for a little year-end redemption.
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