This is admittedly an odd week for a follower of the WTA. The deluge of season shutdowns is over—you know the long list of names who have pulled the plug on 2010 by now—but the year-ender itself, in Doha, has yet to begin. And we don’t even have Caroline Wozniacki to kick around or pull for, as the case may be; she’s giving herself a rare week off. For now, the rest of the women are taking their last shots in Moscow and Luxembourg. What should we look for in these interim days?
The biggest news from the women’s side last week, of course, came out of Linz, where former No. 1 Ana Ivanovic won her first tournament in two years. She has moved on to Luxembourg for the BGL BNP Paribas Luxembourg Open (see the draw here). How long is it before all tennis tournaments are a version of the BNP Paribas Open, anyway? The matches have begun there, and Ivanovic, the fourth seed, has a fairly clear path to the semis. She opens with Johanna Larsson, and the highest other seed in her quarter is Julia Georges. You don’t have to be an Ivanovic fanatic to be happy for this resurgence, even if it happened in Linz rather than at Wimbledon. By all appearances she’s worked extremely hard and persisted through a lot of dispiriting moments. But when elements as fragile as confidence and nerves are involved, even hard work and a positive attitude is no guarantee of anything. I think this an important event for Ivanovic. After all that’s happened to her on court, she needs to consolidate last week’s success so it doesn’t end up seeming like a mirage. I would hate to see her narrative continue to be one that only ranges between struggle and mortification, à la Anna K in her later years. Ana I really is too good a player for that.
If Ivanovic were to reach the semis, she’d likely face top seed Elena Dementieva. The Russian will look to tune herself up for Doha; she’s the final qualifier. The second seed, somewhat to my surprise, is Aravane Rezai, and other names of note are Yanina Wickmayer, who plays Patty Schnyder in the first round, and Daniela Hantuchova, who won today. A quiet event for a quiet week.
*
The women, like the men, are also in Moscow for the Kremlin Cup (see the draw here). Jelena Jankovic, who is already set for Doha, is the top seed. But the story of the early rounds will come from the second seed, Victoria Azarenka. She and Li Na are neck and neck for the first alternate spot in Doha, a spot that will likely lead to their entrance into the draw if and when Serena Williams pulls out. Li has already lost to Anna Chakvetadze, but Azarenka doesn’t have an easy match herself. She’ll have to get past No. 32 Andrea Petkovic to qualify; the two have never faced each other, but a Petkovic win would not be a shocker.
Beyond the top two, the draw is suitably Russified, with nine of the 28 entrants hailing from the home country. One of them, Elena Vesnina, has already eliminated the fifth seed, Flavia Pennetta—ah well, another Flav-less week for this fan. Vesnina is another case entirely; like Kournikova, when you see her on a doubles court, where she can be a dominating player, you wonder where she’s been hiding in the singles draws. Singles and doubles—they can seem like two different sports entirely.
Otherwise, watch for Dominika Cibulkova, who beat another Russian, Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (my fingers are starting to hurt) 6-0 in the third today. Also here are Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez, with wonderful touch; Tsvetana Pironkova, with a rare slice forehand, who I haven’t seen since she reached the Wimbledon semis; and Maria Kirilenko, a compactly stylish player who, like Pennetta, unfortunately always seems to fall just off my viewing radar screen.
Moscow and Lux should, if nothing else, give us a chance to see a few players we don't get to see enough of. Not a bad way to bridge the days to Doha, after all.