[gactanync]

Exactly. Back off, bitches!

(Don't worry Jessie; It's a hair flip.)

yay! reinforcements!

There will be two alternates at the Sony Ericsson WTA Championships in Doha next week, Aggie Radwanska and Flavia Pennetta. The injured woman who is ninth in the race, Maria Sharapova, will not go to do promotional activities, and since she cannot play anyway if someone got hurt, there was really no reason to ask her. It still is a sport, no, where alternates need to be able to alternate on court?

http://www.tennisreporters.net/index.html

awesome for Pennetta (and Aga)

[HawksBurnDown]

They probably have to be there at a certain time for publicity reasons I would think. And with Nadia likely committed to Canada til Nov. 2, that might be a factor. I'm trying to remember what happened wth Kim in 2005. She showed up at the last minute (we found out later that it was the same time her parents told her they were divorcing), but she was locked in the main section, and I think she got there a day or two before play.

Is that true? I was there for that, she couldn't string 2 points together. So odd.

[dietpillxanaxaxx]

Is that true? I was there for that, she couldn't string 2 points together. So odd.

The Kim story? Absolutely true, Bea. It was so freaky, because here was a girl with a history of great success both indoors and at the YEC. Who was practically unbeatable in 2005. And who shows up the day or so before (when she was always one to arrive in advance for promotion purposes), puts in a dismal 3 match appearance, and immediately splits for Belgium afterwards.

Then a couple of weeks later came the announcement of her parents divorce. And that they broke the news to her the weekend before the YEC. That's when she admitted what was behind her listless play.

[HawksBurnDown]

The Kim story? Absolutely true, Bea. It was so freaky, because here was a girl with a history of great success both indoors and at the YEC. Who was practically unbeatable in 2005. And who shows up the day or so before (when she was always one to arrive in advance for promotion purposes), puts in a dismal 3 match appearance, and immediately splits for Belgium afterwards.

Then a couple of weeks later can the announcement of her parents divorce. And that they broke the news to her the weekend before the YEC. That's when she admitted what was behind her listless play.

I never read her being interviewed about it. That performance cost her year end #1.

[dietpillxanaxaxx]

I never read her being interviewed about it. That performance cost her year end #1.

Sadly, Kim was never one to lock out what was going on in her world when she took to the court. She ended up winning every award in sports practically for that tremendous season, so the YE #1 probably didn't matter all that much. I still have the SI story where she was nominated for Sportsman of the Year. One of the best sports essays ever written, though I'll confess to some slight bias.

[MaickiP]

There will be two alternates at the Sony Ericsson WTA Championships in Doha next week, Aggie Radwanska and Flavia Pennetta. The injured woman who is ninth in the race, Maria Sharapova, will not go to do promotional activities, and since she cannot play anyway if someone got hurt, there was really no reason to ask her. It still is a sport, no, where alternates need to be able to alternate on court?

http://www.tennisreporters.net/index.html

Lame. Boo Pennetta. Boo.

[dietpillxanaxaxx]

From Cronin's Newsletter:

"This year, the championships will be played for the first time in Doha, no beacon of women's rights. It's the first time that the world's premier women's sport has chosen to hold its championships in a locale where to be allowed to work or even to drive, a woman needs the permission of her husband or, if still single, the male members of her family. Shriver hopes that the local female population will be able to come out and watch and be inspired.

[MaickiP]

From the Quebec summary on the WTA site

An added incentive for Petrova on Friday is that if she wins, she will become the second alternate for next week's season-ending Sony Ericsson Championships - Doha 2008. Agnieszka Radwanska has secured the first alternate spot already; should Petrova lose to Czink, Flavia Pennetta will be the second alternate.

[MaickiP]

Here's the link to that quote

http://www.sonyericssonwtatour.com/1...ContentID=2762

[MaickiP]

Anyone know when the draw is? I went to the site and couldn't find it.

Anyway, we do know that some players won't be in the same draw. 1-2, 3-4 etc are separated.

We can make wild guesses about what the draw will be or what would be odd or rigged.

Here are the pairs that have to be on opposite sides

1 Jankovic and 2 Safina
3 Serena and 4 Ivanovic
5 Dementieva and 6 Kuznetsova
7 Venus and 8 Zvonareva

I think many would agree that the big disparities in pairs are at the bottom. Dementieva is probably a much bigger threat than Kuznetsova, who doesn't do well in this format. Venus is probably a much bigger threat than Zvonareva, who usually doesn't get a lot of big scalps.

I'd like to see Jankovic and Ivanovic in the same group. I'd also like to see Serena and Venus in the same group. With both of those pairs, it would be nice to see them play each other, and it would also be nice to know there's a good chance one will move on to the semis.

I'd kind of like to see Kuznetsova and Zvonareva in the same group because they both went 0-3 the last time they qualified and it would be fun to force one of them to win a match. It probably wouldn't be pretty.

Jankovic vs Dementieva is always a headscratching roller coaster.

My line up:

Jankovic
Ivanovic
Kuznetsova
Zvonareva

Safina
Serena
Dementieva
Venus

(*I know bottom half is stacked, but it makes the most match ups that I want to see)