There is just no stopping Justine! The dominant force in women's tennis took her 40th career title in Sydney this week defeating Kuznetsova in the tight three sets. This is Henin's 6th straight tournament win - her last loss was to Bartoli at Wimbledon last July.
She is a hot favourite for the Austrailan Open and will certainly take some beating
2. Philipp Kohlschreiber
The german number two has been making consistent progress since entering the top 100 back in 2004. He finished a career high 30 at the end of 2007 and started 2008 with a bang defeating former world number 1 Ferrero to take the title in Auckland - the second of his career. This moves him to a career high 27 and in a prime position to take 2008 by storm. Ferrero on the other hand continues his title drought, his last coming in Madrid in 2003 - the year he hit the dizzy heights of grand slam victory and world number 1. How the mighty fall.
3. Young Australians
It was a good week for young Australians. 22-year-old Chris Guccione reached his second ATP tour final in Sydney this week defeating Hewitt, Berdych and Stepanek en route and fast improving Casey Dellacqua reached her first Quarter-final on the WTA tour in Hobart. However the biggest name for the future could 15-year-old Bernard Tomic. The world junior number 13 is unranked on the men's circuit however this did not stop him defeating world number 147 Yeu-Tzuoo Wang in the first round of Australian Open qualifying. A result reminiscent of a 15-year-old Lleyton Hewitt at the Australian open in 1997.
4. Dmitry Tursunov
The unpredictable and talented Russian took the Sydney title - the fourth of his career. Three of those titles have come since July last year however in the same period his ranking has dropped from the low 20s into the 30s. Testament to the Russian's inconsistency - a focused Tursunov could easily be a top 10 player by the end of 2008. Whether this is possible is another matter!
5. Eleni Daniilidou
The greek female start took her fifth career title in Hobart this week. Eleni, who reached a career high of 14 in 2003, didn't drop a set on the way to the title however was handed a walk over in the final when Vera Zvonareva pulled out with an injured ankle. With the large greek population in Melbourne Eleni will have strong support and chance to make a real dent at a grand slam. Her last 4th round appearance being the 2004 US Open.
6. Evgueni Korolev
The 19-year-old Russian cousin of Anna Kournikova was certainly the luckiest player this week. After losing to Darcis in qualifying Korolev he snuck into the main draw as a lucky loser. His luck continued when his first round opponent Mathieu retired and then a lucky draw saw him make the quarter finals by defeating qualifier Ivo Minar. However to Korolev this was nothing new - he made the Sydney quarter finals in 2007 after also scrapping into the main draw as a lucky loser!
7. Ashley Harkleroad
It wasn't too long ago 22-year-old Harkleroad was touted as the next big American female tennis star. After reaching a career high 39 in 2003 Ashley has had little to cheer about. However this week saw her best result since reaching the Auckland final in 2004 - a semi-final appearance in Hobart. A result that sees her move to a ranking of 58.
8. Jelena Dokic
The former Australian-Serbian world number 4 and Wimbledon semi-finalist made a successful come back to the WTA tour this week. Jelena who is still only 24, received a wild card into the Hobart qualifying where she won three matches to reach the main round. She then defeated Martina Muller (ranked 54) before retiring to Penetta in the 2nd round. The first round win was her first on the WTA tour in almost three years. Although she failed to qualify for the Australian Open her first round qualifying win against rising star Marina Erakovic shows that a comeback is more than possible in what could be the story of 2008.
9. Somdev Dev Varman
The 22-year-old Indian qualifier took out his second ITF futures title in Florida this week. Why is this such an interesting story? Well firstly this was only Somdev's third tournament in the last 12 months - the other two being at the ATP tournaments Washington (where he qualified) and Mumbai. Dev Varman is also the 2007 NCAA champion where he defeated top American rising star John Isner in the final. In Florida he defeated Giovanni Lapentti and 152nd ranked Dusan Vemic on the way to the title. He also took out the doubles title. He is currently ranked 1037 however with a dedicated year to tennis Dev Varman's career is a certainty to take off.
10. A bad week for...
Lleyton Hewitt - Hewitt has won the Sydney tournament four times. His 2nd round exit to countryman Chris Guccione this week and last week's disappointing quarter final loss in Adelaide suggests he has very little hope of progressing far in Melbourne.
No comments:
Post a Comment