WTA Championships Preview; No. 1 Clijsters in Action on Opening Day

Posted on November 6, 2003

Welcome to the new official website of the WTA Championships! Just kidding! Don't sue us. But if, like last year, the WTA can't put people in the seats for their year-end championship, it could be hostile takeover time. Tennis-X has the technology. You've seen the WTA website, it blows. How bad is that for the sport when you have 500 people in the stands, with the top players in the world competing in front of an international television audience? That's bad. For the game. And we're ready to grab the reins. First the website, then the tour, then maybe women's golf, what's to stop us? Nothing. Enough talk. In the meanwhile, on this the opening day of the 2003 WTA Championships, the Tennis-X staff breaks down the two round robin groups to see who will emerge into the semifinals:

Red Group: (1)Kim Clijsters, (6)Amelie Mauresmo, (9)Elena Dementieva, (10)Chanda Rubin
Save for a meteor striking the Staples Center, few things can stop defending champion Kim Clijsters from coming out of this group. "This started it all for me," said Clijsters, who upset both Williams sisters en route to last year's title. The current No. 1-ranked waffle is 6-0 against the three women in her group this year, so put her in the semifinal. For the second semifinalist, as crazy as this sounds, we're going with No. 10 seed Chanda Rubin (*the seedings are messed up due to the withdrawal of three players with injury) to claw her way into the semis. Rubin beat Mauresmo in their only meeting this year, and split four meetings with the Russian Dementieva. You're right, that is some crazy &$#@, and you read it here first.

Black Group: (2)Justine Henin-Hardenne, (5)Jennifer Capriati, (8)Anastasia Myskina, (11)Ai Sugiyama
H-H, bar any injury, is coming out of this group, with a 5-1 record (one loss to Myskina) against her contemporaries this year. "Last year I was getting married two weeks after the championships, so I was a little focused on that," said the diminutive Belgian. "This year, it's going to be very different." Let's strike Sugiyama, who has a horrible record against the top players, and it comes down to the chunky American and the stick-thin Russian. Capriati beat Myskina in their only meeting this year, but the Russian posted a win over H-H, no mean feat. Hmmmmm. Since we've seen JenCap choke so many big ones away this year, we'll go with Myskina in what should be a cat fight. Side note: Why is Chanda Rubin not in the Black Group? Is she not "black" enough for the Black Group? The WTA will be fielding a lot of line drives from the media on Day One.

* Players withdrawing with injury this year were (3)Serena Williams, (4)Lindsay Davenport, and (7)Venus Williams.

Wednesday Schedule (Red Group): Mauresmo vs. Rubin, Capriati vs. Sugiyama, Clijsters vs. Dementieva

WTA CHAMPIONSHIPS HEAD-TO-HEADS (2003 ONLY)
Here are the head-to-heads for players versus the rest of the field for 2003 only. Only the two Belgians hold winning records against the field this year:

Clijsters 16-6
Henin-Hardenne 14-7
Mauresmo 7-7
Rubin 7-7
Dementieva 6-10
Capriati 5-6
Myskina 5-7
Sugiyama 1-8

WTA CHAMPIONSHIPS MISCELLANEOUS STATS
Youngest Champion -- Monica Seles in 1990 (16 yrs., 11 months)
Oldest Champion -- Martina Navratilova in 1986 (30 yrs., 1 month)
Youngest Qualifier -- Jennifer Capriati in 1990 (14 yrs., 7 months)
Oldest Qualifier -- Billie Jean King in 1983 (39 yrs., 4 months)

MOST WTA CHAMPIONSHIPS FINALS (four or more)
14--Martina Navratilova (8-6 win-loss in finals)
10--Navratilova/Shriver (10-0)
8--Chris Evert (4-4)
6--Steffi Graf (5-1)
4--Monica Seles (3-1)
4--Martina Hingis (2-2)
4--Gabriela Sabatini (2-2)
4--Lindsay Davenport (1-3)
4--Kohde-Kilsch/Sukova (0-4)

All four seeds in action advanced at the low-level, why-is-this-being-held WTA event in Pattaya City Tuesday in (1)Tanasugarn (d. (Q)Gers 6-0 in the third), (2)Obata (d. Vakulenko in three), (4)Barna (d. the unfortunately-named (LL)Klemenschits), and (7)Kostanic (d. (LL)Schiechtl). On court today are Tatarkova vs. Domachowska, Sun vs. Kleinova, Fedak vs. Rodionova, and Steinbach vs. Yan.

NOTES, QUOTES, AND BARBS
Andy Roddick is now working with designer Arnold Brandt and will be modeling some of the fall looks at a special event at Saks on Thursday, November 6th from 6:30p.m. to 8:30 p.m., according to the Boca News. "No, I'm not going to be on a runway," Roddick said, "I'll just be mingling and meeting with everyone, while wearing different outfits." No comment...Nov. 23rd is Andy Roddick Day as proclaimed by the city of Boca Raton, FL, jumping on the A-Rod train...Does everyone agree that cutting the WTA Championship doubles from eight teams to four is stupid? Why not just two teams? Or kill it altogether?...A new "reality show" featuring Andy Roddick is in the works. "The Tour" will track the 21-year-old next summer as he deals with fame, fans and fellow players. "I am totally amped for this show," Roddick told the AP Tuesday. "I'm just this guy who happens to play tennis, but my life has become this circus. It's a wild ride, and I've given 'The Tour' producers total access...except my bedroom -- sorry, I have to draw the line somewhere." Girlfriend Mandy Moore says she's a big fan of MTV's "Newlyweds," about pop singers Nick Lachey and Jessica Simpson, but would not want the spotlight on her. "My personal life is my personal life and it's behind closed doors," the 19-year-old singer-actress said. "I like watching other people, though." Cameras will follow Roddick from May to September next year. C'mon, get Mandy in there, The Andy & Mandy Show. The Bryan Brothers and Brian Vahaly are also in the show's plans...The singles winner at the WTA Championships will get a cool $1 million...In the WTA Championships media supplement, it says the doubles draw is eight teams (it is actually four). Nice one WTA! Your days are numbered...Martina Navratilova has the most year-end singles championships with eight...Martina Navratilova won 21 consecutive year-end championship matches from 1983-87...Did You Know: Between 1976 and 1982 when Colgate and Toyota were sponsors of the April-December WTA Tour segments, each held its own WTA Championships...Lindsay Davenport won the WTA Championships doubles title three consecutive times with three different players in 1996-98...Lindsay Davenport says she'll return from injury in January 2004...The lead story on the Sports Illustrated tennis site is "Martina Hingis, where are you?"? Who gives a rat...Spain has thrown a curve at Australia by naming Davis Cup rookie Feliciano Lopez to the team for the final later this month. Lopez has posted the best grasscourt results this year of any Spaniard, and while the lefty is expected to play doubles with Alex Corretja, he could also easily be thrown into the singles mix...Justine Henin-Hardenne skipped practice Tuesdsay due to the flu. She requested and received a Thursday start.