Serena Wins Thanks to Myskina Choke at WTA Championships; McEnroe Prepares for Senior Masters

Posted on November 11, 2004

WTA Championships Begin With Davenport, Kuznetsova Blowing Past Competition, Serena Barely Surviving

Svetlana Kuznetsova and Lindsay Davenport had comfortable victories while Serena Williams looked nowhere near the top of her game in gutting out a win Wednesday on day one at the WTA Championships.

The No. 4-seeded Kuznetsova soundly defeated fellow Russian and No. 8 seed Vera "The Crying Game" Zvonareva 6-2, 6-4 in the opening match, with the emotional Zvonareva coming through for the STAPLES Center crowd, getting misty-eyed and slamming her racquet in anger while getting out-hit by five winners for her every one.

After the match the Championships-rookie Zvonareva stormed out without talking to reporters.

In the second match of the night, Russian Anastasia Myskina provided another classic choke for her 2004 portfolio that includes the Olympics collapse, seizing up after taking a set lead and 3-0 (two breaks) in the second, but playing nervously to let Serena back in the match for a 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 loss.

"I was just thinking I won the match. When I was ahead I stepped back and was hoping for her mistakes," Myskina said. "Serena started playing better."

The No. 7-seeded Williams, wearing a pink top and a frilly layered white skirt resembled an NFL linebacker in a tutu, in contrast to the gaunt pipe-cleaner limbs of Myskina who appeared the tennis poster child for anorexia. In contrast to her physical appearance, the No. 3-seeded Myskina provided enough consistency from the baseline to coax numerous errors (61) from the former No. 1 American, but again lacked the mental fortitude to close a big match.

In the final contest of the night, top-seeded Lindsay Davenport thrashed French/US Open runner-up and No. 5 seed Elena Dementieva 6-0, 6-1, spanking the Russian's pitiful second serve and dictating play from the beginning of the match which appeared out of place at the women's championships.

In the second set, leading 6-0, 4-1, Davenport survived an 18-deuce game, at the conclusion raising her arms to the applause of the L.A. fans.

"It seemed like 5-all in the third," Davenport said. "It was one of those games that got more dramatic as it went on, a really crazy game."

On court Thursday, The Crying Game will try and stave off round robin elimination against Amelie Mauresmo, while L.A. tennis porn poster child Maria Sharapova makes her debut against the 1-0 Kuznetsova, and Dementieva tries to recover from her bagel-and-breadstick loss from Wednesday, today facing the 1-0 Serena.

Masters Cup Doubles Preview: Bryans a Long Shot for No. 1 Ranking

The Bryan brothers, Bob and Mike, have repeatedly announced their goal of finishing the year 2004 at No. 1 on the ATP Team Rankings.

But with only one event remaining, the No. 2-ranked Bryans need a "perfect storm" of results to take the coveted year-end No. 1 spot.

To overtake the top-ranked Bahamian/Canadian duo of Mark Knowles/Daniel Nestor, the twins need to win the Masters Cup Doubles as an undefeated team (no round robin loss), while world No. 1s Knowles/Nestor need to go 0-3 in round robin play.

Good luck.

So while their dream of a No. 1 year-end ranking is likely out of reach, the brothers can append their goal to the difficult task of successfully defending their MCD title from 2003.

This year the MCD field includes six returning teams from 2003 in Knowles/Nestor, the Bryans, the Swedish/Aussie pair of Jonas Bjorkman and Todd Woodbridge, the Indian/Belarus duo of Mahesh Bhupathi and Max "The Beast" Mirnyi, veteran Czechs Martin Damm and Cyril Suk, and the consistent Argentine squad of Gaston Etlis and Martin Rodriguez.

New this year are Wayne Black and Kevin Ullyett (last year's alternate team) and Roland Garros champions Xavier "X-Man" Malisse and Olivier "The Roach" Rochus. X-Man and The Roach finished the year at No. 16, but make the field via the "Grand Slam Rule" (if you win a slam and finish outside the Top 8 but still in the Top 20, you're in). Weak, yes, and a concession to the International Tennis Federation (ITF) which run the slams, and in concert with the ATP run the Masters Cup singles and doubles (see: Gaston Gaudio in the singles).

On Wednesday the ATP released the MCD draw, with world No. 1s Knowles/Nestor handed an easy time in the Red Group with Black/Ullyett, Damm/Suk and X-Man/The Roach. The difficult Blue Group features the Bryans, Bjorkman/Woodbridge, Bhupathi/The Beast, and Etlis/Rodriguez.

Frenchmen Michael Llodra and Fabrice "The Magician" Santoro, who last year lost to the Bryans in the five-set final, qualified this year but were forced to withdraw with Santoro's wrist injury.

TENNIS-X NEWS, NOTES, QUOTES AND BARBS
Jennifer Capriati and Maria Sharapova will play a Dec. 18 exhibition at the St. Pete Times Forum that will raise money for the Florida Hurricane Relief Fund...T.J. Simers writing for the L.A. Times on the WTA's Maria Sharapova promotion: "That's when I took another look at the provocative leaflet: 'The closer you get...the hotter it gets,' and this time viewed it as a parent who has had a pair of 17-year-old daughters. I know how I'd have spent my week in L.A. as the father of a girl caught in such a pose; I would have been climbing ladders and ripping down billboards all over the city...As a parent, maybe I was being a prude, so I asked Lara Potter, one of the tournament's publicists, if she was offended by the ad that had Sharapova striking a provocative pose. She said, 'No comment,' and it takes a lot to shut up a publicist...I'm sure there are a lot of folks who feel good about the pose Sharapova has struck. In fact, Max Eisenbud, Sharapova's agent, took offense that anyone would even question it. "I don't think it's anything we aren't seeing on TV right now," he said. "It's where our society is at. She happens to be a very attractive girl -- now if she was 15 or 16, not dressed in her tennis clothes or showing cleavage..." AEG could've maybe sold out the tournament. Sharapova may or may not be the most mature 17-year-old the world has known, but she's still 17. A kid. And if the message to young girls everywhere in the L.A. area is that sex sells -- rather than Wimbledon championship tennis, shame on anyone who rewards AEG this week and takes their daughter to Staples Center. Where were her parents? 'There you go,' said Lindsay Davenport. 'I wouldn't do it, and I can tell you my daughter wouldn't either.'...'This is a hot picture,' (Serena) Williams said when I gave her the Sharapova ad. 'I hate to say it, but sex sells. A lot of people who are 12, are doing things...' Which certainly doesn't justify anything a 17-year-old might be doing, I said, and Williams replied, 'Everyone has their own opinion, and I think she's sexy.' I told Williams, who packs some wallop in this sport, that I was disappointed in her response, and WTA official Jim Fuhse said Williams would only answer questions for five more minutes. When my next question left Williams stammering for a reply, Fuhse said the interview was over. Time flies in the tennis world, I guess, when Williams isn't having a good time."...Veteran Aussie coach Ian Barclay talking to FOX Sports on the state of Australian junior tennis: "We used to dominate the world. We used to go away and win every junior tournament. Now we've slipped so far we can't get kids into international tournaments. We used to own the Davis Cup, we used to own Wimbledon, we used to own everything. What do we own now? Nothing. Apart from Lleyton (Hewitt) and Alicia (Molik), what else have we got?"...While Serena Williams fashion designs (and taste) have been roundly pounded by critics, the American has critiqued herself, and the results are in: "I'm an unbelievable designer. I don't know how I know and just do these things. I just start sketching and then I just know the colors and I always know the forecast. I know green and purple are going to be hot. I was born to be a designer. I worked hard to be a tennis player, I don't work hard to be a designer." Judging by this year's "corset" tennis outfit, we can tell...Andy Roddick on his three losses to Roger Federer this year: "I think that he was a better athlete than me in those three matches, he was in better physical condition, and I think that that had something to do with it."...British Eurosport will be broadcasting live coverage every day from the Masters Cup. "Grinning" Greg Rusedski will be providing studio analysis alongside former British No. 1 Andrew Castle...The best headline describing the WTA's Maria Sharapova tennis porn marketing comes from The Mercury News: "Why not just offer some lap dances?"...Australian Pat Rafter and wife Lara Feltham are expecting a second child, The Daily Telegraph newspaper reports...Lou Tilley writing for the Main Line Times about Maria Sharapova's semifinal pull-out last week at Philadelphia: "What we knew was this: Sharapova told the driver of her complimentary Porsche at 4:30 p.m. the previous afternoon, to be at her hotel at 5 p.m., as she was catching a plane to Los Angeles. He asked her why, since she had just won her quarterfinal match, and was to play on versus (Amelie) Mauresmo, and maybe get into the finals -- and a shot at the top prize of 93 grand. She reportedly said, "Well, I have gotten my work in for the week, made a nice check and now I can go to L.A., and rest up for a while before the big season ending event.""...The Masters Cup draw for the singles was announced, with the Red Group featuring Roger Federer, Lleyton Hewitt, Carlos Moya and Gaston Gaudio, and the Blue Group featuring Andy Roddick, Marat Safin, Guillermo Coria and Tim Henman...Amelie Mauresmo has withdrawn from 10 tournaments this year with injury...Anastasia Myskina has a 5-6 record in tiebreaks this year...Maria Sharapova is 2-5 in tiebreaks this year...Serena Williams is 2-3 in tiebreaks this year...We've got the bored interns looking up tiebreak records...Andy Roddick speaking to the Houston Chronicle just days before the start of the Masters Cup: "Roger used his success as a springboard for the great year he's had. That's what I hope to do. I'm really pumped. I haven't played a lot lately, so I'm hungry."...John McEnroe and Mikael Pernfors received the two wildcards for the 12-man year-ending senior Masters event in London: "Put it this way, if I play my best, these guys that came in recently may not know what hit them," McEnroe said, referring to senior tour newbies such as current No. 1 Jim Courier, Thomas Muster and Richard Krajicek. "I'll be ready. I feel like kicking some ass. I can hardly wait. As a matter of fact, I would bet money on myself."