Australian Open Top 10 WTA Contenders and Floaters

by TWMasterAce

Master Ace gives the Spin's readers part 1 of his list of contenders for the Australian Open.  We will provide the Ace will be back with his picks once the draw has been published.  Ace will give his list of floaters as well as attempt a racquet breakdown to see if we can pull the eventual winner. 

Contenders - 

(1) Serena Williams (4-0): 2003, 2005, 2007, 2009 and 2010 W:  Brisbane. Despite winning Australian Open five times, this is the only Slam she has not won since coming back from life threatening issues.

(2) Victoria Azarenka (3-1): 2012 and 2013 W: She will be trying to be the first to win for the 3^rd consecutive year since Martina Hingis accomplished the feat from 1997-1999.

(3) Na Li (5-0): 2011 and 2013 F: Shenzhen. Despite winning the French Open in 2011, her overall results are better in Melbourne where she made 2 finals and a semifinal in 2010 where she lost a tough battle to Serena Williams.

(4) Petra Kvitova (2-0): 2012 SF: Based on her performance at Hopman Cup and Sydney so far, she may finally be able to capture her second Slam as she has worked on her fitness during the off season.     

(5) Maria Sharapova (2-1): 2008 W: In 2013, she ran through the field until the semifinals where she was stopped by Li. With her changing coaches during the offseason, it will be interesting to see what advice she was getting while rehabbing her shoulder which kept her out of the United States Open.

(6) Agnieszka Radwanska (0-1): 2008, 2011, 2012 and 2013 QF: She won all four matches played at Hopman Cup before losing in Sydney to the dangerous Bethanie Mattek-Sands. Her shoulder will be a concern as she has tape strapped on it.

(7) Jelena Jankovic (3-2). 2008 SF: In 2013, she had a resurgent season where she did well. Question is can she repeat if not exceed it.

(8) Sloane Stephens (0-0): 2013 SF. She normally does well during the Australian Open swing. However, with higher expectations and hiring Paul Annacone, will she be aggressive in her play?

(9) Angelique Kerber (5-1): 2013 R16. With increased expectations in 2013, she took a step back until the fall season. With a new coach on her team, will she continue her good form?

(10) Ana Ivanovic (5-0): 2008 F. Auckland. She is about to play her 37^th consecutive Slam and she is in good form as she won her first title outdoors since her title at the 2008 French Open.

Odds and Ends

I hope everyone had a very Happy Christmas and that the New Year will bring you and your favourite much joy during this 2014 season. 

As with every new tennis season there are always changes. Addition of new tournaments, retirements, etc. However, nothing is looked forward to as much as the ever present coaching changes. There have been some high profile hires and fires in the latter part of the tennis season on the WTA Tour and the Spin Team will be taking a look at each of these coaching changes and give our thoughts on which of these high profile coaching changes we expect to be successful. 

Before we get into the discussion of the coaching change, I have to say that the success of a coach depends entirely on the player. If the player is any good, the coach will not have much in the way of work to do. See Serena Williams and Moragotalou. However, in some cases, the coach will have to break down and rebuild a player's game, as in Victoria Azarenka and Sumyk. 

For me, it is all well and good to say that you have coached Serena Williams to Grand Slam glory, but Serena Williams was already a hugely successful athlete before Patrick came along, ditto for Maria Sharapova when she hooked up with Thomas Hogstedt.  In my view, in order to prove your coaching chops, you will need to take an unknown player and turn that player into a dominant, consistent champion.  To date, only a few coaches have been able to do that. 

With the coming season, there are a few coaching relationships that I will be taking a look at and the Spin will be running a poll to get readers’ comments on the effectiveness of certain coaching situations.  At the end of each Grand Slam, the Spin will tally the total number of votes for each of the various coaches and we will look to see what, if any, gains have been made to their respective players’ games. 

First up is the recent announcement of Sloane Stevens and Paul Annacone.  Annacone has his work cut out for him.  From the research that I have done, Annacone has never really taken a player such as Stevens, one who has never made a final of any tournament and turned him or her into a champion at whatever level.  Yes he coached Sampras and more recently Federer, but these 2 men were already household names and had achieved remarkable things in their respective careers.  Sloane is another matter.  I would consider the partnership a success if Sloane gets to the final of any tournament.  He would be a contender for Coach of the Year honours if she won a Grand Slam. 

Next up is Caroline Wozniacki and Thomas Hogstedt.  It may be a bit unfair but Wozniacki really should not have anything to prove to anyone, but unfortunately she does.  A few years ago she ruled the WTA Penthouse, these days her game and her psyche seems to be in tatters.  Her father has allegedly taken a backseat and Thomas Hogstedt, rejuvenator of Sharapova’s career and the man who was formerly in the corner of Li Na will undertake the task of reinventing Wozniacki’s career.  I would consider it a success if Wozniacki makes it to another Grand Slam final.   

Samantha Stosur and Miles McLaghlan.  This one is a head scratcher.  I am not quite sure what McLaghlan, formerly with Andy Murray and Laura Robson can bring to the table for Stosur.  The question for me with Stosur is what are her career goals as she approaches the twilight of her career?  Does she want to win another Slam?  Does she want to make it to the top of the WTA rankings?  I don’t believe I have read anything from Stosur that tells us her career plans. In any event, the singular goal for  Stosur next season, do well in  Australia. 

Laura Robson has announced that she will be working with Nick Saviano.  Saviano is a veteran coach who either previously worked with Eugenie Bouchard or is currently working with Bouchard (depends on where you get your information).  In any event, Saviano will be working alongside former ATP pro Jesse Witten. I think the best coach that Robson had was Zelko.  He got her fit, improved her ground game and from all accounts he was a hard taskmaster.  He got her to her first WTA final and even though she lost, she would go on to have a pretty good year in 2012.  Pity that she regressed so much in 2013, mainly due to a shoulder injury.  That being said she has a huge game and if she continues to work hard with Saviano she should replicate her 2012 season.  I would consider it a success if she won her first WTA title. 

Under The Radar

There are a few other coaching relationships that I will be keeping my eye on.  One that I think has been overhyped is the Li Na/Carlos Rodriquez relationship.  I actually think that this has been a very unsuccessful partnership so far.  The fact that you have been successful in coaching one player (Henin) as an all court player, does not necessarily mean that it will work with another (Li).  I find it amusing that the game that is now being played by Li was what Henin played in her first career.  Once she retired and came back she played as Li did in her first career.  All the beauty and elegance that made Henin such a joy to watch was pushed out of the way for a style that was just mindless baseline ballbashing.   

Maria Sharapova and Sven Gronefeld. I am not confident that this will be a partnership that will be as successful as the one that Sharapova had with Thomas Hogstedt. While the Hogstedt relationship ended on a losing note with its very own hashtag, I can't see what Groneveld will bring to the table with Sharapova, but as with the other coaching changes, the Spin will watch and see what happens next. 

Female Coaches

I think the women above are missing the boat completely when it comes to coaching relationships.  Bartoli, winner of the 2013 Ladies Singles Title at Wimbledon severed coaching ties with her father prior to entering the lawns of  Wimbledon. She partnered with former No.1  and winner of 2 Grand Slams, including Wimbledon, Amelie Mauresmo.  Bartoli would go on to win Wimbledon with none other than Mauresmo sitting in her box.


Eugenie Bouchard, current holder of youngest teenager in the top 50 of the WTA and winner of the WTA’s Newcomer of the Year Award was coached this season by Natalie Tauziat, a former WTA player.  Unlike many others in her age group she had a very successful season.


Finally, and most importantly in my mind, Samantha Stosur severed her long time coaching relationship with David Taylor and had Alicia Molik, Fed Cup captain and former WTA No. 5 coach her for the rest of the season. She won 2 titles, her first since her US0 2011 title and qualified for the Tournament of Champions.  


Lucie Safarova, she of the huge lefty game won her first title in 5 years with a female coach in her corner.


I wonder why these young women are reluctant to consider the benefits of getting a woman’s perspective on their games.  Here are some coaching relationships I would like to see on the WTA Tour:


Petra Kvitova and Martina Navratilova - may not be the best fit as they love each other so much, but they have mutual respect and admiration for each other. Martina could Petra believe in herself, especially when things get tight in a match.


 Agnieska Radwanska and Martina Hingis - similar game styles and similar disposition on court.  The difference is the mentality that they both carry on court.  The Swiss Miss was legendary for her on court demeanour. Radwanska can fall apart when things get tough.


Maria Sharapova and Lindsay Davenport - they both hit some of the cleanest groundies on tour, plus they are fans of each other.  Davenport was never known for her mentality but she had variety in her game. A different way of looking at things may help Sharapova lift another slam trophy and may even get her that much needed win over Serena Williams. 

THE RESCUING OF SERENA WILLIAMS

by Tournament Junkie 

Social media is in an uproar. It is in an uproar because of an article on CNN Open Court in which the above headline was used to describe the partnership of Serena Williams and Patrick Mouratoglou of the Mouratoglou Tennis Academy outside of Paris. As most people have said, and it is a point in which I agree, Serena did not need rescuing. She was a multiple Slam champion and a cultural icon, with influence outside of tennis. To posit her return to the top of tennis as being rescued by someone that most people outside of tennis had never heard of is really an affront to Serena, her accomplishments and a slap in the face of Richard Williams and Oracene Price, the parents who molded her into a champion.

However, what leaves a bad taste in my mouth is that if Serena was not the subject of this article, tennis’s paternalism would never have been addressed. The term "rescue" was used earlier this season when Sorana Cirstea, a player with a solid game but unspectacular results had an incredible run at a Premier Mandatory event in Toronto. During the coaching sessions, Darren Cahill, noted ESPN analyst and part of the Adidas Player Development Program would come down courtside to "coach" Cirstea. The commentators in the booth could not get enough of it. Every single time Cirstea won a match, it was not about her efforts and how she held her game together to win but about the effectiveness of Cahill's coaching. Ever since on court coaching has been introduced in women’s tennis, the work of the coach has received an inordinate amount of the attention, often to the detriment of the player. Perhaps now that the face of women's tennis has been subjected to paternalistic journalism, the WTA will realize that on-court coaching has shepherd in an era of men leading their charges.

I suspect if these women were open to considering having a woman as a coach, we might see coaching characterized as a partnership as it often is in the men’s game. There have been some very successful female coaching partnerships just this year alone.  Bartoli, winner of the 2013 Ladies Singles Title at Wimbledon severed coaching ties with her father prior to entering the lawns of Wimbledon. She partnered with former No.1 and winner of 2 Grand Slams, including Wimbledon, Amelie Mauresmo.  Bartoli would go on to win Wimbledon with none other than Mauresmo sitting in her box. 

Eugenie Bouchard, current holder of youngest teenager in the top 50 of the WTA and winner of the WTA’s Newcomer of the Year Award was coached this season by Natalie Tauziat, a former WTA player.  Unlike many others in her age group she had a very successful season. Lucie Safarova, with the huge lefty game won her first title in 5 years with a female coach in her corner. Finally, and one of the most important coaching changes that I saw this year was Samantha Stosur severing her longtime coaching relationship with David Taylor and had Alicia Molik, Fed Cup captain and former WTA No. 5 coach her for the rest of the season.  She won 2 titles, her first since her US0 2011 title and qualified for the Tournament of Champions.  It is a pity that she has hired a male coach for the 2014 season (but more on that in another post). 

It may be so obvious that they don’t see it but these women could do with getting a female’s perspective on their games. Here are some coaching relationships I would like to see on the WTA Tour:

Petra Kvitova and Martina Navratilova - may not be the best fit seeing as they love each other so much, but they have mutual respect and admiration for each other and maybe Martina may have Petra believe in herself, especially when things get tight in a match. 

Agnieska Radwanska and Martina Hingis - similar game styles and similar disposition on court.The difference is the mentality that they both carry on court.  The Swiss Miss was legendary for her on court demeanor. Radwanska seems to be fall apart when things get tough.

What other female coaching relationships do you think would work?  Sound off in the comments

WHY PAT CASH IS RIGHT

2-1 First Set 

Pat Cash has been known for taking controversial erroneous stances on tennis in the past but for the first time, I have to agree with his point about the state of the men's game. Cash stated in an article for CNN that men’s tennis is boring. According to Cash, it’s boring to watch the “same tactic in every single match of every single grand slam for the last five or six years. Nowadays they all settle down and say OK, this is going to be two hours of baseline rallies. The guy who outlasts the other one wins. It’s taken a lot of the skill out of tennis”.  While, some will retort that it was no fun watching Sampras serve bombs across from his opponents in the 90s, we must admit that the pendulum has possibly swung too far to the other side.  Like Cash, I believe that “human beings love variety.” We come to tennis to see not just an endurance contest, but to see individuals who can make use of the breadth of the tennis court. While “we rightly celebrate these great matches between Nadal and Djokovic, but [sic] we need to look at the bigger picture”. Instead of simply celebrating another long drawn out Grand Slam men’s final, the ATP might do well to heed the cries of Cash and others or face the disdain of fans who are slowly venturing to the WTA to see the variety and personality that the ATP is sorely lacking. 

The article immediately caused a hue and cry in the tennis community with many people saying that Cash was an idiot. While his comment about Serena in the past have proven to be false, she has since won nine Slams since 2007, Cash may be on to something with the ATP. Despite the rhetoric from tennis journalists, most of whom are men, proclaiming a golden age of tennis in the ATP, tennis fans do appear to be turning from men’s tennis to the ladies of the WTA.

One of the things that I search for diligently after the completion of a Grand Slam tournament is the results of the ratings for the men and the women. Over the past few years, I believe that the women’s game is slowly becoming a force within tennis, particularly as the range of personalities on the WTA re-capture the public’s imagination as they did in the heyday of Hingis, Davenport and the Williams Sisters. This shift has happened without the consent of tennis pundits, who have been content to harp on the shrieks, grunts, slam-less No. 1’s and the lack of variety on the women’s tour.

Data mined from various sources since 2008 shows an uptick in the ratings for both men’s and women’s Grand Slam finals since 2008.  However, the chart below shows a consistent improvement in the ratings of the women’s finals while the men’s have remained stagnant. In 2013, all of the women’s finals outpaced the men’s in viewership.

Year	Tournament	Average Ratings
		Men	Women
2008	*AO/FO/Wimbledon/USO	2.23	2.46
2009	*AO/FO/Wimbledon/USO	2.53	1.56
2010	*AO/FO/Wimbledon/USO	1.6	1.56
2011	*AO/FO/Wimbledon/USO	2.1	2.1
2012	*AO/FO/Wimbledon/USO	2.03	2
2013	*AO/FO/Wimbledon/USO	1.96	2.26

*not available for the Australian Open

Unbeknownst to them, a subtle shift was taking place on both tours towards the end of 2008 and the start of 2009. On the WTA tour, Caroline Wozniacki became its face. Commentators and advertisers loved her; she was pretty, happy go lucky, willing to give interviews, respectful of her opponents and non-threatening. Yet, her game bored tennis fans and her opponents. While she never won a Slam, she did amass a tremendous amount of points from the regular WTA tournaments, forcing fans to tune out these tournaments. Yet, fans would often turn their gaze to the WTA as Wozniacki faltered at the Slams and new and old champions rose to take the prize with compelling storylines: Serena vs. Dementieva semi-final at Wimbledon in 2009; Serena vs. Clijsters (the new mommy) at the USO in 2009; Serena vs Henin (the comeback) in Australia in 2010; Zvonareva’s 2010 run to the Wimbledon and US Open final; Stosur vs Schiavone at the French Open in 2010; Sharapova returning to the winners circle in 2012 with her French Open win to complete the career slam and Serena Williams’ dominant run in 2012 through 2013. All of these matches with their respective personality clashes and drama have caused people to start to pay attention to women’s tennis. In addition, young brash players have emerged to try to challenge the old champions.  Players, whom tennis fans have talked about on message boards for years, were finally showing mettle and making new fans amongst the casual tennis viewer. We have Petra Kvitova, the young Czech lefty with the all court game;   Victoria Azarenka, known more for her theatrics and her hooting than her tennis and Radwanska, with a game style being compared to Hingis. These women aided by the WTA’s marketing efforts which include an All Access Hour at the start of each tournament have generated interest, conversation, and most importantly viewership of WTA matches.

Meanwhile, the men’s game is stuttering along, redeeming itself only through the length of its matches and its increasing physicality. While the emergence of Djokovic and Murray has now shifted talk of the Big Two (Federer and Nadal) to that of the Big Four; we have not seen an uptick in ratings to suit their ascendancy. While Murray’s run to the Wimbledon title did generate high ratings within the United Kingdom, none of the men have succeeded in nurturing an audience for their matches without Federer and now Nadal.

While some are quick to say that women’s tennis is similarly blessed to have Serena Williams who has crossover appeal beyond tennis; I suspect the stagnant ratings of the men’s finals is due to what Cash suggests: the boring, one-dimensional nature of the encounters. Consider this – until 2009, the last man outside of Federer, Nadal or Djokovic to win a Slam was Juan Martin del Potro. Yes, Murray has come into his own to now earn 2 Grand Slam titles but leaving Federer out of the equation; there is absolutely nothing to distinguish the game styles of Djokovic, Nadal or Murray.  They play the same style of grinding tennis which for a real tennis fan can only capture your imagination for so long.

Matches amongst these men can last for hours, becoming wars of attrition rather than about the court craft of tennis. However, the women have raised the level of competitiveness amongst each other. Yes, Serena has emerged as the dominant champion but the other women have also stepped up to provide intriguing matches as well. While some say that the WTA itself has become a war of attrition especially in matches involving Serena, I would argue that this is definitely not the case.  The variety that is used by the women on Tour, especially in light of the homogenous nature of today’s courts, in winning matches boggles the mind.  Who can forget the skills and tactics that Bartoli used in winning her maiden Grand Slam at Wimbledon this year, or indeed Serena’s play at the French Open when the drop shot and lob combo was used extensively throughout her matches during that 2 week period?

On average a best of 3 set match involving the top women can last approximately 1.5 hours.  On the men’s side, 1.5 hours will get you the first set, especially when it is a match being played by one of the Big Four.  In reviewing matches played this year on the men’s side, nothing springs to mind in terms of memorable tactics. Like Cash suggests, it has all come down to mercilessly grinding your opponents into the ground.   Perhaps that is one of the reasons why the ATP has failed to see a young man enter the top 100. Who will those who love the ATP look forward to in the game’s future?  

We see this daunting scenario as we come to the end of another year, and there are various awards that are being presented by both tours.  It is noteworthy that while the WTA has a Newcomer of the Year Award and has an abundance of talent on which to bestow that particular honour, the ATP has had to disband that particular category.  The WTA is in good shape right now.  Its emerging stars are taking their place at the table.  Unfortunately, the ATP is entering a period where fans will continue to tune out their matches in favor of the variety and court craft they seek. 

WTA CHINA OPEN - 中国网球公开赛前瞻

The China Open is the third stop on the WTA’s Asian Tour. 

During the first week of the Asian swing we saw first time finalist and eventual champion Zhang, a Chinese Wildcard win the Guangzhou title over American qualifier Vania King.  In week 2 the top ladies started to make their presence known with No. 4 ranked Aga Radwanska and No. 1 seed winning in a hard fought 3 set battle over Anastasia Pavlyenchkova  to win the Seoul title.  Next stop was Tokyo and this tournament saw some of the better tennis being played during the Asian swing.

The ultimate veteran Venus Williams proved to us why she should never be counted out as she made it all the way to the semifinals before losing to eventual champion Petra Kvitova, who beat Angelique Kerber in a very entertaining if no doubt frustrating match.  It would not however be a Kvitova match if there was not at least 1 bagel or breadstick.

Victoria Azarenka, the No.2  ranked player and No. 1 seed fell to Venus Williams in a very entertaining match if you are a Venus fan, but there was no doubt that Azarenka was not at her best.  One can only hope that she has recovered from whatever ailed her in Tokyo. 

 The WTA is now having the last mandatory tournament of 2013 in the city of Beijing where all players play in the first round except for Venus Williams, Petra Kvitova, Caroline Wozniacki and Angelique Kerber. These players got the byes due to making the semifinals at Tokyo. Serena Williams is the top seed in this star studded field. Maria Sharapova, due to injury, and Marion Bartoli, due to retirement, are the only players in the Top 18 not playing.

FIRST QUARTER

Serena Williams will be aiming for her 10^th title this week as she is playing for the first time since United States Opem. Sloane Stephens will be trying to improve her position for the final 8 to Istanbul but she must play well especially losing a heartbreaker to Eugenie Bouchard in Tokyo. Caroline Wozniacki will try to keep the momentum from a strong semifinal appearance in Tokyo.

First round matchup to watch: Sloane Stephens vs Aleksandra Wozniak (update: this was a really fun match to watch with Sloane winning in straight sets).

SECOND QUARTER

Agnieszka Radwanska leads this quarter but based on play in Tokyo, I would say the favourite is Angelique Kerber.  Shuai Zhang has performed well recently winning a title in Guangzhou and losing in the final to Bojana Jovanovski in Ningbo in consecutive weeks.

First round matchup to watch: Madison Keys vs Dominika Cibulkova

THIRD QUARTER

Na Li leads this quarter which is a tough one with Petra Kvitova and Venus Williams looming. Bojana Jovanovski has played well in the last 3 weeks winning titles in Tashkent and Ningbo and losing in a three setter to Vania King in Guangzhou. King went on to make the finals losing to Zhang in Ningbo.

First round matchup to watch: Bojana Jovanovski vs Sorana Cirstea

FOURTH QUARTER

Victoria Azarenka leads this quarter. Azarenka suffered a surprise first match exit to V Williams, who made the semifinals, in Tokyo. She will be defending her title and if she succeeds, this will be the 3^rd time in 2013 she has defended a title after Australian Open and Doha.

First round matchup to watch: Jelena Jankovic vs Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova

Predictions:

Q1: S Williams vs Wozniacki

Q2: A Radwanska vs Kerber

Q3: Kvitova vs Li

Q4: Pavlyuchenkova vs Azarenka

S1: S Williams vs Kerber

S2: Kvitova vs Azarenka

F: S Williams vs Azarenka

W: S Williams

PARTING SHOTS FROM THE USO AND RIDING INTO ASIA

Just how great is Serena Williams these days?  She won her 17th Grand Slam title from 53 appearances. To show just how good she has been and still is, Martina Navratilova played 67 Grand Slam singles events and Chris Evert played 56.   They both have 18 singles titles.  Serena is one win away from tying them.  Most people think that it will happen at any of the 4 Grand Slams next year. 

For the second year in a row, Victoria Azarenka has shown that she is worthy to be called a rival of Serena Williams.  I am not minded to call her that having regard to their head to head, but Azarenka makes a very good case as to why she should be called a rival to the woman who now occupies the WTA Penthouse.  She has shown that she has the game and the mentality to stay with Serena come what may.  

Here are Spin’s and Ace’s Parting Shots.  As with most of the Majors, the Spin will focus on the women and in no particular order of their importance. 

• How great is the WTA product looking these days?  With so many young women coming up from the juniors and so many of them making their names in the Majors this year, I think the WTA is putting itself in a position where it could very well be that they will again draw even bigger ratings than the men.  
• Caroline Wozniacki.  It was just a few short years ago that she ruled the WTA. I have no idea what has happened but it is remarkably frustrating to see her not even make the second week of a Major. Believe this was her last chance to make a Slam semifinal as she was given a kind draw.
• Welcome to prime time Camila Giorgi. 
• What has happened to Julia Georges? 
• Sabine Lisicki is becoming the next Tsevtana Pironkova and that is not a title that a player with the game of Lisicki should ever aspire to become. 
• The non-retirement of Marion Bartoli.  Why not just take a break and savour the moment of fulfilling your life’s work?
• I don’t know if I missed it but it was great to listen to the commentary on a women’s match and not ever hearing anything about the shrieks, grunts, howls etc.  The commentary was about the 2 women on the court giving their hearts and soul in order to capture a Major title.  I am happy. 
• Venus Williams is a Legend.  She may not have the career of her little sister, but what she brings to women’s tennis cannot be measured in terms of titles or monetary value.  When you become a role model and mentor to young women without having to try very hard, then you know that you have come a long way baby.  
• Victoria Duval is an amazing young woman, poised, articulate and so focused.  Lots of work needed on her game but taking out the 2011 USO champion, no matter how poorly Samantha Stosur played, says a lot about her mentality.  The fact that she aspires to become something other than a tennis player is remarkable as well. 
• Sloane Stephens.  She played the first 4 games of her match against Serena like the Sloane that we all know can become the next big thing in tennis. She says that her aim is to finish the year in the top 10.  It seems that Sloane is more about rankings watch than she is about standing on the podium receiving the top prizes. Baby steps are required, but I would have preferred if she spoke about results, rather than the ranking.  If the results are there the ranking will come. 
• Flavia Pennetta is not my favourite player but how awesome was it to see her playing again and doing so well.  Losing in the semifinals to the second best hard court player this year is nothing to sniff at. 
• Simona Halep. I think she was very disappointed with her results at the USO.  Perhaps no New Haven and she could make a run for it next year. 
• Petra Kvitova :(
• Andrea Hlavackova – She won the doubles title with her partner and fellow Fed Cup Czech mate Lucie Hradecka defeating Serena and Venus along the way. Also, she won the mixed doubles with Max Mirnyi, who won his first two with Serena and Vika. First player to win both in a Slam since Cara Black in 2008 (doubles with Liezel Huber) 
• Daniela Hantuchova – She made the quarter-finals which is a good accomplishment after losing in the first round for five straight Slams even though her draw was not difficult.
• Victoria Azarenka – Despite losing again in the final to Serena, she did well by making the final despite not playing her best tennis.
• Alison Riske – She received a wild card and made the organizers proud by making the fourth round defeating Petra Kvitova in the process.
• Until the final, the match of the tournament was between Carla Suarez Navarro and Angelique Kerber where a third set tiebreaker determined the winner and the raw emotion of Suarez Navarro after winning.

The WTA Tour now moves to Asia and already we have seen some surprising results.  Spin had a chance to watch a few matches from Korea as well as China.  I watched the semifinal match between  Zhang and Meusberger.  It was my first time watching Zhang, a WC recipient play and I was very impressed.  I am thinking from the little that I have seen, plus the fact that her opponent, Vania King, a qualifier had to go 3 sets to take out Jheng Jie in her semifinal, will have Zhang winning her first WTA title from as many starts. 

Ace's preview of the Japan Open is below

Since the United States Open has concluded, the tour has moved on to the continent of Asia. This week the tour lands in Tokyo, which is hosting a Premier 5 event for the last time as it will move to Wuhan in 2014. Serena Williams was scheduled to play but withdrew due to fatigue. Also, Maria Sharapova, Sabine Lisicki, Nadia Petrova, 2012 champion, and Maria Kirilenko has withdrawn due to injury. Top seed is the reigning two-time Australian Open champion, Victoria Azarenka, who has defeated S Williams twice on hard courts in Doha and Cincinnati. Azarenka will be the favourite to win.

 

First quarter - Azarenka leads this quarter but her first opponent could be Venus Williams. Sloane Stephens will be trying to improve her record in WTA tour events in a push to finish 2013 in the Top 10 while Jelena Jankovic will be continuing her good play.

 

First round matchups to watch: Eugenie Bouchard vs Monica Puig

 

Second quarter - Sara Errani leads this quarter but admitted that the pressure of being a top seed got to her during the US Open. Petra Kvitova has the ability to win this title but she can be very inconsistent and will her love for Radek Stepanek, who won the US Open doubles with Leander Paes, linger on every match she plays.

 

First round matchup to watch: Julia Goerges vs Sorana Cirstea

 

Third quarter - Caroline Wozniacki leads this quarter and has won this title in 2010. She has a tough first round match playing the winner of Daniela Hantuchova/Flavia Pennetta. When the media thinks that Roberta Vinci will falter early in draws, she finds a way to make quarterfinals or semifinals.

 

First round matchup to watch: Daniela Hantuchova vs Flavia Pennetta

 

Fourth quarter - Agnieszka Radwanska leads this quarter. If A Radwanska, who won this title in 2011, is playing in Seoul on Sunday, she will have only one day to travel as her first match will be on Tuesday and the further she advances, she may feel the effects.

 

First round matchup to watch: Aleksandra Wozniak vs Francesca Schiavone 

Ace's Tokyo Predictions

 

Q1: Azarenka vs Stephens

Q2: Cirstea vs Kvitova

Q3: Vinci vs Pennetta

Q4: Ivanovic vs A Radwanska

 

S1: Azarenka vs Kvitova

S2: Pennetta vs A Radwanska

 

F: Azarenka vs A Radwanska

 

W: Azarenka