Here, here. Victoria Azarenka might still be trying to live up to the long shadows of Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova (though, let's be honest, that of the former is quite a bit more formidable that the latter, both literally AND figuratively) in the eyes of some players, fans and commentators, but she's certainly managed to set a tone for this new season. One of vim, vigor and vindication, with a dash of redemption and "I'll-show-you" thrown in for good measure.
Case in point -- February (and the first few days of March).
After overcoming needless controversy and ugly anti-Azarenka sentiment Down Under by coming through with a defense of her Australian Open title, in many ways, Vika pulled off a just-slightly-different version of the feat in Doha. The same week that everyone was lauding Serena Williams -- and ignoring Vika -- for finally overtaking the Belarusian for the #1 ranking, Azarenka ended that particular week by defeating Williams and once again defending a title. Take that. Now, while not many players might follow Vika into battle, they surely didn't have any trouble following in her footsteps over the past month.
If you want, you could count Serena in the mix, for returning to #1 after a two-year absence and a brush with death, and proving that age 30 is no longer an inevitable sign of decline in this sport. But even if one were to separate Williams' accomplishment from being compared to those of Azarenka this season, there have been more than enough redemption-ish stories over the past month to display the trend quite clearly.
For example, Petra Kvitova finally came in from her self-imposed darkness in Dubai. Sara Errani went about proving her detractors wrong in any number of cities since her early loss in Melbourne. Jelena Jankovic and Maria Kirilenko won titles after droughts of several seasons. Bethanie Mattek-Sands is coming back strong from injury, while Sabine Lisicki (who could be ailing from anything and everything, depending on the time of day and her state of mind and/or denial) has reached two recent finals.
Then there's Olga Puchkova, Caroline Wozniacki (for the most part), South American women's tennis, Catalina Castano (speaking of S.A. tennis) and Cara Black, too. Heck, I'll even throw Kim Clijsters' womb onto the list, as well. All have made re-appearances in the news of late after periods of absence (at least for much of anything good), with some having longer "dark stretches" than others.
Vindication for real or perceived sins. Redemption for mistakes, misdeeds or simple lost time. Comebacks from adversity and/or controversy. So far, they've all played a large part in the story that is the WTA in 2013.
See, Vika. They're following you... and they don't even realize it. Shhhhhhh. Don't tell them -- just let them come to the realization all on their own.
It'll be sweeter that way.
*Backspin Monthly Awards - Wk.5-9*
**TOP PLAYERS**
1. Victoria Azarenka, BLR
...she's #2 in the rankings, #1 in Backspin's heart and still undefeated in 2013. The likelihood of another 26-match season-opening streak isn't great (though it‘s not imposible, either), but Vika sets at more than half-way there (14 wins, with 12 in-a-row since handing Serena a walkover in the Brisbane semis in Week 1) as she heads to Indian Wells to attempt to defend last year's title. Azarenka lost the #1 ranking in Doha, but she ultimately had the last laugh that week, upending Williams in the final to defend her second '12 title of the season (after the AO). "Respect" as a locker room leader may come to her down the line. But respect ON the court, especially hard court, is no longer a wispy dream for Vika.
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2. Petra Kvitova, CZE
...did February play host to the start of the reclaiming of the promise that Kvitova showed on the court not all that long ago? Sure, Kvitova still had a tendency to go off the rails for a set, or fall behind, over the past month. But starting with a pair of comeback wins against Australia on Fed Cup weekend which seemed to stoke the Czech's confidence, Kvitova -- a more fit Kvitova, it should be noted -- has often looked to be a transformed player. A close loss to Serena in Doha showed her progress, and then she went to Dubai a week later and ruled the courts against a series of Top 10 players. And she pulled it off without her ever-present coach in attendance, too. The new-found game day self-sufficiency seems to be paying off for Kvitova. Of course, we ARE talking about Petra. So, perhaps no optimistic opinion should be set in stone quite yet.
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3. Errani/Vinci, ITA/ITA
...the Italians were already the most successful doubles team on tour coming into 2013. They opened the season by upsetting the Williams Sisters in Melbourne and going on to win their third slam crown in the past year. February proved to be no different. They claimed two more tournaments, running their title-winning streak to three, and final run to four. Throw in a Fed Cup tie-deciding win for Team Italia, which pushed the pair's clay court winning streak to 28 matches, and you've possibly got the makings of a legit two-headed contender for 2013's "Ms. Backspin" honor. Look out, Vika and Serena?
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4. Serena Williams, USA
...sure, Serena got an another easy win over Maria Sharapova, and reclaimed the singles #1 ranking for the first time since 2010 -- at 31, she 's the oldest women's singles #1 ever -- but her loss in the Doha final against Vika means she hasn't actually won a title (not even in the AO doubles w/ Venus) since Week 1 in Brisbane. Her Australian Open ankle injury and twisted back in the Middle East are likely contributors to that, but if Azarenka (less than 50 points behind at #2) can find a way to hold onto most of her points from last March (when she won I.W.) we might see a TRUE race for the year-end #1 by September as Williams will have oodles and oodles of points of her own to defend beginning this summer.
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5. Sara Errani, ITA
...disregard her at your own risk. Sure, the diminutive Italian can be bested by bigger, powerful players. But some of them could learn a lot from her consistency and tenacity, as well as her willingness to change tactics in the middle of a match if Plan A isn't working. In February and the first few days of March, Errani not only won two doubles titles, but she also reached three singles finals, pushing Kvitova to three sets in Dubai on hard court, then following up by defending her Acapulco crown without dropping a set on red clay a week later. She's reached at least the final in seven of the twelve singles/doubles draws she's entered in '13, and 6-of-7 starting with the Australian Open doubles championship match. Boring? Depends on your point of view, I guess.
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HM- Czech Fed Cup Team
...the Czech Maidens' path to a third straight Fed Cup title officially began with a 4-0 shutout of the Aussies in the first FC weekend of 2013. The last team to three-peat as FC champions was Spain from 1993-95.
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WHO IS THAT WIGGED WOMAN.. and why is her father yelling at the chair umpire?
**RISERS**
1. Sara Errani, ITA
2. Maria Kirilenko, RUS
3. Marina Erakovic, NZL
4. Sabine Lisicki, GER
5. Varvara Lepchenko, USA
6. Ekaterina Makarova, RUS
7. Monica Niculescu, ROU
8. Lucie Safarova, CZE
9. Ayumi Morita, JPN
10. Sorana Cirstea, ROU
11. Kazakh Fed Cup Team
12. Karin Knapp, ITA
13. Carla Suarez-Navarro, ESP
14. Magdalena Rybarikova, SVK
15. Agnieszka Radwanska, POL
HM- Urszula Radwanska, POL
**FRESH FACES**
1. Mona Barthel, GER
2. Lara Arruabarrena-Vecino, ESP
3. Karolina Pliskova, CZE
4. Kiki Bertens, NED
5. Kristina Mladenovic, FRA
6. Heather Watson, GBR
7. Laura Robson, GBR
8. Ksenia Pervak, KAZ
9. Maria-Teresa Torro-Flor, ESP
10.Jamie Hampton, USA
11. Eugenie Bouchard, CAN
12. Elina Svitolina, UKR
13. Donna Vekic, CRO
14. Annika Beck, GER
15. Ashleigh Barty, AUS
16. Timea Babos, HUN
17. Wang Qiang, CHN
18. Canadian Fed Cup Team
19. Louisa Chirico, USA
20. Victoria Duval, USA
HM- Zarina Diyas, KAZ
**JUNIORS**
1. Ana Konjuh, CRO
2. Antonia Lottner, GER
3. Jelena Ostapenko, LAT
4. Anett Kontaveit, EST
5. Beatriz Haddad Maia, BRA
HM- Barbara Haas, AUT
**SURPRISES**
1. Paula Ormaechea, ARG
2. Teliana Pereira, BRA
3. Brazilian Fed Cup Team
4. Silvia Soler-Espinosa, ESP
5. Jana Cepelova, SVK
6. Nina Bratchikova, RUS
7. Luksika Kumkhum, THA
8. Lourdes Dominquez-Lino, ESP
9. Stefanie Voegele, SUI
10. Mandy Minella, LUX
11. Anastasiya Sevastova, LAT
12. Tereza Mrdeza, CRO
13. Varacheya & Varunya Wongteanchi, THA/THA
14. Ayufanti Damayanti, INA
15. Beatriz Garcia Vidagany, ESP
**VETERANS**
1. Serena Williams, USA
2. Jelena Jankovic, SRB
3. Roberta Vinci, ITA
4. Bethanie Mattek-Sands/Sania Mirza, USA/IND
5. Catalina Castano, COL
6. Svetlana Kuznetsova, RUS
7. Sofia Arvidsson/Johanna Larsson, SWE/SWE
8. Bethanie Mattek-Sands, USA
9. Marion Bartoli, FRA
10. Galina Voskoboeva, KAZ
11. Daniela Hantuchova, SVK
12. Kimiko Date-Krumm, JPN
13. Lourdes Dominguez-Lino/Arantxa Parra-Santonja, ESP/ESP
14. Cara Black/Anastasia Rodionova, ZIM/AUS
15. Venus Williams, USA
**COMEBACKS**
1. Sabine Lisicki, GER
2. Jelena Jankovic, SRB
3. Caroline Wozniacki, DEN
4. Catalina Castano, COL
5. Swedish Fed Cup Team
6. Bethanie Mattek-Sands, USA
7. Olga Puchkova, RUS
8. Cara Black, ZIM
9. Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez, ESP
10. Sesil Karatantcheva, KAZ
**DOWN**
1. Serbian Fed Cup Team
2. Sloane Stephens, USA
3. Samantha Stosur, AUS
4. Liezel Huber, USA
5. Sofia Arvidsson, SWE
6. Kirsten Flipkens, BEL
7. Angelique Kerber, GER
8. Agnieszka Radwanska, POL
9. Anabel Medina-Garrigues, ESP (singles)
10. Yaroslava Shvedova, KAZ (singles)
**ITF PLAYERS**
1. Lauren Davis, USA
2. Julia Kimmelmann, GER
3. Jovana Jaksic, SRB
4. Tara Moore, GBR
5. Lara Michel, SUI
HM- Maryna Zanevska, UKR
**TOP PERFORMANCES**
#1 - Victoria Azarenka triumphs (again), losing her #1 ranking, but defending Doha with a victory over Serena in the final
#2 - Petra Kvitova defeats three Top 10 players en route to the Dubai crown
#3 - Roberta Vinci overcomes Saturday cramping to get singles & doubles wins a day later and send Team Italia back to the Fed Cup semis
#4 - Errani & Vinci win their second (Paris) and third (Doha) titles of the season, as well as a tie-deciding FC match for Italy
#5 - Serena Williams, 31, becomes oldest woman to be the WTA's singles #1
HM - Sara Errani reaches three singles finals since the Australian Open, and defends her Acapulco title
**By the Numbers...**
0... losses by Victoria Azarenka in 2013
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2... consecutive singles finals reached by Sabine Lisicki since bringing on Ricardo Sanchez as coach
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3... years since Jelena Jankovic won a tour singles title before taking the crown in Bogota
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4... years since Maria Kirilenko won a tour singles title before taking the crown in Pattaya
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7... consecutive years in which Team Russia has reached the Fed Cup semifinals
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10... after Doha, consecutive times Serena Williams has defeated Maria Sharapova since the start of the 2005 season
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14... Fed Cup match winning streak -- in singles and doubles -- put together by Ayumi Morita (JPN) before losing the deciding doubles match vs. Russia in the World Group 1st Round
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23... years since a Brazilian woman reached a WTA singles SF before Teliana Pereira did it in Bogota
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24... years since a New Zealand woman won a tour singles title before Marina Erakovic did it in Memphis
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40... rankings points world #2 Victoria Azarenka is behind #1 Serena Williams
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42... Kimiko Date-Krumm's age when she won the Pattaya doubles title with Casey Dellacqua
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68... current record total of Fed Cup appearances by Luxembourg's Anne Kremer, a run which began when she was 15 years old in 1991
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127... current tour-best consecutive weeks ranked in the Top 10 (Victoria Azarenka)
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300... current tour-best consecutive weeks ranked in the Top 20 (Marion Bartoli)
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3-0... Lucie Safarova's Fed Cup singles record since the start of the 2012 season. The Czech had been 5-9 in FC play prior to last season.
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18-0... Roberta Vinci's career Fed Cup doubles record after teaming with Sara Errani to win the deciding match in Italy's World Group tie vs. the U.S.
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1986-87... the last time the WTA's #1 singles and #1 doubles players were age 30 or over. Then, both spots were filled by Martina Navratilova. Now, it's 31-year old Serena Williams and 30-year old Roberta Vinci.
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*WOZNIACKI CROSSES MORE ATHLETIC LINES...now she'll REALLY be confused about the coaching rules*
**BACKSPIN PLAYER-OF-WEEK WINNERS**
[WTA]
Week 1 - Serena Williams, USA
Week 2 - Agnieszka Radwanska, POL
Week 3/4 - Victoria Azarenka, BLR (AO)
Week 5 - Mona Barthel, GER
Week 6 - Roberta Vinci, ITA (FC)
Week 7 - Victoria Azarenka, BLR
Week 8 - Petra Kvitova, CZE
Week 9 - Sara Errani, ITA
[Junior Star]
Week 0/1 - Ana Konjuh, CRO
Week 2 - Christina Makarova, USA
Week 3 - Anna Danilina, KAZ
Week 4 - Ana Konjuh, CRO (AO)
Week 5 - Anett Kontaveit, EST
Week 6 - Ana Konjuh, CRO (FC)
Week 7 - Barbara Haas, AUT
Week 8 - Antonio Lottner, GER & Jelena Ostapenko, LAT
Week 9 - Beatriz Haddad Maia, BRA
[ITF]
Week 0/1 - Madison Keys, USA
Week 2 - Tadeja Majeric, CRO
Week 3 - Sharon Fichman, CAN
Week 4 - Alexandra Dulgheru, ROU
Week 5 - Elina Svitolina, UKR
Week 6 - Lauren Davis, USA
Week 7 - Julia Kimmelmann, GER
Week 8 - Tara Moore, GBR
Week 9 - Maryna Zanevska, UKR
**RECENT INDIAN WELLS FINALS**
1999 Serena Williams d. Steffi Graf
2000 Lindsay Davenport d. Martina Hingis
2001 Serena Williams d. Kim Clijsters
2002 Daniela Hantuchova d. Martina Hingis
2003 Kim Clijsters d. Lindsay Davenport
2004 Justine Henin-Hardenne d. Lindsay Davenport
2005 Kim Clijsters d. Lindsay Davenport
2006 Maria Sharapova d. Elena Dementieva
2007 Daniela Hantuchova d. Svetlana Kuznetsova
2008 Ana Ivanovic d. Svetlana Kuznetsova
2009 Vera Zvonareva d. Ana Ivanovic
2010 Jelena Jankovic d. Caroline Wozniacki
2011 Caroline Wozniacki d. Marion Bartoli
2012 Victoria Azarenka d. Maria Sharapova
INDIAN WELLS, CALIFORNIA (Premier $5.185m/hardcourt outdoor)
12 Final: Azarenka d. Sharapova
12 Doubles Champions: Huber/Raymond
13 Top Seeds: Azarenka/Sharapova
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=Round of 16=
#1 Azarenka d. Hampton
#8 Wozniacki d. #10 Petrova
#16 Safarova d. #4 Kerber
#24 Barthel d. #7 Stosur
#5 Kvitova d. #12 Cibulkova
#3 A.Radwanska d. #13 Kirilenko
#6 Errani d. #9 Bartoli
#2 Sharapova d. #22 Lepchenko
...I'm going with Hampton against Vika here rather than the American's potential 3rd Round opponent -- Sloane Stephens -- largely because I'd like to see Azarenka get a chance for a "do-over" of her perilous win over her in Melbourne in January. Hmmm, maybe I should pick Petrova into the QF to give Vika a chance to earn Nadia's "respect," too? Nah. The Stosur/Kerber section of the draw looks mighty "soft" if both play down to their recent lack of achievement. I'm not sure Aga really wants to see the Petra she saw in Dubai again. Of course, it IS Kvitova... so it could be an entirely different Petra in I.W., I suppose.
=QF=
#1 Azarenka d. #8 Wozniacki
#24 Barthel d. #16 Safarova
#5 Kvitova d. #3 A.Radwanska
#2 Sharapova d. #6 Errani
...unless Caro walks off the court in the middle of a game earlier in the tournament, that is. She's got that nasty little possibility in her head now, you know (thanks, Rory). It could be Makarova (possible 3rd Rd. opponent) in that spot instead of Safarova, as well.
=SF=
#1 Azarenka d. #24 Barthel
#2 Sharapova d. #5 Kvitova
...Vika and Mona had some spirited matches early last season. So did Maria and Petra. Has Petra learned how to win -- and convert break points -- against Sharapova? Maybe... but, suddenly, the Russian has something of her own to prove after her AO flame-out following such an historically hot start.
=FINAL=
#1 Azarenka d. #2 Sharapova
...Vika. Maria. Hard court. Based on recent evidence, there is no other possibility. This would be THIRD straight title defense for Azarenka this season, and would run her 2013 undefeated streak to 19 matches.
By the way, there'll be a mid-I.W. update next week, as well.
All for now.
