On the eve of the Australian Open women's final, a little something different for today.
As this first slam of 2014 winds down, for the first time since this tournament began there will be no women's singles matches played.
(Excuse me while I pause to go down on one knee to thank the Tennis Gods for this brilliant favor.)
This slam's first champions -- in women's, junior and wheelchair doubles -- will be crowned today, and then the evening will conclude with the thirty-third meeting between Rafa Nadal and Roger Federer in the second men's semifinal. I'd like to be able to get a nap and watch that one in-the-dead-of-night-and-early-morning-light without having a recap to complete, so I'll pick up things here after the women's champion has been crowned.
Before then, here's a quick look back, in link form, as some of the highlights of the careers of both Li Na and Dominika Cibulkova, as I discussed them at the time:
*LI NA*
=2004=
Week 39: "The Asian Assault" [wins first title in Guangzhou]
=2008=
Week 1: "Act 1, Scene 1 (2008)" [def. Azarenka to win Gold Coast]
=2010=
Week 23: "Hips Don't Lie, But Early Grass Court Results Might" [wins grass title in Birmingham]
=2011=
Week 2: "Bare Bones Backspin" [def. Clijsters to win Sydney]
AO Day 11: "Clijsters & Li...as it should be" [def. Wozniacki in SF]
AO Final: "Kim, You Doll" [runner-up to Clijsters]
RG Day 9: "Four Upbuilding Discourses, Pt.2" [def. Kvitova in 4th Rd.]
RG Day 12: "Works of Love" [def. Sharapova in SF]
RG Final: "The Woman with the Rose Tattoo" [wins Roland Garros]
Clay Court Awards: "Born this Way" [2Q.1 Awards]
Ms. Backspin '11: "2011: Petra." [#2 in "Ms.Backspin" rankings]
=2012=
Week 33: "A Familiar Feeling" [wins Cincinnati, her first event just days after naming Carlos Rodriguez coach]
=2013=
Week 1: "Act 1, Scene 1 (2013)" [wins Shenzhen title]
AO Day 9: "Rest for the Wicked" [def. Radwanska in QF]
AO Day 11: "A Peaking Chinese and a Piquing Vika" [def. Sharapova in SF]
AO Final: "Veni, Vidi, Vika" [second AO runner-up]
=2014=
Week 1: "Act 1, Scene 1 (2014)" [defends Shenzhen title]
AO Day 9: "Seeing is Believing...and Beliebing" [def. Pennetta in QF]
AO Day 11: "An Absence of Radwanskian Malice" [def. Bouchard in SF]
*DOMINIKA CIBULKOVA*
=2008=
Week 8: "Qatting a Wide Swath" [first big win over Venus in Doha]
Week 15: "A Little Less Green" [reaches first final in Amelia Island]
Week 31: "And a Russian Cat Shall Lead Them" [reached Montreal final, into Top 20 for first time]
=2009=
RG Day 10: "Two Players, One Path?" [def. Sharapova in QF]
=2011=
Week 42: "Her Fourth Time's the Charm" [finally wins first title in Moscow]
=2012=
Miami Special Edition: "26 the Hard Way" [nearly ends Azarenka winning streak]
RG Day 8: "Never Bet Against The Radwanska When Death is On the Line" [def. Azarenka in 4th Rd.]
Week 29: "Picking Up Hardware on All-Olympics Eve" [wins Carlsbad title]
=2013=
Week 2: "Backspin on the Edge of Tomorrow (Pre-Melbourne Edition)" [double-bageled by Radwanska in Sydney final]
Week 12: "A Kvitova Crash, a Serena Save & Caro Knowing Just How Rory Feels" [nearly upsets Serena in Miami]
Week 30: "The Best Laid Plans of Agas and Slovaks" [gets revenge on A-Rad, def. in Stanford final]
=2014=
AO Day 10: "To Live and Radwanska Down Under" [def. Halep in QF]
AO Day 11: "An Absence of Radwanskian Malice" [def. Radwanska in SF]
All for Day 12. More tomorrow.
