Monday, January 7, 2008
Dementieva, Chakvetadze still skidding Guga Kuerten's career will end in 2008; Federer sick

Mal Taam/MALTphoto Elena Dementieva continues her skids as she can't get past Sofia Arvidsson.

RUSSIANS ROUSTED: It was a sorry day in Sydney for Russian women as Anna Chakvetadze suffered a surprisingly quick loss to Slovanian Katarina Srebotnik 7-5, 6-1 and veteran Elena Dementieva fell to the underwhelming Sofia Arvidsson 6-1, 7-5. Chakvetadze, who didn't fair well at last week's Hong Kong exo, doesn't appear to be mentally fit past her mugging at the hands of Russian robbers last month. This is a make-or-break season for Dementieva, who will enter her ninth full year on tour and is in danger of slipping out of the Top 15.

NADAL AND FEDERER'S WOES: Roger Federer has withdrawn from the Kooyong Classic, a warm-up exo for next week's Australian Open, because of a stomach virus, while No. 2 Rafael Nadal spent himself in the semis and final of Chennai, where he was bullied 6-0, 6-1 by Mikhail Youzhny. Nadal was clearly not the same past his marathon semifinal win over Carlos Moya, but he was to be concerned that his body could fail again at the AO. Federer should be fine in a few days, unless he picked up a vexing virus.

QUALITY SYDNEY WINS OF THE DAY: Props to qualifier, Kaia Kanepi, who overcame the Next Great Eye Candy, Dominika Cibulkova, 3-6, 6-1, 7-6(6) in Sydney, and to Daniela Hantuchova, who bested Dinara Safina 5-7, 6-4, 6-4. Hantuchova will face Nicole Vaidisova, who overcame Camille Pin, 6-1 2-6, 6-2. On the men's side, top-seed Richard Gasquet looks good after he finally got over on Igor Andreev 6-3, 7-6. However, that Gasquet is the top seed says that too many stars are choosing exos over this very legit tournament.

Susan Mullane/Camerawork USA Guga Kuerten announces this will be his last season.

DOKIC'S BIG AO DECISION: Former Top-fiver Jelena Dokic scored her first main draw win of the season with a 6-4, 0-6, 6-2 win over Martina Muller. If she bests Flavia Pennetta in the next round, she'll have to decide whether to stay in Hobart or travel to Melbourne and try to qualify for the AO, as she didn't receive a wild card. It's a tough call for Dokic, who has an outside shot of at least reaching the Hobart semis and could run into a seed in the first round of the Aussie Open - if she qualifies. "Based on my previous results and how hard I have worked in the past … I thought I deserved a wild card," Dokic said. "But I wasn't expecting one." Other notable Hobart happenings were Pennetta's 6-4, 1-6, 6-2 win over Agnieszka Radwanska, who hasn't been too impressive since the USO, and Victoria Azarenka's retirement with a right abductor injury against Olga Govortsova, putting the up-and-comers AO prospects in doubt. Anabel Medina Garrigues also had to retire hurt.

GUGA TO RETIRE AT YEAR'S END: Didn't the great Brazilian already call it quits. No matter, three-time RG champ Gustavo Kuerten, 31, will play his farewell season in 2008, but said he wants Roland Garros to be among them and will also play Brazil and Miami. "I want to play in tournaments that are special for me," Kuerten said.

NZ WILDCARD FAIRS WELL: Juan Ignacio Chela narrowly avoided a first-round upset over New Zealand wild card Dan King-Turner 5-7, 6-2, 7-5 in Auckland. King-Turner was up a break in the final set. "It was definitely a close match," King-Turner said." I think I played reasonably well throughout the whole time. It's another level from what I'm used to so I think that was the difference." American Sam Querrey's season started slowly as he went down in straight sets to Florian Mayer.

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