Art Seitz Ana's worst season is over.

SATURDAY, OCT. 4 - The tennis world briefly tilted trying to bear the weight of a spate of heavy news stories: Ana Ivanovic is done for the season with a bum shoulder and respiratory problems; just 15 months into their marriage, Chris Evert and Greg Norman have split; Serena Williams is said to be potentially facing a two Grand Slam suspension due to her US Open implosion; and Jelena Jankovic retired down 5-2 against Maria Sharapova in the Tokyo final with what appears to be her first wrist injury. It was Sharapova’s first title since April of 2008.

How about former No. 1 Ivanovic though, who appears to be suffering from some kind of exhaustion and has shut her season down. On her web site, she had this to say:”
“ I have gone through a lot of training and physical changes over the past few months, which have mostly remained private until now... My body is quite fragile at the moment, because I over-trained during the first part of the year. This was, I think, what caused me to have many small injuries this season. Instead of being patient and accepting that my best form was almost impossible due to physical limitations, I was always over-thinking things, and I never dealt with it very well. The season was a continuation of going from one disappointment to another. If I had dealt better with these setbacks, I would have had a lot more success. I also found it very tough to switch off and have a proper break over the past year or so, partly because of these physical problems.…I completely changed my serve after Wimbledon. This was because of my shoulder: if I continued serving and training the way I was, I would have almost certainly picked up a serious injury….I am still No.11 in the world. I have no clue how I am ranked so highly, but to look on the bright side, I can't play any worse than I did this year and I'm still in the top 20! Despite my disappointments there is not a single doubt in my mind that I will reach the top again and win Grand Slams.”

It’s good to hear Ivanovic saying that she still has confidence that she can turn things around, but her ranking will drop at the end of the season, possibly out of the top 20, and she’ll have a lot of things to prove next year. However, without a doubt, she needed to decompress and it was a solid decison. The immediate question is: will she join BF Adam Scott next week at the president’s Cup in San Francisco, or go home to Serbia and take a real break?

There’s not much to say about the Sharapova-Jankovic encounter, other than that the Serbian did come on court with a bandage on her arm so something must have been bothering her.

It wasn’t the way that Sharapova wanted to win her first title of the season nearly five months into her comeback, but she did score a series of good wins during the week, over Francesca Schiavone when she was set and break down, took another three setter over Alisa Kleybanova, yet one over the tricky Aga Radwanska in the semis and then beat her old NBTA rival JJ. Given what’s she’s been through physically and mentally, it was well-deserved title run.

Mal Taam/MALTphotoMaria is almost all the way back.

Apparently, Sharapova has tweaked her service motion again and isn’t abbreviating it as much as she has in previous months. That’s a risk, as the last time she went back to her old motion, she managed to win her third Slam at the ’08 Aussie Open, but then injured her shoulder less than two months later, which eventually led to surgery.

"To go from not knowing whether you'll ever play the sport again to holding a trophy, it's an unbelievable feeling,” Sharapova said. “You realize what a gift it is to hit a tennis ball. I've put in so much work and this is just exciting."

Jankovic may join Ivanovic in pulling out of mandatory Beijing, which began play. Some notable results included: Alona Bondarenko d. Agnes Szavay 6-3, 6-0, Aleksandra Wozniak d. Aravane Rezai 4-6, 6-1, 7-6(5), Venus Williams d. Vera Dushevina 6-2, 7-6(1), Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova d. Sybille Bammer 7-5, 6-1, and Alize Cornet, who hasn’t posted a solid win since the start of the year, overcame Samantha Stosur 6-4, 4-6, 6-3.

Here's the link to the Times Neil Harman's piece on Serena's possible 2 Slam suspension. Two additional things though: one, there are more "official" folks who aren't listed in the piece who were close enough to catch what Serena said AND apparently, there's a rumor floating around that Serena said something far worse to the lineswoman that hasn't been reported yet. She appears to be in deep trouble. Stay tuned.

In what has turned out to be a terrific tournament in Malaysia, Fernando Verdasco overcame Fernando Gonzalez 6-4 7-5, and the reviving Nikolay Davydenko knocked out Robin Soderling 1-6, 7-6(1), 6-2….In Bangkok, Viktor Troicki upset Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 1-6, 6-2, 6-3 and will play Gilles Simon in the final, who dusted Juergen Melzer 6-4, 7-6.

Wickmayer, Malisse in WADA Trouble; JJ, Sharapova, French Men Advance

THURSDAY, OCT. 1 - Belgians Yanina Wickmayer and Xavier Malisse must appear before an anti-doping commission after violating its rules, the Belgian news agency Belga reported.

Apparently US Open semifinalist Wickmayer broke the WADA "whereabouts" rule three times in the past 18 months, where athletes must tell their national anti-doping authorities where they will be at a chosen hour between 6 a.m. and 11 p.m. each day for a three-month period. Athletes who miss three doping tests over an 18-month period face possible suspension. Malisse was broke the whereabouts rules twice and missed a doping test. Both will appear before a Belgian disciplinary commission later this month.
In Tokyo, an ambitious and hard-hitting Li Na took down eighth seed Victoria Azarenka 7-6 (7), 4-6, 7-6 (4). Azarenka failed to serve out the first set twice, but came back from breaks down in both the second and third sets. Li won the contest when she scalded a backhand crosscourt on the line.

Li will faces Jelena Jankovic, who scored her first win over France's Marion Bartoli in their last five matches in a 6-4, 6-3 victory. "It makes a big difference when my mind is on tennis," the former top-ranked Serb said. "I play at another level. So many things happened this year. My mom got sick and had surgery. Before my U.S. Open second round (loss to Yaroslava Shvedova) my grandmother died and tennis became secondary. Other things were more important in life."

Maria Sharapova continued her solid form by taking down stormed into the Pan Pacific Open semi-finals Iveta Benesova 6-4, 7-5. "I feel like it's almost automatic again," said Sharapova, who has been struggling with a reconfigured tennis motion and a tired shoulder during her comeback. "Figuring things out and being patient. It didn't come easy to me at first. The goal is to be aggressive no matter what the situation is. It's about execution and not making errors when you have to step up and win big points."
Sharapova will face Agnieszka Radwanska, who crushed Slovakia's Magdalena Rybarikova 6-3, 6-1. The Pole upset Sharapova at the ’07 US Open, but the Russian has won their last two meetings, at ’08 Doha and ’09 Toronto. In a bit of doubles news, Japan’s Ai Sugiyama, who will retire when the week is over, advanced with her longtime partner Daniela Hantuchova/when they bested Anabel Medina Garrigues/Virginia Ruano Pascual 7-6(5), 3-6, 10-7.

France led the charge in Bangkok, with Jo Tsonga surviving Ernests Gulbis 6-7(3), 7-6(4), 7-6(2) and Gilles Simon thrashing Kevin Kim 6-2, 6-2. American John Isner also punched his way through with a 7-6(5), 6-4 win over Mischa Zverev. Robby Ginepri went down.

In Malaysia, the slightly injured Fernando Verdasco took down Karol Beck 6-4, 6-0, while
Fernando Gonzalez, the red-hot Gael Monfils, and Tomas Berdych also advanced. Richard Gasquet overcame Joachim Johansson 4-6, 7-6(1), 6-2, who is engaged to Swedish golfer Johanna Westerberg.

James Blake will host an exo, BackOffice Associates Serving For A Cure with James Blake, presented by Empire Blue Cross Blue Shield, with Andy Roddick, to raise money for Thomas Blake, Sr., Memorial Research Fund, on December 1 at Pier 94 in New York City…InsideOut Sports & Entertainment and Fox Sports Net announced the debut of Outback Champions Series Thursdays as the network will televise a new match each of the next twelve Thursday nights from the global circuit for champion players. The debut national telecast on Thursday, October 1 will feature Jim Courier taking on Mark Philippoussis in the semifinals of The Residences at The Ritz-Carlton, Grand Cayman Legends Championships.

ESPN The Magazine's inaugural “Body Issue,” on newsstands Oct. 9, will feature nearly 80 athletes from a variety of sports in a celebration and exploration of the athletic form in the nude or near nude. Serena Williams is the only women’s tennis player slated to appear and will have some stiff competition from surfer Claire Bevilacqua, the MMA’s Gina Carano, pole vaulter Jennifer Stuczynski, skier Kristi Leskinen, hurdler Lolo Jones, golf’s Sandra Gal, Anna Grzebien and Christina Kim, soccer’s much tattooed Natasha Kai, softball’s Jessica Mendoza and more.


Tokyo: Bartoli, Jankovoc to Revive Bitter Rivarly; Sharapova, Vika Advance
WEDNESDAY, SEPT. 30 - Back at the end of July, before Jelena Jankovic faced Marion Bartoli in the quarterfinals of Stanford, the two engaged in a min war of words. The Serbana and Frenchwoman will have a chance to renew their duel on Thusrday in Tokyo, after Jankovic advanced when
Elena Vesnina retired down 6-1, 3-0 with a left thigh strain, and Bartoli survived baby teen Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova 4-6, 6-2, 7-5, who is finally playing decent ball again.

Bartoli is 5-3 against Jankovic, having faced down two match points against her in their vintage contest at Stanford. Before the match, she said that she’d prefer to Jankovic because ‘I always beat her.’ Bartoli has now won their last four matches, including a blowout at this year’s Aussie Open, but the prideful Jankovic was surprised to hear the comments.

“She talks like she’s just Serena Williams,” Jankovic said. “Everybody had a right to say what she wants. I’m not really focused on Bartoli. She’s not like my biggest rival or someone I look up to or I’m scared of. She’s just one of the players on tour, not a big name, or someone who is making the big results or headlines in the game.” She added with a smile, “Bartoli is going to get it tomorrow.”

Bartoli didn’t get it then and now Jankovic, who is aiming to qualify for the WTA Championships, really needs to step up her level. She’s ninth in the points race and has had a humdrum year. A title run in Tokyo and a good showing in Beijing could give her the momentum she needs heading into 2010.
Despite the tournament losing its top six seeds, there’s a decent slew of attractive matches on Thursday, with Iveta Benesova facing Maria Sharapova, Victoria Azarenka playing Li Na and Magdalena Rybarikova confronting Agnieszka Radwanska. On Wednesday, Azarenka bested Lucie Safarova 7-5, 6-4.

Radwanska beat Andrea Petkovic 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 Li overcame Kateryna Bondarenko 2-6, 7-5, 6-3, and Ms. Three-Setter, Sharapova, defeated Alisa Kleybanova 2-6, 6-2, 6-2. Rain moved some of the matches indoors.

At the Malaysian Open, Nikolay Davydenko took down wild card Taylor Dent, 6-3 7-6(4), while Robin Soderling beat Brendan Evans 6-1, 6-1 and Mikhail Youzhny stomped the hard to figure out Marcos Baghdatis 6-2, 6-3. Gael Monfils and Richard Gasquet also advanced. About a year into his comeback, one has to wonder whether Dent is really capable of making a run into the top 50….Winners in Bangkok were Viktor Troicki, Juergen Melzer, Mischa Zverev and US veteran Kevin Kim, who beat Rainer Schuettler 6-4, 6-4. There’s no better time on both tours for marginal players to pick up large paychecks than fall play in Asia. …There are essentially two open spots for the Tennis Masters London and three men are in serious contention: Davydenko, Jo Tsonga and Fernando Verdasco. Soderling has an outside shot, as does Gilles Simon.

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