Robson on short list for BBC Young Sports Personality of the Year

Junior Wimbledon champion Laura Robson has made the short list of nominations for the 2008 BBC Young Sports Personality of the Year award. The list, originally comprised of ten athletes, now includes Robson, 2007 winner Tom Daley and Eleanor Simmonds.

The winner will be announced on December 14.

Friday cat blogging--soft pillow edition

How will Dokic do in 2009?

I have written extensively about the heartbreak of Jelena Dokic's career. She's back, of course, though 2008 was probably also a difficult year for her, but in a tennis way, rather than in a nightmarish personal way. It will be interesting to see what Dokic does. According to Women's Tennis Blog, the former world number 4 is ready for action.

Who's hot, who's not

Hot one season--not-so the next. A break-out season can sometimes be followed by a slump, and a good season can be followed by serious injury or illness, which results in a slump. Some players have trouble coming back after losing ground because of an injury. This happened to Flavia Pennetta, but she overcame it in a big way. Nathalie Dechy solved her injury comeback problem by concentrating on doubles rather than singles (maybe not so great for her fans, though). Amelie Mauresmo has yet to solve her injury/illness comeback crash, but is hiring a new coach in the hope that 2009 will be better.

How do the players line up for 2009?

SIZZLING

Venus Williams: This was a great year for Williams. She won Wimbledon for the fifth time, defeated her sister in the Wimbledon final for the first time, and won the Sony Ericsson Championships. Liability: When she gets tight, her forehand goes to pieces.

Serena Williams: Playing at her best, she's almost unbeatable. She won the Sony Ericsson Open and the U.S. Open. Libabilities: She sustains a lot of injuries, especially with her bad knee. She sometimes gets out of the zone for long periods of time and becomes very error-prone.

Jelena Jankovic: At long last, she got to the final of a major, her serve is very much improved, and her fitness is also improved. She has everything--superb athleticism, positive attitude, superior mental game. Liability: Jankovic has a fragile body.

Dinara Safina: She burned down the house in 2008, but became mentally weary at the end of the season, and fizzled out. Liabilities: Safina needs to become consistent with her serve, which is either wonderful or terrible. And she needs to get more accustomed to the mental pressure of being at the top, and find a way to conserve some energy.


HEATING UP IN 2009

Maria Sharapova: Sharapova's shoulder--and her doctors--let her down again this year, but there is every reason to believe that the fighting Russian will fight her way right back to the top rung of the tour ladder. Liability: Her shoulder, which is now a chronic problem.

Ana Ivanovic: After Ivanovic injured her thumb, she just wasn't the same. But a new season should bring back the old Ivanovic, who is capable of doing great things on a tennis court. Liability: Though few talk about it, Ivanovic can be a bit mentally fragile.

Agnieszka Radwanska: Radwanska is no Chris Evert, but she sometimes reminds me of the great Evert, with her blank affect and repeated stinging of the baseline. Radwanska is all business on the court, and she plays with a precision that belies her lack of "weapons." The greatest weapon of all is the head, and Radwanska's is on straight. Liability: She needs to become more comfortable at the net.

Elena Dementieva: 2008 was a standout year for Dementieva, who finally found a good serve, and whose confidence shot up when she won an Olympic gold medal. Is her time (as in, Grand Slam tournaments) past? Perhaps not. Liability: Dementieva runs hot and cold; one moment she is the most mentally tough player in a tournament, and the next, she has a meltdown.


SIMMERING

Caroline Wozniacki: Wozniacki is a fiery and skillful player, and as she matures, we can expect her to become more aggressive and take more risks. Liability: Wozniacki is still relatively inexperienced and sometimes struggles against top players.

Alize Cornet: She's great on clay, and will probably be very good on hard courts. Cornet brings spirit and a kind of limber athleticism to her game. Liability: She needs to develop more tactics for playing on a faster surface.

Vera Zvonareva: Zvonareva simmered so much in 2008, she should be about ready to boil-- and maybe she is. We saw the best tennis of Zvonareva's career this year, and we saw her return to the top 10, where she belongs. Liability: Zvonareva has a really bad temper on the court, which does not always work against a player, but probably works against her more than it helps her.

Nadia Petrova: Petrova used to be sizzling, but she cooled down to almost frozen dessert level. 2008 saw her looking a lot more like herself, and 2009 should be a good year for her. Liability: Petrova has been known to lose her focus and become defeatist.

Svetlana Kuznetsova: Remember the words to that song from Funny Girl?: "Everything you've got's about right, but the damn thing don't come out right." Kuznetsova can skillfully serve, volley, hit solid groundstrokes, and run quickly both ways around the court. She has moved back to Russia and will be working with Olga Morozova with the hope of having a better season. Liability: Head case.

Flavia Pennetta: Pennetta had to almost start all over when she lost her confidence after an injury layoff. She played a lot of small tournaments and did well, then proceeded to go to the finals in both Los Angeles and Zurich, and to the quarterfinals at the U.S. Open. She is now back in the top 20. Liability: Pennetta has been playing with a bad foot for some time.

Victoria Azarenka: There is no doubting Victoria Azarenka's talent. A tough baseliner, she also has some very nice doubles skills. Azarenka is steadily improving, and could make a real dent in the 2009 season. Liability: Azarenka has difficulty closing.

Patty Schnyder: Schnyder is about to turn 30, and--in my opinion--is the biggest under-achiever on the tour. She gets into final after final--some of them quite big--but rarely wins the trophy, creating excessive fan frustration (I can only imagine how she feels). No one knows how much longer the intelligent and inventive Schnyder will play singles--she has revived her interest in doubles--but she has fitness on her side, an improved serve, and an improved backhand. Liability: Schnyder has major difficulty closing big matches.

Dominika Cibulkova: Just as the hummingbird is technically unable to fly, the 5-foot, 3-inch Cibulkova isn't supposed to play pro tennis, but she does so with quite a bit of determination. Cibulkova has had a lot of court poise from the start, and she can hit the ball harder than one might think. Liability: She gets injured a lot.

Maria Kirilenko: Kirilenko has an elegant game that is a joy to see, and 2008 was a good season for her. Liability: She is chronically inconsistent.

Li Na: Li is a strong hard court player, but in the last year and a half, she sustained two very serious injuries which put her out of commission for months at a time. Liability: Despite making a good start in 2008, she still has to play catch-up.

Katarina Srebotnik: Srebotnik had a knock-out year, tossing Serena Williams out of the French Open, and then doing likewise with Svetlana Kuznetsova at the U.S. Open. She made it to the quarterfinals of both tournaments (falling to Schnyder in both), and also achieved a career-high ranking of 20. Liability: Srebotnik puts a lot of her practice time into doubles.

NEAR THE BURNER

This list includes, but is certainly not limited to: Kaia Kenepi, Sara Errani, Bethanie Mattek, Alona Bondarenko, Kateryna Bondarenko, Tamira Paszek, Anna-Lena Groenefeld, Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, Sorana Cirstea


ON ICE

Amelie Mauresmo: The former world number 1 had some very bad luck last year with injury and injury-related illness, and this year, she just couldn't get it together. We are all waiting to hear whom she has selected as her new coach. Asset: She has been at the top before and with some belief, she could use her experience to make another good run.

Tatiana Golovin: A cyst on her hip put Golovin out of the game, and prior to that occurrence, she had chronic problems with her ankles. The most frustrating part of this misfortune is that after she spent some time working with Mats Wilander, she had improved her game most impressively. No ones knows when to expect her back on the tour, or how long it could take her to get back to her post-Wilander form. Asset: Golovin is young, and has time to return to form.

Marion Bartoli: Bartoli's post 2007-Wimbledon slump was no surprise, but it is too easy to just dismiss her as someone who once had a shining moment. Bartoli plays an unusual style of tennis, and she plays it well. This year, she made significant improvements to her serve, too. When she is healthy and tuned in, she is almost unbeatable. But Bartoli's body is fragile (perhaps from those endless drills her father has her do, including two hours before her matches), and one gets the impression that her mentality is sometimes fragile, too. I wish she would try out a new coach. Asset: Bartoli is often accused of "living in her own world," but this could work to her advantage.

Agnes Szavay: What happened here? Szavay is a really good player with a beautiful backhand, but she has had a terrible season, falling in the first round over and over. The 2008 experience will show us how mentally tough Szavay is. Asset: Szavay is young, talented and healthy.

Anna Chakvetadze: Chakvetadze is loaded with talent and a lot of fun to watch, but this season, she was sometimes barely able to keep the ball within the court. Always emotionally fragile, Chakvetadze suffered a terrible trauma a year ago when she and her father were tied up, robbed and brutalized. She says that she has recovered from the event, but I doubt that is the case. Not known for mental toughness, Chakvetadze now risks having a total meltdown on the tour. Asset: Chakvetadze is likely to get all the support she needs from a strong national federation.

Daniela Hantuchova: Everyone's favorite head case had some serious problems with her feet, too, this year. When she returned to the tour, she had difficulty getting out of early rounds. When Hantuchova is on her very elegant game, she is a top player, though she is also a world-class choker. Asset: Hantuchova is too intelligent, and likes tennis too much, not to have a plan.

Sania Mirza: At the end of 2007, Mirza returned from a wrist injury layoff to play some of her best tennis. But she continued to have chronic problems with her wrist, and chronic problems with the Indian press and Indian government. Asset: Mirza appears to be independent and determined, and--if her wrist cooperates--she may be able to overcome her problems.

Michaella Krajicek: Krajicek went on a big losing streak this year, which she finally broke in June. However, she lost in the first round at Wimbledon, where she had quarterfinal points to defend. She then sustained a knee injury, did not play for a while, and fizzled out toward the end of the season. Asset: Krajicek is young and has time to straighten herself out.

Nicole Vaidisova: Once touted as a phenom, Vaidisova has not always been able to deliver on the predictions about her success. Last year, she had to deal with both a viral illness and a wrist injury, which put her behind. This year, she started well, had to cope with the wrist injury again, and then went from being inconsistent to having the same fate as Agnes Szavay. Even at her best, Vaidisova sometimes lacks mental toughness. Asset: She is young and quite talented, and has time to gain confidence and strengthen her game.

The 2008 season--a look back at a strange year

It was a very unusual season of tennis. Four different women--Justine Henin, Jelena Jankovic, Serena Williams, and Ana Ivanovic--claimed the world number 1 spot in the course of the year. Russia won the Fed Cup title for the fourth time in five years, and Russians swept the Beijing Olympic medals in singles competition. Cara Black and Liezel Huber had a terrific season and retained their world number 1 title, while a variety of other doubles teams performed well.

Martina Hingis was found guilty of violating the doping ban and was given a two-year suspension, leading to her final retirement. Laura Robson--a delightful and cheeky Brit--won the junior Wimbledon title, and an American, Coco Vandeweghe, won the junior U.S. Open title. Kimiko Date, long retired, came back at the age of 37 and won several small Asian tournaments.

Li Na, out for six months with a second major injury, returned this year and immediately won Gold Coast, the first tournament of the season. Sam Stosur, also out for a long time with a major illness, returned to the tour. Patty Schnyder, who marked 500 wins this year, silenced many by getting to the quarterfinals of both the French Open and the U.S. Open. And Alicia Molik--who never got her great career going again after a very long illness--retired, to the disappointment of her many fans.

Ever-sexist ATP player and commentator Justin Gimelstob had his wrist slapped a little when there was a major outcry against his obscene and misogynistic comments about Anna Kournikova. Gimelstob protested his innocence (it was only "trash talk," Lindsay Davenport defended me, blah, blah, blah), and apologized for verbalizing his thoughts, but did not apologize for his bigotry.

Amelie Mauresmo, who missed most of last year because of illness and illness-related injury, had a disaster of a year, which ended with her parting ways with longtime coach and mentor, Loic Courteau. Her countrywoman, Tatiana Golovin, has also been out for months because of surgery for a cyst, and no one knows when she will return. Flavia Pennetta, whose return from injury had been plagued with self-doubt, made a comeback so impressive that she wound up playing the best tennis of her career.

All of these happenings--good and bad--would be enough to make 2008 memorable. But there was more. Much more. Here are my personal top 10, in ascending order:

10. The Bondarenko sisters win the Australian Open.
In a final worth watching, the always-entertaining Bondarenko sisters, Alona and Kateryna--who, after 38 tries, had never won a doubles title together on the tour--decided it was time to correct that omission, and won the Australian Open. They defeated Victoria Azarenka and Shahar Peer in the final, and on the way, they beat world number 1 team Black and Huber in straight sets. The Bondarenkos would go on to win their next tournament (Paris), but Alona's knee injury would hamper her for much of the season.

9. Zheng Jie has a break-out season.
Injured throughout most of 2007, doubles champion Zheng Jie came back healthy and decided to show the world that she can play singles, too. Zheng went to the Wimbledon semifinals by beating top seed Ana Ivanovic, as well as Dominika Cibulkova, Agnes Szavay and Nicole Vaidisova. She fell to Serena Williams in straight sets, but not without putting up an impressive fight, and not without holding a set point in the second set. Zheng then went to two more semifinals, and also won a bronze medal in doubles at the Beijing Olympics.

8. Julie Coin has her own personal field day at the U.S. Open.
Despite trying for years, Frenchwoman Julie Coin had never before made it into the main draw of a Sony Ericsson WTA tournament, but she finally got through qualifying at the 2008 U.S. Open. Getting into your first main draw at one of the four majors and then winning your first round is a story in itself, but why make one story when you can make a whole newscast? Coin proceeded to take out top seed and world number 1 Ana Ivanovic in the second round. It was an amazing match, with Coin--number 188 in the world--holding steady throughout. In defeating Ivanovic, Coin pulled off the biggest upset in Grand Slam history. Coin also became the lowest-ranked player to ever defeat a world number 1.

7. Venus and Serena play a classic U.S. Open quarterfinal, and Serena wins the Open.
I've never been too fond of Williams sisters matches, but I had a feeling, right after the U.S. Open third round, that this quarterfinal was going to be different. My feeling served me well. The sisters put on the show of shows in Flushing Meadows, though it was an excruciating experience for Venus fans: She failed to convert eight set points in the second set, and Serena won, 7-6, 7-6. It was something to see. Serena then went on to defeat Dinara Safina in the semifinals, and then Jelena Jankovic, in a very entertaining final.

6. Sharapova's shoulder takes her out of competition for the second year in a row.
It must have been rough for Maria Sharapova in 2007, when she had to drop out because her shoulder was giving her so much trouble. She came roaring back, though--driving Justine Henin to the brink in the Sony Ericsson Championships, and then brilliantly winning the Australian Open this year. It turns out that Sharapova's (probably very well paid) doctors failed to notice a torn rotator cuff tendon. She played with the injury for months, and then finally had to call it quits again, missing both the Olympics and the U.S. Open.

5. Ivanovic wins her first major.
Last year, Ana Ivanovic stood on the court looking dazed and confused as Justine Henin defeated her for the French Open title. This year was a different story. Ivanovic played superb tennis throughout her time at Roland Garros, brilliantly defeated Jelena Jankovic in a semifinal thriller, and got the better of a very tough, though somewhat tired, Dinara Safina in the final.

4. Jankovic goes to the next level.
It is no secret that I think Jelena Jankovic is the most watchable player on the tour. Her court savvy and her athleticism come together to create a tennis player of outstanding creativity and skill. But for various reasons--a fragile body, a ridiculous playing schedule, a terrible serve--she had not gotten beyond the semifinal of a major before this year. In 2008--credit to coach Ricardo Sanchez--Jankovic took a big step forward. Her second serve is still much in need of improvement, but her first serve has gone from poor to sometimes excellent, and nearly always better than adequate. She is fitter this year, too, despite having a variety of injuries. She made it to the final of the U.S. Open, and what a final it was. Jankovic lost, but she has a lot to be proud of. Jankovic defended her Rome title this year, and this fall, she won three tournaments in three consecutive weeks.

3. Venus adds jewels to her crown.
By now, everyone seems to get it: The Williams sisters are champions. They were champions when they were very young, and they are now. They don't do things the way they are "supposed to," but the way they do things is plenty good enough. Venus defended her Wimbledon title this year, defeating none less than her sister Serena in the final, and holding up the Venus Rosewater dish for the fifth time in her career. It was the first time Venus had defeated Serena in a Wimbledon final. She went on to win Zurich, but the real topper occurred this month, when she also won the Sony Ericsson Championships for the first time.

2. Safina provides thrills beyond anyone's expectations.
I will always think of 2008 as the year of Safina. The talented Russian, who had never quite been able to put all of her skills together, put them together this year so dramatically that she was the most exciting player on the tour. It started in Berlin, where she not only beat world number 1 Justine Henin (and Elena Dementieva and Serena Williams), but played thrilling, come-from-behind tennis repeatedly, to win the title. Dinara Safina then went on to play the same kind of heart-stopping tennis at the French Open, eventually developing mental fatigue and falling in the final to a very in-form Ana Ivanovic. So many times this season, Safina looked certain to lose a match, and she would turn it around, providing tremendous excitement for fans, but perhaps a bit too much for herself. (At one point, when she was down a set and a couple of breaks in a match, commentator Mary Carillo, speaking of Safina's opponent, quipped, "Ah, Safina has her right where she wants her.") Safina went on to win the U.S. Open Series by taking both Los Angeles and Montreal, and she also won in Tokyo, and claimed a silver medal at the Beijing Olympics. Injury (and a determined Shahar Peer) took her out of Wimbledon, and fatigue--perhaps more mental than physical--did her in at both the U.S. Open and the Sony Ericsson Championships. Nevertheless, Safina's 2008 rise was both delightful and very impressive.

1. Justine Henin retires.
The tennis world was rocked in May when world number 1 Justine Henin announced her retirement, effective immediately. In an act of both finality and generosity, Henin also requested that her name be removed from the rankings. She retired right before the French Open, where she was the both the defending champion and the favorite. And she retired before having one more crack at winning Wimbledon, which surprised me. For years, Henin thrilled fans with her fluid movement, remarkable court savvy and brilliant backhand. Her forehand was also one of the best on the tour. If I had to choose one image from 2008 that summed up how strange the season was, it would be the photo of Henin handing out the Roland Garros trophies. Henin's absence probably has not totally sunk in with most of us; she was a phenomenal talent on the tour.

This and that...

Carol Caldwell Graebner has died. Caldwell Graebner was a top 10 player during the 1960s, and she helped Billie Jean King establish Fed Cup. Graebner and Nancy Richey comprised the world number 1 doubles team in 1965 and 1966. Graebner, who was 65, died of cancer.


Both Coco Vandeweghe and junior world number 1 Arantxa Rus have withdrawn from the Orange Bowl, which should open up some real opportunities for other competitors.


Steffi Graf has signed a deal with Longine; her husband, Andre Agassi, already has one. Thanks for this to Bob Larson's Tennis News, but it should be noted: Steffi Graf is not a man, though she is identified as one.


Don't miss WTA Backspin's 2008 Yearbook.


TennisX says that Tennis Week is on its way out.


Elena Dementieva defeated Serena Williams, 6-4, 6-4, in the Pam Shriver PNC Tennis Classic, a fundraiser for the Baltimore Community Foundation.

Friday cat blogging--lazy day edition