I Spoke Too Soon: Elena Retires

All was well in the tennis world when I went to sleep last night. The Doha semifinalists were set, so I didn’t anticipate any exciting news to come from today’s meaningless matches. Then I woke up and checked my twitter, only to find hundreds of tweets about Elena Demetieva’s retirement in Doha. In my sleepy haze, I first assumed this meant Elena had retired from her match against Francesca Schiavone, but as I read on, it became clear that this was much bigger news. Elena Dementieva had lost her final match at the Year End Championships in Doha and had announced her retirement from tennis. I was floored. I mean, I know Dementieva hasn’t had her best year. She lost in the second round of the Australian Open and was unable to play Wimbledon due to an injury. However, she made the fourth round of the US Open and was a semifinalist at the French, where she was forced to retire due to injury. For someone who seemed to be injured all year, she was still doing pretty well. She is currently ranked 9^th in the world and has performed noticeably better than several uninjured former top 10 stars. Image from Getty.

After the news settled in a bit and about a thousand articles appeared on the subject, I decided to watch the on court ceremony from after her match against Fran. There wasn’t a dry eye in the stadium, or in my living room. All of the other Doha ladies showed up to support Elena and even stoic Sam shed a tear. Elena is incredibly poised and I honestly don’t think anyone on tour has a more adorable mom. Elena is never the center of controversy and has always been an incredible ambassador for the sport. For the women’s tennis, that’s actually saying something.

I have to say I like her style. She managed to keep a huge secret all year and avoid the “How do you feel about playing your last (insert tournament here)?” question that accompanies announcing your retirement at the beginning of the season. Her announcement also wasn’t overly showy, it fit her perfectly.

I know Elena is generally referred to as the best player never to win a Grand Slam, but instead of looking at what could have been, let’s recap some of her accomplishments.

• 2008 Olympic Gold Medalist
• 2000 Olympic Silver Medalist
• 2 time Grand Slam Finalist
• 3 time Grand Slam Semifinalist
• 2 time Tour Championships Semifinalist
• Former World #3

Not too shabby, is it?

I wish Elena the best of luck for her life after tennis.

Not to be upstaged, Kim Clijsters had an announcement of her own today. She plans to call it quits (again) after the 2012 Olympics in London so she and husband, Brian, can have a second child.

Stuff Happened This Week, Kind Of

I haven’t had all that much to write about lately. I know the women’s Year End Championships are going on this week in Doha and I am keeping tabs on it, but still, things haven’t exactly been exciting. If you’ve got any questions about Doha, check out my Decoding Doha article at TennisGrandstand.

Doha Semifinals

So our semifinalists are all set, but the match ups are still up in the air. Sam Stosur has come out on top of the maroon group, while world number one, Caroline Wozniacki, came in second. Tomorrow’s white group match between Vera Zvonareva and Kim Clijsters will determine the winner and runner up of that group. The winner will take on Caro in the semis and the loser will take on Sam. I’ll check in with a finals preview over the weekend.

Maria Yuryevna Sharapova Vujacic

That’s not a mouthful at all. Maria Sharapova and boyfriend of one year, LA Laker, Sasha Vujacic have gotten engaged. Based on the photos, it looks like Sasha invested in a pretty hefty ring. Honestly, these two are adorable together. Maria actually managed to find a man who’s taller than she is. She’s 6’2”, so basketball player was really her only option other than a fellow tennis player. Plus, I have a feeling this wedding is going to be awesome. Can we get some kind of petition going to have Maria on Say Yes to the Dress? Photo by Getty Images.

In Other Wedding News…

Andy Murray’s older brother, Jamie, got married this week. As expected Andy and Jamie wore traditional Scottish attire, i.e. kilts. I know they’re a cultural tradition, but they are also pretty damn funny. Jamie met his wife, Alejandra while she was studying in London. P.S. why didn’t I meet a tennis player when I was studying in London? Some girls have all the luck.

In Other Andy Murray News…

Andy hurt his hand. Andy hurt his hand, while playing playstation. Yes, you read that correctly. Um, Andy, remember when Kim broke up with you? Do you remember why? Yeah, the playstation. Put it away before it ruins your personal life and your tennis career.

You’re Old, Get Over It

Thomas Muster’s back, after 11 years of retirement. Oh, yeah, and he’s 43. I mean, I applaud the effort, but does he really think he’s going to win anything? So far, he hasn’t even won a match. I don’t know if this is some sort of weird midlife crisis or Muster’s run out of money, but this is a kind of odd turn of events for a former number 1. I’m pretty sure we won’t be seeing Roger Federer on tour 14 years from now, and no I’m not comparing Muster to Federer. Although, I would not mind seeing Marat Safin return to the tour, at any age.

Eh, Why Not?

So apparently this comeback thing is here to stay. After winning two Champion Tour events, Mark Philippoussis has announced he would also like to come back to the ATP tour. Mark’s only 33 so I guess he has a chance. Although, I can’t help but think this is the start of a bad reality TV show. It wouldn’t be the first time we’ve seen Philippoussis make that mistake.

In Other News

Jim Courier was chosen to replace Patrick McEnroe as the US Davis Cup captain. Pat Rafter will be taking the lead for the Australians.

There are tournaments happening in St. Petersburg, Vienna, and somewhere in France, but no one really seems to care.

Robin Soderling qualified for the World Tour Finals, leaving just 3 spots up for grabs.

It’s already 2:30am here and I would like to go to bed so you’ll have to wait for the rest of your news.

Last Week, In Photos

So, Roger Federer played his first tournament since the US Open in Shanghai, and didn't look a bit rusty. He made the final. Oh yeah, and they gave him a pretty spectacular entrance. Check out this photo, fog and all. The only way this could've been better is if they lowered him onto Center Court amidst fireworks and some cheesy rock anthem like The Boys are Back in Town. Think about that one for next year, Shanghai. You know I'm right.



Roger played Robin in the quarterfinals. I believe this has become a pretty familiar face from Soderling. I like to call it the 'Seriously, Federer again? WTF, am I never going to catch a break?' look. The match ended in a 6-1, 6-1 beatdown. I'm telling you, Sod's luck is almost as bad as Roddick's when it comes to drawing Fed, and his head-to-head is just about as bad.



So, Andy played Roger in the final. I would like you to remember this awesome look a little later. Action shots are always pretty bad, but Andy Murray is just not photogenic. Also, my mom is convinced that he physically cannot close his mouth. Honestly, the photographic evidence kind of backs up that claim.



I mean really, he looks like a crazy homeless man. If I saw him on the street, I would cross it.



Fed stopped mid-match to show us some pilates before hitting the ball back. Nice form, Roger.



So you know how I said to remember that photo of Andy later? Yeah, let's compare to basically the same photo of Roger. Unlike Andy, Roger is extremely photogenic, just one more thing he is awesome at.



As much as the camera loves him, the fates weren't in Roger's favor on Sunday. Andy won in straights. Although, if he weren't holding the trophy, you probably couldn't tell. Gloomy much? It's cool Andy. We love you even if you are a sourpuss.



Oh wait, it's happy Andy, kind of. Can we go back to gloomy Andy?



Jurgen and Leander took home the doubles trophy, plus what looks like some kind of creepy smurf or toothpaste blob or something. What is up with the Asian tournaments and the weird stuffed animals? They are so creepy.



On the WTA tour, we were lucky enough to get this. First, Ana Ivanovic won her first tournament in two years. Awesome. Hopefully she can keep the momentum rolling through to next season. Even better, the trophy presentation included several of the Von Trapp children. How often do we see that?

Too Adorable

I'm a sucker for a cute dog. Turns out tennis players love their dogs just as much as everyone else and lots of players even tweet photos of their pups. Andy Murray has taken things to a whole new level, creating a whole new twitter account just for his dog Maggie. It kills me to be away from my own dog for so much of the year so I can't even imagine how the players feel since they're rarely ever home.

I thought it would be fun to take a look at the players and the dogs they own because a dog says a lot about the owner.



I'm usually not a big fan of the Williams sisters, but they like dogs, so they can't be all that bad. This photo of Venus and her dog Harold is actually her twitter icon. I wonder if she brings Harold to tournaments. If I had to assign the Williams' a dog breed, it would certainly be something larger than Harold, so I'm a little surprised that both sisters have purse pooches. Although, I guess that means you can't take them on the road. No way you can travel with a Golden Retriever.


This next one is probably my second favorite on the list. Well, we know Sabine Lisicki likes to bring her dog Happy to tournaments. He even got his own guest badge at this year's US Open. Was security expecting an impostor? I highly doubt Happy was walking around by himself. Someone had to carry that badge. He is awfully cute though.



Next up is Andy Roddick. I really see Roddick as the all American guy, so every time he talked about his dog, I always imagined something like a Labrador, although I guess this little girl works too. Brooklyn and Andy both seem to love little Billie Jean (adorable name) tons. Plus, she looks like a great TV companion and seems to enjoy a good nap and tummy rub, much like my own puppy.





I think we all know this next dog. Who could forget Dulce upstaging Maria in those camera commercials?



Alright, this one is 100% my favorite. I nearly melted right into the floor when I saw this photo. Here's John Isner, shirtless, playing with his dog Magill. Does it really get better than that? I think not. John looks adorable. Magill looks super adorable. Everything about this picture is just right.



Do you recognize this cutie? This giant named Davis belongs to Fernando Verdasco. I'm a little surprised we don't have a photo of a shirtless Fernando with Davis. Fer rarely bothers to wear a shirt anyway. Why no cute puppy photo?





I don't think there's any player on tour who's quite so attached to their dog as Andy Murray. If I had to come up with a list of players who would be all gushy about their dogs, Andy would not have been on it. I didn't think Andy gushed about anything. However, he actually got little Maggie her very own twitter (which I assume is run by Kim) and often tweets about missing her. Today Andy told us that Maggie came to pick him up at the airport and provided us with this photo.



This last photo came from Devin Britton's twitter. He and his dog Caroline were taking a nice walk in the park.

A Change of Ends Update

Hi guys. Recently I feel like I've been starting every post with an apology, if I've been posting at all. There have been a few reasons that updates have been so sparse. First, the Asia swing at the end of the tennis season is crazy hard to watch. I don't get the Tennis Channel and even if I did, the matches are on around 3am. I'm a die hard fan, but I reserve my middle of the night tennis watching for the Australian Open. In the case of women's tennis, none of the good players bother to show up at tournaments anymore so why should I spend the day falling asleep in class because I was up late watching Tamarine Tanasugarn beat Kimiko Date Krumm to win the Japan Open? I don't care.

Second, I'm finally in my last year of university and regardless of how lazy I would like to be, I'm working harder than ever. No worries though, in terms of priorities, my blog comes right after looking for a job and right before class work. I don't feel so bad though because there's been a noticeable decrease in blogging lately so I don't think I'm the only one who's found it difficult to multitask. Anyway, if you don't find anything new on A Change of Ends, check out my weekly pieces for TennisGrandstand. They're generally available on Thursdays or Fridays each week.

Third, the US Open was my last live event of the year and I love blogging live from tournaments. I've definitely been planning some great trips for next year and I'm hoping to kick things off in Memphis in February.

In an effort to update more regularly, I'm going to try to write shorter pieces more frequently. No guarantees. I pretty much always have the intention of writing something short and then it turns into several pages.

As always, if you want to here my up to the minute ramblings, follow me on Twitter @achangeofends. I know it's shameless but I have no problem begging for followers, at least not on my blog.

Also, I think I'm going to open up the comment forums on A Change of Ends so feel free to start responding to posts. I love hearing from you guys.

Maria Sharapova: Four Times a Champion?

Two weeks ago, I wrote an article for TennisGrandstand about which current players I believe will win more Grand Slams. Maria Sharapova is a three time Grand Slam winner, having won Wimbledon in 2004, the US Open in 2006, and the Australian Open in 2008. Plus, she's only 23. She's for sure going to win again, right? You may be surprised that I said she won't win another major. Frankly, even I was a little surprised at my choice. A month ago, I was convinced that Maria was going to be the 2010 US Open champ. What went so wrong in a month that caused this crazy change in opinion? (Photo by Reuters)

Well, she lost and then she kept losing. That's what happened. 2010 was supposed to be her big year back and yet it's been one disappointment after another. Rationally, I know Maria has plenty of time to win another major considering how young she is. 2008 wasn't that long ago and she didn't suffer from an unexplainable fall from grace like Ana Ivanovic, but was forced not to play due to a shoulder injury. However, she's neither as confident nor as healthy as she was in her winning years. Her shoulder is a continuing concern and has wreaked havoc on her serve. More importantly, she's not beating top players, players she almost certainly would've beaten two or three years ago. Confidence is a huge part of tennis and the longer Maria goes on losing, the worse she's going to feel. She's already out for the rest of the season with no real explanation.

To be clear, I don't think Maria is any less talented than she was in 2008, which means she has the technical abilities to win another Slam, provided her shoulder stays healthy. At the moment, her serve is still more of a liability than a weapon and the rest of her game isn't spectacular enough to make up for that shortcoming. So, she fixes her serve and goes back to winning, right? Wrong. I think the psychological effects of the last two years have really taken their toll. The reason I don't think Maria will win another Grand Slam is her mental game. I'm afraid she can't keep it together through the important matches anymore, and that's a lot harder to fix than a faulty serve.

Race to the Finish

If you read A Change of Ends, even occasionally, you’ve probably noticed I’ve been a little absent lately. There are a lot of reasons that I haven’t been writing as much lately. First, and mostly importantly, it turns out college seniors have a lot of work to do. Second, looking for a job takes almost as much time as actually having one. Third, my whirlwind tour of tennis tournaments has officially ended for the year. Finally, the tail end of the tennis season is surprisingly boring, and incredibly difficult to watch considering the time difference.

However, I anticipate things heating up in the next few weeks. So far, only two men have qualified for the World Tour Finals in London. That leaves six hotly contested spots at the O2. As it stands now, Djokovic, Murray, Soderling, Berdych, Roddick, and Verdasco round out the top 8. However, we still have some big tournaments to play, including the Shanghai Masters event. For the sake of argument, let’s assume that Djokovic, Murray, and Soderling will qualify. Something absolutely disastrous would have to happen for them to fall out of the race for top 8. That leaves 3 spots up for grabs.

The ATP website lists the top 16 men in the race, but 12-16 would basically need to win everything from here on out to qualify. This means that the remaining spots are likely going to be filled by three of the following: Tomas Berdych, Andy Roddick, Fernando Verdasco, David Ferrer, Mikhail Youzhny, and Jurgen Melzer. Verdasco fell in the first round of the Beijing tournament this week, as did Mikahil Youzhny. Ferrer, an incredibly talented played who tends to fly under the radar, is through to the quarters, where he will face Robin Soderling. Jurgen Melzer is by all means the dark horse in the race for the World Tour Finals, for singles at least. He has already qualified for the doubles WTF. He’s at his highest ranking ever and less than 1000 points behind Verdasco in the race. It would be awesome to see some new faces in the top 8. I think we’ll almost certainly see Tomas Berdych in London for the first time this year and it would be great to see him joined by Jurgen. However, I think Ferrer may swoop in and take the last spot. Andy Roddick has made the World Tour Finals for seven consecutive years, and I fully expect him to make it to an eighth. This week, Roddick is in the quarterfinals at the Rakuten Japan Open, where he will face Gael Monfils. The winner goes on to a semifinal matchup with either Radek Stepanek or Jarko Nieminen. This week is a great opportunity for Andy to grab some more points.

Andrea’s Top 8 Picks

Rafael Nadal

Roger Federer

Novak Djokovic

Andy Murray

Robin Soderling

Tomas Berdych

Andy Roddick

David Ferrer

As for the ladies, in their race for the Doha finals is almost finished. They’ve locked in six of the eight finalists already. However, it looks like injury could be a major factor in how things play out. So far, Caroline Wozniacki, Vera Zvonareva, Serena Williams, Kim Clijsters, Sam Stosur, and Francesca Schiavone have all qualified for the WTA Championships. Competing for those final two spots are Jelena Jankovic, Elena Dementieva, Victoria Azarenka, and Justine Henin. This top 10 has been riddled with injury this year, even amongst the players who have already qualified. Serena hasn’t played since Wimbledon. Kim’s currently out with something. Sam was having some issues in August. More importantly, injuries are plaguing the four ladies still looking to qualify.

We all remember that Victoria Azarenka collapsed in her second round US Open match and had to be taken to the hospital. Vika had an amazing summer, but since the USO, she’s seemed to have some serious issues. In her last two tournaments, she’s been forced to retire from her matches. I’m not sure she’s going to be able to consistently play well enough to clinch one of those last two spots. Justine Henin, like Serena, hasn’t played since Wimbledon. She even went so far as to declare her 2010 season over. We’ll see if she sticks to that. If not, she actually has a reasonably good chance of clinching that eighth spot. Jankovic may not be injured, but you wouldn’t know that the way she’s played this year. The former world number one has been incredibly inconsistent with some very lackluster results this year. I do think Elena Dementieva will manage to take one of the last two slots. She’s been playing quite well in the last few weeks. I don’t think she’ll necessarily win the upcoming tournaments, but she’ll gather enough points to qualify for Doha.

Andrea’s Top 8 Picks

Caroline Wozniacki

Vera Zvonareva

Serena Williams

Kim Clijsters

Sam Stosur

Francesca Schiavone

Jelena Jankovic

Elena Dementieva

Also, check out my latest post, “Will They Ever Win…Again?” at Tennis Grandstand.

Whoops

Alright, so it's been like 10 days since my last post. Sorry about that. Apparently I've been letting schoolwork and job searching get in the way of my tennis blogging. No more. I've got to get my priorities straight. Well, I'll try.

If you've missed my insanity, I've got some great story ideas coming up, so check back frequently. I rarely turn off twitter so feel free to follow me @achangeofends. If you're looking for something a little longer, I've recently started guest blogging for TennisGrandstand. Just click the link to check out my article on age in the ATP.

The tennis season may be slowing down, but I'll try to keep you guys updated as much as possible. This week we've got the end of tournaments in Thailand and Malaysia. Next week, stay tuned for Tokyo.