==================
SONY ERICSSON OPEN (Miami, Florida, USA; outdoor hard; WTA Tier I)
================== http://www.sonyericssonopen.com/

ANNA CHAKVETADZE [9,EF]:
1r bye
2r + Vasilisa Bardina, 6-1 6-0
3r + TATIANA GOLOVIN [17,DF], 6-1 6-3
4r + MARA SANTANGELO [32], 6-1 7-5
qf + LI,NA [15], 4-6 7-5 6-2
sf - JUSTINE HENIN [2], 2-6 3-6

Anna had some luck with Jelena Jankovic [7] and Kim Clijsters [4]
losing in the rounds before she would have played them, but it's
still a great achievement to reach the semi-finals of a Super Tier I,
and her scorelines were just great in her first five sets!

Then she got tired, as she emphasises in her latest diary-entry (30th
March) at http://www.theannachakvetadze.com/ (can't wait for the
Tennis Week photoshoot, but 5 hours to put on a few clothes and take
a few photos? :tape:)

Anna said in her semi-final press-conference that she came into this
tournament with no confidence. This surprises me, because I think
she's had a very good start to the year apart from her upset by
Shahar Pe'er at Indian Wells. But she's very ambitious, and certainly
has a much higher standing in the game than a year ago. She rarely
loses to lesser players anymore, and has the class to compensate
broken confidence.

Anna seems to have less confidence in herself than I do in her, and
looks so miserable on the court while I enjoy watching her so much.
Perhaps it's all just a façade to lull her opponents into a false
sense of security - in which case, hats off to her!

This result moves Anna back up to her career-high ranking of #10 -
hopefully this time for much longer than one week! With 1847 points
she's just ahead of #11 Serena Williams (1769), but is even closer to
#9 Jankovic (1867).

------
Photos
------

http://news.search.yahoo.com/search/news/?c=news_photos&p=chakvetadze
http://www.wtaworld.com/showthread.php?t=280396&page=12
http://www.sonyericssonopen.com/content/20070327180219.html (qf)
http://www.tennis.info/Miami7.html (Third round - day 1,
Quarterfinals, Semifinals)
Search Getty Images for "chakvetadze"

Sonja's Miami-photos (various players including Anna in Post #23):
http://www.wtaworld.com/showthread.php?t=291289

-----
Video
-----

Quarter-final (Chakvetadze v Li) highlights (4˝ minutes):
http://www.wtaworld.com/showpost.php?p=10385634

Judging by these highlights, I don't think Anna played particularly
well in her quarter-final. Although her strokes were lovely to watch,
she seemed to have less power than the other times I've seen her play
in the last year, and in the first half of the match (Anna was
4-6 1-3* down), it was Li taking the initiative and hitting winners.

But what Anna lacked in power that day, she made up for in placement,
and I guess that's how she turned it around. It was more like
watching Martina Hingis than watching Anna Chakvetadze!

------------
Second round (Friday 23rd March)
------------

+ ANNA CHAKVETADZE [9,EF] d. Vasilisa Bardina, 6-1 6-0

It was a repeat of the Hobart-final, which Anna won 6-3 7-6 (7/3).
This time, Anna made light work of her 19-year-old Russian compatriot
(it's so strange to think that Anna is no longer 19), converting all
6 break-points she had.


Wintermute <http://www.wtaworld.com/showpost.php?p=10351164>:
>>>
Match is currently suspended by rain with Anna leading 6-1 2-0 0-15*

The match started with three consecutive breaks of serve. In fact no-
one has saved a break point so far. Apart from that it's been fairly
easy for Anna. She seems to be returning very well.

She double faulted on her second set point but that's excusable, 6-1
is a good score. She looked to be really getting into a nice groove
when it started raining. Hopefully she can continue it on the restart.
<<<

-----------
Third round (Sunday 25th March)
-----------

+ ANNA CHAKVETADZE [9,EF] d. TATIANA GOLOVIN [17,DF], 6-1 6-3

It's only right that Anna should have beaten Tatiana, because when I
evaluated them both last December, Anna was the only one whom I
inducted into my Eternal Fanship. Anna's tennis is wonderfully
flairsome, while Tatiana often plays too passively, and it looks so
laboured.

But I've had a soft spot for Tatiana ever since 2004, when she was a
gorgeous, slim 16-year-old who sashayed around the court in sexy
microshorts. She's put on a lot of bulk since then, but can still be
very attractive.

I have to feel sorry for Tatiana, because she was defending a semi-
final here - an amazing match in which she came back from 3-6 1-5*
down against Maria Sharapova to take the match to a third set, where
she suffered a horrific ankle-sprain at 3-4* and had to retire in
tears.

Anna's victory avenges a 3-6 2-6 loss to Tatiana in 4r US Open 2006,
and levels their head-to-head at 2:2.

------------
Fourth round (Monday 26th March)
------------

+ ANNA CHAKVETADZE [9,EF] d. MARA SANTANGELO [32], 6-1 7-5

Wintermute <http://www.wtaworld.com/showpost.php?p=10375382>:
>>>
I thought Anna would romp away with this. But she got to 40-0 up for
a 3-0 lead in the second and then started having trouble finding a
first serve. Mara really started to attack the 2nd serve and managed
to level up. The wind must definitely have been a big factor. Mara
made seven double faults to Anna's one.

But when Anna got her first serve in she really dominated and luckily
she avoided the tiebreaker.
<<<

--------------
Quarter-finals (Tuesday 27th March)
--------------

+ ANNA CHAKVETADZE [9,EF] d. LI,NA [15], 4-6 7-5 6-2

Li is a go-for-broke player who makes many winners and unforced
errors, and she made 73 of the latter against Anna, who fought back
from 4-6 1-3* to win!

Anna's victory avenges a 5-7 3-6 loss in 2r French Open 2006, and
puts her 2:1 up in her head-to-head against Li.

Gao,Shenyang (deputy-director of the China Tennis Association)
describes Li's game as follows: "She has a strong forehand-attack,
but a lack of variety and is weak in net-play. So if the opponent
withstands her first attacks, she becomes impatient. It is not simply
a mental problem."

Spiritof42 <http://www.wtaworld.com/showpost.php?p=10379277> {before
the match}:
>>>
Li is quick and has powerful ground strokes, but she also hits a ton
of UE more often than not. Another player who can only play one way
(unlike Anna). After watching her completely self-destruct against
Hantuchova in Indian Wells, I'm confident Anna can win this by using
her superior variety of shots. A good 1st serve % will also help,
since Anna's 2nd serve can be rather vulnerable.
<<<

Wintermute <http://www.wtaworld.com/showpost.php?p=10382603> {after
the first set}:
>>>
They were actually level on points won at the end of the first set.
But Anna didn't save any of her break points while Na saved three.
<<<

www.wtatour.com:
>>>
On Tuesday, the No.9-seeded Russian battled back from a set and 3-1
down against No.15-seeded Chinese trailblazer Li Na to win in three
sets, 4-6 7-5 6-2.
<<<

soup <http://www.wtaworld.com/showpost.php?p=10388320>:
>>>
Her serve looked pretty good in third set...she has improved I
think :cool: and she was really fighting well. It was like the end of
the world always when she lost a point and when she hit a winner she
made almost serena-like fist pumps :hearts: It was a matter of life
and death. She is a winner type :angel:
<<<

-----------
Semi-finals (Thursday 29th March)
-----------

- ANNA CHAKVETADZE [9,EF] lt. JUSTINE HENIN [2], 2-6 3-6

It was the first Miami semi-final for both of them, but Anna was not
only tired, she was up against someone who has won five Grand Slam
titles - someone who is now spending her 59th week ranked #1.

Having seen Anna's Wimbledon 2006 match against Henin, but not their
Miami match, I'd say the improvement is simply that we now consider
it an exceptionally bad day at the office that she lost 6-2 6-3,
whereas at Wimbledon, I was like, "Anna played okay, but desperately
disappointing by Eternal Fanship standards - I think she could have
done more." She's of a different stature now.


Previews
--------

www.wtatour.com:
>>>
{Tuesday 27th March}
Another fruit of Henin's labour here is her ever-extending 2007 win-
streak; this [quarter-final] win was her 12th in a row, eight of them
coming in her Middle Eastern sweep at Dubai and Doha, and four coming
here. Prior to Miami, there was a tie between Kim Clijsters, Jelena
Jankovic and Anna Chakvetadze for longest streak, with nine.

Chakvetadze, who put together that run by winning Hobart (5:0) and
reaching her first major quarter-final in Melbourne (4:1), will be
Henin's semi-final opponent.

Henin and Chakvetadze have played just once before, with the Belgian
winning in two easy sets, 6-2 6-3, in the third round of Wimbledon
last summer. But it is a different Chakvetadze now; the Russian, who
just turned 20 years old, has had seven of her eight career top-ten
wins since that match, and also made her début in the top ten earlier
this year, having been a much-lower No.34 at Wimbledon.

{Wednesday 28th March}
First up in the afternoon-session is current world No.1 Justine Henin
taking on Russian rising star Anna Chakvetadze. Although she has won
five Grand Slams and is currently spending her 58th non-consecutive
week at the top of the rankings, Henin is playing the Miami semi-
finals for the first time. Chakvetadze is in the same situation at
this event. The two have played once before, with the Belgian
winning, 6-2 6-3, in the third round of Wimbledon last year. But the
Russian is a much more dangerous player now than she was then; she
has had seven top-ten wins since that match, and also made her own
top-ten début in February.
<<<

Sandra Harwitt
<http://www.sonyericssonopen.com/content/20070328205918.html>
>>>
Not only is Justine Henin safely into today's Sony Ericsson Open semi-
finals, but she's also secure in terms of holding on to her world No.
1 ranking when the new WTA Tour rankings are released this coming
Monday.

Henin, 24, has won many prestigious titles, but she's still two
matches away from the possibility of winning her first career Sony
Ericsson Open trophy. Henin's best previous results here have been
two quarter-final finishes in 2003 and 2005.

The Belgian has only played three tournaments this year – she skipped
the Australian summer season in January for personal reasons.
In those three tournaments, she won Dubai and Doha – obviously the
Middle East agrees with Henin. She also reached the semi-finals at
Paris.

In possession of one of the best one-handed backhands in the
business, Henin has won 31 career-titles. She's won five Grand Slam
trophies, with only a Wimbledon-title missing from her collection of
majors.

Henin is the type of personality that likes to live on the edge in
order to experience a thrill. Away from the tennis-court, the only
activity that she's found that gives her as strong a sense of a
thrill is skydiving, which she has done at least 19 times.

As for her opponent today, Anna Chakvetadze, who is ranked No. 11 in
the world, it's not known if she needs to skydive to get that
exhilarating feeling. But fans could imagine that a first career-
victory over Henin - who beat her the one time they played, in the
2006 Wimbledon third round - would deliver an exhilarating sensation.

Chakvetadze, 20, has won three career-titles, including the Hobart-
title earlier this year. She's also reached the semi-finals at
Antwerp and here in Miami, as well as the quarter-finals at the
Australian Open and Paris the past three months.

Henin prefers to skydive rather than take a nosedive, so fans can
expect the Belgian to beat a path to her first career Sony Ericsson
Open final.
<<<

Match-reports
-------------

www.wtatour.com:
>>>
Henin was the first to advance during the afternoon session,
dismissing young Russian Anna Chakvetadze easily, 6-2 6-3. It was an
identical score to their only prior duel, at Wimbledon last year.

The No.9-seeded Chakvetadze never developed a winning game-plan
against the No.2-seeded Henin, her normally consistent style breaking
apart upon the Belgian's variety of spins and slices, as well as
frequent rushes to the net.

With such a wide variety of shot, Henin's greatest strength is hard
to pinpoint. In addition to her powerful topspin-forehand, fluid one-
handed backhand, spins and an impeccable touch at the net, she is
perhaps most renowned for her tough mentality; the Belgian agreed
that this last attribute was best.
<<<

Steve Keating for Reuters:
>>>
World number one Justine Henin stormed into the final of the Sony
Ericsson Open on Thursday with a crushing 6-2 6-3 win over Russian
Anna Chakvetadze.

After missing the early part of the season following her split with
husband Pierre-Yves Hardenne, Henin has been almost unbeatable, and
has now reached her third consecutive final after collecting back-to-
back titles in Dubai and Doha.

Henin, who has lost just once in 16 matches this season, was never
seriously challenged by her ninth-seeded Russian opponent, who was
broken five times and managed to hold serve just three times in the
entire match.
<<<

Agence France Presse (AFP):
>>>
Henin, 24, fired five aces and broke serve five times to defeat 11th-
ranked Chakvetadze, 20, in 71 minutes, denying the Russian her second
final of the year. Chakvetadze earlier won the title at Hobart.
<<<

Steven Wine, AP Sports Writer:
>>>
The top-ranked Henin is a five-time Grand Slam champion, but until
this year she had never advanced beyond the quarter-finals at Key
Biscayne. She says she dislikes the island's windy weather, and tends
to play poorly in March because it's the anniversary of her mother's
death.

Henin said she has been hindered during the tournament by a breathing-
problem - possibly allergies - and is taking medication. She barely
survived the third round, overcoming a 1-5 deficit in the third set
to beat Virginie Razzano.

But against the ninth-seeded Chakvetadze, Henin took charge from the
start.

The latest Russian to crack the women's top 10, Chakvetadze played
tentatively early, and lost the first set in 33 minutes. In the
second set, serving at 40/0, she lost five consecutive points to fall
behind 0-2.

Henin hit consecutive aces to close out the next game, and saved some
of her most aggressive groundstrokes for the final few games.
Chakvetadze lost 20 of 35 points on her first serve, and was broken
five times.

Henin reached every major final last year. She's 15:1 this year, but
skipped the Australian Open in January because she was going through
a separation.
<<<

soup <http://www.wtaworld.com/showpost.php?p=10398438>:
>>>
For those who didn't see it, consider yourself lucky, this was the
worst I've ever seen Anna play...
<<<http://www.wtaworld.com/showpost.php?p=10398461>>>
This was even worse than 2005-Anna. She had a very very bad day :sad:
<<<

Wintermute <http://www.wtaworld.com/showpost.php?p=10400049>:
>>>
I couldn't help myself and watched some of Eurosport's replay of the
match. It was probably the worst Anna's played this year. I'm not
sure if the wind was having an effect and she wasn't showing signs of
nerves - it was just a bad day at the office. She showed a few
glimpses of what she could do near the end but all too late.

I thought it was quite cute when Anna got the two line calls in a row
overturned with Hawkeye and she couldn't stop herself from smiling. :)

I also notice that after the match was over as she was walking off
court she stopped to sign autographs. That's very sweet of her
considering how she just lost, not many players would do it. :hug:
<<<

cosmoose <http://www.wtaworld.com/showpost.php?p=10401680>:
>>>
Anna looked so frustrated...maybe even tired. She just kept ball in
play and played defensively. sigh.
<<<

Spiritof42 <http://www.wtaworld.com/showpost.php?p=10401774>:
>>>
Anna has to be disappointed with her performance today. I know I am.
She was clearly the underdog going in, but she just didn't play
nearly well enough to pose a threat to Henin. During the warm-up, my
first thought was: "I hope Anna isn't as nervous as I am, or she'll
be in trouble". She did seem tight to me. I don't recall seeing her
mishit so many 1st serves with the frame, and she looked tentative
more than once. She was overly cautious. The fact that Juju started
the match well didn't help. Anna raised her level with her back to
the wall, when there was basically no pressure, but it was too little
too late.

The happiest moment for me was Anna's reaction after successfully
challenging 2 calls in a row near the beginning of the 2nd set. She
looked so :hearts: ! Unfortunately, Henin proceeded to ruin the
moment immediately by hitting a couple of aces :mad:

So yes, basically, it was a bad day at the office. Anna looked almost
embarrassed when she waved at the crowd during her exit. She knows
she can play much better.
<<<

David <Fans' Corner at www.theannachakvetadze.com>:
>>>
I am not trying to be a negative fan; however, I really think you had
a chance against Henin. In the second Set you had 2 games in a-row
that were exactly how you play at your best...
<<<

Anna quotes
-----------

"When you play the way I played today, it's not even strategy to
think if you can't hit more than three balls over the net. It's your
problem, so, yeah.

"I think Justine played pretty solid today, but I don't know, I just
felt very tired. I felt I couldn't run. I don't know why I felt
tired. I didn't run, and I was not in the match today. Yeah, but you
know, sometimes this happens, and I look forward to playing on clay-
courts.

"I felt it actually yesterday that I'm a little bit tired. I was a
little bit dizzy in the evening, but I felt maybe I would get through
that, but no.

"You know, something wrong happened, and actually, I'm still pleased
with the result because I had no confidence when I came here - after
I played one of my worst matches this year, and I didn't have
confidence at all. And the goal for me was pass one round. And when I
passed it I just felt a little bit better. Then second round,
Golovin, also pretty easy - I was surprised. Yeah, it's still a good
result, but I'm just feeling that I'm not in a good shape right now."

[Re. top ten next week]
"Yeah, I know, that's strange. If I would feel good, then maybe I
would be top five. But no, the thing is that of course I got lucky
with the draw. It was very tough match for me against Na Li - she
just didn't use her opportunities, that's why I won. It was very
lucky, so yeah, I'm happy it was a semi-final. But today in the
match, Justine, she was controlling all games. She just start to miss
a little bit in the end of the second set, so I won a few more games.
[I'm not really giving myself much credit,] but I am telling the
truth."

[Re. her improvement in the last year]
"Well, I just got more confidence against top players. I got
confidence after I won my first tournament in China. And then the
next week I won a home-tournament in Kremlin Cup in Moscow. Yeah,
I beat like three top-ten players, and after that I just felt that
I can play better and better."

[Re. no coach]
"No, my dad is with me here, and my hitting-partner. I actually was
practising before Indian Wells with Robert Lansdorp in L.A., and I
liked it a lot. But he can't travel, so probably I'll go to see him
later when I go play US Open Series. Something special? He had great
players: he was coaching Sharapova, Myskina and Sampras. He doesn't
like to compare. I liked it, you know, he's very nice guy, and we
practise good together."

[Re. next tournament]
"Well, I'm going back home and I'm going... in Russia, yes, in
Moscow. I'm going to play Fed Cup and practise on clay, outdoors.
Then I play Warsaw, Berlin, Rome, week off, and then French Open.
We'll see how it goes.

[Re. Henin]
"Well, she sees the ball very good. She likes when someone hit flat
against her. Well, all girls mostly playing like that - that's how I
played today as well, I don't know why. It's not my style of the game.

"Well, yeah, she's a great champion. I don't know. They look a little
bit similar with... no, she hit actually flatter than Mauresmo does.
But they both have one-hand backhand and serve pretty good, so yeah.
They don't play the same tennis as others play. Because usually girls
play very flat, and powerful, and Justine, she can mix her game.
That's why she's No. 1."

[Re. top five]
"Well, hopefully. That's my goal, yeah. I'll try to do my best this
year. Hopefully I will play better."


Henin quotes
------------

"She made a lot of mistakes, but I've been smart. I've played the
kind of game she doesn't like that much. But there wasn't a lot of
rhythm, so it was an easier match than was I was expecting.

"I was just happy to do my job - it was very clean. I had the
solution to every ball she was hitting today.

"I used my slice a lot. I could change the rhythm. I was running a
lot and I was moving well. Also I had good defense, but with that I
could come into the court and play a little bit more offensively too.

"That's my game, you know, to change a lot. I'm not as tall as most
of the players, not as strong, so I have to play with my qualities.
I'm not the kind of player who is hitting the ball so hard on every
shot. I just try to do something else, and that's good for me."

[Re. mental strength]
"I feel that's my biggest quality. In the past, I've proven it many
times. I have come back in tough matches, and when I was younger, not
a lot of people believed I'd really become a great tennis-player.
I proved a lot of things to those people - but first to myself.
I love playing tennis so much, because it brings me a lot of
emotions; it gives emotions to people I love, to my fans - and that's
why I play tennis now, and I'm very happy about that. I just feel
lucky to do what I love so much.

"I've been in trouble in my third round against Razzano. I was down
5-1, so I could be out of the tournament at that time. I wouldn't say
I've been lucky, because I don't feel that luck exists in sport.
I've been very focused at that time, and just try to stay in the
tournament. Conditions are pretty tough, but I just could accept that
and just, yeah, day after day, try to be myself and be happy to be on
the court.

"Emotionally, I still have to find a good balance. I had a pretty
tough time early in the year. The beginning of the season has been
fantastic. I hope I can keep it going until the end. What happened in
2006 is far away; now I just want to focus on another season.

"It's great. The beginning of the season I've had is fantastic and I
just hope I can keep going to the end in this tournament.

"It is a challenge for me. I just live for the moment now - I'm not
in the past anymore. I just try to enjoy every moment of my life, and
not try to project too far in the future, and forget a little bit of
what happened in the past. I just try to move forward. You can take
something positive from anything in your life, and that's what I am
trying to do."

[Re. on-court coaching]
"No, we didn't use it, and I don't think we're going to do it. It's
going to be 11 years we work together, and I don't have to have
Carlos [Rodríguez]. I don't need him beside me on the court. Even if
he just looks at me, I can understand what he wants from me on the
court. I also have the feeling I'm mature enough. I know what I have
to do on the court. The thing is that you alone have to find the
solutions by yourself. I'm not quite sure what the level of the top
players is going to make a difference. I'm not really positive for
that. I don't care if the other players do that, but for me, the goal
of Carlos is I take a little of my own responsibilities on the court.
So it wouldn't help me if he comes to me at the end of the set and
give me another solution - I have to find it by myself. I don't have
really an opinion. It's just that I don't need that."


================
Next tournaments
================

Anna's next WTA tournament will be Warsaw (week of 30th April), but
before that she will play Fed Cup <http://www.fedcup.com/>:
Russia are in the World Group, and will play their first-round tie on
21st/22nd April. They play Spain at Moscow, on indoor clay.

Shamil Tarpishchev was reportedly choosing between Anna and Dinara
Safina for fourth place on the team, and reportedly chose Anna. Then
Maria Sharapova withdrew, leaving Anna as the third player behind
Svetlana Kuznetsova and Nadia Petrova - though whether he will choose
Petrova over Anna, who owns Petrova 4:0, will depend very much on
Petrova's title-defence at Amelia Island, I would think.

--
Dr. Andrew Broad
http://geocities.com/andrewbroad/
http://geocities.com/andrewbroad/tennis/
http://geocities.com/andrewbroad/tennis/chakv/ (added 1 external link)

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Anna_Chakvetadze/
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/jeldani/