Your Sartorially Respledent Sydney Correspondent,
Enjoyed your 3 installments. Interesting observations to say the least. Seems like the Russians were not happy there this year as (Elena, Nadia, and Anna C to name a few) they lost their first matches.

These posts are great.

Whoever you are mystery reporter, keep up the great work!

Also, can you tell us how the Australian tennis world is responding to the comeback of Jelena Dokic?

I really enjoyed these posts. I hope the Sartorially Respledent Sydney Correspondent sticks around to report from the Open.

Sartorially Respledent Sydney Correspondent: Thanks for your reports - great work.

Great reports, thanks! And thanks for the gossipy tidbit about Murray and Jankovic. Maybe this will put those shippers' hopes to rest.

Awwww, look Sam! There's a pic of Ana just for you! =)

Very interesting interviews...note to self: no betting on JJ in Melbourne. Ana sounds ready to go, but she'll need some big performances to win her way into the AO finals. She's capable, but she'll need all her shots firing and her head in the right place to do it.

Ali C: Yeah, nice way to start off the week. ;-)
I still think Ana's at least a year away from winning a Slam. She doesn't seem ready to defeat the likes of Henin, Serena, Venus (and Maria outside of clay) in a late-round Slam match.

I kind of agree with you, Sam. I think with a fluke draw she could win a slam this year...but I do think that in the next year or two, a window is going to open up for her to become a multiple-slam winner. As Justine, Serena, Venus, Amelie, etc. retire or begin playing a bit less, she'll have a shot.

The trick is to take it, and not let the window close like Kuzzie did.

Speaking of Kuzzie, is the girl just absolutely mental or really driven for saying she wants to catch Justine and become #1? I admire her for thinking she can do it, but man. Talk about a tough road ahead.

Ali C,
Besides catching Justine for number 1, Kuzzy has got to hold off the Williams Sisters and Sharapova. Kuzzy do have a lot SF points to defend. Think Kuzzy drop at least 2 places when the season is over.

Ali: Well, Kuzzy did at least grab one Slam while the window was open. She actually said that about becoming #1? Wow. Like patrick said, there are other top players to contend with, and I don't see her doing that well against them.

Patrick,

I'd tend to agree...but I think Kuzzy's main rivals for the #2 spot are the Serbs - probably Ana I, with a strong Aussie campaign.

I think Maria will be gunning to get back to the top, but not so sold on the Williams Sisters. I'll believe that they're back to play tennis for real if they're still playing week in and out in March or April.

In favor of Kuzzy (or someone else) Justine has a LOT of points to defend from March-July. She'll need to tack on some late round performances in Sydney and Melbourne to pad her lead a bit if she wants to stay #1. I think she'll defend a lot of her points, but probably not all of 'em.

To be honest, I don't see anyone unseating Justine for a good long time unless her level drops a lot or she gets injured. And as much as I'm a fan of Sveta, I don't think she's going to be the one to do it anyway.

Sam,
Kuzzy won her Slam while the Williams and Belgians were injured and Davenport was not mentally into playing, and Maria was the darling of the world when she beat Serena for 2004 Wimby. Ankles return to competition today.

YSRSC:

But of course you should return and write some more, mate! Thanks for the latest on the top 4 girls.

It's back to "he or she" (Steve can't make up his mind), but odds are you are more of a "she", seeing that you notice these little things about Jamie and Jelena and romance. Guys are ... er ... not that observant, you know. Those two were just fantastic during their run to the Wimbledon finals. For first time partners, it was really a pleasure to watch them play - a fine example of having genuine fun while working on the job.

patrick: Good point. Forgot that 2004 was Henin's virus year (last time she lost at the FO).

Bob's gonna love the Henin stuff

Your Sartorially Resplendent Sydney Correspondent, this is your last report? Say it ain't so! I've enjoyed them, so I hope you'll do more in the future.

I'm sure Ivanovic will perform better in the next slam final she reaches. Her showing against Henin was not indicative of how well she can play. Everything fell apart for her after she broke Henin in that opening game.

Dee, don't be ignorant. That's just a stereotype. Thanks for your last report. Highly entertaining. Wow, are Ivanovic's cheeks chubby or what? I can't believe she weights 160; no wonder her movement is considered slow; every other player weighs 130 or less. Wonder what patrick has to say about this.

Eddy, don't be ignorant. That's the angle of the shot, it tends to make Ana's cheeks chubby. But if she weighs 160lbs ( i take it this info is from wikepedia.com ??), then she might be just overweight. Her previous weight listed in the WTA website is 152 lbs. Other ladies around Ana's height --- Nicole Vaidisova: 6' - 140 lbs, Serena Williams: 5' 10" - 143 lbs, Venus Williams: 6' 1" - 160 lbs, Maria Sharapova: 6' 2" - 130 lbs.

... so, every other player is not 130 lbs or less, hmmm?

It was assumed that I meant in general WTA women are 130, or at least I thought it was. Plus, why doesn't that angle make anyone else's cheeks look chubby? Not that I meant it as an insult. I was just using that to point out she's one of the heaviest women on the tour, along with Molik probably, and that she could lose some muscle (or whatever it is) and improve her movement.
By the way, I meant don't be ignorant about a man's ability to sense chemistry between a man and a woman. I onlly said that because I was tired of seeing stereotyping, big and small--not about Ivanovic. Unless you were just using my own words for your own comeback. Whatever, I'm cool if you are.
Steve, awaiting your first post of the year! I know you promised.

Great stuff. In regards to the plexicushion surface, can someone help me out here? Is the new surface faster or slower than rebound ace? I thought it was designed to be faster, but it seems lately I've been reading that it's slower. Do I have it the other way around?

From what I've read it's faster in AO hot conditions but slower in cooler weather like in Sydney.

No worries, Eddy, I'm cool, and I did get what you mean. :p)

"Murray walked past and touched Jankovic on the upper arm and she turned and smiled at him."

Some writers during the presscon, male or female, may have sensed the undercurrents between Jamie and Jelena, but for a male writer to actually include the significant item in his article? For me this points more to a female writer. The business on hand is tennis --- adding 10% romance to the article is, something a female YSRSC will do. I will have to go back to Wimbledon and check out which gender wrote most about the Jamie/Jelena impending romance (that never was at the time).

You know, Eddy, just between the two of us, the bad part of this discussion is that if YSRSC is truly and unquestionable male ... he will have my head for insisting that in his articles he comes across as being female!

Whatever, YSRSC is a keen observer, and not shy about including in his/her articles stuff other than the business side of tennis.

Weight settles in different parts of the. For Ana, I would not look at the cheeks but zoom in on the hips. Good thing she has let go of the pleated skirts cut below the waist which makes her hips all the more wider. Her upper arms look soft too, so bingo ... overall she looks heavy. The current Serena I like. She looked toned and fit on TV when she played in the Hopman Cup.

Should have been:

Weight settles in different parts of the body. For Ana ...

Please come back, mystery correspondent!

Whose to say a guy can't write about possible romance?

Could have been a guy too

On the subject of gender, I thought it must be a he because if it were a she, Steve would not have put "or she" in the brackets. But I did swing towards thinking the writer's female with that Jamie/Jelena comment for a moment, before wondering if the author was simply British.

Dee, truth is I would have been entertained by almost anything SRSC wrote relating to the tours, but I'm glad the reporter felt free to let us in on the personal scoop too. As far as the gender of SRSC, I don't want to guess because technically you shouldn't be able to tell which sex wrote it from looking at a professional (assumption) article. When I look at it personally, I could see it being either a male or a female. But if it is a male, knowing that his identity would remain anynomous, I'd guess that he would have felt free to express himself. And ya, it would be amusing if he is a male to see us accusing him of being a woman.

About Ana, I saw some of her pictures. She's not fat, but she has big hips and thighs, as you pointed out, which make me wonder if she's just naturally husky (which the cheeks also suggest to me). But I think if she lost 5 lbs just for the movement, she'd be better off.

"But I did swing towards thinking the writer's female with that Jamie/Jelena comment for a moment, before wondering if the author was simply British"
You sure cracked me up with that one! Even though I don't know British men's tendencies.

*British men or women's tendencies.

A WTA player is engaged to be married:

http://tinyurl.com/2vhqpu

Black Matt: Check the following thread around 1:30PM (1/7/08) - one of the posters wrote about it and posted a good link regarding the surface speed.

http://tennisworld.typepad.com/tennisworld/2008/01/monday-net-post.html

Eddy: I don't know about weight, but Ana strikes me as not having quick enough footwork, and I think this is part of the reason for her inconsistency. Hopefully she will work on that this year.

I agree Sam. Bammer had her nearly beat today, and I thought she looked heavy footed in her court coverage. At the YEC, both my girlfriend and I thought she looked fitter and had lost some weight. Today she looked as though she lost some of that conditioning she must have worked so hard to gain. Because she is a big girl by nature, I wonder if that will be a problem for her thoughout her career. Much like Nadia Petrova.

Yay for the engagement!

M-Life,
Do you mean Razzano almost beat Ana? Bammer lost in 3 sets to Srebotnik. Also, Ana lost 2 exo matches in Hong Kong to Dementieva and Peng.

I find it hard to believe Serena is 143. Very hard to believe.

I think a lot of players would have to retire, get injured or just be out for Ivanovic to win a slam. I just think right now there are at least 5-6 players who can beat her easily. I think she's by far the most beautiful and far from big. I watched the Hopman cup doubles and what was shocking was Serena was blowing serves and shot right past Novak. It was funny when he was shaking his head and when one of her shot put him flat on the ground. Congrats to Venus.

Samantha,
Saw Serena play Molik at HC last week and she did not face a BP. While Martina N was saying that she looks trim, she was not moving well as in previous years.

paulC, it's because Serena is short.
Welcome back M-Life. You were taking a vacation right?
patrick, what do you think of Serena's chances this year at the AO then?

Eddy,
Serena chances of repeating are pretty good but Justine is the one to beat at the moment ending the year on a 25 match win streak. Also, winning 10 tourneys and the best winning percentage since Graf.

Patrick, I see it the same way. I get a kick out of the people counting Serena out because most of the times she gets the last laugh. Remember what Petrova said at last years AO, the Williamses were done. At the USO, she had changed her tune and it was "I'm glad they're not in my draw." Serena loves the AO and plays extremely well there and she in better shape this year. I see only one player in front of her and that is Justine.

I'm digging that patrick and Samantha.

i dont know why everyone is against kuzzie. she is a great player and can be number 1. when serena says she wants to be number 1 everyone deems it as fine.when kuzzy does people say shes mental. i think that she certainly has the potential to do so and win maybe 1 or 2 more slams

Like.no.other,
Kuzzy is not mental in saying that she wants to be number 1 but I believe that this is unlikely 'cuz Justine is ahead of the rest by a comfortable margin and the Williams Sisters, Sharapova and the Serbians are breathing down her neck