Nice pick, Steve. And, great to hear that she's putting in the work. That Bollitieri trip of yours is pure gold! Thanks for the info.

First(dont belive it)

Number 1 story of me is Jelena's quest to win a Slam and I agree that she will obtain her Slam and the first two are her best chance to get it.

(1) French Open suits her defensive style and her main rivals have power which is blunted on the clay.
(2) Australian Open: Before Venus made a last minute run to win Zurich and Sony Ericsson Championships, Jelena was the "hot" player after the United States Open winning 3 titles in consecutive weeks. That alone should give her the confidence to win the most unpredictable Slam BKA "Happy Slam".

Tsonga on Ernie:

"""
Tsonga was not dancing on Djokovic's Brisbane International grave when he admitted he was hardly surprised by little known Latvian Ernests Gulbis' 6-4 6-4 boilover.

After clinching a 6-2 7-5 first round win over Argentine Agustin Calleri Tsonga tipped world No.53 Gulbis to burst onto the world scene in 2009 just as he did in 2008.

"For me it was not really a surprise. He is going to be the man who is going to make a surprise this year," Tsonga said.

"Every match he played better and better. For me it was not a surprise to see this result."
"""

http://www.foxsports.com.au/story/0,8659,24882401-23210,00.html

Sorry, wrong thread. Mods, could you delete that please.

Jelena is an enigma. She's clearly got something going-on in terms of massive determination, but I wonder if Grand Slam-style "killer instinct" is part of that? Maybe, maybe not.

The odds are in her favor to at least become a One-Slam Wonder, and her best chances will be found at Roland Garros or the US Open. That smokin' backhand down-the-line has got to help bring her one Slam, you'd think. Opportunities to break-through increase this year, as I suspect the Williams sisters will finally ride off into the sunset, as far as literally coming out of nowhere to win Slams, as they've been doing.

Jelena's problem is that her game lacks a truly explosive weapon that can mentally intimidate the other top girls, though her bulldog-style defense could possibly be considered a weapon, of sorts. Improved fitness could give her more firepower this year, but she needs to peak at the Slams, find that champion's groove on the biggest stages.

She has the talent and gusto. She sure has the narcissism of a champ. The question is whether or not she will be able to put herself into more and more Slam-championship opportunities in the coming two, three years. If yes, she's bound to snag at least one.

But the women's game is SO awful right now, so disjointed and disconnected, that if Jelena doesn't make her move soon, when the tour is generally flimsy, she'll never do it.

I would be surprised if JJ doesn't win a major in '09. She's got everything going for her now, but luck will of course play it's part.

if she hauls in a major, JJ would be a one hit wonder a la iva majoli... as it is now, shes currently the marcelo rios of the womens game...

Prediction: Jelena Jankovic is going to win the Australian, and if she does, she is going to win the Grand Slam.

Hi Steve....thanks for these New Year's predictions. It's been a fun series. I know my tennis juices are starting to churn again and I'm psyched for the new season.

JJ is more like the Michael Chang of women's tennis right now. (that's not a detraction either) You're not going to find many women scrap around the court like she does. Unfortunately, the serve has been a sore point and has been a slight liability when she faces off against top players.

It will be interesting to see if this conditioning work either build a little more core strength and helps provide more pace to her service game or perhaps provides her an extra gear to wear out the vast majority of opponents that don't move half as well as she does.

I hope she breaks through this year. I think it's impossible to handicap the women's game right now except to say that the Williams sisters are the players to beat at all tourneys that they enter 95% healthy.

BTW....it's going to be a real struggle for Rog to break through and move past Pete. The top competitors are not separated by a lot right now...and there are 4 of them to contend with. You can through 3 to 4 more in to the mix at each tourney that can break through at any time. I think if he picks up one GS it will be a tremendous achievement.

Have a good evening all!

...one GS in 09....that is....:-)

To win a Slam it takes: tools and mindset.
JJ has the tools. She can beat anyone, and she did that before.

So far her mindset was the only reason why she didn't win a major. JJ was very close to win GS twice last year at RG and USO. Even though she lost RG semi, she was in a lead against eventual champ (A.I.).

Now, since she is #1, a steady #1 that she believes she deserved it, her mindset is there.

So, yeah...very reasonable prediction. It would be surprise if she doesn't win any among next four (GS).

...and yeah, two other reasons why JJ should be favourite #1 at Melbourne is weak Ivanovic and rusty Sharapova. That's a big opportunity there.

I cringe a little bit at the selection of animal/invertebrate chosen as a comparison for Jankovic. I think she is cunning but not a bug...at least not THAT bug.

JJ winning a grand slam or two this year is fine in my book! I am all for it.

If she doesn't win, then I'd like to see a Russian not named Sharapova win a grand slam, at least one of them. If that option is out, how about more grand slams for Venus and Serena? I dont care what they do in the off-season - they and Monica Seles ushered in the new era (which Justine Henin altered briefly), and they might as well usher in the next one!

I like Jelena's chances in Paris, but I think Venus is the woman to watch in Melbourne.

I believe JJ will pull it off this year and get AO and/or FO. The training, the belief, the weak field, all will be a factor in getting her maiden GS. Bravo Jelena.

First off, love your sneaky humor Steve:
**She talked about her pride at becoming No. 1 and in particular at becoming the first Serbian woman to finish a season at No. 1 (not like what’s-her-face who won the French Open).**

I love JJ's personality and hope she wins a slam. The US Open would be perfect for her...grand stage and all.

I am totally loving the 'pick' series steve! And man, that trip to NB's academy just sounds so freakin' cool.

i had NO idea that jelena had been there since she was 12! and for heavens sake, i forgot she was contemplating bailing on the whole tennis thang... thank goodness she didn't, as she really does ad a great dimension to the womens game now.

here's hoping she takes a slam this year and gets that monkey off her back!

IF Jelena wins a Slam this year...my bet is on the French...I really just haven't seen that solid clay courter step up in the void of Henin's retirement. Jelena has won the Italian Open the last two years (I believe) and clearly is one of the best on the surface. In 08 Ivanovic was just ready to win a Slam and I feel that this will be the case for Jelena at the 09 French.

As for Melbourne...There are two major IFs...The health of Maria and Serena. I think that if either one is legitimately healthy they will be the two biggest threats for the title, then Venus, JJ, and Ivanovic (who still seems to be slumping/come on Verdasco pick her up...)

To Andrew: I think the only Russian besides Maria that really deserves to win a slam is Dementieva, poor girl just needs one good Slam to get that monkey off her back...but alas I wouldn't count on that happening in Oz this year... :(

Venus will demolish Serena, Maria, and Jelena at Oz 2009.

Venus: The True World Number One.

aw i really hope your prediction is right steve. and i think you're right that she has a good chance at the aussie and roland garros rather than wimby or the uso. i'd personally like to see jankovic and safina win a slam each this season, but it may be wishful thinking on my part.

I believe JJ will reign for a long time and win slams.
Ajde Jelena! =)

I hope there will be something about Rafa's year the following days.
I think its too premature to be making any predictions about the year in ATP but I have high hopes for Rafa and I hope he won't let me down.

Serena will demolish Venus, Maria, and Jelena at Oz 2009.

Serena and Venus are, The True World Number One.

Just like her #1 ranking, JJ will only win a Grand Slam if all the other Top 5 players are either retired, injured, or out before the final. She only had to play 6 matches against the Top 5 last year and only managed 1 win against Dementieva (1-5). She just got trounced today by 28 year old Venus and that "nose dive" is coming indeed lol !

cockroach in that she's so hard to kill in a rally. that's all. maybe not the most pleasant term, but if you're going to bother commenting, please try to address more than one word, or typo, of a post.

Oh yeah, right. Who is she going to beat win OZ in a couple of weeks? Serena? Venus? Ivanovic? LMAO. It's a nice story. But I don't think so. Venus (just did it a few hours ago) and Serena will skin the hide off of her.

I remember Sharapova also lost to Venus in Hong Kong last year and then she went on to win the Australian Open. I somehow doubt JJ is capable of doing the same, though.

For those who are looking for a good site to watch tennis (and basketball and hockey): I have been thrilled with the coverage and quality of the matches from DOHA at atdhe.net. I don't know if it makes any difference, but, I live in Canada.

Cheers!

Hopefully the bulking up will help her serve, which I think would help her immensely. I'd love to see stats, but she seemed like she could won at least twice as much return games last year as anybody else - if she could beef up her serve and become a little harder to break, she'd be a lot tougher to beat.

Nice post, Steve. I think you captured JJ's psychology perfectly. To me her last two years have come from this fear that at any moment it could all be taken away from her, i.e. she could just go on another 10 match losing streak at any time and retire. So she was so happy just to play and "be there". It was essentially a two year money grab.

Now something's clicked in her brain and she's putting herself out there and actually being ambitious. We'll see if she can get it done. Maybe she'll have a "lucky two weeks" and actually win one of these things.

Well according to sources jj serv bare had pace on them and venus was hitting powerful groundstrokes throught out the match. I dont see jj winning AO. As she will most likely have to contend with venus or serena in her draw and serena seems to be winning AO every second year. My bets are a all williams showdown with venus finally winning the aussie slam....

Venus just humiliated the world "#1"! Ha!

too bad for jj. this will be venus's year, i think. hehehe

Venus: The True World Number One!

Andrew Miller, I like what you said about the Williams sisters having ushered in one era and possibly ushering in another. It's amazing, isn't it? If not the Williams sisters (especially Venus -- I'm hoping she'll win some other than Wimbledon this year), I'd also love to see a different Russian win a Grand Slam, and my vote goes to Dementieva. She works hard and seems nice enough... and oh yeah, she plays well! :)

JJ is the modern day kim. everyone said kin was too nice to win a slam and she did i think jj could win 3 or more slams. in my opinion she will be in the game far longer than kim it seems less of a burden for hor.

Venus, Serena or Dementieva 2009 Slams Champs. Go for Girls!