After a while, you become pretty familiar with the women who regularly show up on the final weekend at tournaments – Maria Sharapova, Justine Henin, Amelie Mauresmo, Kim Clijsters, the Williamses, etc. But this week has thrown up some different names.

It wasn’t exactly a stacked women’s field to begin with, and all the upsets on Wednesday have left the tournament with some quirky semifinalists. And they’re not just quirky in the sense that it’s unusual to see them around this late, either:

Sybille Bammer – it looks like Serena Williams knew what she was talking about after all. There was a general rolling of the eyes when she talked about facing players at Hobart who were “playing like they were No. 1 on the men's tour” – well, maybe that did deserve some rolled eyes – but the praise for Bammer was clearly pretty prescient. After winning the title in Melbourne, Serena said, “I'm glad I didn't have to play her in this tournament.”

Bammer heard about that – a confidence boost on top of the one she got from the win itself. But the reason she’s become a big story this week is because she’s the first mother in a long time to have such a big result – even Evonne Goolagong’s last Wimbledon win is being thrown out there. Lots more details on that next door – a neat story. A couple of notes – Bammer has been bringing her daughter Tina on the road with her since she returned to the tour, with Bammer’s boyfriend also travelling along with them. Tina is now about five and a half, which Bammer says makes the travelling easier than when she was younger. But she’ll also be starting school soon, which means that they won’t all be on the road together as much – something Bammer will have to adjust to.

It’s also interesting that Bammer, now 26, was in the 200s during her pre-baby career, and will be in the top 30 after this week – one person, two completely different career levels. She could also easily climb higher – she’s pretty fast, has a good forehand and can hit both directions off her two-handed backhand (in addition to bringing out a one-handed slice on occasion). According to her, the big difference is that she now goes for winners instead of just playing defensively.

Na Li – the most curious thing about her this week hasn’t been her tennis game – robotic but effective – but her English skills. She gave an interview to an AFP reporter early in the tournament, apparently speaking quite well and talking about her problems dealing with the heat and so on. When she showed up for her first official press conference, though, she was accompanied by a translator. It was a torturous exercise, and incidentally, when asked about the heat this time, she said through translation that she’d been in the area for a couple of weeks and has become used to the weather. A couple of times she broke into English, including (if memory serves correctly) when she was asked about having a big combined event like Indian Wells in her country – “If I earn a lot of money, I will make one in China,” she joked. (Hey – is that a political statement in favour of free market economies?)

In her next press conference, she showed up without her translator – and spoke better English than he had.

Daniela Hantuchova – her unexpected win here in 2002 is still the only title she’s ever won. That’s quirky, period. She went through a tough patch a few years ago with her parents divorcing and rumours that she had an eating disorder, but one title five years ago seems too little for someone with Hantuchova’s talent. Martina Hingis, who lost to her in that 2002 final and in the fourth round this year. apparently can’t understand it either. “I mean, I practice with her. Even she tells me in the locker room, ‘With you, I feel like we play tennis’... You know, she loses matches 6-4, 7-6 in the third and she has in her hands. She lets it go. But she's done that for five years. It's hard. I mean, you have to ask her what she has to do. I don't know. I think a lot of people have been trying to talk to her.”

Svetlana Kuznetsova – it’s not quirky to see her in the semifinals – she’s the second seed. But here’s a funny line from her today, indirectly due to Bammer – Kuznetsova was talking about being left in the care of her grandparents while her mother was competing in cycling competitions, rather than travelling along as Bammer's daughter does:

Q: Is it true you were born on the back seat of a bike?
Kuznetsova: No, on the forward wheel.