!91188957 Mornin', everyone. Later today, I'll be talking to Ryan Harrison, the 17-year old American prospect whose game has caught fire recently. He's playing at the Challenger Level (presently, in Sacramento, where he beat the top seed the other day). So stay tuned later today.
In other news, you have to feel for Li Na, who was crushed by Elena Dementieva in Beijing, 6-2, 6-0. It was bad enough that the loss officially eliminated Li from the WTA tour championships race (she didn't really have a prayer of making it anyway), but it was a comprehensive beatdown suffered in front of countrymen, in the first big dual event ever played on Chinese soil. I hadf secretly been hoping that Li Na might make the final, maybe even win, partly because I like her compact, efficient game, but also because of this chauvinistic angle. It would have been a great moment.
Is there a more dangerous player out there than Dementieva? If I run down the WTA rankings, wondering who might truly be a player capable of humiliating me (if I were a woman, that is, which I'm not - not that there's anything wrong with that. . .), my eyes would get stuck at 'Lena's name. She's capable of playing some infuriatingly bad tennis, especially in big matches, but when this girl is rolling, those quick feet, punishing groundies, and her explosive athleticism - the single element that separates her from the rest of the contenders and also-rans - never fail to make me wonder why she's yet to win a major.
The window of opportunity is still open for 'Lena, and big titles (like the one on offer in Beijing) are great for padding the rankings and bank account. But she really needs a Grand Slam title for validation, and is - by far - the best active player not to have earned one yet. That Olympic gold medal in singles certainly is a great source of comfort and joy, but any top player will tell you that it's all about the majors.
Barring injury, I say Dementieva gets that first and long-coveted major next year. Feel free to comment on that prediction.
-- Pete