Monday Wrap - These young girls are good

Anna Chakvetadze and Jelena Jankovic. Remember their names. You’ll be seeing them in the Top 10 soon.

If you haven’t seen the Sydney final, then you’ve missed some amazing tennis. Kim Clijsters, what a shame it is that the lovable Belgian will step away from the game. She is a real character and an asset to the WTA. Above all, she’s a great player. Look for a strong Australian Open run from Kim and don’t be surprised when you see her holding the trophy two weeks from now.

Jankovic and Chakvetadze are ready to take the next step in their careers though. Hobart may not be the biggest trophy to win, but don’t forget that Anna won the Tier I in Moscow last year, and she could do some major damage at the Aussie Open. Look for a quarter-final appearance for the 19-year-old Russian against big Maria.

Jankovic made a strong run at the US Open last year and could do the same in Melbourne, but the troubling thing is that the Serb has now played 10 matches in less than two weeks time by winning Auckland and reaching the final in Sydney. It’s questionable whether she’ll hold up physically the next fortnight. Still, another final versus Kim could well be in the cards, there’s no question to how well she’s playing. How often does Amelie Mauresmo have to eat a bagel? Ouch.
Then we have Ana Ivanovic and Nicole Vaidisova. Two other teens knocking on the elite’s door. In Sydney they faced each other, and we can only draw one conclusion out of their match. Vaidisova outclassed Ivanovic in every aspect, and is certainly looking in good shape to do well in Melbourne.

Let’s go through what happened on the men’s side. James Blake succesfully defended his Sydney title and David Ferrer claimed the Heineken Open in Auckland. Oh yeah, and there were a few retirements because people didn’t care about these small tournaments.

Nikolay Davydenko was fined for his comments, but you can’t say the man was telling a lie. The tournaments in Sydney and Auckland will always be events players enter to get match practice for the Australian Open. A $10,000 fine will not change this.

Mardy Fish deserves a little note. He beat Mario Ancic in straight sets and went on to reach the semi-finals. The American lost to Ferrer in three sets. Good to see the Fishman is back.

Now, let’s go Down Under.