Previewing the Field for the 2007 Sony Ericsson Championships

The Sony Ericsson Championships, the final tournament of the 2007 tennis season, begins on Tuesday when eight of the best tennis players in the world hit the court for the biggest title in women’s tennis.

Justine Henin, Jelena Jankovic, Svetlana Kuznetsova, Ana Ivanovic, Serena Williams, Anna Chakvetadze, Daniela Hantuchova, and Maria Sharapova have worked hard over the past ten months just to reach Madrid, but plenty of sweat and toil remains as the field competes in the grueling round-robin elimination event.

The eight women have been divided into two groups, with Justine Henin leading the yellow group and Svetlana Kuznetsova helming the red group.

Justine Henin (Yellow Group)

Why She’ll Win: Consistency, thy name is Henin. Henin has been invincible for most of 2007 and is the heavy favorite to leave Madrid by successfully defending her WTA Tour Championships title. Of the eight competitors, Henin is the freshest and healthiest; her only injuries in 2007 were a bad bout with asthma, and minor wrist and shoulder strains.

Why She’ll Lose: Henin’s stamina level is not her greatest strength, a weakness revealed in the semifinals of Wimbledon against Marion Bartoli. Henin’s draw for Madrid was not kind, and if she gets forced into back-to-back, three set matches, she may not be able to last the duration. To make matters worse, Henin pulled Serena Williams and Jelena Jankovic - two very tough customers - in her group. Hypothetically, she could have to play one of them twice to win the title.

Svetlana Kuznetsova (Red Group)

Why She’ll Win: Only Henin has surpassed Svetlana Kuznetsova’s appearances in finals this season. The top Russian has enjoyed the best season of her career since winning the US Open in 2004, and has proven that she rightfully deserves to be at the top of the women’s game. Sveta considers Spain her second home, and with the absence of any Spaniards in the draw, she’ll be fortunate to have the support of the home fans.

Why She’ll Lose: Kuznetsova has contested six singles finals this year, including the US Open, but only has one additional piece of hardware to show for her efforts. Getting tight in finals is a sure sign of a lack of confidence, making her particularly vulnerable in a round-robin format against her fellow top 10 stars.

Jelena Jankovic (Yellow Group)

Why She’ll Win: Now that the Tour’s most famous mouthpiece has called it quits, Jelena Jankovic stands waiting in the wings to take Hingis’ place in the press room. The amiable Serb has had a breakthrough season and what better way to cap off 2007 than to win the season-ending Championships, especially with a win over Henin? She has the game to make a deep run in Madrid, if only she arrives without being exhausted from her twenty-six previous events.

Why She’ll Lose: Jelena Jankovic considers tournament play her version of practicing. Not a bad idea, especially because she gets a steady income almost every week, but it has taken its toll on her body after playing twice as many tournaments as Justine Henin in 2007. Time to start pacing yourself Jelena, or else you’ll be off the Tour in a few years after your body starts catching up with your schedule.

Ana Ivanovic (Red Group)

Why She’ll Win: Ivanovic is on the opposite side of the draw as the Tour’s heavyweights, so if she can take advantage of a tentative Kuznetsova and an ailing Sharapova, the soon-to-be twenty-year old will score a berth in her second major final of 2007.

Why She’ll Lose: Madrid is an all-new experience for the young Serbian, making this a tournament to remember regardless of the outcome. Unfortunately, the lack of experience will hurt Ivanovic in a field of the best players in the world, especially as she is still learning to control her nerves in big matches.

Serena Williams (Yellow Group)

Why She’ll Win: Serena Williams put in a full fall schedule just to qualify for Madrid and the eight-time Grand Slam champion won’t be content if she leaves without the title. Given Kuznetsova’s nerves, Jankovic’s exhaustion, and Sharapova’s shoulder injury, Serena will be favored to reach the final alongside of Justine Henin.

Why She’ll Lose: The last time Serena Williams competed at a season-ending event was in 2004 after she lost her Wimbledon title to Maria Sharapova, only to lose again to Sharapova in the Championships final. Serena won’t have to worry about playing Sharapova in the round-robin, only she’ll get to face her 2007 nemesis Justine Henin. Henin has derailed Serena at three Grand Slams this year, and if Serena has not fully recovered from the hip injury she sustained in Zurich, Henin will take a 7-6 (or even 8-6) lead in their head-to-head record.

Maria Sharapova (Red Group)

Why She’ll Win: Maria Sharapova made it into the Sony Ericsson Championships on a wing and a prayer and that may just be the motivation she needs to end her season on a good note. One Tier I title hardly lived up to the two-time Grand Slam champion’s expectations for the year, but a win in Madrid would do well to redeem Sharapova’s mediocre 2007 results. Her draw could not have been kinder, giving her a fighting chance to reach the semifinals at least.

Why She’ll Lose: When we last saw Maria Sharapova, she could barely keep her serves in play because of a nagging shoulder injury. There is no word yet as to the status of her shoulder’s improvement, but indoors, Sharapova will need to do her best to cut down on the double-faults and unforced errors if she wants to avoid an early round exit.

Anna Chakvetadze (Yellow Group)

Why She’ll Win: A year ago Anna Chakvetadze could only dream of reaching the Tour Championships. Twelve months later, she is in Madrid with four new titles and a boatload of confidence. With four top 10 wins already recorded this season, the rest of the field would do well not to underestimate the No. 3 Russian.

Why She’ll Lose: Anna Chakvetadze could not have possibly gotten a worse draw. With Justine, Jelena, and Serena comfortably residing in her group, Chakvetadze will have to battle hard just to get one round-robin match win. She does have a 5-2 record over Jankovic, but has lost both her matches against Henin and never faced Serena Williams before this week.

Daniela Hantuchova (Red Group)

Why She’ll Win: Of all the stories in 2007, Daniela Hantuchova’s re-emergence has been one of the most inspirational. Written off as a one-title wonder, Hantuchova stormed back this season to win her second Pacific Life Open title and the Generali Ladies Linz. Her game is simple, but effective, making her a significant threat to Kuznetsova, Sharapova, and Ivanovic in the red group.

Why She’ll Lose: Like Jankovic, Hantuchova believes in playing a very full schedule each year, with Madrid being her twenty-ninth tournament of the season. She may have a chance to reach the semifinals thanks to her weak round-robin group, but she’ll run out of steam against Henin or Serena.

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