The final day of round robin play at the 2008 Sony Ericsson Championships will feature a fight to the finish by six players in Doha.
Serena Williams and Elena Dementieva are competing for the second semifinal berth in the Maroon Group, and Jelena Jankovic and Vera Zvonareva are vying for the top seeded position in the White Group.
Svetlana Kuznetsova and Ana Ivanovic are scheduled to contest their last match of the year before making an early exit from Qatar.
Jelena Jankovic vs. Vera Zvonareva
Vera Zvonareva did not retire or take a prolonged absence, but she almost seems worthy of the WTA Tour’s Comeback Player of the Year award. After an absence of four years, Zvonareva is back competing with the best players in the world.
Beating Jankovic will be a tall order for the Russian, as the No. 1 continues to look solid. Jankovic was bothered by a back strain during her match on Thursday against Kuznetsova, but she still managed to shut things down in two sets.
Jelena Jankovic in 2 sets
Serena Williams vs. Elena Dementieva
This will be the must-see match on Friday. Serena Williams looked awful on Thursday against Venus and twice was reduced to tears. It’s not often that a Williams performance resembles a train wreck, but this one certainly did—especially that bagel set. But tomorrow is always a new day, and one of two things will likely happen on Friday.
Option A – Elena was in the locker room, so she possibly saw some of the disaster on Friday. If that did not inspire her and boost her confidence, nothing will do it. She needs to come out on Friday with reckless abandonment, go for her shots, and be the aggressor from the first point. If Dementieva can get inside Serena’s head and make her think this is Thursday’s sequel, she will win.
Option B – Serena Williams will wipe away her tears, go for a long Rocky-like run in the sand, talk to Venus (who did beat Elena in two sets earlier in the week), and recapture a good dose of that legendary confidence. Remember one of the last times Serena was beaten this badly? It was at the hands of Sybille Bammer in Hobart. Three weeks later, she hoisted her eighth Grand Slam trophy in Melbourne.
Serena Williams in 3 sets
Ana Ivanovic vs. Svetlana Kuznetsova
Dead rubbers are generally not important, but this one is all about saving face and ending the year on a somewhat decent note. It’s not often that two former Grand Slam champions compete to avoid going 0-3 in a round robin, yet this is precisely the predicament facing Ivanovic and Kuznetsova.
Both women struggled during much of the second half of 2008, but fortunately after Friday they will have seven weeks to get back in shape. Given Ivanovic’s health (she is suffering from a viral illness), I’m picking Kuznetsova to win her final match of the year.
Svetlana Kuznetsova in 2 sets
More Doha Information:
Friday’s Start Time and Match Order of Play
Sony Ericsson Championships Main Draw
Television Listings for ESPN2 and Tennis Channel
