Preview to Doha

Tomorrow sees the start of the Doha Championships which pits the eight best female players of the season against each other to be crowned WTA Sony Ericsson Champion.


Each tour event has points up for grabs. The better a player does in the event the more ranking points they receive. This year sees probably the eight most consistent female players this season qualifying for the tournament. Below is the list of players, when and how they qualified and my predictions for the tournament.

The first to qualify was former World number 1, Dinara Safina. Safina appeared at last years championships and qualified for this years tournament thanks to a fantastic start to the season. She won titles in Rome, Madrid and Portoroz. From winning Rome and finishing as runner up at the French Open, Safina went on a 16 match unbeaten run which helped her rack up enough points to qualify.

Safina's confidence has rocked a little since being replaced as World number 1, but the hard court is one of her favourite surfaces with five of her twelve titles coming in hard court tournaments. She has experienced this tournament before having played last year but I don't think she'll have enough to win it, although I think she will better her third round finish last year

Verdict: Semi Final

Next to qualify was current World number 1, Serena Williams who qualified on August 19th thanks to her semi-final appearance in the Rodgers Cup and her impressive results at the Grand Slams winning the Australian Open and Wimbledon. She finally overtook Safina as world number 1 after bettering Safina's perforamance at the China Open.

Serena is probably the most impressive performer going into the tournament and is definately the most successful with eleven singles and ten doubles grand slam titles under her belt. She is playing really well at the moment and although she doesn't play all the tournaments on the WTA tour she certainly deserves her place in Doha. She won the WTA tour championship in 2001 and because she is playing even better tennis now than she did then, I think she will win it for the second time.

Verdict: Winner

Elena Dementieva enjoyed an impressive start to the season by winning fifteen consecutive matches, this unbeaten streak was followed by semi final appearances at the Australian Open and Wimbledon, where she lost to Serena Williams on both ocassions. Dementieva has impressed on the hard court this season winning the Rogers Cup in Toronto and it is this victory that helped her qualify for this tournament.

The Russian hasn't impressed as much as she would have liked to this season and I don't think she has the ability to compete with some of the other women in this tournament. She has appeared in the French and US open finals and won a gold medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Her best surface is the hard court winning ten of her fourteen career singles titles on this surface but think she'll struggle here. She is in a tough group and I can't see her winning a match

Verdict: Round robin stage (o wins)

Caroline Wozniacki was next to qualify and this will be the 19 year old's first year-end championship. The Dane won three titles on the tour this year but what was significant was that they came on three different surfaces. She won Ponte Vedra Beach which was a clay event, Eastbourne, a grass event and New Haven a hard court event. Her biggest achievement was reaching the final of the US Open where she lost to Kim Clijsters. This final appearance helped her qualify for Doha and also boost her up to a career high fifth in the world.

Wozniacki has been a real surprise package this season with some really big results, none bigger than her victory over Melanie Oudin to reach the US Open final. Think she is one to watch for the future and at only 19 years old I think she will become a very successful player on the women's circuit, however I really think she will struggle in this tournament. She doesn't have a particularly good record against the seven other ladies in the tournament, think she'll definately pick up one win, maybe two if someone has an off day but won't do better than that.

Verdict: Round robin stage (1 Win)

Fifth to qualify was Russia's Svetlana Kuznetsova. She won the China Open in early October to book her place in Doha. This year also saw her pick up her first grand slam title in four years after she won the French Open. She has had a very impressive season on Clay winning at Roland Garros and in Stuttgart and reaching the final Rome where she lost to Safina.

Kuznetsova is an impressive player and is improving all the time. She hasn't been as sucessful as I would have expected at the Grand Slams, but she has had some sucess in the tour events. I expect her to play well in Doha but she is in a group with the William's sisters and I just can't see her beating them. I do expect her to beat Dementieva but that's it.

Verdict: Round Robin Stage (1 Win)

Venus Williams qualified on the 9th October thanks to wins in Dubai and Acapulco. She also racked up some ranking points for her Wimbledon final appearance where she lost to her sister Serena. She has also reached the final in Stanford where she lost to Marion Bartoli.

Venus has had some good results on the tour in the past, but hasn't had a lot of success this season. She has seven grand slam titles to her name and I do expect her to add to that tally over the next couple of years. Venus is the reigning champion in this competition and I think she will do well in the group stage against Kuznetsova and Dementieva. I expect her to reach the final but she won't beat Serena.

Verdict: Runner Up

Victoria Azarenka was the seventh women to qualify and did so on the same day as Venus. The 20 year old from Belarus has had her best season on the tour by far reaching a career high eighth in the world. She began the season with her first career title in Brisbane and then followed that up with titles in Memphis and in Miami, where she beat five time Memphis champion Serena Williams. She also had her best year at the grand slams reaching the quarter finals of the French Open and Wimbledon.

Although she's had her best season, I think this stage will be too big for her. She has a superb two handed backhand and if the other ladies want to beat her then they must keep her on her forehand where she sometimes struggles and comes up with a lot of unforced errors. Like Wozniacki this is her first year end championship and I think she'll be the weakest of the eight ladies and I really can't see her beating anyone.

Verdict: Round Robin stage 1 (0 Wins)

Jelena Jankovic was the eighth and final lady to qualify for the tournament. She qualified not because of her own result but because of Zvonareva's defeat in the second round of the Kremlin Cup in Moscow, she will now travel to the tournament but only as an alternate. Jankovic has had a disappointing season by her own standards. She did manage to win in Marbella and in Cincinnati and had Zvonareva done better in Moscow she may not be appearing in this tournament.

Jankovic has a strong forehand which some players find difficult to deal with. She also has a decent net game, however her main weakness is her serve. Although it can be powerful, it is very predictable and easy to read for her opponents, especially those with strong baseline games. I do think she'll pick up a couple of wins in her group that will take her through to the semi finals but I think that's the best she can hope for.

Verdict: Semi Final

Round Robin Predictions:

Maroon Group:

Serena Williams vs Venus Williams
Winner: Serena

Elena Dementieva vs Svetlana Kuznetsova
Winner: Kuznetsova

Serena Williams vs Elena Dementieva
Winner: Serena

Venus Williams vs Svetlana Kuznetsova
Winner: Venus

Serena Williams vs Svetlana Kuznetsova
Winner: Serena

Venus Williams vs Elena Dementieva
Winner: Venus

Serena and Venus will advance to Semi Finals

White Group:

Dinara Safina vs Caroline Wozniacki
Winner: Safina

Jelena Jankovic vs Victoria Azarenka
Winner: Jankovic

Dinara Safina vs Jelena Jankovic
Winner: Safina

Caroline Wozniacki vs Victoria Azarenka
Winner: Wozniacki

Dinara Safina vs Victoria Azarenka
Winner: Safina

Jelena Jankovic vs Caroline Wozniacki
Winner: Jankovic

Safina and Jankovic to progress to semi final stage.

Tournament Winner: Serena Williams
Runner Up: Venus Williams

So there it is, Doha 2009 has the makings of a really exciting tournament because of the quality that will be on show. I dare anyone to predict against an all Williams final but stranger things have happened. I am going to make another prediction now though, I think the winner of this tournament will meet Justine Henin in the Australian Open final in January. You heard it here first folks!!!!!