The Top Grand Slam Players of 2010

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Time for a review of the 2010 grand slam season.

Career-high sanyaku ranks are marked with an "*".

1. Rafael Nadal (Yokozuna, open era rank: 7, SF-W-W-W)

Three slam titles (French, Wimbledon, US), completing a career slam, and only one title away from Dai-Yokozuna (great Grand Champion) status. What can one say more. Oh yes: might have won the Aussie Open as well had he not been injured. Nadal's dominance in 2010 was almost scary.

1. Serena Williams (Dai-Yokozuna, 5, W-QF-W-A)

Remains head and shoulders above the rest of the ladies' field: defended her crowns at the Australian Open and Wimbledon, reached the quarterfinals at her lest-favored slam in Paris, had to sit out the US Open. The queen of women' tennis.

2. Roger Federer (Dai-Yokozuna, 2, W-QF-QF-SF)

It feels like this is the twilight of his career, but what a twilight it is: won the Australian Open for his 16th grand slam title, made it to the quarterfinals everywhere else (and to the semifinals at the US Open). At nearly 30 years of age still able to win anything any day.

2. Vera Zvonareva (Ozeki*, 50, R4-R2-F-F)

Made her career breakthrough in 2010 with back-to-back finals at Wimbledon and the US Open. Lost clearly on both occasions, but she has established herself as part of the elite on the ladies' tour. A first-time ozeki (Champion) promotion has been the result.

3. Novak Djokovic (Ozeki, 31, QF-QF-SF-F)

Showed in 2010 why he has been continously at Ozeki since the US Open 2007: regular quarternfinal participant at the slams, semifinals at Wimbledon, then the down to the wire at the US Open after overcoming his nemesis Federer. Lost to, well, Nadal.

3. Kim Clijsters (Ozeki, 15, R3-A-QF-W)

Missed the early part of the season, came back at Wimbledon. Then peaked again in New York, winnning her third slam by blowing Zvonareva off the court--the same player who had still beaten her at Wimbledon. Now the strongest female Ozeki of the open era.

4. Andy Murray (Komusubi, ex-Sekiwake, 50, F-R4-SF-R3)

His career's jo-jo pattern continued: 2nd grand slam final at the Aussie open, early exit at Roland Garros, semis at Wimbledon, then a tough to watch implosion at Flushing Meadows. Clearly has potential for Ozeki, but consitency at the slams continues to lack.

4. Francesca Schiavone (Sekiwake*, 46, R4-W-R1-QF)

The sensation of the 2010 season: won the French Open at an age of almost 30, after having been an also-ran for most of her career, and eanred a promotion straihgt to Sekiwake (=Junior Champion I). Confirmed at the US Open that her triumph was not a fluke.

5. Tomas Berdych (Ozeki*, 81, R2-SF-F-R1)

Had his breathrough year after having been considered a great talent for some time. Semis at Roland garros, then final in Wimbledon, after eliminating Roger Federer in the quarterfinals. Early exit at the US Open, hence kadoban Ozeki at end-year.

5. Samantha Stosur (Sekiwake*, 68, R4-F-R1-QF)

Established hersef firmly in the world elite in 2010 with a first-time grand slam final in Paris that she lost--somewhat surprisingly--to Schiavone. Reached another quarterfinal in New York, where she gave Clijsters one of the toughest match of the tournament.

6. Robin Soderling (Sekiwake, 57, R1-F-QF-QF)

A well-established threat now, can beat any player any day. Reverse fortune at Roland Garros compared to 2009: then he sensationally beat Nadal but lost to Federer in the final, this time he kicked out the Dai-Yokozuna but then fell to Nadal. Quarterfinals at Wimbledon and the US Open. The "George Foreman of tennis" according to McEnroe.

6. Venus Williams (Yokozuna, 9, QF-R4-QF-SF)

The long-time Yokozuna showed that she is still to be reckoned with. The quarterfinal exit at Wimbledon was perhaps a tad disappointing, but her strong run at the US Open all the way to the semifinals compensated, ending with a nailbiter-loss to Clijsters.

Honorable mention:

Mikhail Youzhny (Komusubi, 104, R3-QF-R2-SF), Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (ex-Sekiwake, 77, SF-R4-QF-A), Justine Henin (Yokozuna, 10, F-R4-R4-A), Caroline Wozniacki (Sekiwake, 67, R4-QF-R4-SF), Na Li (ex-Sekiwake, 86, SF-R3-QF-R1)

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The Top 101 Male and Female Players of the Open Era--Update at end-2010

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Nadal enters the top 10, Clijsters now #15

As the U.S. Open have run their course, bringing the 2010 grand slam season to an end, it is time to re-consider the top 101 list of open era tennis players.

Rafael Nadal (picture) improves from #13 at end-2009 to #7, upon winning three more grand slam titles and completing a career slam. One more major title and Nadal would be not only #6 but also Dai-Yokozuna (great Grand Champion)--the only 6th male player of the open era making it to that level. On the ladies' side, Kim Clijsters moved into the top 20 (#15) and is now the highest ranked female Ozeki (=Champion).

The biggest jup of the year outside Nadal and Clijsters made French Open champion Francesca Schiavone, who was not within the top 100 at end-2009 and is now #45. Slam finalists Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray, Robin Soderling, Tomas Berdych, Vera Zvonareva and Samantha Stosur all made major inroads too.

The top 20 are listed below, the top 101 here.

The Top 20 Male and Female Tennis Players of the Open Era

	Male Players	Highest Rank			Female Players	Highest Rank
1	Rod Laver	Dai-Y		1	Margaret Court	Dai-Y
2	Roger Federer	Dai-Y		2	Steffi Graf	Dai-Y
3	Ken Rosewall	Dai-Y		3	Martina Navratilova	Dai-Y
3	Pete Sampras	Dai-Y		4	Chris Evert	Dai-Y
4	Bjorn Borg	Dai-Y		5	Serena Williams	Dai-Y
6	Ivan Lendl	Y		6	Billie Jean King	Dai-Y
7	Rafael Nadal	Y		7	Monica Seles	Dai-Y
8	Jimmy Connors	Y		8	Evonne Goolagong	Y
9	Andre Agassi	Y		9	Venus Williams	Y
10	John McEnroe	Y		10	Justine Henin	Y
11	Mats Wilander	Y		11	Martina Hingis	Y
12	Boris Becker	Y		12	Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario	Y
13	Stefan Edberg	Y		13	Hana Mandlikova	Y
14	John Newcombe	Y		14	Lindsay Davenport	Y
15	Jim Courier	Y		15	Kim Clijsters	O
16	Guillermo Vilas	O		16	Jennifer Capriati	Y
17	Arthur Ashe	O		17	Ann Haydon-Jones	O
18	Ilie Nastase	O		18	Maria Sharapova	O
19	Lleyton Hewitt	O		19	Virginia Wade	O
20	Marat Safin	O		20	Gabriela Sabatini	O

Kim Shows Again She is a Champion

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Blasting past an overmatched Vera Zvonareva , Kim Clijsters won her third U.S. Open title. Clijsters thus makes it straight back to Ozeki (=Champion) for the third time in career. With three grand slam titles and seven final participants she is now clearly the strongest female Ozeki of the open era. Her career stats are in fact already better than those of Yokozuna (=Grand Champion) Jennifer Capriati, and comparable to those of Lindsay Davenport. One wonders whether a Yokozuna promotion may be still in the cards for Clijsters. A tournament victory down under in January would do it for her, as would two more slams at any venue.

Amidst all the well-justified enthusiasm about the charming Belgian, one should not oversee that Zvonareva earned an Ozeki promotion for herself, owing to back-to-back final participations at Wimbledon--where she lost to Yokozuna Serena Williams, who sat the U.S. Open out injured--and now here at Flushing Meadows. Zvonareva is the 30st female Ozeki of the open era. The last two Ozeki before her, Ana Ivanovic and Dinara Safina, could not hold Champion level following their promotions. One hopes Zvonareva will fare better than them.

The sole participating Yokozuna Venus Williams--apart from Serena also Justine Henin sat the tournament out--did well, reaching her first grand slam semifinal since Wimbledon 2009, where she lost a close encounter to Clijsters. This secures Venus active Yokozuna status for at least another year. By contrast, Elena Dementieva exited in round 4, hence losing Ozeki status for the third time in her career. She will join the other semifinalist (and last-year finalist) Caroline Wozniacki at Sekiwake (=Junior Champion I) rank, as well as the French Open finalists Francesca Schiavone and Samantha Stosur (her 4th round victor), who both made it to the quarterfinals. Kaia Kanepi will complete the Sanyaku lineup as Komusubi (=Junior Champion II)--the first time in Kanepi's young career that she makes it to championship rank. Put precisely, Kanepi is the 56th female Komusubi of the open era.

In the mens' tournament, long-standing Ozeki Novak Djokovic prevented an all-Yokozuna final by beating Roger Federer in five sets. In the final Rafael Nadal is waiting, in a quest to complete a career grand slam. Nadal has looked ferocious thus far at the U.S. Open.

Wimbledon 2010 Produces a New Ozeki

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With apologies for the delay (I've been traveling), below is the Sanyaku (=Championship) rank update after Wimbledon 2010.

In the men's tournament, Rafael Nadal once gain lived up to his Yokozuna (=Grand Champion) rank by winning his second Wimbledon title, beating Tomas Berdych ins straight sets. With eight Grand Slam titles, Nadal is gradually edging up to Dai-Yokozuna (=Great Grand Champion) status, a title that typically awareded after the 10th Grand Slam victory. The open era has thus far produced five Dai-Yokozuna, Rod Laver, Ken Rosewall, Bjorn Borg, Pete Sampras, and of course Nadal's fellow Yokozuna Roger Federer.

Federer again exited in the quarterfinals, as in Roland Garros, losing to Tomas Berdych. Berdych secured a rare Ozeki (=Champion) promotion with his back-to-back strong results at Roland Garros (semifinal) and Wimbledon (final)--a player who has been know to be dangerous for years, but thus far had not managed to put consistent strong performances together.

Berdych is only the 29th Ozeki of the open era, joining a group that contains legends like Guillermo Vilas, Arthur Ashe or Ilie Nastase. In the post-Wimbledon sanyaku line-up, Berdych will join his semifinal opponent Novak Djokovic at this rank. Djokovic has been Ozeki for almost three years.

By contrast to Berdych, Robin Soderling and Andy Murray both fell just one victory short to be take the great hurdel to the senior sanyaku ranks themselves. Murray has been in this spot for some time now, he now needs to make the US Open final to make it to Ozeki. Murray certainly possesses Ozeki-quality, what he has lacked to date is the consistency to put strong Grand Slam tournaments together back-to-back.

In the ladies' game, Dai-Yokozuna Serena Williams continues to reign supreme, winning the final in straight sets over newly promoted Sekiwake (=Junior Champion I) Vera Zvonareva. Her sister and fellow Yokozuna Venus Williams--long considered a Wimbledon specialist--exited in the quarterfinals, and is hanging on to active Yokozuna status by the edge of her teeth: she wil needsa quarterfinal at the upcoming US or Australian Open to still join Serena and Justine Henin at the top of the banzuke (=sanyaku line-up).

Ozeki Elena Dementieva sat out Wimbledon with an injury, while Kim Clijsters fell just one victory short of regaining Ozeki status, losing in the quarterfinals to Zvonareva.

Surprise semifinalists Petra Kvitova and Tsvetana Pironkova secured first-time Sanyaku promotions to Komusubi (=Junior Champion II). There are no less than five female Komusubi, including Roland Garros finalists Francesca Schiavone and Samantha Stosur, who both exited in the first round on the grass of the All-England Club.

Men

Career rank 1/	East	Current Rank	West	Career rank 1/
High Sanyaku (Senior Champion Ranks)
Y	Rafael Nadal	Y	Roger Federer	Y
O	Novak Djokovic	O	Tomas Berdych	O
Lower Sanyaku (Junior Champion Ranks)
S	Robin Soderling	S	Andy Murray	S
O	Juan Martin del Potro	K	Jo-Wilfried Tsonga	S

Women

Career rank 1/	East	Current Rank	West	Career rank 1/
High Sanyaku (Senior Champion Ranks)
Y	Serena Williams	Y1	Venus Williams	Y
Y	Justine Henin	Y2	-	-
O	Elena Dementieva*	O	-	-
Lower Sanyaku (Junior Champion Ranks)
O	Kim Clijsters	S	Vera Zvonareva	S
S	Francesca Schiavone	K1	Samantha Stosur	S
S	Na Li	K2	Caroline Wozniacki	S
K	Petra Kvitova	K3	Tsvetana Pironkova	K

1/ Highest sanyaku rank achieved in a player's career
* Kadoban

The King of Clay Retakes his Kingdom

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With less difficulty than expected, Yokozuna (=Grand Champion) Rafael Nadal retook the French Open crown from the very man who had prevented him from defending it last year: former and future Sekiwake (=Junior Champion I) Robin Soderling.

One year ago Soderling outmuscled Nadal in four sets in a tense 4th round match (only to lose the final to the other Yokozuna, Roger Federer). Thereafter Nadal was out injured for several months thereafter, and then seemed to struggle to return to his former, dominant form, giving rise to worries that his immensely physical game had taken too much of a toll on his body--concerns that should have been laid to rest by his flawless performances at this tournament, during which Nadal did not drop a single set.

In this final, Soderling played on par with Nadal only at the beginning of the second set, when he carved out--but could not convert--several break points. At all other times Nadal had the edge with his more agile, accurate and controlled game.

But even though Soderling fell short in another Roland Garros final, he has established himself as one of the five or six most dangerous contenders behind the Federer/Nadal Yokozuna duopoly. Which means he can set his eyes on higher targets. A semifinal participation at Wimbledon, or another final at the US Open, would earn Soderling an Ozeki (=Champion) promotion at the not-so-tender age of nearly 26 years. This would provide yet more evidence--after Francesca Schiavone's first Grand Slam title at an age of nearly 30--that there is a space for late bloomers in tennis.

Promotions, Demotions, and the New Banzuke

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No matter how tomorrow's mens' final ends, the sanyaku (=Championship) ranks for Wimbledon 2010 are already decided (as Soderling will be promoted to Sekiwake in any case, and Nadal will of course stay Yokozuna. Promotions and demotions as a result of the 2010 French Open are as follows:

Sanyaku Rank Changes

Player (career-high rank)	To	From
Promotions
Elena Dementieva (ex-Ozeki)	Ozeki	Sekiwake
Robin Soderling (ex-Sekiwake)	Sekiwake	Komusubi
Caroline Wozniacki (ex-Sekiwake)	Sekiwake	Komusubi
Samantha Stosur (ex-Komusubi)	Sekiwake*	Maegashira 1
Francesca Schiavone	Sekiwake*	Maegashira 5
Jelena Jankovic (ex-Sekiwake)	Komusubi	Maegashira 1
Tomas Berdych	Komusubi*	Maegashira 4
Nadia Petrova (ex-Sekiwake)	Komusubi	Maegashira 6
Jurgen Melzer	Komusubi*	Maegashira 7
Demotions
Juan Martin del Potro (ex-Ozeki)	Sekiwake	Ozeki
Kim Clijsters (ex-Ozeki)	Sekiwake	Ozeki
Andy Roddick (ex-Ozeki)	Komusubi	Sekiwake
Dinara Safina (ex-Ozeki)	Komusubi	Sekiwake
Andy Murray	Komusubi	Sekiwake
Marin Cilic	Komusubi	Sekiwake
Na Li	Komusubi	Sekiwake
Svetlana Kuznetsova (ex-Ozeki)	Maegashira	Komusubi
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (ex-Sekiwake)	Maegashira	Komusubi
Jie Zheng	Maegashira	Komusubi

* New career-high

This results in the following sanyaku ranks for Wimbledon--with no less than 5 Komusubi on the mens' side:

Men

Career rank 1/	East	Current Rank	West	Career rank 1/
High Sanyaku (Senior Champion Ranks)
Y	Rafael Nadal	Y	Roger Federer	Y
O	Novak Djokovic	O	-	-
Lower Sanyaku (Junior Champion Ranks)
O	Juan Martin del Potro	S	Robin Soderling	S
S	Andy Murray	K1	Andy Roddick	O
S	Marin Cilic	K2	Tomas Berdych	K
K	Jurgen Melzer	K3	-	-

Women

Career rank 1/	East	Current Rank	West	Career rank 1/
High Sanyaku (Senior Champion Ranks)
Y	Serena Williams	Y1	Justine Henin	Y
Y	Venus Williams	Y2	-	-
O	Elena Dementieva	O	-	-
Lower Sanyaku (Junior Champion Ranks)
O	Kim Clijsters	S1	Francesca Schiavone	S
S	Samantha Stosur	S2	Caroline Wozniacki	S
O	Dinara Safina	K1	Na Li	S
S	Jelena Jankovic	K2	Nadia Petrova	S

1/ Career-high Sanyaku rank.

Venus Williams faces an interesting challenge at Wimbledon: she needs to reach the quarterfinals to maintain active Yokozuna status. Based on her past performances at the All England club, she should find this not overly difficult.

Sensazione!!

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Coming seemingly from nowhere, M5W Francesca Schiavone won the French Open 2010 today by outfighting M1W Samantha Stosur 6-4, 7-6.

It was the first grand slam final for either player, but the higher-ranked ex-Komusubi (Junior Champion II) Stosur had entered the match as favorite, in view of her better ranking, excellent clay court seaons, and the way she had played in the tournament thus far, beating the Yokozuna (=Grand Champions) Serena Williams and Justine Henin before blasting away ex-Sekiwake (=Junior Champion I) Jelena Jankovic in the semifinals. Stosur with her muscular, top spin based baseline game seemed on course to establish herself as something like the female counterpart to Rafael Nadal. In the final, however, the veteran fighter Schiavone matched Stosur game for game, and then displayed a steadier game at the big points.

Both Schiavone and Stosur will be promoted to Sekiwake after this tournament, the 36th and 37th of the open era. Schiavone reaches this rank at an age of almost 30 years. She will be the only female Sekiwake bar Barbara Jordan and Chris O'Neil to have won a grand slam title without reaching the semifinal in any other slam. But while O'Neill and Jordan won the 1978/79 Australian Open in a depleted field, Schiavone overcame full-fledged compeition, beating the former (and future) Ozeki Elena Dementieva, former and future Sekiwake Caroline Wozniacki and Sekiwake Na Li on the way to the title.

Now should Schiavone reach the quarterfinal at Wimbledon, she would even make it to Ozeki (=Champion). Stosur would need a semifinal at the All England Championships to this end.

A Non-Champions' Final for the Ladies' French Open Championship

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Francesca Schiavona (picture) and Samantha Stosur, both ranked Maegashira (=non-champions) before the tournament, overcame higher-ranked opponents today to qualify for their first Grand Slam final. M5W Schiavone benefited from a calf injury of former and future Ozeki (=Champion) Elena Dementieva, who withdrew after a hotly contested first set. M1W Stosur, who has beaten two Yokozuna (=Grand Champions) on her way to the semifinal (see the story below), made short work of M1E and ex-Sekiwake (=Junior Champion I) Jelena Jankovic, thus topping her achievement from last year when Stosur went home after the semifinals.

The muscular Stosur leads the petite Schiavone 4-1 in overall career matches and 2-0 on clay. One of these encounters took place during the first round of last year's French Open, when Stosur previaled by a score of 6-4, 6-2. But irrespective how the final ends, Schiavone and Stosur will both be promoted to Sekiwake after the tournament. A remarkable achievement especially for Schiavone, who at almost 30 years of age enjoys an unusual late career surge.

Should Stosur win on Saturday she will be the first Australian French Open champion since 1973, when Dai-Yokozuna Margaret Court took home her last Roland Garros title, beating a young Chris Evert (at the time a Komusubi) in the final. No Italian lady has ever won the tournament (or advanced to the final), but a champion Schiavone would step into the footsteps Adriano Panatta, who won the mens' competition in 1976, eliminating a certain Bjorn Borg (then an Ozeki) in the quarterfinals. Panatta's French Open triumph also marked his ascent to a career-high Sekiwake rank--in this regard, Schiavone has already caught up.

The French Open 2010 Semifinals

Men
Robin Soderling (K, former S)	vs.	Tomas Berdych (M4)
Jurgen Melzer (M7)	vs.	Rafael Nadal (Y)
Women
Samantha Stosur (M1, former K)	vs.	Jelena Jankovic (M1, former S)	6-1, 6-2
Francesca Schiavone (M5)	vs.	Elena Dementieva (S, former O)	7-6 ret.

Quarterfinal Summary and Semifinal Line-Up

The French Open 2010 Quarterfinals

Men
Roger Federer (Y)	vs.	Robin Soderling (S, former K)	6-3, 3-6, 5-7, 4-6
Tomas Berdych (M4)	vs.	Mikhail Youzhny (M2, former K)	6-3, 6-1, 6-2
Jurgen Melzer (M7)	vs.	Novak Djokovic (O)	2-6, 3-6, 6-2, 7-6, 6-4
Nicolas Almagro (M6)	vs.	Rafael Nadal (Y)	6-7, 6-7, 4-6
Women
Serena Williams (Y)	vs.	Samantha Stosur (M1, former K)	2-6, 7-6, 6-8
Jelena Jankovic (M1, former S)	vs.	Yaroslava Shvedova (M12)	7-5, 6-4
Francesca Schiavone (M5)	vs.	Caroline Wozniacki (K, former S)	6-2, 6-3
Elena Dementieva (S, former O)	vs.	Nadia Petrova (M6, former S)	2-6, 6-2, 6-0

The French Open 2010 Semifinals

Men
Robin Soderling (K, former S)	vs.	Tomas Berdych (M4)
Jurgen Melzer (M7)	vs.	Rafael Nadal (Y)
Women
Samantha Stosur (M1, former K)	vs.	Jelena Jankovic (M1, former S)
Francesca Schiavone (M5)	vs.	Elena Dementieva (S, former O)

Sanyaku Rank Changes

Player (career-high rank)	To	From
Promotions
Elena Dementieva (ex-Ozeki)	Ozeki	Sekiwake
Robin Soderling (ex-Sekiwake)	Sekiwake	Komusubi
Caroline Wozniacki (ex-Sekiwake)	Sekiwake	Komusubi
Jelena Jankovic (ex-Sekiwake)	at least Komusubi	Maegashira 1
Samantha Stosur (ex-Komusubi)	at least Komusubi	Maegashira 1
Tomas Berdych	at least Komusubi	Maegashira 4
Francesca Schiavone	at least Komusubi	Maegashira 5
Jurgen Melzer	at least Komusubi	Maegashira 7
Nadia Petrova (ex-Sekiwake)	Komusubi	Maegashira 6
Demotions
Juan Martin del Potro (ex-Ozeki)	Sekiwake	Ozeki
Kim Clijster (ex-Ozeki)	Sekiwake	Ozeki
Andy Roddick (ex-Ozeki)	Komusubi	Sekiwake
Dinara Safina (ex-Ozeki)	Komusubi	Sekiwake
Andy Murray	Komusubi	Sekiwake
Marin Cilic	Komusubi	Sekiwake
Na Li	Komusubi	Sekiwake
Svetlana Kuznetsova (ex-Ozeki)	Maegashira	Komusubi
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (ex-Sekiwake)	Maegashira	Komusubi
Jie Zheng	Maegashira	Komusubi

Two Gold Stars for Samantha Stosur

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A "Kinboshi" or "Gold Star" is awarded in Ozumo when a Maegashira (= non-champion) beats a Yokozuna (=Grand Champion). M1W Samantha Stosur did so twice in this tournament, eliminating first Y1W Justine Henin in round 4, and now Dai-Yokozuna Y1E Serena Williams in the quarterfinals, each time in gruelling three-setters.

As a result, Stosur will be re-promoted to at least Komusubi (=Junior Champion II) after this tournament, the same rank she held following her semifinal participation at the 2009 French Open. At the time Stosur lost a close match to the eventual winner Svetlana Kuznetsova; this year her opponent is M1E Jelena Jankovic, in a battle of the highest ranked Maegashira. Jankovic, a former Sekiwake (Junior Champion I), will also return to the sanyaku (=championship) ranks after this tournament, for the first time in more than a year.

In the mens' tournament, Yokozuna Rafael Nadal held off his compatriot M6E Nicolas Almagro in three close sets, and will now face M7W Juergen Melzer in the semifinals, who surprisingly eliminated long-time Ozeki (=Champion) Novak Djokovic after being already two sets down. Melzer will therefore give his sanyaku debut at 29 years of age.

Elena Dementieva is Again a Champion

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With a convincing victory over compatriot M6W Nadia Petrova, Elena Dementieva has earned her return to Ozeki (=Champion) level, a rank she conquered for the first time in 2004.*

Dementieva holds the doubtful honor of being one of the most succesful female open-era Ozeki to never have won a Grand Slam title (together with Helena Sukova, Rosie Casals, Mary Joe Fernandez and Andrea Jaeger). This tournament may provide an excellent opportunity to change this: the only sanyaku (=championship)-ranked player other than Dementieva left is Yokozuna (=Grand Champion) Serena Williams, but clay is not Serena's strongest surface. The other Yokozuna, Justine Henin and Venus Williams, have already exited, as has ex-Ozeki Dinara Safina, who seems at risk of going the path of Ana Ivanovic; i.e., rapid decline after making it to world number 1 (and Ozeki).

Safina will be Komusubi (=Junior Champion II) at Wimbledon and share the rank with Petrova--the first time Petrova will hold sanyaku rank since 2006, when she was Sekiwake (=Junior Champion I)--and semifinalist M5W Francesca Schiavone. Unless Schiavone also gets by Dementieva, that is, in which case she will be Sekiwake, sharing the rank with ex-Ozeki Kim Clijsters (who is out injured) and Schiavone's quarterfinal victim Caroline Wozniacki. In any case, Schiavone will give her debut as a sanyaku ranked player at nearly 30 years of age.

In the mens' tournament, K1E Robin Soderling finally got Roger Federer's number, taking revenge not only for last year's loss in the French Open final but also 11 other career defeats by the hands of the Dai-Yokozuna. Soderling also ended Federer's incredible series of 23 (!!) consecutive semifinal participation at grand slams. One reward will a re-promotion to Sekiwake. M4E Tomas Berdych secured a first-time Komusubi promotion by overcoming ex-Komusubi M2E Mikhail Youzhny in straight sets, proving that his 4th round win over Sekiwake Andy Murray--that destroyed another chance for Murray to obtain an Ozeki promotion--was no fluke. It is Komusubi instead for Andy Murray after the French Open, as is for fellow Sekiwake Andy Roddick and Marin Cilic.

In the other half of the field, Yokozuna Rafael Nadal and long-time Ozeki Novak Djokovic are one match away from a semi-final encounter. In their ways stand M6E Nicolas Alamagro and M7W Juergen Melzer, respectively.


* Dementieva was Ozeki following her semifinal participation at Wimbledon 2009 (where she lost a nailbiter to Serena Williams), but then dropped to Sekiwake after crashing out early at both the 2009 US Open and the 2010 Australian Open. Reaching the semifinal at Roland Garros ensures immediate re-promotion to Ozeki.

Banzuke for the French Open 2010

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The French Open have started, hence it is high time to update the Banzuke. The Yokozuna (=Grand Champions) Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Serena and Venus Williams and Justine Henin will lead the field into the tournament. Juan Martin del Potro and Kim Clijsters both withdrew, given that they were already kadoban both will lose ozeki (Champion) rank after tis tournament. This could leave Novak Djokovic as the only active Ozeki after the French Open. Best chances at a promotion have the Sekiwake (=Junior Champion I) Andy Murray, Dinara Safina and Elena Dementieva, who all need a semifinal at Roland Garros to qualify for Ozeki.

All top 12 Maegashira (=Non-Champions) have held Sanyaku (=Championship) rank in the past, led by flamboyant ex-Ozeki Maria Sharapova, who is M3E in the ladies' field.

Men

Career rank 1/	Seed	East	Current Rank	West	Seed	Career rank 1/
High Sanyaku (Senior Champion Ranks)
Y	1	Roger Federer	Y	Rafael Nadal	2	Y
O	3	Novak Djokovic	O	(Juan Martin del Potro*)	wd	O
Lower Sanyaku (Junior Champion Ranks)
S	4	Andy Murray	S1	Andy Roddick	6	O
S	10	Marin Cilic	S2	-	-	-
S	5	Robin Soderling	K	Jo-Wilfried Tsonga	8	S
High Maegashira
K	6	Fernando Verdasco	M1	David Ferrer	9	S
K	11	Mikhail Youzhny	M2	Fernando Gonzalez	12	S
K	13	Gael Monfils	M3	Ivan Ljubicic	14	S
-	15	Tomas Berdych	M4	Juan Carlos Ferrero	16	O
-	17	John Isner	M5	Sam Querrey	18	-

Women

Career rank 1/	Seed	East	Current Rank	West	Seed	Career rank 1/
High Sanyaku (Senior Champion Ranks)
Y	1	Serena Williams	Y1	Justine Henin	22	Y
Y	2	Venus Williams	Y2	-	-	-
O	wd	(Kim Clijsters*)	O	-	-	-
Lower Sanyaku (Junior Champion Ranks)
O	9	Dinara Safina	S1	Elena Dementieva	5	O
S	11	Na Li	S2	-	-	-
O	6	Svetlana Kuznetsova	K1	Caroline Wozniacki	3	S
K	25	Jie Zheng	K2	-	-	-
High Maegashira
S	4	Jelena Jankovic	M1	Samantha Stosur	7	K
K	8	Agnieszka Radwanska	M2	Viktoria Azarenka	10	K
O	12	Maria Sharapova	M3	Marion Bartoli	13	S
-	14	Flavia Pennetta	M4	Aravane Rezai	15	-
K	16	Yanina Wickmayer	M5	Francesca Schiavone	17	-

* Kadoban
1/ Career-high Sanyaku rank, if applicable.

Dai-Yokozuna Roger Federer and Serena Williams Reign Supreme

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Henin reestablishes herself as Yokozuna, Murray falls short again
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Yokozuna (=Grand Champion) Roger Federer spoiled again Andy Murray's prospects of a grand slam title and Ozeki (=Champion) promotion, beating the young Scott in straight sets. Federer therefore increased his tally of grand slam titles to 16. Murray just gets re-promoted to Sekiwake (=Junior Champion I) going into the French Open, a rank that he will share with ex-Ozeki Andy Roddick and first-time sanyaku ranked player Marin Cilic. A seminfinal at Roland Garros, another final at Wimbledon, or a quarterfinal at Roland Garros and a semifinal at Wimbledon (which is what Murray did last year) would elevate Murra to Ozeki--a rank he is clearly qualified for.

In the ladies' tournament, Serena Williams completed her dozen of grand slam titles with a hard-fought three-setter over fellow Yokozuna Justine Henin. The return of the petite Belgian, together with the comeback of her compatriot Ozeki Kim Clijsters, is already making the ladies' game much more interesting.

Here is how the sankyaku-ranked players will line up for the 2010 French Open.

Sanyaku Rank Holders After the Australian Open 2010

East 1/	Current Rank	West 1/
Men
Roger Federer	Y	Rafael Nadal
Novak Djokovic	O	Juan Martin del Potro*
Andy Murray	S1	Andy Roddick (O)
Marin Cilic	S2	-
Robin Soderling (S)	K	Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (S)
Women
Serena Williams	Y1	Justine Henin
Venus Williams	Y2	-
Kim Clijsters*	O	-
Dinara Safina (O)	S1	Elena Dementieva (O)
Na Li	S2	-
Svetlana Kuznetsova (O)	K1	Carolina Wozniacki (S)
Jie Zheng	K2	-

1/ Career-high sanyuaku rank in brackets if different.
* kadoban

Andy Murray at the Edge of Ozeki--Again

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Andy Murray ended Marin Cilic's run with a not-so-short but sweet four-set victory to move into his second grand slam final. His opponent there may quite possibly be the same as in Murray's first final: Yokozuna (=Grand Champion) Roger Federer, who will try to overcome ex-Sekiwake (=Junior Champion I) Jo-Wilfried Tsonga tonight. Should Murray do better than at the US Open of 2008, he would finally have made to Ozeki (=Champion), after flirting with this rank for some time (Murray was even outpaced by Juan Martin del Potro after the latter's win at the 2009 US Open).

Cilic will be promoted to Sekiwake due to his successes at this tournament and the preceding US Open.

In the ladies' tournament, the Yokozuna Serena Williams and Justine Henin both overcame Chinese opposition, but in rather different fashion. While Henin blasted past an overwhelmed Jie Zheng, Serena edged out a nailbaiter over a tough and smartly playing Na Li. Zheng has earned the second Komusubi (=Junior Champion II) promotion of her career. Li will be Seikwake after this tournament.

So a mouthwatering "Williams vs. Belgium" final is next--quite possibly one in a series of such encounters going forward.

Justine Henin Reestablishes Herself as Active Yokozuna

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It seemed as if she had never been gone--back from a two-year break, Justine Henin won her Australian Open quarterfinal in straight sets over ex-Sekiwake (=Junior Champion I) Nadia Petrova. Henin was Yokozuna (=Grand Champion) prior to her retirement. Yokozuna is a title for life, meaning that a former Yokozuna cannot be demoted; he or she can only be considered "inactive". Reaching a grand-slam semifinal or two quarterfinals over the course of one year is enough to reactiviate Yokozuna status, and Henin did this right in her very first comeback tournament.

With Henin's and fellow-Belgian Kim Clijsters' return--who made it straight back to Ozeki (=Champion) by winning the US Open--ladies' tennis has certainly received a much needed quality boost.

In the semifinal Henin will meet Jie Zheng, who earned her career's second Komusubi (=Junior Champion II) promotion as a result of her straight sets victory over Maria Kirilenko. Should Henin also get by Zheng, in the final one of the Williams sisters will likely be waiting. This would make the Australian open final an all-Yokozuna affair.

In the mens' tournament, Marin Cilic secured a promotion to Sekiwake by beating ex-Ozeki Andy Roddick in five sets. Next will be the other Andy, Andy Murray, how is also back to Sekiwake after eliminating Yokozuna Rafael Nadal. Cilic and Murray retain a slim chance at an Ozeki promotion if they win this tournament.

The Australian Open After One Week--an Interim Update

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With one week played at the US Open, several sanyaku ranking decisions have already been taken.

In the men's tournament:

• Novak Djokovic defended the Ozeki (=Champion) rank he has held since the US Open of 2007 by entering yet another grand slam quarterfinal.
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• By contrast, Ozeki debutant Juan Martin del Potro lost his 4th round match in a gruelling five-setter against Marin Cilic. Del Potro therefore goes kadoban and needs to reach the quarterfinals at the French Open to remain Ozeki. Cilic wins a first-time sanyaku promotion to Komusubi (=Junior Champion II).
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• To advance even further, Cilic would have to beat big-serving ex-Ozeki Andy Roddick, who is back at Sekiwake (=Junior Champion I) after yet another five-setter over Komusubi and ex-Sekiwake Fernando Gonzalez. Gonzalez will be demoted to the Maegashira (=non-champion) ranks after the Australian Open.
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• Also through to the quarterfinals is Komusubi and ex-Sekiwake Andy Murray. Murray will meet next Yokozuna (= Grand Champion) Rafael Nadal, who continues to go strong just as fellow Yokozuna Roger Federer.

In the ladies' tournament:

• all (!) players ranked Ozeki, Sekiwake or Komusubi exited before the quarterfinals. This means: kadoban Ozeki for Kim Clijsters, demotion to Sekiwake for Dinara Safina and Elena Dementieva (who were already kadoban going into the Australian Open), demotion to Komusubi for Svetlana Kuznetsova and Carolina Wozniacki, and demotion to Maegashira for Yanina Wickmayer.
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• Wickmayer gave a good fight to dormant Yokozuna Justine Henin, however, who returned to grand slam tennis for the first time in 2 years and needs to win just one more match--against hard-hitting ex-Sekiwake Nadia Petrova--to reactiviate her Yokozuna status.
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• A re-promotion to at least Komusubi have already earned quarterfinal participants Viktoria Azarenka and Na Li, who will be followed by the winner of Maria Kirilenko vs. Jie Zheng.
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• Meanwhile, the Yokozuna Serena and Venus Williams continue to cruise through the field.

Banzuke for the Australian Open 2010

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Here is how tennis' top ladies and gentlemen line up for the 2010 Australian Open. With Justine Henin, an inactive Yokozuna (=Grand Champion) is participating in the women's tournament. Henin needs to reach the semifinals to reactivitae her Yokozuna status.

With three days gone, it is already clear that Elena Dementieva will be demoted from Ozeki -- for the second time in her career. Also, Robin Soderling has lost his Sekiwake rank. All the other sanyaku (=champion) ranked players are going strongly.

Men

Career rank 1/	Seed	East	Current Rank	West	Seed	Career rank 1/
High Sanyaku (Senior Champion Ranks)
Y	1	Roger Federer	Y	Rafael Nadal	2	Y
O	3	Novak Djokovic	O	Juan Martin del Potro	4	O
Lower Sanyaku (Junior Champion Ranks)
S	8	Robin Soderling	S	-	-	-
O	7	Andy Roddick	K1	Andy Murray	5	S
S	11	Fernando Gonzalez	K2	-	-	-
High Maegashira
S	6	Nikolay Davydenko	M1	Fernando Verdasco	9	K
S	10	Jo-Wilfried Tsonga	M2	Gael Monfils	12	K
-	13	Radek Stepanek	M3	Marin Cilic	14	-

Women

Career rank 1/	Seed	East	Current Rank	West	Seed	Career rank 1/
High Sanyaku (Senior Champion Ranks)
Y	1	Serena Williams	Y	Venus Williams	6	Y
O	15	Kim Clijsters	O1	Dinara Safina*	2	O
O	5	Elena Dementieva*	O2	-	-	-
Lower Sanyaku (Junior Champion Ranks)
O	3	Svetlana Kuznetsova	S	Caroline Wozniacki	4	S
K	NS	Yanina Wickmayer	K	-	-	-
High Maegashira
K	7	Victoria Azarenka	M1	Jelena Jankovic	8	S
K	9	Vera Zvonareva	M2	Agnieszka Radwanska	10	K
S	11	Marion Bartoli	M3	Flavia Pennetta	12	-

* Kadoban
1/ Career-high Sanyaku rank, if applicable.