Teasers...

The prodigal daughter returneth. Or something like that.

My excitement over the start of a new tennis season and our first calendar grand slam has brought me back...like a phoenix rising from the ashes! Or something like that.

My initial thoughts...

*Lindsay! So great to have her back, and seemingly enjoying the game of tennis more than she did pre-Jagger. Looks like he is already pretty comfortable with the hardware, too.



Lindsay will more than likely meet Sharapova in the 2nd round of Oz. *sigh* Not ideal. It all depends on whether or not Maria has taken her strong YEC showing and built upon it, or reverted back to the shaky play she exhibited during most of the '07 season. My heart says Lindsay, my head says Sharapova. I hope my head is wrong.

*Some great tennis has already taken place in the first few weeks of the new year. Justine and Sveta have already thrown down in Sydney, with Justine coming out on top in three. Sveta has beaten Justine on clay, and I think she could threaten her from time to time...she is certainly closer to it than anyone else.

*Vaidisova has come out strong, with what looks like better movement and fitness than she's ever had. Hopefully her mental game has also strengthened, and there will no more losing matches that she she had won until her head got in the way. And yeah, I know she is supposedly engaged to Radek. I don't really have anything to say about that. *shrug*

*In addition to retiring, Hingis has now been banned for two years. I remain skeptical. Why? Because her hair test completely exonerated her! Because the tests traveled overseas before being in a lab. And, because I simply don't want to believe it either.

*Nadal is coming in to the new season with injuries already, as is the Djoker. How can anyone possible bet against Fed? Maybe just because it has to end sometime, right? Right?

*Maybe Nalby will help keep things interesting on the men's side.

I won't go into the draw and seeds for Oz, because quite frankly, it has already been done, and nobody does it better, in my opinion, than Wertheim.

Here is his men's seed report: The Mighty Men.

And his women's seed report: The Wonder Women.