Serena Williams, via d.yimg.com

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In what can fairly be called an "all's well that ends well" situation for the WTA, Serena Williams finished off her season ranked #1 and undefeated at the Sony Ericsson Championships in Doha, her first non-slam title of 2009.

Serena beat her sister Venus 6-2, 7-6(4) in the finals of the eight-player tournament, a considerably easier win than when she faced big sis in the round robin section of the event.

With no points to defend until then, Serena will be ranked #1 going into the Australian Open as well, preventing Dinara Safina for being a slamless top-seed at a fourth consecutive major.  That's something I'm guessing they're both fairly happy about.

Nuria Llagostera Vives, Maria Jose Sanchez Martinez, and their backing band. Photo via d.yimg.com

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I don't usually give doubles any attention, but major felicitations are in order for the superfluously named doubles team of Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez and Nuria Llagostera Vives, who won the Sony Ericsson Championships in
Doha.

Not only did the Spaniards defeat the top ranked team of Liezel Huber and Cara Black in the final, they beat the much better pairing of Venus and Serena Williams in the semifinal.

The pair has never won a grand slam, but they won an incredible six tour titles in 2009 before this event.  The two were clearly happier to be there than any of the other competitors, and somehow seemed to fill the entire stadium with Spanish fans.  The two even brought their own flamenco band, which played during the trophy ceremony.

In other news, this super tiebreak in doubles has got to go when it comes to important matches.  All three matches in Doha's absurdly abbreviated doubles draw went to the super tiebreak, and each match would have been richer for having a full third set.

White Group

#1 Dinara Safina (0-1, withdrew)

Instead of the long, ugly defeats she had subjected innocent crowds to over and over again this fall, Dinara Safina decided to keep her run at the Sony Ericsson Championships in Doha mercifully short.  After only two games in her first match against Jelena Jankovic, Safina threw in the purple towel, cited a back injury and pulled out of the tournament.

Safina said the back injury had been affecting her since Wimbledon, which would explain her lackluster results since then, except that her problems have not been physical at all. She has been losing because she had shown the mental stability of a claustrophobe in a coffin.  A top player doesn't fail to serve out a match against a player outside the top 200 like Kai-Chen Chang because of any physical ailments.  She may be feeling some aches and pains as well, but the real fracture right now is between her ears.

#4 Caroline Wozniacki (2-1, 2nd place -- Advances to semifinal)

With some uncharacteristic theatrics (closest to auditioning a dramatic death scene), Caroline Wozniacki cried and screamed her way into the semifinals, though with some obvious injury woes.  Playing as many tournaments as she did this year has caught up with her, and it hasn't been pretty. 

But she's managed to keep winning against some awfully fragile looking opponents, beating both Azarenka and Zvonareva in three-set tear-jerkers.  With her spot in the semis guaranteed, Wozniacki didn't put in a full effort against Jankovic in her third match, which no one can fault her for. 

She'll face Serena Williams in what should be a fairly lopsided final given their current forms.

#6 Victoria Azarenka (1-2, Eliminated)

After a demolition of Jankovic got Victoria Azarenka off to a great start in Doha, and after taking the first set 6-1 against Wozniacki in her second match, things totally fell apart for Azarenka. 

Devoid of any strategy or Plan-B, Azarenka tends to go for the exits mentally when the going gets tough.  Azarenka lost that match to Wozniacki in dramatic fashion, and ended her stint in Doha with a poor loss to Alternate #2 Agnieszka Radwanska.

Azarenka did indeed win a big title at Miami this year, but she's looking more and more Vaidisovan and less and less Sharapovan with every appearance on a big stage.  Like Vaidisova was once upon a time, she's an attractive pick for "next big thing" or "dark horse who can win this tournament," but, like became the case with Vaidisova, there's been a clear pattern of falling short.

#8 Jelena Jankovic (2-1, 1st -- Advances to semifinals)

Jelena Jankovic looked like roadkill at the beginning of this tournament, getting crushed 6-2, 6-3 against Azarenka.  She then got credit for a win after Safina pulled out two games into their match, which was a lucky break to be sure even though I had no doubts Jankovic would crush the imploded Safina.

And then an injured Caroline Wozniacki had already clinched a spot in the semifinals, and allowed Jankovic to win 6-2, 6-2.  And just like that, Jelena "The Cockroach" Jankovic found herself winning the White Group, and in the semifinals.

Hey, somebody had to win it.

#9 Vera Zvonareva (Alternate) (0-1, Eliminated)

A finalist last year in Doha, Zvonareva replaced Safina as an alternate but only lasted one match herself, losing a close one to Wozniacki before withdrawing and making room for the second alternate Radwanska. 

Not to worry, though: Zvonareva managed to fill her tears quotient for the tournament in just that one match.

#10 Agnieszka Radwanska (Alternate)(1-0, Eliminated)

For someone who came to Qatar as the second alternate, Agnieszka Radwanska had a pretty nice week.  She danced to Lady Gaga with her sister, and played one match that netted her $200,000. 

Twice getting into the year-end championships as an alternate, Radwanska is now 2-0 in the event, showing that she's one of the best at winning statistically meaningless matches.  But with that six-figure haul this week, Radwanska should be able to buy herself a nice set of Gaga-esque rings to play with during the off-season.
 

Maroon Group

#2 Serena Williams (3-0, 1st -- Advances to semifinal) With the year-end #1 ranking on the line, Serena Williams delivered her best non-slam tennis of 2009 in Doha, winning all three of her round robin matches. 

Included in that slew of victories was a gutsy, match-point-saving, three-set win over her sister Venus in possibly the best match the two have ever contested, as well as a surprisingly easy win over Elena Dementieva. 

Serena should have little trouble with Caroline Wozniacki in the semifinals, and will be the favorite against whomever she faces in the final.

#3 Svetlana Kuznetsova (1-2, Eliminated) 

After losing tough matches to each Williams sister, Svetlana Kuznetsova was eliminated from semifinal contention.  But that didn't stop her from sticking it to her countrywoman Elena Dementieva by beating her in the final round robin match, keeping Dementieva out of the semifinals and securing Venus Williams a spot in the final four.

Kuznetsova's 1-2 run this year "improves" her career record at year-end championship events to an incredibly awful 3-12, which is a surprisingly consistently awful showing for a player as streaky as she is.

#5 Elena Dementieva (1-2, Eliminated)

Mirroring Azarenka's performance in the other group, Elena Dementieva began group play very strongly with a win over eventual semifinalist Venus Williams, before disappearing against Svetlana Kuznetsova in her third match. 

The loss to Kuznetsova is pretty baffling, as Dementieva was the only one of the two still in contention for a slot in the semifinals.

The week follows Dementieva's pattern through these last few years at big tournaments--strong buzz early, but no hardware in the end.

#7 Venus Williams (1-2, 2nd -- Advanced to semifinal)

With three players going 1-2, Venus Williams held the tiebreak that let her advance to the semifinals over fellow one-win Maroon Group competitors Dementieva and Kuznetsova.

All three of Venus's matches in Doha thus far have been exceedingly close and entertaining, if not especially pretty to watch.  But her desire and grit have been on full display, and its clear that defending this title means a great deal to her.

Venus's semifinal against Jelena Jankovic should be a fun match.  The two have always played close on all surfaces, and have extremely contrasting styles that make for quality viewing.  The size of the stage would seem to favor Williams, though, so I'll give her the nod to make the final.

Doha spectators have their own interpretation of "tennis whites." Photo via d.yimg.com

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Three matches on the card for Day 1 in the desert of Doha, one from the White Group and two from the absurdly stronger Maroon Group.

The way that the draw for these round robin tournaments works is pretty simple.  The #1 and #2, #3 and #4, #5 and #6, and #7 and #8 players are paired off, and one from each pairing is put into each group.  And at least on first glance, the maroon group got the stronger player each time. 

Maroon's #2 Serena Williams is clearly light years ahead of the white group's #1 Dinara Safina.  #3 Svetlana Kuznetsova in the maroon group has had a stronger fall than injured #4 Caroline Wozniacki.  #5 Elena Dementieva is in the maroon group as well, a much scarier opponent than white's #6 Victoria Azarenka, who has made only one grand slam quarterfinal in her career compared to Dementieva's , and is playing in her first year-end championships.  #7 Venus Williams is in the maroon group as well, though her distance ahead of #8 Jelena Jankovic is probably the slightest of any of the pairings.

I think the theories that this draw was rigged that I've been hearing are totally ludicrous, but it's definitely an uneven situation.

With that in mind, here are Tuesday's three matches in Qatar, which feature the 1v2 and 3v4 matches in the maroon group, and the 3v4 clash in the white group.

White Group: Victoria Azarenka BLR [6] vs. Jelena Jankovic SRB [8] -- Azarenka's mindless ball bashing will be tested by Jankovic's defense, which when at it's best should be plenty to unravel the unsteady Belorussian.  But Jankovic has been battling injury since the Tokyo final, and if she's not able to get full weight on her shots Azarenka should be able to cruise.  Prediction: Azarenka in 2.

Maroon Group: Elena Dementieva RUS [5] vs. Venus Williams USA [7] -- This should be a very pretty match up between two veteran women with great movement and fluid groundstrokes, who are both capable of dictating play and finding power from any part of the court.  But they've both been far from their best this fall, winning a combined four matches since the US Open.  This one could be real ugly, and when the going gets ugly Venus's game often gets ugliest.  Prediction: Dementieva in 3.

Maroon Group: Serena Williams USA [2] vs. Svetlana Kuznetsova RUS [3] -- After her title in Beijing, one of the biggest titles of her career, Kuznetsova is the only player coming into this event with any semblance of momentum.  But ending the year at #1 has to be at the front of Serena's mind coming into this event, and when she has the ranking in her sights she usually plays better.  If Kuznetsova keeps playing as well as she did in Beijing she could make this one a quick win, but if Serena can get her teeth into the match she'll find a way to win.  Prediction: S. Williams in 3.

Serena Williams cranks it up for the end of the season, switching the settings on her make-up gun from "stun" to "kill." Photo via d.yimg.com

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There really isn't any way around it--this has been a pretty crappy fall season for the WTA.  Since an exciting tournament in Toronto which saw Elena Dementieva beat Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova on her way to the final, the WTA season has been a complete dud.

Since Toronto, there have only been two matches between top ten players, both of which took place at the US Open (Wozniacki d. Kuznetsova and S. Williams d. Pennetta). The top players have been playing some, but constant early exoduses from the big tournaments have prevented any marquee match-ups from occurring.  Maria Sharapova pulled off a decent win over a fairly depleted draw in Tokyo and won a thriller against Azarenka early in Beijing, and Svetlana Kuznetsova competently beat players she was supposed to beat for a change to win the China Open, but the rest of the fall season has been downright awful. 

"#1" Dinara Safina managed to find newer depths to fall to, losing to qualifier Kai-Chen Chang in Tokyo despite being some 200 spots ahead of her.  Serena Williams briefly reclaimed the #1 ranking to much applause in Beijing, but swiftly lost her next match against  and hasn't played since, giving Safina back the top spot for the time being.  Kim Clijsters won all of one match in her only post US Open tournament before crashing out of the second round of Luxembourg.  Venus Williams managed to lose in back to back weeks to Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, a player who only managed to win three games against Melanie Oudin at the US Open.

But the top eight women all appear to be moderately healthy, and have a chance to make a good last impression in 2009 at the Year End Championships in Doha.  Let's hope they do.  They have months after this event to rest up for next year--might as well put in a good last effort to see off this decade.