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 Points leaders: Breaking down the best of '07Continued
1. JELENA JANKOVIC: That's right, the Serb leads the points race with a 90-point edge over Justine Henin, mostly because she's played a good deal more. JJ nailed two Tier I crowns on clay, but disappointed both at the AO (flat against Serena Williams) and RG (flat against Henin). It's time for her to put up bigger results against the elite. 2. JUSTINE HENIN: What's left for the Belgian to do after winning her sixth Slam at RG? Win the one major that eludes her at Wimbledon. She reached the '01 final and lost to Venus Williams, and fell to Amelie Mauresmo in 2006. She has the all-around game to take the crown, but her shots have lacked oomph coming off Paris. This year may be different though, as she barely broke a sweat at the French. 3. ANA IVANOVIC: The powerfully built Serbian took a big jump in a six-week period, winning Berlin and taking out Svetlana Kuznetsova and Maria Sharapova en route to the RG final. But she froze up on the big stage and a mini-slump could be in the offing. 4. SVETLANA KUZNETSOVA: May be the game's most unpredictable player. One moment, she's dominating; the next, she's getting trounced in the third set by an elite player. She has the serve, movement and volleys to go far at Wimbledon, but may not check in mentally. 5. SERENA WILLIAMS: Don't think that Serena isn't smarting after her slow-footed loss to Henin in Paris. She'll show up super-motivated at Wimbledon and will be the favorite to win her third crown. But the elite field is deeper on grass than it is on clay and she must be very careful and avoid an early upset. 6. MARIA SHARAPOVA: She's still learning to cope with injuries, which is part of the growing process. Her sore shoulder isn't allowing her to gun serves, which truly affects her against the elite. If she's going to win her second Wimbledon, she'll have to be ultra aggressive with her returns and take some more risks with her serves, pain or no pain. 7. ANNA CHAKVETADZE: Crying at 4-4 in the second set against a warrior like Sharapova isn't going to get it done. She needs sports psychologist; not coaching sessions with Patty Schnyder's husband, Rainer Hoffman. 8. DANIELA HANTUCHOVA: A good but not great year from the Slovak, who's as solidly fixed on tour as a net post, but can't get over the three-set hump at the majors. 9. DINARA SAFINA: It may be a little premature to say she's hit the wall with a bang, but her front bumper is edging up against it. 10. NICOLE VAIDIOVA: All those folks who skewered me for tabbing Ivanovic over Vaidisova as a player with greater elite potential can now eat a little crow. However, Vaidisova did impress me with her fight-to-the-end attitude at RG against Jankovic and now I'm expecting a productive rest of the summer for the Czech. © TennisReporters.net 2007
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