Tweet of the Week: It took three years, but the WTA finally makes peace in the Middle East.

Peer got a *wildcard* into Dubai? And drew a wildcard from Oman first round, and match played without international incident? WTA beats UN:)—
Kamakshi Tandon (@Kamakshi_Tandon) February 21, 2012

Best of the rest

10. RN10 dines with CR7: Rafael Nadal had dinner with Real Madrid star Cristiano Ronaldo. I think they’re friends. So why does this look like a proof of life?

Having a dinner with @Cristiano. Today we filmed the new commercial for Nike. Had a great day!! http://t.co/Xiflnvxp—
Rafael Nadal (@RafaelNadal) February 22, 2012

9. Pam thoughts: Pam Shriver tip-toes around the “R” word after Andy Roddick loses early in Memphis.

does Arod need to hang it up or stick it out? my last few years on tour were slim on wins but big on experiences for life. no right answer—
Pam Shriver (@PHShriver) February 23, 2012

8. Next question, please: The answer is no, John.

Do any of you remember the days where the WWE tag team and intercontinental titles actually meant something? I sure do—
John Isner (@JohnIsner) February 21, 2012

7. Olivetti superfan: The ATP site was devoid of much information about Albano Olivetti, the No. 388-ranked Frenchman who upset Mardy Fish in Marseille. But British doubles specialist Ken Skupski knows what’s up.

Just watched a few games of my boy Olivetti v Mardy Fish. When I say his serve is big…I am putting it out there. Its the BIGGEST bar none!—
Ken Skupski (@k_skupski) February 23, 2012

6. Pish, Posh: Serena and Venus Williams may have won majors, but Posh is major. Or “mayjah”, as she’d say.

Fun with @evalongoria and the Williams sisters x vb yfrog.com/ocs3obkj

— Victoria Beckham (@victoriabeckham) February 24, 2012

5. Remembering the victims: Gisela Dulko and Paula Suarez dedicate their first win in 2012 as a doubles team to the victims of the commuter train crash in Buenos Aires.

Paola and me want to dedicate our first win together, to all the victims and relatives of the #ONCE train tragedy in our country today.—
Gisela Dulko (@gidulko) February 23, 2012

4. Pressure is a privilege: Golf and tennis often get thrown in together when people talk about individual sports. Fish points out one significant difference in light of this week’s World Golf Championships.

PGA Tour dudes get to feel the pressure we feel this week. Matchplay. No 2nd Rd if you have a bad day.—
Mardy Fish (@MardyFish) February 22, 2012

3. She has a point: BTB Twitter fave Sloane Stephens nails another tweet.

Never mistake silence for weakness. No one plans a murder out loud—
♔ $LØ∆NE STEPHENS (@sloanetweets) February 21, 2012

2. Broken hearted: Someone’s been listening to a lot of Whitney Houston lately.

I don't know. They die. Like mine RT @PlanetOlivia: Where do broken hearts go? @serenawilliams #serenafriday—
Serena Williams (@serenawilliams) February 24, 2012

1. Does this mean what I think it means?: Andrea Petkovic has been sidelined since Sydney with a stress fracture in her lower back. Let’s hope this tweet means we’ll be seeing that Petko dance soon.

—
Andrea Petkovic (@andreapetkovic) February 24, 2012

Roger Federer is prepping for the London Olympics and has his sights set on '16 Rio, too. (Getty Images)

Five for Friday is an end-of-the-week roundup of interesting tidbits from my notebook. Have something that you think needs to be addressed? Feel free to tweet or email me.

1. Rio or bust: Roger Federer, 30, said this week that he has no plans to retire soon and is looking to play at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.

During a conference call to promote an exhibition match next month in New York, Federer was reminded that he once referred to the 2012 London Games as the point at which he would consider retirement.

“Yes, I did say three years ago, four even, that I will definitely play until the London Olympics,” Federer said. “It was more getting journalists off my back, to be quite honest. I will be playing at the London Olympics but, hell, I won’t be retiring at the London Olympics. My body will tell me when to stop, but I haven’t set the date in any shape or form or thought about it in any way. At this point, I’m hoping to play in Rio.”

Federer will turn 35 during the 2016 Summer Olympics. With the way his body has held up, I’d be shocked if he wasn’t there. Then again, 29-year-old Andy Roddick enjoyed 10 relatively healthy years before his body started to break down, in rather sudden fashion, last year. Things can turn that quickly.

Speaking of Federer and Roddick, the two will face off at the BNP Paribas Showdown at Madison Square Garden on March 5. I know the players sign up for these exhibitions months in advance, but you have to think that Roddick is cursing the timing now that he’s sustained yet another injury, this time to his ankle. Maria Sharapova and Caroline Wozniacki round out that exhibition field.

2. A week to forget: Which American veteran had a worse week, Roddick or Mardy Fish?

Roddick, the defending champion, lost his opening match in Memphis to No. 75 Xavier Malisse, who had been 0-9 in the head-to-head series and 0-4 in singles this year. Roddick, whose No. 27 ranking this week is his lowest since August 2001, had won at least one match in each of his 11 previous appearances in the tournament.

But my vote goes to Fish. The world No. 8 skipped the U.S. tournaments and lost his opening match in France to Albano Olivetti, a 20-year-old French qualifier who is ranked 380 spots below Fish. The 30-year-old Fish reportedly received a healthy six-figure appearance fee to join a Marseille field that boasted two other top 10 players in Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Juan Martin del Potro. That’s three top 10 players in Marseille, an ATP 250 tournament, while Memphis, an ATP 500 event, had No. 13 John Isner as its top seed.

Ana Ivanovic, who won the 2008 French Open, is now ranked 18th. (Kamran Jebreili/AP)

3. Winning a Slam too early: Ana Ivanovic’s coach, Nigel Sears, told the Gulf Times that he believes Ivanovic won her first and only Grand Slam title, the 2008 French Open, too early in her career, at age 20. My initial response was one of amusement  — It’s better than winning one too late in her career — but then I started thinking about it. We hail the late bloomers such as Francesca Schiavone (who won her major days before turning 30), Li Na (29) and Sam Stosur (27), yet tend to rail against the early achievers like Ivanovic or Svetlana Kuznetsova (who won the first of her two majors, the 2004 U.S. Open, at 19). Should a player’s early accomplishments fool us into thinking that she can repeat or maintain that level throughout her career so that any dips in form result in her being labeled an underachiever?

One reading of Sears’ comments is that Ivanovic’s level has normalized since her 2008 triumph and she’s finally recovered to the point of now being able to improve her game. But let’s assume that Ivanovic never wins another major. Does the fact that she did win one at such an early age mean that we actually view her career as more of a disappointment than if she never won one at all?

4. The small and speedy Maria Sharapova: What happens when a fashion magazine tries to write about tennis? You end up with some observations that leave you scratching your head. Check out this Paper magazine profile of Sharapova. According to the publication, the 6-foot-2 Russian is “relatively petite” and known for her “hyper-speed.” Wait, what? And don’t get me started on its claim that a “reverse forehand” (or an inside-out forehand, as it’s more commonly known) is an “unusual move” in the WTA. Who doesn’t have an inside-out forehand these days?

5. The confidence factor: After winning in Doha last week for her third title of the year, Victoria Azarenka seemed to dismiss the importance of confidence in an athlete’s game. ”I think confidence is very overrated,” Azarenka said before putting on her philosopher’s cap in an attempt to discount the concept.

“It’s something invisible, right?” Azarenka continued. “Something you cannot explain. Every time you step on the court, you try to find a way to beat your opponent. One word, ‘confidence,’ is not going to help you. You have to go through the tough moments, the pain, the ache, the nerves … you have to go through all of that. You just have to accept you’re a normal human being and you’re going to go through all of that. Just one word, ‘confidence,’ I don’t know.”

I’m not exactly sure what Azarenka is trying to say here. Embracing the tough times and persevering through the pain seem like marks of confidence to me. I’ve never heard a professional athlete write off confidence so readily, and let’s face it, her willingness to do so is clearly the mark of a very confident player. But if she’s right, that confidence is overrated, she should be a good friend and sit down with Wozniacki.

The Dane not only lost to Julia Goerges on Friday in the Dubai semifinals, but she also had repeated mental lapses against a player who is talented but known to implode when matches get tight. Wozniacki had a similar showing last week against Lucie Safarova, another player who has a reputation of getting tight. We’ve grown accustomed to seeing Wozniacki keep herself in matches and win by being mentally tougher than her opponents. That’s the edge that confidence gives you. If it wasn’t clear before, it’s clear now: Woz has lost that edge.

• Much like Mardy Fish, I do not speak French. But I’m fairly certain that in the video above, Albano Olivetti, who beat Fish on Thursday, says his serve has been clocked at 254 kmh, which converts to 158 mph. Ivo Karlovic holds the record for the fastest serve at 156 mph.

• Caroline Wozniacki and Rory McIlroy have a bet going that requires them to give up their favorite snacks. What’s the reward? ”Let’s just put it this way,” Wozniacki said. ”I wouldn’t do it for a pair of sunglasses.” Let your imaginations run wild, folks.

• Jelena Jankovic believes that the constant travel due to Fed Cup is contributing to the number of injuries and withdrawals early this season. “Sometimes we wish we didn’t have to fly from one part of the world to another, going from hot to cold,” Jankovic said. “It’s not easy and you are at risk to get injured.” Got this on your iPod, JJ?

• Lleyton Hewitt is out of competition for four months because of foot surgery, but a campaign has already begun to get Hewitt a wild card into the London Olympics. That would be an interesting decision for the ITF.

• Ana Ivanovic feels middle-aged now that the younger generation is making its presence known. ”I think they’re playing great,” the 24-year-old Ivanovic said. “It’s a great challenge for us, for players that have been around for a while. They’re pushing us to improve and get better.”

• Variety summarizes the Tennis Channel/Comcast dispute. “We didn’t wake up and force Comcast to put Tennis Channel on the air,” CEO of Tennis Channel Ken Solomon said. “They elected to do so on their own volition. What they have to do, once they make that determination, they have to give us fair treatment once they get similar situated networks.”

• Non-tennis: David Foster Wallace would have been 50 years old this week. Here’s an uncut, 84-minute interview with him from 2003.

• See or read something that you enjoyed and want to share? Feel free to email or tweet us links to pieces from around the Internet that may have slipped past our radar.

That ended this week in Dubai, when Radwanska was asked about the blatantly cold handshake she gave her “good friend” after she lost in the semifinals of Doha. In that match, Azarenka sprained her ankle early in the second set and Radwanska took exception to, in her opinion, Azarenka’s exaggerated demonstrations of pain throughout the rest of the match, wincing and limping between points and looking like a woman who was on the verge of retiring at any second.

“I think after this match (in Doha) [I] just lost a lot of respect,” Radwanska said after her quarterfinal win in Dubai. ”If you do this in the match, if anyone didn’t see the match, I think it’s just a quick look on YouTube and you’ll know what was going on.”

You got it, Aga. Here are the highlights from the match. To see the cold as ice handshake, go to the 12:15 mark:

*****

“I was angry because I don’t think this is the great image for the women’s tennis, what was going on there,” she said.

Boy, I wonder how Azarenka will react if she hears about this. Oh wait, it looks like she did. She sent out this tweet right around the same time the story went out, though it’s not clear for sure if it was a direct response.

just laughing out loud….thats it what i can say….its getting more and more funny…have a good week and enjoy girls—
victoria azarenka (@vika7) February 23, 2012

If you do a Google search for “Azarenka Radwanska friends,” you’ll find scores of articles written over the years referencing their close friendship. Radwanska’s Wikipedia page lists Azarenka as one of her best friends on Tour. It’s a bond they say goes back to their junior days, and it probably helps that they both count Caroline Wozniacki as one of their best friends.

Based on the events of the last month, someone might want to contact the Wikipedia editors: It’s revision time.

Australian Open champ Victoria Azarenka and Wimbledon champ Petra Kvitova are regarded as the likely players to fill the current WTA power void. (US Presswire/EPA)

Last week on The Toss, Bryan Armen Graham joined to debate whether to buy the hype on John Isner. John McEnroe had talked up Isner after his Davis Cup win over Roger Federer, but in the end, the good and loyal BTB readers voted that the 26-year-old American lacked the versatility in his game to be a serious threat.

This week, SI.com tennis producer C.W. Sesno joins to look at another debate about player potential. Victoria Azarenka and Petra Kvitoa are Nos. 1 and 3 in the world, respectively. They both have one Grand Slam title. Azarenka is 22 year old, Kvitova 21. They’re both pegged as the likely candidates to provide a little consistency to what has been a wide-open WTA.

Today’s Toss: Whose career are you buying from this point forward, Victoria Azarenka’s or Petra Kvitova’s?

Courtney Nguyen: First things first, are these two even going to play another match all year? Kvitova, who seemed destined for the No. 1 spot when this year began, hasn’t played a tournament since Fed Cup, withdrawing from Doha (Achilles injury) and Dubai (illness). Meanwhile, Azarenka withdrew from Dubai on Wednesday, citing the left-ankle injury she suffered in the Doha semifinals. That’s her second withdrawal of the year after she chose to sit out of Fed Cup because of a back injury.

I suspect that Azarenka needed the mental break more than anything else (she’s flying home to Belarus for the first time since winning the Australian Open). But these two keep dodging each other, which is probably why we’re debating this question. If they would just play each other this year, we could start compiling some data and get a more definitive answer. Then again, that wouldn’t be as fun.

If I had to buy stock in one of these two for the long haul, I’m all-in on Kvitova. Put simply, she’s a world-beater. When she’s on her game, no one, except maybe Serena Williams (and, yes, I said “maybe” for a reason), can match her power off the ground or her ability to hit winners from any position. Kvitova can hit those winners off both wings, too, and her serve will always keep her in matches.

On top of all that, I give her the edge in the mental department. That sounds like an odd thing to say when she has a well-documented history of losing focus mid-match, and when one of her two losses this year came after she had a brain cramp and chose to hit a slice forehand that sailed long on match point against Maria Sharapova in the Australian Open semifinals. But generally speaking, the big stage doesn’t bother her and she doesn’t seem intimidated by anyone. When careers are defined more by Grand Slam victories than rankings and Tour titles, that’s the factor that matters. Kvitova knows that if she’s playing well she can beat anyone in the world. I don’t think Azarenka can say that quite yet.

Victoria Azarenka blasted Maria Sharapova 6-3, 6-0 to win her first Grand Slam title and seize the No. 1 ranking. (Paul Crock/Getty Images)

C.W. Sesno: Basically this comes down to short term vs. big picture. Azarenka is obviously hot right now. She’s 17-0 on the year and already has three titles. Kvitova closed 2011 strong and, though she lost in the semis of Sydney and Melbourne, she beat quality opponents in the Fed Cup, Sabine Lisicki and Julia Goerges. Pundits were bullish on Kvitova at year’s end, saying she was the real deal. Now just two months later, it suddenly seems that Azarenka is the savior to fill the power void atop the WTA. The lack of a dominant figure in the WTA makes these debates fun, so let’s dive in.

I think you’re on point about Kvitova’s game. I see her as a regular in the top three. Like you say, when she’s sharp, she can beat anyone. Thanks to Women’s Tennis Blog, we know that Kvitova had easily the highest winning percentage of top 10 players against top 10 players last year (.700, a 14-6 record). A world-beater indeed. But I’m not willing to go all-in on her for a few reasons.

First, I disagree with you on her mental strength. Because we’re talking long haul, I don’t think that Kvitova would handle the top ranking very well. She’s said that she just wants to play tennis and would rather not do the photo shoots, the appearances and promotional work that would be expected of her. You could look at that either way, but I think the spotlight crushes you if you don’t own it. Ask Ana Ivanovic or Jelena Jankovic. I’m sure that Kvitova earns the top ranking at some point. But I see her continuing those spats of inconsistency we’ve gotten used to. Azarenka seems to fit the bill more: She’s a little cocky at times and doesn’t handle losing well.

Whether or not it’s mental, I’m not ready to say the big stage doesn’t bother Kvitova. They both won 14 Grand Slam matches last year, and other than 2011, we don’t have much more data to go on for the Czech. Kvitova made a good run to the semis at Wimbledon ’10, but Azarenka has been around longer and we know a bit more about what to expect. If she didn’t get the short end of the stick at the U.S. Open, drawing Serena Williams in the third round, Azarenka would have likely made the quarters in three of the four majors last season. She slumped in 2010 to the point of nearly quitting — but reached at least the third round (including two QFs) in each Slam in ’08 and ’09.

For Kvitova, I just can’t get past her tendency to shut down at bad times. The average ranking of opponents who beat her in 2011: 36.5. For Azarenka: 23. And that average is worsened by Azarenka’s two losses to Serena, ranked No. 80 when they met in the Toronto semis and No. 27 at the U.S. Open. Azarenka wins matches when she’s supposed to. Kvitova just isn’t quite there yet for me to buy big.

Nguyen: You and your numbers.

I agree with you on one thing: Azarenka drew the short stick at the U.S. Open and, really, the U.S. Open Series. Aside from her surprising second-round loss to Marina Erakovic at Stanford, she had the unfortunate luck of facing Williams in Toronto and New York, losing both times and failing to even take a set. That said, the scoreline of her 6-1, 7-6 (5) loss at the U.S. Open is deceiving. She gave Serena a fight, particularly in that second set. That was the first time she ever made me think that she had the goods to beat the player considered the best in the game. A little bit of luck in the draw and it’s entirely possible that Azarenka could have ended 2011 at No. 1, or at least gone into 2012 as the presumptive favorite to take over the top spot from Caroline Wozniacki sooner rather than later.

But as you said, these two will probably sit in the top three (or, at minimum, the top five) for years to come. What will separate them are the intangibles. Your note that Azarenka almost quit in 2010 is precisely the reason I give Kvitova the edge. While I think the idea of Azarenka’s being on the verge of leaving the game was exaggerated, the fact that the thought even crossed her mind is proof of her mental fragility. You’re telling me that she was a top 10 player at the age of 20 and she thought about quitting because she wasn’t having fun and she hated losing? If we step back and think about it, that’s pretty ludicrous. I agree with you that Azarenka probably hates losing more than Kvitova, and while that may translate to more competitive fire on the court, it also results in more frustration and dejection when things aren’t going her way. It’s easy for Azarenka to talk a big game and be cocky when she’s on a 17-0 run and just captured her first Slam, but what happens when she starts losing?

While Kvitova may go on losing streaks (she’s practically allergic to the North American hardcourts because of her asthma), let’s not forget that Azarenka’s body has gone on walkabouts as well. She retired or withdrew from seven tournaments last year. It’s only February and she’s already withdrawn from two events in 2012. Her body consistently lets her down in the most inopportune moments and she has yet to prove that she can withstand the grind of a full year.

You’re right, though. Azarenka wins the matches she’s supposed to win, while Kvitova is always prone to an early-round upset by random players (less than a year ago, she lost in the first round of a Challenger event in the Bahamas). But again, if a player’s career is defined by her performance at Slams, I still back Kvitova. Azarenka may finish with more Tour titles and more weeks at No. 1. She has the consistency to win week in and week out. But when it comes to majors, Kvitova is the one who has the firepower and the mentality to win seven straight matches regardless of the opposition.

And here’s the kicker: I don’t think we’ve come close to seeing the best from Petra Kvitova. She’s a Grand Slam champion and No. 3 in the world and yet she has so many areas in which she can improve. Her movement, fitness, decision-making and consistency all can get better, whereas my sense is that Azarenka is, for the most part, topped out. I’m not saying that the Belarusian can’t improve, but her upside at this point in her career is far less than Kvitova’s.

My view boils down to this: At their best, Kvitova is better than Azarenka. If Kvitova can learn to be at her best more consistently, this isn’t even a contest.

Sesno: So we’ve established the pros and cons for each player: Kvitova can beat anyone with pure baseline power but tends to check out mentally in early and inexplicable losses. Azarenka, meanwhile, wins when she’s supposed to but hasn’t proved that she can withstand a full season on the Tour.

But one key to your argument just isn’t sitting well with me: Is performance at Grand Slams really what defines a player’s career? It’s almost certainly the biggest factor the history books will look at, but definitely not the only one. I mean, is two-time French Open champion Sergi Bruguera looked at as a better player than, say, Michael Chang, Carlos Moya or Juan Carlos Ferrero, who each has just one major title? No, we look at the overall résumé.

So let’s say, hypothetically, that Miss Cleo’s crystal ball shows six Grand Slam titles for Kvitova and four for Azarenka (perhaps even conservative estimates, given their age and the seemingly rapidly approaching post-Williams/Clijsters era). Azarenka has 11 WTA titles to Kvitova’s seven, so let’s say 20 more for each (fewer than three a season if they each play into their late 20s). I’ve stated my belief that Azarenka will log more time atop the rankings, so say she finishes her career with 55 weeks at No. 1, and Kvitova has 25 weeks. Who’s had the better career? Does Fed Cup come into play? Head-to-head record? I think one or two more Slam titles don’t outweigh weeks at No. 1, total WTA titles and how they handle the spotlight. Love her or hate her, Azarenka commands attention both on and off the court. The bottom line is that there is subjectivity in these debates, which is precisely why G.O.A.T. talks and the like are so divisive.

But we’re not exactly predicting who will finish with more accomplishments. I agree that Kvitova has more upside at the moment and probably hasn’t hit her ceiling yet because she’s still a relatively new face. I’m simply not yet sold that Kvitova will be able to play at her best consistently throughout her career. Kvitova still seems like an unknown commodity, which is why I’m more hesitant to go all-in. Sure, she can beat anyone on any given day. But she can also lose to anyone on any given day.

And let’s be clear, I don’t think Azarenka has hit her ceiling either. But I do think she’s turned a corner in her career and we have a better sense of what she can regularly offer because we have a larger sample size. After steamrolling Sharapova in the Aussie final, she looked to her box with a shoulder shrug and a “What just happened?” look. She knows she can hang with anyone.  Though she can struggle against the game’s big hitters (she’s defeated Serena just once in seven matches), her return game has improved drastically and she’s gained ground on the likes of Kim Clijsters (won the previous two meeting and trails H2H 3-4) and Sharapova (won three of the last four and leads H2H 4-3).

Clijsters intends to retire after the 2012 season to focus on her family. We’ll save Serena’s retirement talks for another time, but she’s now 30 and playing a reduced schedule (I chuckled at her official site’s schedule) and her days as an absentee threat seem numbered as well.

Someone will step up and fill the void. Perhaps I have a short-term memory, but my money’s on Azarenka.

You decide: Vote in the poll and sound off in the comments to let us know where you stand.

• Roger Federer and dubstep? I never thought I’d see the day.

• The Economist looks at the Olympics and how tennis can carve its own niche: “For Mr [Rafael] Nadal and his closest rivals, the Olympics is now much preferred to the Davis Cup as an opportunity to represent one’s country. Unlike the Davis Cup, it does not sprawl across the season, intruding on other competitions and wearing players down. For spectators, it is an occasional treat, not a never-ending saga. Its knockout format mirrors that of the slams (although uses best-of-three-sets matches, rather than best-of-fives, until the final) and is much more accessible to the general public. … This year, the famous venue is a further boon. No other sport set to feature at London 2012 will take place on such hallowed turf (organisers have built new facilities for most of them). That is bound to raise the profile of the event, and the relaxation of some traditions, allowing players to compete in national colours instead of Wimbledon whites, will be an additional attraction. Interest in Olympic tennis has never matched that in Wimbledon itself. But this year it is likely to come a lot closer.”

• Serena Williams joins her sister and confirms for the Family Circle Cup in Charleston, S.C., in early April. We’ll see if that actually pans out.

• Former British No. 1 and Davis Cup captain John Lloyd probably isn’t on Andy Murray’s Christmas card list and I’m not sure these comments to TCPalm.com’s Ray McNulty will do anything to change that. While Lloyd says that Murray is handling the pressure better than he did when he was the British No. 1, he also believes that it’s easier these days because players can have entourages to manage off-court demands and distractions. He also doesn’t buy into the idea that the caliber of today’s players makes it more difficult for Murray to win a Grand Slam. ”That’s all a bit exaggerated,” he said.

• John Isner is the talk of the town at the moment and it looks like he’s embraced his status as a late bloomer. “Isner isn’t shocked by his recent success, though,” USA Today‘s Stephanie Kuzydym writes. “From girls to growth spurts, he said, he’s always been a late bloomer. ‘To this day, I only shave once a week,’ Isner said.”

• I admit, I was skeptical when I heard that the Dubai tournament gave Israeli Shahar Peer a wild card. But it sounds like the past controversy is all water under the bridge.

• I’m very disappointed in myself for not making The Royal Tenenbaums connection. I promise to be better.

• Non-tennis: A modernization of Abbott and Costello’s famous “Who’s on First?” routine.

Victoria Azarenka, 17-0 on the year, steamrolled Maria Sharapova in the Australian Open final to win her first major and take the No. 1 rank. (EPA)

This is all eerily familiar.

A young, top-five player with an emotionally combustible psyche, a body that bordered on frail and recognizable talent but results that didn’t quite match the swagger, finishes one year strong and comes flying out of the gate the next. At the Australian Open, said unnamed player beats a multiple Grand Slam champion in the tightly contested semifinal before steamrolling a top player in the final, all while navigating the public relations minefield with hit-and-miss success.

Victoria Azarenka of 2012, meet 2011 Novak Djokovic. Novak Djokovic, meet Victoria Azarenka. You two should sit down for a chat.

Let’s get the on-court similarities out of the way right up front. Yes, Azarenka is undefeated on the season, as Djokovic was for the first five months of 2011. Yes, like Djokovic, she is winning in commanding fashion (though she pulled out of Dubai on Wednesday with a left-ankle injury, she hasn’t come close to dropping a set since the Australian Open). Yes, her return game is better than anyone’s right now, one of Djokovic’s major strengths. Yes, she is stuck answering questions about how she’s doing it, what’s changed and whether she can keep it up.

And though Azarenka has produced amazing results this season, any talk of Grand Slams, Golden Slams, undefeated streaks and Djokovician dominance is still premature. Let the woman enjoy her moment before we ratchet up the pressure and expectations. We’re not even through two months of the season yet. Funny thing is, the comparisons don’t stop with results or game styles.

Azarenka has a big personality, one that she doesn’t shy away from or try to hide. Djokovic knows a little bit about that. He burst onto the scene making as much noise (if not more) with his personality as with his game. His impressions and penchant for jokes were a breath of fresh air during a time when restraint and professionalism (in the classic sense of the word) reigned. But when Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal began to take some issue with his behavior and that of his box, the fresh air quickly grew stale.

As the spotlight shone brighter and longer on the Serb, the critics began to highlight his flaws. Players took potshots at what they considered his tendency to overplay injuries and ailments. Fans bristled at his overly enthusiastic family and the shirts they wore. It all culminated at the 2008 U.S. Open, when he was booed off the court after beating Andy Roddick. After that, Djokovic was a man with his tail between his legs. He kept a relatively low profile (it helped that his game was in the pits as well) for almost two years before re-emerging as a more mature player and person in 2011.

When Djokovic took over the top spot, he comported himself with impeccable class and professionalism. The Serb, who is still fighting an uphill battle (unfairly so, in my opinion) to convert fans who for so long have been divided almost exclusively between the Rafa and Roger camps, has said all the right things, handles his media obligations with ease and still makes time to indulge fans with autographs and pictures. By my observation he has yet to take a false step in the public relations arena since he’s taken over the top ranking. That’s a credit to his maturity, to the example set by Federer and Nadal when they were No. 1 and the pressure Djokovic feels to be an ambassador for Serbia. He knows people are watching and he cares what they think. Entertainers can be like that.

Azarenka’s history shares some similarities to Djokovic’s. I remember sitting in the stands on an outer court at Indian Wells in 2009 and seeing her get upset at an elderly fan because a ticket badge was reflecting into her eyes. She can be rude to ballkids and umpires, and even as recently as Melbourne last month there were reports that she wasn’t treating tournament volunteers with the respect that they’ve grown accustomed to. (Those reports may have prompted her during her victory speech to curiously mention that she brought the volunteers donuts.)

So how will Azarenka respond to the spotlight and the burden (because yes, it can be a burden) of the top spot? She’s lived with it for only a month now so it’s obviously hard — and too soon — to say. But here’s where the paths of the two current No. 1s seem to separate.

While Djokovic may want to entertain, and perhaps be liked by everyone, Azarenka strikes me more as a rebel. She doesn’t seem too concerned with what people think, what is proper decorum, what is appropriate behavior. Like a true jock, she’s there to play tennis and win her match and the rest is secondary. It’s a stark contrast to her good friend Caroline Wozniacki, who, much like Djokovic, made an obvious effort to be liked. She wore frilly dresses, entertained the media and smiled whenever she needed to smile. It was often over the top, but she was a company woman through and through.

You never know which Azarenka you’ll get at any time, whether it will be “Victoria” or “Vika” (I don’t know which one is which). Will it be the smiling Azarenka from 2011 Miami, who took her time to talk about her grandmother and newfound perspective, charming a room of skeptical reporters day in and day out? Or will it be the smug and standoffish Azarenka from the 2011 WTA Championships, who often mumbled one word answers and looked like she wanted to be anywhere but there?

She can be loud, brash and in your face, whether with her on-court tongue-wagging celebrations or a defiant defense of her whooping-shriek-grunt in press conferences. There’s no deflecting or dodging about Azarenka. She seems more than willing to take on the world and, to be fair, that chip on her shoulder seems to have fueled her and kept her hungry. This is a woman who won her maiden Grand Slam title wearing non-traditional shorts, celebrating with her tongue out like Michael Jordan (like in the photo above from Melbourne), wagging her finger and having to hear her whooping grunt mocked by the crowd. She has a polarizing personality that can manifest itself in negative ways, but so much of that can be chalked up to immaturity, a word that hasn’t been used often about Azarenka this year. The positive change in her on-court temperament has garnered more ink and praise than Andy Murray’s, and for the most part, she’s slipped into that No. 1 spot seamlessly, as though she was destined for it.

While Djokovic seems to have taken to the No. 1 mold that was shaped by Federer and Nadal (with some minor changes to let his personality still shine through), Azarenka comes into the role with no clear expectations as to how a No. 1 has to act or behave. The last five No. 1s — Wozniacki, Kim Clijsters, Serena Williams, Dinara Safina and Jelena Jankovic — couldn’t be more different from each other and none of them set the tone for how a top-ranked player should behave. That gives Azarenka the freedom to carve out her own reign, for however long it may be.

What happens when the rebel becomes the queen? I guess we’re about to find out.

That’s right, ladies and gentlemen, Marat Safin reportedly joined Twitter.

Dear followers! It is me and I am real today I was at university in NNovgorod, the were about 100 students and some spicy questions .—
marat_safin (@safin_marat1) February 20, 2012

His account isn’t officially verified and, to be honest, his tweets just don’t sound like him. But the press secretary for Russia’s Nizhny Novgorod region, which Safin represents in the lower house of Parliament, confirmed it, as did Safin’s sister, Dinara Safina.

And just as he was able to whip fans into a frenzy during his playing days, his tentative foray into Twitter has left a string of screaming females and jealous husbands.

@olivia_vierinha I am not that gorgeous, I am the georgeoest —
marat_safin (@safin_marat1) February 20, 2012

But perhaps the most amusing aspect of this momentous event has been the reaction of the tennis community, which isn’t hiding its excitement. Laura Robson, who famously asked Safin to the Champions’ Ball when she won the junior Wimbledon title at age 14, “nonchalantly” tweeted her greetings, while Safin’s WTA Tour contemporaries didn’t hold back either.

I'm with her. RT @darren_cahill: I've never seen my wife so interested in twitter as she is today. Oh.. Marat Safin just joined?..—
Lindsay Davenport (@LDavenport76) February 20, 2012

As for Safin himself, assuming that it’s actually him (and if it’s not, this will have turned out to be a terrible prank on his sister), he’s still trying to figure out the medium. But he’s already shown signs of mastering one skill: encouraging fan interaction.

My the only one, followers! I don't have an opportunety to reply to everybody, if even I was unemployed, but I read every tweet! Thank u all—
marat_safin (@safin_marat1) February 20, 2012

I’m hoping that it is actually him and that he feels free to express himself on Twitter the way he expressed himself on the court.

Rumor is @safin_marat1 has joined Twitter. If his account is 1% of what he was like on the court this will be a blast for everyone.—
Amer Delic (@AmerDelic) February 20, 2012

Fingers crossed.

Michael Chang became the youngest man to win a Grand Slam title when he won Roland Garros at age 17 in 1989. (Pierre Gleizes/AP)

Michael Chang made a career out of setting almost every “youngest ever” stat in the books. On Wednesday he turned 40 years old, which is making the rest of us feel like “the oldest ever.”

The youngest and oft-overlooked fourth member of that Golden Boys era of American men’s tennis (alongside Pete Sampras, Andre Agassi and Jim Courier), Chang was initially its breakout star. At 15 years old he became the youngest player to win a main draw match at the U.S. Open and the youngest player to reach the semifinals of a Tour-level event. All these records were nothing compared to what he was to accomplish less than two years later. In 1989 he became the youngest man to win a Grand Slam title, beating Stefan Edberg in the Roland Garros final to win his first and only major title.

Ask most people about that final and you might get some blank stares. But ask people about his fourth-round comeback when down two sets to love against Ivan Lendl and you’re bound to get an emotional reaction. Chang battled cramps and rattled the unrattleable Czech with underhand serves, moonballs and precarious court positioning.  It was a career-defining win for Chang and one of the most memorable matches in tennis history.

His French Open title was the first for an American man at Roland Garros since Tony Trabert in 1955 and it propelled him into the top five three months later. He would go on to make two more Slam finals (the Australian Open and U.S. Open in 1996), reach a career-high rank of No. 2, and win 34 career titles before retiring in 2003. Not bad for a guy who was outsized and outgunned during his 15-year career.

Here we look back to some of the best of Michael Chang.

1. David slays Goliath: Or at least he makes Goliath’s brain melt. Down two sets and a break in the third set to world No. 1 Ivan Lendl in the fourth round of the 1989 French Open, Chang decided his best chance was to get the robotic Czech to start over-thinking. Lendl had beaten Chang two years earlier and he made the mistake of telling the 16-year-old exactly how he did it:

“You’ve got nothing that can hurt me,” Lendl told him. “You’ve got no serve; your second serve is not very strong. So, pretty much, whenever I play you, I can do whatever I want, however I want, and I’m going to beat you pretty comfortably like I did today.”

Chang clearly got the message. But after sneaking out the third and fourth sets, Chang’s legs were failing him. He realized even more so that he couldn’t beat Lendl with forehands and backhands, so he started using the one part of his body that wasn’t cramping that day: his brain. Stretching his legs between points, Chang still managed to scramble like a rabbit during play, knocking up moonballs, goading Lendl into errors, while also going for all-out winners to shorten points. Lendl couldn’t do ‘whatever he wanted, however he wanted’ because he didn’t know what to expect off Chang’s racket at any given moment.

The underhand serve at 4-3, 15-30 in the fifth set was probably the most memorable shot of the match, but seeing Chang practically stand at the service line to return Lendl’s serve on match point was the most “what the hell!” moment of the match. Lendl probably would agree. He was so discombobulated he double faulted on match point. Game, set, match, Chang, 4–6, 4–6, 6–3, 6–3, 6–3 in four hours and 39 minutes.

Here’s a video of both the underhand serve and match point. If he loses his serve, Lendl has two break points to get back on serve in the fifth set. Gutsy call.

Extended highlights from the match can be seen here and here.

2. Ending the drought: Chang goes on to beat Edberg in the French Open final, 6–1, 3–6, 4–6, 6–4, 6–2 in three hours and 41 minutes.

*****

3. The Scrambler: Even today, the speed and agility is remarkable.

*****

4. In his own words: Chang recalls in 1989 run to the French Open title, which coincided with the student protests in Tiananmen Square.

*****

5. Pump like Mike: Chang’s commercial for Reebok Pumps, possibly one of the greatest shoe marketing gimmicks of all time.

*****

What are your favorite Chang moments? Sound off in the comments to let us know.

Andy Roddick, who injured his ankle last week, fell from 17th to 27th in the rankings. (EPA)

Some numbers from around the tennis world:

27: Andy Roddick’s ranking, down 10 spots from last week and his lowest since being No. 30 in August 2001.

20: Ranking for Angelique Kerber, the first time she’s been in the top 20.

4: German women in the top 20, the first time that’s happened since 1988. Kerber (20th) is joined by Andrea Petkovic (10th), Sabine Lisicki (13th) and Julia Goerges (19th).

84: Percent of first-serve points won by Milos Raonic in his first 12 matches this year, an ATP high.

190: Aces for Raonic in those 12 matches, also a Tour high. No. 2 Tomas Berdych entered this week’s tournaments with 148 aces in 14 matches.

83-2: Raonic’s record in service games in eight career matches at the SAP Open, where he’s won back-to-back titles.

300: Career match victories for Agnieszka Radwanska after Tuesday’s win against Aleksandra Wozniak in Dubai. The 22-year-old Radwanska improved to 300-137.

12: Consecutive years that Roger Federer has won a singles title. He extended that streak with Sunday’s victory against Juan Martin del Potro in the Rotterdam final.

13: Consecutive years that Mark Knowles has won a doubles title. The 40-year-old Knowles teamed with Xavier Malisse to win the SAP Open last week. Knowles has won a doubles title in 19 of the last 20 years, with 1999 the only exception.

99: Career doubles finals for Knowles. He’s 55-44 in those matches.

171: Weeks as the WTA’s No. 1-ranked doubles player for Liezel Huber, second all time and 66 behind Martina Navratilova’s record 237 weeks.