The Ladies: As I suspected, the ladies' side very nearly came down to the veteran American bashers versus the lithe Russians (with only Paola Suarez and Amelie Mauresmo spoiling the sweep). Anastasia Mysinka sneaked past Venus to go up against J.Cap in the semis, a match that will likely send forth the eventual winner of the finals.

Amelie Mauresmo is a tough call: that she is seeded third here is more a tribute to her nationality than her talent. Her presence in the finals is La France's dearest wish, but as likely as Henman winning Wimbledon this year.

Dementieva is an outside shot, but she is terribly inconsistent, coming off a first round bounce at the Auusie Open. Mysinka, on the other hand, went to the quarters down under. On paper, both Dementieva and Mysinka beat big seeds to advance, but Mysinka beat Venus Williams. Dementieva beat Lindsay Davenport. No slight to Lindsay, but her seeding here (fifth) could not be taken with a straight face. She's no longer a serious threat, and next year's seedings will reflect that.