2004 2Q Quiz

...the latest edition of the Backspin Quiz, with a special emphasis on the just completed 2nd Quarter.

==THE QUESTIONS==

1.Maria Sharapova, at 17, is the youngest WTA singles champion of 2004 (actually, she's the youngest AND second youngest after wins in both Birmingham & Wimbledon). Who's the youngest non-Supernova to walk away with a title?
a.Jelena Jankovic
b.Svetlana Kuznetsova
c.Vera Zvonareva
d.Claudine Schaul
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2.In May, Amelie Mauresmo became the third woman to win back-to-back Berlin and Rome Tier I titles in the same season. Who were the other two to accomplish the feat?
a.Steffi Graf & Martina Hingis
b.Steffi Graf & Arantxa Sanchez Vicario
c.Steffi Graf & Monica Seles
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3.What significant grand slam accomplishment did the two other players who won Berlin & Rome prior to Mauresmo also share in the seasons they pulled off the back-to-back Tier I feat? (no choices here, but you get an extra point if you get it right)
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4.Not surprisingly, over the last three seasons (2002-04) the players with the most WTA singles titles are Kim Clijsters (15), Justine Henin-Hardenne (14), Serena Williams (13) and Venus Williams (10). After the big four, two players are tied with seven singles championships. Can you name the pair?
a.Anastasia Myskina & Anna Smashnova-Pistolesi
b.Anastasia Myskina & Amelie Mauresmo
c.Amelie Mauresmo & Lindsay Davenport
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5.In Charleston, Conchita Martinez became the seventh woman to record 700 career match victories. Can you pick the other six players from the following list?

Martina Navratilova..Chris Evert
Lindsay Davenport....Margaret Court
Evonne Goolagong.....Steffi Graf
Arantxa Sanchez-V....Virginia Wade
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6.Four different Russian woman have combined for six singles titles on the WTA tour so far this season. Many more have won titles on the ITF circuit in 2004, too. But do you know which player has won the most titles there this year?
a.Vera Douchevina
b.Maria Kirilenko
c.Anna Tchakvetadze
d.Anastassia Rodionova
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7.Let's see how quickly you forget. What was the name of the Wimbledon chair umpire who made the mistake of awarding Karolina Sprem an additional point during the 2nd set tie-break of her 2nd Round match against Venus Williams?
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8.During the 3rd Quarter, Justine Henin-Hardenne will return to action. In addition to defending her US Open title, she'll also be attempting to extend her Tier I tournament match winning streak. What's her current winning streak in such events?
a.18
b.22
c.26
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9.The Russian Revolution officially moved into grand slam territory in the 2Q, with two members of the Horde claiming the first slam singles titles by Russian women. Can you match the following Russians with their Backspin nicknames?
a.The Czarina
b.Elle Dolce
c.v2.0
d.Punch-Sober
e.The Supernova
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1.Douchevina
2.Kirilenko
3.Sharapova
4.Dementieva
5.Myskina
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10.Martina Navratilova played seven WTA tour singles matches in the 2Q, against six different players. Martina's age is 47. Can you pick a two-player combination from her 2004 opponents list (below) whose current ages total a number within two years (45-49) of Martina's age?

Catalina Castano
Gisela Dulko
Amy Frazier
Elena Likhovtseva
Mara Santangelo
Milagros Sequera

==THE ANSWERS (2 pts. for each unless noted)==

1.B...Kuznetsova was just a week away from her 19th birthday when she won Eastbourne days before the start of Wimbledon. Jankovic (19 years, 2 months, 1 week) is the youngest non-Russian with a title, winning her first career WTA crown in Budapest in May.
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2.C...Graf (1987) and Seles (1990) were the only other two players to win Berlin and Rome in back-to-back weeks before Mauresmo did it this year.
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3.(3 points) Both Graf and Seles went on to take the Roland Garros crown those years. Mauresmo, though, only advanced to the QF in 2004.
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4.A...Myskina and Smashnova-Pistolesi both have won seven titles over the last two and a half seasons. Mauresmo has won six. The eighth-highest number of titles over the span is Maria Sharapova's four.
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5.(1 point for each correct) The six are Navratilova (1442), Evert (1304), Graf(900), Wade(839), Sanchez Vicario(759) and Goolagong(704). Court had 593, and Davenport was at 605 at the end of the 2nd Quarter.
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6.D...Rodionova is the only Russian with two ITF titles (Stockholm & Vaduz) at the end of the 2Q. Kirilenko and Tchakvetadze both have one. Douchevina has yet to play an ITF challenger event this year.
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7.Ted Watts
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8.C...JHH has won 26 straight Tier I singles matches.
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9.(1 point for each correct match) a-5 (Myskina/Czarina), b-1 (Douchevina/Elle Dolce), c-2 (Kirilenko/Maria v2.0), d-4 (Dementieva/Punch-Sober), e-3 (Sharapova/Supernova)
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10.(5-points for perfect answer)
Dulko, 19/Likhovtseva, 28 = 47.
(2-points for within 2 years) Castano, 25/Santangelo, 23 = 48, Castano, 25/Sequera, 23 = 48, Sequera, 23/Santangelo, 23 = 46. If you picked Frazier, 31/Dulko, 19 = 50, or Castano, 25/Dulko, 19 = 44 you get 0 points because you didn't get within two years of Martina's age.

==THE SCORING==

31-21...Supernova at Wimbledon
20-10...Czarina at Roland Garros
9-1.....Punch-Sober as Punch-Drunk
0.......Kournikova in 2004