The Serena Quiz

Some things happen quickly. Some things take a little time before they become reality.

The long-overdue Serena Quiz is quite easily the latter.




1. True or False? Serena won in her first appearance in a final at all four slam events.
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2. How many consecutive singles matches did Serena win in WTA Championships/WTA Finals action between 2009-14?

a. 28
b. 24
c. 20
d. 16
e. 12
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3. What was Serena's career singles record vs. Steffi Graf?

a. 2-0
b. 2-1
c. 1-1
d. 1-2
e. 0-2
f. they never played
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4. To which player has Serena lost the most singles finals during her career?

a. Elena Dementieva
b. Venus Williams
c. Maria Sharapova
d. Victoria Azarenka
e. Justine Henin
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5. Three players have singles wins over both Serena and Venus in slam events, but have never been ranked #1 during their careers. How many can you name?
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6. Serena and Venus have faced off fourteen times in grand slam singles competition, making the all-sister match-up the second most common women's match in slam history. Which two women have played more often?

a. Evert & Austin
b. Navratilova & Evert
c. Graf & Sabatini
d. Graf & Sanchez
e. Evert & Mandlikova
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7. Serena swept Olympic Gold in singles and doubles in London in 2012. How many other women have accomplished the feat?

a. 3
b. 2
c. 1
d. 0
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8. Against which player has Serena lost five three-set matches, the most versus any player in her career?

a. Justine Henin
b. Venus Williams
c. Victoria Azarenka
d. Patty Schnyder
e. Jennifer Capriati
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9. Serena has famously been nearly untouchable in 1st Round slam singles matches, going 64-1, with her only loss coming to Virginie Razzano at Roland Garros in 2012. What's Serena's record vs. the French woman in their other career match-ups?

a. 10-0
b. 5-0
c. 3-0
e. 1-0
d. that was their only meeting
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10. True or False? Serena has never lost a match by dropping a 3rd set at love.
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11. Five players have defeated Serena more than once in grand slam match-ups. Pick the five:

a. Venus Williams
b. Maria Sharapova
c. Amelie Mauresmo
d. Jennifer Capriati
e. Kim Clijsters
f. Angelique Kerber
g. Justine Henin
h. Samantha Stosur
i. Garbine Muguruza
j. Lindsay Davenport
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12. Serena has playing thirteen singles matches in her Olympic career, going 11-2 and winning Gold in 2012. She played twelve different women in those matches. Who has she faced twice?

a. Samantha Stosur
b. Alize Cornet
c. Jelena Jankovic
d. Elena Dementieva
e. Ana Ivanovic
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13. Serena has participated in twelve #1-vs.-#2 matches in her career, going 9-1 as the #1-ranked player in the match-up, and 1-1 as the world #2. The same player handed her both of her career losses in such contests. Who's the player?

a. Victoria Azarenka
b. Justine Henin
c. Venus Williams
d. Kim Clijsters
e. Lindsay Davenport
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14. True or False? Serena has never won a tour-level women's doubles title with anyone but her sister Venus.
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15. What was Serena's career doubles record vs. Martina Navratilova?

a. 2-0
b. 2-1
c. 1-1
d. 1-2
e. 0-2
f. they never played
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BONUS QUESTION: What is the significance of the dates April 5, 1999 and July 8, 2002 in Serena's career?
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>>>[ 3 PTS. EACH UNLESS NOTED ]<<<
1. True - Williams won in her debut final appearances at all four slams. In the Australian Open, she won the 2003 title (and won her first six finals in Melbourne before losing to Kerber in the '16 final). She claimed the title in Paris is '02 in her first Roland Garros championship match, ultimately winning the first three times she played for the crown until losing to Muguruza in the '16 final. Serena became a Wimbledon champ after playing in her first SW19 final in '02, then won again the next year before falling to Sharapova in the '04 final. And, of course, Williams won in her maiden slam singles final at the U.S. Open in 1999 at age 17. She fell in her second final in New York, though, finishing runner-up to Venus in '01.
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2. d - Serena won a record sixteen straight matches in the tour's season-ending championships from 2009-14. She didn't participate in the event in 2010-11, but went undefeated while winning the title in 2009, '12 and '13 before finally losing to Simona Halep in her second of three round robin matches in the 2014 event. As it turned out, though, Halep's victory in her own final RR match allowed Williams to advance to the semifinals. Eventually, Serena faced off with Halep again in the final, defeating the Romanian to take the title.
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3. c - A then 17-year old Serena went 1-1 in her only two career match-ups vs. Graf, 29, in 1999. Graf won a 2nd Round match, 6-2/3-6/7-5, in Sydney in January, followed by Serena's win over the German in the Indian Wells final in March, 6-3/3-6/7-5. Graf would go on to win her final slam title at Roland Garros that spring, reach the Wimbledon final, then retire on August 13, 1999. In the first slam of the "post-Graf era," Serena won her first career major at the U.S. Open, defeating top-ranked Martina Hingis in the final. Williams' 2016 title at Wimbledon (at age 34) tied her with Graf for the most slam singles titles in the Open era, with both having claimed 22.
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4. d - Azarenka has defeated Serena in more finals (4) than any other player, one more than Venus' three wins. She's lost to the other three players listed -- Dementieva, Sharapova and Henin -- in two finals each during her career. Only Azarenka (2013 - Doha & Cincinnati) and Sharapova (2004 - Wimbledon & WTA Championships) have defeated Williams in multiple finals in the same season.
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5. [3 pts. for each correct answer; total possible: 9 pts.] Ekaterina Makarova, Sloane Stephens and Karolina Pliskova - Makarova defeated Serena in 2012 (AO), then Venus two years later (also in the AO). Stephens upset Serena in Australia in '13, then notched a win over Venus at Roland Garros in '15. Pliskova defeated both sisters at last year's U.S. Open. Interestingly, none of the three players won any of the slams in which they defeated a Williams, and all remain slam-less in their careers. Only Pliskova has reached a major final (at the same Open at which she defeated both sisters). Angelique Kerber had been on this list following her win over Serena in the '16 AO final and victory over Venus in the Wimbledon semis later in the season, but she then rose to #1 (supplanting Serena) following her title run at the U.S. Open (when she def. Pliskova in the final) last summer.
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6. b - All right, this one should have been pretty easy. Navratilova & Evert faced off 22 times in their slam careers, the most in women's slam history. Evert/Mandlikova occurred 13 times, as did Graf/Sanchez. Graf played Sabatini 12 times. Evert & Austin played just four times in slam competition.
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7. b - Two other women have swept the singles/doubles competitions at the same Olympic games: Helen Wills in 1924, and Venus Williams in 2000.
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8. e - Williams lost five three-setters to Jennifer Capriati, more than against any other player. Venus has four three-set wins over Serena, while Justine Henin, Patty Schnyder and Sandrine Testud each won three. Other active singles players with two three-set victories: Victoria Azarenka, Svetlana Kuznetsova and Samantha Stosur. Martina Hingis also notched a pair of three-set wins over Serena in her singles career.
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9. d - The 2012 match in Paris is Williams and Razzano's only meeting (so far).
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10. False - Serena has lost two 3rd sets at love in her singles career. The first came against Mary Joe Fernandez in the 3rd Round of Roland Garros in 1999, 3-6/6-1/0-6. The second came against Venus, a 7-5/1-6/0-6 round robin defeat at the 2008 WTA Championships. Serena withdrew from the latter event with a stomach injury after the loss. Incidentally, MJF also withdrew due to injury before her 4th Round match at RG in '99 after defeating Serena one round earlier.
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11. [2 pts. for each correct answer; total possible: 10 pts.] (a)V.Williams, (d)Capriati, (g)Henin, (h)Stosur and (i)Muguruza - Not surprisingly, Venus (w/ 4) has more slam wins over Serena than any other player, and is the only one to defeat her in two major finals (2001 U.S./2008 Wimbledon). Four of Capriati's seven career victories over Serena were in slams, including in their last meeting in the '04 U.S. Open QF. They never met in a slam final. Henin's four wins came four years apart, as she followed up her '03 victory at Roland Garros with three straight slam QF victories in 2007 (RG-WI-US). Stosur won in the '10 RG QF, then defeated Serena to claim her maiden slam singles crown one year later at the U.S. Open. Both of Muguruza's wins have come in Paris, in the 2nd Round in '14 and then the final in '16. All five of Williams' matches vs. the Spaniard have been in majors, with Serena winning three.
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12. b - Williams has gone 2-0 vs. Cornet in the Olympics, defeating her in the 3rd Round in Beijing in 2008, then again in the 2nd Round eight years later in Rio.
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13. a - Victoria Azarenka handed Serena both her losses in #1-vs.-#2 match-ups. Both matches occurred in 2013, with Azarenka defeating Williams in Doha as the #1 ranked player, then again with Serena at #1 in the tour rankings in Cincinnati. Over the next five months, though, top-ranked Serena downed #2 Azarenka in two more #1-vs.-#2 meetings at the U.S. Open later in the '13 season, then again in Brisbane at the start of 2014.
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14. False - Serena has won 23 career women's doubles titles. 22 have come with Venus by her side, but she claimed one additional title with Alexandra Stevenson in Leipzig in 2002.
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15. a - Playing with Venus, Serena was 2-0 in career doubles matches vs. Martina Navratilova. The matches took place over seven years apart, with the sisters winning in the 3rd Round of the '03 Australian Open (def. Kuznetsova/Navratilova 6-2/6-3), then again in the 2000 Wimbledon QF (def. de Swardt/Navratilova 4-6/6-2/6-1). The sisters also advanced via a walkover past Navratilova/Sanchez-Vicario in the '01 Wimbledon 3rd Round. Of additional historical note, Serena actually played doubles WITH Navratilova in one event, in Tokyo in 2002, when Serena was 20, and Navratilova 45. They went 1-1, defeating C.Martinez/Pratt, but losing in the QF to Kuznetsova/Sanchez-Vicario.
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BONUS: [3 pts. for each correct answer; total possible: 6 pts.] - The April '99 date is when Serena made her Top 10 singles debut, while the July '02 date is when she occupied the #1 ranking for the first time in her career.
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50-64 pts. - The elusive Grand Slam season
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40-49 pts. - Serena Slam II at age 33
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33-39 pts. - Serena Slam I at age 21
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24-32 pts. - U.S. Open champion at age 17
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13-23 pts. - Hey, Serena lost to Sharapova a few times in '04. But never again.
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0-12 pts. - Razzano in Paris
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All for now.

The Supersized Olympic Tennis Quiz

The tennis competition in Rio is nearly underway, and the Backspin Olympic Tennis Quiz is here. Right now. In super-sized form, in fact.

I've combined the first two Olympic quizzes (with the Q&A's updated and, in some cases, re-written) with a whole new set of questions for something of a monster-sized test of Olympic tennis knowledge, though it admittedly comes up a bit short of being the sort of "monster" that might just be living at the bottom of the sewage-filled Rio waters some of the athletes will be competing in during the Rio games. But luckily, here, it's safe to not go into the water.

Oh, and if you want to take the WHOLE quiz and keep score, then it's all pretty self-explanatory. But if you want to just test yourself with the questions not included in the two previous Backspin Olympic Tennis quizzes, just jump around to the blue-colored questions. There are two sets of scoring charts at the end, depending on which route you choose to take.



In general, these questions refer to Olympic tennis since the sport returned to the games in 1988, unless otherwise noted.



1. Who did Steffi Graf defeat in the singles final in Seoul to collect the Olympic leg of her 1988 "Golden Slam?"

a. Gabriela Sabatini
b. Martina Navratilova
c. Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario
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2. How many former #1-ranked players did Serena Williams defeat en route to her first Olympic singles Gold in London in 2012?

a. 2
b. 3
c. 4
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3. How old was Jennifer Capriati when she won Olympic singles Gold?

a. 16
b. 17
c. 18
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4. Only one head-to-head Medal Match (Gold or Bronze) has been contested between two women representing nations in which they were not born. What was the match-up?

a. Monica Seles vs. Jelena Dokic
b. Martina Hingis vs. Mary Pierce
c. Martina Hingis vs. Monica Seles
d. Martina Navratilova vs. Manuela Maleeva-Fragniere
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5. True or False? In 2012, when Serena Williams, Maria Sharapova and Victoria Azarenka filled the medal stand, it marked the only Olympiad in which all the women's singles medalists had been ranked #1 at some point during their careers.

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6. True or False? While both Williams sisters have swept Olympic Gold in both singles and doubles in a singles games (Venus in Sydney in 2000, Serena in London in '12), there has never been a male player who's swept both titles at the same Olympics since tennis returned as a medal sport in 1988.
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7. Which Swiss has won an Olympic Gold in men's singles?

a. Roger Federer
b. Marc Rosset
c. Stan Wawrinka
d. Jakob Hlasek
e. no Swiss man has ever won Olympic Gold in singles
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8. True or False? China has never won an Olympic medal in tennis.
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9. True or False? Other than Justine Henin, no other Belgian has ever won an Olympic medal in tennis.

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10. Which two teenagers won the Los Angeles '84 tournament when tennis was a demonstration event before its re-introduction as a medal sport in '88?

a. Steffi Graf & Boris Becker
b. Steffi Graf & Stefan Edberg
c. Gabriela Sabatini & Boris Becker
d. Hana Mandlikova & Pat Cash
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11. In the seven Olympic tennis competitions since the sport's return to the games in 1988, how many of the seven #1 seeds have won the women's singles Gold?

a. 4
b. 3
c. 2
d. 1
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12. Two women have won doubles medals with multiple players. Who are they?

a. Mary Joe Fernandez & Lisa Raymond
b. Rennae Stubbs & Gigi Fernandez
c. Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario & Conchita Martinez
d. Conchita Martinez & Virginia Ruano Pascual
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13. Yes or No? While several siblings -- the Williamses, Bryans and even the Dohertys way back in 1900 -- have claimed medals as duos throughout Olympic history, has any married pair ever combined their efforts en route to the tennis medal stand?
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14. True or False? Andy Murray's Gold Medal performance in London in 2012 ended a longer stretch of years between British men's Olympic singles champions than the long drought of British men's singles slam champs that he ended by winning Wimbledon in 2013.
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15. True or False? Since 1988, Andy Murray and Jennifer Capriati are the only players to win singles Gold as a member of the Olympic team of the host nation.
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BONUS: Only four women have played in a singles medal match (Gold or Bronze) in her home country at the Olympics since the sport's return in 1988. Pick them:

a. Conchita Martinez (Barcelona '92)
b. Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario (Barcelona '92)
c. Lindsay Davenport (Atlanta '96)
d. Mary Joe Fernandez (Atlanta '96)
e. Jelena Dokic (Sydney '00)
f. Alicia Molik (Sydney '00)
g. Eleni Daniilidou (Athens '04)
h. Li Na (Beijing '08)
i. Zheng Jie (Beijing '08)
j. Peng Shuai (Beijing '08)
h. Elena Baltacha (London '12)
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16. Serena Williams has only participated in singles at two Olympics. She won in 2012, but lost in the QF in 2008. Which Russian defeated her?

a. Maria Sharapova
b. Dinara Safina
c. Elena Dementieva
d. Vera Zvonareva
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17. There have been seven Olympiads since tennis returned to the Games in 1988. Three of seven men's singles Gold winners don't also have grand slam singles titles to their credit. How many of the six women's Gold Medalists are also slam-less?

a. 0 (they've all won slams)
b. 1
c. 2
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18. True or False? Serena Williams and Steffi Graf are the only players -- women or men -- who have won a "Career Six Pack" of the six biggest singles titles available in the sport (the four slams, Olympic Gold and the WTA/ATP season-ending championships)
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19. From this list, pick the two doubles duos that have also accomplished the same "Six Pack" mentioned in Question #18.

a. Martina Navratilova & Pam Shriver
b. Todd Woodbridge & Mark Woodforde
c. Jana Novotna & Helena Sukova
d. Mahesh Bhupathi & Leander Paes
e. Serena Williams & Venus Williams
f. Bob Bryan & Mike Bryan
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20. True or False? Victoria Azarenka's Singles Bronze in 2012 is the only Olympic tennis medal ever claimed by Belarus.
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21. Pick from the following list the three match-ups that have occurred as Gold Medal Matches as well as in grand slam Finals:

a. Steffi Graf vs. Gabriela Sabatini
b. Steffi Graf vs. Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario
c. Lindsay Davenport vs. Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario
d. Lindsay Davenport vs. Martina Hingis
e. Venus Williams vs. Serena Williams
f. Justine Henin vs. Amelie Mauresmo
g. Justine Henin vs. Kim Clijsters
h. Serena Williams vs. Maria Sharapova
i. Serena Williams vs. Victoria Azarenka
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22. Behind both Serena and Venus Williams, who has won the THIRD-most Olympic medals while representing the U.S. since the sport returned to the Olympics in 1988?

a. Lindsay Davenport
b. Bob & Mike Bryan
c. Pam Shriver
d. Mary Joe Fernandez
e. Jennifer Capriati
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23. Approximately how many months was Justine Henin out of action before she arrived in Athens and won the singles Gold?

a. one
b. three
c. five
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24. How many women's singles medalists since 1988 never reached a slam singles final in their careers?

a. 0
b. 1
c. 2
d. 3
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25. True or False? No woman has won more overall Olympic medals in doubles than Conchita Martinez.

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26. How many different Russian women have won Olympic medals in tennis (WS/WD/MX) since 1988?

a. 5
b. 6
c. 7
d. 8
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27. Two women have won singles medals of multiple colors. Who are they?

a. Lindsay Davenport & Mary Joe Fernandez
b. Steffi Graf & Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario
c. Steffi Graf & Elena Dementieva
d. Jana Novotna & Elena Dementieva
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28. True or False? Every Olympic tennis medal stand -- Gold, Silver and Bronze winners -- has included at least one former slam singles champ.
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29. Serena & Venus Williams have won women's doubles Gold at multiple Olympics, but they aren't the only female duo to accomplish the feat. Who comprised the other multiple Gold-winning team?

a. Jana Novotna & Helena Sukova
b. Conchita Martinez & Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario
c. Mary Joe Fernandez & Lindsay Davenport
d. Mary Joe Fernandez & Gigi Fernandez
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30. In 1926, Suzanne Lenglen and Helen Wills played in what was dubbed "The Match of the Century," the only meeting in the careers of the two players considered the greatest in the women's game in the first half of the 20th century. Lenglen won that match. Both also won multiple Olympic medals during tennis' original stint in the games, but which of the two women won the MOST medals?
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>>>[ 3 PTS. EACH UNLESS NOTED ]<<<
1. a. - Graf defeated Sabatini, 6-3/6-3 in the Seoul final in 1988. Sabatini would also lose in the final to Graf in another leg of the German's "Golden Slam" that season, at the U.S. Open. But, two years later, Sabatini would defeat Graf at the U.S. Open to claim her only slam singles title. The Argentine won a doubles slam title at Wimbledon in 1988, as well... while partnering Graf, of course.
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2. c. - Williams defeated four former #1's (Jankovic, Wozniacki, Azarenka & Sharapova), as well as a former #2 (Zvonareva), while winning singles Gold at Wimbledon in the '12 games. In maybe THE "time capsule"-worthy performance of her entire career, Serena lost just twenty games through the six rounds, never losing a set. And, of course, she also won her third Olympic Gold in doubles with Venus, too.
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3. a. - Capriati was 16 in Barcelona '92 when she defeated Steffi Graf in the singles final. It would be eight and a half years before she'd finally win her first slam title at the Australian Open in 2001.
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4. a. - Monica Seles (USA = born in Novi Sad, Yugoslavia) defeated Jelena Dokic (AUS = born in Osijek, Croatia but later representing Yugoslavia) in the Bronze Medal Match in Sydney in 2000.
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5. True. - 2012 was the first time all the women's singles medalists were one-time #1-ranked players. In 1992, Jennifer Capriati (Gold), Steffi Graf (Silver) and Arantxa Sanchez Vicario (Bronze) met the standard, but at those Olympics there was no head-to-head match to decide 3rd/4th place, so Mary Joe Fernandez (who reached only #4) shared the Bronze medal honors with ASV.
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6. False. - Chile's Nicolas Massu won both singles and doubles Gold in Athens in 2004.
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7. b. - Marc Rosset won the singles Gold in '92. Federer has never won an Olympic singles medal (he lost the Bronze Medal match in '00, then won Silver in '12), but he and Wawrinka did claim the doubles Gold in Bejiing in '08.
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8. False. - Though China has never won an Olympic medal in singles (Li Na lost in the Bronze Match in '08), Li Ting/Sun Tiantian won Gold in doubles in 2004 in Athens, while Yan Zi/Zheng Jie took Bronze in 2008 in Beijing.
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9. False. - Els Callens & Dominique van Roost claimed the 2000 Bronze in doubles in Sydney, defeating Belarus' Olga Barabanschikova & Natasha Zvereva in the Bronze Match.
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10. b. - Steffi Graf (at 15, the youngest player in the competition) and Stefan Edberg (18) won the demonstration event in Los Angeles. Graf won Gold (1988) and Silver (1992) in singles in later official Olympic tennis events, while Edberg won singles Bronze in 1988.
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11. c. - Only two of the seven women's singles #1 seeds -- Steffi Graf in '88 and Justine Henin-Hardenne in '04 -- have won Gold. Of the other five #1 seeds, only two have won other medals -- Graf ('92 Silver) and Victoria Azarenka ('12 Bronze). 1996 #1 Monica Seles lost in the QF, 2000 #1 Lindsay Davenport withdraw with an injury in the 2nd Round, and 2008 #1 Ana Ivanovic pulled out of the event before playing her 1st Round match. Gold medalist Serena Williams was the #4 seed in London in 2012.
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12. d. - Conchita Martinez & Virginia Ruano Pascual are the only women who've won doubles medals with more than one person. Martinez won with Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario (1992, '96) & Ruano Pascual ('04), while Ruano Pascual also won with Anabel Medina-Garrigues ('08).
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13. No... well, and yes (so you get points here no matter your answer). - In fact, France's husband & wife duo of Max & Marie Decugis DID win Gold at the 1906 Second International Olympic Games in Athens, which were originally set up as an officially recognized games to take place in Athens in intermediate years, between the regular Olympics held in other cities. Such an "in-between" Olympiad were never held again, and this competition is now known as the "Intercalated Games." The winners of medals in all sports in 1906 are no longer viewed as "official" Olympic medalists, as the status was retroactively revoked by the IOC.
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14. True. - While Murray's 2012 U.S. Open win was the first slam title claimed by a British male in seventy-six years (Fred Perry - 1936), his 2012 Olympic Gold ended an even longer drought of 104 years, as the last Brit to take the men's singles Gold was Josiah Ritchie in 1908 (also in London).
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15. False. - While there has been only one woman who's won singles Gold in her home nation, it wasn't Capriati, it was Lindsay Davenport. She did so in Atlanta in 1996, the same Games in which her countryman Andre Agassi won the men's title. Agassi and Murray ('12 London) are the only men's singles Gold medalists to win in front of a home crowd (though, if we want to split hairs, Murray is from Scotland, but he won Gold in London, England). Capriati, by the way, won HER Gold in '92 in Barcelona.
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BONUS: (3 pts. for each correct answer; total: 12 pts.) c, d, e, h - Davenport won singles Gold in Atlanta, while Fernandez lost the Bronze match in the same Games. Dokic (Sydney) and Li (Beijing) also lost in Bronze medal matches.
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16. c. - Dementieva defeated Serena Williams in three sets in the QF of the 2008 Olympics. Dementieva went on to win the Gold in the Russian sweep of the medals, as Safina took Silver and Zvonareva the Bronze. Sharapova didn't participate in her first Olympics until 2012, when she lost in the Gold Medal Match to Williams. Serena didn't qualify for the '00 Olympics, and pulled out of the '04 games in Athens one week before the start of play due to a knee injury.
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17. b. - the only women's singles Gold medalist who hasn't also won a singles slam title is Elena Dementieva (2008).
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18. False. - There is a third player who has also claimed all six singles titles in their career -- Graf's husband, Andre Agassi. Of the players active in 2016, Novak Djokovic needs only Olympic singles Gold to accomplish the career feat, while Rafael Nadal is missing only the season-ending ATP World Tour Finals title on his resume. Roger Federer had needed only Olympic singles Gold, but since missed the Rio Olympics due to a knee injury, it would seem assured that the 35-year old Swiss great will now forever be one major title short of a "Six Pack." Although, Federer DID win Olympic Gold in men's doubles with Stan Wawrinka in 2008.
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19. (3 pts. for each correct answer; total: 6 pts.) b & f - The only doubles duo to pull off the "Six Pack" are Woodbridge/Woodforde and the Bryan twins. Serena & Venus Williams still need a WTA Finals title to complete the collection. Three other individual doubles players have pulled off the feat with multiple partners: Gigi Fernandez, Daniel Nestor and Pam Shriver.
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20. False. - It's not the only one. In fact, Azarenka and Max Mirnyi teamed to win the 2012 Mixed Doubles Bronze, as well. It was the first MX competition held in Olympics competition in eighty-eight years. Of note, Belarus-born Natasha Zvereva won Women's Doubles Bronze in 1992, but as a member of the "Unified Team" (informally called the Commonwealth of Independent States team), which consisted of twelve of the fifteen former Soviet republics following the fall of the U.S.S.R..
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21. (3 pts. for each correct answer; total: 9 pts.) - a, f & h - the only three women's Gold Medal Match match-ups that have also been grand slam finals are Graf vs. Sabatini (1988, and in three slam finals), Henin vs. Mauresmo ('04, and in two slam finals that same year) and S.Williams vs. Sharapova ('12, and in four slam finals)
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22. d. - Mary Joe Fernandez's three medals stand third on the U.S. list (2 Gold & a Bronze). MJF came close to a fourth medal, the same number as Venus and Serena, but lost the 1996 Bronze Medal Match to Jana Novotna.
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23. b. - Henin was out about three months prior to Athens with what was later diagnosed as the cytomegalovirus, not playing after an early loss at Roland Garros in late May until the Games began in mid-August. After winning the Gold, she played four matches at the U.S. Open and then missed the rest of the season.
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24. c. - only two of the twenty-three women's singles medalists from 1988-2012 never reached a slam final: Manuela Maleeva (1988 Bronze) and Alicia Molik (2004 Bronze). Maleeva's best slam results were a pair of semifinals at the U.S. Open in 1992 and '93, while Molik reached the QF of the Australian Open in 2005.
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25. True. - No woman has won MORE Olympic medals in doubles than Conchita Martinez's three, but two others have claimed just as many. Martinez won three total medals at three different Olympic Games between 1992-2004 -- one Gold and two Silvers; while Serena and Venus Wiliams (with a trio of Golds) tied her total with their 2012 win in London. Of course, they alone could become the winningest WD medalists with a place on the medal stand in Rio this summer.
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26. b. - Six different Russian women have won Olympic medals in tennis since 1988: Elena Dementieva (2000 WS Silver/2008 WS Gold), Dinara Safina (2008 WS Silver), Vera Zvonareva (2008 WS Bronze), Maria Sharapova (2012 WS Silver), Maria Kirilenko (2012 WD Bronze) and Nadia Petrova (2012 WD Bronze). Former U.S.S.R. representatives Leila Meskhi (born in Georgia) & Natasha Zvereva (Belarus) won Doubles Bronze as members of the Unified Team in 1992.
===============================================
27. c. - Steffi Graf ('88 Gold & '92 Silver) & Elena Dementieva ('00 Silver & '08 Gold) are the only two women with singles medals of different hues.
===============================================
28. False. - In 2008, all three medalists -- in order, Elena Dementieva, Dinara Safina & Vera Zvonareva -- failed to win slam singles titles during their careers. All three did reach slam finals, though, going a combined 0-7 (Dementieva 0-2, Safina 0-3, Zvonareva 0-2). In the '08 Bronze Medal Match, Zvonareva defeated Li Na, who would later win two slam titles. Dementieva also won a Silver medal in 2000, and is the only multiple singles medalist without a slam title. The other medalists since '88 without a slam title are Zina Garrison (1988 Bronze), Manuela Maleeva (1988 Bronze), Mary Joe Fernandez (1992 Bronze) and Alicia Molik (2004 Bronze).
===============================================
29. d. - Mary Joe Fernandez & Gigi Fernandez won Gold in 1992 and 1996. Novotna/Sukova ('88 & '96 Silver) and Martinez/Sanchez-Vicario ('92 Silver & '96 Bronze) both won two medals, but neither duo ever took Gold.
===============================================
30. Lenglen. - Both the U.S.'s Wills (1924) and France's Lenglen (1920) won singles Gold. Wills won an additional Gold in doubles in '24 to give her two career Olympic medals. Lenglen won three, also claiming Mixed Doubles Gold and Women's Doubles Bronze in the 1920 games. Lenglen was especially dominant while claiming her '20 singles Gold in Antwerp, winning sixty of sixty-four games in six matches, putting up three double-bagel victories. Three of the four total games lost by Lenglen came in the final vs. Brit Edith Holman. In Paris in '24, Wills won forty-eight of sixty-two games through four matches, but never posted a love set.
===============================================




GOLD: 99-111 / 36-42 - Yes! Singles Gold for you! Even Fed doesn't have that.
===============================================
SILVER: 72-96 / 27-33 - Don't feel bad, Steffi Graf won Olympic Silver once. (Psssst, way to go not reminding them that she won Gold, too... wait, can they see this?)
===============================================
BRONZE: 45-69 / 18-24 - Good job! Li Na LOST a Bronze medal match, but still won two slam titles and is the idol of billions. So, you know, you've only got a little bit more to get accomplished.
===============================================
TIN: 18-42 / 12-15 - Umm, did you know that bronze generally contains about 12% tin? Well, now you do.
===============================================
PAPER BAG: 0-15 / 0-9 - Hey, at least you could use your prize to catch the vomit after an afternoon swim in Rio! No one goes away empty-handed.
===============================================


All for now.

The Justine Henin (La Petit Taureau) Quiz

In honor of the Hall of Fame induction of Justine Henin, here it is: the long, long awaited (well, overdue, at least) La Petit Taureau Quiz.

So everyone put your thinking caps on. Yes, you too, Justine.

1. True or False? Henin spent more time at WTA singles #1 during the 2000's (2000-2009) than any other player.
===============================================
2. What is noteworthy about Henin's debut WTA event in Antwerp in 1999?
a. she won her first match 6-0/6-0
b. she defeated a Top 10 player in the 1st Round
c. she won the tournament singles title
d. heavy, week-long rain forced the event to be cancelled
===============================================
3. Who did Henin defeat in the final to win the 1997 Roland Garros girls singles title?
a. Kim Clijsters
b. Cara Black
c. Virginie Razzano
d. Elena Dementieva
===============================================
4. Against which British player did Henin record her final match win in her last tournament, the 2011 Australian Open?
a. Elena Baltacha
b. Laura Robson
c. Anne Keothavong
d. Heather Watson
===============================================
5. True or False? At the 2007 U.S. Open, Henin became the only woman to defeat both Venus and Serena Williams in singles in the same tournament for a second time in her career.
===============================================
6. Henin's career-long match winning streak was stretched over two seasons in 2007-08. How many matches in a row did she win?
a. 34 matches
b. 33 matches
c. 32 matches
d. 31 matches
===============================================
7. EXTRA POINTS QUESTION: Who ended the above streak?
===============================================
8. Henin's 2004 2nd Round loss at Roland Garros to Tathiana Garbin is tied with one other result for the earliest exit in Paris by the women's #1 seed in the Open era. Which other player lost so early?
a. Serena Williams
b. Kim Clijsters
c. Ana Ivanovic
d. Caroline Wozniacki
===============================================
9. How many season-ending Top 10 rankings did Henin collect during her career?
a. 10
b. 9
c. 8
d. 7
===============================================
10. True or False? Both phases of Henin's career, in 2008 and 2011, ended with the Belgian suffering losses at the hands of a Russian.
===============================================




>>>[ 3 PTS. EACH UNLESS NOTED ]<<<
1. True - All 117 weeks in which Henin was ranked #1 in the world took place during the 2000's, more weeks than any other woman during the decade.
===============================================
2. c - Henin, 16, claimed the singles title at her debut WTA event in Antwerp in May 1999. Her first tour-level win came over Lubomira Bacheva (6-2/6-1), and she won the title while dropping just one set in five matches, taking the final by a 6-1/6-2 score over Sarah Pitkowski. She was the fifth of now six players who have won their debut WTA event: Tracy Austin (1977), Petra Langrova (1988), Mirjana Lucic (1997), Katarina Srebotnik (1999), Henin (1999) and Angelique Widjaja (2001).
===============================================
3. b - Henin defeated Cara Black 4-6/6-4/6-4 in the RG girls final to claim her only junior slam title. She defeated French players Virginie Razzano (2nd Rd.) and Nathalie Dechy (SF) en route to the final. In her other junior slam appearances, Henin lost in qualifying at the '96 RG and in the QF at both the '97 Wimbledon and U.S. Open.
===============================================
4. a - Henin's final match win came with a 6-1/6-3 2nd Round victory over Elena Baltacha. It was the first singles match Henin had played against a British woman since 2000 (in a $75K challenger). Baltacha and Anne Keothavong (a qualifier) were the only British woman in the Australian Open main draw in 2011. Baltacha would die of liver cancer at age 30 in May 2014.
===============================================
5. False - While Henin did defeat both Venus and Serena at the '07 U.S. Open en route to her final slam crown, the only player to ever defeat both of the Williams Sisters in a single event TWICE in her career was... Kim Clijsters. The Belgian did it at the WTA Championships in 2002 and at the U.S. Open in 2009. She won both titles. Only five other woman have accomplished the feat just once -- Arantxa Sanchez ('98 Sydney), Steffi Graf ('99 Sydney), Martina Hingis ('01 Australian), Lindsay Davenport ('04 L.A.) and Jelena Jankovic ('10 Rome).
===============================================
6. c - Henin's streak reached 32 matches (25 in '07, then 7 more in '08).
===============================================
7. BONUS (5 points) Maria Sharapova - Sharapova ended the 2007-08 winning streak with a win over Henin in the '08 Australian Open QF. Henin had defeated the Russian in the three-set, 3:24 WTA Championships final in Madrid (the longest recorded final in WTA history) to end the '07 season.
===============================================
8. a - The only other world #1 other than Henin in 2004 to lose as early as the 2nd Round at Roland Garros was Serena Williams, who was upset in the 2nd Round in 2014 by Garbine Muguruza. Of note, Henin's '04 loss to Tathiana Garbin, which occurred when the Belgian was in the early stages of battling the energy-sapping cytomegalovirus, was her only loss in the event (29-1) over a five-year stretch from 2003-07.
===============================================
9. d - Henin had seven Top 10 season-ending rankings in her career, all consecutively from 2001 to 2007, with three #1 seasons in '03, '06 and '07. She retired for the first time in May '08 while ranked #1, but (unlike with some recently retired players) her name was dropped from the WTA's computer rankings one week later. In her comeback year of 2010, she finished #12 despite not playing the second half of the season after injuring her elbow at Wimbledon.
===============================================
10. True - Henin's final loss before her first retirement in '08 came in the Berlin 3rd Round vs. Dinara Safina, while her final loss before her second retirement in '11 came in the 3rd Round of the Australian Open at the hands of Svetlana Kuznetsova.
===============================================





29-32 pts. - 2003 U.S. Open Semifinal/Final
==============================
23-28 pts. - 2007 Season
==============================
16-21 pts. - 2004 Athens Olympics
==============================
9-15 pts. - LPT 2
==============================
0-8 pts. - The Wave
==============================



All for now.

The April 2016 (prepping-for-Rio) Quiz

It's been a while, my old ten-question friend. But the time feels right to take at least one practice lap around the ol' quiz track before the Backspin Olympic Tennis Quiz III arrives this summer. So, focusing on items from the first few months of the 2016 season...

1. The Czechs have advanced to their fifth Fed Cup final in the last six years, making it possible that either Petra Kvitova or Lucie Safarova could provide a title-clinching singles win for the second time in their career. Kvitova clinched the 2014 title with a Day 2 singles victory, while Safarova did the same in 2012. Who is the only active singles player with two FC title-clinching singles wins in her career?

a. Roberta Vinci
b. Svetlana Kuznetsova
c. Sara Errani
d. Venus Williams
===============================================
2. Who is the only player to defeat two tournament #1 seeds through the first fifteen weeks of the 2016 season?

a. Daria Kasatkina
b. Roberta Vinci
c. Victoria Azarenka
d. Svetlana Kuznetsova
===============================================
3. We know that Sania Mirza is the #1-ranked doubles player from India. But who is ranked #1 in singles?

a. Prarthana Thombare
b. Ankita Raina
c. Sri Peddi Reddy
d. Sania Mirza (so this would be a trick question)

===============================================
4. Kristina Mladenovic won the Charleston doubles with Caroline Garcia, her first title with her fellow Pastry. Kiki has now won twenty-three professional doubles titles (WD/MX in slam, WTA, WTA 125 and ITF events) with sixteen different partners. Who is the only player who has won more than two titles with Mladenovic by their side?

a. Timea Babos
b. Daniel Nestor
c. Galina Voskoboeva
d. Naomi Broady
===============================================
5. 2015 Australian Open girls champ Tereza Mihalikova returned to Melbourne this year and reached the final again, losing to Vera Lapko. Who was the last girls slam singles champ to once more reach the final at the same event one year later?

a. Barbora Strycova
b. Ons Jabeur
c. Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova
d. Laura Robson
===============================================

6. The 2016 season has seen WTA singles titles won by two non-Williams Bannerettes named Stephens and Falconi. How many times, starting in 2004, have three or more U.S. players other than Venus or Serena claimed WTA singles crowns?

a. 1
b. 2
c. 3
d. the last time it happened was 2003
===============================================
7. Aga Radwanska has the longest current streak of weeks in the singles Top 20 (426 after Week 15). Who has the second-longest streak?

a. Serena Williams
b. Maria Sharapova
c. Petra Kvitova
d. Angelique Kerber
===============================================
8. There has not been an official "#1 vs. #2" singles battle on tour in 2016. While Angelique Kerber rose to #2 after her Australian Open win over #1 Serena Williams, the German was ranked #6 at the time of the match. The last #1-vs.-#2 match-up came over a year ago, when #1 Williams defeated then-#2 Maria Sharapova in the 2015 Australian Open final. What was the most recent #1-vs.-#2 before that one?

a. 2014 WTA Finals - Serena Williams/Simona Halep
b. 2014 Miami Final - Serena Williams/Li Na
c. 2013 U.S. Final - Serena Williams/Victoria Azarenka
d. 2013 Cincinnati Final - Victoria Azarenka/Serena Williams
===============================================

9. True or False? 18-year old Doha singles runner-up Jelena Ostapenko is the youngest finalist -- singles or doubles -- on tour in 2016?
===============================================
10. (FOR EXTRA POINTS) What did Victoria Azarenka, Aga Radwanska, Sloane Stephens, Hingis/Mirza and Viktorija Golubic all do in the same week in January of 2016?
===============================================



>>>[ 3 pts. each unless noted ]<<<
1. b - Svetlana Kuznetsova is the only active player who has twice clinched a Fed Cup title with a singles victory in the final, doing so for Russia in both 2007 and '08. Recently retired Italian Flavia Pennetta did it twice in 2009-10. Other than Kuznetsova, Kvitova and Safarova, the only other active player with such a win is Italy's Sara Errani (2013).
===============================================
2. d - Svetlana Kuznetsova is the only player who has defeated a tournament's #1 seed twice thus far in 2016. She won out over Simona Halep in the semifinals in Sydney, where the Russian went on to win the title, and Serena Williams in the 4th Round in Miami. Kuznetsova reached the final there, losing to Victoria Azarenka.
===============================================
3. b - Ankita Raina. Ranked just inside the Top 250, Raina is the only Indian woman ranked in the Top 400 in singles on the WTA tour.
===============================================
4. a - Babos has won three WTA doubles titles with Mladenovic, more than any other player. Mladenovic has won thirteen WTA doubles crowns with ten different partners. She's won two titles each with the other three players listed: Nestor (2 mixed slams), Voskoboeva (2 WTA) and Broady (2 ITF).
===============================================
5. c - Pavlyuchenkova won back-to-back AO girls titles in 2006-07. Jabeur had been the most recent junior to reach back-to-back finals at a major, losing at Roland Garros in 2010 and then winning the title a year later. Robson lost back-to-back AO singles final in 2009-10, while Strycova won consecutive AO girls crowns in 2002-03.
===============================================
6. a - One. 2014 is the only season since 2004 in which three non-Williams U.S. women won tour-level singles titles, with Madison Keys, Alison Riske and CoCo Vandeweghe all winning maiden crowns that year. Venus won her first title in 1998, with Serena taking hers in 1999. From 1999-2003, there were at least four non-Williams champions in each season.
===============================================
7. b - Sharapova is second with 288 weeks (after Week 15)
===============================================
8. b - The 2014 Miami final between #1 Williams and then-#2 Li was the only other #1-vs.-#2 match-up in the last twenty-five months. That's not the most sparsely-populated #1-vs.-#2 stretch in recent years, though. While there were several such matches in 2012 (4), 2013 (6) and 2014 (2), there were just three from October 2004 (after #2 Davenport d. #2 Mauresmo in Filderstadt) until March 2012: '06 Antwerp (#2 Mauresmo d. #1 Clijsters), '08 Sydney (#1 Henin d. #2 Kuznetsova) and the 2010 WTA Championships (#1 Wozniacki d. #2 Zvonareva).
===============================================
9. False - Ostapenko reached the Doha final at approximately 18 years, nine months of age. Another 18-year old, Belinda Bencic was two months older when she reached the final in St.Petersburg. But the youngest tour finalist thus far in 2016 is Aussie junior Kimberly Birrell, who reached the WTA-level doubles final (w/ Jarmila Wolfe) in Hobart in Week 2.
===============================================
10. (for 6 pts): Azarenka (Brisbane), Radwanska (Shenzhen), Stephens (Auckland), Hingis/Mirza (Brisbane) and Golubic (Victoria Park $25K ITF challenger - singles & doubles) all won titles in Week 1, which has turned out to be an even better barometer for success this season than it has been in past years.
===============================================



27-33 pts. - The Vika Zone ('Nuff said)
===============================================
18-26 pts. - The Golubic Zone (great, but not quite there)
===============================================
7-17 pts. - The Pliskova Zone (we'll choose to look at the bright side of things, okay?)
===============================================
0-6 pts. - The Stosur Zone (but you're fine if you stay out of Australia at Fed Cup time)
===============================================





Until around Olympic time (if not before then).

All for now.

The Backspin Olympic Tennis Quiz II

Four years ago, the original Backspin Olympic Quiz made its debut. Well, it's time for a sequel.

Here's the 2012 version. Just like the first time around, the questions center around tennis at the Olympics since the sport was reinstated as a medal sport in 1988. And in case you missed it the first time around, the (updated) '08 quiz is included at the end of the post.



>>>THE QUESTIONS<<<
1. There have been six Olympiads since tennis returned to the Games in 1988. Three of the six men's singles Gold winners do not also have grand slam singles titles to their names. How many of the six women's Gold Medalists are also slam-less?

a. 0 (they've all won slams)
b. 1
c. 2
============================
2. True or False? While Venus Williams won both the singles and doubles Golds in Sydney in 2000, there has never been a male player who's swept both titles in the same Olympics.
============================
3. Which woman has won the most Olympic medals in doubles?

a. Mary Joe Fernandez
b. Jana Novotna
c. Conchita Martinez
d. Gigi Fernandez
============================
4. Only one Medal Match (Gold or Bronze) has been contested between two women representing nations in which they weren't born. What was the match-up?

a. Monica Seles vs. Jelena Dokic
b. Martina Hingis vs. Mary Pierce
c. Martina Hingis vs. Monica Seles
d. Martina Navratilova vs. Manuela Maleeva-Fragniere
============================
5. Two women have won doubles medals with multiple partners. Who are they?

a. Mary Joe Fernandez & Helena Sukova
b. Rennae Stubbs & Gigi Fernandez
c. Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario & Conchita Martinez
d. Conchita Martinez & Virginia Ruano Pascual
============================
6. Two women have won singles medals of multiple colors. Who are they?

a. Lindsay Davenport & Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario
b. Steffi Graf & Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario
c. Steffi Graf & Elena Dementieva
d. Jana Novotna & Elena Dementieva
============================
7. Andre Agassi (Atlanta '96) is the only player to win the men's singles Gold on home soil. Jennifer Capriati is the only woman to do the same. True of False?
============================
8. Pick from the following list all the match-ups that have occurred in Gold Medal Matches as well as grand slam finals:

a. Steffi Graf vs. Gabriela Sabatini
b. Steffi Graf vs. Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario
c. Lindsay Davenport vs. Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario
d. Lindsay Davenport vs. Martina Hingis
e. Venus Williams vs. Serena Williams
f. Justine Henin vs. Amelie Mauresmo
============================
9. Serena & Venus Williams have won doubles Gold at two Olympics, but they aren't the only women's duo to accomplish the feat. Who comprised the other double Gold-winning team?

a. Jana Novotna & Helena Sukova
b. Conchita Martinez & Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario
d. Mary Joe Fernandez & Lindsay Davenport
d. Mary Joe Fernandez & Gigi Fernandez
============================
10. Seventeen different women have claimed Gold, Silver or Bronze Medals in singles since 1988. Seven of them never won grand slam singles titles. How many can you name?
============================

>>>THE ANSWERS (3 pts each unless noted)<<<
1. b - the only women's singles Gold Medalist who isn't also a slam winner was Elena Dementieva (2008)
============================
2. False. Chile's Nicolas Massu won both singles and doubles Gold in Athens in 2004.
============================
3. c - Conchita Martinez won three total doubles medals at three different Olympic Games between 1992-2004 -- two Silvers and one Bronze. Serena and Venus Williams (with a pair of Golds) could tie her career doubles medal total in London with a third women's doubles Gold.
============================
4. a - Monica Seles (USA = born in Novi Sad, Yugoslavia) defeated Jelena Dokic (AUS = born in Osijek, Croatia) in the Bronze Medal Match in Sydney in 2000
============================
5. d - Conchita Martinez & Virginia Ruano Pascual are the only women who've won doubles medals with more than one person. Martinez won with Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario & Ruano Pascual, while Ruano Pascual also won with Anabel Medina-Garrigues.
============================
6. c - Steffi Graf ('88 Gold & '92 Silver) & Elena Dementieva ('00 Silver & '08 Gold) are the only two women with singles medals of different hues
============================
7. False. While there has been only one woman who's won singles Gold in her home nation, it was Lindsay Davenport (Atlanta '96, the same Games in which Agassi won the men's) who did it, not Capriati. Capriati won the Gold in '92 in Barcelona.
============================
8. (3 pts. for each correct answer; total: 6 pts.) - a & f - the only two Gold Medal Match match-ups that have also been grand slam finals are Graf vs. Sabatini (1988, and in three slam finals) and Henin vs. Mauresmo ('04, and in two slam finals)
============================
9. d - Mary Joe Fernandez & Gigi Fernandez won Gold in 1992 and 1996. Novotna/Sukova ('88 & '96 Silver) and Martinez/Sanchez-Vicario ('92 Silver & '96 Bronze) both won two medals, but neither duo ever won Gold.
============================
10. (2 pts. for each correct answer; total: 14 pts.) - the seven medalists without slam singles crowns are Elena Dementieva ('00 Silver & '08 Gold), Dinara Safina ('08 Silver), Vera Zvonareva ('08 Bronze) & Alicia Molik ('04 Bronze), as well as Zina Garrison ('88 Bronze), Manuela Maleeva ('88 Bronze) and Mary Joe Fernandez ('92 Bronze). The final three on the list were awarded medals when both losing semifinalists claimed Bronzes without having to compete in a winner-takes-one-medal Bronze Match. That Bronze-awarding format changed in 1996.
============================

>>>THE SCORING<<<
GOLD (32-44 pts.) - Who said the Russians are the only ones who can sweep the Medal stand?
-----------------------------
SILVER (22-31) - A seat in the Royal Box is reserved just for you
-----------------------------
BRONZE (11-21) - Maybe YOU can play doubles with Leander Paes... since no one else really wants to
-----------------------------
4th PLACE (0-10) - Hey, unlike Marion Bartoli, at least you got to participate



Here's the original Olympic Quiz from 2008 (updated for 2012, all the way down to the scoring chart designations):

>>>THE QUESTIONS<<<
1. Who did Steffi Graf defeat in the '88 Seoul final to collect the Olympic title in her season's "Golden Slam?"

a. Gabriela Sabatini
b. Martina Navratilova
c. Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario
============================
2. Only one woman and one man have swept both the singles & doubles Golds at the Olympics since Vincent Richards and Helen Wills-Moody did it in 1924. Who were they?

a. Stefan Edberg & Jana Novotna
b. Stefan Edberg & Steffi Graf
c. Venus Williams & Nicolas Massu
d. Venus Williams & Andre Agassi
============================
3. Approximately how many months was Justine Henin out of action before she arrived in Athens and won the singles Gold?

a. one
b. three
c. five
============================
4. Which two teenagers won the Los Angeles '84 tournament when tennis was a demonstration event before its re-introduction as a medal sport in '88?

a. Steffi Graf & Boris Becker
b. Steffi Graf & Stefan Edberg
c. Gabriela Sabatini & Boris Becker
d. Chanda Rubin & Pat Cash
============================
5. Which Swiss man has won an Olympic singles Gold in his career?

a. Roger Federer
b. Marc Rosset
c. Stanislas Wawrinka
d. no Swiss man has ever won the singles Gold
============================
6. Pick the woman who has won the most Olympic medals in her career:

a. Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario
b. Venus Williams
c. Conchita Martinez
d. Mary Joe Fernandez
============================
7. How old was Jennifer Capriati when she won her Olympic singles Gold?

a. 16
b. 17
c. 18
============================
8. Only four women have played in a singles medal match (Gold or Bronze) in her home country at the Olympics since the sport's return in 1988. Pick the three:

a. Conchita Martinez (Barcelona '92)
b. Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario (Barcelona '92)
c. Lindsay Davenport (Atlanta '96)
d. Mary Joe Fernandez (Atlanta '96)
e. Jelena Dokic (Sydney '00)
f. Alicia Molik (Sydney '00)
g. Eleni Daniilidou (Athens '04)
h. Li Na (Beijing '08)
i. Zheng Jie (Beijing '08)
j. Peng Shuai (Beijing '08)
============================
9. What distinction do Steffi Graf and Andre Agassi share?

a. they're the only players who've won two Olympic singles Golds
b. they're the only Olympic Gold winners who've also won ten or more slam titles
c. they're the only two players in history to win a career singles "Six Pack" of Olympic Gold, all four slams and their tour's year-ending championship
============================
10. Pick the four current American TV tennis commentators who have won Olympic medals:

Katrina Adams
Tracy Austin
Darren Cahill
Jim Courier
Lindsay Davenport
Chris Evert
Brad Gilbert
Justin Gimelstob
Mary Joe Fernandez
John McEnroe
Patrick McEnroe
Corina Morariu
Martina Navratilova
Pam Shriver
Rennae Stubbs
============================

>>>THE ANSWERS (3 pts each unless noted)<<<
1. a - Sabatini
============================
2. c - Venus Williams ('00) and Nicolas Massu ('04) swept the singles and doubles Golds
============================
3. b - Henin was out about three months prior to Athens with what was later diagnosed as the cytomegalovirus, not playing after an early loss at Roland Garros in late May until the Games began in mid-August. After winning the Gold, she played four matches at the U.S. Open and then missed the rest of the season.
============================
4. b - Steffi Graf (15) and Stefan Edberg (18) won the demonstration event in L.A.
============================
5. b - Marc Rosset won the singles Gold in '92. Federer has never won an Olympic singles medal (he lost the Bronze Medal match in '00), but he and Wawrinka claimed the doubles Gold in Bejiing in '08.
============================
6. a - Sanchez Vicario won four Olympic medals (two Silver, two Bronze) since the return of the sport in 1988. Venus Williams, Conchita Martinez, Jana Novotna and Mary Joe Fernandez won three. Williams could surpass ASV's career total at the London Olympics. Fernando Gonzalez' three medals are the most by any male player.
============================
7. a - Capriati was 16 in Barcelona '92 when she defeated Graf in the singles final. It would be eight and a half years before she'd win her first slam title at the Australian Open in 2001.
============================
8. (3 pts. for each correct answer; total: 12 pts.) c, d, e, h - Davenport won singles Gold in Atlanta, while Fernandez lost the Bronze match in the same Games. Dokic (Sydney) and Li (Beijing) also lost Bronze medal matches.
============================
9. c - married Graf & Agassi are the only players who've won all four slams, Olympic Gold and the season-ending championship. Among active players, Serena Williams, Roger Federer and Maria Sharapova only need a singles Olympic Gold to accomplish the feat. Novak Djokovic needs a Gold and a Roland Garros crown, while Rafael Nadal is only a season-ending ATP championship title short.
============================
10. (3 pts. for each correct answer; total: 12 pts.) - ESPN's Gilbert ('88 singles Bronze), Shriver ('88 doubles Gold) and Fernandez ('92 & '96 doubles Gold, '92 singles Bronze) are medal winners, as is Tennis Channel's Davenport ('96 singles Gold) have all won Olympic medals.
============================

>>>THE SCORING<<<
GOLD (36-48 pts.) - Even better than Andy Murray taking the Gold in London
-----------------------------
SILVER (23-35) - Maybe there's ANOTHER Williams Sister looking for a doubles partner?
-----------------------------
BRONZE (10-22) - "Naturalized" or not, just like Varvara Lepchenko, you've earned your spot on the roster
-----------------------------
4th PLACE (0-9) - You're like Donald Young -- you got to play, even though you probably didn't deserve it


All for now.



COMING NEXT: The Top Tennis Moments in Modern Olympic History

The Comeback Kim Clijsters Quiz

Could it be? Is it? Why, yes. It is! Kim Clijsters is back. And she finally has her own Backspin Quiz.



>>>THE QUESTIONS<<<

1. Clijsters announced her '07 retirement after losing a 1st Round match in Warsaw. Who beat her?

a. Arantxa Parra-Santonja
b. Angelique Kerber
c. Julia Vakulenko
d. Alla Kudryavtseva
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2. Clijsters made her WTA tour debut in Antwerp in 1999, reaching the QF after getting into the main draw as a "lucky loser." What else of note happened in that same tournament?

a. Justine Henin also made her WTA debut
b. Els Callens won the title, making her the only Belgian other than Clijsters or Henin to win a WTA title while Clijsters and Henin were active from 1999-08
c. Justine Henin won her first WTA singles title
d. Clijsters won the doubles title with Henin
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3. Clijsters has won two grand slam doubles titles. With whom did she share the crowns?

a. Arantxa Sanchez Vicario (1) & Daniela Hantuchova (1)
b. she won both with Arantxa Sanchez Vicario
c. Arantxa Sanchez Vicario (1) & Ai Sugiyama (1)
d. she won both with Ai Sugiyama
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4. Clijsters has not played a U.S. Open match since she won the title in 2005. She retired before the '07 event, and was forced to withdraw before her '06 defense attempt due to a wrist injury she suffered in Montreal that August. Who was she playing in Montreal when she twice fell on her wrist and retired while leading the match?

a. Stephanie Dubois
b. Aleksandra Wozniak
c. Justine Henin
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5. What was Clijsters' record in grand slam singles finals before she won the U.S. Open title?

a. 0-3
b. 0-4
c. 0-5
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6. Clijsters was simultaneously ranked #1 in both singles and doubles for three weeks in 2003. She's one of five women to have done so. Name as many of them as you can.
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7. Where did Clijsters win her last WTA singles title before her mid-2007 retirement?

a. Antwerp '07
b. WTA Championship '06
c. Sydney '07
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8. What item did Clijsters famously provide as a gift to everyone in the crowd after one of her matches in Antwerp in 2006?

a. the same model tennis racket that she'd played with in the match
b. a bottle of champagne
c. an autographed photo and tennis ball
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9. Clijsters reached one junior slam singles final, losing the '98 Wimbledon Girls championship match. Who defeated her?

a. Katarina Srebotnik
b. Jelena Dokic
c. Justine Henin
d. Karolina Sprem
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10. When Clijsters retired in '07, she was #4 in the WTA singles rankings. Only two players in WTA history have retired while ranked higher. Who are they?

a. Justine Henin & Chris Evert
b. Justine Henin & Steffi Graf
c. Justine Henin & Martina Hingis (retirement #1)
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>>>THE ANSWERS (3 pts each unless noted)<<<

1. c. Vakulenko was the last player to defeat Clijsters in KC 1
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2. a & c. (3 pts. for either answer) Henin also made her debut in Antwerp, winning the title to become the fifth woman to claim a tour singles title in her WTA debut tournament
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3. d. Clijsters won both with Sugiyama (French Open and Wimbledon in '03)
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4. a. Dubois advanced in the QF match when Clijsters retired
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5. b. Clijsters was 0-4 before finally defeating Mary Pierce in the U.S. Open in 2005 (she lost three of the four finals to Henin, in the '03 RG & U.S. Open, as well as the '04 Australian)
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6. (3 pts. for each correct answer) Four other women have been the singles and doubles #1 at the same time: Martina Navratilova, Arantxa Sanchez Vicario, Martina Hingis and Lindsay Davenport
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7. c. Clijsters' last WTA singles title before her retirement during the '07 season came in Sydney that January, where she won a final in which she overcame a match point against Jelena Jankovic
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8. b. champagne
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9. a. Srebotnik won the '98 Wimbledon Girls final over Clijsters
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10. b. Graf was #3 when she retired in 1999, while Henin was #1 when she retired a season after Clijsters in '08.
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>>>THE SCORING<<<

33-39 - Finally! - You're like Clijsters at the U.S. Open in 2005
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21-30 - So Close! - Now you know how Clijsters felt when she lost the '01 Roland Garros final
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9-18 - Not Quite Ready! - Maybe you can retire and try again in two years
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0-6 - Burnt Waffle! - You're Clijsters, while this Backspin Quiz is Henin on the other side of the net in slam finals against her countrywoman
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All for now.

New Quizzes Coming Soon!

Feeling a sense of withdrawal? Needing a Backspin Quiz fix to make everything better? Well, have no fear. Just as the four slams, including the French Open, come around every year, new quizzes will be arriving in no time.

In the mean time you can check the latest women's and men's tennis news at WTA Backspin and ATP Backspin.

Until quiz time. All for now.

The Olympic Tennis Quiz

>>>THE QUESTIONS<<<

1. Who did Steffi Graf defeat in the '88 Seoul final to collect the Olympic title in her season's "Golden Slam?"

a. Gabriela Sabatini
b. Martina Navratilova
c. Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario
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2. Only one woman and one man have swept both the singles & doubles Golds at the Olympics since Vincent Richards and Helen Wills-Moody did it in 1924. Who were they?

a. Stefan Edberg & Jana Novotna
b. Stefan Edberg & Steffi Graf
c. Venus Williams & Nicolas Massu
d. Venus Williams & Andre Agassi
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3. Approximately how many months was Justine Henin out of action before she arrived in Athens and won the singles Gold?

a. one
b. three
c. five
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4. Which two teenagers won the Los Angeles '84 tournament when tennis was a demonstration event before its re-introduction as a medal sport in '88?

a. Steffi Graf & Boris Becker
b. Steffi Graf & Stefan Edberg
c. Gabriela Sabatini & Boris Becker
d. Hana Mandlikova & Pat Cash
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5. Which Swiss man has won more Olympic medals in his career?

a. Roger Federer
b. Marc Rosset
c. Stanislas Wawrinka
d. no Swiss man has ever won a tennis medal
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6. Pick the woman who has won the most Olympic medals in her career:

a. Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario
b. Venus Williams
c. Conchita Martinez
d. Mary Joe Fernandez
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7. How old was Jennifer Capriati when she won her Olympic singles Gold?

a. 16
b. 17
c. 18
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8. Only three women have played in a singles medal match (Gold or Bronze) in her home country at the Olympics since the sport's return in 1988. Pick the three:

a. Conchita Martinez (Barcelona '92)
b. Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario (Barcelona '92)
c. Lindsay Davenport (Atlanta '96)
d. Mary Joe Fernandez (Atlanta '96)
e. Jelena Dokic (Sydney '00)
f. Alicia Molik (Sydney '00)
g. Eleni Daniilidou (Athens '04)
============================
9. What distinction do Steffi Graf and Andre Agassi share?

a. they're the only players who've won two Olympic singles Golds
b. they're the only Olympic Gold winners who've also won ten or more slam titles
c. they're the only two players in history to win Olympic Gold, all four slams and their tour's year-ending championship
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10. Pick the three current American TV tennis commentators who have won Olympic medals:

Katrina Adams
Brad Gilbert
Mary Joe Fernandez
John McEnroe
Patrick McEnroe
Corina Morariu
Martina Navratilova
Pam Shriver
============================

>>>THE ANSWERS (3 pts each unless noted)<<<

1. a - Sabatini
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2. c - Venus Williams ('00) and Nicolas Massu ('04) swept the singles and doubles Golds
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3. b - Henin was out about three months prior to Athens with what was later diagnosed as the cytomegalovirus, not playing after an early loss at Roland Garros in late May until the Games began in mid-August. After winning the Gold, she played four matches at the U.S. Open and then missed the rest of the season.
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4. b - Steffi Graf (15) and Stefan Edberg (18) won the demonstration event in L.A.
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5. b - Marc Rosset won the singles Gold in '92. Federer lost the Bronze Medal match in '00, and fell in the 2nd Round in '04, and is still seeking his first Olympic medal.
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6. a - Sanchez Vicario won four Olympic medals (two Silver, two Bronze) since the return of the sport in 1988. Conchita Martinez, Jana Novotna and Mary Joe Fernandez won three.
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7. a - Capriati was 16 in Barcelona '92 when she defeated Graf in the singles final. It would be her eight and a half years before she'd win her first slam title at the Australian Open in 2001.
============================
8. (3 pts. for each correct answer; total: 9 pts.) c, d, e - Davenport won singles Gold in Atlanta, while Fernandez lost the Bronze match in the same Games. Dokic lost in the Bronze match, as well, in Sydney.
============================
9. c - married Graf & Agassi are the only players who've won all four slams, Olympic Gold and the YEC. Henin retired needing to only win Wimbledon (she was twice RU) to become the third male or female player to accomplish the feat.
============================
10. (3 pts. for each correct answer; total: 9 pts.) - Gilbert ('88 singles Bronze), Shriver ('88 doubles Gold) and Fernandez ('92 & '96 doubles Gold, '92 singles Bronze) have all won Olympic medals.
============================

>>>THE SCORING<<<

33-42 - If you can find a willing partner, you're ready to take on the Williams sisters in a "friendly" doubles match
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21-30 - Like Sanchez Vicario, your numbers are good, but you never grabbed the Gold
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9-18 - Like Roddick, you can just tell everyone you skipped the Games
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0-6 - On the bright side, you've still won as many Olympic medals as Federer
-----------------------------


All for now.