Sunday, November 20, 2005

2005/4Q WTA Quiz

>>>THE QUESTIONS<<<

1.This was the end-of-season WTA singles Top 10:

#1 Lindsay Davenport
#2 Kim Clijsters
#3 Amelie Mauresmo
#4 Maria Sharapova
#5 Mary Pierce
#6 Justine Henin-Hardenne
#7 Patty Schnyder
#8 Elena Dementieva
#9 Nadia Petrova
#10 Venus Williams

Only four of the above players maintained their Top 10 ranking for all 45 weeks of the WTA schedule. Who were they?
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2.Two players notched multiple wins over #1-ranked players in the world in 2005. Who did it?

a.Kim Clijsters & Venus Williams
b.Serena Williams & Amelie Mauresmo
c.Maria Sharapova & Mary Pierce
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3.BACKSPIN NICKNAME MATCH-UP. Which of the '05 Backspin nicknames goes with the appropriate player?

a.Ferris
b.Vesuvius
c.Killer
d.Steamer
e.Sneaky
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1.Alicia Molik
2.Nicole Vaidisova
3.Venus Williams
4.Patty Schnyder
5.Kim Clijsters
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4.From the list below, pick all the players who defeated Serena Williams in 2005:

a.Tiantian Sun
b.Jill Craybas
c.Francesca Schiavone
d.Silvia Farina Elia
e.Jelena Jankovic
f.Anna-Lena Groenefeld
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5.TRUE/FALSE. In 2005, no American woman won a WTA singles title who wasn't named Davenport or Williams.
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6.Kim Clijsters earned $2,200,000 (USD) for winning both the U.S. Open Series and the U.S. Open title. What was the bonus she gave her coach?

a.9% of $2.2m
b.$9,000
c.$90,000
d.none
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7.In 2005, several players had periods of time when they were simultaneously ranked in the Top 10 in both singles and doubles. From this list, which ones did?

Kim Clijsters
Lindsay Davenport
Svetlana Kuznetsova
Alicia Molik
Nadia Petrova
Vera Zvonareva
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8.Several countries had a lone player advance to a WTA singles final this season. Three of them were Croatia, Colombia and the Netherlands. Name the single finalist who represented each country in a deciding match.
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9.Which player who finished ranked in the singles Top 50 raised her ranking the most places since the end of 2004?

a.Nicole Vaidisova
b.Sania Mirza
c.Sesil Karatantcheva
d.Lucie Safarova
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10.CZECH OR RUSSIAN? Match up the following 2005 ITF titlists with their nationalities:

Renata Voracova
Angelina Gabueva
Sandra Zahlavova
Veronika Raimrova
Anastasia Pivovarova
Iveta Gerlova
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BONUS: In the 4Q, Cara Black became the 20th woman to be ranked #1 since the doubles rankings were established in 1984. Twelve, including Black, played on tour in 2005. Name as many as you can.
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>>>THE ANSWERS (2 pts.each unless noted)<<<

1.(2 pts.for each of 4 correct answers) Davenport, Mauresmo, Sharapova and Dementieva were the only players who remained in the Top 10 for every week of the season.
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2.c. Sharapova (two wins over #1 Davenport) and Pierce (also two over Davenport) recorded multiple victories over world #1's in 2005. Anna-Lena Groenefeld, it should be noted, defeated #1 Davenport once and led then-#1 Sharapova 6-1/4-2 before being forced to retire with an ankle injury.
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3.(2 pts.for each of 5 correct answers) a-3, b-2, c-5, d-1, e-4
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4.(2 pts.for each of 5 correct answers) a,b,c,d,e. Five of the six players listed all notched wins over Serena this year. From the list, only Groenefeld did not.
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5.False. Amy Frazier, 33, won the title in Quebec City in Week 44.
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6.b. Clijsters gave her coach a "whopping" $9,000 bonus. Needless to say, he's now her former coach.
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7.(2 pts.for each of 3 correct answers) Kuznetsova (35 weeks), Molik (18) and Petrova (12) spent time in the Top 10 in both singles and doubles at the same time in '05.
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8.(2 pts for each of 3 correct answers) Croatia: Karolina Sprem was Kolkata RU to Anastasia Myskina; Colombia: Catalina Castano was Budapest RU to Anna Smashnova; Netherlands: Michaella Krajicek won the Tashkent final over Akgul Amanmuradova.
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9.b. Mirza jumped 175 spots (#206 to #31) in the last twelve months. Safarova went up 135 (#183 to #50), Karatantcheva 92 (#127 to #35) and Vaidisova 62 (#77 to #15).
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10.(2 pts.for each of 6 correct answers) Voracova, Zahlavova, Raimrova and Gerlova are Czechs. Gabueva and Pivovarova are Russian.
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BONUS: (1 pt.for each of 12 correct answers) In chronological order of first reaching the #1 ranking: Martina Navratilova, Arantxa Sanchez Vicario, Lindsay Davenport, Martina Hingis, Corina Morariu, Lisa Raymond, Rennae Stubbs, Ai Sugiyama, Paola Suarez, Kim Clijsters, Virginia Ruano-Pascual and Cara Black.
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>>>THE SCORING<<<

55-70 - You're like Vaidisova in 2006
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35-54 - You're like Sharapova, good but hoping for more in 2006
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15-34 - You're like Mirza, your results could go either way in 2006
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5-14 - You're like Zvonareva, just wishing for 2006 to get here
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0-4 - You're like Capriati, looking for a comeback in 2006
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All for now.

Monday, September 19, 2005

2005 3Q/Fed Cup Quiz

>>>THE QUESTIONS<<<

1."The most challenging thing about coming back has been doing it. I've just had to tell myself it's going to take a while. If I hadn't got off to a good start at Wimbledon, who knows where I might have been." Who said it?

a.Venus Williams
b.Daniela Hantuchova
c.Ashley Harkleroad
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2.Russia just completed the defense of its 2004 Fed Cup title. Which was the last country to win back-to-back FC championships?

a.USA, 1999-2000
b.Spain, 1994-95
c.France, 2001-02
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3.Kim Clijsters went 23-1 during the North American hardcourt season, claiming her first slam title at the U.S. Open. The one loss was her first on hardcourts since the 2003 U.S. Open final. What player defeated Clijsters this summer? And where?
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4.MATCH GAME. Match the career singles record with the opponent:

a.Kim Clijsters 10-9 vs.
b.Venus Williams 7-7 vs.
c.Martina Hingis 2-0 vs.
d.Kim Clijsters 4-0 vs.
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1.Martina Navratilova
2.Serena Williams
3.Maria Sharapova
4.Justine Henin-Hardenne
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5.BACKSPIN NICKNAME MATCH-UP. Five major new Backspin nicknames gained footing over the last few months. Match them with the player they refer to:

a.Patty Schnyder
b.Kim Clijsters
c.Anna-Lena Groenefeld
d.Amelie Mauresmo
e.Venus Williams
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1.Girl Friday
2.Albie
3.Ferris
4.Killer
5.Sneaky
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6.Pick out the t-shirt slogan that Sania Mirza DIDN'T sport at the U.S. Open:

a."Well-behaved women rarely make history."
b."You can either agree with me, or be wrong."
c."I'm cute? (No shit!)"
d."Do you like my butt? Good. You should."
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7.Steffi Graf, 36, returned to action this summer by making her debut in WTT action. What was the result of her one singles match?

a.she lost to Elena Likhovtseva
b.she defeated Martina Navratilova
c.she lost to Nicole Vaidisova
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8.ALPHABET SOUP. Can you identify each "three-named player" with just her initials to go by?

a...JHH
b...VRP
c...ALG
d...MVK
e...LDL
f...MDO
g...AMG
h...MSL
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9.Anna Smashnova went 2-0 in singles finals during the 3rd Quarter, giving her what career record in eleven WTA finals?

a.2-9
b.11-0
c.6-5
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10.At the U.S. Open, Sania Mirza became the first Indian woman to reach a slam singles 4th Round. In the previous three slams of 2005, she had 1st, 2nd and 3rd Round singles results. Match the three other results with the correct slam (Australian, Roland Garros & Wimbledon).
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BONUS QUESTIONS:
1.How long was Mary Pierce's injury delay during her U.S. Open SF against Elena Dementieva (within 2 minutes)?
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2.What's the name of Serena Williams' pet dog, as revealed this summer in the reality TV series, "Venus & Serena: For Real?"
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3.In WTT competition, which ATP player did Meghann Shaughnessy face off against in singles action?
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4.Martina Hingis was 25-1 in singles & doubles WTT set-long matches this season. Who was the one woman who defeated her?
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5.Before winning the last two Fed Cup titles, what was Russia's record in its four previous trips to the FC final?
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>>>THE ANSWERS (2 pts each unless noted)<<<

1.c. Harkleroad, after winning an ITF event in Washington, D.C.
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2.a. the USA's 1999-00 title run was the last Fed Cup repeat. Spain, though, was the last to three-peat, from 1993-95.
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3.(2 pts for each of 2 answers) Shuai Peng, in the San Diego QF.
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4.(2 pts for each of 4 answers) a-4, b-2, c-1 (though they've only met in WTT competition), d-3.
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5.(1 pt for each of 5 answers) a-5, b-4, c-1, d-2, e-3
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6.d. Mirza didn't wear a shirt emblazoned with that one... though she could soon.
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7.a. she lost to Likhovtseva 5-4 (5-3 TB, after being tied at 4-4).
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8.(1 pt for each of 8 answers) a-JHH/Justine-Henin-Hardenne; b-VRP/Virginia Ruano-Pascual; c-ALG/Anna-Lena Groenefeld; d-MVK/Maria Vento-Kabchi; e-LDL/Lourdes Dominguez-Lino; f-MDO/Mariana Diaz-Oliva; g-AMG/Anabel Medina-Garrigues; h-MSL/Maria Sanchez-Lorenzo
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9.b. 11-0
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10.(1 pt for each of 3 answers) 1st Rd-Roland Garros, 2nd Rd-Wimbledon, 3rd Rd-Australian
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BONUS QUESTIONS (2 pts.each):
1.12 minutes (10-14 range in correct)
2.Jackie
3.Brian Valhaly (Shaughnessy lost 5-1)
4.Meghann Shaughnessy
5.0-4 (0-2 as the USSR in 1988 & '90, and in 1999 & '01 as Russia)
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>>>THE SCORING<<<

33-48... Killer Kim? Killer you!
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17-32... Hey, the Supernova reached three slam semifinals in '05, so being close is still a good thing
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6-16... You should have taken a Pierce-esque timeout to regain your senses
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0-5... Like Venus, I'm sure you have a "credible" excuse for this
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All for now.