Jay Z in the House

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Holy hilarity.

When I posted this piece about who is trending up during the first week of the tennis season, I regretted that I didn't leave space to mention Zheng Jie, who has reached the semifinals of the ASB Classic in Auckland, and will face Svetlana Kuznetsova for a spot in the final.

For the former Wimbledon and Australian Open semifinalist (and former No. 15 in the world), things are clearly moving in the right direction. Dating back to her semifinal appearance in Guangzhou, this is Zheng's third semifinal appearance in her last six events. Zheng, who had wrist surgery prior to 2011, appears to have finally gotten her mojo back.

She celebrated that fact with some hilariously good-natured hip-hopping, aided by a posse of event media staff. The result is sure to be a viral video. Watch out Petko, the WTA might have itself a new it girl.

Reading the Tennis Tea Leaves: Who is Trending Up?

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It's been a tumultuous week of tennis, and today I'm going to try to make sense of some of the madness by attempting to quantify the early achievements that we've witnessed in Brisbane, Perth, Auckland, Doha and Chennai.

In keeping with the spirit of making sense of the madness, I've elected to go with a nice easy bullet format, so, without any further ado...

• Aussie Kim is Emerging as an Australian Open favorite -- There were moments during her straight set victory over Iveta Benesova last night where I became convinced that Clijsters is going to be the best player on the WTA tour through the Olympics this year. She was tattooing the ball early and often last night, from both sides, and it was easy to see that this was not the same Clijster's who didn't even bother limping to the finish line in 2011. A myriad of injuries caused Kim to pretty much throw in the towel before Wimbledon last year, but if last night's version of Aussie Kim is any indication, she's hell bent on starting the year with a bang. She was certainly banging last night, and what impressed me most of all was her movement. Precise footwork and keen fitness will allow Clijsters -- should she manage to stay healthy -- to produce a daunting blend of knock-your-socks-off power and keep-the-point-alive defense that is sure to make her a very scary opponent in Melbourne.
  

• Dolgopolov Top Ten? -- I don't know if "The Dog" will ever be one of the more consistent players on tour, but man is this guy electric. Of all the guys on tour, is there any player who has a game that resembles a 4th of July fireworks display more closely than Dolgopolov? This guy is exploding bottle rockets all the way. He may not be a fixture in Grand Slam semifinals this year, but if dolgopolov does go deep in a Slam, get your popcorn ready and your DVD set to "record."

• Kaia Kanepi Surging -- A powerful display that featured 12 aces and a whole lot of sizzling forehands left the Estonian among the last four in Brisbane. She's currently ranked No. 34, but reached as high as No. 16 in 2011. Could this be the beginning of another push for her?

• How will Serena's ankle affect her chances in Melbourne? -- I think the ankle will limit Serena's already limited mobility, and that will be a hindrance for her in Melbourne, should she be fit enough to play, for sure. That said, if there is anyone on the women's side who can overcome mobility with a parade of aces and winners it is Serena. Still, I think this will hurt her chances of returning to the Grand Slam winner's circle quite a bit.

• Tsonga at a new level? -- Doesn't it seem like the always brilliant Jo-Wilfried Tsonga has turned a corner of late? He was always pure poetry in motion, but now he seems less prone to the walkabout virus that continues to plague his friend Gael Monfils. I think the Frenchman, with all his firepower and shotmaking prowess, could make a push to enter the top four.

• Li Na has something to prove, and that is a good thing -- The 2011 French Open champion didn't like the way the rest of 2011 went down, and she's apparently out to prove that she can not only regain the form that saw her play two consecutive Grand Slam finals in 2011, she can do better. Li busted her hump in Munich during the off-season, and here's what she had to say about the experience.
  

  “The training lasted four weeks. Like no photo-shooting, no interviews, just only training, very tough, like six hours a day for training. Two or three hours for tennis but most was for fitness because I want to keep healthy and stay for whole season.

  “Before I always have knee injury and some back injury so I couldn’t finish whole season and I didn’t want to do that again. I know now I’m not young anymore – I didn’t have time to waste. I have to focus every tournament, every second, so that’s why I stay in Munich for long time just to keep body healthy and strong.”

• Tomic on the up -- the 19-year-old Aussie has made his first quarterfinal on home soil, and he's added a little muscle (3kg) to help him add some power to his already nuanced game. He'll play a winnable match against Denis Istomin for a spot in the semifinals, where either Andy Murray or Marcos Baghdatis will be waiting.
  

• Different year, same grinders -- How nice is it to see that heart and soul veterans Francesca Schiavone and Svetlana Kuznetsova have already made their first semifinals of the year? I know it's far-fetched, but is there anybody out there who wouldn't enjoy seeing these two battlers reprising their friendly rivalry in a Grand Slam final?
  

• Masha? -- Well, Serena's got ankle issues and so does Maria Sharapova. But Maria's injury, which happened in October, is a bit more concerning. It's been almost three months and if she plays Melbourne, she'll be coming in with zero matches under her belt.

The Deuce Court: Serena Said What?

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The Deuce Court is The Fan Child's soapbox. Today we discuss Serena Williams eye-opening comments about her lack of love for tennis and Rafa's heavier stick.

Deuce #1: Serena Said What?

Everybody and their mother's cousin has already posted takes on Serena's latest attention-grabbing remarks to the press, but if you haven't read or heard enough yet, I encourage you to follow along with me.

Actually, I don't really have much to say. Serena probably fell out of love with tennis a long time ago. It's not really big news. And can you blame her? The same tour stops, year after year; the same questions from the same people, year after year; she's thirty, but after the year she had last year, she must feel like she's going on 130.

Worry not, die hards! The fact Serena chose to have a little fun with the media doesn't necessarily mean that she's at the end of her wits, contemplating retirement, or burned out beyond repair. For all the criticism that she takes, the fact that Serena is quick to lively up the press room with her abstract sense of humor is something that we should praise her for. We watch tennis to see competitors, and Serena's always been there to give us what we need in that regard; we watch press conferences to get a glimpse into what kind of people the athletes really are, and Serena's always been quite good at that too.

She really is quite hilarious (Brad Gilbert had some interesting comments on her on ESPN today), and it takes a rare athlete to be as convincingly good as often as Serena has been in her career while also being convincingly, well, strange. Just listen to her remarks: "I've actually never liked sports...I don't like working out, I don't like anything that has to do with working physically...if it involves sitting down or shopping, I'm excellent at that."

What? I actually never liked sports? Are you telling me I'm supposed to do anything but laugh at that?

There are a lot of ways to interpret Serena's words, but to think or expect her to give away these last few years of the prime of her tennis life because she's tired of working out is ludicrous. This is, after all, a women whose pressers frequently devolve into discussions of nail-painting techniques, hip-hop chart-toppers, and the size of Nadal's butt.

With Serena's pressers the message has always been clear: Interpret at your own risk. The real proof, as it always has been, will be found on the court. She's done a pretty good job of proving herself over the years, and I don't suspect that she'll have a problem doing so in 2012, whether she's in love with tennis or she'd rather host an 80's practice than hit the gym.

Ad Out: Rafa's Heavy Stick

We've covered Rafa's butt, as seen through Serena's eyes (she did call Rafa her "fellow booty brother" last year), and now it's time to cover Rafa's racquet. This story is pretty much for Rafa fanatics (who isn't) and gear geeks (how could you not be?), and the gist of it is that Rafa has opted to add weight to his Babolat AeroPro Drive GT. Check out Tennis.com's newest gear maven, Justin Difeliciantonio's piece for more in-depth analysis. Or, if you really want to get specific, check out Matt Cronin's tweet (@tennisreporters) which reports the following:

Babolat re Nadal's racquet: "Fine-tuning Rafa's swing weight, slight addition of weight near headsize part, modifying weight by 7 pts.

Reportedly, Rafa is searching for a little more pop on the serve and a little more zing on the two-hander. My guess is that he finds it, but here's my question: will he find it before he takes his February sabbatical?

"My preparation is not the perfect one, and I'm trying to play with a little bit heavier racket, to get a little bit more power," Nadal told reporters on Monday.

I pulled this question and answer from Rafa's Doha press conference today. The whole transcript can be found at Nadalnews.com.

Q. Are you starting to get a bit of rhythm with the new racquet? Are you starting to get the feel of it?

RAFAEL NADAL: I think I did a few things very well today. I hit very good with my backhand. I really believe that the racquet can help me with the backhand.

With the forehand I felt I hit the ball most of the times where I want to hit the ball. Few days ago and yesterday in the practice, you know, when I tried to hit the ball, sometimes I hit it a little bit left, sometimes too early. That’s why I didn’t have totally the control of that, you know, the speed of the racquet, no?

But today when we have rallies, I really felt that I have really positive control of the ball. Not perfect, for sure, but in general I think I felt most of the shots the right way. So that’s really positive.

Petko Channels Her Inner Hoopster

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Just came across this clip (via @wta and @brisbanetennis) of the new Petko celebratory stomp, which occurred after Andrea Petkovic's three-set victory over the always feisty Shahar Peer.

Unlike the original Petko dance, which set the bar rather high, and the second incarnation, which brought it down a bit but opened the door for break dancing, freestyling and the like, the third version calls forth the vaunted image of Michael Jordan draining a buzzer shot from the top of the key with the game on the line. It's the perfect match point statement. It's short, sweet, but like all of Petko's theatrics, it's unassuming, joyous, and it seeks to elevate rather than berate.

In short, I like it.

You have to admit, the woman knows how to bring a crowd to its feet. This is a first-rounder in the first event of the year. It's supposed to be sleepy time, but because of Petkovic's infectious enthusiasm, everybody in the crowd goes home with something they can remember.

Gotta love it.

The Deuce Court: Previewing the Week

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Join The Deuce Court as we preview week one of the Australian Summer.

Deuce #1: Murray-Lendl Buzz

The spotlight will be on Andy Murray in Brisbane, that you can be sure of. Just a few days after making news by hiring eight-time Grand Slam title winner Ivan Lendl as his new coach, Murray will enter Brisbane as the only top ten player in the draw. Reportedly, Lendl will join Murray in Melbourne for the beginning of the Australian Open, but the buzz about the high-profile hiring will likely follow Murray to the court in Brisbane, where he'll face Mikhail Kukushkin in the first round.

On paper it looks like a great hire for Murray. Lendl was the consummate professional throughout his career, and he'll likely be more eager than some of Murray's recent coaches to direct some constructive criticism at his charge. And even though Lendl's self-imposed tennis hiatus lasted quite some time, does anyone really doubt that he doesn't have some very good advice to offer Murray with regard to breaking down the big three?

My question is this: Can Lendl talk Murray into serving better? If he does, I think the pairing will succeed. If he does not, perhaps not.

Deuce #2: Serena's Mission

What we already know about Serena is that she's not one for apologies, what we're dying to know is what kind of fire is burning in her 30-year-old belly? Thankfully, we'll probably find out by the end of the week. With a star-studded draw in Brisbane (Stosur, Clijsters, Petkovic, Pavlyuchenkova, Schiavone), fans will get a chance to see who's been doing their homework in the gym and on the practice court over the last two months.

Ad In: The Roger-Rafa show in Doha

Are you ready for Federer-Nadal, edition 27? How could you not be? They played an exhibition match over the weekend, and they had a romantic candle-lit knock-around in Doha yesterday, but now it's time for some REAL tennis.

You'd think that with Nadal nursing a now-publicized ailing shoulder, Roger would have a good chance to reach the double digit win mark against his long-time rival (he currently has 9), but that wasn't the case over the weekend in Abu Dhabi, when Nadal took out Federer in straight sets in the aforementioned exhibition.

This week, if all goes well, Roger will get another chance. But they aren't the only two people in the draw, so we should keep an eye on Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Gael Monfils as well.

Deuce # 3: Keep An Eye on the Kids

The kids are alright. But is "alright" going to be good enough to climb the rankings when the game's scales are clearly tilting in favor of more experienced, more developed players? Young ones in action this week: Raonic, Chennai; Harrison, Nishikori, Tomich, Brisbane; Jovanovksi, Brisbane; Marino, McHale, Auckland.

Ad Out: The Draws

Singles:

ATP: Brisbane

WTA: Brisbane

ATP: Chennai

WTA: Auckland

ATP: Doha

Dubs:

ATP: Brisbane

WTA: Brisbane

ATP: Chennai

WTA: Auckland

ATP: Doha