By Franklin L. Johnson
© Michael O'Kane

(October 1, 2010) When the leaves start falling this time of year, football calls its annual blitz and sacks tennis from the sports pages. But on the first day of the final full month of the 2011 WTA Tour calendar let's huddle up and review the state of the women's game right now.

First and foremost: Not enough has been said about Vania King and Yaroslava Shvedova winning both Wimbledon and the US Open doubles titles back-to-back. Now you can try to douse the fires of enthusiasm by pointing out Venus and Serena did not defend their US Open doubles title, but Vania and Slava took out everyone in their path and did it with their minds, their feet and their shared versatility of shot.

The Wimbledon-US Open doubles sweep was one of the biggest stories in women's tennis this season, in my opinion, but you'd never know it from the coverage in the American media.Wake up people! 

Most Americans play doubles when they play tennis so why oh why are we so miserly in our doubles coverage in this country?

Since American player development has been such a hot-button topic for several weeks here's hoping the USTA makes mandatory viewing for all this country's top juniors video tapes of Vania King and Shvedova's run to the US Open women's doubles titles and the Bryan brothers' surge to the US Open men's doubles title.

If Spain is the clay-court nation, France has flair and Russia has its baseline bashers, what's the American way?

Well, King and the Bryan boys showed what our nation's tennis DNA should be: let's be the nation of tough, aggressive, versatile competitors. Let's be the problem-solving country of the tennis world. 

If you watched either the men's or women's US Open doubles final then you saw King and the Bryan brothers deliver a lesson on how to play this game that should serve as a tennis tutorial for our top juniors. They showed us all:

• You play this game on a hard-court moving forward, taking the ball early and pressure the net when you can
• Champions know all it takes is all they have; you play as hard as you can and hustle for every ball on every point
•  We don't want to the be the nation of whiners, degenerating into tennis road rage over foot fault calls. We want to be the supreme competitors and when the calls (or bounces) don't go our way, we buckle up and come back better and stronger, we fist pump, chest bump and get fired up.
• Doubles champs like Bryan & Bryan and King & Shvedova know if opponents can't divide, then they won't conquer. When the going got tough, for instance when King and Shvedova were down championship point in the final against Liezel Huber and Nadia Petrova in the final, the team remained united.

Vania King is only 21 years old and already ranked No. 6 in the world in doubles. Here's hoping Vania can translate her doubles success to the singles court in 2011 and maybe use her tactical skills and shrewd court sense to produce the type of longevity in her career that another often overlooked American, Lisa Raymond, has enjoyed.
Have you been watching the Tokyo tournament?

Some good matches have already been played this week and the final shapes up as a good one. Top-seeded Caroline Wozniacki, aka "the Marshmallow Princess", takes on seventh-seeded Elena Dementieva in the Tokyo final.

Why is Caroline a soft No. 2?

As I wrote in my last column: Caroline Wozniacki has the star power: the sunny smile, the fresh good looks, the athletic DNA thanks to her soccer-playing father and the generally genial, good-girl-next door image that's great for our game. It's all good. But get past the promo material to the player.

I'm not sold on Caroline as a big-time champion until she develops a big-time shot. C-Woz's game is based on the junior principle: tennis matches are not won on winners they are lost on errors. Consequently, C-Woz takes the "low risk, solid reward" approach and that will consistently get her to the quarters and semis but until she's willing to step up and play big time in the big matches she won't win a major.

Caroline showed her competitive composure and court coverage in outlasting Victoria Azarenka, 6-2, 6-7(3), 6-4. Elena defeated fifth-seeded Francesca Schiavone, 6-4, 7-5.

Elena still can't serve decisively, but her groundies are top shelf. I say this is final is a pick 'em. I'm going with Dementieva in three tight sets. I have not given up hope, Dementieva can pull out one major title before she hangs up her Yonex racquet. And if she does that, then Elena deserves a shot at the Hall of Fame. I don't know what all the hoopla is about. When you finish five of the last six seasons in the top 10, that ought to stand for something. This degree of excellent consistency should be rewarded. 

Let's not forget: Dementieva was one win away from the French Open final in June and she still has many more productive years ahead of her. I'm sure she's inspired after Francesca won the French Open after Elena retired from their semifinal.

I wouldn't be surprised if Dementieva won one a major with break or two especially if Serena and Justine Henin continue to miss majors.

Here's a statement you may not agree with, but in my eyes it's true. Pound-for-pound, Francesca Schiavone is the most completely player in women's tennis when Justine is on the sideline.

Little Melanie Oudin just fell out of the top 50. She's going in the wrong direction. She's gotta stop this slide or it will be even tougher to rebound. The tour isn't in the charity business.

When the media was drinking the "Melanie is the next great American" Kool Aid, I said then her lack of size and inability to combat the high ball to her backhand side was going to be an issue.

Don't me wrong: I love this kid's spunk and spirit, but her lack of size is doing her in big time.

Now wait a minute, you might say, revisit a statement four paragraphs prior that Schiavone, who is barely Oudin's height, is pound-for-pound the most complete player when Justine is sidelined. Yes, I said that but the difference is Schiavone has more ammo in her arsenal. Schiavone can close the net, she is a fine volleyer, she can slice her backhand, hit heavy topspin off it, flatten it out. In short, Schiavone is an all-around player and Oudin is a work in progress, a player looking to hit forehands and hide her weaknesses. That's not a knock on Melanie, just a point that to get back to the top 50 she's got to develop a more complete game. Oudin should use Schiavone as a role model in that regard.

I think too much was expected of Melanie too soon. She has to do some serious regrouping in the off-season.

Vee and Ree say they'll play the Fed Cup final. I'll believe it when it happens. It pains me to say that as a long-time Williams sisters supporter and fan, but these ladies just don't make it to the starting gate too much these days.

Yes, Venus has delivered in her past Fed Cup performances and usually has kept her word when she's says she'd play. Serena pulled out at the last minute before the 2009 Fed Cup final and if she pulls the same stunt before next month's final, it will do more than harm the hopes of captain Mary Joe Fernandez's crew, it will mean Ree's credibility is shot.

While Mary Joe, who has led the USA to consecutive finals in her first two years as captain, would love to have them both playing the singles, I'm sure she's of mixed feelings for the real team members who did the heavy lifting to put the team in the final.

If they don't show up for the final, they will look bad. If they don't win the tie, they will look worse. It makes no sense for them to lift everyone's hopes of them playing only to drop out at the last second. If they do this, I'll drop my support for them for the rest of their careers. Fed and Davis Cup play is an honor not a throwaway amusement.

One thing is for sure: we all know how tough Schiavone and Flavia Pennetta can be, but if Venus and Serena play, the USA will win it.

As I said at the start: I like Elena Dementieva's chances in the final and what I would really like is to see her clean up her service act even more.

Elena has some of the best groundies the game has ever produced, yet her serve is still sporadic. She's up to about a half dozen hitches now. How can this be? No one seems to tell her simplicity is the key. It's one thing to have trouble putting a serve in the box. It's an entirely different matter when you have more movement in your delivery than a Swiss watch.

I don't understand her approach. I still love the rest of her game though.

Tennis Now contributing writer Franklin L. Johnson is a writer, poet and avid tennis player based in New York. He has covered professional tennis for three decades. His recent columns include The Revival Of Maria Sharapova; Why Roger Federer Fell To Novak Djokovic; Open Observations: Only The Strong Survive; Champs Can Sow Seeds of American Tennis Growth;  The GOAT Game Changer; What Do Roger Federer and Andy Murray's Coaching Changes Mean?; American Anthem Needs New Tune; Tomas Berdych Played Tame Final and A Case For Vera.