Has there ever been a younger 37-year old tennis player than Venus Williams, and have there ever been two players more appreciative of being able to compete on a tennis court than Williams and her quarterfinal opponent on Night 9, Petra Kvitova?
Disease, tragedy, peril, career-saving surgery. You name it, and Williams and Kvitova have seen it. Both women know how lucky they are to be playing tennis, whether it be at age 37, or 27. And everyone else knows it, too. So we all entered this match knowing that the result, no matter what it might be, was going to simultaneously be both exhilarating and bittersweet. But one woman had to win, while the other would be going home. As it is, they spent the night firing big shots at one another, both trying to beat the other to the punch.
In the opening set, Williams' bad service in the third game of the match -- three double-faults, the last on break point -- gave Kvitova an early 2-1 lead, and the Czech immediately held for 3-1. But that one game, for a while, hid the fact that it was Kvitova who was a bit slow out of the gate in this match. Her own DF in game #6, though, placed Kvitova in a 15/40 hole. Venus' return up the middle forced a Kvitova forehand error and the break of serve tied the score at 3-3. Two games later, with the Czech's game level having dropped just a little bit more, Kvitova fell behind love/40 on serve. A Williams backhand into the corner got the break for a 5-4 lead, and she held a game later with a body serve on set point that produced another Kvitova forehand error.
But while Williams ended the 1st set on an upswing, and Kvitova seemed to be heading in the opposite direction, the two would change roles to begin the 2nd as Venus, as she often has at this Open, began the match's second stanza with a bit less focus than she'd had earlier. As the set would play out, Williams would have multiple BP opportunities that might have helped her avoid having to play her third three-set match of this slam. But she was never able to convert on any of them, ultimately going 0-for-5 in the set, with the chances spread out over three straight Kvitova service games.
Kvitova got the early break in the set for a 2-0 lead, then held for 3-0 as rain forced the closure of the Ashe Court roof. In that third game, the Czech's forehand down-the-line winner erased Williams' second BP of the game and was followed up by a loud "Pojd!," signaling the growing threat that Kvitova's hard groundstrokes would present Williams for the rest of the match. Petra saved another BP in game #5, but held for 4-1; then she saved two more in game 7. Finally holding serve without having to stave off a Williams BP chance, Kvitova held for 6-3 and prepared for her first three-set match of this U.S. Open.
Again in the 3rd, Kvitova had the early lead, breaking for 2-1 and holding a game later after reeling off five consecutive points after falling behind love/40, ending with an ace that extended Venus' string of squandered BP chances to eight. Finally, after Williams fired a shot up the line that forced a Kvitova crosscourt backhand that went wide, Venus had carved out still another BP chance. The Czech's DF gave Williams the break, knotting the score at 3-3.
Williams raced to a 40/love lead in the next game and held to take the lead, then saw Kvitova hold at love for 4-4. With both players firing haymaker shots at each other from the baseline, neither held anything back as the set edged closer to its hardly-surprising final act. In a four-deuce game in which she reached GP on five occasions, but never faced a BP, Venus held for 5-4. After that last story-changing plot point was avoided, the set proceeded to a deciding tie-break.
Unfortunately, it wasn't nearly as exciting as the prelude to it.
On the third point, Kvitova missed a forehand up the line to give Williams a mini-break lead at 2-1. She'd never relinquish it. After butting heads and shifting the momentum back and forth between them all night, Venus alone surged in the closing moments. After holding two serves to go up 4-1, then winning back-to-back points on the Kvitova serve, the second via a DF, Williams reached MP. After a delaying DF of her own, Venus saw a Kvitova return go wide as the match ended with a 6-4/3-6/7-6(2) scoreline, as Williams advanced to her ninth career U.S. Open semifinal, and her first since 2010.
Kvitova's run may have come up short of her completing a Career SF Slam (something only five active women's singles players can claim), but she still managed her best slam result in two years to provide a strong finish to a summer that saw her win a title early in her return to action, but then not win multiple matches in any event until this U.S. Open run.
For Venus, she advances to her third slam semifinal of the season, something she hasn't done in fifteen years. When she reached those three semis in 2002, she also reached the finals at those majors, losing all three to sister Serena in the opening three-quarters of the original Serena Slam. Williams has already reached the finals at two 2017 slams, making her the only player with multiple slam finals this season, though she's yet to win her first major since 2008.
=DAY 9 NOTES= ...earlier in the day on Tuesday, in the first of two quarterfinal matches in which players were set to attempt to become the first non-Williams Bannerettes to reach the U.S. Open semifinals since 2004, Sloane Stephens, with a tennis lifetime's worth of experience on both ends of the spectrum of success since her only other slam semifinal in Melbourne in 2013, took another step toward making the star-lit career prospects that used to be known around here as "Future Sloane" an eventual reality. Maybe even by the end of this weekend.
"Only you can control your future."
Going up against Anastasija Sevastova in the Latvian's second straight appearance in the QF at Flushing Meadows, Stephens engaged in a back-and-forth affair in which she, much like Madison Keys on Night 8, was faced with the notion of staring down and conquering not just the opponent on the other side of the net, but also the opponent within that has at times in the past tripped her up, allowing her own nerves and occasionally a sense of panic to assume control of the situation and guide her to an undesirable finish.
Sevastova opened the match with a break of serve, but it was Stephens who quickly took command of the 1st set, winning four straight games and going on to serve out the set at 6-3. In the 2nd, Stephens' game was overpopulated by errors just as Sevastova, much like she did in her defeat of Maria Sharapova in the Round of 16, slid into the groove of her own game of defense and variety. She took the set by the same 6-3 score as she'd lost the 1st, setting up a battle of wills -- and nerves -- in the deciding 3rd.
In the early going, Stephens' low first serve percentage and continued adding to her error total put her in an immediate hole in the set. Sevastova broke her with a forehand winner, then held for a 3-1 lead. In game #5, the Latvian had a double-break lead within her sights. The game was level at 30/30, and it was apparent that Stephens was barely holding on. A break of serve at that moment and she might have been done for.
But she held for 3-2, averting disaster for the time being and giving herself more chances to get her footing in the moment and push herself forward toward a result no one -- least of all her -- could have foreseen a few months ago when she was struggling to notch her first win of the season after missing a year of action with a foot injury that led to her ranking being in the #900's earlier this summer.
Stephens broke Sevastova at 15 to knot the set at 3-3. A game later, after Sevastova's defense had kept a rally alive, Sloane saw an opening, but her angled backhand crosscourt shot wasn't quite wide *enough*. Sevastova directed the ball down the line with a backhand, leading to Stephens netting a crosscout forehand to give the Latvian a BP. Stephens' forehand error on her first groundstroke of the next point put Sevastova back on top with a break for 4-3.
But it was at this point that Stephens found her moment, and was up for the occasion. Much like Keys might have succumbed in seasons past in a similar predicament before overcoming a 4-2 3rd set deficit vs. Elina Svitolina, Stephens also showed why the new generation of Bannerette tennis (with big wins from the likes of Sloane, Keys, Vandeweghe, Bellis, Rogers, Brady, the Fed Cup squad and others headlining the Serena-less spring and summer schedule) is finally showing the strength necessary to survive and thrive in the final seasons of the Williams era and beyond.
With the crowd making their collective voice known, Stephens got to 15/40 on Sevastova's serve. On BP #2, Sevastova scrambled to reach a short-bouncing net cord shot, but Stephens raced forward to retrieve the Latvian's sliced backhand drop shot and push it onto a corner line to take the break lead back. Urging herself between points to fight, Stephens survived a game in which the score went back and forth, holding for 5-4 to take the lead in the 3rd set for the first time. But Sevastova didn't blink, holding at love for 5-5.
As the match went to a deciding tie-break, the first in a U.S. Open QF since 2012, the two women would again trade momentum in the early stage. Stephens led 3-1, but Sevastova got the mini-break back at 3-3. When Sevastova pulled a forehand wide, Stephens re-claimed the mini-break advantage as her own, but when a net cord shot failed to make it over the net it put things right back on serve at 5-4.
But it would be the last time fate stuck out it's tongue at Sloane.
A Sevastova forehand error gave Stephens a MP at 6-4, then on her first chance to close out the match she fired a backhand winner up the line to win the TB 7-4 and advance to her second career slam semifinal, and first in New York. She's 7-0 in three-set matches this summer.
The 6-3/3-6/7-6(4) match once again leaves Sevastova a round short (though a lot closer than a year ago) of becoming true tennis royalty in her home nation (Ostapenko and Gulbis have both advanced deeper in a major since 2014), but she's now become a player to keep a close eye on, especially in NYC, where she thrived in consecutive summer runs in the buzzy atmosphere, playing her best tennis on the biggest stage in the tennis world. Even as she exits the stage again, she does so after having out-pointed Stephens in this match by two points (105-103).
Meanwhile, Stephens extends her remarkable summer hard court run. The momentum she attained with her semifinal results in Toronto and Cincinnati made this possible, but this win could very well be the biggest of her entire career. Bigger than her four career singles titles in 2015-16, which were necessary doors to knock down, but also more important than her win over Serena Williams to reach the AO semis four years ago. That 2013 moment served to highlight her potential, but not her ability to learn, react, mature and legitimately build up the confidence that she so effortlessly displayed (or feigned) when she first burst onto the scene, when it often felt like she was consciously choosing to play "a role" when she stepped in front of a microphone.
"Future Sloane" was a notion of a possible reality in which something great was not only expected but attained, while "Current Sloane" was something different -- and usually "less" -- in the immediate afterglow of Stephens' first dose of success. It's taken a period of time filled with trials, losses, foundation-building wins, injury, surgery and a healthier appreciation of it all that has allowed Stephens to better settle into her new, though reclaimed, position on the scene. She's back in the spotlight, and better than she was before. Hopefully, she now understands how to go about staying in it, too.
"Look at me! Look at me! Look at me NOW! It is fun to have fun But you have to know how." "Dr. Seuss"
But Sloane has never had a problem on the mega-watt smile front.
...Williams and Stephens' semifinal runs mean there are multiple U.S. women in the Open final four for the first time since 2004 (Davenport/Capriati), with Keys and CoCo Vandeweghe with the opportunity to make it three -- or even four -- on Wednesday. The last time three made it that far was 2002 (Serena-Venus-Davenport), and it was 1981 (Austin-Navratilova-Evert-Potter) when we last saw four.
The schedule for Day 10 is set, and it's tad eyebrow-raising. Karolina Pliskova vs. Vandeweghe will fill the daytime slot on Ashe, while Keys vs. Kaia Kanepi will be in the night session. So a match-up of the world #1 and '16 finalist, who has yet to play under the lights at this tournament, vs. a native New Yorker (who has played at night just once) *doesn't* get the primetime nod over Kanepi vs. Keys in what will be Madison's FOURTH night match in five rounds of play?
Hmmm.
...the mixed doubles semifinals are set, and it'll be two unseeded duos vs. two Top 3 seeds. #1-seeded Martina Hingis & Jamie Murray can become the only two-time '17 MX champs if they can get past Vandeweghe/Horia Tecau in the semis, then the winner of #3 Chan Hao-Ching/Michael Venus vs. Anastasia Rodionova/Oliver Marach in the final. Hingis is the only remaining woman in the draw who owns a Mixed slam title.
She's also one of two women -- with her WD partner's sister, Chan Hao-Ching -- still alive in both MX and WD.
...in the girls singles, we had something of a U.S. Open version of a "Junior Radwanskian Massacre" on Day 9, as three of the Top 5 seeds lost, including the Top 2, both previous slam winners in 2017.
13-year-old American Coco Gauff upsets 16-year-old junior world No.5 Carson Branstine of Canada in the second round of #USOpen juniors. pic.twitter.com/ZNzrWFtYOR
#5 Carson Branstine fell to 13-year old wild card Bannerette CoCo Gauff (my pre-tournament pick for the title based on her recent results... he said, thereby jinxing her), while #2 Marta Kostyuk (AO girls champ) of Ukraine fell to Elysia Bolton of the U.S., and #1 Whitney Osuigwe (the first of two U.S. girls slam winners this year, winning in Paris) was upset by Russia's Anastasia Kharitonova in three sets. The highest remaining seeds are #3 Elena Rybakina (RUS) and #4 Amanda Anisimova (USA).
I'm not sure what's worse, that the headline writer thinks Stephens needs to be identified by who her boyfriend is, or that the headline writer thinks the majority of the readers know who Jozy Altidore is in the first place.
LIKE ON DAY 9: That Bethanie Mattek-Sands is as dangerous when she can't play due to injury as she is when she can.
Enjoying the last bite in this great city. See you in 2018! Disfrutando del último bocado en esta gran ciudad ¡Nos vemos en 2018! @usopen ?? pic.twitter.com/5xILnzNwTE
...and, finally... the Colt This-Has-To-Work-Eventually Open Challenge is coming down to the wire. As in, after one more match only one contender will be left out on the wire...
*GIRLS SINGLES ROUND OF 16* Anastasia Kharitonova/RUS vs. (WC) Katie Volynets/USA (WC) Dalayna Hewitt/USA vs. (WC) CoCo Gauff/USA #3 Elena Rybakina/RUS vs. Elisabetta Cocciaretto/ITA #10 Simona Waltert/SUI vs. Maria Lourdes Carle/ARG #8 Olga Danilovic/SRB vs. Naho Sato/JPN (Q) Paula Arias Manjon/ESP vs. #4 Amanda Anisimova/USA (WC) Kelly Chen/USA vs. Emiliana Arango/COL #15 Sofya Lansere/RUS vs. Elysia Bolton/USA
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*LOWEST-SEEDED WOMEN IN US OPEN SF, since 2000* Unseeded - 2000 Elena Dementieva, RUS Unseeded - 2009 Yanina Wickmayer, BEL Unseeded - 2011 Angelique Kerber, GER Unseeded - 2013 Flavia Pennetta, ITA Unseeded - 2014 Peng Shuai, CHN Unseeded - 2015 Roberta Vinci, ITA (RU) Unseeded - 2016 Caroline Wozniacki, DEN Unseeded - 2017 Sloane Stephens, USA Wild Card - 2009 Kim Clijsters, BEL (W) #28 - 2011 Serena Williams, USA (RU) #26 - 2015 Flavia Pennetta, ITA (W) #19 - 2006 Jelena Jankovic,SRB #17 - 2014 Ekaterina Makarova, RUS #12 - 2005 Mary Pierce, FRA (RU) #12 - 2007 Venus Williams, USA #10 - 2001 Serena Williams, USA (RU) #10 - 2002 Amelie Mauresmo, FRA #10 - 2012 Sara Errani, ITA #10 - 2014 Caroline Wozniacki, DEN (RU) #10 - 2016 Karolina Pliskova, CZE (RU) -- TO PLAY: #20 Vandeweghe, Kanepi (Q)
*LOWEST-SEEDED WOMAN IN SLAM SF, since 2015* un Keys - 2015 Australian un Vinci - 2015 U.S. Open (RU) un Konta - 2016 Australian un Bertens - 2016 Roland Garros un Vesnina - 2016 Wimbledon un Wozniacki - 2016 U.S. Open un Lucic-Baroni - 2017 Australian un Vandeweghe - 2017 Australian un Ostapenko - 2017 Roland Garros (W) un Rybarikova - 2017 Wimbledon un Stephens - 2017 U.S. Open #30 Bacsinszky - 2017 Roland Garros #26 Pennetta - 2015 U.S. Open (W) #23 Bacsinszky - 2015 Roland Garros #21 Stosur - 2016 Roland Garros #20 Muguruza - 2015 Wimbledon (RU) -- TO PLAY: #20 Vandeweghe, Kanepi (Q)
**WTA "CAREER SF SLAM" - active** [with slam at which completed] Victoria Azarenka - 2013 RG (30th) Maria Sharapova - 2007 RG (18th) Serena Williams - 2003 AO (18th) Venus Williams - 2001 AO (15th) Vera Zvonareva - 2010 US (31st) -- ALSO: Hingis - 1997 WI (11th)
TOP QUALIFIER:Kaia Kanepi/EST TOP EARLY-ROUND (1r-2r):#3 Garbine Muguruza/ESP TOP MIDDLE-ROUND (3r-QF): xx TOP LATE-ROUND (SF-F): xx TOP QUALIFYING MATCH:Q2: Jamie Loeb/USA def. (PR) Vera Zvonareva/RUS 7-6(4)/5-7/6-4 (3:16; delay after fan faints as Loeb to serve out at 5-4 in 3rd) TOP EARLY-RD. MATCH (1r-2r):1st Rd. - (WC) Maria Sharapova/RUS def. #2 Simona Halep/ROU 6-4/4-6/6-3 (Night 1) TOP MIDDLE-RD. MATCH (3r-QF): Nominee: QF - #9 V.Williams def. #13 Kvitova 6-4/3-6/7-6(2) TOP LATE-RD. MATCH (SF-F/Jr.): xx TOP ASHE NIGHT SESSION MATCH: Nominee: 1st Rd. - (WC) Sharapova def. #2 Halep (Night 1) ============================= FIRST VICTORY:Kristyna Pliskova/CZE (1st Rd. - def. Eguchi/JPN) FIRST SEED OUT:#32 Lauren Davis/USA (1st Rd. - lost to Kenin/USA UPSET QUEENS:Japan REVELATION LADIES:Australia NATION OF POOR SOULS:Germany (2-7 1st Rd.; DC Kerber out; one of two w/ a win defeated another German) CRASH & BURN:#6 Angelique Kerber/GER (lost to Osaka/JPN; second U.S. DC to lose 1st Rd.loss, w/ '05 Kuznetsova; out of Top 10) ZOMBIE QUEEN: Nominee: Ka.Pliskova (down MP vs. Sh.Zhang in 3rd Rd.; saved #1 ranking); Kuznetsova (down 3 MP vs. Vondrousova in 1st Rd.) IT ("?"): xx Ms.OPPORTUNITY: Nominees: Vandeweghe/USA, Kanepi/EST, Stephens/USA LAST QUALIFIER STANDING:Kaia Kanepi/EST (in QF) LAST WILD CARD STANDING:Maria Sharapova/RUS (4th Rd.) LAST BANNERETTE STANDING: In QF.: Keys, Stephens(W), Vandeweghe, V.Williams(W) COMEBACK PLAYER: Nominees: Stephens/USA, Kanepi/EST, Kvitova/CZE VETERAN PLAYER (KIMIKO CUP): Nominees: V.Williams/USA, Kanepi/EST, Sevastova/LAT DOUBLES STAR: xx BROADWAY-BOUND:Maria Sharapova/RUS & Simona Halep/ROU (Opening Night) LADY OF THE EVENING:"The Late Show starring Madison Keys" (3rd Rd. - 1:45am finish, second-latest women's finish to own 1:48 finish last year) JUNIOR BREAKOUT: xx
The quarterfinalists in the first match up on Ashe Court on Day 10 couldn't have been more polar opposites when it comes to demeanor.
World #1 Karolina Pliskova is the Czech with the calm exterior and laid back personality. She sports a subtle, though blunt and forthright, brand of commentary, often on the failures of her own game. #20 CoCo Vandeweghe has for quite a while almost been too easily viewed as a brash American stereotype, with a blunt and in-your-face exterior and sometimes-judgmental attitude directed outward rather than inward. While it's taken (and still is, on some level) a while for many to get a full grasp of Pliskova as she took her time figuring out to perform her best on the biggest stages in the sport, Vandeweghe has often been easy for many to dislike while she elbowed for attention on some of those same large stages.
But a funny thing happened today, as the two players who both sought to reach their second slam semifinal of the season almost seemed as if they had exchanged personalities after they met for the coin toss at the start of play.
For in this match it would be Vandeweghe who'd often appear the more focused and calm of the two. Oh, she cracked a racket at one point (that's almost an every-match prerequisite for showing up with a full tennis bag in her case), and even a matter-of-fact conversation that CoCo had with the chair umpire about a minor detail (whether she should have a first or second serve after a replay challenge) held a touch of an untoward tone about it (though it was likely just the vibe that she sometimes gives off without even trying). But, all in all, this was a "CoCo 2.0." Much like previously moved-forward semifinalist Sloane Stephens and still-to-play quarerfinalist Madison Keys, Vandeweghe has come to this U.S. Open prepared to show how much she's changed and grown through experience, not allowing pressure, preconceived notions nor temporary downturns in her play to send her off the rails toward certain defeat. Having improved her fitness in recent seasons, then her willingness to do something other than try to hit aces on every serve, this season she's at least attempted to work on the space between her ears, as well. A sport psychologist has seemingly -- though she'll still slip up at times -- helped her professionalism flourish (well, improve... enough that it's often noticeable), while summer coaching pick-up Pat Cash has been an unlikely, but good, fit when it's comes to helping her stay loose but also keep her eyes on the task at hand. Today, Vandeweghe didn't need to audaciously stoke the crowd to get herself going. With a game plan in mind from the start, she simply paid attention to controlling what she could within the lines. It showed that she may have indeed finally come into her own as a personality both on and off the court. One that makes the game more interesting, though the equal parts love/hate dynamic of her being will likely always still apply.
"Today I shall behave, as if this is the day I will be remembered." "Dr. Seuss"
Meanwhile, as Vandeweghe was generally a sedate-but-effective version of herself, it was the usually calm Pliskvova who was seen smacking and then tossing a racket (and a water bottle), and occasionally looking irritated and frustrated, either by a call that didn't go her way, or having to wait for calm or quiet in the stands before serving. While the Czech had the greater history at this slam, where she defeated both Williams Sisters a year ago and pushed Angelique Kerber to three sets in the final, it was New York-born (but California adapted) Vandeweghe who seemed more at home, more at ease. More herself. The 2.0 version, at least.
It was Vandeweghe who jumped at the first opportunity in the match, breaking Pliskova in game #3 of the opening set to take a 2-1 lead. The Czech held at love in game #7, and led love/30 on the Vandeweghe serve in the next game. But CoCo came back strong, firing an ace to go up 40/30. Two DF gave Pliskova a break point, but Vandeweghe saved it by taking a Pliskova backhand return off the line and creating a behind-the-baseline crosscourt shot into the far corner to stay alive in the game. The Czech got the break on her second chance, moving in on a return, then following up with a hooking forehand winner to even things at 4-4. Pliskova double-faulted to fall behind love/30 in the next game. But she reached game point and ran forward to the net to reach a short return, slicing a forehand into the opposite corner that Vandeweghe couldn't get back, holding for 5-4. Pliskova's big chance arrived in the match's tenth game. There, she held a set point on Vandeweghe's serve, only to see the Bannerette save it and ultimately win on her third GP with a backhand winner. While the Czech had failed to secure the opening set, she could still win it in the eventual tie-break.
Or not.
The TB would last eleven points, but ten of them would be won by the server. The one exception was the very first point, when a deep-in-the-corner backhand return from Vandeweghe elicited a Pliskova error to put her up 1-0. The Czech never lost a second point on serve, but also never got the mini-break back. Her sprayed return gave the TB to Vandeweghe by a 7-4 score. Pliskova tossed her racket after the error, then her water bottle soon afterward.
The 2nd set, though, is where CoCo 2.0 truly and noticeably shined. As things got more serious, so did she. With the semis on the line, Vandeweghe was all business, and rarely missed a beat in the game. When it counted, she fired returns deep into the court and was able to use that early advantage to further move Pliskova off the court with angled groundstrokes, then get her on the move so that her power was less accurate and effective. Winning a high percentage of first serve points (81% for the match, 10% more than the Czech), often serving on the outside of the servie box to get Pliskova moving and not allow her to blast shots from a perfect position in the middle of the court, CoCo kept things in check on serve, as well.
With Vandeweghe up 2-1, Pliskova double-faulted to fall behind love/30, then sailed a forehand to make it 15/40. A deep second serve return into the corner produced a too-long forehand off the Czech's racket and handed the Bannerette the break lead at 3-1. Vandeweghe blinked ever so slightly a game later, firing an early DF and seeing her backhand deliver a handful of errors that gave the break back. But she'd refocus and pull it all back together immediately, breaking back for a 4-2 lead with a forehand passing shot.
Serving for the match at 5-3, Vandeweghe went down 15/30 when Pliskova fired a winner behind her, but her own forehand on the baseline evened up the score. She would face a BP, but Vandeweghe forced another Pliskova error as the Czech failed to get her running forehand back over the net as she was made to chase a Vandeweghe shot along the baseline. Vandeweghe moved Pliskova from one corner to the other, hitting a forehand behind her for a winner, to reach match point. She failed to convert it, but got another chance when she again pulled Pliskova to one side of the court, then fired a winner into the vacated side.
On MP #2, Pliskova's forehand couldn't handle Vandegewhe's big serve and it was over, as CoCo became the third U.S. woman to hit her way into the semis, the most at Flushing Meadows since 2004 (and still with a chance for all four for the first time since 1981), winning 7-6(4)/6-3 and picking up her second #1 win of the season.
Even in her post-match interview, Vandeweghe showed a level of maturity she's sometimes been incapable of displaying, noting that she was wrong when she won the junior title at age 16 (in 2008) and thought getting to this position would be easy and fast. It's been anything but. Still just 25, CoCo has gone from being a one-time top junior who was viewed as having gone on to have a disappointing pro career to a late(r) bloomer who might not have yet reached her ultimate potential, but is very closet to being able to do so.
It was good that she immediately went to thank the contingent in her Player's Box after match point, too, as it's been their patience and insistence on her dedication to legitimate improvement (on and off court) that has brought Vandeweghe to the center stage of her home slam with a semifinal result that fully backs up the final four run she posted in Melbourne in January, and the team leadership-by-example role she grew into while leading the U.S. squad to this year's Fed Cup final.
As a member of the group of three (for now) U.S. players still standing, this is precisely the sort of "team" (even though it's not, really) atmosphere where CoCo has shown she can thrive. With teammates on the other side of the draw as well as the other side of the net, and with a stadium full of full-throated backers in the stands, Vandeweghe is "allowed" to let her CoCo flag fly as boldly as she wishes, and it never costs her support. But she's learned, as surely was the case today, that sometimes showing a measure of control in such an environment is often just as important.
In fact, it could be the difference between a nice career stepping stone result at Flushing Meadows and one that could be a career-defining moment that will stick with her for the rest of her days.
"You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction you choose."
=DAY 10 NOTES= ...Pliskova's failure to reach the final means that we'll have (another) new #1 on Monday, as Garbine Muguruza assumes the top spot.
Barring a title run by the Czech or another of the six contenders for #1 heading into this U.S. Open, this is probably the best development for all involved. If, say, Simona Halep or Elina Svitolina would have backed into the #1 ranking without winning the title it Would have simply set up a rehash of past discussions that does no one any good, least off all the slam-less #1 that would have to answer all of THOSE QUESTIONS all over again. Muguruza has been the most in-form player all summer, won Wimbledon and is a two-time slam champ.
It feels right.
For the moment, at least. This might not be the last exchange of the #1 ranking this year -- it's already the sixth change at the top since January, two off the tour record for a season -- as we could see a few more before the season-ending #1 might come down to the WTA Finals in Singapore. That would be another pressure situation in which we could see who will step up one final time before new mom Serena Williams returns to the scene in 2018.
Mark your calendar.
...the final quarterfinal between Madison Keys (in her FOURTH night match in five rounds... what is this, the AO or Wimbledon with only one home player alive from the 3rd Round forward?) and qualifier Kaia Kanepi will take place tonight on Ashe.
...today's schedule was already an abbreviated one, and daytime rain even cut into that. Aside from the singles action on both sides of the draw, the only scheduled matches were doubles quarterfinals. And only one of those was completed, as Safarova/Strycova advanced to make it not a total loss for Czech tennis on this day.
...yesterday's play set the girls singles round of 16, and as was the case in Paris and London it's a Bannerette-dominated field. After placing five and six juniors in the Final 16 at RG and SW19, respectively, there are again six U.S. representative still breathing at Flushing Meadows. Three Hordettes also still stand, along with girls from seven other countries (two from South America, in fact, in a nice development).
With so many U.S. players in the mix, the Roland Garros and Wimbledon girls singles finals were ultimately both all-Bannerette affairs, and the chances aren't too shabby that we might see a major three-peat on that front at this Open (with a fourth and fifth different player in the fifth and sixth final slots, too).
LIKE ON DAY 10 9: The ayes... err, flies... err, fly... has it.
*MIXED DOUBLES SF* #1 Hingis/J.Murray (SUI/GBR) vs. Vandeweghe/Tecau (USA/ROU) #3 H.Chan/Venus (TPE/NZL) vs. An.Rodionova/Marach (AUS/AUT)
*GIRLS SINGLES ROUND OF 16* Anastasia Kharitonova/RUS vs. (WC) Katie Volynets/USA (WC) Dalayna Hewitt/USA vs. (WC) Coco Gauff/USA #3 Elena Rybakina/RUS vs. Elisabetta Cocciaretto/ITA #10 Simona Waltert/SUI vs. Maria Lourdes Carle/ARG #8 Olga Danilovic/SRB vs. Naho Sato/JPN (Q) Paula Arias Manjon/ESP vs. #4 Amanda Anisimova/USA (WC) Kelly Chen/USA vs. Emiliana Arango/COL #15 Sofya Lansere/RUS vs. Elysia Bolton/USA
*GIRLS DOUBLES QF* #1 Danilovic/Kostyuk (SRB/UKR) vs. xx xx vs. #7 Lansere/Rakhimova (RUS/RUS) #8 Bolton/A.Li (USA/USA) vs. xx xx vs. xx
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*WTA SINGLES #1's - by year first reached* 1975 Chris Evert, USA 1976 Evonne Goolagong, AUS 1978 Martina Navratilova, USA 1980 Tracy Austin, USA 1987 Steffi Graf, FRG/GER 1991 Monica Seles, YUG 1995 Arantxa Sanchez Vicario, ESP 1997 Martina Hingis, SUI 1998 Lindsay Davenport, USA 2001 Jennifer Capriati, USA 2002 Venus Williams, USA 2002 Serena Williams, USA 2003 Kim Clijsters, BEL 2003 Justine Henin, BEL 2004 Amelie Mauresmo, FRA 2005 Maria Sharapova, RUS 2008 Ana Ivanovic, SRB 2008 Jelena Jankovic, SRB 2009 Dinara Safina, RUS 2010 Caroline Wozniacki, DEN 2012 Victoria Azarenka, BLR 2016 Angelique Kerber, GER 2017 Karolina Pliskova, CZE 2017 Garbine Muguruza, ESP
**MOST DIFFERENT #1's IN A SEASON** 2008: 5 = Henin,Sharapova,Ivanovic*,Jankovic*,S.Williams 2002: 4 = Davenport,Capriati,V.Williams*,S.Williams* 2006: 4 = Davenport,Clijsters,Mauresmo,Henin 2017: 4 = Kerber,S.Williams,Ka.Pliskova*,Muguruza* -- *-first-time #1
**MOST SWAPS OF #1 RANKING IN A SEASON** 8 = 2002 (4 different players) 8 = 1995 (3 different players) 6 = 2008 (5 different players) 6 = 2017 (4 different players)* -- 1/30: Kerber to Serena 3/20: Serena to Kerber 4/24: Kerber to Serena 5/15: Serena to Kerber 7/17: Kerber to Pliskova 9/11: Pliskova to Muguruza
**2017 WINS OVER #1** 2 - Garbine Muguruza, ESP (Kerber/Pliskova) 2 - Elina Svitolina, UKR (Kerber-2) 2 - COCO VANDEWEGHE, USA (Kerber/Pliskova)
**WINS OVER DIFFERENT #1's IN A SEASON - since 2008** 2008 Dinara Safina, RUS (3) 2009 Venus Williams, USA (2) 2010 Samantha Stosur, AUS (2) 2011-15 - none 2016 Elina Svitolina, UKR (2) 2017 Garbine Muguruza, ESP (2) 2017 CoCo Vandweghe, USA (2)
*LOWEST-SEEDED WOMEN IN US OPEN SF, since 2000* Unseeded - 2000 Elena Dementieva, RUS Unseeded - 2009 Yanina Wickmayer, BEL Unseeded - 2011 Angelique Kerber, GER Unseeded - 2013 Flavia Pennetta, ITA Unseeded - 2014 Peng Shuai, CHN Unseeded - 2015 Roberta Vinci, ITA (RU) Unseeded - 2016 Caroline Wozniacki, DEN Unseeded - 2017 Sloane Stephens, USA Wild Card - 2009 Kim Clijsters, BEL (W) #28 - 2011 Serena Williams, USA (RU) #26 - 2015 Flavia Pennetta, ITA (W) #20 - 2017 CoCo Vandeweghe, USA #19 - 2006 Jelena Jankovic,SRB #17 - 2014 Ekaterina Makarova, RUS #12 - 2005 Mary Pierce, FRA (RU) #12 - 2007 Venus Williams, USA #10 - 2001 Serena Williams, USA (RU) #10 - 2002 Amelie Mauresmo, FRA #10 - 2012 Sara Errani, ITA #10 - 2014 Caroline Wozniacki, DEN (RU) #10 - 2016 Karolina Pliskova, CZE (RU) -- TO PLAY: Kanepi (Q)
*LOWEST-SEEDED WOMAN IN SLAM SF, since 2015* un Keys - 2015 Australian un Vinci - 2015 U.S. Open (RU) un Konta - 2016 Australian un Bertens - 2016 Roland Garros un Vesnina - 2016 Wimbledon un Wozniacki - 2016 U.S. Open un Lucic-Baroni - 2017 Australian un Vandeweghe - 2017 Australian un Ostapenko - 2017 Roland Garros (W) un Rybarikova - 2017 Wimbledon un Stephens - 2017 U.S. Open #30 Bacsinszky - 2017 Roland Garros #26 Pennetta - 2015 U.S. Open (W) #23 Bacsinszky - 2015 Roland Garros #21 Stosur - 2016 Roland Garros #20 Muguruza - 2015 Wimbledon (RU) #20 Vandeweghe - 2017 U.S. Open -- TO PLAY: Kanepi (Q)
**MULTIPLE UNSEEDED IN SLAM SF (OPEN ERA)** [3] 1978 Australian - C.O'Neil,D.Evers,C.Matison 1976 R.Garros - R.Tomanova,F.Mihai,V.Ruzici [2] 2017 Australian - Lucic-Baroni,Vandeweghe 2010 Wimbledon - Kvitova,Pironkova 2010 Australian - Henin(WC),Zheng 2009 US Open - Clijsters(WC),Wickmayer 1999 Wimbledon - Stevenson(Q),Lucic 1994 Wimbledon - McNeil,G.Fernandez 1983 R.Garros - Jauvosec,Durie 1975 Australian - Chmyreva,S.Barker 1971 Australian - L.Hunt,W.Shaw 1971 R.Garros - M.Schaar,H.Gourlay -- NOTE: unseeded Stephens in semifinals, qualifier Kanepi to play
**U.S. OPEN "KIMIKO CUP" VETERAN WINNERS** 2015 Flavia Pennetta, ITA 2016 Angelique Kerber, GER 2017 Venus Williams, USA [2017] AO: Serena Williams, USA and Venus Williams, USA RG: Bethanie Mattek-Sands/Lucie Safarova, USA/CZE WI: Venus Williams, USA US: Venus Williams, USA
*GIRLS/WOMEN'S U.S. OPEN CHAMPS - OPEN ERA* Lindsay Davenport (1992 Jr. Champion; 1998 Women's Champion) [others] Victoria Azarenka: 2005 Jr. Champion, 2012 Women's RU Martina Hingis: 1994 Jr. RU, 1997 Women's Champion Svetlana Kuznetsova: 2001 Jr. RU; 2004 Women's Champion -- NOTE: CoCo Vandeweghe (2008 Jr. Champion)
*BACKSPIN 2017 "DOWN" WINNERS* JAN: Angelique Kerber, GER AO: Angelique Kerber, GER FEB/MAR: NED Fed Cup Team I.W./MIAMI: Belinda Bencic, SUI 1Q: Belinda Bencic, SUI APR/MAY: RUS Fed Cup Team MAY: Angelique Kerber, GER RG: Angelique Kerber, GER 2Q Clay Court: Angelique Kerber, GER JUN: Dominika Cibulkova, SVK WI: Kristina Mladenovic, FRA 2Q Grass Court: Dominika Cibulkova, SVK JUL/AUG: Kristina Mladenovic, FRA AUG: Petra Kvitova, CZE [2017 Weekly DOWN Award Wins] 6...Angelique Kerber, GER 4...Belinda Bencic, SUI 4...Aga Radwanska, POL 3...Dominika Cibulkova, SVK 3...Simona Halep, ROU 3...Jelena Jankovic, SRB 3...Dasha Kasatkina, RUS 2...Kiki Bertens, NED 2...Caroline Garcia, FRA 2...Martina Hingis/CoCo Vandeweghe, SUI/USA 2...Mirjana Lucic-Baroni, CRO 2...Sania Mirza/Yaroslava Shvedova, IND/KAZ 2...Sania Mirza/Barbora Strycova, IND/CZE 2...Kristina Mladenovic, FRA 2...CoCo Vandeweghe, USA
TOP QUALIFIER:Kaia Kanepi/EST TOP EARLY-ROUND (1r-2r):#3 Garbine Muguruza/ESP TOP MIDDLE-ROUND (3r-QF):#20 CoCo Vandeweghe/USA TOP LATE-ROUND (SF-F): xx TOP QUALIFYING MATCH:Q2: Jamie Loeb/USA def. (PR) Vera Zvonareva/RUS 7-6(4)/5-7/6-4 (3:16; delay after fan faints as Loeb to serve out at 5-4 in 3rd) TOP EARLY-RD. MATCH (1r-2r):1st Rd. - (WC) Maria Sharapova/RUS def. #2 Simona Halep/ROU 6-4/4-6/6-3 (Night 1) TOP MIDDLE-RD. MATCH (3r-QF): Nominee: QF - #9 V.Williams def. #13 Kvitova 6-4/3-6/7-6(2) TOP LATE-RD. MATCH (SF-F/Jr.): xx TOP ASHE NIGHT SESSION MATCH: Nominee: 1st Rd. - (WC) Sharapova def. #2 Halep (Night 1) ============================= FIRST VICTORY:Kristyna Pliskova/CZE (1st Rd. - def. Eguchi/JPN) FIRST SEED OUT:#32 Lauren Davis/USA (1st Rd. - lost to Kenin/USA UPSET QUEENS:Japan REVELATION LADIES:Australia NATION OF POOR SOULS:Germany (2-7 1st Rd.; DC Kerber out; one of two w/ a win defeated another German) CRASH & BURN:#6 Angelique Kerber/GER (lost to Osaka/JPN; second U.S. DC to lose 1st Rd.loss, w/ '05 Kuznetsova; out of Top 10) ZOMBIE QUEEN: Nominees: U.S. women's tennis; Kuznetsova (down 3 MP vs. Vondrousova in 1st Rd.) IT ("?"): xx Ms.OPPORTUNITY: Nominees: Vandeweghe/USA, Kanepi/EST, Stephens/USA LAST QUALIFIER STANDING:Kaia Kanepi/EST (in QF) LAST WILD CARD STANDING:Maria Sharapova/RUS (4th Rd.) LAST BANNERETTE STANDING: In QF.: Keys, Stephens(W), Vandeweghe(W), V.Williams(W) COMEBACK PLAYER: Nominees: Stephens/USA, Kanepi/EST, Kvitova/CZE VETERAN PLAYER (KIMIKO CUP):Venus Williams/USA DOUBLES STAR: xx BROADWAY-BOUND:Maria Sharapova/RUS & Simona Halep/ROU (Opening Night) LADY OF THE EVENING:"The Late Show starring Madison Keys" (3rd Rd. - 1:45am finish, second-latest women's finish to own 1:48 finish last year) JUNIOR BREAKOUT: Nominee: Gauff/USA, Kharitonova/RUS
It happened Thursday night on Ashe court. A champion was born, though she hasn't yet been crowned. Whether she'll turn out to be a Current or Future Champ we'll find out this weekend. But, after tonight, it can be said that it *will* happen.
On Day 11 of the 2017 U.S. Open, Bannerette tennis celebrated its Independence Day. Naturally, a Williams showed up. But not Serena... Venus, playing in her third slam semifinal of the season, and joined by three members of a new generation of U.S. stars, all having their won slam semifinalist experience for the second time in their career. Needless to say, it was an historic occasion. One not seen in a major in thirty-two years (1985 Wimbledon), or at the U.S. Open in thirty-six (1981).
As improbable as the time span between such occasions made this occurrence, what happened leading up to Night 11 on Ashe also showed just how difficult it is to pull off such a feat. Three of the four home-grown semifinalists had to come back from a break down in the 3rd set in recent days to advance at this Open, and the other found herself down a set and 3-1 in the 1st Round of the tournament. It would have been just as easy for the final four to have been named Pliskova, Kvitova, Sevastova and Svitolina. But, as it is, a U.S. champion is assured, it's just a matter of whose name will get carved into the trophy.
Obviously, there's safety in numbers.
In this final 2017 slam event, it took those three other U.S. players to manage to make Venus Williams *not* the lead story on this night, as the 37-year old was playing in her third major semi in a season for the first time in fifteen years, heaving already earlier reached the finals of both the Australian Open and Wimbledon. A week after she'd become an aunt with the birth of sister Serena's daughter, Venus faced off with Sloane Stephens, who was all of four years old when Williams made her U.S. Open debut (along with Ashe Stadium) twenty years ago in 1997, and not much older when she won back-to-back titles in 2000-01.
A month after she was ranked in the #900's after missing nearly a year with a foot injury, Stephens arrived seeking to extend a summer run that was already of epic proportions, as her long-hoped-for inner desire finally began to match her longtime potential en route to Premier semifinal runs in Toronto and Cincinnati that lifted her ranking into the Top 100 heading into this event. A win to reach her maiden slam final and she'd be assured of nearly returning to the Top 20. Stephens made her career bones with an upset of Serena in Melbourne to reach the AO semis in 2013, and saw her ranking top out at #11 soon after, followed by a slide down the rankings that only began to reverse course when she brought aboard coach Kamau Murray and went on to win three of the four singles titles she picked up in the year before her injury last summer. With a win over Venus at Roland Garros in their only previous meeting (one, incidentally, that Williams had to be reminded had happened before the match), Stephens remains one of only two players (Ekaterina Makarova, with new #1 Garbine Muguruza set to move off the list next week) with slam wins over both Williams Sisters without herself having ever been ranked #1.
Stephens came into the night having not yet shown her previous summer form, and she'd had to tough-out her way to her second career major semi. But what she did vs. Williams -- when it counted the most -- was something else entirely. In fact, it might even turn out to be history-changing.
Stephens, the crowd, the television viewers and, likely, Venus herself spent the entire 1st set waiting for Williams' game to show up on Ashe. As it turned out, Stephens didn't need to play especially great to get the early advantage in the match. Venus, with unforced errors routinely coming off her racket and with virtually every aspect of her game being out of rhythm, only won one game in the 6-1, blink-and-you-missed-it, set... and she had to come back from love/30 down on serve in the second game of the match to get the single game. As it was, Sloane was only required to play within self, and had no need to do anything spectacular. That's what she did, and it was enough to get her half-way to the U.S. Open final.
But would it be enough to help her actually get there?
The 2nd set led one to believe the answer to be "no." The key to the set may have been the very first game, as Williams faced three break points and nearly double-faulted away another lead right out of the gate. But Stephens then committed an error on a second serve return, Venus saved BP #3 by hitting a forehand past a racing-along-the-baseline Sloane, and Williams held for 1-0. It was easy to wonder if Sloane has prematurely relaxed after such an easy 1st set, and if she could pick up her game to keep up with that of her opponent if Venus had finally arrived, albeit a bit fashionably late, for this semifinal.
As quickly as the 1st set went by (:24 to be exact), the 2nd went by even quicker, or at least it seemed as much. Venus fired a backhand winner down the line for a BP chance in game #2. Stephens double-faulted, and it was downhill from there. Williams won the set at love in :30 (what's six minutes between friends?) as the two headed to the 3rd to decide which set would be the *true* reality of the night.
Let's go to a third set, shall we? @Venuseswilliams takes the second over Stephens, 6-0.
The deciding 3rd set, which turned out to be one of the best of the entire tournament, opened with Stephens taking the initiative, firing a ball at Venus' feet at the service "T" to get the break in game #1. Stephens missed a high forehand volley to fall a BP down a game later, but outlasted Williams after the veteran Bannerette chased down multiple balls on opposite ends of the baseline only to the push a lob long. Venus failed to get another BP opportunity when she netted a forehand when trying to send a shot down the line over the high part of the net while Stephens was in no-woman's-land in the opposite sideline. Stephens soon after won a another long rally when Venus sent a backhand wide, taking a 2-0 lead. After falling behind love/30 with back-to-back misses, Williams held for 2-1 against a still-solid Stephens to avoid falling down a double-break.
In a Stephens service game that lasted nearly eight minutes, Williams carved out two BP chances at 15/40, overcame a wrong mid-rally call of a shot on the line that allowed Stephens to replay the point, and failed to convert either BP opportunity, but got the break back on her third chance when a Stephens backhand went wide. Venus saved one BP with an ace in game #5, then double-faulted on her own GP, but held anyway to take a 3-2 lead. Stephens fell behind 15/40 in her proceeding service game, but rallied for four consecutive points to hold. Then, in still another long service game, Williams again faced BP in her fourth of four service games in the 3rd. She saved two BP in the game, despite being made by the speedy Sloane to often seemingly win rallies "more than once" to get the point. She also missed on a forehand down the line on game point after Stephens had gotten the ball back with a running stretch shot on the baseline. It proved to be key in the game as, finally, on BP #3, Williams netted a forehand volley that put Stephens up a break at 4-3.
Venus won a battle of dueling drop shots in game #8, reaching BP when Stephens netted a crosscourt pass rather than attempt a seemingly more open shot down the line. A big Williams return of a second serve was too much for Sloane to get back, and Venus had evened the set at 4-4. After double-faulting and flying a forehand, Venus found herself down BP in her own service game, and a forehand that was called long seemed to have given Stephens the break and a chance to serve for the match. But Williams challenged the call, and the ball was shown to have clipped the line. She earned the point, and two points later held for 5-4.
Then, at 30/30 in game #10, it happened.
Sometimes champions (current or future) gradually grow into their new shoes. Sometimes they're born wearing them. Sloane Stephens has had to try on quite a few pairs of footwear to get there. But while she's moved along at this Open often while not playing her very best tennis, and had to scrape and claw and guide herself away from the dangerous edge, urging herself between points to get it done, in her QF win over Anastasija Sevastova, it was at this point that the champion that Stephens may indeed become -- either this weekend or later -- appeared to have been born right before our eyes. When she was two points from defeat.
Her 30-all low stretch to reach a seemingly perfectly-placed Williams slice shot into the corner, sending a backhand down the line for a winner, both pulled her back from the ledge in this match, but also lifted her higher than she'd ever climbed before. After not blinking -- and instead staring straight ahead with a laser-like focus -- in this crucial deciding set, Stephens seemed to grow exponentially in stature right at that moment. The Future suddenly came out from behind the clouds. Rather than being a point away from defeat, she was a point away from knotting the score at 5-5. But, really, it was so much more than that. With that single shot, belief was no longer a notion, it was a fact.
She blasted a big serve moments later to hold, and continued to perfect her defensive/offensive mix a game later. Racing to a Williams net cord shot, she reached the ball and flicked it across the net into the short court for a winner.
She seemed to grow still a few *more* sizes.
A deep return produced an error from Venus that broke Williams at love for a 6-5 lead. Serving for the match and her first career slam final appearance, Stephens went up 15/love, as she was still yet to lose a point since her low stretching winner at 30/30 two games earlier. Williams ended the string a point later (finally putting away a high backhand volley to end another long, tough rally that Sloane extended with a series of gets), but it was all that she could do to hold Stephens back. Stephens fired a forehand into the corner that Venus couldn't return, reaching match point. A deep serve handcuffed Williams moments later and it was all over. Stephens raised her arms in triumph, winning 6-1/0-6/7-5 after never wavering an inch, a speck or a whiff down the stretch of the biggest and most important set of her tennis career up til now, as well as her tennis career from this day forward.
.@SloaneStephens stuns Venus, 6-1, 0-6, 7-5 to reach her first Grand Slam final!
As Venus left the court to a hail of applause from the crowd, Stephens joined in as the new generation honored the most longstanding member of the previous one. One who isn't yet finished doing battle on the court herself, it should be noted.
But it's Stephens who'll live to fight another day at this U.S. Open, which has become a showcase not only for U.S. women's tennis, but also for the remarkable difference that a better perspective can make, especially one fostered through adversity, time away from the game to take a breath and appreciate it, and the revelation that, yes, it really is more fun to win than the lose, so why now give it your all while you're lucky enough to be able to do so? It's a storyline we've seen play out all through this U.S. Open draw, from Venus to Petra to Kaia to Madison to Sloane to many others here and there, near and far.
"Future Sloane" was born as the moniker for the champion Stephens had the potential to be. On Ashe Court on Thursday night, she finally looked like that player she once seemed she could be, on the inside and out. Now she's just one win away form making the title official.
"You're off to Great Places! Today is your day! Your mountain is waiting, So... get on your way!" "Dr. Seuss"
=DAY 11 NOTES= ...the second all-Bannerette semifinal of the night wasn't nearly as competitive. There, Madison Keys went about doubling (tripling?) down on her undefeated summer hard court record vs. CoCo Vandeweghe. A super in-form (or at least that's what it seemed at the time... after tonight, maybe it wasn't) Keys handled Vandeweghe in a 7-6/6-4 final in Stanford, then turned around and beat her in three sets in the opening round in Cincinnati a week and a half later. She didn't bother with all that in this one, adding her own comeback story following two wrist surgeries to the narrative of a slam that has come to about redemption, gratitude, hard work and the success that can sometimes go hand-in-hand with all three.
The reaction says it all...@Madison_Keys reaches the #USOpen final after defeating Vandeweghe 6-1, 6-2!
Tonight, in her fifth match under the lights in six rounds at this Open, it was "The Madison Show" all over again. Maybe even a "greatest hits" version. It was assumed that if Keys played up to her potential she'd likely handle Vandeweghe in straights, but what of the 6-1/6-2, fifty-six minute demolition we saw on Ashe tonight? Keys was pretty much untouchable, winning the first five games of the match (20-of-24 points), hitting 25 winners to just nine unforced errors in the match (an even more stunning stat than usual considering we're talking about Keys' go-for-a-lot game), and riding a golden cloud by picking up points in every way possible, such as via a net cord shot that skipped over Vandeweghe's waiting racket and by flicking running forehand passing shot from behind the baseline. Naturally, she ended the match with an ace on MP. Essentially, CoCo was just watching.
"Cat, you ruined mom's dress!" "Honey, it was ruined when she bought it."
Stephens might have morphed into a champion tonight, but the slam-less Keys looked like she's been winning major titles for years. Of course, at this point, Ashe-under-the-lights must feel like a second home. A "quaint" summer place upstate.
If Keys plays like this again on Saturday, Sloane will have to be even more Futuristic to stand a chance. But the stage DOES get bigger in 48 hours, so... And Keys *did* take a medical timeout for her leg while up 4-1 in the 2nd, so maybe Stephens' defense will be able to make her run and extend points against her as she did tonight against Venus.
They've only met once. Two years ago in Miami, Stephens won 6-4/6-2 in the 2nd Round.
And then there were 2!
The match is set: No. 15 Madison Keys will take on Sloane Stephens in the 1st all-American #USOpen final since 2002. pic.twitter.com/lZ0RhjNM87
...Sania Mirza & Peng Shuai advanced to the doubles semifinals today, as did Chan Yung-Jan & Martina Hingis (who defeat Yung-Jan's sister Hao-Ching & Zhang Shuai). The teams will play each other for a spot in the U.S. Open final, which Hingis/Mirza won in 2015.
Hingis is 3-2 in the head-to-head WD match-ups with Mirza since the end of their partnership, including a 3-1 record this year while partnering with Chan.
...the girls singles 3rd Round was played on Thursday, and four Bannerettes advanced to the quarterfinals (only three can reach the semis, though), along with more South Americans (2) than Russians (1), as well as a Serb.
Wild cards Coco Gauff and Katie Volynets will meet in the only head-to-head U.S. match-up in the QF. Gauff took out Hordette Anastasia Kharitonova, who'd earlier defeated #1 Whitney Osuigwe. #4-seeded Bannerette Amanda Anisimova and unseeded Elysia Bolton (def. #15 Sofya Lansere) round out the remaining U.S. players in the draw. South America boasts Maria Lourdes Carle (ARG) and Emiliana Arango (COL) in the final eight, while #3 Elena Rybakina is the last surviving Russian. #8 Olga Danilovic of Serbia will face Anisimova in the only QF match-up of seeded players.
...wheelchair action returned to the U.S. Open on Day 11 after a year's absence due to the Rio Paralymics, and there's some big news on -- guess what -- the U.S. tennis front. After so long a time wondering where the Bannerette wheelchair players are, here comes Dana Mathewson.
You might remember Mathewson making her slam debut earlier this summer at Wimbledon when an injured Jiske Griffioen was a late withdrawal from doubles. She joined the field as an alternate and played as Aniek Van Koot's partner. Well, with Griffioen having not played since SW19 and also out of this slam, Mathewson (who recently climbed into the WC Top 10) again joined up with Van Koot today in the open of the doubles competition at Flushing Meadows. Playing on Ashe (!!), the pair defeated #2-seeded Yui Kamiji & Lucy Shuker (in for the pregnant Jordanne Whiley).
They'll play #1-seeded Marjolein Buis & Diede de Groot in the final, with Mathewson trying to become the first U.S. woman to win a wheelchair slam crown. Women's WC singles debuted at the U.S. Open in 1991, and the doubles first appeared in a major at the 2004 Australian Open.
Mathewson is also in the singles draw, where once again #1 Yui Kamiji leads the field, along with Wimbledon champ (#2 seed) de Groot, who'll be trying to get the sweep of the singles and doubles titles in her U.S. Open debut that she just missed out on in London when she made her debut there in July.
No, not for that very early Tom Cruise movie (released in 1981, by the way, the last time there was an all-Bannerette semifinals at the Open). For the Colt (no, that's not him reacting to tonight's result in the clip) CoCo-Couldn't-Do-It-So-It's-Over Challenge...
Expect more tweaks to the formula to come. I'm thinkin' Stanford champ Keys and two-time summer HC semifinalist Stephens should have gotten onto the list.
*WOMEN'S DOUBLES SF* #7 Hradecka/Siniakova (CZE/CZE) vs. #3 Safarova/Strycova (CZE/CZE) #4 Mirza/Peng (IND/CHN) vs. #2 Y.Chan/Hingis (TPE/SUI)
*MIXED DOUBLES SF* #1 Hingis/J.Murray (SUI/GBR) vs. Vandeweghe/Tecau (USA/ROU) #3 H.Chan/Venus (TPE/NZL) vs. An.Rodionova/Marach (AUS/AUT)
*GIRLS SINGLES QF* (WC) Katie Volynets/USA vs. (WC) Coco Gauff/USA #3 Elena Rybakina/RUS vs. Maria Lourdes Carle/ARG #8 Olga Danilovic/SRB vs. #4 Amanda Anisimova/USA Emiliana Arango/COL vs. Elysia Bolton/USA
*GIRLS DOUBLES QF* #1 Danilovic/Kostyuk (SRB/UKR) vs. #6 Appleton/Arango (GBR/COL) Chwalinska/Hertel (POL/POL) vs. #7 Lansere/Rakhimova (RUS/RUS) #8 Bolton/A.Li (USA/USA) vs. #4 Liang En-Shuo/Wang Xinyu (TPE/CHN) Naito/Vismane (JPN/LAT) vs. Boskovic/Wang Xiyu (CRO/CHN)
*WHEELCHAIR SINGLES QF* #1 Yui Kamiji/JPN vs. Lucy Shuker/GBR Aniek van Koot/NED vs. Kgothatso Montjane/RSA Marjolein Buis/NED vs. Dana Mathewson/USA Sabine Ellerbrock/GER vs. #2 Diede de Groot/NED
*AMERICAN COLLEGIATE INVITATIONAL QF* Francesca Di Lorenzo (Ohio State) def. Sara Dravettila (North Carolina) Ena Shibahara (UCLA) def. Brienne Minor (Michigan) Sydney Campbell (Vanderbilt) def. Alexa Graham (North Carolina) Ingrid Neel (Florida) def. Hayley Carter (North Carolina)
**ACTIVE SINGLES PLAYERS - FIRST SLAM FINAL** 1997 U.S. Open - Venus Williams 1999 U.S. Open - Serena Williams (W) 2004 Wimbledon - Maria Sharapova (W) 2004 U.S. Open - Svetlana Kuznetsova (W) 2008 U.S. Open - Jelena Jankovic 2009 U.S. Open - Caroline Wozniacki 2010 Roland Garros - Francesca Schiavone (W) 2010 Roland Garros - Samantha Stosur 2010 Wimbledon - Vera Zvonareva 2011 Wimbledon - Petra Kvitova (W) 2012 Australian Open - Victoria Azarenka (W) 2012 Roland Garros - Sara Errani 2012 Wimbledon - Agnieszka Radwanska 2013 Wimbledon - Sabine Lisicki 2014 Australian Open - Dominika Cibulkova 2014 Roland Garros - Simona Halep 2014 Wimbledon - Genie Bouchard 2015 Roland Garros - Lucie Safarova 2015 Wimbledon - Garbine Muguruza 2015 U.S. Open - Roberta Vinci 2016 Australian Open - Angelique Kerber (W) 2016 U.S. Open - Karolina Pliskova 2017 Roland Garros - Alona Ostapenko (W) 2017 U.S. Open - Sloane Stephens 2017 U.S. Open - Madison Keys - Hingis (1997 AO)-W
**LOW-RANKED U.S. OPEN FINALISTS - since 1975** Unranked - Kim Clijsters, 2009 (W) #83 - SLOANE STEPHENS, 2017 #66 - Venus Williams, 1997
**FIRST-TIME SLAM CHAMPS AT U.S. OPEN** [Open Era] 1968 Virginia Wade, GBR 1979 Tracy Austin, USA 1990 Gabriela Sabatini, ARG 1998 Lindsay Davenport, USA 1999 Serena Williams, USA 2004 Svetlana Kuznetsova, RUS 2005 Kim Clijsters, BEL 2011 Samantha Stosur, AUS 2015 Flavia Pennetta, ITA 2017 ? [reached first slam final at U.S., active players] 1997 Venus Williams 1999 Serena Williams (W) 2004 Svetlana Kuznetsova (W) 2008 Jelena Jankovic 2009 Caroline Wozniacki 2015 Roberta Vinci 2016 Karolina Pliskova 2017 Madison Keys 2017 Sloane Stephens
**LOW-SEEDED U.S. OPEN CHAMPIONS - OPEN ERA** Unseeded/Wild Card - Kim Clijsters, BEL (2009) #26 - Flavia Pennetta, ITA (2015) #9 - Samantha Stosur, AUS (2011) #9 - Svetlana Kuznetsova, RUS (2004) #7 - Serena Williams, USA (1999) #6 - Virginia Wade, GBR (1968) -- Note: Keys is #15 seed, Stephens is unseeded
**U.S. OPEN "ZOMBIE QUEEN" WINNERS** 2008 Jelena Jankovic, SRB 2009 Flavia Pennetta, ITA 2010 Samantha Stosur, AUS 2011 Flavia Pennetta, ITA 2012 Victoria Azarenka, BLR 2013 Daniela Hantuchova, SVK 2014 Mirjana Lucic-Baroni, CRO 2015 Daria Kasatkina, RUS 2016 Karolina Pliskova, CZE 2017 Madison Keys, USA and Sloane Stephens, USA [2017] AO: Lucie Safarova, CZE RG: Kristina Mladenovic, FRA WI: Arina Rodionova, AUS US: Madison Keys, USA and Sloane Stephens, USA
**U.S. OPEN "Ms. OPPORTUNITY" WINNERS** 2004 Shinobu Asagoe, JPN 2005 Elena Dementieva, RUS 2006 Tatiana Golovin, FRA 2007 Svetlana Kuznetsova, RUS 2008 Jelena Jankovic, SRB 2009 Caroline Wozniacki, DEN 2010 Kaia Kanepi, EST 2011 Angelique Kerber, GER 2012 Sara Errani, ITA 2013 Li Na, CHN 2014 Peng Shuai, CHN 2015 Roberta Vinci, ITA 2016 Anastasija Sevastova, LAT 2017 Bannerette Semifinalists: Keys,Stephens,Vandeweghe,V.Williams [2017] AO: CoCo Vandeweghe, USA RG: Simona Halep, ROU and Karolina Pliskova, CZE WI: Magdalena Rybarikova, SVK US: Bannerette Semifinalists: Keys,Stephens,Vandeweghe,V.Williams
**U.S. OPEN "COMEBACK" WINNERS** 2007 Vera Zvonareva, RUS 2008 Anna-Lena Groenefeld, GER 2009 Kim Clijsters, BEL 2010 Francesca Schiavone, ITA 2011 Liezel Huber/Lisa Raymond, USA/USA 2012 Ana Ivanovic, SRB 2013 Flavia Pennetta, ITA 2014 Caroline Wozniacki, DEN 2015 Victoria Azarenka, BLR 2016 Caroline Wozniacki, DEN 2017 Petra Kvitova, CZE [2017] AO: Mirjana Lucic-Baroni, CRO RG: Petra Kvitova, CZE WI: Victoria Azarenka, BLR US: Petra Kvitova, CZE
*BACKSPIN 2017 "ITF PLAYER" WINNERS* JAN: Anett Kontaveit, EST and Maria-Teresa Torro-Flor, ESP AO: - FEB/MAR: Tatjana Maria, GER I.W./MIAMI: Ekaterina Alexandrova, RUS 1Q: Maria Teresa Torro-Flor, ESP APR/MAY: Polina Monova, RUS MAY: Marketa Vondrousova, CZE and Anna Karolina Schmiedlova, SVK RG: - 2Q Clay Court: Polina Monova, RUS JUN: Magdalena Rybarikova, SVK and Mihaela Buzarnescu, ROU WI: - 2Q Grass Court: Magdalena Rybarikova, SVK JUL/AUG: Sonya Kenin, USA AUG: Maryna Zanevska, BEL [2017 Weekly ITF PLAYER Award Wins] 3...Magdalena Rybarikova, SVK 3...Maria Teresa Torro-Flor, ESP 2...Zarina Diyas, KAZ 2...Beatriz Haddad, Maia, BRA 2...Marketa Vondrousova, CZE 2...Zheng Saisai, CHN
TOP QUALIFIER:Kaia Kanepi/EST TOP EARLY-ROUND (1r-2r):#3 Garbine Muguruza/ESP TOP MIDDLE-ROUND (3r-QF):#20 CoCo Vandeweghe/USA TOP LATE-ROUND (SF-F): xx TOP QUALIFYING MATCH:Q2: Jamie Loeb/USA def. (PR) Vera Zvonareva/RUS 7-6(4)/5-7/6-4 (3:16; delay after fan faints as Loeb to serve out at 5-4 in 3rd) TOP EARLY-RD. MATCH (1r-2r):1st Rd. - (WC) Maria Sharapova/RUS def. #2 Simona Halep/ROU 6-4/4-6/6-3 (Night 1) TOP MIDDLE-RD. MATCH (3r-QF):QF - #9 Venus Williams/USA def. #13 Petra Kvitova/CZE 6-4/3-6/7-6(2) TOP LATE-RD. MATCH (SF-F/Jr.): Nominee: SF - Stephens def. #9 V.Williams 6-1/0-6/7-5 TOP ASHE NIGHT SESSION MATCH: Nominee: 1st Rd. - (WC) Sharapova def. #2 Halep (Night 1) ============================= FIRST VICTORY:Kristyna Pliskova/CZE (1st Rd. - def. Eguchi/JPN) FIRST SEED OUT:#32 Lauren Davis/USA (1st Rd. - lost to Kenin/USA UPSET QUEENS:Japan REVELATION LADIES:Australia NATION OF POOR SOULS:Germany (2-7 1st Rd.; DC Kerber out; one of two w/ a win defeated another German) CRASH & BURN:#6 Angelique Kerber/GER (lost to Osaka/JPN; second U.S. DC to lose 1st Rd.loss, w/ '05 Kuznetsova; out of Top 10) ZOMBIE QUEEN:Sloane Stephens/USA (QF - down 3-1 in 3rd vs. Sevastova) and Madison Keys/USA (4th Rd. - down 4-2 in 3rd vs. Svitolina) = both reach first slam final IT ("?"): Nominee: Mathewson (U.S. WC Star) Ms.OPPORTUNITY:Bannerette Semifinalists (Keys,Stephens,Vandeweghe,V.Williams - first all-U.S. semifinalists at U.S. Open since 1981; at slam since '85 Wimbledon) LAST QUALIFIER STANDING:Kaia Kanepi/EST (QF) LAST WILD CARD STANDING:Maria Sharapova/RUS (4th Rd.) LAST BANNERETTE STANDING: In Final: Keys, Stephens COMEBACK PLAYER:Petra Kvitova/CZE VETERAN PLAYER (KIMIKO CUP):Venus Williams/USA DOUBLES STAR: Nominee: Mathewson/USA (WC), Hingis/SUI BROADWAY-BOUND:Maria Sharapova/RUS & Simona Halep/ROU (Opening Night) LADY OF THE EVENING:"The Late Show starring Madison Keys" (3rd Rd. - 1:45am finish, second-latest women's finish to own 1:48 finish last year) JUNIOR BREAKOUT: Nominee: Gauff/USA, Volynets/USA
Only 3 American women in the Open Era have won their 1st career major title at the US Open. Stephens or Keys will become the fourth. pic.twitter.com/y8n8Qrh4ct
"Oh, what a day. I will make it a holiday." "Dr. Seuss" Theodor Geisel (1904-91) ...children's book author, political cartoonist, poet, animator, book publisher, and artist
=DAY 12 NOTES= ...on the twentieth anniversary of their all-teen clash in the singles final, Venus Williams won't be winning a title at this U.S. Open, but Martina Hingis is still alive for two.
Today the Swiss Miss won WD and MX semifinals to reach both finals, joining with fellow SW19 Mixed champ Jamie Murray to defeat CoCo Vandeweghe & Horia Tecau. They'll face Kiki Michael Venus and Chan Hao-ching, the sister of Hingis' doubles partner.
The one thing Chan Yung-Jan and Hingis have yet to win in their first season as a duo is a slam title, but today's victory over former Hingis partner Sania Mirza & Peng Shuai will give them the chance to rectify that. They'll face off with the all-Czech team of Lucie Hradecka & Katerina Siniakova, who advanced to their first slam final as a pair with a 6-2/7-5 win over another all-Maiden duo, Lucie Safarova & Barbora Strycova. Of course, the only thing anyone is going to remember about that one is the point in which a ball off Siniakova's racket traveled through Hradecka's hair. The point should have been given to Safarova/Strycova, but the umpire didn't see it the infraction, and neither Hradecka nor Siniakova owned up to it.
Needless to say, Lucie & Bara didn't like it. Afterward, Safarova even expressed her disagreement with and disappointment in her friends, countrywomen and Fed Cup teammates on Instagram, saying, ""Win or lose you should always play fair! Wouldn't expect that from a friend."
...in the juniors, there's still a chance for a third consecutive all-Bannerette slam final, after before this spring's Roland Garros such a thing hadn't happened at a major in twenty-five years.
13-year old wild card Coco Gauff defeated fellow Bannerette (and WC) Katie Volynets to reach the semis, while #4 Amanda Anisimova defeated #8 Olga Danilovic of Serbia, coming back from 1-5 down in the 1st set to win twelve of the final thirteen games in the match.
They could meet in the girl final, but must first off with -- get this -- two unseeded South Americans. Gauff gets Maria Lourdes Carle of Argentina, who knocked out the last Russian, #3 Elena Rybakina, while Anisimova will face Colombian Emiliana Arango (and her backwards cap), who defeated the fourth Bannerette quarterfinalist, Elysia Bolton.
...in wheelchair singles, there were no upsets to be found, as the top two seeds (JPN's Yui Kamiji, 2017's AO & RG camp and NED's Diede de Groot, the Wimbledon winner) advanced to the semifinals along with former Dutch slam winners Aniek Van Koot and Marjolein Buis. The latter defeated debuting Bannerette Dana Mathewson (who'll next try to become the first U.S. woman to win a WC slam crown in the doubles final w/ Van Koot).
de Groot, meanwhile, still has a two-title sweep within sight, and is one singles win away from reaching her fourth slam S/D final in her four career draw appearances.
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...NCAA #1 Francesca Di Lorenzo (Ohio State) has advanced to the American Collegiate Invitational final at Flushing Meadows, and will play Florida's Ingrid Neel in the final.
...meanwhile, this week there's a WTA 125 Series event taking place in Dalian, China. And, of course, yet another comeback story is playing out there, as Vera Zvonareva (#623) has reached the semifinals. The Russian knocked off #4 seed Chang Kai-chen in the 1st Round.
She'll face another Hordette sporting a protected ranking, Vitalia Diatchenko (def. #2 Danka Kovinic) in the semifinals. Filling out the semis are Ukraine's Kateryna Kozlova (def. #1 Duan Yingying) and, in another comeback bid, Kazakh Zarina Diyas.
NEW LIKE ON DAY 12: Serena speaks...
There are NO words to describe how proud and how happy I am for @Madison_Keys keys and @SloaneStephens for making the US open finals.
*AMERICAN COLLEGIATE INVITATIONAL SF* Francesca Di Lorenzo (Ohio State) def. Ena Shibahara (UCLA) Ingrid Neel (Florida) def. Sydney Campbell (Vanderbilt)
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**CAREER WOMEN'S DOUBLES SLAM TITLES - active** 14...Serena Williams, USA 14...Venus Williams, USA 12...Martina Hingis, SUI 5...Sara Errani, ITA 5...Bethanie Mattek-Sands, USA 5...Lucie Safarova, CZE 5...Roberta Vinci, ITA [Open era] 31...Martina Navratilova, TCH/USA 21...Pam Shriver, USA 18...Natasha Zvereva, USSR/BLR 17...Gigi Fernandez, USA 14...Serena Williams, USA* 14...Venus Williams, USA* 12...Martina Hingis, SUI* 12...Jana Novotna, TCH/CZE [all-time] 31...Martina Navratilova, TCH/USA 21...Louise Brough, 21...Margaret Osborne duPont, USA 21...Pam Shriver, USA 19...Margaret Court, AUS - *-active
**SLAM MX TITLES - active* 6...Martina Hingis, SUI 5...Katarina Srebotnik, SLO 3...Sania Mirza, IND 3...Samantha Stosur, AUS [Open era] 10...Martina Navratilova, TCH/CZE 7...Billie Jean King, USA 6...Martina Hingis, SUI* 6...Margaret Court, AUS [all-time] 21...Margaret Court, AUS 15...Doris Hart, USA 11...Billie Jean King, USA 10...Margaret Osborne duPont, USA 10...Martina Navratilova, TCH/USA
**TOTAL SLAM TITLES - active** [singles/doubles/mixed] 38...Serena Williams (23-14-2) 23...Venus Williams (7-14-2) 23...Martina Hingis (5-12-6)
**ALL-U.S. JUNIOR GIRLS SLAM FINALS** [Australian Open] 1989 Kim Kessaris def. Andrea Farley [Roland Garros] 1980 Kathy Horvath def. Kelly Henry 2017 Whitney Osuigwe def. Claire Liu [Wimbledon] 1977 Lea Antonpolis def. Mareen "Peanut" Louie 1979 Mary-Lou Piatek def. Alycia Moultron 2017 Claire Liu def. Ann Li [U.S. Open] 1979 Alycia Moulton def. Mary-Lou Piatek 1980 Susan Mascarin def. Kathrin Keil 1981 Zina Garrison def. Kate Gompert 1982 Beth Herr def. Gretchen Rush 1986 Elly Hakami def. Shaun Stafford 1992 Lindsay Davenport def. Julie Steven
*BACKSPIN 2017 "TEAM/MIXED" WINNERS* DEC: Singapore Slammers (IPTL) JAN: FRA Hopman Cup Team (Mladenovic/Gasquet) AO: Abigail Spears/Juan Sebastian Cabal, USA/COL FEB/MAR: CZE Fed Cup Team APR: BLR & USA Fed Cup Teams MAY: Florida Gators Women's Tennis (NCAA) RG: Gaby Dabrowski/Rohan Bopanna, CAN/IND JUN: GRE Fed Cup Team WI: Martina Hingis/Jamie Murray, SUI/GBR 2Q Grass Court: JUL: Orange County Breakers (WTT) AUG: USA Jr. 14s Team (ITF World Chsp.)
TOP QUALIFIER:Kaia Kanepi/EST TOP EARLY-ROUND (1r-2r):#3 Garbine Muguruza/ESP TOP MIDDLE-ROUND (3r-QF):#20 CoCo Vandeweghe/USA TOP LATE-ROUND (SF-F): xx TOP QUALIFYING MATCH:Q2: Jamie Loeb/USA def. (PR) Vera Zvonareva/RUS 7-6(4)/5-7/6-4 (3:16; delay after fan faints as Loeb to serve out at 5-4 in 3rd) TOP EARLY-RD. MATCH (1r-2r):1st Rd. - (WC) Maria Sharapova/RUS def. #2 Simona Halep/ROU 6-4/4-6/6-3 (Night 1) TOP MIDDLE-RD. MATCH (3r-QF):QF - #9 Venus Williams/USA def. #13 Petra Kvitova/CZE 6-4/3-6/7-6(2) TOP LATE-RD. MATCH (SF-F/Jr.): Nominee: SF - Stephens def. #9 V.Williams 6-1/0-6/7-5 TOP ASHE NIGHT SESSION MATCH: Nominee: 1st Rd. - (WC) Sharapova def. #2 Halep (Night 1) ============================= FIRST VICTORY:Kristyna Pliskova/CZE (1st Rd. - def. Eguchi/JPN) FIRST SEED OUT:#32 Lauren Davis/USA (1st Rd. - lost to Kenin/USA UPSET QUEENS:Japan REVELATION LADIES:Australia NATION OF POOR SOULS:Germany (2-7 1st Rd.; DC Kerber out; one of two w/ a win defeated another German) CRASH & BURN:#6 Angelique Kerber/GER (lost to Osaka/JPN; second U.S. DC to lose 1st Rd.loss, w/ '05 Kuznetsova; out of Top 10) ZOMBIE QUEEN:Sloane Stephens/USA (QF - down 3-1 in 3rd vs. Sevastova) and Madison Keys/USA (4th Rd. - down 4-2 in 3rd vs. Svitolina) = both reach first slam final IT ("?"): Nominees: Mathewson (U.S. WC Star), Gauff/USA Ms.OPPORTUNITY:Bannerette Semifinalists (Keys,Stephens,Vandeweghe,V.Williams - first all-U.S. semifinalists at U.S. Open since 1981; at slam since '85 Wimbledon)) LAST QUALIFIER STANDING:Kaia Kanepi/EST (QF) LAST WILD CARD STANDING:Maria Sharapova/RUS (4th Rd.) LAST BANNERETTE STANDING: In Final: Keys, Stephens COMEBACK PLAYER:Petra Kvitova/CZE VETERAN PLAYER (KIMIKO CUP):Venus Williams/USA DOUBLES STAR: Nominees: Mathewson/USA (WC), Hingis/SUI BROADWAY-BOUND:Maria Sharapova/RUS & Simona Halep/ROU (Opening Night) LADY OF THE EVENING:"The Late Show starring Madison Keys" (3rd Rd. - 1:45am finish, second-latest women's finish to own 1:48 finish last year) JUNIOR BREAKOUT: Nominees: Gauff/USA, Carle/ARG, Arango/COL
While new mother Serena Williams was away, the atmospheric conditions were perfect at this year's U.S. Open for the official coming out party to take place for a new generation of Bannerette stars who'll soon be asked to carry their home nation's tennis hopes for glory into the eventual post-Sisters era. As things turned out, not totally unexpectedly considering they'd both been hailed as a potential star at various times earlier in their careers, it was Stephens and Madison Keys who managed to serve notice at Flushing Meadows that they are ready, willing and able to assume a leadership role over the multi-layered Band of Bannerettes who are once more populating the WTA's Top 100, winning junior slam titles and challenging for a Fed Cup crown.
While we've been seeing signs of life on this front for a few years now, including previous slam semifinals runs (all of them in Melbourne from 2013-17) from three of the historic group of four U.S. semifinalists at this Open (with the fourth of the fabulous four being the most fab of them all, two-time '17 slam finalist Venus Williams at age 37), the one thing this NewGen of U.S. players had yet to do was win a slam, or even reach a major final. Since Serena claimed her first slam title in 1999, and Venus her own in 2000, only Lindsay Davenport (once in 2000) and Jennifer Capriati (three in 2001-02) have managed to get the red-white-and-blue into the winner's circle at a major. Until tonight, when Keys and Stephens met to decide who would be both "the next" and "the first" to etch their name into U.S. tennis history in the first all-Bannerette slam final to not include a Williams since 1990, and the first to feature two U.S.-born women since 1979.
Friends, teammates and unlikely slam finalists after 2016 injuries (Stephens' foot, Keys' wrist) delayed the start of their seasons, and '17 surgeries made there level of play a question mark for the remainder of the year, neither Sloane nor Madison would have never have predicted their ultimate New York fate. Until this summer, there was no real reason to think that it wouldn't be 2018 before they might hit their stride once again. But it was on North American hard courts that all that changed, with Keys winning in Stanford and Stephens reaching back-to-back Premier semifinals before their dueling exploits at Flushing Meadows over the past two weeks. At times at this slam, Keys had looked to be a dominant -- and consistent -- force without peer, while Stephens' grit and inner desire (once questioned in her first go-around with stardom) were trait that were necessary to pull her through several tight matches.
As Keys and Stephens prepared to face off, Serena publicly congratulated their efforts, and subtly reminded everyone that she was watching to see exactly what each woman brought to the table in the biggest moment of both their careers. In the end, only one would live up to her future.
What a joy it will be to watch this- hopefully first of many finals. Let's go ladies! ??????
While Keys came armed with her power, though it was a weapon quite possibly lessened by a leg injury (her thigh was wrapped) and a recognition of the momentous occasion that likely did her no favors once the first ball was struck, for Stephens, her calling card was to be her defense, offensive opportunism and, as it turned out, a more calm and patient approach that would guide her through the early stages of the match before being joined by a true killer instinct when it mattered most.
The action was a bit subdued at the start of the match, as the serving player never allowed more than a single point in any of the first four games, with Stephens posting back-to-back love holds. But while Sloane held firm to the strategy of playing the same sort of consistent, unspectacular-because-it-wasn't-yet-necessary tennis that had worked so well for her to get a quick opening set win vs. Williams in the semifinals, Keys was far from the player who began her destruction of CoCo Vandeweghe in *her* semifinal pretty much from the jump. In that match two days ago, Keys committed just nine total unforced errors. She had that many today after just five games, with the last being a forehand fired long to give Stephens a break lead at 3-2. It ended a 21-game string of consecutively held service games for Keys, and it established a pattern in *this* match that was never altered.
With her seemingly being a bit nervous, the wayward errors that have often hounded Keys' game in the past returned vs. Stephens, who once again found a way to turn defense into offense to keep a step ahead, frustrate her friend, and maintain a steady pace until she was called upon to step up her game to shine in the key moments that would lead her to victory. With Keys serving down 5-3 to stay in the set, Stephens fired a shot up the line that tagged the far baseline, giving her a set point. She missed a routine backhand and didn't convert the MP, but saw another error off Keys' racket (Madison had 17 UE in the set) give her the definitive lead anyway, as a backhand that landed long gave Sloane the 1st set at 6-3.
After the U.S. Open women's final had been a continuous string of two-set affairs from 1996 until 2011, three of the last five years had seen the matches go the three-set distance. But this one would not join that list.
Stephens' stepped up her power groundstroke game in the 2nd, perhaps sensing that her opportunity to run away with the title was at hand. A backhand pass put her up love/40 on Keys' serve in the second game, then a forehand passing shot put away BP chance #3 for a 2-0 lead. Down 15/30 on serve a game later, Stephens ventured to the net to volley and fired a winner to take the lead. An overcooked Keys forehand return allowed Sloane to hold for 3-0. Madison fell behind love/40 a game later, then double-faulted on Stephens' third BP chance.
Two breaks down at 4-0, Keys had one final chance to inch her way back into the match. She led Stephens love/40 in game #5, but once again Sloane lifted her game to thwart the challenge. She moved forward and fired a backhand past Keys on the first BP, brought out some power on the second, then used her footspeed to reach a sliced ball in the short court and get things to deuce. Stephens held for 5-0, as Keys' high-risk game continued to produce a no-rewards day in the final.
Stephens misfired on a forehand on her first match point on Keys' serve, and saw a no-longer-anything-to-lose Keys finally appear to get her previous Open footing back for a few moments, as she slapped a winner past Sloane to save a second MP. But Stephens reached MP #3 with an angled forehand shot that took Keys well into the sideline of the court, and her response went long. Keys netted a final forehand and Stephens' 6-3/6-0 triumph was over in just 1:01.
The final error was the thirtieth for Keys to just six for Sloane, as Madison surely didn't show the form today that she would have liked. She won only 50% of her first serves, and never broke Stephens' serve.
As for Stephens. Well, now we can say it loudly... The Future is Now."Future Sloane," that is.
Stephens' remarkable summer journey is thus complete, with her ranking going from #957 to, on Monday, a return to the Top 20 (#17) for the first time since a three-week stint there in the spring of last year (which itself was her first in nearly two years). Asked on the ESPN set whether she thinks she's ready this time for what comes next, after having struggled with higher expectations after her AO semi result four years ago, Stephens said that she thinks she is. She's certainly given every indication of such, both on court and off, handling the latter stages of this Open like a seasoned slam champion before she even had become a maiden one. Why, it was almost as if she'd traveled back from the future to assume the form of Current Sloane and show her how it's done, knowing all the while that once she learned from the experience she'd be set for her tennis life from then on out.
Of course, that's all wild conjecture generally reserved for storytime and sci-fi specials. But today surely *was* a momentous one. Two days ago, we saw the unofficial, hand-out-the-commemorative-cigars birth of "Future Sloane" in the closing stages of Stephens' semifinal win over Venus, when she fired a backhand winner down the line to avoid going match point down to the seven-time slam singles champion.
And as of September 9, 2017 all the documents (and one big check) are signed, sealed and delivered. Future Sloane and Current Sloane are one in the same. With their powers combined, they're the new U.S. Open Champion.
Sweet.
(Now cut to the smile that can launch a million ships, if she plays things right.)
...earlier in the day, Martina Hingis made good on her first attempt to leave Flushing Meadows with a title, taking home the Mixed crown with Jamie Murray and winning their second straight slam title together after taking Wimbledon two months ago. They won a 3rd set TB to defeat Chan Hao-ching & Michael Venus 6-1/4-6 [10-8].
It's Hingis' seventh career slam MX title (the most of any active player, and tied w/ Billie Jean King in the Open era behind the only woman who's won more -- the other Martina, as in Navratilova, who won ten... including a final title in NYC a month before her 50th birthday back in 2006). Hingis, now with two U.S. Open MX titles ('15 w/ Paes), will turn 37 on September 30.
With twenty-four total slam titles (5-12-7), Hingis moves one beyond Venus Williams (7-14-2) into second on the active list, and still has a chance to pick up #25 in Sunday's women's doubles final. Serena Williams is the active leader, with 38 (23-14-2).
...in the juniors, the all-Bannerette final run will continue.
And just before Sloane Stephens took her maiden Slam title, 13-year-old prodigy Cori Gauff in her first junior Slam final. #usopenpic.twitter.com/nd1kFZd3Ih
Wild card Coco Gauff, 13, and Amanda Anisimova, 16, both won out over South American opponents to set up the third consecutive all-U.S. girls slam final, and the first at Flushing Meadows since 1992 (which had been the last such final until it happened in Paris this season).
Gauff defeated Argentina's Maria Lourdes Carle 7-5/6-0, while #4-seeded Anisimova (the '16 RG jr. runner-up) took out Colombian Emiliana Arango 6-4/6-1.
Especially impressive about this U.S. junior slam run is that these three finals will have featured five different players. Whitney Osuigwe defeated Claire Liu at Roland Garros, then Liu won out over Ann Li at Wimbledon. Osuigwe (the #1 seed) and Li lost in the U.S. Open girls competition, while Liu qualified for the women's main draw and didn't play the junior event. Starting with Kayla Day's 2016 title run in New York, this will make it four of the last five majors with Bannerette girls champions.
In the girls doubles, Serbia's Olga Danilovic will play for her second straight junior slam title on Sunday. She and Marta Kostyuk (the #1 seeds) will play Lea Boskovic/Wang Xiyu (CRO/CHN) for the title.
...the women's wheelchair singles final is set, and #1 Yui Kamiji and #2 Diede de Groot will now get the slam face-off that they didn't at Wimbledon. With Kamiji seeking to become the first to win all eight slam singles and doubles crowns in her career (she needed the SW19 singles), she lost in the SF to Sabine Ellerbrock. de Groot went on to defeat Ellerbrock in the final to claim her maiden slam crown.
On Saturday, Kamiji defeated Aniek Van Koot in three sets, while de Groot took out doubles partner Marjolein Buis in two, setting up the first of what is likely to be many meetings with slam singles titles on the line between the leading members of the new WC generation (Kamiji is just 23, and de Groot 20). Kamiji *did* defeat de Groot in the Wimbledon doubles final.
Later, de Groot and Buis returned for the WC doubles final, facing off with Van Koot and Bannerette Dana Mathewson (subbing for the injured Jiske Griffioen), who was looking to be become the first U.S. woman to ever claim a wheelchair slam crown. But such a history-making accomplishment -- in a rare moment for U.S. tennis at this Open -- wasn't meant to be. After having taken out #2-seeds Kamiji/Shuker in the SF, Mathewson & Van Koot fell to #1's Buis & de Groot in straight sets, 6-4/6-3.
The result gives Diede the Great her first doubles slam crown, and her second major title in the last three slam S/D draws. She'll play for her third win in her fifth career slam final (all in '17, w/ AO WD loss while partnering Kamiji) on Sunday, looking to sweep the Open's wheelchair competition.
If she doesn't do it, the young Dutch woman will eventually. If she does, it won't be the last time.
...Ohio State's Francesca Di Lorenzo outlasted Florida's Ingrid Neel to become the fourth women's champ in the American Collegiate Invitational tournament held on the USTA BJK National Tennis Center grounds, winning 4-6/6-4/6-4.
?? Champion! Francesca Di Lorenzo wins the @usta American Collegiate Invitational title, coming back for a 4-6, 6-4, 6-4 victory. #GoBuckspic.twitter.com/dPwyUTAeK2
...in Dalian, Vera Zvonareva advanced to her biggest singles final since 2011 at the WTA 125 Series event in China, defeating fellow Hordette Vitalia Diatchenko 6-4/6-2 in the semifinals. She'll face Kateyrna Kozlova of Ukraine for the title. With a win, Zvonareva would jump back into the Top 250.
...meanwhile, another comeback story (wrist) continues on the ITF circuit. Argentina's Paula Ormaechea picked up a doubles title (her first since her return), and also reached the singles semis (best so far) at this week's challenger in Trieste, Italy.
While Stephens will climb to #17, and Keys to #12, did you know that Alona Ostapenko will be at #10 on Monday? Well, she is, and she's the first Latvian woman to ever reach the Top 10.
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**WOMEN'S U.S. OPEN CHAMPIONS since 1999** 1999 Serena Williams, USA 2000 Venus Williams, USA 2001 Venus Williams, USA 2002 Serena Williams, USA 2003 Justine Henin, BEL 2004 Svetlana Kuznetsova, RUS 2005 Kim Clijsters, BEL 2006 Maria Sharapova, RUS 2007 Justine Henin, BEL 2008 Serena Williams, USA 2009 Kim Clijsters, BEL 2010 Kim Clijsters, BEL 2011 Samantha Stosur, AUS 2012 Serena Williams, USA 2013 Serena Williams, USA 2014 Serena Williams, USA 2015 Flavia Pennetta, ITA 2016 Angelique Kerber, GER 2017 Sloane Stephens, USA
**RECENT WOMEN'S SLAM WINNERS** 2015 AO: Serena Williams, USA 2015 RG: Serena Williams, USA 2015 WI: Serena Williams, USA 2015 US: Flavia Pennetta, ITA (ret.) 2016 AO: Angelique Kerber, GER 2016 RG: Garbine Muguruza, ESP 2016 WI: Serena Williams, USA 2016 US: Angelique Kerber, GER 2017 AO: Serena Williams, USA 2017 RG: Alona Ostapenko, LAT 2017 WI: Garbine Muguruza, ESP 2017 US: Sloane Stephens, USA
**RECENT FIRST-TIME SLAM CHAMPS - since 2010** 2010 Roland Garros - Francesca Schiavone, ITA 2011 Roland Garros - Li Na, CHN 2011 Wimbledon - Petra Kvitova, CZE 2011 U.S. Open - Samantha Stosur, AUS 2012 Australian Open - Victoria Azarenka, BLR 2013 Wimbledon - Marion Bartoli, FRA 2015 U.S. Open - Flavia Pennetta, ITA 2016 Australian Open - Angelique Kerber, GER 2016 Roland Garros - Garbine Muguruza, ESP 2017 Roland Garros - Alona Ostapenko, LAT 2017 U.S. Open - Sloane Stephens, USA -- NOTE: 5 of last 9 slams w/ first-time champion
**FIRST-TIME SLAM CHAMPS AT U.S. OPEN** [Open Era] 1968 Virginia Wade, GBR 1979 Tracy Austin, USA 1990 Gabriela Sabatini, ARG 1998 Lindsay Davenport, USA 1999 Serena Williams, USA 2004 Svetlana Kuznetsova, RUS 2005 Kim Clijsters, BEL 2011 Samantha Stosur, AUS 2015 Flavia Pennetta, ITA 2017 Sloane Stephens, USA
**LOW-SEEDED U.S. OPEN CHAMPIONS - OPEN ERA** Unseeded/Wild Card - Kim Clijsters, BEL (2009) Unseeded - SLOANE STEPHENS, USA (2017) #26 - Flavia Pennetta, ITA (2015) #9 - Samantha Stosur, AUS (2011) #9 - Svetlana Kuznetsova, RUS (2004) #7 - Serena Williams, USA (1999) #6 - Virginia Wade, GBR (1968)
**RECENT SLAM CHAMP COMEBACK WINS - didn't face MP** 2007 AO: Serena Williams ...Petrova/3r and Peer/QF - both served for match 2007 WI: Venus Williams ...Kudryavtseva/1r - 2 pts from win; Morigami/3r - served for match 2009 AO: Serena Williams ...Kuznetsova/QF - served for match 2010 AO: Serena Williams ...Azarenka/QF - up 6-4/4-0, served for match twice 2011 RG: Li Na ...Kvitova/4r - down 0-3 in 3rd set 2012 US: Serena Williams ...Azarenka/F - served for title at 5-4 in 3rd 2013 AO: Victoria Azarenka ...Hampton/3r - down break in 3rd set 2013 RG: Serena Williams ...Kuznetsova/QF - down break in 3rd set 2015 RG: Serena Williams ...Bacsinszky/SF - down 6-4/3-2 break; Safarova/F - down 2-0 in 3rd 2015 WI: Serena Williams ...Watson/3r - down 2-bk. 3-0 in 3rd, served for match at 5-4, 2 pts. from win 2016 WI: Serena Williams ...McHale/2r - down break in 3rd 2016 US: Angelique Kerber ...Ka.Pliskova/F - down 3-1 in 3rd 2017 RG: Alona Ostapenko ...Halep/F - 6-4/3-0, 3 BP for 4-0 2017 US: Sloane Stephens ...Sevastova/QF - down 3-1 in 3rd
**ALL-U.S. JUNIOR GIRLS SLAM FINALS** [Australian Open] 1989 Kim Kessaris def. Andrea Farley [Roland Garros] 1980 Kathy Horvath def. Kelly Henry 2017 Whitney Osuigwe def. Claire Liu [Wimbledon] 1977 Lea Antonpolis def. Mareen "Peanut" Louie 1979 Mary-Lou Piatek def. Alycia Moultron 2017 Claire Liu def. Ann Li [U.S. Open] 1979 Alycia Moulton def. Mary-Lou Piatek 1980 Susan Mascarin def. Kathrin Keil 1981 Zina Garrison def. Kate Gompert 1982 Beth Herr def. Gretchen Rush 1986 Elly Hakami def. Shaun Stafford 1992 Lindsay Davenport def. Julie Steven 2017 Coco Gauff vs. Amanda Anisimova
**U.S. OPEN "JUNIOR BREAKOUT" WINNERS** 2007 Kristina Kucova, SVK 2008 Gabriela Paz, VEN 2009 Heather Watson, GBR 2010 Yulia Putintseva, RUS & Sloane Stephens, USA 2011 Grace Min, USA 2012 Vicky Duval, USA 2013 Tornado Alicia Black, USA 2014 Marie Bouzkova, CZE 2015 Dalma Galfi, HUN 2016 Viktoria Kuzmova, SVK 2017 Maria Lourdes Carle, ARG & Emiliana Arango, COL [2017] AO: Marta Kostyuk, UKR RG: Whitney Osuigwe, USA & Claire Liu, USA WI: Ann Li, USA US: Maria Lourdes Carle, ARG & Emiliana Arango, COL
**SLAM MX TITLES - active* 7...MARTINA HINGIS, SUI 5...Katarina Srebotnik, SLO 3...Sania Mirza, IND 3...Samantha Stosur, AUS [Open era] 10...Martina Navratilova, TCH/CZE 7...MARTINA HINGIS, SUI* 7...Billie Jean King, USA 6...Margaret Court, AUS [all-time] 21...Margaret Court, AUS 15...Doris Hart, USA 11...Billie Jean King, USA 10...Margaret Osborne duPont, USA 10...Martina Navratilova, TCH/USA
**TOTAL SLAM TITLES - active** [singles/doubles/mixed] 38...Serena Williams (23-14-2) 24...MARTINA HINGIS (5-12-7)* 23...Venus Williams (7-14-2) [all-time] 64...Margaret Court, AUS 59...Martina Navratilova, TCH/USA 39...Billie Jean King, USA 38...Serena Williams, USA* 37...Margaret Osborne duPont, USA 35...Louise Brough, USA 35...Doris Hart, USA 31...Helen Wills Moody, USA 26...Elizabeth Ryan, USA 24...MARTINA HINGIS, SUI* 23...Venus Williams, USA* 23...Steffi Graf, GER -- *-active
**U.S. OPEN "DOUBLES STAR" WINNERS** 2006 Martina Navratilova, USA 2007 Nathalie Dechy, FRA 2008 Cara Black, ZIM 2009 Carly Gullickson, USA 2010 Liezel Huber, USA 2011 Melanie Oudin, USA 2012 Ekaterina Makarova, RUS 2013 Andrea Hlavackova, CZE 2014 Yui Kamiji & Jordanne Whiley, JPN/GBR (WC) 2015 Martina Hingis, SUI 2016 Laura Siegemund, GER 2017 Martina Hingis, SUI [2017] AO: Abigail Spears, USA RG: Gaby Dabrowski, CAN WI: Yui Kamiji & Jordanne Whiley, JPN/GBR (WC) US: Martina Hingis, SUI
**U.S. OPEN "IT" WINNERS** 2005 Sania Mirza, IND 2006 Jelena Jankovic, SRB 2007 Agnieszka Radwanska, POL 2008 Coco Vandeweghe, USA [Jr.] 2009 Melanie Oudin, USA 2010 Beatrice Capra, USA 2011 Esther Vergeer, NED [Wheelchair] 2012 [Brit] Laura Robson, GBR 2013 [Bannerette] Vicky Duval, USA 2014 [Girl] CiCi Bellis, USA 2015 [Kiki] Kristina Mladenovic, FRA 2016 [Teen] Ana Konjuh, CRO 2017 [Jr. Wild Card] Coco Gauff, USA [2017] AO: [Party] (Ash) "Barty Party" (AUS) RG: [Teen] Alona Ostapenko, LAT WI: [Next Wheelchair Great] Diede de Groot, NED US: [Jr. Wild Card] Coco Gauff, USA
**RECENT BEST U.S. WOMEN'S SLAM RESULTS** =2011= AO: Venus Williams (3rd) RG: Vania King & Bethanie Mattek-Sands (3rd) WI: Serena Williams (4th) US: Serena Williams (RU) =2012= AO: Serena Williams (4th) RG: Sloane Stephens (4th) & Varvara Lepchenko (4th) WI: Serena Williams (W) US: Serena Williams (W) =2013= AO: Sloane Stephens (SF) RG: Serena Williams (W) WI: Sloane Stephens (QF) US: Serena Williams (W) =2014= AO: Sloane Stephens & Serena Williams (4th) RG: Sloane Stephens (4th) WI: L.Davis, M.Keys, A.Riske, S.Williams, V.Williams (3rd) US: Serena Williams (W) =2015= AO: Serena Williams (W) RG: Serena Williams (W) WI: Serena Williams (W) US: Serena Williams (SF) =2016= AO: Serena Williams (RU) RG: Serena Williams (RU) WI: Serena Williams (W) US: Serena Williams (SF) =2017= AO: Serena Williams (W) RG: Venus Williams (4th) WI: Venus Williams (RU) US: Sloane Stephens (W)
**RECENT WC SLAM SINGLES FINALS** 2013 AO - #1 Aniek Van Koot/NED d. #2 Sabine Ellerbrock/GER 2013 RG - Sabine Ellerbrock/GER def. #2 Jiske Griffioen/NED 2013 US - #2 Aniek Van Koot/NED d. #1 Sabine Ellerbrock/GER 2014 AO - #1 Sabine Ellerbrock/GER def. #2 Yui Kamiji/JPN 2014 RG - #1 Yui Kamiji/JPN def. Aniek Van Koot/NED 2014 US - #1 Yui Kamiji/JPN def. #2 Aniek Van Koot/NED 2015 AO - Jiske Griffioen/NED def. #1 Yui Kamiji/JPN 2015 RG - #2 Jiske Griffioen/NED def. Aniek Van Koot/NED 2015 US - Jordanne Whiley/GBR def. Yui Kamiji/JPN 2016 AO - #1 Jiske Griffioen/NED def. Aniek Van Koot/NED 2016 RG - Marjolein Buis/NED def. Sabine Ellerbrock/GER 2016 WI - #1 Jiske Griffioen/NED def. Aniek Van Koot/NED 2016 PA - #1 Jiske Griffioen/NED def. #4 Aniek Van Koot/NED 2017 AO - #2 Yui Kamiji/JPN def. #1 Jiske Griffioen/NED 2017 RG - #2 Yui Kamiji/JPN def. Sabine Ellerbrock/GER 2017 WI - Diede de Groot/NED def. Sabine Ellerbrock/GER 2017 US - Diede de Groot/NED vs. #1 Yui Kamiji/JPN
**AMERICAN COLLEGIATE INVITATIONAL WINNERS** 2014 Jamie Loeb, UNC (Soph.) 2015 Robin Anderson, UCLA (Sr.) 2016 Danielle Collins, Virginia (Sr.) 2017 Francesca Di Lorenzo, Ohio State (Soph.)
TOP QUALIFIER:Kaia Kanepi/EST TOP EARLY-ROUND (1r-2r):#3 Garbine Muguruza/ESP TOP MIDDLE-ROUND (3r-QF):#20 CoCo Vandeweghe/USA TOP LATE-ROUND (SF-F):Sloane Stephens/USA TOP QUALIFYING MATCH:Q2: Jamie Loeb/USA def. (PR) Vera Zvonareva/RUS 7-6(4)/5-7/6-4 (3:16; delay after fan faints as Loeb to serve out at 5-4 in 3rd) TOP EARLY-RD. MATCH (1r-2r):1st Rd. - (WC) Maria Sharapova/RUS def. #2 Simona Halep/ROU 6-4/4-6/6-3 (Night 1) TOP MIDDLE-RD. MATCH (3r-QF):QF - #9 Venus Williams/USA def. #13 Petra Kvitova/CZE 6-4/3-6/7-6(2) TOP LATE-RD. MATCH (SF-F/Jr.):SF - Sloane Stephens def. #9 Venus Williams 6-1/0-6/7-5 TOP ASHE NIGHT SESSION WOMEN'S MATCH:(WC) Maria Sharapova def. #2 Simona Halep 6-4/4-6/6-3 (Night 1) ============================= FIRST VICTORY:Kristyna Pliskova/CZE (1st Rd. - def. Eguchi/JPN) FIRST SEED OUT:#32 Lauren Davis/USA (1st Rd. - lost to Kenin/USA UPSET QUEENS:Japan REVELATION LADIES:Australia NATION OF POOR SOULS:Germany (2-7 1st Rd.; DC Kerber out; one of two w/ a win defeated another German) CRASH & BURN:#6 Angelique Kerber/GER (lost to Osaka/JPN; second U.S. DC to lose 1st Rd.loss, w/ '05 Kuznetsova; out of Top 10) ZOMBIE QUEEN:Sloane Stephens/USA (QF - down 3-1 in 3rd vs. Sevastova) and Madison Keys/USA (4th Rd. - down 4-2 in 3rd vs. Svitolina) = both reach first slam final IT ("Teen Wild Card"):CoCo Gauff/USA Ms.OPPORTUNITY:Bannerette Semifinalists (Keys,Stephens,Vandeweghe,V.Williams - first all-U.S. semifinalists at U.S. Open since 1981; at slam since '85 Wimbledon) LAST QUALIFIER STANDING:Kaia Kanepi/EST (QF) LAST WILD CARD STANDING:Maria Sharapova/RUS (4th Rd.) LAST BANNERETTE STANDING:Sloane Stephens (Champion) COMEBACK PLAYER:Petra Kvitova/CZE VETERAN PLAYER (KIMIKO CUP):Venus Williams/USA DOUBLES STAR:Martina Hingis/SUI BROADWAY-BOUND:Maria Sharapova/RUS & Simona Halep/ROU (Opening Night) LADY OF THE EVENING:"The Late Show starring Madison Keys" (3rd Rd. - 1:45am finish, second-latest women's finish to own 1:48 finish last year) JUNIOR BREAKOUT:Maria Lourdes Carle/ARG & Emiliana Arango/COL (South American girls singles semifinalists)
The U.S. Open is over, so who were the stars of the summer?
1. Sloane Stephens, USA ...after starting the summer hard court season without a win on the season after returning from foot surgery, Future Sloane was suddenly and unexpectedly unleashed on the WTA landscape as Stephens reached back-to-back Premier semis in Toronto and Cincinnati, notched three Top 10 wins, rose from #957 to #17 in the rankings in less than two months and won her maiden slam title at Flushing Meadows. Now what? Will this Sloane become the default version of Stephens, or will she recede from the big stage once again once the bigger expectations return? =============================================== 2. Madison Keys, USA ...the Stanford champion pushed aside her penchant for inconsistency and was often a dominant force on summer hard courts after an injury-plagued first seven months of the season. In New York, she became the Open's Queen of the Nighttime World and reached her first slam final, only to be undone by a bad day and a performance from Stephens that belied Sloane's similar lack of big final experience. =============================================== 3. Chan Yung-Jan & Martina Hingis, TPE/SUI ...after struggling to find a suitable post-Sania partner, Martina seems to have hit the lottery with Chan. The pair added Cincinnati and U.S. Open titles to their season haul this summer, and Hingis grabbed her second straight slam Mixed crown to run her career combined slam total to 25 titles. ===============================================
4. Garbine Muguruza, ESP ...the Spaniard won Cincinnati and came to Flushing Meadows as the Open favorite. It wasn't mean to be, as she ran into a resurgent Great Petra in the Round of 16. It worked out all right, though, as her consolation prize was to inherit the #1 ranking from Karolina Pliskova, giving Spain the top player in both the men's *and* women's games for the first time. =============================================== 5. Elina Svitolina, UKR ...the breakthrough SF-or-better slam performance will have to wait until 2018, but the Ukrainian is getting closer, reaching the 4th Round at the Open (she led Keys 4-2 in the 3rd set) and winning her third big Premier title of the season at Toronto. She was one of the final three woman (of eight at the start of play) with a shot at #1 at the Open.
=============================================== 6t. CoCo Vandeweghe, USA and Venus Williams, USA ...the "other half" of the first all-Bannerette U.S. Open semifinals in New York since 1981 (and first at any slam since '85), Vandeweghe and Venus saw the spotlight stolen from them with career-best performances from both Keys and Stephens, respectively. Still, it's Williams' third SF-or-better slam result this season (her first such season-long run since '02) and CoCo's second major semi (w/ AO) of 2017. Vandeweghe also reached the Stanford final, and won the doubles title there before the hard court tour headed east for the rest of the summer. =============================================== 8t. Ekaterina Makarova, RUS and Elena Vesnina, RUS ...Makarova won her first tour singles title in three and a half years with her run in Washington, then joined with longtime partner Vesnina to take the Cincinnati doubles title in a worthy follow-up to their Wimbledon crown. Makarova didn't produce a deep run at the Open, but eliminated Caroline Wozniacki in the 2nd Round. =============================================== 10. Julia Goerges, GER ...the German didn't actually win anything, but the consistency of her results was notable. She reached singles finals in Bucharest and Washington, the QF in Cincinnati and the U.S. Open 4th Round before losing to Stephens in three sets. ===============================================
TOUR ACHIEVEMENTS WORTH MENTIONING... Irina-Camilia Begu, ROU and Kiki Bertens, NED: they swept the singles and doubles in Bucharest (Begu) and Gstaad (Bertens) =============================================== CiCi Bellis, USA: her early Open exit and the subsequent runs by fellow Bannerettes at Flushing Meadows shoved her way down in the conversation list, but during the summer Bellis was one of the eyebrow-raising stories of hard court season with a Stanford SF run and wins over Cornet, Goerges, Kuznetsova and Kvitova over a two week stretch =============================================== Simona Halep, ROU: She *still* didn't take the #1 ranking, but she reached the Cincinnati final and was one of just two women (Wozniacki was the other) to defeat Stephens in Sloane's eighteen (15-3) summer hard court matches. In fact, Simona did it twice. =============================================== Petra Kvitova, CZE: The right woman at the right time. Petra's unexpected -- but oh so welcome -- flashes of brilliance en route to the QF at Flushing Meadows (which included a win over Wimbledon champ and new #1 Muguruza) was just what tennis, and everyone else, needed.
=============================================== Karolina Pliskova, CZE: she lost her #1 ranking and, with her serve failing to heat up as it did last summer, couldn't return to the U.S. Open final. But the Czech still might end up as the season-ending #1, as she was just 4-5 in tour events last 4Q following her '16 Open run and won't be asked to defend many points. ===============================================
Lucie Safarova, CZE: the Maiden assumed the #1 doubles ranking in place of injured partner Bethanie Mattek-Sands and, briefly, gave the WTA top ranked players in BOTH disciplines who hailed from the Czech Republic
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=============================================== Anastasija Sevatova, LAT: She followed up her '16 U.S. Open QF with another, ending Sharapova's run along the way and coming closer than anyone (up 3-1 in the 3rd) to derailing what turned out to be Stephens' title turn =============================================== Maria Sharapova, RUS: she returned to action in New York, immediately stole the spotlight with a headline-grabbing upset of #2 Halep on Night 1, brought out the worst in some people and the best in others, and then ran out of steam mid-tournament after a spring and summer of spotty match play and injury issues, proving her worth to the sport, even if the return of her slam-winning capability still lags a little behind =============================================== Katerina Siniakova, CZE and Peng Shuai, CHN and Dasha Gavrilova, AUS: the Czech (Bastad) and Chinese vet (Nanchang) won early 3Q crowns, while Gavrilova closed out the pre-Open tune-up season with a career-boosting maiden tour singles title in New Haven, giving her a more tangible honor to go with her recent rise to the top of the Aussie rankings =============================================== Caroline Wozniacki, DEN: whining about Sharapova's match placement at the Open (after *she* had been eliminated early) notwithstanding, the Dane had an impressive summer, reaching finals in Bastad and Toronto. She's still looking for her first 2017 title in six finals, though. ===============================================
And, of course...
Serena: Otherwise known as the newest Mama Williams... and probably as "the new (insert slam here) champion" once again by this time next year
To be continued...
=DAY 14 NOTES= ...one of the final two WTA players to lift a title at this U.S. Open did so for the second time this weekend.
Martina Hingis and Chan Yung-Jan picked up their first slam title as a pair, and seventh overall this season (they're 44-6), with a 6-3/6-2 win over Czechs Lucie Hradecka & Katerina Siniakova in the doubles final on Sunday. It's Hingis' 25th overall slam title, and her 13th in women's doubles (one behind both Williams Sisters among active players), while it's Chan's first major title. She'd been 0-3 in previous WD slam finals -- 0-2 in 2007 and with another loss in '15 -- and 0-1 in MX finals, as well.
...16-year old Amanda Anisimova won the all-Bannerette girls singles final over Coco Gauff, the third straight such U.S.-dominated championship match this slam season on the junior level. Her 6-0/6-2 win not only makes it three straight junior slam winners from the U.S. but four at the last five majors, two in a row at Flushing Meadows, and four in seven in New York.
Gauff, 13, didn't go down meekly, though, saving ten MP on serve in the final game of the match before Anisimova finally won.
Amanda Anisimova clinches the #USOpen girls' juniors title on her 11th match point. They all came with Coco Gauff serving at 2-5. pic.twitter.com/xKjNElUESW
Olga Danilovic & Marta Kostyuk won the girls doubles crown, defeating Lea Boskovic (CRO) & Wang Xiyu (CHN) in a 6-1/7-5 final. Serb Danilovic won the girls doubles at Wimbledon earlier this year, while Ukrainian Kostyuk was the AO singles champ.
...in the women's wheelchair singles final, top-seeded Yui Kamiji made her case for holding onto her high position in the women's game, as the 23-year old from Japan held off the latest rush from 20-year old #2-seed Diede de Groot. In the first singles match-up between the two on a slam stage, Kamiji claimed her fifth career slam singles crown with a 7-5/6-2 victory. The 23-year old from Japan won three of the four singles slams in 2017 (de Groot won SW19), as well as the RG & WI doubles (her 10th & 11th slam titles).
She'll enter 2018 with a chance to become the first player to win all eight slam singles & doubles crowns, needing only a singles win at the AELTC to complete the Career Slam set.
...at the WTA 125 Series event in Dalian, China it was Kateryna Kozlova denying Vera Zvonareva her biggest title since 2011, defeating the 32-year old Hordette 6-4/6-2. It's the Ukrainian's biggest title.
Polona Hercog has already made her way back from injury this season, returning in Paris for RG qualifying after having been out since last year's U.S. Open. She then qualified for Wimbledon and reached the 3rd Round. She won her second ITF title of the summer this weekend at the $25K in Balatongolar, Hungary (she's 13-1 in ITF singles finals, 2-2 in WTA), defeating... wait for it... Greta Arn for the title. Yes, that Greta Arn. The now 38-year old Hungarian (she also played for Germany for nearly a decade) won a pair of tour singles titles in her career before retiring in 2013, only to do the "in" thing and return to the sport earlier this year. This was Arn's fifth tournament back this summer (she reached a SF in her second), and she entered the week ranked #731. She qualified at the event, and put up wins over Kristina Schmiedlova and Irina Maria Bara to reach her first singles final since winning the WTA Auckland event in 2011 (defeating Sharapova, Goerges and Wickmayer).
The only player older than Arn who currently holds a tour ranking is fellow 38-year old Patty Schnyder, though the soon-to-retire Kimiko Date, 46, does appear in the tour-level Tokyo singles draw in the upcoming week in what will be her farewell tournament.
"HEY, NOW..." ON DAY 14: Is there an echo in here?
It was thirty-two years ago that Mandlikova defeated both Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova en route to the Open title, winning the final in a 3rd set tie-break.
QUEBEC CITY, QUEBEC CAN [Int'l/Carpet Indoor] 16 Singles Final: Dodin d. Davis 16 Doubles Final: Hlavackova/Hradecka d. Kudryavtseva/Panova 17 Top Seeds: Safarova/Dodin ============================= =SF= #1 Safarova d. #3 Babos #2 Dodin d. Krejcikova =FINAL= #1 Safarova d. #2 Dodin
=DOUBLES FINAL= (WC) Andreescu/Branstine d. #1 Babos/Hlavackova
TOKYO, JAPAN [Int'l/Hard] 16 Singles Final: McHale d. Siniakova 16 Doubles Final: Aoyama/Ninomiya d. Rae/Smith 17 Top Seeds: Mladenovic/Sh.Zhang ============================= =SF= #6 Osaka d. Krunic #2 Sh.Zhang d. #3 Mertens =FINAL= #6 Osaka d. #2 Sh.Zhang
=DOUBLES FINAL= #1 Ninomiya/Voracova d. #2 Kato/Hozumi
*WOMEN'S SINGLES FINAL* Sloane Stephens/USA def. #15 Madison Keys/USA 6-3/6-0
**RECENT GIRLS SLAM CHAMPIONS** [2016] AO: Vera Lapko, BLR RG: Rebeka Masarova, SUI WI: Anastasia Potapova, RUS US: Kayla Day, USA [2017] AO: Marta Kostyuk, UKR RG: Whitney Osuigwe, USA WI: Claire Liu, USA US: Amanda Anisimova, USA
**U.S. WINNERS OF U.S. OPEN GIRLS SINGLES** 1978 Linda Siegel 1979 Alycia Moulton 1980 Susan Mascarin 1981 Zina Garrison 1982 Beth Herr 1986 Elly Hakami 1988 Carrie Cunningham 1989 Jennifer Capriati 1992 Lindsay Davenport 1994 Meilen Tu 1995 Tara Snyder 2008 CoCo Vandeweghe 2011 Grace Min 2012 Samantha Crawford 2016 Kayla Day 2017 Amanda Anisimova
**ALL-U.S. JUNIOR GIRLS SLAM FINALS** [Australian Open] 1989 Kim Kessaris def. Andrea Farley [Roland Garros] 1980 Kathy Horvath def. Kelly Henry 2017 Whitney Osuigwe def. Claire Liu [Wimbledon] 1977 Lea Antonpolis def. Mareen "Peanut" Louie 1979 Mary-Lou Piatek def. Alycia Moultron 2017 Claire Liu def. Ann Li [U.S. Open] 1979 Alycia Moulton def. Mary-Lou Piatek 1980 Susan Mascarin def. Kathrin Keil 1981 Zina Garrison def. Kate Gompert 1982 Beth Herr def. Gretchen Rush 1986 Elly Hakami def. Shaun Stafford 1992 Lindsay Davenport def. Julie Steven 2017 Amanda Anisimova def. Coco Gauff
**CAREER WOMEN'S DOUBLES SLAM TITLES - active** 14...Serena Williams, USA 14...Venus Williams, USA 13...MARTINA HINGIS, SUI 5...Sara Errani, ITA 5...Bethanie Mattek-Sands, USA 5...Lucie Safarova, CZE 5...Roberta Vinci, ITA [Open era] 31...Martina Navratilova, TCH/USA 21...Pam Shriver, USA 18...Natasha Zvereva, USSR/BLR 17...Gigi Fernandez, USA 14...Serena Williams, USA* 14...Venus Williams, USA* 13...MARTINA HINGIS, SUI* 12...Jana Novotna, TCH/CZE - *-active
**TOTAL SLAM TITLES - active** [singles/doubles/mixed] 38...Serena Williams (23-14-2) 25...MARTINA HINGIS (5-13-7)* 23...Venus Williams (7-14-2) [all-time] 64...Margaret Court, AUS 59...Martina Navratilova, TCH/USA 39...Billie Jean King, USA 38...Serena Williams, USA* 37...Margaret Osborne duPont, USA 35...Louise Brough, USA 35...Doris Hart, USA 31...Helen Wills Moody, USA 26...Elizabeth Ryan, USA 25...MARTINA HINGIS, SUI* 23...Venus Williams, USA* 23...Steffi Graf, GER -- *-active
**2017 WTA DOUBLES TITLES** [duos] 7 - Y.CHAN/HINGIS, TPE/SUI 3 - Makarova/Vesnina, RUS/RUS 3 - Mattek-Sands/Safarova, USA/CZE 3 - Barty/Dellacqua, AUS/AUS 2 - Bertens/Larsson, NED/SWE 2 - Dabrowski/Xu Yifan, CAN/CHN [player] 8 - CHAN YUNG-JAN, TPE 7 - MARTINA HINGIS, SUI (+2 Mixed) 4 - Bethanie Mattek-Sands, USA 3 - Ash Barty, AUS 3 - Casey Dellacqua, AUS 3 - Ekaterina Makarova, RUS 3 - Lucie Safarova, CZE 3 - Elena Vesnina, RUS
**RECENT WC SLAM SINGLES FINALS** 2013 AO - #1 Aniek Van Koot/NED def. #2 Sabine Ellerbrock/GER 2013 RG - Sabine Ellerbrock/GER def. #2 Jiske Griffioen/NED 2013 US - #2 Aniek Van Koot/NED def. #1 Sabine Ellerbrock/GER 2014 AO - #1 Sabine Ellerbrock/GER def. #2 Yui Kamiji/JPN 2014 RG - #1 Yui Kamiji/JPN def. Aniek Van Koot/NED 2014 US - #1 Yui Kamiji/JPN def. #2 Aniek Van Koot/NED 2015 AO - Jiske Griffioen/NED def. #1 Yui Kamiji/JPN 2015 RG - #2 Jiske Griffioen/NED def. Aniek Van Koot/NED 2015 US - Jordanne Whiley/GBR def. Yui Kamiji/JPN 2016 AO - #1 Jiske Griffioen/NED def. Aniek Van Koot/NED 2016 RG - Marjolein Buis/NED def. Sabine Ellerbrock/GER 2016 WI - #1 Jiske Griffioen/NED def. Aniek Van Koot/NED 2016 PA - #1 Jiske Griffioen/NED def. #4 Aniek Van Koot/NED 2017 AO - #2 Yui Kamiji/JPN def. #1 Jiske Griffioen/NED 2017 RG - #2 Yui Kamiji/JPN def. Sabine Ellerbrock/GER 2017 WI - Diede de Groot/NED def. Sabine Ellerbrock/GER 2017 US - #1 Yui Kamiji/JPN def. #2 Diede de Groot/NED
TOP QUALIFIER:Kaia Kanepi/EST TOP EARLY-ROUND (1r-2r):#3 Garbine Muguruza/ESP TOP MIDDLE-ROUND (3r-QF):#20 CoCo Vandeweghe/USA TOP LATE-ROUND (SF-F):Sloane Stephens/USA TOP QUALIFYING MATCH:Q2: Jamie Loeb/USA def. (PR) Vera Zvonareva/RUS 7-6(4)/5-7/6-4 (3:16; delay after fan faints as Loeb to serve out at 5-4 in 3rd) TOP EARLY-RD. MATCH (1r-2r):1st Rd. - (WC) Maria Sharapova/RUS def. #2 Simona Halep/ROU 6-4/4-6/6-3 (Night 1) TOP MIDDLE-RD. MATCH (3r-QF):QF - #9 Venus Williams/USA def. #13 Petra Kvitova/CZE 6-4/3-6/7-6(2) TOP LATE-RD. MATCH (SF-F/Jr.):SF - Sloane Stephens def. #9 Venus Williams 6-1/0-6/7-5 TOP ASHE NIGHT SESSION WOMEN'S MATCH:(WC) Maria Sharapova def. #2 Simona Halep 6-4/4-6/6-3 (Night 1) ============================= FIRST VICTORY:Kristyna Pliskova/CZE (1st Rd. - def. Eguchi/JPN) FIRST SEED OUT:#32 Lauren Davis/USA (1st Rd. - lost to Kenin/USA UPSET QUEENS:Japan REVELATION LADIES:Australia NATION OF POOR SOULS:Germany (2-7 1st Rd.; DC Kerber out; one of two w/ a win defeated another German) CRASH & BURN:#6 Angelique Kerber/GER (lost to Osaka/JPN; second U.S. DC to lose 1st Rd.loss, w/ '05 Kuznetsova; out of Top 10) ZOMBIE QUEEN:Sloane Stephens/USA (QF - down 3-1 in 3rd vs. Sevastova) and Madison Keys/USA (4th Rd. - down 4-2 in 3rd vs. Svitolina) = both reach first slam final IT ("Teen Wild Card"):CoCo Gauff/USA Ms.OPPORTUNITY:Bannerette Semifinalists (Keys,Stephens,Vandeweghe,V.Williams - first all-U.S. semifinalists at U.S. Open since 1981; at slam since '85 Wimbledon)) LAST QUALIFIER STANDING:Kaia Kanepi/EST (QF) LAST WILD CARD STANDING:Maria Sharapova/RUS (4th Rd.) LAST BANNERETTE STANDING:Sloane Stephens (Champion) COMEBACK PLAYER:Petra Kvitova/CZE VETERAN PLAYER (KIMIKO CUP):Venus Williams/USA DOUBLES STAR:Martina Hingis/SUI BROADWAY-BOUND:Maria Sharapova/RUS & Simona Halep/ROU (Opening Night) LADY OF THE EVENING:"The Late Show starring Madison Keys" (3rd Rd. - 1:45am finish, second-latest women's finish to own 1:48 finish last year) JUNIOR BREAKOUT:Maria Lourdes Carle/ARG & Emiliana Arango/COL (South American girls singles semifinalists)
So, here we are, a week past the end of the tennis season...
Oh, yeah. All right then...
*WEEK 37 CHAMPIONS*
QUEBEC CITY, QUEBEC CAN (Int'l/Indoor Carpet) S: Alison Van Uytvanck/BEL def. Timea Babos/HUN 5-7/6-4/6-1 D: Timea Babos/Andrea Hlavackova (HUH/CZE) d. Bianca Andreescu/Carson Branstine (CAN/CAN) 6-3/6-1 TOKYO (JAPAN OPEN), JAPAN (Int'l/Hard) S: Zarina Diyas/KAZ def. Miyu Kato/JPN 6-2/7-5 D: Shuko Aoyama/Yang Zhaoxuan (JPN/CHN) d. Monique Adamczak/Storm Sanders (AUS/AUS) 6-0/2-6 [10-5]
PLAYER OF THE WEEK:Zarina Diyas/KAZ ...step right up, Zarina Diyas. You're the latest woman to find her way to into the WTA spotlight after an injury-induced fall. And, true to form, no one said it would be easy.
The former world #31 (in 2015 after a two-season stretch when she reached three slam 3rd Rounds and back-to-back Round of 16's at Wimbledon), 23-year old Diyas claimed her maiden tour singles title in Tokyo at the end of a summer in which the Kazakh has worked to climb the tour ladder once again after missing seven months with a wrist injury incurred at Wimbledon last season. Diyas returned in February and promptly lost her first four matches. She found herself ranked at #242 in the spring. But that's when her climb began. Since then, she's reached a WTA 125 Series SF (a week ago in Dalian) and QF, two $100K finals (1-1), won a $25K challenger and took a SW19 wild card and reached the 3rd Round at the All-England Club, and had returned to the Top 100 (at exactly #100) prior to this past week's run. A woman on a mission, she qualified at the Japan Open (winning a 2nd set TB over Luksika Kumkhum and winning in three sets in the final round) and pushed her way through to the final with wins over Misaki Doi (3 sets), #2 Zhang Shuai, Yulia Putintseva (3 sets) and defending champ Christina McHale (3 sets, coming back from 3-1 down in the final set). Playing in her first WTA final since doing so in the same event (in Osaka) in 2014 (def. by Stosur), with her leg strapped after playing eighteen sets through seven matches last week, she managed to avoid yet another three-setter by pushing back fellow qualifier Miyu Kato in a tight 7-5 2nd to win in straights. Diyas will rise thirty-seven spots to #63 on Monday. =============================================== RISERS:Alison Van Uytvanck/BEL and Timea Babos/HUN ...Van Uytvanck had wrist surgery in December after ending the '16 season at #123 following a Top 50 campaign the prior year. She didn't make her '17 debut until March, but the 23-year old Waffle made up for much of her lost time (and results) last week in Quebec City. After squandering a big 3rd set lead in the 1st Round vs. Canada's Carol Zhao, the Belgian won a deciding TB to advance and never looked back, defeating Marina Erakovic, Caroline Dolehide, Tatjana Maria and then gradually pulling away from Babos in the three-set final to claim her maiden tour title. Van Uytvanck's previous best result had been a WTA 125 Series win in 2013. She'll jump thirty spots in the rankings this week, climbing from #98 to #68 in a single bound.
Babos, Van Uytvanck's opponent in the Quebec City final, had a busy week, just as she's had a busy year. She reached both the singles and doubles finals, winning her thirteenth career doubles title (losing zero sets w/ Andrea Hlavackova) while adding a second '17 indoor singles final to her home win in Budapest in February. The 24-year old went to three sets in wins over Jamie Loeb and Naomi Broady, then took out Franckie Abanda and #1-seed Lucie Safarova to reach her fifth career singles final. Earlier this year, Babos lost nine straight matches and went 1-11 during a spring/summer stretch, a dreadful slump that only came to a close when the Hungarian *last* played a tournament in Canada, when she knocked off teenager Bianca Andreescu in the 1st Round in Toronto. Babos has now gone 7-5 in her last twelve matches, including a spirited three-set loss to Maria Sharapova in the 2nd Round of the U.S. Open.
=============================================== SURPRISES:Miyu Kato/JPN and Sachia Vickery/USA ...scrambling five-foot-one 22-year old Kato has had more doubles success than singles in her career, including a SF run in Melbourne earlier this season, but she caught lightning in a bottle last week in front of a supportive crowd in Tokyo, reaching her first career WTA singles final while escaping several traps after having originally made her way through qualifying. Kato had to go three sets twice in three Q-round matches, including winning a deciding TB over Poland's Magdalena Frech just to reach the MD. Once safely there, she won three consecutive straight sets matches over Nao Hibino, Kristyna Pliskova (her first Top 50 win) and Aleksandra Krunic, then used her defensive skills to survive a near three-hour semifinal bout with Jana Fett in which she saw the Croat serve for the match and hold a MP before finally wearing her down down the stretch. Kato jumps forty-eight spots to a new career-high of #123 on Monday.
Vickery (world #134) seems to always hang around in the shadows of the tour, popping her head into the sunlight on occasion to remind everyone that she's there. The past week was another of those occasions. Her QF run in Quebec City was actually the fourth such result in her WTA career, but she's never produced more than one in any of the past four seasons, making it easy to forget that she's been there before. Wins over Taylor Townsend and Viktorija Golubic to reach the final eight puts this result on par with the 22-year old's previous results in Stanford (2014, as a qualifier), Nottingham (2015, as a qualifier) and Bogota (2016) the last three seasons. Vickery recently qualified to reach the U.S. Open MD, where she posted her second career slam MD win, four years after she posted her first in 2013.
=============================================== VETERAN:Tatjana Maria/GER ...lost in the sea of later-career surges, and post-motherhood success, is the rise of Maria. The 30-year old German had a daughter in late 2013, and since then has put up her best slam result ('15 Wimbledon 3rd) and MD slam wins in three straight majors this season, as well as in five of the last six slam MD in which she's appeared. After ending 2016 with a $100K SF and WTA 125 QF result, in '17 she's reached four $100K finals (2-2), last week reached her career high rank of #58 and then followed that up with her first WTA singles semifinal result in Quebec City after posting wins over Fanny Stollar, Grace Min and Sachia Vickery. On Monday, she'll climb to another new career-high rank of #54, one spot behind Timea Babos, who this weekend fell a set short of claiming her second singles title of '17.
And if you don't believe all that, sue me. Tatjana, put down that phone. =============================================== COMEBACK:Sesil Karatantcheva/BUL ...we've experienced 2017 comebacks from Petra, Maria, Sloane, Zarina, Mirjana, Alexandra, Kaia and others. But can we handle the return of Sesil? Maybe an even bigger question, can she, after a long and crazy trip with more curves than a World War II pin-up calendar.
Still moved by Sesil Karatantcheva's emotional reunion with Nick Bollettieri, more so by her brutal honesty about her career. #usopenpic.twitter.com/QmOqpm8dRy
Well, whatever comes next has apparently taken it's first step toward reality, as the 28-year old Bulgarian just claimed her first singles title in six years with her run at this week's $60K challenger in Las Vegas. Coming in ranked #224, Karatantcheva defeated #2-seed Louisa Chirico, then won a 7-5 3rd set to take her semifinal over Mexico's Renata Zarazua and reach her first final since she played in a $50K title decider in the summer of 2014 (which itself was her first final in two years at the time). Heading into the Sunday match, Sesil had a 1-6 record in ITF finals since 2008, after having been 6-1 from 2003-08 on her way up the tennis ladder. But she turned back the tide this time around, defeating Elitsa Kostova 6-4/4-6/7-5 to take home the crown, her first since 2011 and just her second since 2008 (she never reached a WTA level singles final). Such numbers might have been hard to believe for her career a dozen years ago, when Karatantcheva reached the Roland Garros QF and finished the season at #35, grabbing headlines with her personality all along the way. She's had one Top 100 finish since (#93 in 2012), fewer than the number of countries she's represented during the span and equal to her number of newsworthy suspensions.
Hopefully, this will be the first of many additional positive steps. ===============================================
FRESH FACES:Jana Fett/CRO, Franckie Abanda/CAN and Caroline Dolehide/USA ...20-year old Fett was at it again in Tokyo. But, once again, The Force wasn't *totally* with her. Back in January the Croat made a spirited qualifier-to-first-time-semifinalist run in Hobart, and she put on a similar show last week. After posting three wins to reach the MD, she burst into the MD by upsetting #1-seeded Kristina Mladenovic (her first Top 20 win), then backed it up with wins over Jana Cepelova and Wang Qiang. In an all-qualifier semi vs. Miyu Kato, Fett served for the match at 6-5 in the 2nd, holding a MP, only to double-fault and be forced to a 3rd set. She led 3-0 there, as well, but was gradually worn down by the defensive-minded Kato and was cramping as she went down in defeat in the nearly three-hour marathon. Still, she'll jump twenty-four spots in the rankings on Monday, cracking the Top 100 for the first time at #99.
Abanda, 20, led the Canadian singles charge in Quebec City, reaching her first career tour QF in front of the home crowd with wins over Asia Muhammad and Varvara Lepchenko. Abanda has flashed on several occasions in '17, including a starring role in Fed Cup (going 2-0 vs. Putintseva and Shvedova in Canada's win over Kazakhstan) in the spring, two successful slam qualifying runs and 1st Round MD wins in Paris and Wimbledon (she subsequently lost to Wozniacki and Ostapenko, respectively). While Bianca Andreescu may be the "future Canadian #1," Abanda might just be the "next Canadian #1." This result bumps her up to a new career high of #115, putting her just 209 points behind #87 TPFKAGB. 17-year old Andreescu will be at #158, 183 points behind Abanda as the current Canadian #3.
19-year old Dolehide made headlines earlier this summer in Stanford, qualifying to make her WTA MD debut and posting a 1st Round win over Naomi Osaka, then taking eventual champ Madison Keys to three sets. A winner of two $25K titles in 2017, last week Dolehide reached her maiden tour-level QF after qualifying and getting MD wins over Charlotte Robillard-Millette and receiving a walkover from #2-seeded defending champ Oceane Dodin (dizziness). She'll be at a new career-best #137 this week.
=============================================== DOWN:Kristina Mladenovic/FRA ...the Pastry's downward spiral continues. Mladenovic's 1st Round loss (as the top seed) in Tokyo to qualifier Jana Fett is her sixth in a row, all in straight sets. Her last multi-win event was in Birmingham early in the grass season. But I'm sure she'll turn this around soon.
=============================================== ITF PLAYER:Mihaela Buzarnescu/ROU ...the 29-year old Romanian moved into a tie for the circuit season lead with her fifth title at the $80K challenger in Biarritz. Fresh off her slam MD debut as a qualifier at Flushing Meadow, Buzarnescu picked up career ITF title #20 -- and won the doubles, too, with Irina Bara -- with wins over Bara, Martina Trevisan and 38-year old Patty Schnyder in the final. Buzarnescu has gone 13-2 in ITF singles finals since 2011.
=============================================== JUNIOR STARS:Bianca Andreescu/Carson Branstine (CAN/CAN) and Maria Lourdes Carle/ARG ...17-year olds Andreescu & Branstine opened the season by winning both the AO & RG junior doubles crowns. Future Canadian #1 Andreescu has moved on to improving tour-level success (singles QF in D.C. and an accompanying WTA Breakthrough of the Month award) as the season has progressed, but the friends joined forces once again last week in Quebec City. With a wild card into the MD, they won a 10-7 3rd set TB over #2-seeded Hradecka/Krejcikova in the 2nd Round and reached their first WTA final, losing to top-seeded Babos/Hlavackova. Andreescu shined in singles, as well, knocking off Jennifer Brady in straights and serving for the match vs. Lucie Hradecka in the 2nd Round before falling to the veteran Czech.
In Buenos Aires, U.S. Open girls semifinalist Carle, 17, took her skills to the ITF circuit and carried over her momentum, sweeping the singles and doubles (w/ 18-year old Brit Emily Appleton) titles at the $15K to grab her first professional crowns. She proved herself in the clutch, as well, winning a 3rd set TB over countrywoman Stephanie Mariel Petit in the final on home soil for both.
=============================================== DOUBLES:Shuko Aoyama/Yang Zhaoxuan, JPN/CHN ...when Aoyama finds a place where she's comfortable, get out of her way. In Tokyo, the 29-year old Japanese vet joined forces with China's Yang to win her eighth career WTA doubles title. Seven of those titles have come in two events, with her four-title run in Washington now joined by her third title in the past four years in the Japan Open (in Osaka and Tokyo), including two in a row. The duo had to win a pair on 3rd set tie-breaks (vs. teams that were 3/4 Aussie), 10-8 in the QF vs. Liang/Ar.Rodionova and then 10-5 in the final against Adamczak/Sanders. For Yang, it's career title #2 to go along with her win in Kuala Lumpur last year, ending her four-match losing streak in WD finals.
1. Tokyo SF - Miyu Kato def. Jana Fett ...4-6/7-6(1)/6-4. Kato's trip to a surprise singles final included some tough matches in qualifying, but nothing topped her Houdini act in the semifinals vs. Fett. After Fett recovered from a 3-1 1st set deficit to take a one set lead, the Croat served for the match at 6-5 in the 2nd and held a MP. She double-faulted. After losing the TB, Fett led 3-0 in the 3rd, only to see the scurrying defense of the Japanese woman steal away with the 2:53 victory as Fett cramped up down the stretch and failed for the second time this season to win a semifinal match and her maiden tour final.
.@MiyuKato1121 saves a match point and downs Fett, 4-6, 7-6(1), 6-4!
=============================================== 2. Quebec City 1st Rd. - Bianca Andreescu def. Jennifer Brady 6-3/6-2 Quebec City 2nd Rd. - Lucie Hradecka def. Bianca Andreescu 2-6/6-2/7-5 ...the 17-year old dropped Brady to 0-8 in '17 in non-slam MD matches (she's 7-4 in major MD), but couldn't close out the match vs. the Czech after serving up 5-3 in the 3rd. =============================================== 3. Tokyo Final - Zarina Diyas def. Miyu Kato ...6-2/7-5. Diyas is the fifth qualifier to win a tour singles title this year, the most in any WTA season. This is the first time two players who were in the qualifying competition met to decide a tour singles title since qualifier Ana Ivanovic defeated lucky loser Melinda Czink in the Canberra final in 2004. ===============================================
4. Quebec City Final - Alison Van Uytvanck def. Timea Babos 5-7/6-4/6-1 Quebec City Final - Timea Babos/Andrea Hlavackova def. Bianca Andreescu/Carson Branstine 6-3/6-1 ...Babos has had quite the wacky season. She suffered through that long losing streak, but is also 1-1 in singles finals and 3-1 in doubles. She's never played in more singles finals in a season, and has only won more doubles titles once (4 in 2013). =============================================== 5. Quebec City 1st Rd. - Jana Fett def. Kristina Mladenovic ...6-3/6-4. Karma, thy name is Kiki.
6. Tokyo 1st Rd. - Aleksandra Krunic def. Kimiko Date ...6-0/6-0. All good things...
“It’s a great honor for me… it’s sad now, but I’m sure you’re very happy with what you achieved and what is ahead” - @KrunicAlexpic.twitter.com/QdTN9JTLB4
=============================================== 7. Quebec City Q2 - Charlotte Robillard-Millette def. Conny Perrin 6-7(7)/7-6(7)/6-2 Quebec City 1st Rd. - Alison Van Uytvanck def. Carol Zhao 4-6/6-2/7-6(1) ...Andreescu/Branstine reached the doubles final. Abanda made the singles QF. 18-year CRM reached her first WTA MD (saving a MP en route), and Zhao came back from 5-2 down in the 3rd to force a deciding TB vs. the eventual tournament champion. Pretty much all of Canadian women's tennis shined in Quebec. Well, save for the (currently) highest-ranked Canadian, I mean. =============================================== 8. Tokyo 1st Rd. - Sara Sorribes Tormo def. Samantha Stosur ...3-6/7-5/6-1. Not a victory, but not a bad match for Sam in her first outing since losing to Ostapenko at Roland Garros, either. =============================================== 9. $15K Prague Final - Miriam Kolodziejova def. Nastja Kolar ...6-2/5-7/6-4. The Czech had previously been 1-7 in career ITF singles finals. =============================================== 10. $15K Szekesfehervar Final - Panna Udvardy def. Reka Luca Jani ...7-5/6-3. Udvardy wins the all-Hungarian final in Hungary. Udvardy & Jani, like countrywoman Babos in Quebec City, reached both the singles and doubles finals in *their* event, losing as a pair in the championship match. =============================================== HM- $60K Las Vegas Final - An-Sophie Mestach/Laura Robson def. Sophie Chang/Alexandra Mueller ...7-6(7)/7-6(2). This is Robson's biggest career women's doubles title. She won her biggest career singles crown at a $60K in Kurume, Japan in May. Baby-steppin'. ===============================================
1. Tokyo (Japan Open) Q1 - ARINA RODIONOVA def. MARI OSAKA 4-6/6-4/6-4 Tokyo (Japan Open) 1st Rd. - Kurumi Nara def. NAOMI OSAKA 6-3/6-0 ...Naomi reached the final of the Premier event in Tokyo last year, but neither Osaka sister picked up a victory in the International level tournament there this past week. =============================================== 2. Tokyo (TPP) Q2 - Duan Yingying def. MARI OSAKA ...7-5/6-4. In the qualifying for the Toray Pan Pacific Premier event in Tokyo, held in the same Ariake Coliseum as the previous event in the city, Mari lost in the second round. Naomi will open in the main draw vs. Angelique Kerber. If that match-up sounds familiar, it should. Naomi just "upset" Kerber in the 1st Round of the U.S. Open. ===============================================
Good article but in all honesty, this is beating a dead horse. No one halfway-credible believes that Meldonium is a PED. Time to let it go.. https://t.co/icNZ0D6zQ9
A post shared by Maria Sharapova (@mariasharapova) on
Video rookie over here ?? went over the 1:00 mark...but here it is... thanks everyone for making these last days so amazing!! ?? pic.twitter.com/Sn3XS17Ykm
Honestly, I'm still trying to find the "antagonism" noted in the description of the article in the quotes provided (in many ways, they're actually more Sharapova's way to compliment Serena as a competitor and athlete, and an acknowledgment that Williams was able to psychologically challenge, intimidate -- physically and otherwise -- and, later, defeat her without ever needing to actually play a point against her, and that those two wins over Williams as a 17-year old sealed her fate to be Serena's "rented mule" for the remainder of her career because Williams would never forget about them... ask Sloane about that particular dynamic, as well). But, then again, to some people, if Sharapova mentions Serena's name in public at all it's considered "antagonistic," so I guess it's no surprise that that's the case here (and in the comments to that post, and others). Of course, if she *didn't* mention Williams (which she rarely does) those same people, I'm sure, would call it an "insult" and accuse Sharapova of being afraid to talk about her.
Hmmm, I'm sensing a pattern here. A circular one, in fact.
Also, it always makes me chuckle when those same people constantly drag out Serena's overwhelming record vs. Sharapova since 2004 and her large lead in slam titles as a way to "speak the truth" about the Russian's career by noting that Williams has had a better one. Well, umm, no kidding... that's why she's often called "the greatest" player ever, while Sharapova isn't. It's not as if they're breaking any news there, no matter how smart and condescending they *think* they sound by pointing out such an obvious fact. In reality, they make *themselves* look worse than they do Sharapova.
Serena really doesn't need their obviously personal (and often petty) attacks to win this argument. She's THE player of her generation (and more), and no one questions it. She'd be Serena with or without Sharapova, and Sharapova has surely made a career -- both in and outside of tennis -- aside from anything involving Serena. Still, to deny Sharapova's career has been defined -- for good, and bad -- in many respects by her matches against and career parallels with Williams would also be inaccurate. So the individuals who gripe that Sharapova dares to mention Serena's name in her autobiography, please, they should just shut the hell up and ignore her if they truly think she's so unworthy. They complain that Sharapova is "obsessed" with Williams, but couldn't the same be said about *them* when it comes to their joyful bashing of all things Sharapova? Askin' for a friend.
*2017 FIRST-TIME WTA CHAMPIONS* Auckland - Lauren Davis, USA (23/#61) Shenzhen - Katerina Siniakova, CZE (20/#52) Hobart - Elise Mertens, BEL (21/#127) Saint Petersburg - Kristina Mladenovic, FRA (23/#51) Kuala Lumpur - Ash Barty, AUS (20/#158) Charleston - Daria Kasatkina, RUS (19/#42) Biel - Marketa Vondrousova, CZE (17/#233) Roland Garros - Alona Ostapenko, LAT (20/#47) 's-Hertogenbosch - Anett Kontaveit, EST (21/#49) New Haven - Dasha Gavrilova, AUS (23/#26) TOKYO (JO) - ZARINA DIYAS, KAZ (23/#100) QUEBEC CITY - ALISON VAN UYTVANCK, BEL (23/#98)
*2017 QUALIFIERS IN FINAL* Hobart - Elise Mertens, BEL (#127) - W Kuala Lumpur- Ash Barty, AUS (#158) - W Biel - Marketa Vondrousova, CZE (#233) - W Prague - Mona Barthel, GER (#82) - W Nurnberg - Barbora Krejcikova, CZE (#254) TOKYO (JO) - ZARINA DIYAS, KAZ (#100) - W TOKYO (JO) - MIYU KATO, JPN (#171)
*RECENT JUNIOR TEAM FINALS* [14s - ITF World Juniors] 2007 United States d. France 2008 United States d. Great Britain 2009 United States d. Czech Republic 2010 United States d. Ukraine 2011 Serbia d. United States 2012 Slovakia d. Great Britain 2013 United States d. Russia 2014 Russia d. Ukraine 2015 Russia d. United States 2016 Ukraine d. United States 2017 United States d. Ukraine [16s - Junior Fed Cup] 2007 Australia d. Poland 2008 United States d. Great Britain 2009 Russia d. Germany 2010 Russia d. China 2011 Australia d. Canada 2012 United States d. Russia 2013 Russia d. Australia 2014 United States d. Slovakia 2015 Czech Republic d. United States 2016 Poland d. United States 2017 (Sept.19-24)
TOKYO, JAPAN [Premier/Hard] 16 Singles Final: Wozniacki d. N.Osaka 16 Doubles Final: Mirza/Strycova d. Liang/Zh.Yang 17 Top Seeds: Muguruza/Ka.Pliskova ============================= =SF= #1 Muguruza d. #3 Wozniacki (hmmm, tempted to go other way here) #2 Ka.Pliskova d. Pavlyuchenkova =FINAL= #2 Ka.Pliskova d. #1 Muguruza
=DOUBLES SF= #1 Chan/Chan d. Atawo/Jurak Aoyama/Zh.Yang d. #2 Dabrowski/Xu =DOUBLES FINAL= #1 Chan/Chan d. Aoyama/Zh.Yang (Yung-Jan spreadin' the wealth)
SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA (Int'l/Hard) 16 Singles Final: Arruabarrena d. Niculescu 16 Doubles Final: Flipkens/Larsson d. Omae/Plipuech 17 Top Seeds: Ostapenko/Bertens ============================= =SF= #1 Ostapenko d. #7 Arruabarrena #5 Begu d. #8 McHale =FINAL= #1 Ostapenko d. #5 Begu (Latvian Thunder in the foreground, not North Korean "thunder" in the background)
=DOUBLES SF= Cirstea/Ostapenko d. #1 Bertens/Larsson #3 Hibino/Kalashnikova d. Kumkhum/Plipuech =DOUBLES FINAL= Cirstea/Ostapenko d. #3 Hibino/Kalashnikova
GUANGZHOU, CHINA (Int'l/Hard) 16 Singles Final: Tsurenko d. Jankovic 16 Doubles Final: Muhammad/Peng d. Govortsova/Lapko 17 Top Seeds: Peng/Sh.Zhang ============================= =SF= Krunic d. #1 Peng (wanted to pick Fett to win in the QF, but can't go against The Bracelet) #2 Sh.Zhang d. #3 Kontaveit =FINAL= Krunic d. #2 Sh.Zhang
=DOUBLES SF= Krunic/Panova d. #1 Mertens/Schuurs Kuwata/Q.Ye d. #2 Adamczak/Sanders =DOUBLES FINAL= Krunic/Panova d. Kuwata/Q.Ye
ALSO: JUNIOR FED CUP (16s) (Budapest, HUN) 16 Final: POL d. USA
As the tennis world turns...
The Sports Illustrated from 20 years ago today next to the Sports Illustrated from this week. pic.twitter.com/MhZcCBz85Z
The recipe for success in Week 38 was varied, but the result was mighty tasty.
Shall we?
*WEEK 38 CHAMPIONS*
TOKYO (TPP), JAPAN (Premier/Hard) S: Caroline Wozniacki/DEN def. Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova/RUS 6-0/7-5 D: Andreja Klepac/Maria Jose Martinez-Sanchez (SLO/ESP) d. Dasha Gavrilova/Dasha Kasatkina (AUS/RUS) 6-3/6-2 SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA (Int'l/Hard) S: Alona Ostapenko/LAT def. Beatriz Haddad Maia/BRA 6-7(5)/6-1/6-4 D: Kiki Bertens/Johanna Larsson (NED/SWE) d. Luksika Kumkhum/Peangtarn Plipuech (THA/THA) 6-4/6-1 GUANGZHOU, CHINA (Int'l/Hard) S: Zhang Shuai/CHN def. Aleksandra Krunic/SRB 6-2/3-6/6-2 D: Elise Mertens/Demi Schuurs (BEL/NED) d. Monique Adamczak/Storm Sanders (AUS/AUS) 6-2/6-3 JUNIOR FED CUP (16s) (Budapest, HUN) FINAL: United States def. Japan 2-0
PLAYERS OF THE WEEK:Caroline Wozniacki/DEN and Alona Ostapenko/LAT ...it took nearly nine months, over fifty match wins, seven finals, and staring down a MP in the QF vs. Dominika Cibulkova last week before the Slovak ultimately retired in the third, but Wozniacki finally managed to put everything together and win her first singles title of 2017, extending her streak of seasons with at least one to ten, the second longest active streak (Serena-11) and alone as the eighth longest in tour history.
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As the defending champion in Tokyo (where she was a two-time winner, taking the crown in '10 and reaching the final in '14, and also winning the smaller International event there in '08), Wozniacki's opening victory over Shelby Rogers made her the first to break the 50-match win threshold this year, her first such season since 2012, though it nearly all came crashing down against Cibulkova. But once the Dane escaped that predicament, she lifted her game to a level she hasn't often reached in her long, successful career. Her 6-0/6-2 semifinal destruction of world #1 Garbine Muguruza was stunning, and she carried over the momentum to the final against Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, playing another near-flawless match to win love & 5 and notch career title #26. The victory over Muguruza was Wozniacki's second #1 win this season (the other was over Pliskova), the *only* two such wins in her career. In fact, four of her nine career Top 3 wins have taken place during the 2017 season.
Roland Garros champ Ostapenko, too, was back to her winning ways in Seoul. After a good grasscourt I'm-not-like-the-others follow-up period to her win in Paris, the Latvian wasn't quite on her game on hard courts this summer. She went 2-3 in North America, and went out in the 3rd Round of the U.S. Open to Dasha Kasatkina in you-don't-want-to-look-at-this-fashion while suffering from an illness. With her thunderous groundstrokes back in form in Korea, she knocked off Johanna Larsson, Nao Hibino, Veronica Cepede Royg, Luksika Kumkhum and Beatriz Haddad Maia. Her path wasn't without it's bumps, such as dropping the 1st set to Kumkhum in the semis, then falling behind 3-0 in the 3rd, and losing an error-strewn 1st to Haddad in the final. But, as she did in Paris when she brushed off a bad stretch by simply hitting her way out of it, Ostapenko turned it up when it was necessary. Not surprisingly, it was too much for her opponents to handle.
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This is still only the 20-year's old second tour-level singles title, but she's posted an overall 4-1 record in finals this year (2-1 singles, 2-0 doubles), and has a combined 19-7 mark in s/d finals on the professional level. The Thunder isn't about to go silent in the night. =============================================== RISERS:Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova/RUS and Aleksandra Krunic/SRB ...Pavlyuchenkova, as she occasionally does, showed how good she can be in Tokyo -- def. CiCi Bellis, Wang Qiang, Barbora Strycova and Angelique Kerber -- but still wasn't quite able to put away what would have been her biggest title in nearly three years, losing in straight sets to an in-form Wozniacki in her sixteenth career final. Even with the up and down nature of her results, the Russian has managed to win two titles in '17 and completed a Career QF Slam with a final eight result in Melbourne. But, naturally, after winning four matches in Melbourne in January, Pavlyuchenkova won a total of *one* match in the final three slams of the year, and this result will only return her to the Top 20 (#19) after she'd fallen out prior to the U.S. Open. Her win over Kerber, a match in which she nearly squandered a 6-0/5-2 lead and had to come back from 0-3 down in the 3rd, gives her a 3-0 mark in semifinals '17, after she'd been 0-7 in QF in 2016. Ah, Pavlyuchenkova. The Hordette's best season finish was #16 in 2011, so I suppose a "career year" is still firmly within her grasp. But, then again, we're talking about Pavlyuchenkova, so who really knows?
In Guangzhou, there was yet another Bracelet sighting, as Krunic opened the week by knocking off defending champ Lesia Tsurenko, then followed up with victories over Mona Barthel, Rebecca Peterson and Yanina Wickmayer to reach her maiden tour singles final. Once there, she won the 1st set over Zhang Shuai, but saw the Chinese vet come back to take the title, including a sweep of the final four games in a 6-2 3rd. Still, it's another week for the Bracelet history books. Already this season, before this week's run, Krunic had picked up her biggest title (a WTA 125 win in June), reached her biggest challenger final ($100K Manchester loss to Diyas), upset Johanna Konta and reached the U.S. Open 3rd Round, and become the new Serbian #1. She'll climb to another career high ranking of #56 on Monday. A win in the final and she'd have cracked the Top 50, but I guess that'll have to wait a little longer.
=============================================== SURPRISES:Luksika Kumkhum/THA and Rebecca Peterson/SWE ...Kumkhum is always a big upset -- especially vs. big-hitters -- waiting to happen (just ask Petra Kvitova), but in Seoul the 24-year old Thai woman managed to have some staying power beyond a single flash result. After making her way through qualifying, the #155-ranked Kumkhum put up MD wins over Mariana Duque, Ekaterina Alexandrova and Sorana Cirstea to reach her second career tour-level singles semi (Osaka '14), where she fell to eventual champion Ostapenko after taking the 1st set and leading 3-0 in the 3rd. In doubles, she teamed with countrywoman Peangtarn Plipuech to reach the final (her first on the WTA level) without dropping a set, defeating the #2 (Begu/Kr.Pliskova) and #3 (Hibino/Kalashnikova) seeds before ultimately falling to eight-time title-winning and #1-seeded Bertens/Larsson in straight sets.
Peterson, 22, entered the Guangzhou draw with a protected ranking after returning from a seven-month absence this summer after dealing with a difficult-to-diagnose arm injury that wiped out much of the progress she'd made over the previous two seasons, during which she'd progressively lifted her singles ranking, gone 9-3 in ITF finals (2013-16) and taken her place on the Swedish Fed Cup team. She returned to action in June and won a $25K title in Padova, Italy in her second tournament back. She next made it through qualifying to reach her maiden slam MD at Flushing Meadows. She went into last week at #226, but knocked off Alison Riske and Zhang Kailin to reach her second career tour-level QF (Bastad '15). Peterson will rise to #208 on Monday. Still a ways off from a past high ranking of #119 that had her looking to climb into the Top 100 for the first time, but now that she's healthy, and 17-9 on the season, she's set to use the season's closing months to set her up for the quick start in '18 that her layoff prevented this season.
VETERANS:Zhang Shuai/CHN, Yanina Wickmayer/BEL and Andreja Klepac/Maria Jose Martinez-Sanchez (SLO/ESP) ...four years after she picked up her maiden WTA title in Guangzhou, a now-28-year old Zhang returned and won her second career title at the same event. The time between has seen the Chinese woman weather a professional crisis that brought her to the edge of retirement, only to successfully rebound with career-best slam results at the AO ('16 QF), Wimbledon ('17 3rd) and U.S. Open ('16-17 3rd) the last two seasons. Last week she reached her second career final without dropping a set (she lost just three total games in the first three rounds), defeating the likes of Ipek Soylu, recent Dalian 125 champ Kateryna Kozlova and Evgeniya Rodina before coming back from a set down in the final to take out Aleksandra Krunic for the win. Zhang will move to #26 on Monday, just two spots behind top-ranked Chinese woman Peng Shuai, and three off her own career high set last November.
Wickmayer, 27, reached the semifinals in Guangzhou with wins over Lesley Kerkhove, #1-seeded Peng and Alize Cornet. It's her first multi-win WTA MD event since Budapest in February, and her first tour-level semifinal since she swept the singles and doubles titles in Washington, D.C. last summer. The Waffle had slipped outside the Top 100 (#116) heading into last week, but will go back up to #98 on Monday (incidentally, one spot behind Jelena Jankovic, who falls 24 spots to -- eek -- #97 as the Serbian vet's first non-Top 100 finish since 2002 is now a real possibility, if not probability).
Wickmayer was hoping to maintain her momentum in Tashkent this coming week. But, well, the best laid plans of mice and Belgians...
In Tokyo, 31-year old Klepac joined with 35-year old MJMS to win their first title as a duo, and the first on tour by either woman in over a year. The pair opened with a 1st round win over last week's Tokyo champs Aoyama/Yang, then defeated #2-seeded Dabrowski/Xu (10-3 TB) and wrapped up the title with a 3 & 2 win over the Dashas in the final. It's Klepac's fifth career title (first since Sept.'15), and MJMS' 18th (first since June '16). The Spaniard has now won her last five tour-level WD finals dating back to 2011.
=============================================== COMEBACKS:Angelique Kerber/GER, Alisa Kleybanova/RUS and Vicky Duval/USA ...well, we've been waiting (literally) ALL season to see Kerber fully resemble the player who won two slams and reached #1 in 2016, searching for hints of her return, usually in vain, for over nine months. Well, in Tokyo, she finally arrived. Or at least it was as close as she's been to reintroducing herself to the tour as she's been all season.
As it was, Kerber turned back the clock to reveal the consistent, defensive-minded but aggressive player who shined a season ago, getting "revenge" wins over Naomi Osaka and Dasha Kasatkina -- players who defeated a "lesser" version of the German earlier this year -- then took out Karolina Pliskova to record, amazingly, her very first Top 20 win of the season. In the semis vs. Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, she fell behind 6-0/5-2 but then showed the grit, focus and confidence that has allowed her to occupy the #1 ranking longer than any other player this season, charging back to win a 2nd set TB and take a 3-0 lead in the 3rd. But the rollercoaster nature of the contest went back the other way in the end, with the Russian winning five straight games and then, after holding serve to force Pavlyuchenkova to serve it out, Kerber being unable to get the break to extend the match further. Ultimately, it wasn't Kerber's best result of '17 (Monterrey final, when she also lost to Pavlyuchenkova), but it *was* her most encouraging performance of the season. With a few weeks left before preparations begin for '18, maybe Kerber has now established the momentum necessary for a strong finish. Crossing fingers.
In Lubbock, Texas the comeback -- comebacks, really -- was of a more personal nature. In a $25K challenger, the story at the beginning of the week was the wonderful notion of a pair of Hodgkin's Lymphoma survivors -- Kleybanova and Duval -- teaming up to form the most heartwarming doubles team ever. And then they won the title, winning a 10-8 3rd set TB in the final to take the crown. Oh, *and* they BOTH reached the singles final, too. Yeah, this *is* real life, or the WTA's version of it, at any rate. The Russian won 6-0/6-2, winning her biggest singles title since claiming her second tour-level crown in Seoul in 2010, while it was Duval's first singles final since 2014. But, really, do the numbers even matter?
Solid week ????? Thank you for all the supportive messages I've received ?? One more tourney to go. pic.twitter.com/IC3mo0dvkG
=============================================== FRESH FACES:Beatriz Haddad Maia/BRA, Dayana Yastremska/UKR and The Young Aussies ...Haddad Maia sure looks like the best Brazilian women's tennis player since, well, you know who.
While Teliana Pereira was a recent two-time tour singles champ who accomplished things not seen in generations in Brazilian women's tennis, the 29-year has nearly fallen off the tennis map since the Rio Olympics (she entered last week at #344), while the 21-year old Haddad has consistently been one of the most improved players in the WTA throughout the 2017 season. Since ending the 2016 season at #170, Haddad has made her debut at three slams (qualifying at Roland Garros, and getting a MD win at Wimbledon), reached a tour QF at Prague (def. McHale and Stosur), reached a WTA 125 Series semi in Bol, won a $100K title and climbed into the Top 100. Last week, she raised the stakes a few more levels in Seoul. Wins over Irina-Camelia Begu, Sara Sorribes Tormo and Richel Hogenkamp put Haddad into her maiden tour singles final. She took the first set from RG champ and Top 10er Alona Ostapenko, but couldn't hold off the young Latvian in a three-set contest (ask Simona about that). Still, Haddad will rise from #71 to another new career high of #58 this week, with the Top 50 within her sights, a tour title in her near future, on the longer range radar, maybe even her first seed at a slam in 2018.
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In the $100K Saint Petersburg challenger, 17-year old Yastremska ('16 Wimbledon Girls RU) reached her third career challenger final (and biggest so far), defeating Anna Zaja, #7-seeded Vera Lapko, #3 Aryna Sabalenka and #1 Donna Vekic (retired down 6-3/2-0) without losing a set to reach the final with a nine-match winning streak intact (after a recent $60K title run). She fell to a returning Belinda Bencic in straight sets, but the Ukrainian jumps 34 spots into the Top 200 for the first time at #174 on Monday. The teenager reached her first tour-level QF in Istanbul earlier this season.
As for the young Aussies. While Destanee Aiava and Jamiee Fourlis aren't included here, Lizette Cabrera and Priscilla Hon are. Both 19-year olds qualified and then reached their first career tour-level QF this week. In Seoul, the highlight of Hon's run was a win over Arantxa Rus, while Cabrera's final eight result in Guangzhou included a big win over Anett Kontaveit, and just completed a successful qualifying run this weekend in Tashkent, as well. The two are still ranked behind the "big 4" of Australian women's tennis at the moment -- Gavrilova, Barty, Stosur and Ar.Rodionova -- Cabrera is the fifth-highest ranked Aussie at #136 (up 17 to a new career high on Monday), while Hon comes in behind #152 Aiava at #235, up a whopping 73 spots with this result for her own new career high.
DOWN:Kristina Mladenovic/FRA and Johanna Konta/GBR ...well, Kiki figured out a way to avoid getting this award *yet again* next week -- by following up her 1st Round love & love (yes, a 6-0/6-0 loss by the most fair-minded player on tour) in Tokyo to Wang Qiang with a 3 & 2 defeat at the hands of Katerina Siniakova in Wuhan on Sunday, before the regular weekday schedule of that tournament has even begun on Monday. Still, for the record, that's eight consecutive straight sets defeats.
Needless to say, the view at the Mladenovic roost home is getting mighty crowded.
And we'll see whether or not Kiki's really found a loophole to avoid showing up here next week.
Meanwhile, Konta was a hard court beast in 2016, and often looked like she could compete for the title of the tour's best player on the surface. Starting with her 2016 AO semifinal run, she was 38-13 on hardcourt last season, and started '17 on a 19-3 sprint which included a Shenzhen SF, AO QF and titles in Sydney and Miami. But since her historic semifinal result at Wimbledon this summer, the Brit's winning hard court results have ebbed the wake of her grass court success at home. Her opening match, 7-5/7-6 loss in Tokyo to Barbora Strycova is her third straight defeat on the surface, and officially gives her a summer hard court record of 2-4 this year (she was 14-4 in '16, then 11-4 in the 4Q). The #5 seed this seek in Wuhan, Konta will face Ash Barty in her opening match, hardly the sort of opponent against whom a rebound win is assured. On Sunday, the Aussie upended CiCi Bellis in straight sets, as the Bannerette herself dropped her fifth straight match since getting wins over the likes of Kvitova and Kuznetsova in Stanford and Toronto. ===============================================
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ITF PLAYERS:Belinda Bencic/SUI and Irina Falconi/USA ...after five months away due to wrist surgery, Bencic, in the same week that countrywoman Timea Bacsinszky ended her season early due to a hand injury, wasted no time getting the outline ready for her own 2018 comeback story. In her first event back, the 20-year old Swiss won the $100K challenger in Saint Petersburg, the site of her most recent tour-level singles final in 2016, while losing just a single set all week (Anna Kalinina SF) and notching wins over Vitalia Diatchenko, Ysaline Bonaventure and Dayana Yastremska in the final. Putting icing on her icing for the week, she also reached the doubles final while partnering Michaela Honcova.
And on Sunday night in Tampico, Mexico, 27-year old Falconi finally put a ribbon on Week 38 by claiming the second $100K challenger on the schedule, defeating Louisa Chirico in three sets to claim her first singles title of any kind since she won her maiden tour-level crown last year in Bogota. Falconi (#206) survived a 3rd set TB with Anastasia Potapova early on, then took out Victoria Rodriguez, top-seeded Jennifer Brady and #4 Chirico en route to the win.
JUNIOR STARS:USA Junior Fed Cup Team (16s) ...the Bannerettes were at it again this week in Budapest. While the competition battled rain all week, everything finished on time on Sunday with the U.S. squad claiming the title for the third time since 2012 (and appearing in a fourth straight final).
U.S. Open girls champ Amanda Anisimova played in the #1 singles slot heading into the semis, but after a loss to Italy's Elisabetta Cocciaretto (RG singles champ Whitney Osuigwe and Caty McNally won a deciding doubles match to win the group), it was Osuigwe who assumed the lead role. In the semis vs. Canada, after McNally lost in match #1, Osuigwe came to the rescue again and won in singles to knot the score, then joined with McNally again to win in doubles and reach the final. Against Japan in the championship tie, McNally defeated Naho Sato 6-3/6-2, then Osuigwe clinched the title with a 7-5/6-3 victory over Yuki Naito.
Already with a 14s team championship in the ITF World Champions (w/ U.S. Open girls finalist Coco Gauff leading the charge), this win gives the U.S. a chance to sweep all three 2017 girls/women's international team competitions if Kathy Rinaldi's still-to-be-announced roster can take out Belarus in the *big* Fed Cup final in November. =============================================== DOUBLES:Kiki Bertens/Johanna Larsson (NED/SWE) and Elise Mertens/Demi Schuurs (BEL/NED) ...in Seoul, Larsson defended the title she won there a year ago with Kirsten Flipkens, joining forces with regular doubles partner Bertens to win their eighth tour crown as a duo. It's their sixth straight win in a final, and gives them an 8-2 overall record in finals since their first together in January '15. The win in Seoul, their third in '17, came without them dropping a set all week, ending with a 4 & 1 win over Kumkhum/Plipuech after having been forced to a deciding 3rd set TB in three of their last four titles runs dating back to last season.
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In Guangzhou, Mertens & Schuurs took their first title as a pair, never dropping a set all week. Runners-up in Bucharest earlier in the summer, the duo defeated three-time '17 WD finalists Monique Adamczak & Storm Sanders (1-2, including back-to-back losses the last two weeks) 2 & 3 in the final. It's Mertens second career title, and Schuurs' third (w/ three different partners) and ends her personal 0-4 run in WTA doubles finals over the last twelve months.
Yes we did it, BAM! Won the final today 6-2 6-3, our first title together??Happy about the way we played this week ????????Thanks @elise_mertens?? pic.twitter.com/JCupaU3GvJ
1. Tokyo TPP QF - Caroline Wozniacki def. Dominika Cibulkova ...3-6/7-6(5)/3-1 ret. Cibulkova's late season climb -- Wuhan RU, Linz W, then WTA Finals win -- began in Asia a year ago, but she failed to get off to a great start in Tokyo this time around after opening with wins over CSN and Siniakova. She served for the match and held two MP in the 2nd set, only to retire with a thigh injury four games into the 3rd, then saw Wozniacki raise her game several levels while obliterating Muguruza and Pavlyuchenkova in successive matches to defend her title. =============================================== 2. Tokyo TPP 2nd Rd. - Angelique Kerber def. Dasha Kasatkina ...7-6(5)/6-3. This was Angie's second "revenge" win of the week, knocking off the Russian who'd defeated her in Doha in February, one round after haven taken out her U.S. Open conqueror, Naomi Osaka. =============================================== 3. Tokyo TPP SF - Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova def. Angelique Kerber ...6-0/6-7(4)/6-4. But Kerber's attempt at a third "do-over" victory (Pavlyuchenkova defeated the German in Monterrey in April) fell short in a rollercoaster match that saw the Russian win the first eight games and lead 6-0/5-2 before Kerber rallied and pushed things to a 3rd. She led 3-0 there before Pavlyuchenkova herself rallied to take five straight games and ultimately prevail.
This was Kerber's 22nd semifinal-or-better result since 2015, the most of any player on tour during the three-season stretch, one more than both Karolina Pliskova and Simona Halep. =============================================== 4. Tokyo TPP SF - Caroline Wozniacki def. Garbine Muguruza ...6-2/6-0. In maybe her best match of the season (and one of her best, well, ever) Wozniacki notched her second #1 win of the season after never having had a #1 win in her career before 2017. She's the third player this year to post victories over different #1 players. Only four TOTAL players accomplished that feat from 2008-16, and never more than one did it in any of those seasons. =============================================== 5. Guangzhou 1st Rd. - Aleksandra Krunic def. Lesia Tsurenko 6-3/6-4 Seoul 1st Rd. - Ekaterina Alexandrova def. Lara Arruabarrena 6-3/7-5 Tokyo TPP Final - Caroline Wozniacki def. Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova 6-0/7-5 ...the Guangzhou and Seoul defending champions were shipped off early a year later, but the Dane rose to the occasion down the stretch to finally take that ugly "0" off her season record in finals, committing just three UE's in the final to Pavlyuchenkova's 31. =============================================== 6. Tokyo TPP 1st Rd. - Magda Linette def. Dasha Gavrilova ...2-6/6-0/7-6(3). Another tough-luck loss for Gavrilova, as in her first match since losing a U.S. Open 2nd Rounder (3:31) to Shelby Rogers in which she led 4-2 in the 3rd before dropping a deciding TB, the Aussie failed to convert a MP vs. Linette and then lost in *another* deciding TB. She and Kasatkina then proceeded to lead a Dashas charge to the doubles final, winning a pair of deciding TB's en route. =============================================== 7. $15K Shymkent Final - Daria Lodikova def. Daria Kruzhkova ...6-7(5)/6-3/6-3. Could it be? Another pair of Dashas? Lodikova, 21, won the battle of Russians over 19-year old Kruzhkova. At some point, these two just *have* to play doubles together, right? The Tennis Gods demand it. =============================================== 8. Guangzhou 1st Rd. - Wang Qiang def. Kristina Mladenovic ...6-0/6-0.
=============================================== 9. Seoul Final - Alona Ostapenko def. Beatriz Haddad Maia ...6-7(5)/6-1/6-4. The Latvian pounded her way through Seoul, overcoming a wayward 1st set in the final (which included the requisite racket toss) to outlast the ever-improving Brazilian.
Jelena Ostapenko claims her 2nd WTA title at the #KoreaOpen!
=============================================== 10. Seoul Final - Zhang Shuai def. Aleksandra Krunic ...6-2/3-6/6-2. Winning the last four games of the match, Zhang becomes the fourth Chinese woman to claim multiple WTA singles titles in a career. Meanwhile, in this season of transition for Serbian tennis, Krunic is the first Serb to reach a tour singles final in 2017. =============================================== 11. Guangzhou 1st Rd. - Han Xinyun def. Samantha Stosur 6-7(6)/6-3/7-5 $25K Penrith Final - Olivia Rogowska def. Kimberly Birrell 6-2/6-4 ...while Stosur's second match back was another hard-fought loss -- she served for the match in the three-hour encounter -- back home Down Under it was Rogowska picking up her 13th career ITF title in an all-Aussie battle with teenager Birrell. ===============================================
World No.1 @GarbiMuguruza held a photoshoot in Tokyo with the latest addition to her mantelpiece: the WTA World No.1 trophy ???????????? pic.twitter.com/R66cBQDYRB
12. Tokyo TPP 2nd Rd. - Garbine Muguruza def. Monica Puig 6-4/6-0 Tokyo TPP QF - Garbine Muguruza def. Caroline Garcia 6-2/6-4 ...Muguruza had a good #1-ranking photoshoot and some nice wins in her first event as the world #1, even if the week didn't exactly end on a glorious note. =============================================== 13. Tashkent Q2 - Vera Zvonareva def. Jasmine Paolini ...6-0/6-2. Vera is back. ===============================================
Nice day for fiancées Tara Moore + Conny Perrin: they win their first doubles title together at $80k Albuquerque and they're in @NYTSports: pic.twitter.com/Q3HoDA63LG
1. Tokyo (TPP) 1st Rd. - Angelique Kerber def. NAOMI OSAKA ...6-3/6-4. A year ago, Osaka reached the Tokyo final. A month ago, she defeated Kerber at the U.S. Open. This time... =============================================== 2. Tokyo (TPP) 1st Rd. - Makota Ninomiya/Renata Voracova def. MARI OSAKA/NAOMI OSAKA ...7-5/6-4. But at least...
A post shared by Naomi Osaka ????? (@naomiosakatennis) on
=============================================== 3. Tokyo (TPP) QF - Angelique Kerber def. KAROLINA PLISKOVA ...7-6(5)/7-5. In their last meeting before they faced off in the '16 U.S. Open final (last summer in Cincy, before either had reached #1), Pliskova prevailed. In their first match-up as "former #1's," Kerber picked up her first Top 20 win of the season. For Karolina, maybe next time. =============================================== HM- Tokyo (TPP) 1st Rd. - Kurumi Nara/Risa Ozaki d. CHAN HAO-CHING/CHAN YUN-JAN ...7-6(8)/1-6 [13-11]. After Yung-Jan won the U.S. Open (w/ Hingis) in her last outing, Hao-Ching reached the Open MX final (losing to Hingis), the sisters recombined in Tokyo, but couldn't get out of the 1st Round. Martina is now Chan family oxygen. ===============================================
*2017 FROM MATCH POINT DOWN TO WIN TITLE* Taipei City - Elina Svitolina, UKR (4 MP - QF/Jabeur) Prague - Mona Barthel, GER (3 MP - Q2/Paolini) Cincinnati - Garbine Muguruza, ESP (3 MP - 3r/Keys) TOKYO TPP - CAROLINE WOZNIACKI, DEN (2 MP - QF/Cibulkova)
*ALL-TIME CON. SEASONS w/ A TITLE STREAKS* 21 - Martina Navratilova 1974-94 18 - Chris Evert 1971-88 14 - Steffi Graf 1986-99 13 - Maria Sharapova 2003-15 11 - Serena Williams 2007-17 (active) 11 - Evonne Goolagong 1970-80 11 - Virginia Wade 1968-78 10 - CAROLINE WOZNIACKI 2008-17 (active) [current streaks w/ 2017 titles] 11 years - Serena Williams 10 years - CAROLINE WOZNIACKI 7 years - Petra Kvitova 5 years - Simona Halep 5 years - Karolina Pliskova 5 years - Elina Svitolina -- NOTE: Radwanska w/ 6-year streak (2011-16)
*CAREER CHINESE WTA TITLES* 9 - Li Na (2004,2008,2010-14) 4 - Zheng Jie (2005-06,2012) 2 - Peng Shuai (2016-17) 2 - ZHANG SHUAI (2013-17) 1 - Duan Yingying (2016) 1 - Yan Zi (2005) 1 - Sun Tiantian (2006)
*2017 ITF HARD COURT $100K FINALS* FEB: Midland, USA - Tatjana Maria/GER def. Naomi Broady/GBR FEB: Astana, KAZ - Zhang Shuai/CHN def. Ysaline Bonaventure/BEL AUG: Vancouver, CAN - Marina Zanevska/BEL def. Danka Kovinic/MNE SEP: Saint Petersburg, RUS - Belinda Bencic/SUI def. Dayana Yastremska/UKR SEP: Tampico, MEX - Irina Falconi/USA def. Louisa Chirico/USA
*RECENT JUNIOR TEAM FINALS* [14s - ITF World Juniors] 2007 United States d. France 2008 United States d. Great Britain 2009 United States d. Czech Republic 2010 United States d. Ukraine 2011 Serbia d. United States 2012 Slovakia d. Great Britain 2013 United States d. Russia 2014 Russia d. Ukraine 2015 Russia d. United States 2016 Ukraine d. United States 2017 United States d. Ukraine [16s - Junior Fed Cup] 2007 Australia d. Poland 2008 United States d. Great Britain 2009 Russia d. Germany 2010 Russia d. China 2011 Australia d. Canada 2012 United States d. Russia 2013 Russia d. Australia 2014 United States d. Slovakia 2015 Czech Republic d. United States 2016 Poland d. United States 2017 United States d. Japan
WUHAN, CHINA [Premier 5/Hard] 16 Singles Final: Kvitova d. Cibulkova 16 Doubles Final: Mattek-Sands/Safarova d. Mirza/Strycova 17 Top Seeds: Muguruza/Halep ============================= =QF= #1 Muguruza d. #8 Ostapenko (or maybe #11 Kvitova, depending if she we get "U.S. Open '17 Petra" or not) #14 Stephens d. #9 A.Radwanska #4 Wozniacki d. #10 Keys #12 Kerber d. #2 Halep =SF= #14 Stephens d. #1 Muguruza (see "USO17P" above) #12 Kerber d. #4 Wozniacki =FINAL= #12 Kerber d. #14 Stephens
...going with the "that was finally it" quality to Kerber's run in Tokyo being true, and her winning (or losing, either would be fine) a "classic" match-up between the last two U.S. Open champions
=DOUBLES FINAL= #1 Y.Chan/Hingis d. #2 Makarova/Vesnina
TASHKENT, UZBEKISTAN (Int'l/Hard) 16 Singles Final: Kr.Pliskova d. Hibino 16 Doubles Final: Olaru/Soylu d. Schuurs/Voracova 17 Top Seeds: Kr.Pliskova/Babos ============================= =SF= #7 Hibino d. #6 Krunic (Q) Fett d. (Q) Cabrera =FINAL= (Q) Fett d. #7 Hibino
...this might be Fett's last chance at that maiden title in '17, so of course I have to take the shot. Hibino was the 2015 Tashkent champion.
=DOUBLES FINAL= #1 Babos/Hlavackova d. #3 K.Bondarenko/Krunic
karma noun kar·ma \ ˈkär-mə - the force created by a person's actions that some people believe causes good or bad things to happen to that person
The members of the Karma Division of the TG operation were working overtime this past week, weren't they? After a year or more of labor that included strategically placing clues and foreshadowing fates until the proverbial cows came home, Wuhan turned out to be where Kiki Mladenovic's chickens came home to roost, while those of Caroline Garcia crossed the road to greater things. And a nice farm, I'm guessing.
You remember, Kiki. Gloriously beautiful game, with an attitude and soul proven to be far, far less than that after a series of mean, condescending, selfish and detestable put-downs to no less than what turned out to be two of 2017's slam champions, a former slam semifinalist, as well as at least one future Hall of Famer and, more importantly, the countrywoman, teammate and former doubles partner who stood side by side with her in some of her greatest moments. But when you're so much better than everyone else, are a self-professed more accomplished and greater human being, and speak so many more languages (because, you know, that's how we humans judge things like this), what you say goes, and if anyone disagrees, isn't 100% loyal, has a slightly different take on things, or has the temerity to stand up for herself in the face of the great Mladenovic intellect and outlook on life, well, then they're no better than the red dirt on the bottom of her shoes that she removes with one whack of a tennis racket between points during clay court season.
But the Tennis Gods don't often let such behavior occur without eventual karmic justice being levied.
There once were two Pastries who grew up far from Nantucket, Who won so much together they had enough trophies to fill a big bucket. But the first's true dark self led her to turn up her nose, And sneer as she insulted and stepped on everyone's toes. And speaking now for the second*, the first one can Nantucket.
--
* - since she wouldn't do it herself
While the aforementioned two Pastries close in on a potential passing the in rankings night, we take this moment to honor and acknowedge that the TG's are always watching.
PLAYER OF THE WEEK:Caroline Garcia/FRA ...you've got to hand it to Garcia. Over the course of a season in which she was mocked on social media (and later attacked and insulted) by players she once thought were both friends and teammates, as she did when "The Darkness" stirred over the issue of Olympic uniform regulations in Rio last summer and it was Caroline who was smartly and politely diplomatic while her doubles "partner" blamed everyone within earshot -- except herself, of course -- for a disappointing loss, Garcia has kept her head down and moved forward with her preseason plan intact to focus on her singles after just beginning to scratch the surface of her potential during the 2016 season.
While dealing with a back injury that played a role in some of the resulting controversy, Garcia got off to a slow start, going 11-10 while her former friend got off to the best season start of her career. While *she* was soaring, Garcia was seemingly treading water. But she continued to work, and it all eventually turned in her favor. Here are her results since that mediocre start...
3-1: Strasbourg SF (where she was DC) 4-1: Roland Garros QF (best careeer slam) 3-1: Mallorca SF (where she was DC) 3-1: Wimbledon 4th (best Wimbledon result) 1-1: Gstaad 2nd 3-1: Bastad SF 3-1: Toronto QF 0-1: Cincinnati 1st 2-1: U.S. Open 3rd (tied U.S. best) 2-1: Tokyo QF 6-0: Wuhan W (sixth final, fourth career title)
That's QF-or-better results in seven of eleven events, with a 30-10 record over the span and, now, a career-best ranking of #15, one spot behind top-ranked Pastry Mladenovic. Garcia's wins in Wuhan included the dispatching of Angelique Kerber, Christina McHale, Dominika Cibulkova (her first Top 10 win of '17), Ekaterina Makarova, Maria Sakkari and Ash Barty in the final, during which the Aussie twice served for the match in the 2nd set. Garcia had been 0-4 in her previous semifinal appearances this season, but seemed quite at home in the latter stages of this event. Her title run is the biggest for a French woman since Marion Bartoli won Wimbledon in 2013. Like Mladenovic, Garcia's prospects have been noticeable since way back (Andy Murray called her a "future #1" when she was a teenager, while watch her faced off with Sharapova in Paris), but it's taken her a little while to embrace the big stage. Remember, she once asked the FFT to not schedule her on Chatrier at Roland Garros because it was too much pressure. It was surely an eyebrow-raising moment, but she's no longer seems to be the player who doesn't take to such a challenge.
Since leading (w/ Mladenovic) France to the Fed Cup final a year ago, and winning the RG doubles (again w/ Mladenovic), Garcia has grown into her talent. Next is to do the same in regards to her getting-bigger-all-the-time place in the game. While Mladenovic has won, she's also been concerned with petty controversies, so-called affronts and disagreements. Garcia has simply focused and done what she said she would.
It's nice to see her rightfully rewarded for that. Heartening, in fact. Or should I say positively "karmic?"
=============================================== RISERS:Timea Babos/HUN and Alona Ostapenko/LAT ...for the second time this quarter, Babos advanced to both the singles and doubles finals at the same event. Unfortunately for the 24-year old Hungarian, as she did in Quebec City, she went 1-1 in her attempt to sweep the Tashkent titles, coming up short once again in singles (though she did pick up her fourth doubles title of the year, winning her third w/ Andrea Hlavackova). Wins over Johanna Larsson, Denisa Allertova, Stefanie Voegele and Aryna Sabalanka advanced her to her third final of '17 (and sixth of her career), completing the turn around of a season that included a nine-match losing streak in the spring/early summer. She'll jump nine spots to #43 this week, further recovering from her slump. Babos finished 2016 at #26.
For a while, Ostapenko looked as if she might follow up her Seoul title run with another in Wuhan. She was eventually the final victim in Ash Barty's remarkable run to the final, perhaps helped along by her post-midnight match the previous round and an ailing wrist. Still, Latvian Thunder was a sight to behold once again, digging and hitting her way out of holes as if it was commonplace, if not expected. She won a trio of three-set matches, running her record to an amazing 21-3 in her last twenty-four three-setters with wins over Barbora Strycova, Monica Puig and Garbine Muguruza, the latter to post her first career #1 victory. Rather than admire her Parisian experience and endure the usual aftershock results, Ostapenko has traversed her post-slam win quite well, throwing in a few clunkers along the way, but usually brimming with confidence as she's gone 15-6 since winning Roland Garros. She's at a new career-high of #8 this week.
A post shared by Jelena Ostapenko (@jelena.ostapenko1997) on
=============================================== SURPRISES:Wang Qiang/CHN and Magda Linette/POL ...Wang has found hereself in the right place at the right time quite often of late. First, in Tokyo, she was there to personally deliver a pair of inedible bagels to Kiki Mladenovic, then she saw off Sloane Stephens in Wuhan in the U.S. Open champ's first "post-title" match. She added another win over Sorana Cirstea to reach the 3rd Round. Not the final result her past week probably deserved (she's since pushed Caroline Wozniacki to three sets in a loss in Beijing this weekend), but it's another chapter is what has turned out to be a breakout season for the 25-year old. The third-highest ranked Chinese (behind Peng and Zhang) at #52, just four off her career high (#48 in June), Wang had reached four tour-level QF this season, won a WTA 125 Series event and posted victories over Mladenovic (2), Ostapenko, Garcia and Vesnina. After her first Top 100 season (#73) a year ago, she's looking to secure her maiden Top 50 finish in 2017's closing weeks.
We're going the distance. Qiang Wang finds her feet and takes the second off Wozniacki 7-6(4). One set shootout coming up... #ChinaOpenpic.twitter.com/gSUFBFjVBf
Coming off a week in Tokyo that saw her qualify with a win over Kateryna Bondarenko (who'd go on to win the Tashkent title) and 1st Round victory over Dasha Gavrilova, Linette qualified again in Wuhan (her sixth successful Q-run on tour in '17), then got MD wins over Anett Kontaveit (1-7 in recent weeks) and Katerina Siniakova (2-7) to reach the 3rd Round, where she pushed Garbine Muguruza in a three-setter. The result adds some late season success to what has already been a breakthrough campaign for the Pole. Her season previously included her first tour-level SF (in Kuala Lumpur in February) since her sole final appearance in Tokyo two years ago, and a QF in the spring in Bogota. While her career-high is #64 in September '15, Linette has never finished a season ranked higher the #89. She enters the coming week at #70.
=============================================== VETERANS:Kateryna Bondarenko/UKR and Alize Cornet/FRA ...in Tashkent, Bondarenko won her first tour-level singles title in nine years (the third-longest span between wins in tour history) and celebrated the occasion with the customary outfit for champions at the tournament, as well as a kiss from daughter Karin.
A post shared by Ukrainian Tennis Portal (@ukrainiantennisportal) on
The 31-year old, who left the game in 2012 to have a baby before returning in '14, hadn't reached a tour singles final since 2008, a Birmingham title run that included a 3rd set TB win over Yanina Wickmayer to claim the crown. Last week, Bondarenko posted wins over Anna Blinkova, two-time Tashkent finalist Nao Hibino ('15 champ), Kurumi Nara, Vera Zvonareva (in an all-mother showdown) and Timea Babos in a 4 & 4 final. The Ukrainian arrived in Uzbekistan with just one MD tour win since May, and hadn't played in a WTA singles QF since Tokyo 2015. Ranked #133 last week, Bondarenko will climb to #87 in the new rankings. Her career high of #29 came in 2009.
Meanwhile, Cornet was stirring in Wuhan, where the Pastry strung together wins over Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, Svetlana Kuznetsova and Varvara Lepchenko to reach the QF, her second consecutive such result after another recent final eight run in Guangzhou. Neither are Cornet's best result of '17 (Brisbane final after wins over Vesnina, Cibulkova and Muguruza), but it's her best back-to-back tournament results in a season since her Guangzhou RU/Wuhan QF combo in September '14. The win over Kuznetsova was Cornet's fourth Top 10 victory this season, and the fourteenth of her career. She's opened with a 1st Round win in Beijing, and will next Angelique Kerber.
On another note, Cornet also found time to send out congratulations to Garcia. Cornet, remember, was part of the three-member French Fed Cup team that "LOL'd" Garcia's claim (later proven true) of a back injury when announcing she wasn't going to play for the national team. Cornet should have known better than to follow the lead of the bridge-burning-and-petty Mladenovic, and seemed to acknowledge that when she did her best to publicly make up with Garcia after they met in a singles match following the whole FC debacle. In my opinion, it absolved her of the stain. But, of course, some continue to hold onto the memory with both hands (check out the many "LOL"-laced comments on her tweet)...
Of course, when a commenter essentially dares her to "win matches" AFTER she'd already posted her recent results, it sort of speaks to how closely some of those people are really following things. Or not, in this case. Still, for now, I suppose a reminder of the previous incident isn't out of bounds at this point, though it *is* getting a bit long in the tooth considering her "make good" attempts, of which this congratulatory tweet is another try. It might not be enough for some, but it is for me. After all, can you imagine the ringleader of the entire incident doing the same? To this point, I can't. And that says a great deal about the difference between how one should, I think, hold Cornet's feet to that particular fire in comparison to Mladenovic. A sincere "I'm sorry, I was wrong" -- or the equivalent -- can (and should) go a long way toward reconciliation.
Unfortunately, some have yet to grasp that concept, and as they encounter rocky times and resulting criticism instead choose to point fingers and blame in all directions while continuing to show zero ability to recognize that the same antagonistic attitudes and actions focused against *her* at the moment are prevalent to a very large degree within herself, as well.
Hence, Mladenovic's re-tweeting of this following one of her recent defeats...
Haters are people terrified of their own emptiness Critics are people who want to be those who they criticize
=============================================== COMEBACKS:Vera Zvonareva/RUS and Stefanie Voegele/SUI ...Zvonareva's return took another step up the ladder in Tashkent, as the 33-year old world #308 qualified and then proceeded to record her first WTA MD win this year (def. Irina-Camelia Begu). She'd reach her first tour-level QF since 2015, and first SF since 2011 on the back of additional victories over Pauline Parmentier and Aleksandra Krunic. She finally fell to Kateryna Bondarenko in the second of two matches on the same day after half the singles semis had been postponed the prior day due to rain. She'll re-enter the Top 200 on Monday.
A post shared by Vera Zvonareva (@vera.zvonareva) on
Also in Tashkent, 27-year old Voegele (#196 and in the draw with a protected ranking after a wrist injury kept her off tour for six months) posted wins over Sabina Sharipova and Marketa Vondrousova to reach her first tour QF since this same tournament a year ago. This was Voegele's sixth event back, after having retired in the second round of qualifying at the U.S. Open and gone 0-4 in four ITF challengers. =============================================== FRESH FACES:Ash Barty/AUS, Maria Sakkari/GRE and Aryna Sabalenka/BLR ...Barty, 21, came up just short of a truly remarkable run in Wuhan that, had she taken the title, surely would have qualified as one of the three -- if not THE -- top non-slam performances by any player this season. She came up just short, but the Aussie's third trip to a singles final this season has already marked her as an essential part of the NextGen group of players elbowing their way to the front of the WTA line. Another Barty Party is surely on the schedule for Melbourne come January.
In her own way, Barty actually falls in line with the recent string of players who have taken time off (by choice/injury) and come back to the sport as strong or stronger than ever, only she did it at the start of her career rather than the middle or near the end. Her year and a half sabbatical from tennis -- which included a stint as a pro cricket player Down Under -- wasn't a case of needing to recuperate and rediscover a lost love of the sport, but one of slowing down and reclaiming a bit of sanity before returning to the grind of the tennis tour once she felt she was finally ready for such a life. Well, she's surely taking to it now. Already a doubles success, Barty has added a load of singles accomplishments to her career resume this year. Her appearance in a third singles final (she swept the S/D titles in Kuala Lumpur, and lost in three sets to Petra Kvitova in Birmingham) in Wuhan was noteworthy, but it was her path there that was so impressive. She posted a win over CiCi Bellis, then reeled off four straight Top 20 wins, three of them Top 10 victories and one a Top 5. Johanna Konta fell in three after the Brit had led 4-2, then another win over Aga Radwanska went the distance, as did Barty's win over Karolina Pliskova. A straight sets win over Alona Ostapenko included the Aussie's fourth match of the week with a bagel set (also vs. Bellis, Konta and Radwanska). In the final against Garcia, a second title and a fifth Top 20 win were within Barty's grasp. She twice served for the match, but ultimately fell in three sets. She'll still rise to a career-best #23 (one spot behind top Aussie Dasha Gavrilova) in the rankings, and more than displayed a fan-friendly, good natured attitude about the sport and her enjoyment of competition by how she sincerely congratulated the French woman upon her own biggest career accomplishment, and spoke of what *Garcia* could look forward to in the future.
Meanwhile, 22-year old Sakkari is now fully grasping her role as the best Greek player since Eleni Daniilidou. Her semifinal result in Wuhan will lift her into the Top 50 for the first time, joining Daniilidou (former #14) and Angeliki Kannellopoulou (#43) as the only women to climb so high. Sakkari's recent teaming with coach Thomas Johansson is looking to be a fine fit, as her aggressive play over the past week was a game-changer when it comes to her potential future. After making her way through qualifying, she knocked off Yulia Putintseva, Caroline Wozniacki (both her first Top 20 and Top 10 victory), Elena Vesnina (who just fell out of the Top 20) and Alize Cornet to reach her maiden tour semifinal. She finally met her match in eventual champ Caroline Garcia, but not until after winning seven matches on the week.
Fed Cup star Sabalenka finally saw her team-related success translate on the WTA tour in Tashkent. The 19-year old reached her first career tour-level semifinal while recording victories over Evgeniya Rodina, Tatjana Maria and Kateryna Kozlova. Sabalenka will just miss out on her first Top 100 ranking (#101) this week, but will continue to gear up for Belarus' big opportunity as the host nation in the FC final vs. the U.S. later this fall.
=============================================== DOWN:???? ...hmmm, where to go here?
I mean, last week I sort of ruled out a certain Pastry after her weekend loss in Wuhan *before* the start of weekday play, right? Essentially, her appearance here for Week 38 was for the combination of her 1st Round exit in both Tokyo AND the Week 39 China Open. So...
Maybe Jelena Jankovic, who didn't even play? She *is* dropping out of the Top 100 for the first time in fourteen years. Nah. Simona Halep? She was knocked out in a consummate performance in the 2nd Round in Wuhan by Dasha Kasatkina, thereby adding another tournament to the list of them in which the Romanian had a chance to end the week as the #1-ranked player, but didn't. Nope. Aga Radwanska? The Pole fell in the 3rd Round in Wuhan to Barty after winning the 1st set. She's already fallen out of the Top 10, and surely isn't likely to defend her Beijing title this week. No... especially since Aga actually said this week what we already knew, that so many players are so exhausted by this time of the year that early round upsets are hardly surprising (not that a win by Barty will be considered a true "upset" for much longer).
So...
Come on, you knew she'd come through in all her karmic glory, didn't you?
DOWN:Kristina Mladenovic/FRA
Just as she did a week ago, Kiki fell before the weekend. This time it was in Beijing, via a 7-5/6-4 defeat at the hands of Duan Yingying. It's her ninth straight loss, all in straight sets. While she didn't cop to any debilitating injury during this stretch, she did admit during the week that she's never gotten back her momentum or form since tweaking her knee at Wimbledon. But it sounds more mental than anything else.
Now, with Garcia's title run, Mladenovic's reign as the top-ranked French woman for 2017 is in jeopardy, as she holds a razor-thin lead over her former doubles partner, and former Fed Cup teammate, and former friend (I'd believe, not that Kiki will now ever admit to being friends, since Garcia, in Kiki's eyes, is such a lower standard of person when compared to herself, of course).
Of course, the WTA social media office, obviously not recognizing the poor timing of such a thing (sort of like using Twitter to attack a city's major for begging for help in the wake of a natural disaster because you think it makes *you* look bad... but, I mean, who'd be such an a-hole that they'd do something as selfish and distasteful as that, right?), still managed to post *this* this weekend...
=============================================== ITF PLAYER:Aleksandra Wozniak/CAN ...the 30-year old Canadian (#335) wins her twelfth career ITF crown, defeating Marie Bouzkova 7-5/6-4 in the final. The Czech had defeated her 6-0/6-4 in a $60K QF back in February. Wozniak entered this event in Oklahoma on a five-match losing streak that had started the week after she won her last challenger title at a $25K in Gatineau in July. Wozniak was ranked as high as #21 back in 2009.
=============================================== JUNIOR STARS:Eva Guerrero/ESP and Paula Arias Manjon/ESP ...18-year old Guerrero (#36 Jr/#1026 WTA) claimed her third career challenger title (first in '17) at the $15K in Melilla, Spain, defeating fellow Spaniard Marina Bassols Ribera 6-4/6-0 in the final. In doubles, she joined forces with Arias Manjon ('16 RG girls doubles champ w/ Olga Danilovic) as the 17-year old picked up her first professional title of any kind. Guerrero had defeated Arias 6-1/6-1 in the singles semis.
=============================================== DOUBLES:Chan Yung-Jan/Martina Hingis (TPE/SUI) and Timea Babos/Andrea Hlavackova (HUN/CZE) ...Chan & Hingis' rampage through the '17 season continued in Wuhan, as the veteran pair extended their current streak to a tour-best fourteen straight matches -- Hingis also won five MX matches at the Open -- and back-to-back-to-back tournament title runs. After reaching the final without dropping a set, they needed at 10-4 3rd set TB over Shuko Aoyama/Yang Zhaoxuan to get the win. They've won seven of their last nine tournaments, and are 48-6 on the year. While Chan, courtesy of a title run with her sister Hao-ching, leads the WTA with nine WTA WD titles, Hingis has a 54-10 record (66-12 w/ MX results) this season and ten (8 WD/2 MX) overall doubles crowns.
In Tashkent, Babos & Hlavackova won their second straight title (w/ Quebec City -- Babos was singles RU in both events, as well), and fourth of 2017, with a straight sets win over Nao Hibino & Oksana Kalashnikova in the final. The pair's closest battle was a 10-6 3rd set TB win over the all-Aussie duo of Adamczak & Cabrera in the QF.
1. Wuhan Final - Caroline Garcia def. Ash Barty ...7-6(3)/6-7(4)/6-2. While Garcia had opportunities to seize control of the match in the 1st set, serving at 5-4 and 6-5, it was Barty who appeared on her way to victory in the 2nd. Up a break on four different occasions, the Aussie served for the the title twice, but saw her serve let her down as she dropped the 2nd set TB. The Pastry then surged ahead in the 3rd, winning the 2:45 match to claim her first title of the season.
Hmmm, does this count as the present that Caroline admitted that she didn't buy her dad for his birthday? Probably, I'd say.
2. Wuhan QF - Alona Ostapenko def. Garbine Muguruza ...1-6/6-3/6-2. After an erratic start, Ostapenko dialed in her game. At 3-3 in the 2nd, the Latvian denied two Muguruza GP and got the break, then saved two BP to hold for 5-3. She broke to take the 2nd set, then after dropping the first two games in the 3rd ran off six straight against the ever-more-frustrated Spaniard to notch her first career #1 victory despite eight DF (she trails only Mladenovic for most on tour in '17), 39 unforced errors and a 49% first serve percentage. A match-up of the RG and SW19 champs, this was the latest meeting of a season's slam winners since 2014 (Sharapova/Kvitova). ===============================================
3. Wuhan 1st Rd. - Peng Shuai def. Petra Kvitova ...7-6(7)/6-7(5)/7-6(3). Peng was 0-7 vs. Kvitova and the two had never before faced off in a TB. Well, that all changed here. In a match that went 3:34 and carried past midnight, Peng failed to serve it out, then had a MP on Kvitova's serve, saw the Czech take a MTO, and finally got her first career Wuhan match win in the night's *third* TB. But, win or lose, Petra was still Petra when it was all over (in a good way, of course)...
=============================================== 4. Beijing 1st Rd. - Simona Halep def. Alison Riske 6-3/3-6/6-2 Beijing 1st Rd. - Maria Sharapova def. Anastasija Sevastova 7-6(3)/5-7/7-6(7) ...Saturday's early play in Beijing produced a pair of three-setters -- one a rematch of the U.S. Open Round of 16 match that saw Sharapova's run at Flushing Meadows come to an end -- that leave us one victory from each winning player away from *another* sequel to a recent NYC clash. Are you ready for Maria vs. Simona again? Rybarikova and Makarova, respectively, must first comply.
=============================================== 5. Wuhan 2nd Rd. - Alona Ostapenko def. Barbora Strycova ...2-6/7-5/6-3. Strycova got as close as two points from the win at 15/30 on Ostapenko's serve in the 2nd. But -- stop me if you've heard this before -- once Latvian Thunder's shots began to find their target she took control.
Of course, considering the participants, when you get Ostapenko & Strycova, everyone's eyes stay glued to the court until the "official" end...
=============================================== 6. Wuhan 1st Rd. - Wang Qiang def. Sloane Stephens 6-2/6-2 Wuhan 1st Rd. - Varvara Lepchenko def. Madison Keys 6-2/7-6(4) ...Toto, I don't think we're in New York City anymore. In their first outings since the Open final, Sloane was tired and Madison again was having her wrist examined by a trainer. =============================================== 7. Wuhan 2nd Rd. - Dasha Kasatkina def. Simona Halep ...6-2/6-1. With #1 once again in play, it was another no-go for Simona. Maybe the Swarmette Queen should follow Dasha's Rules of Order and turn off her head. Winning more than 12% of second serves would help, too, I'd imagine.
Daria Kasatkina on how she got her first win over Simona Halep: “Sometimes it’s better to turn off your head & just play w/ your instincts." pic.twitter.com/dZ72ugVyJF
While it's easy to dismiss such a comment as a "tryout" for a job at ESPN, it actually also opens up a debate about how to view a season such as that of Kasatkina's in 2017, with her results being unusually pliable no matter which side you'd wish to take. While I personally wouldn't label it a "fairly poor" year, it has been an up and down ride. She hasn't been as consistent in an overall sense as she was in 2016, but her best results have been the best of her career so far. Some examples:
While Kasatkina had only had two 3rd Round-or-better results in majors this season, she had her BEST ever results (U.S. Round of 16) and took out RG champ Ostapenko in NYC. She had the same match record both years.
A mixed bag. While Kasatkina had a higher QF-or-better rate (6/21 vs. 3/20), she reached her first final and won her maiden tour title in 2017, not '16. Also, she recorded her first career #1 win (Kerber) this season, and after ending last year at #27 (with a high of #24), she enters this week at #34, still with a chance to improve upon her season-ending finish and maybe even get a new career high with a superior late result.
So, is her 2017 a "fairly poor" year, or a "fairly good" one? A case could be made for both, depending on how you look at it. =============================================== 8. Wuhan 2nd Rd. - Ash Barty def. Johanna Konta 6-0/4-6/7-6(3) Beijing 1st Rd. - Monica Niculescu def. Johanna Konta 6-1/6-2 ...oh, Jo. It seems as if 2017 is done with Konta, and is looking forward to handing her off to 2018. She led 4-2 in the 3rd vs. Barty, but didn't even scratch the surface against the Romanian, who recorded her first Top 10 win of the year. The Brit has lost five straight, and is 2-6 since her Wimbledon semifinal run. =============================================== 9. $25K Clermont-Ferrand SF - Bibiane Schoofs def. Belinda Bencic ...2-6/6-4/6-4. Bencic's eight-match comeback winning streak ends a match short of a second straight final. Meanwhile, speaking of injured Swiss, Timea is out of surgery...
My new best friend for 48h!The operation went very well!Thank u for all your lovely messages these last days,you're all amazing!Love ? T. pic.twitter.com/cJFCK4rtqS
=============================================== 10. Beijing 1st Rd. - Magadalena Rybarikova def. TPFKAGB ...6-4/6-3. And, no, you're not forgotten, TPFKAGB. For the record, this is four straight defeats, five in six matches, and a 3-9 record since the headline-grabbing (clutching desperately?) QF run in Madrid (which itself had followed a previous 2-7 slide).
Since defeating Sharapova: Mladenovic is 16-17 (currently on a 9-match losing streak) Bouchard is 4-9 Lucic is 2-8 Sevastova is 0-3
Pick a needless, fact-deficient public fight with someone for inspiration? Yeah, I know... *someone* has already sort of "perfected" that skill, making it a bit passe for others to try to keep up.
=============================================== 2. Tashkent Final - KATERYNA BONDARENKO def. Timea Babos ...6-4/6-4. Between Bondarenko, Svitolina and Tsurenko, Ukraine is a combined 7-0 in tour singles finals in 2017. =============================================== 3. Wuhan QF - Ash Barty def. KAROLINA PLISKOVA ...4-6/7-6(3)/7-6(2). Pliskova got within two points of victory, then saved two MP and broke for 5-5 in the 3rd as things went to a deciding TB. But Barty, who claimed her first career Top 5 win and third straight three-setter over a Top 15 player, prevailed in the final stretch, finishing with 46 winners to 36 for the Czech. Pliskova, coached in Wuhan by her father after parting ways with David Kotyza, went over 400 aces for a fourth consecutive season last week, but this defeat ensured that she wouldn't overtake Muguruza and reclaim the #1 ranking after the event. =============================================== 4. Tashkent 2nd Rd. - Kurumi Nara def. KRISTYNA PLISKOVA 7-6(5)/6-7(4)/6-4 Tashkent 2nd Rd. - KATERYNA BONDARENKO def. Nao Hibino 6-4/7-5 ...Tashkent is notoriously hard on defending champions, as Pliskova learned last week. But Hibino, the '15 champ and '16 runner-up, proved that the "Tashkent curse" doesn't necessarily expire after one year. =============================================== 5. Wuhan Q1 - Liu Fangzhou def. ANASTASIA RODIONOVA 6-1/4-2 ret. Wuhan Q1 - Magda Linette def. ARINA RODIONOVA 6-3/6-3 ...Tashkent doesn't like defending champs. Wuhan doesn't like Rodionovas. Apparently. =============================================== 6. Beijing 1st Rd. - Petra Kvitova def. KRISTYNA PLISKOVA ...6-3/7-5. Make it twenty-three straight wins from Kvitova over fellow Czech Maidens. =============================================== 7. Beijing 1st Rd. - Angelique Kerber def. NAOMI OSAKA ...6-2/7-5. And Kerber wins the Part III rubber match between herself and Osaka, who drops her fourth straight match. =============================================== 8. $15K Kiev Final - MARYNA KOLB/NADIYA KOLB def. Martina Colmegna/Michele Alexandra Zmau ...6-2/4-6 [13-11]. The Ukrainian sisters pick up their third ITF title as a duo, though they're still just 3-13 in finals. =============================================== HM- $60K Templeton 1st Rd. - Sophie Whittle def. FRANCKIE ABANDA ...6-2/6-3. Raising the question of why Abanda, a recent first-time WTA quarterfinalist in Quebec City, was playing a $60K challenger in the first place. 20-year old Whittle is a junior at Gonzaga who was making her pro singles match debut, and lost in the next round to Laura Robson. ===============================================
*2017 - DEFEATED #1 SEED & DEFENDING CHAMPION IN EVENT* Shenzhen: Alison Riske (A.Radwanska)[lost in F to Siniakova] Australian Open: CoCo Vandeweghe (Kerber)[lost in SF to V.Williams] Stuttgart: Kristina Mladenovic (Kerber)[lost in F to Siegemund] Cincinnati: Garbine Muguruza (Ka.Pliskova)(W) New Haven: Dasha Gavrilova (A.Radwanska)(W) Tashkent: KURUMI NARA (KR.PLISKOVA)[lost in QF to K.Bondarenko]
*MOST DIFFERENT 2017 WTA CHAMPIONS BY NATION* 4 - CZE: Kvitova,Ka.Pliskova,Siniakova,Vondrousova 4 - RUS: Kasatkina,Makarova,Pavlyuchenkova,Vesnina 4 - USA: Davis,Keys,Stephens,S.Williams 3 - AUS: Barty,Gavrilova,Stosur 3 - UKR: K.BONDARENKO,Svitolina,Tsurenko
*MOST SEASON WTA WD TITLES - since 2002* 2017 - 9 - Chan Yung-Jan; 8 - Martina Hingis 2016 8 - Sania Mirza 2015 10 - Martina Hingis, Sania Mirza 2014 5 - Sara Errani, Peng Shuai, Roberta Vinci 2013 5 - Hsieh Su-Wei, Sania Mirza, Peng Shuai, Kristina Mladenovic 2012 8 - Sara Errani, Roberta Vinci 2011 6 - Kveta Peschke, Katarina Srebotnik 2010 8 - Gisela Dulko 2009 7 - Nuria Llagostera Vives, Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez 2008 10 - Cara Black, Liezel Huber 2007 9 - Cara Black, Liezel Huber 2006 10 - Lisa Raymond, Samantha Stosur 2005 7 - Samantha Stosur 2004 7 - Cara Black, Nadia Petrova, Meghann Shaughnessy 2003 8 - Ai Sugiyama 2002 9 - Lisa Raymond
*CAREER WTA DOUBLES TITLES - active* 63 - MARTINA HINGIS, SUI 41 - Sania Mirza, IND 37 - Katarina Srebotnik, SLO 28 - Kveta Peschke, CZE 26 - CHAN YUNG-JAN, TPE 26 - Bethanie Mattek-Sands, USA 25 - Sara Errani, ITA 25 - Roberta Vinci, ITA
*2017 PREMIER MANDATORY/PREMIER 5 CHAMPIONS* Dubai - Elina Svitolina, UKR Indian Wells - Elena Vesnina, RUS Miami - Johanna Konta, GBR Madrid - Simona Halep, ROU Rome - Elina Svitolina, UKR Toronto - Elina Svitolina, UKR Cincinnati - Garbine Muguruza, ESP Wuhan - Caroline Garcia, FRA Beijing - [doubles] Dubai - Makarova/Vesnina, RUS/RUS Indian Wells - Y.Chan/Hingis, TPE/SUI Miami - Dabrowski/Xu Yifan, CAN/CHN Madrid - Y.Chan/Hingis, TPE/SUI Rome - Y.Chan/Hingis, TPE/SUI Toronto - Makarova/Vesnina, RUS/RUS Cincinnati - Y.Chan/Hingis, TPE/SUI Wuhan - Y.Chan/Hingis, TPE/SUI Beijing -
How about a Chris AND Martina story based around the Rivals book? Think of the opposing paths to the same point played out on screen, from childhood to adult players and into their post-career lives.
When you see a tennis player on the street in everyday life, there's often a clue that gives her away. Do you see it?
As the latest term comes to its natural end, we here at Backspin Academy choose to send our students, benefactors and emotional supporters back out into the world with something for them to savor and hold dear as they remember their campus experiences from the past year.
And that time has come once again.
Our Beloved Backspin Academy
Of course, due to the well-known-by-now oddities in the BSA election process, this year we were forced to suspend the usual election year festivities, rallies and, ultimately, results. So, for as long as they wish, *last* year's office holders will continue to "unofficially" maintain their status until further notice. Everyone affected are to be assured that all relevant documents will continue to be stored in the Navratilova Hall of Records along with the rest of the Academy's historical evidence.
NAVRATILOVA HALL OF RECORDS
But, have no worries. 2017, as viewed from a coveted seat on the rooftop of Henin Hall, was still a rather lively year. Luckily for us, the BSA School for the Performing Arts has stepped up, along with our top sponsor, to fully commit the time, effort and funds necessary for the production of our annual Yearbook, as well as this December's three-day Festival of Ideas weekend. The notable works of some of the most talented members of the campus community will be exclusively honored in this year's keepsake, along with a rundown of the schedule for our well-regarded "Carl TALKS" lecture series which will be a key part of the festival alongside our new, star-studded BSA creative arts showcase featuring all varieties of student-produced films and plays.
HENIN HALL
As always, we're very proud of our student body and faculty, even if some of them disappoint us on occasion. The BSA environment is one that embraces sincere attempts at redemption, and our arms are always open to reconciliation with even some of the more wayward members of the community. But even if such evolution never becomes a reality, we are committed to finding alternate ways to coexist. The BSA campus is a large one, and there is room for everyone, for we never lose hope.
So, away we go...
First off, we'd like to thank the BSA Bookstore (now with a redesigned website!) for its support and sponsorship of this year's Yearbook.
The shelves and storerooms are stocked with all sorts of items that can fill an urgent need, or maybe even inspire a new one. If you get the chance when you're on campus, drop by and have a look (you never know which familiar-faced student might be working behind the register!).
Here's a quick look at some of the bestselling items...
Students and visitors alike love our specialty t-shirts, which we wear proudly all over campus (and sometimes even abroad!)...
A few of our current and former students became authors over the past year, and anyone can obtain their work in the bookstore. Meanwhile, another of our more versatile students had a particularly brilliant idea to utilize her photography to produce a coffee table book about drinking coffee at various tables around the world. Our award-winning children's series offered up two new titles in 2017. Additionally, we've been forced by a scurrilous lawsuit to stock the controversial book penned by the head of the French tennis federation, but only in the French-language text version (though we *do* have one particular student who is willing, for a fee, to read the book aloud for any purchaser in one of the 27 or so languages she claims to speak). We look at these terms as a "win," as the original lawsuit attempted to force *all* visitors to buy a copy, or else forfeit the opportunity to buy any bookstore item ever again.
Our top student this year has seen all sorts of sights, often from rather dangerous -- but beautiful -- positions. Someone suggested that the views might work rather well in puzzle form and... voila!
All sorts of things occur in the lives of our students, both on campus and off. The BSA Bookstore is the one-stop shop for all their needs. And for those of you with a yen for collecting memorable (and rare) items, we stock *all* the campaign buttons for this year's Student Council President election race that never took place. Get yours while supplies last.
We delight in offering some choice, personally-designed items meant as keepsakes for some of our more popular students' friends, family, fans and otherwise. The Bookstore tries to meet every need, however specialized...
As usual, our students are much in demand around the world. Apparently, just the appearance of *one* of them on a magazine cover is often seen as an exceptional editorial choice. Naturally, the bookstore stocks as many as our shelves will allow (talk to us if you want to special order a copy of something we don't carry)...
Over the years, we've come to expect our creative students to document their lives through music...
From classic toys to posters commemorating classic past events, the Bookstore on Dokic Drive strives to stock at least one item that will tickle the fancy of *every* visitor...
And, of course, we'd be remiss to not acknowledge with heartfelt anguish the passing of one of our favorite individuals, and an Academy presence for years. Jana Novotna left us recently, but her will, smile, humanity and good natured personality will never be forgotten. There are reminders of her all over grounds, from the longtime Novotna Nook in the library on the East Campus to the newly-constructed HanaJana Center on the West, as well as in the song that persists in all our ears when we think about the last time we saw her. We will offer a remembrance poster as a free gift to all shoppers, and 25% of all Bookstore profits will be donated to her favorite charity for as long as we breathe the crisp campus air. RIP, Jana.
Our students and visitors always tell us that they truly enjoy our award-winning "Carl TALKS" lecture series, affectionately named after the most unique personality on campus (well, technically, he lives with his STILL growing family -- no, Carla isn't pregnant again, but the couple has taken in Carl's troubled nephew Pete -- in a comfy cave just off the Academy grounds).
THE HANAJANA CENTER
Here's a preliminary look at the jam-packed schedule for the HanaJana Center during BSA's three-day Festival of Ideas this December. We're excited to announce that Venus Williams will be serving as our Mistress of ceremonies!
"POJD!" - Petra Kvitova "Applying the Art of Decoupage to a Tennis Career" - Elina (Patience is My Co-Pilot) Svitolina "I'm Back" - Victoria Azarenka [POSTPONED UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE] "I Don't Care What People Think Anymore" - Caroline Garcia "Do You Know What I Did Last Summer?" - Sloane Stephens "Third Time's the Charm" - Martina Hingis "Do You Know My Mommy?" - Alexis Olympia
"Is it an athlete's job to inspire? Inherently what I think athletes do at a top level inspires people, but each person takes that responsibility differently." - Venus Williams
"Making Everything Bad Suddenly Okay" - Mirjana Lucic-Baroni "How to Insult Friends and Inspire Unprincipled Unpleasantness in People" - Kristina Mladenovic "The Fine Art of Bannerette Whispering" - Kathy Rinaldi (with an "Introduction to Pastry Whispering" from Amelie Mauresmo) "It's a Yes" - Casey Dellacqua "Smiling Through the Pain, Eventually" - Bethanie Mattek-Sands "You May Not Know Me... but I'm pretty awesome." - Aliaksandra Sasnovich "I'm Just Glad To Be Here (but winning is heaps cool, too)" - Ash Barty "French Tennis Fascism for Dummies" - Bernard Giudicelli "Clay, Me & My Knee: A Rewarding and Ultimately Crazy Journey" - Laura Siegemund "Bueller... Bueller... yes, you in the back -- [INSERT APPROPRIATE NAME ON DAY OF TALK]" - Sascha Bajin "I'll Accept Playing Second Fiddle, But That Doesn't Mean I Don't Get to Solo on Occasion" - Anastasija Sevastova
"What I will say about sport, I think why people love sport so much, is because you see everything in a line. In that moment there is no do-over, there's no retake, there is no voice-over. It's triumph and disaster witnessed in real-time. This is why people live and die for sport, because you can't fake it. You can't. It's either you do it or you don't." - Venus Williams
"When the Toughest Year is the Best Year" - Simona Halep "Enjoying the Game in a Way That it Hurts" - Barbora Strycova "It's Not You, It's Me (but I'm still moving on)" - Angelique Kerber "It Wasn't You, It was Me (and dad)" - Caroline Wozniacki "It Wasn't You, It was Me (I think), So We're Still Good" - Garbine Muguruza (w/ follow-up Q&A with Sam Sumyk) "Leave the Racket, Take the Tortellini" - Sara Errani "I Wanted to Be a Maria, But Now I'll Settle for Being a Harkleroad" - Genie Bouchard (w/ a follow-up chat by Ashley Harkleroad: "Leave Me Out of It") "When A Sister Understands: Taking Advantage of the Opportunity of a Tennis Lifetime" - Chan Yung-Jan "Dealing with Future Expectations That Will Now Scrape the Sky (and don't call Me "Jelena" -- that's my mom), Pt.1" - Alona Ostapenko (w/ Pt.2 coming in 2018) "#MeToo" - Anne Keothavong (w/ Johanna Konta) [online chat] "Nighttime is the Right Time for Fighting" - Madison Keys "Having Your Historical Imprint Systematically Removed From the Public Record By Your Successor" - Mary Joe Fernandez (w/ an introductory primer by Barack Obama) "Are You Ready For Me?" - Aryna Sabalenka "What She Said" - Serena Williams "Preventative Medicine, Smart Body Management Recuperation & Recovery, & You" - Sabine Lisicki "Across How Many Decades Are Shadows Cast?" - Beatriz Haddad Maia "I"m Not Sure Why I'm Here (I think someone just wants to announce my name)" - Eliessa Vanlangendonck "Remembering Jana" - a tribute by Martina Navratilova
"People relate to the champion. They also relate to the person also who didn't win because we all have those moments in our life." - Venus Williams
"POJD! (closing statement)" - Petra Kvitova
Since its founding a short while ago, the works produced in association with the Backspin Academy Center for the Performing Arts have seemingly grown exponentially in both quantity and quality. We're positively bursting at the seams with pride and a desire for the vast array of talent on campus to be recognized and celebrated. This winter's Festival of Ideas will allow the entire campus community, as well as the general public, to experience the breadth and scope of our students' creativity in one big three-day gulp. A select number of live plays and films will be featured throughout the weekend, for 24 hours around the clock (be sure to catch all the 5 a.m. performances -- you won't regret it, as everyone will be served breakfast in their seats immediately after the final curtain!), followed by a red carpet affair which will precede the opening of our very first, star-studded presentation.
[HINT: click on images for inspirations]
Our original plays and musicals will be performed at the fabulous JJ Center for Dramatic Arts, on the stage of the glorious Li Na Theatre...
JJ CENTER FOR DRAMATIC ARTS
For some, nothing beats the heart-pounding excitement of a live performance, and the festival caters to such tastes. Naturally, there will be *many* opportunities to bask in the thrill-of-the-moment throughout the upcoming three-day celebration...
Meanwhile, our film and television festival will once again take place at the high-tech and oh-so-comfortable Sugarpova Cineplex...
This year, we're pleased to include a production from our remote all-male academy...
Meanwhile, our top G.P.A. student was busy over the past year, appearing as the lead in *two* different -- very different, in fact -- films...
A young lady from Latvia took the campus by storm in 2017, quickly becoming a BSA favorite. Naturally, everyone wanted her to appear in their latest production in order to "hop on the Alona train." She jumped at her many new opportunities, developing a keen eye for the sorts of roles that will appeal to herself as well as her new fans...
Meanwhile, our award-winning top Spanish student went a more classic route...
After years of starring in the long-running "Many Faces of Caro" production, our resident Dane made the leap to the big screen this year...
The Czech contingent at the Academy have always been at the forefront of the campus goings-on. This year was no different, as both heartwarming and edgy films appeared with Maidens as their stars...
Our sole Siberian-born student/benefactor jumped at the chance to put a whole new spin on a timeless classic. It's been called "a delightful, sometimes bawdy, romp"..
The process is *always* important for our top Ukrainian student, and she finally decided to sign up for a BSA production in 2017, quite simply, because she felt "the time was right."We can't wait to see what she'll do NEXT year.
Antagonists have always played important roles in film, often with certain performers developing a knack for the perfect portrayal of a "type" that doesn't generally go down as the story's "hero." But when you play the "black hat" so well...
And, with superhero movies all the rage, you knew it *had* to happen...
In a late edition, we've added the premiere of the recently-rediscovered, long-awaited production that's been withheld from public view for too long (after first being announced in our year-end rundown a few years ago)...
[original 2014 poster]
As far as the television production part of the festival...
Good news! We're proud to announce that our award-winning "Better Call Bencic" series will return in 2018 with an all new, much-anticipated season after a longer-than-we'd-wished-for production hiatus.
The big three-day weekend will also see the much-anticipated debut of all new episodes of some of our *other* most-beloved series, including a well-known show *now* with a whole new star...
And *the* show that everyone is always talking about the day after a new episode airs is *finally* producing new material...
Of course, the BSA arts community does not discriminate. Student-produced works, art house fare and mainstream big budget international productions are given equal time throughout the year on the screens of the Sugarpova Cineplex. For those who wish to take a break from our exclusive productions to enjoy a few hours of Hollywood-style fun in a different setting, there will be fine additional entertainment choices.
We truly hope our first (of many?) Festival of Ideas will leave everyone satisfied, as well as with an appetite whetted for still more in 2018.
And, finally, we're always striving to broaden the experiences of everyone who graces the BSA campus. This year we even introduced a Remote Tour Guide Series featuring one of our most unique students. It was quite the hit!
When Petko goes to an art museum, every masterpiece is fair game...
And, thus, we arrive at the end of yet another year, as soon our thoughts will be overtaken by the ideas and notions that will shape the NEXT twelve months.
Who will reclaim a leading role on campus, or further grow their current influence? With the slate clean, everyone's grade point average will once again be 0.0 as 2018 begins, after all. Who will break out of the pack and become a new star? Someone will, of that we can be certain. One year from now, we will know all. Today, though, we are a-sea in the darkness.
Good.
If we knew the answers ahead of time, we'd miss out on all the fun.
It follows another WTA offseason chocked full of the usual wave of coaching changes, doubles duo switcheroos, new sponsorship contracts, engagements, pregnancies, scrambles for Aussie Open wild cards and, in at least one case this year, some additional on-court work on the challenger circuit that may just allow the ol' momentum train to carry over to and through the month-long January journey Down Under to come.
But it all gets washed away in Week 1, as the slate is officially wiped clean as the packaging is ripped off a sparkly-new WTA season. And with that, as always, all things become possible all over again. So, Angie and Aga can finally take a deep breath, and no longer have to *wish* for 2018 to get here, like, sometime last summer.
Within two weeks, we'll be crowning the first WTA champions of 2018, a season which promises to return a few big (slam-winning) names to the tour mix (including one totally unexpected comeback-er -- yes, "La Trufflette" is on the way, five years after her Wimbledon win in '13), as well as giving the breakout stars of last season the opportunity to prove that any "year after" worries are unfounded. Soon, players will overachieve, or disappoint. Some will rise higher than many ever thought they could, or finally do so after years of struggle and/or preparation, while others will see seasons during which they felt they'd achieve their most dearly-held dreams turn into nightmares they never saw coming in the dead of night.
We'll know all those details in due time. But, of course, *now* is when we can pretend that we have all the answers as we make our earnest predictions about who'll succeed (or not) when it comes to all things women's tennis.
First up, gauging the position on the temperature spectrum of 2018's Top 10 contenders.
Seventeen players spent time in the Top 10 last year, fewer than did so in either of the previous two seasons. But the #1 seat was positioned on a virtual merry-go-round, filled by five different women (three of them first-timers), tied for the most since the computer rankings originated in 1975. The spot was swapped out seven different times over the course of 2017, one off the all-time record of exchanges.
Well, buckle in, because "The Story of #1" in 2018 could look very familiar. 2016 #1 Angelique Kerber entered last season with 9080 ranking points, 4844 more than the lowest-ranked (then-#7 Garbine Muguruza) of the four other women who'd ultimately sit atop the weekly standings over the next forty-four weeks. As the new season begins, THIRTY-NINE players are within that same points range behind current #1 Simona Halep, and none of *them* are named Sharapova (the next highest ranked active former #1)... so the theoretical "possible #1 net" may extend ever further down the rankings.
A year after the Top 10 welcomed its first Ukrainian and Latvian, as well as the rare 37-year old, an even more rare Brit sighting, a Bannerette *not* named Williams, two Pastries (for a brief while, at least) and, in another twist, the maiden Swarmette in the top spot, only the Tennis Gods know what'll happen next. And they don't talk to anyone... they'd rather everyone be surprised/shocked by the plotlines they come up with for the new season.
But here are a few of the players, listed in temperature spectrum-ready order as far as the likelihood, from this particular crow's nest, that they'll *still* be in the Top 10 as New Year's Day 2019 stands on our doorstep.
Simona Halep, ROU (2017 #1): we should see pretty quickly whether or not ending the year at #1 and spending an entire offseason atop the rankings (not to mention nabbing the tour's "Fan Favorite" award) has "permanently" fortified the Romanian's confidence. If she could hit the ground running in January (she's had back-to-back 1st Round exits in Melbourne, after QF finishes in 2014-15, and has never won a singles title in Australia) it may just put enough wind in Halep's sails to make coach Darren Cahill's job a whole lot easier, as well as lift her to the sort of grand career heights that have so far eluded her. If not, it'll probably be another season of intense highs and discouraging (though brief) lows, and we'll be hitting the "repeat" button when it comes to previewing her *2019* campaign. As long as she stays healthy, though, the chances for a fifth straight Top 10 (Top 5, actually) season would seem to be as good or better for Si-mo-na as anyone on tour. It's hard to imagine her play could slip enough to knock her out. In fact, since Halep is the official "Heart of Backspin," I sort of have to be "all-in" until proven otherwise. Hint, hint.
Elina Svitolina, UKR (6): the Ukrainian's game, and career, has usually resembled a long, well thought out march to a previously designated destination. Thus far, Svitolina has yet to make the sort of HUGE leap that characterized, say, Alona Ostapenko's slam-winning campaign last year. She's moved up step by step, year by year, since 2013. Her Top 10, then Top 5, ranking (w/ #6 finish) came right on schedule, as did her high Premier event title runs and '17 tour-leading title total. She's yet to make the sort of deep slam run (SF+) that will mark her arrival as a no-asterisks-necessary, the-waiting-game-is-over top tier threat, though (even with all the Top 10 and #1 wins she's already banked). That'll come, most likely this year. Svitolina's career path says a final four slam result is on the agenda in '18. A bit more, say reaching #1 or winning a major, might be considered a case of her taking the rare "extra" step. Will that have to wait until 2019?
Garbine Muguruza, ESP (2): Contrary to her sometimes up-and-down "contact level" on game days on occasion, none of the new twentysomething generation of slam/#1 challengers seems more composed on the big stage than Muguruza. She's beaten BOTH Williams Sisters not only in slams, but in slam FINALS. She's claimed two different majors, as well as multiple major Premier titles on hard court, the only surface on which she's yet to win a slam. Fresh off a season in which she was more consistent in the majors than she's ever been in her career, the Spaniard, if forced to make a choice (though the longtime Backspin "Kuznetsova Curse" precludes such a thing), would probably be the player most likely to end '18 atop the rankings barring the sort of comeback campaign we've become accustomed to from a certain new mother with twenty-three slam crowns already on her resume. Somewhat shockingly, '17 (w/ Wimbledon and Cincinnati wins) was the first season in which Muguruza has won multiple singles crowns. If Garbi indeed is what she seemed to be transforming into by the end of last season then she should match, and likely outpace, that total in the upcoming season, and a Top 10 finish would be as easy as 1-2-3.
Caroline Wozniacki, DEN (3): by all rights, the Dane should be in the top tier. But "Wozniology-101" is never an "easy A." Even while ending her '17 season on a high note with a WTA Finals title, Wozniacki has opened herself up to questions about whether or not she'll have the "follow-through" to carry over her momentum to even greater heights in '18. After seeing added aggression instilled into her game style after hiring Sascha Bajin as a co-coach/hitting partner, and pulling off six of her eleven career Top 3 wins (and all three over #1's) during the season, the Dane parted ways with the former Serena/Vika team member at the end of the season. Will she have the mind to continue with the new style aspects that (finally) put a charge into her longtime game, or will she slip back into her old (too) defensive habits? Engaged again, will her focus be as sharply on her tennis as it will need to be to pick up where she left off, and *improve* upon that 2-6 record in finals in '17, when she posted just one QF+ result in a major. There's no reason, as long as she avoids injury, to think Wozniacki will fall off in '18, but it's easy to see changes off the court proving to be a hindrance to lifting her game even higher, which will have to happen if she's going to put the period (or exclamation point) on the end of the concluding sentence of the much more optimistic paragraph she spent last season (re-)writing into her career bio. On the final day of her '17 season, I would have said "yes" to continued elevated success. Now? I'm not ready to say "no," but I'm no longer a "yes"-man, either.
Karolina Pliskova, CZE (4): overall, Pliskova's '17 season was arguably better than her breakthrough '16 campaign. It included more titles and some time in the #1 ranking, but even while the Czech's 1 SF/2 QF overall slam numbers were better than her performance from the previous year, she didn't take that "next step" as she failed to match or best her U.S. Open final berth in any of the majors. Her serve was still, especially in the absence of Serena Williams, the tour's biggest ace producer, but she admittedly struggled to perfect it all season long and it never performed as consistently lethal a weapon. As a result, Pliskova didn't FEEL as impactful a presence on tour in '17 as her stats say she *should* have been (especially with the likes of Serena and Kerber on the sidelines in the latter stages of majors). She seemed a decent bet to win her maiden slam heading into last season, but with quite a few additional contenders in the mix heading into '18 she seems a bit less a good bet to achieve the same this time around. Still, as long as she's got her serve, in either '16 or '17 form, she'll have multiple opportunities to grab the one huge career accomplishment that she still seeks.
Alona Ostapenko, LAT (7): no player burst onto the big-time scene in '17 with more flair and devil-may-care style than Latvian Thunder. Her Roland Garros title run proved to the slam-less players on tour that they, too, could become a major champion if they simply threw everything they had into the task, brushed off errors and immediately jumped head first into the breach at the first opportunity. And, unlike some sudden stars, Ostapenko didn't wilt in the aftermath. She played well at Wimbledon, reaching the QF, won a 4Q title, improved her ranking in the closing weeks of the season, and ended the year by going to Singapore and flashing once again all the don't-blink-because-you-don't-want-to-miss-a-second-of-this entertainment value she'd promised in the spring. She's had a busy offseason. She's been treated like a s-t-a-r, inked her name to many lucrative deals, and hired a new coach (David Taylor). Can Ostapenko back it up again? She'll never be perfect. Her game style won't allow for that. But she hates losing nearly as much (or more?) as she loves winning, and that's never a bad mindset for a player with the sort of weaponry Alona can pull out in the heat of battle, whether she's in the lead or trailing on the scoreboard. Of course, her serve will need to be improved for her to reach her full potential, but she's unquestionably a player to be feared... and one who'll be on the winning side even more often in '18 than she was in '17.
Serena Williams, USA (22): we expect a great deal from Serena, and we should. I mean, she's Serena, after all. But are we jumping the gun a bit to think she'll just pick up right where she left off when she returns after nearly a full year away which included having a daughter and getting married? If it was anyone else, the take-it-slow approach would be the norm, but Williams will surely be picked by many to defend the AO crown in a few weeks that she won a year ago when she was (secretly) already pregnant. And she very well could do it. If not, one would expect she'll return to the slam winner's circle at least once before the end of 2018. She's still Serena, remember. At some point, that'll be a topic about her *past* heroics, not her future ones. But not yet.
I had to Wikipedia my age the other day. I forgot how old I was.
Maria Sharapova, RUS (59): by the end of '17 the Russian finally seemed to get a handle on the body stresses of her return from suspension, winning a title and making good progress toward getting back into the Top 50. Whether or not she'll be able to get back to slam-winning form (she hasn't played her most favorable slam, RG, since 2015, remember) is a question, but anything resembling a normal season should bring the Top 10 back into the conversation, as well as a handful of titles.
Venus Williams, USA (5): it's hard to imagine Venus having a *better* season in 2018 than she did in '17, though she *did* somehow fail to win a title during the eleven-month stretch. Still, this year she'll have to defend points from a pair of slam finals, a major semi and a runner-up at the WTAF. And, of course, she'll also turn 38 in the middle of the season, and at some point that'll have to mean that Williams begins to display a more mortal-seeming drop-off in form as she carries on deeper into advanced tennis age. But she proved last year that she still may have another slam run in her, so who's to argue she can't close that particular deal this season?
If a Space Alien landed on Earth and demanded, “Take me to your leader!” I wonder how many people would take it to their head-of-state.
Ash Barty, AUS (17): the Aussie may turn out to be the player who'll take the biggest wrecking ball to the Top 10 in 2018. Barty's '17 season felt more like a preview of even bigger things to come than simply a nice comeback story from a player who felt the need to bow out of the sport for a while *before* she really saw her career take root on the WTA tour. Aggressive and with a killer instinct, the Barty Party could be this year's Latvian Thunder.
Caroline Garcia, FRA (8): a 2.0 version of the Pastry put together one of the best 4Q runs in recent memory last season, becoming the first to accomplish a Wuhan/Beijing sweep, finishing in the Top 10, and showing all the signs of a player no longer bothered by whispers or shouts from afar nor, more importantly, more personal self-doubt. If THAT Caro returns in '18, Garcia's former Fed Cup Captain Amelie Mauresmo might have some company in the pantheon of grand French tennis achievers. But one would expect such a level of play might be a bit difficult to replicate over the course of a long season, so we shouldn't be too disappointed if Garcia simply manages to maintain the position she scrambled into in the fall rather than climb even higher up the WTA ladder. That said, her '17 experiences should at least produce one deep slam run now that the space between her ears has caught up with the rest of her. If not, '18 won't have provided Garcia with the gains she should now expect to come her way.
CoCo Vandeweghe, USA (10): Vandeweghe proved to be a big stage player in 2017, reaching two slam semis and leading the U.S. to a first Fed Cup title in a generation. Consistency in the "regular" tour events remains elusive, but the seeming good fit with coach Pat Cash should be expected to gradually bring that into the mix, as well. CoCo's '18 season very well could prove to produce fewer HUGE headline-worthy finishes (though she's likely got a few of those in her, too -- she's got three legit slam final opportunities, two on hard court, on which she's already reached a pair of SF, as well as on her *best* surface, grass), but with more solid overall results that allow her a chance to match the Top 10 finish she only barely achieved at the end of '17.
Belinda Bencic, SUI (finished #165, now #74): Bencic seemed on tap for a quick rebound from an injury-plagued (back) '16, and last year's Blowout had her as a likely Top 10er with her first slam semifinal. 2017 turned out to be even more injury-riddled, leading to wrist surgery and a brief fall outside the Top 300. But, finally healthy, Bencic worked her Swiss tail off in the fall, lifting her official season-ending ranking an additional ninety-one spots with three straight title runs in WTA 125 and $100K events, finishing on a 15-match winning streak. She's now set for the AO main draw, and maybe the long-awaited and predicted move into the sort of top level group that her junior career, Fed Cup debut and '15 title run in Toronto more than hinted was in her future. If she can stay on the court, this season should prove to be Bencic's better-slightly-later-than-expected-than-never time to shine.
Kristina Mladenovic, FRA (11): Kiki's exciting game led to her being one of the most in-form players in the opening months of 2017, winning her maiden title and reaching multiple finals. After an injury at Wimbledon (which wasn't bad enough to keep her off tour) she seemed to totally lose confidence and ultimately ended the season on a shocking twelve-match losing streak. If seeing Garcia improve so much and actually pass her by isn't enough to get the Pastry back on her game, then she's not the player she so loudly professes herself to be. As aggravating as she can be off court, few are as talented on it as Mladenovic. I suspect she'll bounce back quite well.
Petra Kvitova, CZE (29): the Czech is still coming back from the emergency hand surgery that saved her career last December, but after her '17 campaign was more about the notion that she was back at all than how much she won, in '18 she'll be more expected to string together the sort of good results she was able to occasionally post after her return last year.
Julia Goerges, GER (14): was last year the "career year" that the German won't likely be able to match in the season in which she'll turn 30, or is she the latest veteran who'll make this period of her career the most productive and lucrative of her entire time on tour? She finally broke through the tape in the closing weeks of '17, winning her first titles since 2011 and achieving a career-high ranking. But the balance of her career has been marked by inconsistency, so it'd be no surprise to see a slight slip (possibly after a Top 10 run) back into the #20's this season.
Jo Konta, GBR (9): after what was essentially her "biggest" season (which included a Wimbledon SF and Top 5 ranking), Konta's form slipped after she entered into "stardom" territory in the late summer and fall, as she posted just one QF after SW19. She parted ways with Wim Fissette in October, with Michael Joyce (formerly w/ Sharapova and Azarenka) joining the team this offseason. No steep drop off should be anticipated in '18, but the thought here is that Konta will have a hard time fighting off the horde of Top 10 contenders breathing down her neck, finishing between #11-15 once the dust has settled next fall.
Sloane Stephens, USA (13): hmmm, is there trouble brewing in Future Sloaneville? After missing the first half of the season with a foot injury, then starting slowly before catching fire in North America, Stephens was a non-factor after winning the U.S. Open, and struggled to get out of her own way in the Fed Cup final, nearly costing Team USA the title. Now, a suddenly lingering knee injury has put her out of Brisbane, meaning her prep for Melbourne doesn't look great. She's got half a season (and 4Q) without any points to defend in '18, so a return to the Top 10 would seem a certainty. Finishing the year there, though, is another question entirely if The Future is only a New York state of mind.
Madison Keys, USA (19): wrist issues played havoc with Keys' season last year, but she still managed a big title (she'll be the last champ in Stanford, which will now be forced to move after a change in university policy regarding title-sponsored events) and her maiden slam final berth. Until she goes multiple months without wrist soreness, though, it's hard to *expect* a *full* season of high level (and Top 10 rank producing) results from her.
Aga Radwanska, POL (28): not much went right for Aga on the court in '17, her first title-less, non-Top 10 season since 2010. Her season ending ranking was her lowest in a decade. With the rise of Generation PDQ, and the addition of still more power players and lingering (or late blooming) vets at the top of the rankings, the Pole's time to slip in a maiden slam title looks like it may have finally hit 00:00. Just contending for the Top 10 again might be a stretch.
Aryna Sabalenka, BLR (78): looking for an Ostapenko-like smash who might shock the world and obliterate -- Kool-Aid Man style -- a slam wall? Maybe Sabalenka will be ready for such a star turn. Her Fed Cup heroics looked to be just scratching the surface, but can she maintain control of her powerful, though oft-wild, game long enough for a deep run at a major? Oh, the kingdom for an Alona-vs.-Aryna tilt soon... pretty please?
Naomi Osaka, JPN (68): once the successful (though brief) Wozniacki partnership with Bajin was declared over, "Big Sascha" was the intriguing, ultimate "big fish" coaching free agent of the offseason. Ultimately, he landed in the boat of one of the most intriguingly talented prospects on tour. Powerful and with more personality than consistency at the moment, Osaka is a diamond that could prove to be HUGE if someone can find a way to polish her game to it's potentially shiniest form. It may never FULLY happen, but Bajin, in his first solo coaching gig, now gets a chance to help make it happen. If Osaka can "pinish," their teaming could prove to be one of the biggest stories of 2018.
It all starts in your mind and your body will follow...
Angelique Kerber, GER (21): try as she might -- she'd seemingly get close, but then would fail to replicate her old aggressive and gritty form in consecutive matches/events -- Kerber couldn't get back to where she'd been in '16 last year, producing the biggest non-injury/retirement related year-after ranking fall for a season-ending #1 in tour history. She's switched coaches (Torben Beltz to Wim Fissette), but will it be enough to reverse her recent fate? The German was a late bloomer, but maybe the full bloom has already fallen off for good for the soon-to-be 30-year old. [Beltz, by the way, has joined up with Donna Vekic.]
Dasha Kasatkina, RUS (24): the Russian's game means she generally has to work very hard to reach her top level, but she has the will to do it. She produced some of her best results in '17, but sacrificed consistency along the way. Bridging the gap between the two will tell the difference between whether she'll be a player who can contend for deep slam runs, or if she'll simply be a constant "regular tour" threat who spends her career ranked between #11-20. If she's to follow a Svitolina-like pattern, she may still be a few seasons away from providing a definitive answer regarding where she'll end up.
Svetlana Kuznetsova, RUS (12): always a wild card. Forever and ever, amen. The Hordette is already out of the AO with a wrist injury. As usual, Sveta defies the very notion of prediction.
Timea Bacsinszky, SUI (39): she'd put together back-to-back career years before a wrist injury sent her free-falling last season. The desire is still there, though, so she refuses to be counted out.
Victoria Azarenka, BLR (208): oh, Vika. It's easy to forget that it was only 2016 when she won the "Sunshine Double" in Indian Wells & Miami. It's an accomplishment recent enough to still be relevant, but it'll be a two-year old run come this spring, a period during most of which Azarenka hasn't played. A custody battle for her son sidelined her during the final third of '17, and looks to already be putting limits on 2018. She's pulled out of Auckland, and now seems unlikely to be able to use her AO wild card. She'll play, eventually... but the exit of coach Michael Joyce, as well as the failure of Bajin to return to the fold, is likely a sign that Vika's presence on tour this season will continue to be up in the air for an indefinite period of time. On the bright side, maybe it means she'll have a healthy late-career, post-30 "I've-still-got-something-to-prove" run that will stretch out longer than might have otherwise been the case for the oft-injured Belarusian. Optimism wherever you can find it, I guess, right?
*RANKINGS PREDICTIONS* -SELECTED SEASON-END #1's- AUS: Ash Barty BLR: Aryna Sabalenka CAN: Bianca Andreescu CHN: Zhang Shuai CRO: Ana Konjuh CZE: Karolina Pliskova FRA: Caroline Garcia GER: Angelique Kerber IND: Karman Thandi ITA: Sara Errani JPN: Naomi Osaka KAZ: Zarina Diyas MEX: Marcela Zacarias RUS: Maria Sharapova South America: Beatriz Haddad Maia, BRA SRB: Aleksandra Krunic SUI: Belinda Bencic SWE: Rebecca Peterson TUR: Ipek Soylu USA: Serena Williams
FIRST-TIME IN-SEASON TOP 10 JUMPS (i.e. not necessarily season-ending):Ash Barty/AUS, Julia Goerges/GER FIRST-TIME IN-SEASON TOP 20 JUMPS:Dasha Kasatkina/RUS, Anett Kontaveit/EST, Elise Mertens/BEL, Naomi Osaka/JPN, Aryna Sabalenka/BLR, Maria Sakkari/GRE, Laura Siegemund/GER FIRST-TIME IN-SEASON TOP 50 JUMPS:Ekaterina Alexandrova/RUS, Bianca Andreescu/CAN, Anna Blinkova/RUS, Jennifer Brady/USA, Duan Yingying/CHN, Jana Fett/CRO, Viktorija Golubic/SUI, Beatriz Haddad Maia/BRA, Aleksandra Krunic/SRB, Victoria Kuzmova/SVK, Aryna Sabalenka/BLR, Natalia Vikhlyantseva/RUS, Marketa Vondrousova/CZE FIRST-TIME IN-SEASON TOP 100 JUMPS:Franckie Abanda/CAN, Destanee Aiava/AUS, Bianca Andreescu/CAN, Amanda Anisimova/USA, Anna Blinkova/RUS, Kayla Day/USA, Dalma Galfi/HUN, Miyu Kato/JPN, Sonya Kenin/USA, Victoria Kuzmova/SVK, Rebecca Sramkova/SVK, Wang Yafan/CHN, Maryna Zanevska/BEL
(L to R) Ostapenko, Kasatkina, Bencic, Vondrousova, Barty, Vekic, Osaka and Kontaveit
NEWCOMERS OF THE YEAR:Destanee Aiava/AUS, Anna Blinkova/RUS, Jaimee Fourlis/AUS, Jiang Xinyu/Tang Qianhui (CHN)(d), Sonya Kenin/USA, Victoria Kuzmova/SVK, Vera Lapko/BLR, Antonia Lottner/GER, Anastasia Potapova/RUS, Dayana Yastremska/UKR, Sofya Zhuk/RUS MOST IMPROVED PLAYERS:Bianca Andreescu/CAN, Julia Boserup/USA, Naomi Broady/GBR, Oceane Dodin/FRA, Duan Yingying/CHN, Jana Fett/CRO, Naomi Osaka/JPN, Aryna Sabalenka/BLR, Wang Qiang/CHN, Carina Witthoeft/GER
FIRST-TIME SLAM FINALIST:CoCo Vandeweghe/USA FIRST-TIME SLAM SEMIFINALISTS:Ash Barty/AUS, Caroline Garcia/FRA, Elina Svitolina/UKR FIRST-TIME SLAM QUARTERFINALISTS:Ash Barty/AUS, Julia Goerges/GER, Dasha Kasatkina/RUS, Anett Kontaveit/EST, Naomi Osaka/JPN, Aryna Sabalenka/BLR FIRST-TIME SLAM ROUND OF 16's:Ash Barty/AUS, CiCi Bellis/USA, Jana Fett/CRO, Ons Jabeur/TUN, Naomi Osaka/JPN, Aryna Sabelenka/BLR, Maria Sakkari/GRE, Laura Siegemund/GER, Katerina Siniakova/CZE, Donna Vekic/CRO, Marketa Vondrousova/CZE FIRST-TIME WTA CHAMPIONS:CiCi Bellis/USA, Jana Fett/CRO, Beatriz Haddad Maia/BRA, Ons Jabeur/TUN, Aleksandra Krunic/SRB, Tatjana Maria/GER, Naomi Osaka/JPN, Yulia Putintseva/KAZ, Shelby Rogers/USA, Aryna Sabalenka/BLR, Maria Sakkari/GRE, Natalia Vikhlyantseva/RUS
FIRST-TIME WTA FINALISTS:Ekaterina Alexandrova/RUS, Bianca Andreescu/CAN, CiCi Bellis/USA, Jennifer Brady/USA, Jana Fett/CRO, Ons Jabeur/TUN, Maria Sakkari/GRE, Wang Qiang/CHN
All right. Now for some additional notions that I can look back on eleven months from now with a smile or, quite likely, a more-than-a-little incredulous, fully Ostapenkoistic, "nonverbal articulation" in recognition of dubious accomplishment.
Yeah, like that one.
*MISCELLANEOUS PLAYER PREDICTIONS*
Serena Williams wins (at least) one major crown, matching (or surpassing) Margaret Court's all-time mark of 24 =============================================== World #1 Simona Halep wins three singles titles, and for the first time in her career reaches at least the Round of 16 at all four slams in a season =============================================== Alona Ostapenko wins her first career Premier Mandatory/Premier 5 title, and reaches the singles Top 3. She posts wins over two different #1's on the season, and has at least one SF-or-better result at a major. ===============================================
Garbine Muguruza becomes the first non-Williams/Sharapova/Belgian to win a third career major title since Jennifer Capriati (AO '02) and reclaims the #1 ranking from Halep, but she doesn't match her '17 feat of 4th Round-or-better results at all four majors =============================================== Elina Svitolina notches wins over at least two different #1's for a third consecutive season and has 10+ Top 10 wins for a second straight year. She picks up her fourth & fifth career Premier Mandatory/Premier 5 titles. =============================================== Petra Kvitova returns to the Top 10, and wins two singles titles =============================================== Caroline Wozniacki leads the tour in singles titles, but fails to advance beyond the QF in a slam. The Dane returns to #1 for the first time since 2012, but doesn't finish 2018 there. =============================================== Venus Williams wins two singles titles and reaches another slam final =============================================== Caroline Garcia & Kristina Mladenovic meet in a singles final. For the season, Kiki (1-3 in '17) posts a winning record in finals, while Garcia has the worse winning percentage in finals of the two Pastries, but ultimately claims more singles titles in '18. =============================================== Maria Sharapova returns to the Top 10 and wins three singles titles =============================================== Julia Goerges wins a Premier 5 title =============================================== Sloane Stephens wins one title and reaches two slam QF, but finishes the season outside the Top 15 =============================================== Karolina Pliskova finally reaches her first QF at Wimbledon, as well as the SF at another slam =============================================== Jo Konta wins two or more hard court titles, but has just one QF+ result at a major =============================================== Ash Barty sweeps the S/D titles at at least one event, and wins two+ Premier level singles titles =============================================== Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova wins one singles title (a successful title defense), but ends '17 outside the Top 20 =============================================== CoCo Vandeweghe wins her biggest career title (any Premier). She leads Team USA back to the Fed Cup final, but the Bannerettes fail to repeat. =============================================== The Czechs reclaim the Fed Cup championship =============================================== Madison Keys wins just one title. She has no slam QF+ results, but reaches the Round of 16 at at least two majors. She ends '18 as no better than the fourth-highest ranked U.S. woman. =============================================== Belinda Bencic returns to the Top 15, and wins two or more tour-level titles. The Swiss reaches at least one slam QF, and posts multiple victories over Top 2 players (one at #1) in a season for the first time. =============================================== Laura Siegemund's return from knee surgery results in two clay court singles titles
=============================================== Angelique Kerber wins her first singles title since the '16 season, and pulls off her second career #1 win (the other was over Serena in the '16 AO final) =============================================== Aga Radwanska wins her first title since '16, but does not return to the Top 10 =============================================== Sorana Cirstea wins her first tour-level singles title since 2008 =============================================== Francesca Schiavone wins a clay court title, and returns to the Top 75 =============================================== Margarita Gasparyan returns to the Top 150 following knee injury, reaches a tour-level QF (or better), and qualifies at a slam =============================================== Vera Zvonareva climbs back into the Top 75, posts her first Top 10 win since 2011, and reaches a slam Round of 16 =============================================== Genie Bouchard wins two WD titles, but never posts better than a tour-level QF in singles. She falls outside the Top 100, and at some point is the third-ranked Canadian before 4Q results lift her back to second. =============================================== Anna Karolina Schmiedlova reaches a tour-level singles semifinal =============================================== The longest women's slam match ever is played (with or w/o Kuznetsova and/or Schiavone) =============================================== At least one Career Doubles Slam is completed (Makarova/Vesnina need an AO title, while Mattek-Sands/Safarova are a Wimbledon short) =============================================== 2018 SLAM SINGLES FINALISTS: (2) Muguruza, (1 each) S.Williams, V.Williams, Halep, Ostapenko, Vandeweghe and Sharapova or Kvitova =============================================== 2018 SLAM DOUBLES TITLES: (2) Mattek-Sands/Safarova, (1 each) Makarova/Vesnina and Siniakova & *someone* (likely Hradecka or Krejcikova)
=============================================== 2018 SLAM MIXED DOUBLES TITLES: (1 each) Timea Babos, Anna-Lena Groenefeld, Bethanie Mattek-Sands, CoCo Vandeweghe =============================================== A South American girl reaches a junior slam singles final for the first time since 2008 (U.S.: Gabriela Paz/VEN). The last winner from the continent was Maria-Emilia Salerni (ARG) at the 2000 U.S. Open. Three South Americans -- Emiliana Arango, Maria Camila Osorio Serrano and Maria Carle -- ranked between #9-13 in the season-ending 2017 junior rankings. =============================================== Name you'll be more familiar with by the end of 2018: Victoria Kuzmova =============================================== 2018 Wheelchair singles slam titles: Diede de Groot and Yui Kamiji with two each. Kamiji wins Wimbledon, making her the first woman to have won all eight WC slam crowns. (A mark de Groot matches by the end of 2019, though she comes one match from doing it *this* season -- she currently owns the Wimbledon WS and U.S Open WD titles.) =============================================== Breakout '18 Fed Cup stars: Marketa Vondrousova/CZE and Rebecca Sramkova/SVK =============================================== Name Game: Belgium's Eliessa Vanlangendonck wins her first ITF singles and doubles titles ===============================================
Of course, I could be waaaaaay off.
Well, that's it. We'll see how smart, or stupid, I look *this* year beginning very soon.
**BACKSPIN WEEK 1 PLAYERS-OF-THE-WEEK** 2002 Venus Williams, USA 2003 Serena Williams, USA 2004 Lindsay Davenport/USA, Eleni Daniilidou/GRE (co-PoW) 2005 Elena Dementieva, RUS 2006 Lucie Safarova, CZE 2007 Dinara Safina, RUS 2008 Li Na, CHN 2009 Victoria Azarenka, BLR 2010 Kim Clijsters, BEL 2011 Vera Zvonareva, RUS 2012 Petra Kvitova, CZE 2013 Serena Williams, USA 2014 Serena Williams, USA 2015 Maria Sharapova/RUS, Simona Halep/ROU (co-PoW) 2016 Victoria Azarenka, BLR 2017 Karolina Pliskova, CZE
**CAREER WEEK 1 TITLES - active** 2...Victoria Azarenka, BLR 2...Eleni Daniilidou, GRE 2...Aga Radwanska, POL 2...Patty Schnyder, SUI 2...Serena Williams, USA 2...Venus Williams, USA 1...Marion Bartoli, FRA 1...Lauren Davis, USA 1...Jelena Jankovic, SRB 1...Kaia Kanepi, EST 1...Petra Kvitova, CZE 1...Karolina Pliskova, CZE 1...Lucie Safarova, CZE 1...Maria Sharapova, RUS 1...Katerina Siniakova, CZE 1...Sloane Stephens, USA 1...Yanina Wickmayer, BEL -- NOTE: Srebotnik won 1 singles title; Zheng Jie won 1 singles title
**CAREER "DOROTHY TOUR" (AUS/NZL) TITLES - active** 9...Serena Williams, USA 4...Victoria Azarenka, BLR 3...Eleni Daniilidou, GRE 3...Patty Schnyder, SUI 2...Petra Kvitova, CZE 2...Aga Radwanska, POL 2...Maria Sharapova, RUS 2...Venus Williams, USA -- NOTE: Zheng Jie won 2 singles titles
**MOST RECENT FIRST-TIME CHAMPS IN WEEK 1** 2006 Marion Bartoli (Auckland) - first final 2009 Victoria Azarenka (Brisbane) - had been 0-4 in finals 2017 Katerina Siniakova (Shenzhen) - had been 0-2 in finals 2017 Lauren Davis (Auckland) - had been 0-2 in finals
**MOST RECENT MULTIPLE FIRST-TIME CHAMPS IN WEEK 1** =2000= Silvija Talaja/Gold Coast Anne Kremer/Auckland =2017= Katerina Siniakova/Shenzhen Lauren Davis/Auckland
**FINAL 2017 GIRLS TOP 10** 1. Whitney Osuigwe, USA 2. Marta Kostyuk, UKR 3. Elena Rybakina, RUS 4. Claire Liu, USA 5. Wang Winyu, CHN 6. Olga Danilovic, SRB 7. Liang En Shuo, TPE 8. Amanda Anisimova, USA 9. Emiliana Arango, COL 10. Maria Camila Osorio Serrano, COL
Last season began with a star turn bang (x 2), as two maiden singles champions (Katerina Siniakova and Lauren Davis) were crowned in Week 1 for the first time since 2000. What will Act 1, Scene 1 of 2018 bring us?
BRISBANE, AUSTRALIA (Premier/Hard) =WS FINALS= 2009 Azarenka d. Bartoli 2010 Clijsters d. Henin 2011 Kvitova d. Petkovic 2012 Kanepi d. Hantuchova 2013 S.Williams d. Pavlyuchenkova 2014 S.Williams d. Azarenka 2015 Sharapova d. Ivanovic 2016 Azarenka d. Kerber 2017 Ka.Pliskova d. Cornet =WD FINALS= 2009 Groenefeld/King d. Jans/Rosolska 2010 Hlavackova/Hradecka d. Czink/Parra-Santonja 2011 Kleybanova/Pavlyuchenkova d. Jans/Rosolska 2012 Llagostera-Vives/Parra-Santonja d. Kops-Jones/Spears 2013 Mattek-Sands/Mirza d. Groenefeld/Peschke 2014 Kudryavtseva/An.Rodionova d. Mladenovic/Voskoboeva 2015 Hingis/Lisicki d. Garcia/Srebotnik 2016 Hingis/Mirza d. Kerber/Petkovic 2017 Mattek-Sands/Mirza d. Makarova/Vesnina ======================================= '18 TOP SEEDS WS: Muguruza/Ka.Pliskova WD: Y.Chan/Sestini Hlavackova, Klepac/Martinez Sanchez
...Pliskova tries to defend the title she won a year ago, while Mugu seeks her first January title since her maiden win in Hobart in 2014. As of last year, seven of the nine Brisbane singles champions have also won slam titles (as have five of the runners-ups). To date, though, Pliskova is not one of them. Muguruza enters '18 just 40 points behind #1 Halep on the WTA computer.
SHENZHEN, CHINA (International/Hard) =WS FINALS= 2013 Li d. Zakopalova 2014 Li d. Peng 2015 Halep d.Bacsinszky 2016 A.Radwanska d. Riske 2017 Siniakova d. Riske =WD FINALS= 2013 H.Chan/Y.Chan d. Buryachok/Solovyeva 2014 Niculescu/Zakopalova d. L.Kichenok/N.Kichenok 2015 L.Kichenok/N.Kichenok d. Liang Chen/Wang Yafan 2016 King/Niculescu d. Xu Yifan/Zheng Saisai 2017 Hlavackova/Peng d. Olaru/Savchuk ======================================= '18 TOP SEEDS WS: Halep/Ostapenko WD: Krejcikova/Siniakova, Olaru/Savchuk
...could we possibly be lucky enough to get a '17 RG final reboot in China between Halep and Ostapenko? Both have been in the news this offseason. New year-end #1 Halep ended Aga Radwanska's run by claiming the WTA's "Fan Favorite" award, but nonetheless was unable to reach a new agreement with main sponsor adidas (you'd think the Romanian's higher standing might make it easier to get a raise, but no). She's currently a rather high profile "free agent," a situation that could prove to be a boon for her former sponsor, Lacoste... though one wonders if Nike might try to swoop in and sweep her off her feet. Speaking of such, Ostapenko has (literally) been dancing up a storm since the end of the season.
Are designs for worldwide calamity brewing inside Latvian Thunder next? Hmmm, what would that look like?
Yeah, maybe something like that.
Also, not insignificantly, Alona also added David Taylor as her (early-season, at least) coach for '18. That's quite a bit of off-court activity for Latvian Thunder. Hopefully, it won't lead to a slow start *on* it.
AUCKLAND, NEW ZEALAND (International/Hard) =WS FINALS= 1986 Hobbs d. Field 1987 Magers d. Phelps 1988 Fendick d. Gomer 1989 Fendick d. Cordwell 1990 Meskhi d. Appelmans 1991 Sviglerova d. Strnadova 1992 White d. Strnadova 1993 Reinach d. Kuhlman 1994 Helgeson-Nielsen d. Gorrochategui 1995 Bradtke d. Helgeson-Nielsen 1996 Cacic d. Paulus 1997 Maruska d. Wiesner 1998 van Roost d. Farina Elia 1999 Halard-Decugis d. van Roost 2000 Kremer d. C.Black 2001 Tu d. Suarez 2002 Smashnova d. T.Panova 2003 Daniilidou d. Cho Yoon-jeong 2004 Daniilidou d. Harkleroad 2005 Srebotnik d. Asagoe 2006 Bartoli d. Zvonareva 2007 Jankovic d. Zvonareva 2008 Davenport d. Rezai 2009 Dementieva d. Vesnina 2010 Wickmayer d. Pennetta 2011 Arn d. Wickmayer 2012 Zheng Jie d. Pennetta 2013 A.Radwanska d. Wickmayer 2014 Ivanovic d. V.Williams 2015 V.Williams d. Wozniacki 2016 Stephens d. Goerges 2017 Davis d. Konjuh =WD FINALS= 1996 Callens/Halard-Decugis d. Hetherington/Radford 1997 Husarova/van Roost d. Olsza/Pampoulova 1998 Miyagi/Tanasugarn d. Halard-Decugis/Husarova 1999 Farina/Schett d. Noorlander/Weingartner 2000 C.Black/Fusai d. Schwartz/Wartusch 2001 Fusai/Grande d. Gagliardi/Schett 2002 Arendt/Huber d. Hrdlickova (Peschke)/Nagyova 2003 Ashley/Spears d. C.Black/Likhovtseva 2004 Jugic-Salkic/Kostanic d. Ruano Pascual/Suarez 2005 Asagoe/Srebotnik d. Baker/Lubiani 2006 Likhovtseva/Zvonareva d. Loit/Strycova 2007 Husarova/Suarez d. Hsieh Su-wei/S.Uberoi 2008 Koryttseva/Osterloh d. Muller/Zahlavova-Strycova 2009 Dechy/Santangelo d. Llagostera-Vives/Parra-Santonja 2010 C.Black/Huber d. Grandin/Granville 2011 Peschke/Srebotnik d. Arvidsson/Erakovic 2012 Hlavackova/Hradecka d. Goerges/Pennetta 2013 C.Black/An.Rodionova d. Goerges/Shvedova 2014 Fichman/M.Sanchez d. Hradecka/Krajicek 2015 Errani/Vinci d. Aoyama/Voracova 2016 Mertens/Mestach d. Kovinic/Strycova 2017 Bertens/Larsson d. Schuurs/Voracova ======================================= '18 TOP SEEDS WS: Wozniacki/Goerges WD: Hozumi/Kato, Hibino/Jurak
...Wozniacki ended '17 with a title run at the WTA Finals (and had another 4Q win in Tokyo), while Goerges won nine straight by winning in Moscow and Zhuhai. The newly-engaged Dane is now without Sascha Bajin in her camp, but an aggressive (and successful) start to the new season will do much for her chances of reclaiming the #1 ranking for the first time in six years.
HOPMAN CUP; PERTH, AUS (team exhibition/retractable roof) =PAST CHAMPIONS= 1989 Czechoslovakia (Sukova/Mecir) 1990 Spain (A.Sanchez/E.Sanchez) 1991 Yugoslavia (Seles/Prpic) 1992 Switzerland (Maleeva-Fragniere/Hlasek) 1993 Germany (Graf/Stich) 1994 Czech Republic (Novotna/Korda) 1995 Germany (A.Huber/Bo.Becker) 1996 Croatia (Majoli/Ivanisevic) 1997 United States (Gimelstob/Rubin) 1998 Slovak Republic (Habsudova/Kucera) 1999 Australia (Dokic/Philippoussis) 2000 South Africa (Coetzer/W.Ferreira) 2001 Switzerland (Hingis/Federer) 2002 Spain (Sanchez-Vicario/Robredo) 2003 United States (S.Williams/Blake) 2004 United States (Davenport/Blake) 2005 Slovak Republic (Hantuchova/Hrbaty) 2006 United States (Raymond/Dent) 2007 Russia (Petrova/Tursunov) 2008 United States (S.Williams-Shaughnessy/Fish) 2009 Slovak Republic (Cibulkova/Hrbaty) 2010 Spain (Martinez-Sanchez/Robredo) 2011 United States (Mattek-Sands/Isner) 2012 Czech Republic (Kvitova/Berdych) 2013 Spain (Medina-Garrigues/Verdasco) 2014 France (Cornet/Tsonga) 2015 Poland (A.Radwanska/Janowicz) 2016 Australia Green (Gavrilova/Kyrgios) 2017 France (Mladenovic/Gasquet) ======================================= =GROUP A= 1 GER (Kerber/A.Zverev) 3 BEL (Mertens/Goffin) 6 CAN (Bouchard/Pospisil) 8 AUS (Gavrilova/Kokkinakis) =GROUP B= 2 USA (Vandeweghe/Sock) 4 RUS (Pavlyuchenkova/Khachanov) 5 JPN (Osaka/Sugita) 7 SUI (Bencic/Federer)
...a year ago, Mladenovic kicked off her great early-season run with a win in Perth. There will be no title defense, as France isn't in this year's competition, though last year's runner-up U.S. duo of Vandeweghe & Sock return. Of course, the big drawing cards here are Bencic/Federer, who return as a pair a year after Bencic's three-set loss to Mladenovic (and doubles defeat w/ Fed vs. Kiki/Gasquet) prevented the Swiss from advancing from round robin play into the final. Bencic ended 2017 on a 15-match winning streak in WTA 125 and $100K events, compiling a 28-3 overall mark after her September return to action following wrist surgery and raising her ranking from #312 to #74 to secure entry into the AO MD without the aid of a wild card. Federer won the title seventeen years ago with Martina Hingis. Meanwhile, Dasha Gavrilova, playing with Kokkinakis after winning in '16 with Kyrgios, is the only other former HC champ in the field.
Welcome, 2018. Nice to see that you're already spreading your wings.
The new season arrived with a Week 1 opportunity for three players to seize the #1 ranking (and top seed in Melbourne), and that was just the appetizer to the action. The week's "risotto with mushrooms" included:
* - singles titles by two of the Top 6 players on tour
* - 2017's #1-ranked player lifting *two* trophies, 2017's title leader winning her first in '18, and 2017's final leader reaching, you guessed it, yet another final
* - both 2016 *and* 2017's 's top-ranked Germans going undefeated (9-0) in singles play
* - last year's breakout Fed Cup star managing to give her new success a tasty WTA "glow"
* - and one of last year's slam champs announcing that she will not defend her crown, while the other '17 major champions failed to notch an official win in three tries between the white lines
And that just scratches the surface of Week 1 of the 2018 season. So, let's open the floodgates of another year of The Most Interesting Tour in the World.
Ready, set, go...
*WEEK 1 CHAMPIONS*
BRISBANE, AUS (Premier/Hard Outdoor) S: Elina Svitolina/UKR def. Aliaksandra Sasnovich/BLR 6-2/6-1 D: Kiki Bertens/Demi Schuurs (NED/NED) d. Andreja Klepac/Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez (SLO/ESP) 7-5/6-2
PLAYER OF THE WEEK:Simona Halep/ROU ...one could scarcely think of how Week 1 could have gone any better for Halep than it did in Shenzhen. After one year ago the Swarmette Queen began what would turn out to be her #1-ranked season with a 2nd Round loss in Shenzhen to Katerina Siniakova, what are we to make of what will happen in 2018 when we factor in the fun fact that Halep just began *this* season by taking the title at that very same Shenzhen event with a three-set win in the final over the very same Siniakova. How about that she did it with a 3rd set bagel of the Czech? How about when you consider that this was her sixteenth career singles title (tying her with Elena Dementieva... setting up an it-writes-itself match note for the upcoming AO), and it secured her first #1 slam seed (both #2 Garbine Muguruza and #3 Caroline Wozniacki arrived this January with a chance to supplant her) in Melbourne? And that her path included additional nothing-to-sneeze-at wins over Duan Yingying, Aryna Sabalenka and Irinia-Camelia Begu? How 'bout that she also won the doubles title with Begu to claim her very first WTA WD crown? Yep, she did *that*, too. And that she did it all with a beaming smile, brimming confidence (hey, getting your meals for free these days will do that for you), and a brilliantly new Simona 2.0-ish sense of fun (rain delays are for hitting balls with kids, not fretting about the weather)? Oh, and let's not forget that Serena Williams also announced that she'll be skipping her AO title defense, removing one very imposing obstacle potentially blocking the Romanian's path to a possible maiden slam title run?
At the moment, everything just seems to be coming up Simona.
Good catch-up with @Simona_Halep, who said she can’t remember having as good a pre-season as she’s had this year. And her new year’s resolution is to not smack her racquet. Successful so far! ??
Undefeated, and already with as many titles in '18 as she earned in '17, Halep will next bring her new attitude to Melbourne, where she's fallen in the opening round the last two years. Can Si-mo-na keep this up, on all fronts, and soon write the next big chapter of her career? We're about to find out.
=============================================== RISERS:Elina Svitolina/UKR and Julia Goerges/GER ...while Halep was beaming in Shenzhen, Svitolina may have had the *most* impressive opening week of the new season, as she was thrown head first into the 2018 fire and emerged unscathed, and clutching her tenth career tour title.
A semifinalist in Brisbane a year ago, the Ukrainian came back this year and went about taking care of unfinished business. Down went Carla Suarez-Navarro, Ana Konjuh and #9 Johanna Konta. Svitolina erased a set disadvantage vs. the Brit, winning a 2nd set TB and then outlasting former AO semifinalist JoKo, who retired with a hip injury (it doesn't look like it'll prevent her from trying to defend her Sydney crown, though, so that's good). Next up was defending champ and world #4 Karolina Pliskova, who was sent out 5 & 5, giving Svitolina her 22nd career Top 10 win, and 14th over a Top 5 player. It was a quick 2 & 1 final victory over hard-worked qualifier Aliaksandra Sasnovich that ended the week, allowing Svitolina to continue to do something she's never had much difficult with -- winning singles titles. She led the tour with five a year ago, and has immediately picked up where she left off. Now 10-2 in tour finals, not having lost one since the summer/fall of '16, she's also 1-0 in 125 Series and 6-2 in ITF finals, giving her a sterling 17-4 career mark in pro singles finals that would be the envy of nearly every (non-Serena, at least) player on tour. The one thing the Ukrainian has yet to check off her personal "To-Do" List is a maiden deep slam run, having come within a big lead and MP of her first major semifinal last year in Paris. So, stay tuned.
Speaking of hitting her stride, no one has been doing it as routinely as Goerges of late. The German vet put on a late season run to end '17 on a nine-match, two-title winning streak that pushed her to a career high of #14. She didn't break that winning stride in Auckland, adding five more match wins to her streak by taking out Monica Puig, Victoria Kuzmova, Polona Hercog, Hsieh Su-Wei and world #3 Caroline Wozniacki in a straight sets final (she dropped just one set all week). It's Goerges' first Top 3 win since 2012 (Aga at the Olympics), and the fourth of her career. Three of them have come vs. the Dane, it should be noted, with the other two over a #1-ranked Caro back in 2011. Having done all she needed to in order to prepare for the AO -- Goerges has pulled out of Sydney -- the German will now rise to *another* new career high of #12 this week, and is breathing down the neck of a certain karma-riddled Pastry currently positioned at #11.
3rd consecutive title ? 14 consecutive matches ? 1st @ASB_Classic ? title ?@juliagoerges is on fire!
=============================================== SURPRISES:Aliaksandra Sasnovich/BLR and Sachia Vickery/USA ...perhaps boosted by her '17 Fed Cup heroics, Sasnovich began her '18 season in Brisbane by putting on a gutsy, Team BLR-style push from the outside lane (in this case, qualifying) through nervy traffic (four straight wins after losing the 1st set) to reach her biggest-ever final (Seoul '15 was her only previous appearance) before finally coming up short just before the finish line (a 2 & 1 final loss to Elina Svitolina for which she apologized to the fans, despite having having given her all and then some while winning seven matches in a little over a week to get there). A virtual quote machine all week -- "I think everyone can beat everyone. It's tennis. You know, the ball is round." and "I will do my favorite thing. Eat." just to pick two -- Sasnovich knocked off the likes of Kristina Mladenovic, Anett Kontaveit, Alize Cornet and Anastasija Sevastova en route to the final, all the while revealing the power of eating risotto with mushrooms along the way. She'll jump from #88 to a new career high of #53 (it was formerly #85!) this week.
Here's another example of the personality-driven spin that should be the heart of a new WTA ad campaign but, alas, likely never will be.
but left New Zealand after having turned a successful qualifying run into her first tour-level semifinal, two Top 50 wins (one over defending champ Lauren Davis, and the other a 2 & 2 demolition of Aga Radwanska) and a new career high ranking (up to #105 from #122). The Bannerette fell to Caroline Wozniacki 6-4/6-4 in the semis.
=============================================== VETERANS:Caroline Wozniacki/DEN, Anastasija Sevastova/LAT and Kaia Kanepi/EST ...as happened often in the first half of '17, Wozniacki's good week didn't end exactly as she might have desired, but the water-logged Auckland event still provided her with a good opening week of match play heading into the first slam of the year. The Dane, still aggressive in the wake of the exit of Big Sascha, notched straight sets wins over Madison Brengle and Petra Martic before the weather began to truly back up the schedule. After dropping the opening set to teenager Sonya Kenin, Wozniacki knocked off the Bannerette as well as her countrywoman Sachia Vickery to extend her winning streak (back to the WTA Finals) to six and reach her 51st career singles final. After losing her first six finals of '17 before taking her final three, Caro began '18 with another loss to Julia Goerges, 6-4/7-6. While she didn't manage to swipe the #1 ranking (and AO top seed) from Simona Halep, Wozniacki's week will allow her to pass #2 Garbine Muguruza and set herself up on the opposite end of the Serena-less Melbourne draw as the Romanian, who has dropped her last three Australian Open matches.
While Alona Ostapenko "began" her '18 season with an exhibition win in Abu Dhabi over Serena Williams (then dropped two tour-level matches), it was Sevastova who had the best opening week of the season of the two Top 20 Latvians. Looking to put on a Top 10 run of her own, the #16-ranked two-time U.S. Open quarterfinalist reached the Brisbane semis after posting a trio of match wins over Samantha Stosur, Sorana Cirstea and Aleksandra Krunic (The Bracelet will still break into the Top 50 for the first time this week) before being the last foe to fall at the hands of Sasnovich. She'll rise to a new career high of #15 on Monday.
Also in Brisbane, Kanepi warmed up with a qualifying run that included wins over Kimberly Birrell, Sara Tomic and Heather Watson, then followed up with MD upsets (or not, depending on the Estonian's general health, I guess) over Dasha Kasatkina and Lesia Tsurenko. She very nearly added another layer of success to her week, but was unable to hold off defending champ Karolina Pliskova as the Czech staged a successful comeback from a set and a break deficit. The 32-year old will jump from #99 to #79 this week. ===============================================
COMEBACKS:Angelique Kerber/GER and Belinda Bencic/SUI ...Bencic walked away with the Hopman Cup trophy along with her Swiss partner (some guy named Roderick Frederling, or something like that), but it was Kerber who might have gained the most from a week in Perth.
Bencic had already managed to right her ship after an injury-riddled season-plus on tour, putting on a finally-healthy fall run that ended with a 15-match, three-tournament winning streak in WTA 125 and challenger events that lifted her ranking back into the Top 75 and earned her a spot in the Australian Open main draw. In the 30th edition of the mixed team event named for 1930's Aussie player/coach Harry Hopman, Bencic went 3-0 in round robin play without losing a set against Naomi Osaka, Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova and CoCo Vandeweghe. She and Mr. Frederling (?) took the final with a title-deciding mixed doubles match win, but only after Bencic had suffered a rare singles loss at the hands of Kerber, 6-4/6-1.
2016 #1, and that season's AO and U.S. Open champ, Kerber just showed just how happy she was to get 2017 behind her. Ever since January 1 of last year the German had seen all the brilliant mojo she'd had working in her favor the season before almost always go against her, as she was never able to get on anything resembling the roll she'd been on so often in '16. She failed to win a title, and fell from #1 to #21 in the season-ending rankings, the biggest non-injury/retirement related drop ever for a reigning #1 in tour history. But 2018 is already looking up for Angie, as she didn't lose a singles match in Perth. Elise Mertens, Genie Bouchard and Dasha Gavrilova also fell in straight sets before Bencic went down, and if Kerber had gotten a bit more help from *her* partner Germany might have won its first HC title since 1995 rather than the Swiss getting their first since 2001 (oddly enough, Mr. Frederling was involved in *that* one, too). Kerber is assured of celebrating her 30th birthday in Melbourne, but her form in Week 1 at least gives rise to some renewed hope that it won't be her final celebration of 2018. Thank you, Tennis Gods... the payments should arrive in your bank accounts soon.
Angie had the moves *outside* the lines in Perth, as well. Here she is saying, "Shut up, Sascha. We won... now go sit down." (or something like that)
=============================================== FRESH FACES:Katerina Siniakova/CZE and Sonya Kenin/USA ...21-year old Siniakova's breakthrough '17 season included her maiden title run in Week 1 in Shenzhen (she won another crown later in the year, but was inconsistent enough to finish with a .500 won/lost record and failed to raise her season-ending ranking, finishing at #49 for a second consecutive year). The Czech battled her way back to the final in China this year, a run highlighted by a three-set SF defeat of the player she calls her tennis idol, Maria Sharapova (on MP #4, after falling down during the rally, no less), in their first career match-up. She ultimately lost to Simona Halep in three sets (w/ a love 3rd) in the final, assuring the Romanian of a featured role in Katerina's bad dreams for a few days, as Halep & Irina-Camelia Begu *also* defeated Siniakova & fellow Czech Barbora Krejcikova in a 10-8 deciding TB in the doubles final. Siniakova had pulled off a 2nd Round upset of Halep en route to her title at the event last year.
Kenin, 19, took advantage of her wild card into the Auckland main draw, defeating Jana Fett and Varvara Lepchenko before taking the 1st set from Caroline Wozniacki in a three-set defeat at the hands of the Dane. Nonetheless, it was first career tour-level QF appearance. Kenin reached the 2015 U.S. Open girls singles final, won the USTA's U.S. Open Playoff Challenge in both 2016 and '17, and took down the First Seed Out (#32 Lauren Davis) at last summer's Open at Flushing Meadows.
=============================================== DOWN:Kristina Mladenovic/FRA and Genie Bouchard/CAN ...well, this feels awfully familiar, doesn't it? The flip of the calendar didn't change the fate of either of 2017's karma queens, as both extended their winless streaks into the new year.
In Brisbane, the losing streak that began last summer in Washington (clears throat... I'm just sayin') hit thirteen as Mladenovic was the first main draw victim of eventual finalist Aliaksandra Sasnovich, falling 1-6/6-3/7-5.
Mladenovic was looking to end her 12 match losing streak dating back to Washington in August. Sasnovich - pic.twitter.com/LIAMe6QZ3E
The Pastry didn't even make it to the weekday schedule of Week 2, falling in the Sydney 1st Round on Sunday to #341st-ranked Aussie wild card Ellen Perez when she retired due to the heat while down 6-4/4-2. One is tempted to have sympathy for Mladenovic's plight in this one, as she's seemingly been oh-so-close in recent outings to ending her slump with a victory, but then the thought crosses the mind that she'd likely question her opponent's "lack of constitution" or "professional offseason preparation" (or some similar jab) should she have been on the same end of this match as Perez. So, well...
At any rate, she'll arrive in Melbourne on a 14-match losing streak, the longest in tour history not at least somewhat bolstered by a few wins on the ITF circuit, and just three off the all-time women's record of seventeen in a row.
If one is looking for a "hopeful" note, Mladenovic is *still* two losses off the most recent long losing streak by a WTA player, Anna Karolina Schmiedlova's 16-defeat string in 2016. But while the Pastry is likely to end her slump soon, as she's too talented to flail about forever, can the same be said of Bouchard?
The Canadian ended '17 on a five-match skid, and was just 3-11 after her season-highlight run in Madrid. While her Hopman Cup outings in Perth don't count as *official* matches, Bouchard failed to notch a singles "W" all week, going 0-3 and failing to win a set vs. the likes of Elise Mertens, Dasha Gavrilova and Angelique Kerber. On the final day of round robin play, she even had to skip the tie-ending mixed doubles match alongside Vasek Pospisil with what was listed as a "gluteus maximus injury," which is sort of too perfect for words, really.
It wasn't a good start to an '18 campaign that sets up as something of a season of reckoning for the former two-time slam semifinalist and Wimbledon runner-up (all those results came in 2014, while she's posted just one QF result in the last thirteen majors, and just seven match wins in the last eight). While she's likely to finally see a resolution to her drawn out court case vs. the USTA for her slip-and-concussion locker room incident a few seasons back, what happens *on* the court this year rather than *in* one could prove to be even more contentious. Since her #7 finish in '14, Bouchard's ranking and results have been in steady decline with finishes of #48, #47 and #81. In 2018, unless she can work herself up for a few more instances similar to her attention-getting, well-past-its-expiration-date outrage that fueled her sometimes-brilliant Madrid quarterfinal run last spring, the player who recorded all those "first Canadian to..." results not that long ago could very well lose her standing as the best (or at least highest-ranked) Canadian woman on tour. She entered Week 1 at #83, still holding off the likes of Franckie Abanda (#125), Carol Zhao (#146) and the ever-improving Bianca Andreescu (#189), but her hold on that fleeting, mythical "title" could become very slippery very soon. She's already facing a defense this week of a '17 semifinal in Sydney (w/o those points she'll likely drop outside the Top 100), and the countdown has begun for the defense of her 215-point result in Madrid. Until then...
Or not. =============================================== ITF PLAYER:Zoe Hives/AUS ...the 21-year old Aussie (world #378) picked up her second career ITF singles title (in her second final) in the $25K challenger in Playford, South Australia. Hives' week included nice wins over Basak Eraydin, Bianca Andreescu, Marie Bouzkova and 18-year old countrywoman Alexandra Bozovic in a 6-4/5-7/7-6(4) final.
=============================================== JUNIOR STAR:Fiona Crawley/USA ...the 15-year old from San Antonio picked up the USTA Winter Nationals 18s title in Orlando, Florida. The #17-seed, a finalist in December's Orange Bowl 16s competition, defeated #3-seed Sophia Graver 6-1/7-5 in the final. Here's a rundown of the action by Zoo Tennis's Colette Lewis.
=============================================== DOUBLES:Kiki Bertens/Demi Schuurs (NED/NED) ...in a week that also included title runs by Irina-Camelia Begu & Simona Halep, as well as Sara Errani & Bibiane Schoofs, it was the all-Dutch duo of Bertens & Schuurs who shined the brightest. In Brisbane, the pair knocked off three of the top four seeds in the event, taking out #3 Gaby Dabrowski/Xu Yifan in a 10-6 TB, #2 Ash Barty/Casey Dellacqua in a 10-8 breaker, and then #4 Andreja Klepac/Maria Jose Martinez-Sanchez in a straight sets final. It's the first title as a pair for the twosome, who previously reached a tour-level final together last summer on the grass at Rosmalen. Bertens, who usually lifts *her* trophies with Johanna Larsson (9-3 in Kiki's twelve non-Demi finals), now has ten WTA doubles titles to her name, while Schuurs has won four with four different partners.
1. Shenzhen Final - Simona Halep def. Katerina Siniakova ...6-1/2-6/6-0. Her win in this final, forced indoors due to the rain, ended Halep's 0-4 run in championship matches since her title in Madrid last spring. This was the first time since 2009 that a tournament's singles final featured players who also faced off in the doubles final. There, as here, Halep (w/ Begu) emerged victorious in Shenzhen. =============================================== 2. Auckland Final - Julia Goerges def. Caroline Wozniacki ...6-4/7-6(4). Both players were going for their third straight final win after losses in their previous six finals (Goerges from 2011-17, and Caro all in the '17 season). Wozniacki was looking to claim a title in an eleventh straight season, which would tie her for the fifth-longest streak in WTA history. ===============================================
What's the secret to Aliaksandra Sasnovich's successful week?
3. Brisbane Final - Elina Svitolina def. Aliaksandra Sasnovich ...6-2/6-1. Svitolina's fifth straight sets win in her six consecutive victorious final appearance. Her only three-setter in the run came vs. Halep in Rome last year.
"The risotto didn't help me win this match, but it was a good week for me." - Aliaksandra Sasnovich, who had a career week at @BrisbaneTennispic.twitter.com/bfodQbuB9s
4. Brisbane 2nd Round - Aleksandra Krunic def. Garbine Muguruza ...5-7/7-6(3)/1-2 ret. Muguruza led 7-5/5-2, but was unable to close out the Serb, who'd saved six SP in the 1st before finally dropping the set. Having first started to feel her legs cramping when she led 2-0 in the 2nd, the Spaniard ultimately retired early in the 3rd.
=============================================== 6. Brisbane 1st Rd. - Anastasija Sevastova def. Samantha Stosur 6-1/6-3 Brisbane 1st Rd. - Lesia Tsurenko def. Ash Barty 6-3/6-2 ...generally, another Aussie following in Sam's footsteps would be good thing. Not THESE steps, though. =============================================== 7. Brisbane 1st Rd. - Alize Cornet def. Caroline Garcia ...3-6/6-3/0-0 ret. Lower back pain. Tennis Gods... Carl has promised he'll squish you if you do this again.
=============================================== 8. Auckland 1st Rd. - Caroline Wozniacki def. Madison Brengle ...6-3/6-0. A year ago, BrengleFly upset Serena in Week 1. She's already lost again in Hobart qualifying in Week 2.
=============================================== 9. Auckland 1st Rd. - Sachia Vickery def. Lauren Davis ...6-1/6-2. Last year, Davis started her season by joining Siniakova as a Week 1 maiden title winner. Vickery was part of the whole who-can-lose-first debacle vs. Mertens in Week 2 in '17, as both tried to get out of Dodge in time to play AO qualifying. Vickery did, but lost, while Mertens went out to win her first title. Now, a rule change will prevent such shenanigans from popping up in Week 2 this year. =============================================== 10. Brisband 1st Rd. - Alize Cornet def. Mirjana Lucic-Baroni ...6-1/7-5. Does MLB have another slam semifinal run in her, or will we have to wait until 2035? =============================================== 11. Auckland 1st Rd. - Barbora Strycova def. Sara Errani ...6-4/6-7(3)/6-4. Wind her up and...
=============================================== 12. Shenzhen Final - Irina-Camelia Begu/Simona Halep def. Barbora Krejcikova/Katerina Siniakova ...1-6/6-1 [10-8]. The Swarmettes won 3rd set tie-breaks en route to winning all four of their matches during the week. Begu has claimed seven tour doubles titles with seven different partners. =============================================== HM- Auckland Final - Sara Errani/Bibiane Schoofs def. Eri Hozumi/Miyu Kato ...7-5/6-1. Yes, there is doubles life after Roberta. This is Errani's second title (and third final, all with a different partner) since the end of her Career Doubles Slam winning run with soon-to-retire Italian Vinci.
LATE ADD:Sydney 1st Rd. - Camila Giorgi def. Sloane Stephens ...6-3/6-0. And another '17 slam champ gets caught up in the starting gate.
1. Abu Dhabi (Exibition) - Alona Ostapenko def. SERENA WILLLIAMS ...6-2/3-6 [10-5]. A start (Serena's first outing since the '17 AO title win), but not *the* start, as Williams won't be playing in Melbourne.
Ostapenko will be in the Australian Open, though she's yet to post an official WTA win through two early season events. =============================================== 2. Shenzhen 1st Rd. - KRISTYNA PLISKOVA def. Alona Ostapenko ...6-1/6-4. Here's one of her losses. She fell behind 4-0 in the 1st, then saw the Czech post her second career Top 10 win.
There were none of the in-rally smiles here that we saw in the Serena exo, nor in her 7-6(3)/6-1 loss to Ekaterina Makarova in Sydney on Sunday. Latvian Thunder's game has a microwave quality to it, though, so maybe she'll be able to turn things on at the AO. =============================================== 3. Auckland QF - Sachia Vickery def. AGA RADWANSKA ...6-2/6-2. 2018 is supposed to be different for Aga. Hmmm. =============================================== 4. Shenzhen Q1 - Jasmine Paolini def. ANNA KAROLINA SCHMIEDLOVA ...6-3/6-4. 2018 is supposed to be different for AKS. Hmmm. =============================================== 5. Brisbane SF - Andreja Klepac/Maria Jose Martinez-Sanchez def. LATISHA CHAN/Andrea Sestini Hlavackova ...7-6(3)/3-6 [11-9]. Will doubles #1 Chan Yung-Jan (now officially listed as "Lastisha" by the WTA) be able to match her success with Martina Hingis with her new partner, who has also ordered a now-official name change? Not in Week 1, at least. Chan's last tour-level doubles title with someone other than Hingis or her sister Hao-Ching ("Angel") was back in 2010 (Zheng Jie in Kuala Lumpur). ===============================================
**BACKSPIN WEEK 1 PLAYERS-OF-THE-WEEK** 2002 Venus Williams, USA 2003 Serena Williams, USA 2004 Lindsay Davenport/USA, Eleni Daniilidou/GRE (co-PoW) 2005 Elena Dementieva, RUS 2006 Lucie Safarova, CZE 2007 Dinara Safina, RUS 2008 Li Na, CHN 2009 Victoria Azarenka, BLR 2010 Kim Clijsters, BEL 2011 Vera Zvonareva, RUS 2012 Petra Kvitova, CZE 2013 Serena Williams, USA 2014 Serena Williams, USA 2015 Maria Sharapova/RUS, Simona Halep/ROU (co-PoW) 2016 Victoria Azarenka, BLR 2017 Karolina Pliskova, CZE 2018 Simona Halep, ROU
**CAREER WEEK 1 TITLES - active** 2...Victoria Azarenka, BLR 2...Eleni Daniilidou, GRE 2...Aga Radwanska, POL 2...Patty Schnyder, SUI 2...Serena Williams, USA 2...Venus Williams, USA 1...Marion Bartoli, FRA 1...Lauren Davis, USA 1...JULIA GOERGES, GER 1...SIMONA HALEP, ROU 1...Jelena Jankovic, SRB 1...Kaia Kanepi, EST 1...Petra Kvitova, CZE 1...Karolina Pliskova, CZE 1...Lucie Safarova, CZE 1...Maria Sharapova, RUS 1...Katerina Siniakova, CZE 1...Sloane Stephens, USA 1...ELINA SVITOLINA, UKR 1...Yanina Wickmayer, BEL -- NOTE: Srebotnik won 1 singles title; Zheng Jie won 1 singles title
**CAREER "DOROTHY TOUR" (AUS/NZL) TITLES - active** 9...Serena Williams, USA 4...Victoria Azarenka, BLR 3...Eleni Daniilidou, GRE 3...Patty Schnyder, SUI 2...SIMONA HALEP, ROU 2...Petra Kvitova, CZE 2...Aga Radwanska, POL 2...Maria Sharapova, RUS 2...Venus Williams, USA -- NOTE: Zheng Jie won 2 singles titles
**HOPMAN CUP CHAMPIONS** 1989 Czechoslovakia (Sukova/Mecir) 1990 Spain (A.Sanchez/E.Sanchez) 1991 Yugoslavia (Seles/Prpic) 1992 Switzerland (Maleeva-Fragniere/Hlasek) 1993 Germany (Graf/Stich) 1994 Czech Republic (Novotna/Korda) 1995 Germany (A.Huber/Bo.Becker) 1996 Croatia (Majoli/Ivanisevic) 1997 United States (Gimelstob/Rubin) 1998 Slovak Republic (Habsudova/Kucera) 1999 Australia (Dokic/Philippoussis) 2000 South Africa (Coetzer/W.Ferreira) 2001 Switzerland (Hingis/Federer) 2002 Spain (Sanchez-Vicario/Robredo) 2003 United States (S.Williams/Blake) 2004 United States (Davenport/Blake) 2005 Slovak Republic (Hantuchova/Hrbaty) 2006 United States (Raymond/Dent) 2007 Russia (Petrova/Tursunov) 2008 United States (S.Williams-Shaughnessy/Fish) 2009 Slovak Republic (Cibulkova/Hrbaty) 2010 Spain (Martinez-Sanchez/Robredo) 2011 United States (Mattek-Sands/Isner) 2012 Czech Republic (Kvitova/Berdych) 2013 Spain (Medina-Garrigues/Verdasco) 2014 France (Cornet/Tsonga) 2015 Poland (A.Radwanska/Janowicz) 2016 Australia Green (Gavrilova/Kyrgios) 2017 France (Mladenovic/Gasquet) 2018 Switzerland (Bencic/Federer)
**WTA TITLES - 2016-18** [singles] 7 - ELINA SVITOLINA, UKR [1/5/1] 5 - SIMONA HALEP, ROU [3/1/1] 5 - Karolina Pliskova, CZE [2/3/0] 4 - Caroline Wozniacki, DEN [2/2/0] 4 - Caroline Garcia, FRA [2/2/0] 4 - Sloane Stephens, USA [3/1/0] 4 - Dominika Cibulkova, SVK [4/0/0] [doubles] 14 - Latisha Chan, TPE (3/11/0) 14 - Martina Hingis, SUI (5/9/ret) 10 - Andrea Sestini Hlavackova, CZE (4/6/0) 9 - Bethanie Mattek-Sands, USA (5/4/0) 9 - Sania Mirza, IND (8/1/0) 8 - KIKI BERTENS, NED (3/4/1) 8 - Johanna Larsson, SWE (4/4/0)
**CAREER WTA TITLES - active** 72...Serena Williams, USA 49...Venus Williams, USA 36...Maria Sharapova, RUS 27...Caroline Wozniacki, DEN 20...Petra Kvitova, CZE 20...Victoria Azarenka, BLR 20...Aga Radwanska, POL 17...Svetlana Kuznetsova, RUS 16...SIMONA HALEP, ROU 15...Jelena Jankovic, SRB
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA (Premier/Hard) =WS FINALS= [pre-2000 results] 2000 Mauresmo def. Davenport 2001 Hingis def. Davenport 2002 Hingis def. Shaughnessy 2003 Ciljsters def. Davenport 2004 Henin-Hardenne def. Mauresmo 2005 Molik def. Stosur 2006 Henin-Hardenne def. Schiavone 2007 Clijsters def. Jankovic 2008 Henin def. Kuznetsova 2009 Dementieva def. Safina 2010 Dementieva def. S.Williams 2011 Li Na def. Clijsters 2012 Azarenka def. Li Na 2013 A.Radwanska def. Cibulkova 2014 Pironkova def. Kerber 2015 Kvitova def. Ka.Pliskova 2016 Kuznetsova def. Puig 2017 Konta def. A.Radwanska =WD FINALS= [pre-2000 results] 2000 Halard-Decugis/Sugiyama d. Hingis/Pierce 2001 Kournikova/Schett d. Raymond/Stubbs 2002 Raymond/Stubbs w/o Hingis/Kournikova 2003 Clijsters/Sugiyama d. C.Martinez/Stubbs 2004 C.Black/Stubbs d. Safina/Shaughnessy 2005 Stewart/Stosur w/o Dementieva/Sugiyama 2006 Morariu/Stubbs d. Ruano Pascual/Suarez 2007 Groenefeld/Shaughnessy d. Bartoli/Tu 2008 Yan Zi/Zheng Jie d. Perebiynis/Poutchek 2009 Hsieh Su-Wei/Peng Shuai d. Dechy/Dellacqua 2010 C.Black/Huber d. Garbin/Petrova 2012 Peschke/Srebotnik d. Huber/Raymond 2013 Petrova/Srebotnik d. Errani/Vinci 2014 Babos/Safarova d. Errani/Vinci 2015 Mattek-Sands/Mirza d. Kops-Jones/Spears 2016 Hingis/Mirza d. Garcia/Mladenovic 2017 Babos/Pavlyuchenkova d. Mirza/Strycova ======================================= '18 TOP SEEDS WS: #1 Muguruza, #2 V.Williams WD: #1 L.Chan/Sestini Hlavackova, #2 Safarova/Strycova
...Mugu gives it one more try. If she's not yet ready, I'm sure she'll get outta Sydney early (wink, wink) and head for Melbourne.
HOBART, AUSTRALIA (Int'l/Hard) =WS FINALS= 1994 Endo def. Rachel McQuillan 1995 Meskhi def. Li Fang 1996 Halard-Decugis def. Endo 1997 van Roost def. Werdel Witmeyer 1998 Schnyder def. van Roost 1999 Rubin def. Grande 2000 Clijsters def. Rubin 2001 Grande def. Hopkins 2002 Sucha def. Medina-Garrigues 2003 Molik def. Frazier 2004 Frazier def. Asagoe 2005 Zheng Jie def. Dulko 2006 Krajicek def. Benesova 2007 Chakvetadze def. Bardina 2008 Daniilidou w/o Zvonareva 2009 Kvitova def. Benesova 2010 A.Bondarenko def. Peer 2011 Groth def. Mattek-Sands 2012 Barthel def. Wickmayer 2013 Vesnina def. Barthel 2014 Muguruza def. Zakopalova 2015 Watson def. Brengle 2016 Cornet def. Bouchard 2017 Mertens def. Niculescu =WD FINALS= 1994 Wild/Rubin d. Byrne/McQuillan 1995 Nagatsuka/Sugiyama d. Bollegraf/Neiland 1996 Basuki/Nagatsuka d. Guse/Park Sung-hee 1997 Kijimuta/Miyagi d. Rittner/Monami 1998 Ruano Pascual/Suarez d. Halard-Decugis/Husarova 1999 de Swardt/Tatarkova d. Dechaume-Balleret/Loit 2000 Grande/Loit d. Clijsters/Molik 2001 C.Black/Likhovtseva d. Dragomir/Ruano Pascual 2002 Garbin/Grande d. Barclay-Reitz/Wheeler 2003 C.Black/Likhovtseva d. Schett/Wartusch 2004 Asagoe/Okamoto d. Callens/Schett 2005 Yan Zi/Zheng Jie d. Medina-Garrigues/Safina 2006 Loit/Pratt d. Craybas/Kostanic 2007 Likhovtseva/Vesnina d. Medina-Garrigues/Ruano Pascual 2008 Medina-Garriges/Ruano Pascual d. Daniilidou/Woehr 2009 Dulko/Pennetta d. A.Bondarenko/K.Bondarenko 2010 Chuang Chia-jung/Peschke d. Chan Yung-Jan/Niculescu 2011 Errani/Vinci d. K.Bondarenko/Dekmeijere 2012 Begu/Niculescu d. Chuang Chia-jung/Erakovic 2013 Muguruza/Torro-Flor d. Babos/Minella 2014 Niculescu/Zakopalova d. Raymond/Zhang Shuai 2015 Bertens/Larsson d. Diatchenko/Niculescu 2016 Han Xinyun/McHale d. Birrell/Wolfe 2017 Olaru/Savchuk d. Dabrowski/Yang Zhaoxuan ======================================= '18 TOP SEEDS WS: #1 Sh.Zhang, #2 Mertens WD: #1 Olaru/Savchuk, #2 Flipkens/Melichar
...in trophy news...
To celebrate the 25th edition of the Hobart International, a new singles Trophy ?? has been revealed. Named in honour of the late Angie Cunningham who lost her battle with MND in 2016. More info: https://t.co/W5Qt4YIGxI#HobartTennispic.twitter.com/mpP6olEdkJ
With all the startus interruptus moments that occur in the opening two weeks of any season, including "precautionary retirements," unexpected upsets and jittery, not-quite-yet-ready outings from some of the game's top players, it's difficult to precisely gauge the current game form of most of the potential slam contenders at the Australian Open. But by the time everyone picks up and says goodbye to all things Down Under for 2018, heading for Saint Petersburg, Taipei City or any of a slew of Fed Cup host cities in the remaining days of January, enough results will have been recorded to hang most players on tour with a "fast,""good" or "disappointing" start designation for their stage-setting opening month of the new season.
Sometimes the AO reveals all, such as when Angelique Kerber took the title two years ago and went on to have the greatest campaign of her career. Sometimes the Tennis Gods make an effort to muddy the WTA waters, though. While CoCo Vandeweghe's 2017 Melbourne semifinal run set the course for a slew of elite big stage moments from the Bannerette as the full season rolled out over the next ten months, and runner-up Venus Williams would go on to reach another slam final five months later in London, secretly pregnant champion Serena Williams wouldn't play another match all season (and still hasn't, officially), while eventual season-ending #1 Simona Halep failed to escape the 1st Round for the second straight year.
But, barring similar TG-inspired shenanigans...
...if this was the SIXTH consecutive Australian Open to produce a first-time slam semifinalist. The recent run of maiden Final Four members began with Sloane Stephens in Melbourne in 2013. It turned out to be a contagious development, as while the likes of Genie Bouchard, Madison Keys, Johanna Konta and CoCo Vandeweghe have followed in then-Current Sloane's footsteps at the last four AO's, the streak of majors featuring first-time semifinalists actually reached sixteen straight until last year's all-U.S. semifinal group at Flushing Meadows (with a now-fully-weaponized Future Sloane ultimately winning the title). As it stands, players have still broken through the slam semi threshold in seventeen of the last eighteen majors, and eighteen of twenty beginning with Stephens' initial accomplishment five years ago. =============================================== ...whether yet another late-blooming vet found her greatest slam footing in Melbourne. Recent AO's have seen Angelique Kerber, Zhang Shuai, Venus Williams and Mirjana Lucic-Baroni surge to late-stage slam success with age 30 either just around the corner, or in their rear view mirror. Some candidates in 2018: maybe, once again, a comeback-minded Kerber, who'll turn 30 in the middle of the event, or her countrywoman, the on-fire (w/ 14 straight wins, and three titles in a row) Julia Goerges. She's been knocking down new career high rankings since she turned 29 last November, and is looking to rise from #12 into the Top 10 for the first time ever at the end of this AO. And, don't look now, but coming up on the outside might be Romanian Mihaela Buzarnescu. The Doctor (no, not Jodie Whittaker, Buzarnescu has a Ph.D in sports science), after a career filled with injuries (she missed most of two years between 2013-14, and half of '16) and ITF results, finally made her tour-level debut last season after starting the year #541. The 29-year old will have already climbed into the Top 50 by the time Day 1 arrives in Melbourne, where she'll face off with #2 Caroline Wozniacki in the 1st Round. Buzarnescu lost 6-1/7-5 to the Dane in the 1st Round of last year's U.S. Open in her slam MD debut. =============================================== ...if 2017's "other" two slam champions settled down and finally found their form for '18. Roland Garros champ Alona Ostapenko's whirlwind offseason has so far produced zero wins in two matches (not counting that exo vs. Serena) in the new year, while Wimbledon winner Garbine Muguruza has gone out of two '18 events with injury (cramps in Week 1, then a hardly-shocking walkover in Week 2 after posting her first win of the season). While Latvian Thunder reached the 3rd Round at every major last season (including an impressive QF at Wimbledon in the aftermath of her RG run), the formerly #1-ranked Spaniard reached at least the Round of 16 at all four slams in a season for the first time in her career. Ostapenko will square off with 37-year old Francesca Schiavone in the 1st Round (and look out if Aleksandra "The Bracelet" Krunic is still around for a 3rd Round encounter), while Muguruza gets a wild card. If she's truly healthy and in her best big stage form, Garbi could be the worst nightmare for potential second week runs by two players in her quarter of the draw -- Angelique Kerber and Maria Sharapova. If not, a tendency "to Mugu could once again raise its ugly head. =============================================== ...whether world #1 Simona Halep's care-free and competitive stance since the end of last season survived the mayhem of Melbourne intact. The Swarmette has seemingly said and done everything right since ending '17 atop the rankings, including winning a Week 1 title and securing her first position at the head of a major draw. The next big door to open in her career is to finally become a slam champion. She's reached the AO quarterfinals twice, but has been upset in the 1st Round the last two years, venturing to the edge of the fabled "Cliffs of Simona" and falling over the side.
It won't take long for Halep to face off with her destiny. Err, I mean her Destanee... as in 1st Round opponent Aiava, a 17-year old Aussie wild card. Meetings with Petra Kvitova (3rd Rd.) and Ash Barty (4th) -- or maybe even Sydney achiever Camila Giorgi -- could be right around the corner. =============================================== ...which on-the-long-road-back player emerged as the "feel-good story" of this Australian Open. Mirjana Lucic-Baroni's "18 Years a Semifinalist" run stole the show a season ago, and there are more than a few possibilities for heartwarming stories at this AO, as well. The aforementioned Buzarnescu has already thrown her Swarmette hat into the ring, and any successes from Petra Kvitova just over a year after the home invasion attack in the Czech Republic will bring too many smiles to count. Croat/Aussie Ajla Tomljanovic continues her comeback from shoulder surgery via a wild card berth granted after Victoria Azarenka was forced to withdraw due to her neverending child custody issues. But how about keeping a watchful eye on Margarita Gasparyan? The Russian has taken the long way around from complicated (and three) knee surgeries, but will now make her first slam MD appearance since Wimbledon in 2016. Once a Hordette-on-the-rise, Gasparyan won her maiden tour singles title in Baku in August '15 and climbed as high as #41 in the rankings after reaching the Round of 16 in her last AO appearance in 2016 before going down with her injury at SW19. She'll face a qualifier in the 1st Round, with the winner getting #9 Jo Konta or Madison Brengle next.
Meanwhile, MLB's encore will begin against Shelby Rogers, who tends to lift her game in moments such as this. Rogers upset Simona Halep in the 1st Round last year. =============================================== ...if Caroline Wozniacki's regular season prowess found a way to translate to the sort of slam success that has thus far eluded her. As the Dane has upped the aggression in her game (finally), she's climbed back up the rankings over the last year and a half, and will be the #2 seed in Melbourne. But she's only reached one major semifinal since playing in her second career slam final at the U.S. Open in 2014. =============================================== ...whether the familiar surroundings of a slam, especially at the site of her first big success at a major, finally broke Sloane Stephens out of her post-U.S. Open title run slump. She enters this AO on a seven-match losing streak, having not won a match since her triumph in New York last September. She gets Zhang Shuai ('16 QF) in the 1st Round. =============================================== ...if Generation PDQ raised its collective head once again. Alona Ostapenko put on an unexpectedly early title run last year in Paris, perhaps taking away any stigma affiliated with a lack of slam experience. A youngster doesn't *always* have to wait her turn for ultimate success at a major. Keep a lookout for the possibility of someone like Aryna Sabalenka or Ash Barty making a rush (but only one of them, as they'll face off in the 1st Round in a match virtually shaped from a block of clay for a Day 1 or 2 night session slot). When it comes to the chances for another Stephens-like, finally-getting-over-the-hump maiden title push, the spotlight may shine on players such as Elina Svitolina, Karolina Pliskova, Caroline Garcia or Belinda Bencic. =============================================== ...whether Karma Queens Kristina Mladenovic (14 straight losses) and Genie Bouchard (three wins since her attention-grabbing QF run in Madrid last spring, and now ranked outside the Top 100) were able to (at least temporarily) stopped their steep, misery-laden slides. Well, at least that's been the case with Kiki, who at least expresses her frustration and expects more of herself, while Bouchard manages to maintain the you'd-hardly-know-how-little-success-she's-actually-having existence you'd see by *only* monitoring her breezy social media presence and continued monetary opportunities off the court). The Pasty (vs. Ana Bogdan in the 1st Rd.) is just three losses away from tying the all-time WTA mark for consecutive defeats, while Bouchard's run as the top-ranked Canadian is now officially in jeopardy. She's one spot in the draw away from #1-seed Simona Halep, but would have to get past the big-and-sometimes-wild game of Oceane Dodin to make the date. =============================================== ...which of the burgeoning group of good Aussie women stepped into the spotlight and "rocked the Rod" (Laver Arena, that is) in the nighttime hours. The starring role of Aussie home favorite has been passed around for the last decade. Casey Dellacqua (and her grandma) reached the Round of 16 in '08 and '14, while Jelena Dokic made her last on-court comeback with a thrilling QF run in '09. Setting the stage for her soon-to-come deep slam runs (a '10 RG semi and '11 U.S. Open title), even Sam Stosur got into the act with a Round of 16 result in 2010. New Aussie Dasha Gavrilova has brought her "Dasha Show" entertainment under the lights while posting back-to-back Round of 16 results the last two years, while Ash Barty made it a two-fer "Barty Party" in '17 with a 3rd Round run in her return to grand slam competition after her early-career sabbatical. Gavrilova is seeded #23, while Barty is #18. =============================================== ...if the return of Maria Sharapova to Melbourne for the first time since her positive drug test in 2016 gave the Hordettes a better chance of getting a player into a slam semifinal. Since Sharapova's SF run at Wimbledon in 2015, there has been just one Russian to advance to a final four in a major -- Elena Vesnina at SW19 in '16.
All things considered and weighed, no matter where you stood on the whole deal, it *was* quite the eyebrow-raiser that Sharapova was chosen to participate in this year's AO draw ceremony and carry out the trophy, huh?
=============================================== ...whether the somewhat-less-pressurized atmosphere at *this* slam might better suit Johanna Konta than what she'll likely encounter in her return to Wimbledon later this year. Remember, the Brit's rise up the rankings has seen its most consistent success on hard courts, and she reached her *first* major career semifinal in Melbourne in 2016. Born in Sydney and having represented Australia until 2012, Konta, with new coach Michael Joyce in her corner, will have good support from the crowd without the entire weight of a nation's effort being carried on her back as it will be in London five months from now (especially considering Andy Murray's latest injury troubles). This AO might be Jo's best chance at something great in one-eight. =============================================== ...if "37" continued to be just a simple number for Venus Williams. At 36, she reached the AO final in '17, then followed up with 37-year old runs to the Wimbledon final and U.S. Open semis. Without Serena in the draw at a fourth straight major, Venus is once again carrying the family's hopes entirely on her shoulders. Her twenty slam match wins (20-4) last season led the tour. She'll have a tough 1st Rounder vs. the very-in-form Belinda Bencic (which is great, but it means we can't have BOTH around in the second week). ===============================================
...of course, just which player was able to take full advantage of the aforementioned absence of Serena from yet another slam draw. Even with her situation unknown (as usual, it was more complicated than we knew), most players likely expected Williams to be in Melbourne seeking to defend her title, floating around the grounds (even before the soon-to-happen reversion to a 16-seed draw) and filling the role of the package no one wants to find on their doorstep. Now, the coast is clear for another two-week stretch. A Serena-less draw is always an opportunity waiting to be grasped with both hands. Two weeks from now, someone will become the latest WTA marvel to take full advantage of such a situation, and maybe change the trajectory of the rest of her career. ===============================================
But those are just a few of the things that we *know* this Australian Open will uncover and shed some additional light on. There are sure to be a slew of answers and/or revelations revealed in Melbourne that we don't even know are legitimately in the conversation at the moment. After all, who could have possibly foreseen Lucic-Baroni's 18-year slam semifinal drought ending Down under last year? A development such as that will be hard to top this time around.
Still, you'd be wise not to turn your back on this slam. Not if you don't want to be *totally* blindsided by something that's about to happen....
**RECENT WOMEN'S SLAM WINNERS** 2015 AO: Serena Williams, USA 2015 RG: Serena Williams, USA 2015 WI: Serena Williams, USA 2015 US: Flavia Pennetta, ITA (ret.) 2016 AO: Angelique Kerber, GER 2016 RG: Garbine Muguruza, ESP 2016 WI: Serena Williams, USA 2016 US: Angelique Kerber, GER 2017 AO: Serena Williams, USA 2017 RG: Alona Ostapenko, LAT 2017 WI: Garbine Muguruza, ESP 2017 US: Sloane Stephens, USA
*ACTIVE SINGLES PLAYERS - FIRST SLAM FINAL* 1997 U.S. Open - Venus Williams 1999 U.S. Open - Serena Williams (W) 2004 Wimbledon - Maria Sharapova (W) 2004 U.S. Open - Svetlana Kuznetsova (W) 2007 Wimbledon - Marion Barotli 2008 U.S. Open - Jelena Jankovic 2009 U.S. Open - Caroline Wozniacki 2010 Roland Garros - Francesca Schiavone (W) 2010 Roland Garros - Samantha Stosur 2010 Wimbledon - Vera Zvonareva 2011 Wimbledon - Petra Kvitova (W) 2012 Australian Open - Victoria Azarenka (W) 2012 Roland Garros - Sara Errani 2012 Wimbledon - Aga Radwanska 2013 Wimbledon - Sabine Lisicki 2014 Australian Open - Dominika Cibulkova 2014 Roland Garros - Simona Halep 2014 Wimbledon - Genie Bouchard 2015 Roland Garros - Lucie Safarova 2015 Wimbledon - Garbine Muguruza 2015 U.S. Open - Roberta Vinci 2016 Australian Open - Angelique Kerber (W) 2016 U.S. Open - Karolina Pliskova 2017 Roland Garros - Alona Ostapenko (W) 2017 U.S. Open - Sloane Stephens (W) 2017 U.S. Open - Madison Keys
*AUSTRALIAN OPEN TOP SEEDS - since 2007* 2007 Maria Sharapova (RU) 2008 Justine Henin (QF) 2009 Jelena Jankovic (4th) 2010 Serena Williams (W) 2011 Caroline Wozniacki (SF) 2012 Caroline Wozniacki (QF) 2013 Victoria Azarenka (W) 2014 Serena Williams (4th) 2015 Serena Williams (W) 2016 Serena Williams (RU) 2017 Angelique Kerber (1st) 2018 Simona Halep
**ALL-TIME AO MATCH WINS - WOMEN** 81...Serena Williams* 60...Margaret Court (w/ pre-Open era wins) 56...Lindsay Davenport 52...Martina Hingis 52...Maria Sharapova* 51...Venus Williams* 47...Steffi Graf 46...Martina Navratilova -- * - active
**FIRST-TIME SLAM CHAMPS AT AUSTRALIAN OPEN - OPEN ERA** 1977 Kerry Melville-Reid, AUS 1978 Chris O'Neil, AUS 1979 Barbara Jordan, USA 1980 Hana Mandlikova, CZE 1995 Mary Pierce, FRA 1997 Martina Hingis, SUI 2001 Jennifer Capriati, USA 2006 Amelie Mauresmo, FRA 2012 Victoria Azarenka, BLR 2016 Angelique Kerber, GER
*AUSTRALIAN OPEN FINALS - ACTIVE* 8...Serena Williams (7-1) 4...Maria Sharapova (1-3) 2...Victoria Azarenka (2-0) 2...Venus Williams (0-2) 1...Angelique Kerber (1-0) 1...Dominika Cibulkova (0-1)
*RECENT AUSTRALIAN OPEN SEMIFINALISTS* 2012 Azarenka (W), Sharapova (RU), Clijsters/Kvitova 2013 Azarenka (W), Li (RU), Stephens/Sharapova 2014 Li (W), Cibulkova (RU), Bouchard/A.Radwansk 2015 S.Williams (W), Sharapova (RU), Keys/Makarova 2016 Kerber (W), S.Williams (RU), A.Radwanska/Konta 2017 S.Williams (W), V.Williams (RU), Lucic-Baroni/Vandeweghe
**LOW-SEEDED AO CHAMPIONS - OPEN ERA** Unseeded - 1978 Chris O'Neil, AUS Unseeded - 2007 Serena Williams, USA #12 - 2001 Jennifer Capriati, USA #7 - 2005 Serena Williams, USA #7 - 2016 Angelique Kerber, GER #5 - 1979 Barbara Jordan, USA #5 - 2008 Maria Sharapova, RUS #4 - 1995 Mary Pierce. FRA #4 - 1997 Martina Hingis, SUI #4 - 2014 Li Na, CHN
*BACK-TO-BACK US/AO TITLES - since 1988* 1988-89 Steffi Graf 1989-90 Steffi Graf 1991-92 Monica Seles 1992-93 Monica Seles 1993-94 Steffi Graf 1997-98 Martina Hingis 2002-03 Serena Williams 2003-04 Justine Henin-Hardenne 2008-09 Serena Williams 2010-11 Kim Clijsters
*LOWEST-SEEDED WOMEN IN AO SF, since 2000* Unseeded - 2000 Jennifer Capriati, USA Unseeded - 2007 Serena Williams, USA (W) Unseeded - 2010 Zheng Jie, CHN Unseeded - 2015 Madison Keys, USA Unseeded - 2016 Johanna Konta, GBR Unseeded - 2017 Mirjana Lucic-Baroni, CRO Unseeded - 2017 CoCo Vandeweghe, USA Wild Card - 2010 Justine Henin, BEL (RU) #32 - 2004 Fabiola Zuluaga, COL #30 - 2014 Genie Bouchard, CAN #29 - 2013 Sloane Stephens, USA #22 - 2004 Patty Schnyder, SUI #20 - 2014 Dominika Cibulkova, SVK (RU) #19 - 2005 Nathalie Dechy, FRA #16 - 2010 Li Na, CHN #13 - 2017 Venus Williams, USA (RU) #12 - 2001 Jennifer Capriati, USA (W) #11 - 2012 Kim Clijsters, BEL #10 - 2000 Conchita Martinez, ESP #10 - 2007 Nicole Vaidisova, CZE #10 - 2015 Ekaterina Makarova, RUS
*AUSTRALIAN OPEN GIRLS FINALS - since 2005* 2005 Victoria Azarenka/BLR d. Agnes Szavay/HUN 2006 Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova/RUS d. Caroline Wozniacki/DEN 2007 Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova/RUS d. Madison Brengle/USA 2008 Arantxa Rus/NED d. Jessica Moore/AUS 2009 Ksenia Pervak/RUS d. Laura Robson/GBR 2010 Karolina Pliskova/CZE d. Laura Robson/GBR 2011 An-Sophie Mestach/BEL d. Monica Puig/PUR 2012 Taylor Townsend/USA d. Yulia Putintseva/RUS 2013 Ana Konjuh/CRO d. Katerina Siniakova/CZE 2014 Elizaveta Kulichkova/RUS d. Jana Fett/CRO 2015 Tereza Mihalikova/SVK d. Katie Swan/GBR 2016 Vera Lapko/BLR d. Tereza Mihalikova/SVK 2017 Marta Kostyuk/UKR d. Rebeka Masarova/SUI
**BEST AO GIRLS/WOMEN'S RESULTS** [won Girls & Women's titles] Evonne Goolagong (1970 Jr. Champion; 1974-77 Women's Champion) Chris O'Neil (1973 Jr. Champion; 1978 Women's Champion) Victoria Azarenka (2005 Jr. Champion; 2012-13 Women's Champion) [others] Lindsay Davenport (1992 Jr. Runner-up; 2000 Women's Champion) Maria Sharapova (2002 Jr. Runner-up; 2008 Women's Champion)
*AO WHEELCHAIR CHAMPIONS* 2002 Esther Vergeer, NED 2003 Esther Vergeer, NED 2004 Esther Vergeer, NED 2005 Sharon Walraven, NED 2006 Esther Vergeer, NED 2007 Esther Vergeer, NED 2008 Esther Vergeer, NED 2009 Esther Vergeer, NED 2010 Korie Homan, NED 2011 Esther Vergeer, NED 2012 Esther Vergeer, NED 2013 Aniek van Koot, NED 2014 Sabine Ellerbrock, GER 2015 Jiske Griffioen, NED 2016 Jiske Griffioen, NED 2017 Yui Kamiji, JPN [doubles] 2004 Maaike Smit/Esther Vergeer, NED/NED 2005 Florence Gravellier/Maaike Smit, FRA/NED 2006 Jiske Griffioen/Esther Vergeer, NED/NED 2007 Jiske Griffioen/Esther Vergeer, NED/NED 2008 Jiske Griffioen/Esther Vergeer, NED/NED 2009 Korie Homan/Esther Vergeer, NED/NED 2010 Florence Gravellier/Aniek van Koot, FRA/NED 2011 Esther Vergeer/Sharon Walraven, NED/NED 2012 Esther Vergeer/Sharon Walraven, NED/NED 2013 Jiske Griffioen/Aniek van Koot, NED/NED 2014 Yui Kamiji/Jordanne Whiley, JPN/GBR 2015 Yui Kamiji/Jordanne Whiley, JPN/GBR 2016 Marjolein Buis/Yui Kamiji, NED/JPN 2017 Jiske Griffioen/Aniek van Koot, NED/NED
*RECENT WC SLAM SINGLES FINALS* 2015 AO - Jiske Griffioen/NED d. #1 Yui Kamiji/JPN 2015 RG - #2 Jiske Griffioen/NED d. Aniek Van Koot/NED 2015 US - Jordanne Whiley/GBR d. Yui Kamiji/JPN 2016 AO - #1 Jiske Griffioen/NED d. Aniek Van Koot/NED 2016 RG - Marjolein Buis/NED d. Sabine Ellerbrock/GER 2016 WI - #1 Jiske Griffioen/NED d. Aniek Van Koot/NED 2016 PARALYMPICS - #1 Jiske Griffioen/NED d. #4 Aniek Van Koot/NED 2017 AO - #2 Yui Kamiji/JPN def. #1 Jiske Griffioen/NED 2017 RG - #2 Yui Kamiji/JPN def. Sabine Ellerbrock/GER 2017 WI - Diede de Groot/NED def. Sabine Ellerbrock/GER 2017 US - #1 Yui Kamiji/JPN def. #2 Diede de Groot/NED
*SLAM TITLES AFTER AGE 30* 10..Serena Williams, USA (age 30-35)* 3...Martina Navratilova, USA (age 30-33) 3...Margaret Court, AUS (age 30-31) 2...Billie Jean King, USA (age 30 & 31) 2...Chris Evert, USA (age 30 & 31) 1...Flavia Pennetta, ITA (age 33) 1...Virginia Wade. GBR (age 31) 1...Ann Haydon Jones, GBR (age 30) -- *-active
*TEEN SLAM CHAMPS - since 1997* 1997 Martina Hingis, 16 (AO)* 1997 Iva Majoli, 19 (RG)* 1997 Martina Hingis, 16 (WI) 1997 Martina Hingis, 16 (US) 1998 Martina Hingis, 17 (AO) 1999 Martina Hingis, 18 (AO) 1999 Serena Williams, 17 (US)* 2004 Maria Sharapova, 17 (WI)* 2004 Svetlana Kuznetsova, 19 (US)* 2006 Maria Sharapova, 19 (US) -- * - first-time slam winner NOTE: Ostapenko (won '17 RG at 20 yrs, 2 days)*
*FIRST-TIME SLAM SEMIFINALISTS SINCE 2013* =2013= AO: Sloane Stephens/USA RG: - WI: Kirsten Flipkens/BEL US: Flavia Pennetta/ITA =2014= AO: Genie Bouchard/CAN RG: Simona Halep/ROU (RU), Andrea Petkovic/GER WI: Lucie Safarova/CZE US: Ekatarina Makarova/RUS, Peng Shuai/CHN =2015= AO: Madison Keys/USA RG: Timea Bacsinszky/SUI WI: Garbine Muguruza/ESP (RU) US: Roberta Vinci/ITA (RU) =2016= AO: Johanna Konta/GBR RG: Kiki Bertens/NED WI: Elena Vesnina/RUS US: Karolina Pliskova/CZE (RU) =2017= AO: CoCo Vandeweghe/USA RG: Alona Ostapenko/LAT (W) WI: Magdalena Rybarikova/SVK US: - -- NOTE: 17 of last 18 slams, 18 of 20
*CAREER SLAM #1 SEEDS - active* 20...Serena Williams 6...Caroline Wozniacki 4...Maria Sharapova 3...Victoria Azarenka 3...Angelique Kerber 1...SIMONA HALEP 1...Jelena Jankovic 1...Karolina Pliskova 1...Venus Williams
**WON TITLE AT FIRST SLAM SEEDED #1** [since end of Evert/Navratilova era] 1991 Monica Seles (Roland Garros) 2002 Jennifer Capriati (Australian Open) 2002 Serena Williams (U.S. Open) 2004 Justine Henin-Hardenne (Australian Open) -- NOTE: Simona Halep is '18 AO #1 seed (first at slam)
"Well, I should hope so..."
I’ve arrived Down Under and snagged a room with a view.
=ROUND OF 16 PREDICTIONS= #1 Halep d. #18 Barty #9 Konta d. #6 Ka.Pliskova #21 Kerber d. #3 Muguruza #8 Garcia d. #17 Keys #12 Goerges d. #31 Makarova #4 Svitolina d. Brady #10 Vandeweghe d. #7 Ostapenko #2 Wozniacki d. #15 Pavlyuchenkova
=QUARTERFINAL PREDICTIONS= #1 Halep d. #9 Konta #21 Kerber d. #8 Garcia #12 Goerges d. #4 Svitolina #10 Vandeweghe d. #2 Wozniacki
=SEMIFINAL PREDICTIONS= #1 Halep d. #21 Kerber #10 Vandeweghe d. #12 Goerges
In Sydney, Angelique Kerber delivered a kiss to build a [fill in the blank] on. On this day, it means she's a singles champion for the first time in sixteen months. But, in short order, we may come to find out that her return to form means a great deal more than just that.
Kerber's undefeated opening week in Perth was an early sign that maybe the German had turned the corner on her forgettable 2017 season, a campaign which saw her consistently fail to ignite, win zero titles and drop out of the Top 20 twelve months after the greatest year of her professional life. But what the two-time slam-winning, former #1 did in Sydney could very well be the first inkling of an impending re-write of whatever scenario anyone saw taking place in Melbourne. As was the case with her career-transforming Australian Open title run in '16, Kerber's appearance in Sydney was almost over before it'd hardly even begun. With the ghost of Misaki Doi (more on her later) surely floating by, Kerber came back from a set down in the 1st Round vs. Lucie Safarova, saving two MP, to set up a 2nd Round meeting with Venus Williams. In that one, again, the German rallied from a set down to win, giving her a 2-0 mark on the season -- after just two official '18 matches -- after dropping the 1st set. She'd gone 3-22 in such situations over the course of the '17 season. Before the Safarova win, Kerber has dropped eight straight matches after losing the opening set, and hadn't won such a match since defeating Shelby Rogers at Wimbledon last summer. Once she'd won her back-to-back matches in Sydney, though, Kerber never had to face another one-set deficit all week. She won her final three matches in straight sets, allowing little to the likes of Dominika Cibulkova (4 games), Camila Giorgi (5) and Ash Barty (8), defeating the Aussie to claim her eleventh career title in her 27th final appearance. It's her first crown since defeating Karolina Pliskova in the '16 U.S. Open final.
Now 5-0 in official matches, and 9-0 overall, in 2018, Kerber finds herself back at #16 in the rankings and legitimately having to think about whether or not lightning can indeed strike twice.
Those TG's... you can't live with 'em, but you wouldn't want to live without 'em. =============================================== RISERS:Dasha Gavrilova/AUS and Lesia Tsurenko/UKR ...spurred on by a home crowd around every corner, Dasha has burst out of the season's gates in recent years. Two years ago, she won the Hopman Cup with Nick Kyrgios and then put on a Round of 16 run in Melbourne. While she didn't repeat in Perth a season ago, she did get a singles win there over CoCo Vandeweghe (who go on to reach the AO semis) and then matched her 4th Round result in Melbourne. After a slow start at *this* year's HC (w/ losses to Kerber and Mertens, which actually looks quite nice a week later), Gavrilova rebounded well to stage a semifinal run in Sydney with wins over fellow Aussies Olivia Rogowska and Sam Stosur, then reached the final four due to a walkover from Garbine Muguruza. After taking the first set from countrywoman Ash Barty, Gavrilova fell in three. But the stage is now set for still more late night AO action, as the first outing of "The Dasha Show" has been give a primetime slot as the session-closing match on the Laver Arena schedule for Night 1.
"I always love to engage with the crowd and I feel like everyone is really there for me, trying to help me out. I just try my best every time"
A season ago, Tsurenko reached a career high (#29) and won her third career title in Acapulco. The tour's second-highest ranked Ukrainian opened her season in Brisbane with a 1st Round win over Ash Barty, and the 28-year old followed up in Hobart with wins over Timea Babos, Yulia Putintseva and Aryna Sabalenko to achieve her first semifinal result since reaching the final four on the grass at Rosmalen last summer.
SURPRISE:Camila Giorgi/ITA ...no, Giorgi finding success isn't really a "surprise," but the 26-year old Italian has hardly been consistent when it's come to that in recent seasons. After back-to-back Top 35 campaigns, she's finished at #83 and #79 the last two years, and failed to reach a singles final a season ago for the first time since reaching her first in 2014. Ranked at #100 heading into the week, Giorgi had to qualify just to reach the MD in Sydney. Once she did, she truly caught fire, knocking off both Petra Kvitova and Aga Radwanska (did you realize that neither was ranked in even the Top 25 this past week?) to reach her first semifinal since Week 1 of 2017 in Shenzhen. Her run was finally stopped by eventual champ Angelique Kerber, but she jumps twenty-nine spots in the rankings to #71 on Monday and will participate in her twenty-third consecutive slam MD. She's lost in the 1st Round of five of the last six majors. =============================================== VETERAN:Mihaela Buzarnescu/ROU ...back from several injury-related absences, the 29-year old Swarmette (one of the 2008 Originals along with the likes of a young Halep, Cirstea, Dulgheru, Niculescu, Olaru, etc.), is now fully hitting stride. After making tour-level and slam debut appearances, getting her first Top 50 win and climbing into the Top 100 (ending at #72) for the first time in 2017, the Romanian ended her season on a combined 19-4 (all level) rush that began with reaching the SF in Linz in just her second career WTA main draw. After starting her '18 season by falling in quick fashion to Maria Sharapova in Week 1, Buzarnescu hopped over to Hobart and put together another career-best run. Wins over Alize Cornet, Anna-Lena Friedsam, Alison Riske (in straights after saving five SP in the 1st) and Lesia Tsurenko put her into her maiden WTA singles final. In a rain-marred contest, she lost in three sets to defending champ Elise Mertens, but one year after beginning the season ranked outside the Top 500 she'll be at #44 as the Australian Open begins. She'll play #2 Caroline Wozniacki under the MCA lights on Night 1, five months after losing to the Dane in her WTA/slam debut in the 1st Round of the U.S. Open last summer.
Mihaela Buzarnescu is through to the @HobartTennis Final!
=============================================== COMEBACK:Belinda Bencic/SUI ...fully back from her injury layoff, Bencic has still yet to play an official match since the calendar flipped over to 2018. She last played a match in a tour-level WTA event back in October (a QF run in Linz that was ended in a 3rd set TB by Mihaela Buzarnescu) and put together her 2017-ending 15-match winning streak in WTA 125 and challenger tournaments. In Week 1, she won the Hopman Cup title with Roger what's-his-name despite losing her singles match in the final to Angelique Kerber. In Week 2, the 20-year old Swiss was once again crowned a champion (that makes five straight events that's happened, by the way), albeit in yet another exhibition, winning the women's side of the action in Kooyong by wrapping things up with a 3-6/6-4 [10-4] victory in the final over Andrea Petkovic. Although, to be fair, Petko won the dance-off.
Things will get much more serious in Melbourne for Bencic, as she'll find Venus Williams on the other side of the net in the 1st Round. ===============================================
FRESH FACES:Elise Mertens/BEL and Ash Barty/AUS ...a year ago, a #127-ranked Mertens was playing the qualifying rounds in Hobart. She made her way into the main draw, then upset Kristina Mladenovic and was faced with the decision of playing out the tournament or "finding a way out" of her 2nd Round match vs. "lucky loser" Sachia Vickery so that she could head to Melbourne for AO qualifying. Vickery found herself in the same dilemma, though, and after both called for trainers just one game into their match it was the Bannerette who was the snooze-or-you-lose winner of the odd face-off, beating Mertens to the awkward, oddly comical retirement "finish line." Vickery went on to lose in AO qualifying, while Mertens had to miss out on the season's first slam, but *did* win her maiden tour singles title over the weekend. A year later, the Waffle was back in Hobart, secure in her AO MD position as the world #36 (and with the tour having instituted a new Mertens/Vickery-inspired rule that prevents AO qualifiers from entering other WTA events in Week 2). Mertens battled her way back into the final after posting wins over Kurumi Nara, Beatriz Haddad Maia and former Hobart champ Heather Watson. In a match that had to play out around rainfall, Mertens defended her title with a 6-1/4-6/6-3 win over Mihaela Buzarnescu, becoming the first two-time singles champ in the tournament's 25-year history... and she picked up a doubles title with Demi Schuurs while she was at it, too. The 22-year old Belgian will finally make her AO debut this coming week.
And now got a special relationship with Hobart... so it's all worked out pretty well.
In Sydney, after a quick Week 1 exit, Barty rediscovered the Down Under form that made her a first "Barty Party" week star at last year's AO, and which she'll need right out of the gate this coming week after drawing Aryna Sabalenka in the 1st Round. Barty's time in Sydney was highlighted by a three-set come from behind win in an all-Aussie semi over Dasha Gavrilova. Though she lost 6-4/6-4 to Angelique Kerber in her fourth career tour singles final, her week's work was enough to lift her to a new career high of #17.
I don't think her success is enough to make me re-think by opposition to that vile Vegemite, though... it'll have to remain a (mostly) Aussie thing.
=============================================== DOWN:Sloane Stephens/USA and Misaki Doi/JPN ...currently, Stephens continues to try to rediscover the Future Sloane version of herself that won the U.S. Open last summer. She's yet to win a match since her seven-match run in New York, dropping her seventh consecutive match last weekend in Sydney with a straight sets defeat at the hands of Week 2 giant killer Camila Giorgi. It's the third time in the streak in which Stephens failed to win a game in a set and -- perhaps, if you're looking for an omen for what's coming next, be it good or bad -- her loss to Giorgi came via the same 6-3/6-0 scoreline by which she earned her last win over Madison Keys in the final at Flushing Meadows. Nursing lingering injury and, one would think, confidence questions nibbling around the edges of her game, Stephens will face veteran Zhang Shuai in the opening round in Melbourne.
Meanwhile, Doi has to wish *she* could be back to her recent past and pick up things from there once again, as well. Remember, it was just two years ago that Doi went to Melbourne and found herself holding a match point against Angelique Kerber in the 1st Round. She failed to convert it, then saw the German escape with the victory, go on to win the Australian Open and establish the foundation for a career year. Doi climbed as high as #30 during the '16 season, and was still ranked in the Top 60 as recently as last summer. She posted her only career Top 10 win in Madrid over Keys, and reached the QF in Nurnberg. It's been all downhill from there. She's gone 3-11 since, and that's not even counting her loss (as the #1 seed) to 16-year old Wang Xinyu in the semis of the Asia/Pacific AO Wild Card Playoff tournament in December. In Week 1, Doi fell in the second round of qualifying in Brisbane, then was "upset" 3 & 1 by Dayana Yastremska in the opening round of qualifying for the Australian Open, dropping her to 3-8 in slam matches since since she failed to put away her MP vs. Kerber. All three of those wins came at Roland Garros in '16, when she knocked off Karolina Pliskova and reached the Round of 16, only to lose to, yep, Kerber once again.
Doi will be ranked #126 this week. She be absent from the MD of a major for the first time since the '15 AO (and for only the second time in any major between 2013-18)... while Kerber heads to Melbourne with her ranking back in the Top 20, a singles title under her arm and a renewed head of steam.
Sometimes, when tennis ships pass in the night, they might never cross paths again. =============================================== JUNIOR STAR:Jaimee Fourlis/AUS ...the 18-year old Australian, who'll be in the AO main draw by way of her win in the final of Tennis Australia's December junior wild card playoff event, picked up her first career WTA MD victory in Hobart with a 7-5/7-6(9) win over Serbia's Nina Stojanovic. A year after notching her maiden slam win in the 1st Round, Fourlis will return to Melbourne seeking her second in a match-up with fellow Aussie WC Olivia Rogowska.
DOUBLES:Demi Schuurs/NED and Gaby Dabrowski/Xu Yifan (CAN/CHN) ...in 2018, for Schuurs, success is all about playing doubles with partners with nearly the same name. In Hobart, the 24-year old Dutch woman became the first two-time title winner of the new year, following up her Week 1 Brisbane victory (w/ Kiki Bertens) with another in Week 2 with Elise Mertens. The duo picked up their second title (w/ Guangzhou last September) by claiming a pair of deciding tie-breaks to reach the final, then winning it 6-2/6-2 over Lyudmyla Kichenok & Makoto Ninomiya. It's Schuurs' fifth overall tour-level doubles crown.
In Sydney, Dabrowski & Xu threw their names into the hat for a potential maiden slam WD title run in Melbourne (where they'll be the #6-seeded team), picking up their third title together since the start of 2017 with a 6-3/6-1 victory in the final over #1-seeded Latisha Chan & Andrea Sestini-Hlavackova. In their three finals together, Dabrowski/Xu have taken out many of the players they might have to climb over to win another title two weeks from now, including Chan/S.-Hlavackova (AO #1's), Mirza/Strycova (the Czech is seeded #4 w/ Lucie Safarova) and Barty/Dellacqua (AO #3).
=============================================== AUSTRALIAN OPEN Q-PLAYER OF THE WEEK:Marta Kostyuk/UKR ...the 15-year old 2017 AO Girls champ used her wild card berth in the '18 AO women's qualifying to full advantage. After being the youngest player in the Q-draw, she'll now be the youngest in the MD, as well, after putting together back-to-back-to-back three set victories over #9-seeded Arina Rodionova, Daniela Seguel and #13 Barbora Krejcikova, closing out the Czech with a love 3rd set to emphatically set the stage for her slam debut.
*AO "Q-PLAYER OF THE WEEK" WINNERS* 2006 Ashley Harkleroad, USA 2007 Julia Vakulenko, UKR 2008 Julia Schruff, GER 2009 Elena Baltacha, GBR 2010 Yanina Wickmayer, BEL 2011 Vesna Manasieva, RUS 2012 Paula Ormaechea, ARG 2013 Lesia Tsurenko, UKR 2014 Belinda Bencic, SUI 2015 Renata Voracova, CZE 2016 Naomi Osaka, JPN 2017 Elizaveta Kulichkova, RUS 2018 Marta Kostyuk, UKR
*AO QUALIFIERS*
Denisa Allertova, CZE (24/#130) - the Czech, who reached the AO 3rd Rd. two years ago, didn't drop a set in qualifying Anna Blinkova, RUS (19/#138) - a qualifier at her second straight AO, and third straight major, the Hordette won a trio of three-setters to get there Irina Falconi, USA (27/#131) - the oldest qualifier didn't lose a set in qualifying. She's posted 1st Rd. AO wins the last four years. Magdalena Frech, POL (20/#163) - she'll make her slam debut after taking out a pair of junior slam winners, Sofya Zhuk ('15 Wimbledon) and Kayla Day ('16 U.S.) Viktorija Golubic, SUI (25/#115) - she's qualified at two of the last three AO's, but is still winless in the MD at Melbourne Ivana Jorovic, SRB (20/#279) - after winning all six sets she played this week, the 20-year old Serb makes her slam MD debut Anna Kalinskaya, RUS (19/#160) - after opening the Q-rounds with a win over veteran countrywoman Vera Zvonareva, the '15 RG Jr. finalist makes her slam MD debut Marta Kostyuk, UKR (15/#521) - she'll be the first player born in 2002 to play in a slam MD match Luksika Kumkhum, THA (24/#124) - a familiar face in Melbourne, Kumkhum was a qualifier in '16, got a wild card in '17 and is best remembered for her huge upset of Petra Kvitova in 2014. Still, she's never reached the AO 3rd Rd. Viktoria Kuzmova, SVK (19/#125) - Backspin's "Player Whose Name You'll Know..." designee for 2018 qualifies for her second straight slam MD without losing a set Anna Karolina Schmiedlova, SVK (23/#137) - (hopefully) finally finding her way out of the woods, AKS will play in her first slam MD since the 2016 U.S. Open. Her last win came in 2015 at Flushing Meadows. Zhu Lin, CHN (23/#114) - an AO qualifier for a second straight year, she's seeking her first MD win at a major
*AO LUCKY LOSER*
Viktoriya Tomova, BUL (22/#139) - after losing in the final round of slam qualifying for the fourth time in her career, Tomova gets her maiden MD spot in a major via the "LL" route
*AO WILD CARDS*
Kristie Ahn, USA (25) - Taylor Townsend won the USTA's WC Playoff series, but her ranking was high enough to earn automatic entry into the AO main draw. So the spot went to second place finisher Ahn, who'll compete in her first slam MD since 2008. Destanee Aiava, AUS (17) - last year, Aiava won Tennis Australia's Junior WC Playoff tournament to earn entry into the MD. This year, she lost in the Jr. final to Jamiee Fourlis, but then turned around and won the regular WC P.O. tournament (def. Tammy Patterson in the final). She'll open vs. #1-seed Simona Halep. Lizette Cabrera, AUS (20) - after making her slam debut as a WC last year in Melbourne, Cabrera gets another. She reached a tour-level QF in Hong Kong late last season, falling to fellow Aussie Dasha Gavrilova in three sets. Jamiee Fourlis, AUS (18) - last year, Fourlis lost in TA's Jr. WC P.O. final to Aiava, but then made the MD by winning the regular WC Playoff tournament. This year, she took out Aiava in the Jr. Playoff in a thrilling 7-6/6-7/7-5 final. Jessika Ponchet, FRA (21) - after her first Top 300 season in '17, the eighth-ranked Pastry was a somewhat surprising internal WC selection by the FFT to make her slam debut, but Ponchet opened her season with a SF run at the $25K challenger in Playford before heading to Melbourne. Olivia Rogowksa, AUS (26) - she's been given an AO wild card eight times in ten years, but at least she "won" this one by taking Tennis Australia's new USTA-style multi-event challenger playoff at the end of last year Ajla Tomljanovic, AUS (24) - still not *totally* playing under an Aussie flag on tour (but she *is* allowed to do so in the ITF-run slams), Tomljanovic was given the final Tennis Australia WC into the main draw after Vika Azarenka's continued custody issues led the two-time AO champ to give up the wild card she'd been awarded last month. Still on the way back from '16 shoulder surgery, the Croatian-born Tomljanovic has played just three MD matches in the last seven majors, though she did reach the Round of 16 at Roland Garros in 2014. Wang Xinyu, CHN (16) - the 16-year old junior (as a WC) was the surprise winner of the Asia/Pacific Wild Card Playoff tournament in December, knocking off two seeds (including #1 Misaki Doi). She defeated Abigail Tere-Apisah in a three-set final, coming back from a set down (and two points from defeat) to secure her MD debut. Wang is the youngest Chinese player to ever appear in a slam MD, and only '17 AO Girls champ Marta Kostyuk (a qualifier at 15) is younger in this year's entire AO women's event.
1. Sydney 1st Rd. - Angelique Kerber def. Lucie Safarova ...6-7(3)/7-6(8)/6-2. Surviving two rain stoppages, going a set and a break down, and saving two MP in the tie-break. So *that's* what it was going to take to turn Angie around. Why couldn't the Tennis Gods have just told us that *last* year? =============================================== 2. Sydney Final - Angelique Kerber def. Ash Barty ...6-4/6-4. Does it take a "great chick" to recognize a "great chick?"Asking for a friend.
=============================================== 3. Sydney SF - Ash Barty def. Dasha Gavrilova ...6-3/4-6/6-2. When the "Barty Party" meets "The Dasha Show," all walls crumbled.
=============================================== 4. Hobart Final - Elise Mertens def. Mihaela Buzarnescu ...6-1/4-6/6-3. Now, about getting that first slam MD win outside of Paris...
=============================================== 5. Australian Open Q1 - Lesley Kerkhove def. Sachia Vickery ...6-7(2)/6-4/6-3. Hot off her semifinal run in Auckland, #1 Q-seed Vickery beat Mertens to another imaginary "finish line" -- she lost in Melbourne this year before the Waffle will. =============================================== 6. Australian Open Q1 - Bernarda Pera def. Patty Schnyder 6-3/7-6(4) Australian Open Q1 - Anna Kalinskaya def. Vera Zvonarva 6-2/2-6/6-0 Australian Open Q1 - Anna Blinkova def. Roberta Vinci 6-3/6-2 ...Patty's last slam MD was at RG in 2011, and Vera's was in 2015 in Melbourne. Meanwhile, since she's set to retire this spring *before* Roland Garros, former slam finalist Vinci's final singles match in a major occurred in almost tree-falling-in-the-woods-with-no-one-around-to-hear-it fashion.
Roberta Vinci first played the Australian Open 19 years ago in juniors, reaching the QF in singles. In doubles she lost R1 with Pennetta to formidable team of Daniilidou/Razzano. pic.twitter.com/EKd8CGLjvB
=============================================== 7. Australian Open Q1 - Irina Bara def. Sesil Karatantcheva 7-5/3-6/7-5 Australian Open Q1 - Daniela Seguel def. Jamie Loeb 3-6/7-5/6-3 ...Bara trailed Sesil 5-2 in the 3rd, and was down 5-4, love/30. Meanwhile, Seguel survived three MP and saw Loeb serve for the match in the 2nd set. Both lost in the next round, but the result was still the best at a major for either woman, as Bara matched her Q2 result at last year's U.S. Open and Seguel reached the second round in a slam qualifying draw for the very first time. =============================================== 8. Kooyong Exhibition - Genie Bouchard def. Destanee Aiava ...6-2/6-0. A late edition to the field in what turned out to simply be an additional match (Bencic and Petko were already set for the final), Bouchard at least found a way to post *some* sort of singles win for the first time in months. When will the next one come? =============================================== HM- Australian Open Q2 - Patricia Hon def. Yanina Wickmayer ...2-6/7-5/6-1. The 19-year old Aussie Q-round wild card lost to Irina Falconi in the final round, but only after posting a nice win over the #-5-seeded Belgian.
1. Sydney 2nd Rd. - Angelique Kerber def. VENUS WILLIAMS ...5-7/6-3/6-1. In her first match in Sydney since the 2000 Olympics (and first appearance in the event since '99), Venus surged back from a break and 5-3 down in the 1st set to grab the lead. But Kerber shut down the proceedings at that point, and never looked back the rest of the week.
=============================================== 2. Sydney 1st Rd. - AGA RADWANSKA def. Johanna Konta ...6-3/7-5. Aga lost to Jo in the final a year ago. Still, her 1 & 2 loss in the QF to Giorgi drops her ranking all the way down to #35 heading into Melbourne. =============================================== 3. Sydney Final - Gaby Dabrowski/Xu Yifan def. LATISHA CHAN/Andrea Sestini-Hlavackova ...6-3/6-1. Chan *still* hasn't won a tour-level WD title with anyone other than Martina Hingis or her sister Hao-Ching/Angel since 2010. =============================================== 4. Australian Open Q1 - Marta Kostyuk def. ARINA RODIONOVA ...4-6/6-3/6-3. Rodionova got her first career slam MD wins at Wimbledon and the U.S. Open last year, but won't get a chance to notch her first career MD win in her hometown after losing to the 15-year old '17 AO Girls champ. =============================================== 5. Australian Open Q1 - CAROLINE DOLEHIDE def. Conny Perrin ...5-7/6-3/7-6(7). Perrin led 5-0 and 6-2 in the deciding TB, only to see 19-year old Dolehide save five MP and record her first career slam match win.
=============================================== HM- Australian Open Q3 - ANNA KAROLINA SCHMIEDLOVA def. Stefanie Voegele ...6-3/6-2. Whoa, Nellie! (Impromptu Keith Jackson tribute.) Welcome back, AKS. ===============================================
**2018 WTA BEST QUALIFIER RESULTS** =lost in semifinals= Auckland - Sachia Vickery, USA (22, #122) Sydney - CAMILA GIORGI, ITA (26, #100) Hobart - HEATHER WATSON, GBR (25, #74)
While she might have suffered a bout with Triskaidekaphobia as the #13 seed at this Australian Open, for Sloane Stephens, Day 1 instead turned out to revolve around an unlucky "crazy eighth."As in an eighth straight loss that has served to put her slam run from last summer firmly in her past as she must now deal with the troubling slump that has enveloped her ever since she experienced her greatest career moment.
Arriving as she did in Melbourne with more reverse-momentum than any player not named Mladenovic (or maybe Bouchard), that Stephens' time in this Australian Open's singles draw was brief is hardly a surprise. The reigning U.S. Open champ has been hampered by a lingering knee injury since the fall, and the resulting lack of practice time and match play has put any momentum she might have gained from her New York run under wraps. Looking to end '17 with another highlight, she instead displayed a stark lack of confidence between the lines in the Fed Cup final, as the U.S. squad (no matter how hard Captain Kathy Rinaldi tried to re-light Stephens' inner fire) was forced to win in spite of her near championship-killing face plant in Minsk. When Zhang Shuai's name was pulled as Sloane's 1st Round opponent in the first major of 2018, well, her ultimate fate Down Under seemed to have already been written in the stars.
Still, even while riding a seven match losing streak since defeating Madison Keys in the Open final, Stephens began her first post-Future Sloane slam looking like she'd finally turned a corner. She took the opening set 6-2, then overcame a break disadvantage (down 3-0) in the 2nd to serve for the match at 5-4. But once Zhang got the break, everything changed. The '16 AO quarterfinalist pushed things to a tie-break, won it 7-2, then jumped on her discouraged opponent early in the 3rd. She won the first seven points, and eight of nine to take a 2-0 lead, then coasted to a 2-6/7-6(2)/6-2 win, dropping Stephens to 0-8 since picking up that eye-popping big check last September
Stephens won't feel the sting of her current form in the rankings for quite some time, as she has zero points to defend until the North American hard court summer. Maybe her time away due to foot surgery last year, which stoked her desire and focus once she returned to the court, will once again act as an instigator that leads to Sloane getting her proverbial ducks in a row once again sometime this spring or summer. She needn't panic, nor put too much pressure on herself to right her course too quickly. She has time to get fully healthy, and totally fit -- physically and mentally -- once again. Her game form, confidence and results will likely following suit soon afterward.
Sloane Stephens: "Even though I lost, I'm not too sad. Everything is good. Relax, everybody. It will be okay. Don't worry. We'll get back to having fun soon. Just give me a little bit to regroup & we will be okay.”
Will skip the Middle East swing and play Acapulco next. #AusOpen
Right this moment, though... while it took place place just four months ago, the memory of what happened in New York has already started to fade away. If The Future was then, then what is *this*?
=DAY 1 NOTES= ...from its very first moments, Day 1 looked to be in a hurry. And it didn't take long before this slam's first big-name victims were sent packing long before many had anticipated entertaining the thought of leaving Melbourne behind.
With ten women's matches kicking off at 11 a.m. in Melbourne, Wimbledon semifinalist Magdalena Rybarikova was the quickest out of the blocks, taking a love 1st set from Taylor Townsend faster than a grand slam website and app could crash within minutes of the start of play... well, check that, *nothing* could quite top the light speed with which this AO's woeful new versions of both fell victim to catastrophic failure precisely when everyone had just started to pay attention to their shortcomings.
But the Slovak wasn't the first to shake hands in victory on this Monday. No, that turned out to be China's Duan Yingying. As things got a bit sticky in the 2nd set for Rybarikova (though she led Townsend 6-0/4-3, she only had a three-point advantage in the match), Duan raced to a 6-0/4-0 lead against Mariana Duque-Marino and closed out the Colombian 6-0/6-1 to become the first player to advance to the 2nd Round.
RG champ Alona Ostapenko, too, was a young woman in a hurry. She jumped out with a 6-1 1st set win over 37-year old Francesca Schiavone (playing with an uncomfortable-looking back brace), fell behind 3-1 in the 2nd, then handed the Italian vet her seventeenth career AO MD defeat (her first came in her debut in 2001, the year before the youngest player in the women's draw -- 15-year old Marta Kostyuk -- was born) by taking the final five games, serving out a 6-1/6-4 victory.
Other early-in-the-day results included Alize Cornet, playing in her 45th straight slam MD (behind only Aga Radwanska's tour-leading streak of 47), defeating 16-year old wild card Wang Xinyu, the youngest Chinese player to ever appear in a slam draw, 6-4/6-2; while Julia Goerges tucked away her fifteenth straight win dating back to last season with a 6-4/6-4 win over Bannerette teen Sonya Kenin.
Kenin's loss, following on the heels of that of countrywoman Townsend, set the early tone for what turned out to be an horrendous day for Bannerette tennis, which had found itself flying high in the closing months of 2017 with a foursome of semifinalists at last year's U.S. Open hailing from the home country, and soon after Team USA lifting the Fed Cup championship trophy for the first time in seventeen years.
By the end of the day, three of those four semifinalists had been dumped out of this AO within hours of its start. And that wasn't even the half of it.
The much-anticipated 1st Round match-up (or second week star-robbing encounter, depending on how you look at it) between Venus Williams, an AO finalist a year ago, and burgeoning comeback star Belinda Bencic didn't turn out to be a classic ala the Sharapova/Halep tilt last summer at Flushing Meadows (expect more of this sort of thing when the seeds are shrunk from 32 to 16). Instead, it showed that Bencic's late 2017 run of dominance and early '18 winner's touch (she won both the Hopman Cup and Kooyong exhibition titles) were likely a sign of greater things to come.
“Bad luck” was the message @BelindaBencic kept hearing after drawing Venus Williams in the first round. On Day of #AusOpen, the unseeded 20-year-old made her own luck.
A year after facing (and losing to) Serena in the 1st Round last year's AO, Bencic controlled the course of action this year against Venus. After taking a break lead at 4-3 in the 1st, then saving five BP before a rain delay (at deuce) in order to close the Laver Arena roof, the 20-year old Swiss burst out of the interruption without a hint of rust. Reeling off four straight points, Bencic held for 5-3 and soon secured the 1st set. Throughout a tight 2nd set, she was opportunistic and light on her feet, and kept a step ahead of her 37-year old opponent, notching her first career win in five attempts vs. Williams, 6-3/7-5. Bencic had lost all eight previous sets she'd played against Venus.
Her injury-related absence for much of last season allowed Bencic to play very late into the calendar year, beyond the official end of the WTA season, as she put together a 28-3 overall record on all levels in the closing months, including a 15-0 run to end the year. In an early season stretch that has seen so many top players put up spotty results and/or have questionable conditioning/health, perhaps Bencic's momentum-gathering stretch of action since last fall has allowed her to find her '18 groove far quicker than most. This win gives her six wins in seven matches this January, though the first six took place in "unofficial" events.
Of note: Bencic's single loss, a straight sets defeat at the hands of undefeated-in-2018 Angelique Kerber in Perth, surely continues to make the German look even better than she already has in the opening weeks of the new season, doesn't it?.
Oh, but the U.S. woes were just getting started...
Last year's AO semifinalist, CoCo Vandeweghe, went out quicker and in more frustrating fashion than even her fellow U.S. Open semifinalists Venus and Sloane. Back in Melbourne with Pat Cash in her coaching corner, Vandeweghe won't even get an opportunity operate in the Melbourne draft of the Aussie great. After taking an early lead against the talented but unpredictable Timea Babos, CoCo saw the Hungarian better handle the rain delay and the closing of the Hisense Arena roof. Babos seized control of the 1st set TB, winning it 7-4, then blew out Vandeweghe in the 2nd for a 7-6(4)/6-1 win. Somewhat surprisingly for a player of her talent, it's just Babos' second career Top 10 win, and her first in almost four years (Halep in Fed Cup play in '14).
While all three seeded U.S. stars faced unusually tough 1st Round opponents, and apparently Vandeweghe was experiencing some sort of flu-like symptoms, such a bombed-out result in the first slam after what happened last summer in New York is quite a wicked turn of events, no matter how short-lived the downturn turns out to be.
But, while the tailspin is currently taking place, ummm, why not speed it up a bit more?
CiCi Bellis claimed the opening set against Kiki Bertens, but lost in three. Alison Riske did the same vs. Kirsten Flipkens. With the U.S. with a shocking 0-7 combined record, Jennifer Brady (who reached the Round of 16 a year ago) raced to a 5-0 1st set lead vs. Magda Linette and seemed set to flip U.S. fortunes, only to eventually add her name to the list of Bannerettes to squander leads and fall in three, going out 2-6/6-4/6-3 to the Pole.
With the U.S. woman standing at an astounding 0-8, it could get even worse in the bottom half of the draw. Nicole Gibbs will at least be favored vs. lucky loser Viktorya Tomova, but Irina Falconi has been given the opportunity to serve in the role of guest on this AO's first edition of "The Dasha Show" in the night session-closing match on Laver vs. Miss Gavrilova.
Poors Souls, indeed. (And here's where you make your own "Who's-the-s***hole-country-now?" joke, I guess, too.)
Leave it to Venus to tell it like it is, of course.
"Last year is last year. This is, like, a new year. You can't live in the previous year. It's impossible."
Oh, and by the way, Madison Keys... watch your back tomorrow.
...but you didn't have to be a Bannerette to be a seeded player sent packing on this openg day of 2018 slam play. Ekaterina Makarova fell in an 8-6 3rd set to Irina-Camelia Begu, while Dominika Cibulkova was ejected more forcefully by Kaia Kanepi, 6-2/6-2.
Meanwhile, Anett Kontaveit might have had some trouble on her hands had Aleksandra Krunic been able to push the Estonian to a 3rd set. Kontaveit led by a set and a break, served at 5-2 in the 2nd and held a MP before The Bracelet briefly turned the tables on her and knotted the score at 5-5. But Kontaveit rebounded to record her first career AO MD win, 6-4/7-5. Anastasia Palvyuchenkova, a year after the Russian completed her Career QF Slam with a final eight run in Melbourne, looked like she was going to do what she does so often. Come on, you know... She trailed Kateryna Kozlova 3-1 in the 3rd but, wouldn't you know it, she *didn't* put forth a massively disappointing result on the heels of something good. I know... now *that's* a true stunner. Instead, she reeled off five straight games to win 3-6/6-4/6-3. Go figure.
...for all the world to see, it appeared as if Sam Stosur was going to head off at the 3rd set pass any of the home soil demons that have hounded her for nearly her entire career. She led Monica Puig by a set and held a MP in a 2nd set TB. But the Puerto Rican Gold Medalist saved it and pushed things to a 3rd and, well, the match took place in Melbourne. So...
Sam's now lost four matches in a row in Melbourne.
...a year ago, Marta Kostyuk won the AO girls singles title on the final weekend of play. This year, she's way ahead of the game. After making her way through qualifying to become the first player born in 2002 to reach a slam MD, the 15-year posted a 1st Round upset of veteran Peng Shuai today to become the first from her birth year to also get a victory, winning 6-2/6-2.
After making it through qualifying this weekend, Kostyuk found her mom and got a hug and a kiss.
"Mama!"
Marta Kostyuk after her match was - literally - overwhelmed by dozens of people who asked her pics, autographs, everything.
Then she said: "where are my parents!?". Ran over the stands on C19, saying "sorry" to everyone, found out her mum who hugged and kissed her. pic.twitter.com/VqE4xCtLKp
I guess the stakes have now officially been raised.
...well, looks like it's time to wrap up the Day 1 post. Remember, though, there are *still* matches left to be finished, started and completed, including Anna Karolina Schiedlova's long-awaited return to slam MD action vs. Dasha Kasatkina, as well as the slam MD debut of Backspin's 2017 "Player Whose Name You'll Know..." designee Jana Fett (vs. Misa Eguchi) *and* the AO debut of '18 pick, Viktoria Kuzmova (vs. two-time Hobart champ Elise Mertens). Elina Svitolina also takes the court for the first time in the season's first major.
In the night session on MCA, Auckland finalist Caroline Wozniacki will meet Hobart finalist Mihaela Buzarnescu, as the Romanian gets another chance at the Dane, who knocked her out of the U.S. Open 1st Round last fall in the Swarmette's slam MD debut. And, as noted earlier, Gavrilova will try to "Rock The Rod" for a third straight AO when she meets Falconi in the session-ending match on Laver.
...WHEN DAY 1 STARTS AND...:
Website down, terrible mobile app. wow. What a failure... have to go elsewhere to keep up with scores. What a disaster! @AustralianOpen#AusOpen
#AusOpen livescores on app & website constantly crashing and not loading... Google's live scores are working a charm and also doesn't think I'm vision impaired. @AustralianOpen
We are currently experiencing some technical issues with our website and app which we are working to rectify. https://t.co/xTH1ZaK0Ya will be back online as soon as possible.
Or, as the Trump White House would say... "Everything worked perfectly. We've been getting compliments on it, actually. The general conclusion is that it's the best debut of a new slam website and app ever."
@AustralianOpen#AusOpen WINS the award of the year for the MOST HORRIBLE website. Just a reminder: We live in 2018 & not 1998 Scoreboard from Google is WAY BETTER. A simple question: How come a Major event is so disorganized? Website down. If working, it is HORRIBLE pic.twitter.com/zaf4KeCZaX
..."UGH" ON DAY 1: after working to get back on the court after three knee surgeries...
Margarita Gaspayran has withdrawn from the #AusOpen women's singles with a right shoulder in jury. She'll be replaced in the draw by LL Bernarda Pera from the USA.
*RECENT AO "FIRST SEED OUT"* 2005 #16 Ai Sugiyama, JPN (lost to Sucha) 2006 #9 Elena Dementieva, RUS (lost to Schruff) 2007 #25 Anabel Medina-Garrigues, ESP (lost to Vesnina) 2008 #32 Julia Vakulenko, UKR (lost to Vesnina) 2009 #23 Agnes Szavay, HUN (lost to Voskoboeva) 2010 #14 Maria Sharapova, RUS (lost to Kirilenko) 2011 #28 Daniela Hantuchova, SVK (lost to Kulikova) 2012 #19 Flavia Pennetta, ITA (lost to Bratchikova) 2013 #32 Mona Barthel, GER (lost to Pervak) 2014 #7 Sara Errani, ITA (lost to Goerges) 2015 #32 Belinda Bencic, SUI (lost to Goerges) 2016 #17 Sara Errani, ITA (lost to Gasparyan) 2017 #4 Simona Halep, ROU (lost to Rogers) 2018 #13 Sloane Stephens, USA (lost to Sh.Zhang)
*RECENT AO "FIRST VICTORY" HONORS* 2009 Patricia Mayr, AUS (def. Schruff) 2010 Dinara Safina, RUS (def. Rybarikova) 2011 Evgeniya Rodina, RUS (def. Rogowska) 2012 Victoria Azarenka, BLR (def. Watson) 2013 Maria Sharapova, RUS (def. Puchkova) 2014 Kirsten Flipkens, BEL (def. Robson) 2015 Julia Goerges, GER (def. Bencic) 2016 Petra Kvitova, CZE (def. Kumkhum) 2017 Monica Puig, PUR (def. Tig) 2018 Duan Yingying, CHN (def. Duque Marino)
TOP QUALIFIER:Marta Kostyuk/UKR (first player born in 2002 in slam MD) TOP EARLY ROUND (1r-2r): xx TOP MIDDLE-ROUND (3r-QF): xx TOP LATE ROUND (SF-F): xx TOP QUALIFYING MATCH:Q1 - Caroline Dolehide/USA def. Conny Perrin/SUI 5-7/6-3/7-6(7) (trailed 5-0 and 6-2 in the deciding TB, saved 5 MP to record first career slam match win) TOP EARLY RD. MATCH (1r-2r): xx TOP MIDDLE-RD. MATCH (3r-QF): xx TOP LATE RD. MATCH (SF-F/Jr./Doub.): xx TOP LAVER/MCA NIGHT MATCH: xx ============================= FIRST VICTORY:Duan Yingying/CHN (def. Duque-Marino/COL) FIRST SEED OUT:#13 Sloane Stephens/USA (1st Rd. - lost to Zhang Shuai; 0-8 since winning U.S. Open) UPSET QUEENS: xx REVELATION LADIES: xx NATION OF POOR SOULS: Nominee: U.S. women lose first eight 1st Rd. matches on Day 1 LAST QUALIFIER STANDING: Day 1 wins: Allertova, Kostyuk, Kumkhum LAST WILD CARD STANDING: Day 1 wins: Rogowska LAST AUSSIE STANDING: Day 1 wins: Rogowska Ms. OPPORTUNITY: xx IT (TBD): xx COMEBACK PLAYER: xx CRASH & BURN: Nominees: Bannerette '17 U.S. Open Semifinalists (Stephens, Vandeweghe & Venus ousted on Day 1) ZOMBIE QUEEN: Nominees: Sh.Zhang (1r - Stephens served for match at 5-4 in 2nd set); Puig (1r - Stosur MP in 2nd set) KIMIKO VETERAN CUP: xx LADY OF THE EVENING: xx DOUBLES STAR: xx JUNIOR BREAKOUT: xx
Be advised. There has been a Kerbernator sighting on the Australian Open grounds.
Proceed with caution, and advance at your own risk.
Finally, after her long season of discontent, a campaign in which her game failed to consistently fire for long and she could never quite rediscover that spark that had so recently lifted her to the greatest heights of her career, Angelique Kerber was back where it all started twenty-four months ago. On Day 2, the 2016 Australian Open champion, unlike her experience in Melbourne a year ago, emerged unscathed to live another day, her roll undisturbed and her early '18 fortunes still burning bright.
Two years ago, Kerber stared down a match point against Misaki Doi in the AO 1st Round, then went on to win the title, setting the stage for a career year. Last January she escaped three-setters vs. Lesia Tsurenko (1st Rd.) and Carina Witthoeft (2nd) before falling in the Round of 16, setting the stage for her historic fall over the course of '17, as she dropped all the way from #1 to #22, the biggest non-injury/retirement related slip for a year-end #1 over the course of the following season in tour history.
The omens are more in the German's favor this time around.
Even with the current #1 player in the world, last year's tour title leader, the player with the longest active tour-level winning streak (as well as the player with the longest overall winning run) all lifting championship trophies during the first two weeks of '18, and another singles title being successfully defended, there has arguably been *no* player in better form than Kerber. Undefeated at 9-0 (4-0 in Hopman Cup play, and 5-0 in her first title run in sixteen months in Sydney), the only player to defeat Belinda Bencic since last October (a 6-4/6-1 win in the WS part of the Hopman final), back in the Top 20, and last week a winner of a pair of back-to-back matches in which she dropped the 1st set (after being 3-22 in those situations last season), Kerber arrives at this slam having been tested in nearly every way imaginable over the course of the short two-week stretch to begin the season.
Facing off today against fellow German Anna-Lena Friedsam (coming back from a shoulder injury, and maybe best remembered for her near-upset of Aga Radwanska in the AO Round of 16 two years ago before being felled by cramps), for a set and a half, Kerber looked every bit the player who has buzzed through a long list of opponents in the season's opening weeks. She dropped just one point on serve while taking the 1st set at love, and led 4-1 in the 2nd. At that point, Friedsam finally found her footing and made Kerber work a bit more as she leveled the score at 4-4. But after a handful of squandered chances, Kerber finaly got the break for 5-4 and served out the match, converting her second MP to record her first victory in Melbourne since defeating Serena Williams two years ago to claim her maiden slam crown.
With her streak at ten match wins in a row, next up for Kerber is Croatia's Donna Vekic. Nothing is guaranteed for the German over the next two weeks, but nothing is off the table, either.
So, you know... beware.
=DAY 2 NOTES= ...if Monday, when six (mostly big-name) seeds fell, resembled a day "in a hurry" and was ready, willing and able to wreak havoc with the women's draw, Tuesday was content with merely flirting with danger, only to pull itself back from the edge before things reached an official "eve of destruction."
Day 2 immediately proved to be something of a turnaround point for the Bannerettes one day after the U.S. women went 1-9 and saw three-fourths of last year's U.S. Open semifinalists sent packing. Today, lucky loser Bernarda Pera (in for an injured Margarita Gasparyan) was the first player to advance to the 2nd Round, defeating Russian qualifier Anna Blinkova 6-2/6-2. Pera jumped out to a quick 4-0 lead and never looked back. She's the first LL to post a 1st Round win in Melbourne since Irina Falconi in 2014. It's been twenty one years since such a run was extended another round Down Under (Sandra Kleinova in 1997), but Ons Jabeur *did* do just that last year in Paris after getting her own second chance opportunity in the Roland Garros MD.
Pera will next face Johanna Konta, who destroyed Pera's countrywoman Madison Brengle, winning 6-3/6-1 and firing off thirty-seven winners in the match's sixteen games.
While Pera's day-starting win alleviated a bit of the remaining pressure created by the series of Bannerette failures yesterday, the results of the rest of the day for the U.S. women were decidedly spotty. Madison Keys managed to avoid the U.S. Open semifinalist curse imposed at this AO by becoming the only of the four Bannerettes who reached the SF at Flushing Meadows last summer to advance to the 2nd Round at this slam, but she had to battle back from a 5-2 2nd set deficit in order to take out Wang Qiang in straight sets.
But that was where the good news ended.
Varvara Lepchenko looked as if she might upset Anastasija Sevastova, but the Latvian pushed the match to a 3rd set and won it. Shelby Rogers, too, had a big win within her grasp. She pushed '17 AO semifinalist Mirjana Lucic-Baroni to 3rd set, but couldn't get past the 35-year old Croat. Other Bannerettes who fell on Day 2 included Christina McHale and Kristie Ahn.
With the U.S. women standing at a combined 3-14, only Lauren Davis (vs. Jana Cepelova) has yet to complete her 1st Round match in an attempt to join Keys, Pera and Nicole Gibbs in the 2nd Round.
...after a bit of a shaky start, Caroline Garcia got her AO off to a winning start. Carina Witthoeft served for the 1st set at 5-4 against the Frenchwoman, but after getting the break Garcia ran off a string of six additional games to take a 7-5/4-0 lead before ultimately taking the 2nd set 6-3. The Pastry has reached at least the 3rd Round at the last five majors, as well as in two of her last three trips to Melbourne.
While her name was on the tip of everyone's tongue at the start of multiple slams in '17 following her 2016 U.S. Open final appearance, the buzz around Karolina Pliskova is not quite as loud as this AO begins even after she put up her most consistent slam season a year ago (w/ a SF and two QF). Not that the twin is one to show any outward signs of not withstanding pressure, but being a bit on the down-low when it comes to people discussing her title hopes is still probably a checkmark in the Czech's column for this opening major of '18. One of six women with a chance to finish this slam in the #1 ranking, Pliskova began her own personal quest by defeating Veronica Cepede Royg 6-4/6-3.
Pliskova was one of a slew of Czechs who advanced to the 2nd Round today after winning in their first-up matches at the start of the day. The group of Maidens included Lucie Safarova (in her first outing since failing to convert that MP vs. Angelique Kerber in the 1st Round in Sydney), Barbora Strycova and Marketa Vondrousova.
...while Kerber made her winning return to Melbourne today, Maria Sharapova was back for the first time in two years, contesting a match on MCA in her first AO outing since her failed drug test following her QF loss to Serena Williams in 2016. A few days after reawakening the ire of the I-don't-care-if-she-served-out-her-punishment-I'll-never-let-it-go-until-my-dying-day crowd by being included in the draw ceremony with Roger Federer-er-er-er-er -- granted, it was an odd choice by the organizers, but there would honestly be few who'd even come close to being the star-power equal of RF, so deal with it -- the Russian got about to getting things done between the lines in a match-up with Tatjana Maria (yeah, so the scoreboard read "Sharapova vs. Maria"... a nice chuckle courtesy of the Tennis Gods, who may or may not have been trying to deliver some sort of subconscious message in the odd occurrence -- they've refused to answer any of the questions sent their way from Backspin HQ).
After winning the opening set 6-1, Sharapova's error count begin to climb in the 2nd as Maria settled into the big stage surroundings. The German led 3-1 before Sharapova tightened things up and finished off the win.
...while Sloane Stephens couldn't stop her losing streak on Day 1, Genie Bouchard *did* manage to end her own skid, and may have just gotten a big gift from the Tennis Gods, as well. More on that in a moment.
It was four years ago that Bouchard had her breakout slam in Melbourne, reaching the AO semifinals in a season in which she'd reach another slam semi and the Wimbledon final, then climb as high as #5 in the rankings. The Canadian came into this slam ranked outside the Top 100, and might need to post a few impressive results to avoid having her position as the top-ranked player in her nation challenged by one or more younger countrywomen later this spring or summer. On a six-match losing streak (not including her 0-3 mark in the Hopman Cup), and with a 3-13 mark beginning with her Madrid QF loss last spring after having won matches over Sharapova and Kerber earlier in the week, Bouchard took the 1st set from Oceane Dodin today, then avoided what might have become a sticky 3rd set by taking out the Pastry in the 2nd set TB to win 6-3/7-6(5). Bouchard hit twelve aces in the match and held a 29/24 edge in W/UE.
So, what is the gift Bouchard might have received? Well, frankly, that her next opponent is Simona Halep. Not because of any deficiencies in the #1-ranked player in the world, as the Romanian put on a gritty performance today against 17-year old Aussie wild card Destanee Aiava, but because one has to wonder if an ankle injury she suffered during the match might turn out to be as significant as was initially feared despite the fact that she literally got up off the court and finished off her opponent in straight sets this afternoon in Melbourne.
Make no mistake, Halep should be proud of what she did today. Against a great deal of adversity, she never lost her head, heart or guile on the Laver Arena court. She faced down a huge-hitting opponent who got on top of her and grabbed a big 1st set lead, found her way after a long injury break from the teenager, saving a handful of set points and ultimately stealing the opening stanza, then pulling out the match after badly rolling her ankle and seeming to be on the verge of possibly abandoning the match as the intense pain she was in was plainly visible on her face.
Having dropped her last two 1st Round matches in Melbourne, Halep already had a major mental hurdle to clear before today's match had even started. Though she's been sporting a lightness of spirit and a high level of confidence after sweeping the titles in Shenzhen in Week 1, Halep needed to prove (mostly to herself, maybe) that she wasn't snakebit at this event, especially not in her first slam as the world #1.
The powerful Aiava didn't make things easy, and she looked like a possible upset-maker in the 1st set. She broke for 3-1 and 4-2 leads, and managed to save a handful of BP to hold in a 15-minute game for 5-2. But it was then that she called for a trainer, and eventually was led off the court for ten minutes. When play resumed, Halep served to stay in the set, and had to save two SP before holding for 5-3. A bit lost in the moment (maybe it was the long break, maybe it was the occasion), Aiava lost track of the match score after that game and thought it was time for a changeover break. Wandering around the court for the next few games with an expression that surely didn't look as if it belonged to a player *leading* the match, Aiava's errors increased. Halep held on, and put in a series of big first serves to get back on serve at 5-5, then managed to edge out the Aussie to win a 7-5 TB and steal away with a 1st set win.
Early in the 2nd, though, one point after pulling up and hitting the back of her thigh, Halep stretched for a ball behind the baseline and turned her left ankle. She went down quickly and clutched at her leg. It looked bad, and the video of the incident backed up the feeling.
A scary moment for [1] Simona Halep. Currently getting treatment on her left ankle. Stand by for updates...#AusOpenpic.twitter.com/z3FIMXkJBG
Halep was taped up and continued to play, though. While favoring the ankle, she was able to run and move around the court. She took a 3-0 lead, kept Aiava at bay and put the match away 7-6(5)/6-1 to notch her first AO win since 2015. Afterward, she admitted to being in the dark about how bad her injury might be, noting that it was still warm and she didn't yet feel it. Even a good diagnosis is going to include a lot of work to get her ready for a 2nd Round match with Bouchard, and beyond. One wants to believe she'll find a way to keep going, but then you see that video and just how far over her ankle was rolled and it makes one wonder if further examination might reveal an injury extensive enough to prematurely end her AO.
(Fingers crossed.)
"It was a pleasure to be back here on centre court."
...as the start of the night session neared, Day 2 had yet to see a women's seed ejected from the draw despite quite a few close calls. It looked as if that was all going to change as Petra Kvitova's return to Melbourne seemed set to end the way so many had in the past, with a devastating defeat. Then, fortunes changed and Kvitova looked to be ready to stage a successful Houdini act... until she couldn't quite escape her fate.
Andrea Petkovic won the 1st set, only to see the Czech go up 5-4 in the 2nd and push things into a 3rd. The German led 4-0 there, and held three MP (two in a row), only to see Kvitova find a way out of the deep hole. She battled back and eventually found herself serving for the match at 6-5, but fell behind 15/40 and then double-faulted two points later as the score was knotted at 6-6. Three games later, Kvitova got the break to get a second chance to serve out the match at 8-7, only to fail to do so and drop serve yet again. Finally, Petko did the honor, breaking Kvitova to get the win that she nearly let slip away, 6-3/4-6/10-8, as the Czech DF'd on the German's final MP.
While it's sad to see Petra sent away so early, it's nice to see such an effort from Petkovic. This has to be one of her biggest wins in quite some time.
...still to come on Tuesday as of the posting of this update: Kristina Mladenovic (with 14 straight losses, she'll face Ana Bogdan) will see if she'll join the Stephens or Bouchard camp when it comes to trying to end a long losing streak, Aga Radwanska will try to get past a Pliskova (Krystina), Garbine Muguruza's true condition (after a retirement and walkover in the first two weeks of '18) may finally be revealed under the lights on MCA, and one night after the successful first episode of "The Dasha Show" proved to be a predictable one, another "Barty Party" will break out on Laver as Aussie Ash goes up against Aryna Sabalenka in what could be an excitable night-ending face-off.
*AO "NATIONS OF POOR SOULS"* 2012 GBR (0-4 1st Rd.; all on Day 1) 2013 AUS (1-6 in 1st Rd., 1-7 overall) 2014 ITA (top-seeded #7 Errani & #12 Vinci out 1st) 2015 CHN (year after Li champ, 1-5 in 1st Round) 2016 AUS (1-8 in 1st Rd.; only AUS-born in 2nd is a Brit) 2017 ROU (2-4 1st Loss, 1st Seed Out, 3 Top 32 defeats) 2018 USA (lost first 8 matches, 1-9 on Day 1; 3/4 of '17 U.S. Open SF ousted)
*AO "CRASH & BURN" LOSERS* 2008 Svetlana Kuznetsova, RUS (3rd Rd.) 2009 Venus Williams, USA (2nd Rd.) 2010 Maria Sharapova, RUS (1st Rd.) 2011 Jelena Jankovic, SRB (2nd Rd.) 2012 Samantha Stosur, AUS (1st Rd.) 2013 Samantha Stosur, AUS (2nd Rd.) 2014 Petra Kvitova, CZE (1st Rd.) 2015 Ana Ivanovic, SRB (1st Rd.) 2016 Simona Halep, ROU (1st Rd.) 2017 Simona Halep, ROU (1st Rd.) 2018 Sloane Stephens, CoCo Vandeweghe & Venus Williams, USA (1st Rd. - all '17 U.S. Open SF)
**RECENT BEST SLAM "LUCKY LOSER" RESULTS** 2006 US: Nicole Pratt, AUS (2nd) 2006 RG: Kirsten Flipkens, BEL (2nd) 2007 WI: Alize Cornet, FRA (2nd) 2008 US: Mariana Duque-Marino, COL (2nd) 2009 RG: Mariana Duque-Marino, COL (2nd) 2009 WI: Kristina Kucova, SVK (2nd) 2010 RG: Bethanie Mattek-Sands, USA (2nd) 2011 WI: Stephanie Dubois, CAN (2nd) 2012 RG: Sesil Karatantcheva, KAZ (2nd) 2013 US: Patricia Mayr-Achleitner, AUT (2nd) 2014 AO: Irina Falconi, USA (2nd) 2015 US: Daria Kasatkina, RUS (3rd) 2016 WI: Duan Yingying, CHN (2nd) 2017 RG: Ons Jabeur, TUN (3rd) 2018 AO: Bernarda Pera, USA [into 2nd Rd.] == Most Recent AO 3rd Rd.: Sandra Kleinova, CZE (1997)
TOP QUALIFIER:Marta Kostyuk/UKR (first player born in 2002 in slam MD) TOP EARLY ROUND (1r-2r): xx TOP MIDDLE-ROUND (3r-QF): xx TOP LATE ROUND (SF-F): xx TOP QUALIFYING MATCH:Q1 - Caroline Dolehide/USA def. Conny Perrin/SUI 5-7/6-3/7-6(7) (trailed 5-0 and 6-2 in the deciding TB, saved 5 MP to record first career slam match win) TOP EARLY RD. MATCH (1r-2r): xx TOP MIDDLE-RD. MATCH (3r-QF): xx TOP LATE RD. MATCH (SF-F/Jr./Doub.): xx TOP LAVER/MCA NIGHT MATCH: xx ============================= FIRST VICTORY:Duan Yingying/CHN (def. Duque-Marino/COL) FIRST SEED OUT:#13 Sloane Stephens/USA (1st Rd. - lost to Zhang Shuai; 0-8 since winning U.S. Open) UPSET QUEENS: xx REVELATION LADIES: xx NATION OF POOR SOULS:USA (women lose first eight 1st Rd. matches, go 1-9 on Day 1, 3/4 of '17 U.S. Open all-Bannerette semifinalists ousted) LAST QUALIFIER STANDING: Into 2nd Rd.: Allertova, Kostyuk, Kumkhum (LL: Pera) LAST WILD CARD STANDING: Into 2nd Rd.: Rogowska LAST AUSSIE STANDING: Into 2nd Rd.: Gavrilova, Rogowska Ms. OPPORTUNITY: xx IT (TBD): xx COMEBACK PLAYER: xx CRASH & BURN:Sloane Stephens, CoCo Vandeweghe & Venus Williams, USA (3 of 4 '17 U.S. Open semifinalist lose on Day 1) ZOMBIE QUEEN: Nominees: Sh.Zhang (1r - Stephens served for match at 5-4 in 2nd set); Puig (1r - Stosur MP in 2nd set); Halep (1r - down 5-2 and 2 SP in 1st set vs. Aiava, turns ankle in 2nd set); Petkovic (1r - Kvitova twice served for match; won 10-8 in 3rd) KIMIKO VETERAN CUP: xx LADY OF THE EVENING: xx DOUBLES STAR: xx JUNIOR BREAKOUT: xx
"Two sides of the coin to choose from, Two sides of the coin, they are mine Two sides of the coin, I'm gettin' weary Which one should I choose, I need time" - "Two Sides of the Coin" Ace Frehley (Kiss), Unmasked album, 1980
In her 2nd Round match with 21-year old, #119-ranked Croat Jana Fett, #2-seeded Caroline Wozniacki once again displayed the oft-troubling tendency to slide back into bad (unaggressive) habits. It very nearly cost her the match, too, in what was just her opponent's second career slam main draw match (it was #144 for Caro). But right when her prospects seemed to be their darkest, the dawn of Wozniacki's 2018 Australian Open arrived. That was when she called upon her far superior experience to gradually reel back from the precipice a match that seemed beyond lost into the crevasse of early-round slam flameouts. Once Wozniacki had Fett's back against the wall, she utilized her longstanding defensive abilities, metronomic ball-striking skills and stroke accuracy as an ultimate weapon to survive and live another round in Melbourne.
Early on, though, it was Fett who controlled the flow and direction of the match. The 2014 AO girls runner-up was dictating play with her power, and serving big. Meanwhile, Wozniacki spent the 1st set seemingly forgetting about the more forward, aggressive style of play that has allowed her to rise back up the rankings (though, listening to ESPN's Chris Evert and Jason Goodall, you'd think that it was Wozniacki's relationship with fiance David Lee that had done the trick... and that the installation-to-great-success-and-then-sudden-exit of assistant coach/hitting partner extraordinaire Sascha Bajin didn't even exist as a compelling component in her recent tennis storyline). Falling back into her old, too-far-behind-the-baseline habits, Wozniacki allowed Fett the chance to control her own fate. She broke the Dane to open the match and never lost form in the 1st set. Serving down 5-3, Wozniacki fell behind love/40, then threw in a backhand error to end the set after just thirty-three minutes.
But rather than dig in her heels and stubbornly go down in defeat, Wozniacki's 2nd set moment of truth presented her with the chance to show that she *could* diagnose her difficulties and change course. In the aftermath of dropping the 1st, she began to move forward and take balls earlier. She broke Fett for a 2-1 lead, then again for 4-1. When she briefly once again began to hold back she saw the Croat break serve and spark to life again at 4-2. But the more aggressive stance immediately returned a game later and Wozniacki went on to take the set 6-2.
But rather than go away herself, Fett stood up. Not holding back, she regained control of the match in the 3rd. Hitting and serving big, she pressured the off-once-again game of Wozniacki into producing more errors. She broke for 3-1, then held to take a 4-1 lead against the ever-more-frustrated Dane.
Wozniacki's fifth double-fault of the match broke own serve and she was down 5-1, Fett took a 40/15 lead on serve and held double match point. And then she finally started to show her nerves. Fett continued to go for big first serves, but now she started missing them. Her deep groundstrokes started landing shorter in the court, and Wozniacki began to take advantage.
It was here where the Dane's experience advantage truly took hold. With the Croat starting to resemble the big stage newcomer she is, Wozniacki knew she still had a chance to wiggle free from almost-sure defeat. She knew what she needed to do, too. Hit the ball deep in the court to prevent Fett's power from bailing her out of a rally, and try to never fire a ball outside the lines. Luckily for Wozniacki, she's always been expert at both. Her accuracy and ability to extend rallies and hit shot after shot after shot after shot, while it sometimes lulls *her* into a form of complacency and unwillingness to break pattern with a spark of aggression and leads to big-hitting opponents seizing their opportunity to hit her off the court, served her well here. While she did choose her moments to go for her own shots, Wozniacki rightly recognized an opponent that she could finally wear down in the closing games, waiting for the errors that now would almost surely eventually come off her racket.
The Dane got the break for 5-2, and you could feel the match teetering on the edge. She held at love for 5-3, was the benefit of a bit of luck when she mishit a return at 30/30 a game later and Fett fired a down the line forehand wide. Another break made it 5-4, followed by another hold from Wozniacki to pull even at 5-5. It was like a slow motion car wreck, and you were suddenly fairly secure in the notion that it was going to be the Dane who'd survive with nary a scratch.
With Fett desperately trying to avoid falling victim to a loss in the old, my-lead-is-never-safe-no-matter-how-big tradition of the late, great(est) Jana [Novotna], the Croat found herself in a now-or-never rally with the Dane that lasted twenty-six shots. As usual, Wozniacki refused to miss, and it was an error from Fett that lost the point, putting her down 15/30. A few points later, a double-fault handed the break and the match lead to the world #2. She then served things out for a 3-6/6-2/7-5 comeback win that may (or may not) prove to live on to be a B-I-G story well into the *second* week of this Australian Open.
=DAY 3 NOTES= ...Day 3 began with a trio of Ukrainians, each from a different tennis generation and the only from their nation to have been crowned a junior slam singles champ, taking center stage on the tournament's three show courts.
On Hisense, veteran Kateryna Bondarenko, the 2004 Wimbledon girls winner, took down Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova 6-2/6-3 as the Russian finally posted the aforementioned-in-this-space, and now-hardly-shocking disappointing result that was likely always going to be her inevitable fate at this slam. She'd managed to avoid it two days ago via a 3rd set comeback win in the 1st Round. But, here it is, anyway. So, one year after she completed a Career QF Slam with a final eight run in Melbourne, Pavlyuchenkova exits before the 3rd Round for the twenty-sixth time in forty-one appearances in majors.
On MCA, the reigning Australian Open girls champ continued her assault on the tennis record books. Already having become the first player born in 2002 to appear in a slam MD after making her way through qualifying, then winning her 1st Round match over the seeded Peng Shuai to become the youngest woman to win an AO match since 1996 (Martina Hingis), Marta Kostyuk put up yet another win over Aussie wild card Olivia Rogowska. The 15-year old immediately grabbed an early lead in the 1st, took the set and led 3-1 in the 2nd. Rogowska got things even at 4-4, but Kostyuk pulled away with late break to secure the 6-3/7-5 win. Kostyuk, whose mother played on tour in the 1990's, is the youngest to reach a slam 3rd Round since 1997.
- Mother reached CH No.391 - Managed by Ivan Ljubicic - Reigning AO girls champ, has now won 11 straight matches at Melbourne Park - 1st 15yo to qualify for a Slam since 2005 - Wanted to marry Djokovic but she's over it.
Naturally, she'll face off with yet another Ukrainian. In fact, it'll be the most successful one ever: Elina Svitolina, the 2010 Roland Garros junior champion and the unlikely "betting favorite" at this AO despite having never reached a slam SF and imploding last spring in Paris when she got close. At Laver Arena, Svitolina had her hands full against talented but inconsistent Katerina Siniakova, the young Czech she'd needed three sets to defeat in the 1st Round of last year's U.S. Open.
Cleanly striking balls and showing the promise she often flashes, Siniakova broke Svitolina's serve for a 4-3 lead, and served for the set at 5-4. Svitolina, playing with somewhat less aggression than one would like, saved a set point but couldn't put away a pair of break chances in the game (making her 0-for-6 in the set), and Siniakova held on a long error from the Ukrainian on SP #2, taking the set 6-4.
In something of a reversal of expected fortunes, Svitolina was suddenly the one throwing up her hands in exasperation while Siniakova maintained a calm demeanor. Of course, all that didn't last long. Svitolina finally got her first break of serve on her seventh BP chance of the day, taking a 2-0 lead, and then held serve a game later in a five-deuce game, saving three BP of her own. Siniakova took a medical timeout down 5-2, and once she returned the momentum of the match, already turned against her, was unalterable. The newly-established tone of the match carried until the finish as Siniakova's game became less reliable and Svitolina grabbed total control, winning 4-6/6-2/6-1.
...one player who won't be joining Svitolina or the other Ukrainians in the 3rd Round is Belinda Bencic. Yep. After putting up results like a house on fire for months, and looking like the fully-formed potential slam contender she was thought to about to become two years ago when she took out Venus Williams in straight sets in the 1st Round, the Swiss was run out of this AO in short order today by Thai qualifier Luksika Kumkhum. Never really in the match, Bencic went out 6-1/6-3 in maybe the most confounding result yet at this opening slam of the season.
Of course, Kumkhum, though she's never ranked higher than #85 and had never before reached a slam 3rd Round until today, is one of those players who have a knack for pulling off big stage upsets like this. She's even pulled off a more consequential shocker than this one in Melbourne, knocking out then-#6-seeded Petra Kvitova in the sweltering heat of the 1st Round in 2014.
Luksika Kumkhum says her best memory is making the second round here in Melbourne way back in 2013...
...somewhat quietly, in the wake of Bencic's loss and Wozniacki's escape, Dasha Kasatkina followed up her first career slam Round of 16 result in New York with a straight sets 2nd Round AO upset at the hands of an injured Magda Linette (ankle), falling 7-6(4)/6-2.
Soon after, in a match highlighted by short rallies and many breaks of serve, Alona Ostapenko did what she does. Again.
Essentially, she points at a spot on the distant horizon and nonchalantly tells her opponent, "I'm going *there*. It might not always be pretty, but I'm going to pummel you with everything I can get my hands on, and it's gonna hurt." Then she flashes one of her wicked Thunder smiles and turns on her heels, saying, "Now try and f-ing stop me," as she marches toward the baseline. For many opponents, it proves to be too much to handle. Eventually, that was the case today for Duan Yingying.
Ostapenko fell behind an early break against Duan. But, as she has a tendency to do, Latvian Thunder simply played her game and things started to go her way. She got the break back, took her own break advantage and then served out the 1st set at 6-3. Duan broke for a 4-2 lead in the 2nd, only to see Ostapenko immediately get the break back, only to drop serve again (whew!) and see her Chinese opponent take the set 6-3. In the 3rd, Ostapenko led 4-1 and things seemed to have settled down, but the then tide briefly turned again as Duan got things back on serve at 4-3 before the 20-year old finished off a 6-3/3-6/6-4 win. She's now reached at least the 3rd Round at five straight majors after having lost in the 1st Round at all four in 2016.
...the doubles kicked off today, and Sloane Stephens couldn't win there, either. She and Genie Bouchard, who teamed to reach the Washington doubles final *before* Stephens' great North American roll in singles last summer, fell 6-4/6-4 to #2-seeded Elena Vesnina & Ekaterina Makarova. The Russians are seeking an AO crown to complete their big event doubles title collection, having already won at Roland Garros, Wimbledon, the U.S. Open, WTA Finals and the Olympics. They'd be the first women's pair to ever claim all six titles.
(In case you were wondering, Venus & Serena have won five of the six, but never a season-ending championships crown.)
Other top seeds posting wins today included #1 Latisha Chan & Andrea Sestini-Hlavackova and #4 Lucie Safarova & Barbora Strycova. Safarova is trying to defend the '17 AO title she won with Bethanie Mattek-Sands. Incidentally, BMS said on ESPN the other day that her rehab is going well and that she's aiming for a March return.
...as long as they remain in the draw, expect the AO night session schedule to continue to trade off "Dasha Show" and "Barty Party" episodes. Tonight, one night after Ash Barty's 1st Round win, Dasha Gavrilova takes her turn in a 2nd Rounder on Laver against Hobart champ Elise Mertens. On MCA, Julia Goerges will try to extend her winning streak to sixteen matches against Alize Cornet.
...NOT THAT ESPN'S ON-AIR COVERAGE CARED ON NIGHT 2:Too busy showing uncompetitive men's matches to even both to do live look-ins to prove that the night schedule was something other than an only-straight-sets-allowed-here boondoggle.
In the live rankings following the 1st Round, Mladenovic was still ranked at a new career high of #9 (up because of CoCo's big points hit and Konta being only one round into matching her QF run of '17). But that'll change soon if Kiki doesn't first, as the defense of all four of her '17 finals (and one title) will take place before the end of the spring schedule.
...LIKE ON DAY 3: They just keep coming, don't they?
...and, finally... no, it's not the traditional U.S. Open "New York Groove" time, but I'm surely not going to turn down an opportunity to listen to an Ace Frehley song from an old Kiss album. [Side Note: I think I just figured out my "And, finally..." theme for this year's Open.]
*AO "LAST WILD CARD STANDING" WINNERS* 2008 Jessica Moore, AUS (2nd Rd.) 2009 Jelena Dokic, AUS (QF) 2010 Justine Henin, BEL (RU) 2011 J.Dokic/AUS, C.Garcia/FRA & A.Molik/AUS (2nd) 2012 Casey Dellacqua/AUS & Olivia Rogowska/AUS (2nd) 2013 Madison Keys, USA (3rd Rd.) 2014 Casey Dellacqua, AUS (4th Rd.) 2015 K-C.Chang/TPE, O.Dodin/FRA & I.Falconi/USA (2nd) 2016 Han Xinyun, CHN (2nd Rd.) 2017 Ash Barty, AUS (3rd Rd.) 2018 Olivia Rogowska, AUS (2nd Rd.)
TOP QUALIFIER:Marta Kostyuk/UKR (first player born in 2002 in slam MD) TOP EARLY ROUND (1r-2r): xx TOP MIDDLE-ROUND (3r-QF): xx TOP LATE ROUND (SF-F): xx TOP QUALIFYING MATCH:Q1 - Caroline Dolehide/USA def. Conny Perrin/SUI 5-7/6-3/7-6(7) (trailed 5-0 and 6-2 in the deciding TB, saved 5 MP to record first career slam match win) TOP EARLY RD. MATCH (1r-2r): xx TOP MIDDLE-RD. MATCH (3r-QF): xx TOP LATE RD. MATCH (SF-F/Jr./Doub.): xx TOP LAVER/MCA NIGHT MATCH: xx ============================= FIRST VICTORY:Duan Yingying/CHN (def. Duque-Marino/COL) FIRST SEED OUT:#13 Sloane Stephens/USA (1st Rd. - lost to Zhang Shuai; 0-8 since winning U.S. Open) UPSET QUEENS: xx REVELATION LADIES: xx NATION OF POOR SOULS:USA (women lose first eight 1st Rd. matches, go 1-9 on Day 1, 3/4 of '17 U.S. Open all-Bannerette semifinalists ousted) LAST QUALIFIER STANDING: In 2nd Rd.: Allertova(W), Kostyuk(W), Kumkhum(W) (LL: Pera) LAST WILD CARD STANDING:Olivia Rogowska/AUS (2nd Rd.) LAST AUSSIE STANDING: In 2nd Rd.: Barty, Gavrilova, Rogowska(L) Ms. OPPORTUNITY: xx IT (TBD): Nominee: Kostyuk ("Teen") COMEBACK PLAYER: xx CRASH & BURN:Sloane Stephens, CoCo Vandeweghe & Venus Williams, USA (3 of 4 '17 U.S. Open semifinalist lose on Day 1) ZOMBIE QUEEN: Nominees: Wozniacki (2r - Fett served up 5-1, 40/15 in 3rd set); Puig (1r - Stosur MP in 2nd set); Halep (1r - down 5-2 and 2 SP in 1st set vs. Aiava, rolls ankle in 2nd set); Petkovic (1r - Kvitova twice served for match; won 10-8 in 3rd); Pera (LL wins first career slam MD match) KIMIKO VETERAN CUP: xx LADY OF THE EVENING: xx DOUBLES STAR: xx JUNIOR BREAKOUT: xx
As the original list of contenders has been pared down from 128 (129 if you count one very lucky loser) to 32, the list of big-time victims is already worthy of a deep-into-week-two stage of the proceedings. None of last year's AO semifinalists are in the 3rd Round, and only one of last year's quarterfinalists is still alive and kickin'. Of last year's Round of 16 participants, just three will be playing for the chance to return there in 2018. Meanwhile, three of last year's U.S. Open semifinalists lost on Day 1, and three of the final four from Wimbledon last summer have big adieu, as well, and two of the three '17 slam winners who were in the draw at the start of play can no longer say the same.
Still, most of the carnage has taken place in the Wild West-styled bottom half of the draw -- where three qualifiers, seven other unseeded women and one 15-year old make up a large portion of the sixteen remaining players -- while some level of stable genius has mostly managed to reign supreme in the top half, where top players have rolled ankles and been greatly tested, but usually found a way to survive.
Well, that was the case until Day 4, at least.
It didn't take long to get the first indication that the malady that has seen fit to virtually decimate one half of the draw might just be a contagious condition that was now ready to attack the heart of the other. All it took was Top 10er and former AO semifinalist Johanna Konta to be upset by a lucky loser.
23-year old Bannerette Bernarda Pera (#123) lost in the final round of qualifying over the weekend, and didn't get a spot in the main draw until after 1st Round play had already begun. When Russia's Margarita Gasparyan, returning from a trio of knee surgeries, pulled out with an injured shoulder, Pera was set to make her slam debut (she got a win over another Hordette, and an *actual* qualifier, in Anna Blinkova).
Still trying to find some sort of consistent run of results since her career-altering final four run in front of a home British crowd at Wimbledon last year, Konta never really had things in order on this day. Meanwhile, Pera edged ahead in key moments of both of the match's two sets. At 4-4 in the 1st, she went up love/40 on Konta's serve, got the break and then served out a 6-4 set. After getting the break for a 4-3 lead in the 2nd, she held serve and then had three MP chances on Konta's serve. The Brit managed to extend the match with a hold, but Pera finally served out the biggest win of her career on MP #5 to win 6-4/7-5. She's the first LL to reach the 3rd Round in Melbourne since 1997.
Not content with just *one* big name player falling on this day, the Tennis Gods had another surprise up their collective sleeve before the sun had set.
Looking to take another step in a slam in which she could become the first of her tennis generation to grab a third career slam crown, as well as being one of six women who began this AO with an opportunity to end it as the #1-ranked player in the world, Garbine Muguruza came to Melbourne having already retired from one match with cramps, and issued a walkover due to injury in another in the season's first two weeks. So the Spaniard surely didn't relish having to take the court in Day 4's intense heat, let alone doing so against Hsieh Su-wei and her oddball trickster strokes. But that was the Wimbledon champion's fate on this day... and she didn't handle it well.
When Muguruza did manage to get herself to the net she was usually successful, but she had a hard time finding her way around the 32-year Taiwanese vet's balls to do it. Hsieh was looking to reach the 3rd Round at a major for just the fourth time in her career, and the first time at the AO since her career-best slam result (4th Rd.) there in 2008. She grabbed a 4-2 lead in the opening set, and then won a 7-1 tie-break. In the 2nd, Hsieh again led 4-2. Down 30/40 and trying to stay in the match, Muguruza got to the net but badly fired a volley beyond the baseline to fall behind 5-2. She got a break for 5-3 a game later, then saved a MP with a mid-point attack and put-away at the net and held for 5-4. While she didn't "Mugu" away the match, it still wasn't enough to change the Spaniard's fortunes, as her forty-three unforced errors ultimately proved too much to overcome. With her last stand before her, she couldn't prevent Hsieh from serving out the match on her second attempt, winning 7-6(1)/6-4 to record her second career Top 20 win. After reaching at least the Round of 16 at all four majors in a season for the first time in her career a year ago, Muguruza begins 2018 with her worst slam result since her back-to-back 2nd Round exits in London and New York in '16.
Almost as an afterthought, the daylight hours managed to throw another big name seed onto the Melbourne trash heap, as the glorious story of '17 AO semifinalist Mirjana Lucic-Baroni, who reached a major final four for the first time in eighteen years a season ago, was unable to produce another headline-grabbing and heart-tugging AO sequel, falling to Fed Cup star (and early '18 personality-plus spark plug) Aliaksandra Sasnovich, who knocked off the Croat in a 6-3/6-1 match that gets the Belarusian into her first career slam 3rd Round.
And then, mercifully, the carnage stopped.
One suspects this won't be the last time such a theme persists on a given day at this slam, though. There *are* more than a week of days left to be played, after all.
=DAY 4 NOTES= ...one player who didn't suffer a shocking fate on Thursday was Maria Sharapova. In the role of the "unseeded upstart" facing off in a revenge match with a seeded player (Anastasija Sevastova) who'd defeated her at last year's U.S. Open in her initial return to slam action, the Russian burst out of the match gate like a player who wanted to win and find shelter and shade before the *real* heat began to descend upon Melbourne Park. Seeking her third Top 20 win since her return to the tour last spring (one against Simona Halep in New York, and the other against Sevastova last fall in Beijing) Sharapova rushed through a 6-1 1st set, winning sixteen of eighteen points on serve and converting both break point opportunities against the Latvian. Sevastova, playing with her thigh wrapped, finally got into the swing of things in 2nd, and even broke Sharapova when she served for the match at 5-4 and then held for a 6-5 lead. Sharapova won the eventual tie-break 7-4 to close out the contest.
"I love being in the city. I love Australia. I love the summertime...A lot of things to smile about."
With just three former slam champions remaining in the Final 32, wouldn't you just know it that two of them will face off against each other in the 3rd Round as Sharapova's next opponent will be the '16 AO champ, a still-undefeated-in-2018 Angelique Kerber. On her 30th birthday, the German took to the court on MCA later in the afternoon under more intense heat (Novak Djokovic vs. Gael Monfils sometimes resembled an arena-style death match on "Game of Thrones" as it took place on Laver at the same time). Facing Donna Vekic, now coached by Torben Beltz, the point man during Kerber's career season two years ago, Angie handled the heat far better than most. While the slight Vekic literally turned red over the course of the short match, and likely wouldn't have been able to go three sets had she been forced to, Kerber took care of her business in an efficient 6-4/6-1 win to run her season mark to 7-0 (11-0 with Hopman Cup play).
...though her banner season-closing finish is now a few months old, Caroline Garcia is still officially on the leading edge of a glorious run. She came into Day 4 on a 14-3 combined run since late '17, but was forced to work overtime to take down Czech teen Marketa Vondrousova, who's going to be on the winning side of one these sort of matches in a slam very soon. Today, though, after staging a rally from 4-1 down to steal the opening set in a tie-break, she saw the Pastry stage a comeback of her own in the 3rd. Down an early break in the deciding set, Garcia got back on serve mid-way through and ultimately won out 6-7(3)/6-2/8-6 in 2:29.
Still operating in the shadows of this slam, Karolina Pliskova made like a thief in the day by getting on and off the court in under an hour on Hisense in the immediate aftermath of the Garcia/Vondrousova marathon that had just taken place there. After defeating one South American (Veronica Cepede Royg) in the 1st Round, Pliskova eliminated another (Beatriz Haddad Maia) today in just forty-four minutes, winning 6-1/6-1 to reach at least the 3rd Round in the fifth of her last six majors dating back to her U.S. Open final run in 2016.
...after three Ukrainians reached the 3rd Round yesterday, Lesia Tsurenko had a chance to be the historic fourth with a win today over Aga Radwanska. She found herself in position to do so, too, only to see the Polish vet put together a second successful comeback win at this AO. After winning from a set down deficit over Kristyna Pliskova two days ago, Aga once again got off to a slow start on Thursday, dropping the opening set to Tsurenko by a 6-2 score. After taking a 4-1 lead in the 2nd, then seeing the Ukrainian serve for the match at 5-4, Radwanska got the key break and then ran off five more successive games to lead 3-0 in the 3rd. She won 2-6/7-5/6-3, bettering her disappointing 2nd Round result that set the bad tone for her season a year ago after she'd previously reached at least the Round of 16 in Melbourne for six straight years (3 QF, 2 SF).
Two days ago, Andrea Petkovic talked about how under different circumstances she might have run naked through the tournament grounds to celebrate her hard-knock victory over Petra Kvitova in the 1st Round, where she took a 10-8 3rd set after the Czech had twice served for the match. Today the German claimed a 6-4 1st set over Lauren Davis, and her string of eight straight losses before the 3rd Round in majors looked set to end. But, tasked with trying to win her second straight match in Melbourne after having dropped the opening set -- Davis defeated Jana Cepelova in the 1st Round after falling behind, a win which had still only improved her record to 7-17 in her last twenty-four matches dating back to last spring -- the Bannerette... didn't lose another game in the match. The 4-6/6-0/6-0 win made the diminutive 24-year old, who picked up her maiden tour title in Auckland last January, the second unexpected U.S. woman (w/ Pera) to reach the 3rd Round.
She was later joined there by a less-surprising name, as Madison Keys continued to defy the 2017 U.S. Open semifinalist (or finalist, in her case) "curse" at this AO and will move on to the next round after her quick forty-one minute, 6-0/6-1 destruction of Russian Ekaterina Alexandrova.
There’s been pessimism in the Halep camp about Simona’s sore left ankle, which she rolled badly vs Aiava in #AusOpen R1.
The WTA #1 plans to take court vs Bouchard, but hopes fairly dimmed.
...in the night session on MCA, the mystery and worry about the condition of Simona Halep's rolled ankle proved to be unfounded. Of course, Genie Bouchard didn't exactly pressure her into having to extend herself, either.
It was a match-up of two players who met in the '14 Wimbledon semis, with the Canadian defeating the Romanian to reach her first slam on that day in London. But their careers have gone in opposite directions ever since. Halep came into the match ranked #1 in the world, while last week Bouchard fell all the way out of the Top 100 to #112.
Halep opened the match with a break of serve, and immediately went about moving well around the court and showing no true sign of the injury (she'd later say she felt the lingering pain, but simply didn't think about it). Taking the initiative and turning beautiful defense into occasionally brilliant offense, the Swarmette took the 1st set 6-2, then opened the 2nd just as she had the 1st, by breaking Bouchard's serve. This set went largely the same as the first, and Halep won going away by a 6-2/6-2 score.
She'll now get two days off, and forty-eight additional hours to get her ankle in an even better state.
...one night after Gavrilova's "Dasha Show" ended it's run at this AO, it was "Barty Party" time again. Ash Barty staged a comeback from a set down to win her 1st Round match under the lights against Aryna Sabalenka, and on Thursday the young Aussie did the same thing against another excitable opponent, an in-form-early-in-2018 Camila Giorgi.
The Italian, after failing to serve out the 1st set at 5-3, got the break back at 6-5 and served out the set on her second try for a 7-5 win. In the 2nd, it was Barty who couldn't serve out the set at 5-3, only to break back a game later and knot the match. In the 3rd, finally and to the delight of a crowd now seemingly getting used to these late first week/early second week runs by Aussie women in Melbourne -- be she named Casey, Jelena, Dasha or Ash -- Barty began to pull away. She got an early break for 2-0, and then coasted over the finish line with a 5-7/6-4/6-1 win to reach the 3rd Round for the second straight year.
...in doubles, Kiki Mladenovic proved today that she CAN still win a match. Of course, Timea Babos has to take some of the credit for the 1st Round win over the duo of Knoll/Dzalamidze. Babos & Mladenovic won three tour titles as a pair in 2015 before the Pastry began to team with Fed Cup partner Caroline Garcia in preparation for the '16 Olympics. It proved to be a fruitful partnership, producing a Roland Garros title and a U.S. Open final before, well, you know.
And a day after both Dashas were ejected from the women's singles draw, they joined forces on Day 4... and were eliminated from doubles, as well. The Dashas Gavrilova & Kasatkina went out 6-4/6-1 at the hands of Jennifer Brady & Vania King. It's Kings' first win since Miami last year, as last week she lost in the 1st Round in Sydney (w/ Anna-Lena Groenefeld) in her return to action following '17 ankle surgery.
...meanwhile, the expected girls singles seeds (no Marta Kostyuk, who said -- with glee -- that she's now finished with the junior tour)...
1. Wang Xinyu, CHN 2. Liang En-shuo, TPE 3. Simona Waltert, SUI 4. Maria Lourdes Carle, ARG 5. Naho Sato, JPN 6. Joanna Garland, TPE 7. Alexa Noel, USA 8. Nika Radisic, SLO 9. Wang Xiyu, CHN 10. Lulu Sun, SUI 11. Yuki Naito, JPN 12. Elysia Bolton, USA 13. Daniela Vismane, LAT 14. Zheng Qinwen, CHN 15. Yasmine Mansouri, FRA 16. Kamilla Rakhimova, RUS
...LATE NIGHT ON DAY 3:"The Dasha Show" was cancelled, at nearly 2 a.m. in Melbourne.
Two significant aspects of Shenzhen’s winning finals bid: offering $14m in prize money (for relative comparison, current Singapore prize money purse is $7m) and commitment to build a new 12,000 seat stadium by 2019.
UPSET QUEENS: Ukraine gets the nod, as Marta Kostyuk (def. #25 Peng) and Kateryna Bondarenko (def. #15 Pavlyuchenkova) join Svitolina in the Final 32, just one body short of matching the draw-leading four placed there by the Czechs.
REVELATION LADIES: A tough one here. The U.S., after a horrid start, nearly put on a winning run with surprise 3rd Round berths from Pera and Davis (if Gibbs had won her match, we might have seen the very first Poor Souls/Revelation Ladies combo in Backspin history). Meanwhile, Croatia was a converted MP (Fett vs. Wozniacki) away from taking it, as well, since Martic had already reached the 3rd Round, and even the Croat-born Bannerette Pera *could* be counted here in a pinch. Elsewhere, if Sevastova had again knocked off Sharapova in a major then the Baltic region's Core Four (from Latvia & Estonia) would have been a mighty award-worthy force, but since Latvian Thunder will remain a one-woman national show at this slam I suppose I'll go with Estonia in a stand-alone honor. Both Kontaveit and Kanepi remain in the draw. Naturally, Ostapenko will face Kontaveit in the 3rd Round, with the winner possibly facing off with Kanepi in the Round of 16.
"I feel the pain but I didn't think about it. I just wanted to play the match and to win it."
*AO "ZOMBIE QUEEN" WINNERS* 2008 Jelena Jankovic, SRB 2009 Dinara Safina, RUS 2010 Serena Williams, USA 2011 Francesca Schiavone, ITA 2012 Kim Clijsters, BEL 2013 Caroline Wozniacki, DEN 2014 Li Na, CHN 2015 Maria Sharapova, RUS 2016 Monica Puig, PUR 2017 Lucie Safarova, CZE 2018 Caroline Wozniacki, DEN
*AO "UPSET QUEENS" WINNERS* 2004 Hungary 2005 Russia 2006 Spain 2007 Czech Republic 2008 Russia 2009 France 2010 Russia 2011 Russia 2012 Russia 2013 Russia 2014 Australia 2015 Germany 2016 Russia 2017 United States 2018 Ukraine
*AO "REVELATION LADIES" WINNERS* 2006 Italy 2007 Belarus 2008 Poland 2009 Kazakhstan 2010 Germany 2011 Czech Republic 2012 Germany 2013 United States 2014 Romania 2015 France 2016 China 2017 Australia 2018 Estonia
**AO "EARLY-ROUND TOP PLAYER" WINNERS** 2002 (Week 1 POW) Martina Hingis, SUI 2003 (Week 1 POW) Kim Clijsters, BEL 2004 (Week 1 co-POW) Kim Clijsters, BEL & Justine Henin, BEL * 2005 (Week 1 POW) Svetlana Kuznetsova, RUS 2006 (Week 1 POW) Amelie Mauresmo, FRA * 2007 Kim Clijsters, BEL 2008 Maria Sharapova, RUS * 2009 Dominika Cibulkova, SVK 2010 Kim Clijsters, BEL 2011 Kim Clijsters, BEL * 2012 Victoria Azarenka, BLR * 2013 Maria Sharapova, RUS 2014 Serena Williams, USA 2015 Genie Bouchard, CAN 2016 Victoria Azarenka, BLR 2017 Karolina Pliskova, CZE 2018 Angelique Kerber, GER -- * - won title
**RECENT BEST SLAM "LUCKY LOSER" RESULTS** 2006 US: Nicole Pratt, AUS (2nd) 2006 RG: Kirsten Flipkens, BEL (2nd) 2007 WI: Alize Cornet, FRA (2nd) 2008 US: Mariana Duque-Marino, COL (2nd) 2009 RG: Mariana Duque-Marino, COL (2nd) 2009 WI: Kristina Kucova, SVK (2nd) 2010 RG: Bethanie Mattek-Sands, USA (2nd) 2011 WI: Stephanie Dubois, CAN (2nd) 2012 RG: Sesil Karatantcheva, KAZ (2nd) 2013 US: Patricia Mayr-Achleitner, AUT (2nd) 2014 AO: Irina Falconi, USA (2nd) 2015 US: Daria Kasatkina, RUS (3rd) 2016 WI: Duan Yingying, CHN (2nd) 2017 RG: Ons Jabeur, TUN (3rd) 2018 AO: Bernarda Pera, USA [into 3rd Rd.]
TOP QUALIFIER:Marta Kostyuk/UKR (first player born in 2002 in slam MD) TOP EARLY ROUND (1r-2r):#21 Angelique Kerber/GER TOP MIDDLE-ROUND (3r-QF): xx TOP LATE ROUND (SF-F): xx TOP QUALIFYING MATCH:Q1 - Caroline Dolehide/USA def. Conny Perrin/SUI 5-7/6-3/7-6(7) (trailed 5-0 and 6-2 in the deciding TB, saved 5 MP to record first career slam match win) TOP EARLY RD. MATCH (1r-2r):1st Rd. - Andrea Petkovic/GER def. Petra Kvitova/CZE 6-3/4-6/10-8 (Petko up 4-0 in 3rd, 3 MP saved by Kvitova; Kvitova for match at 6-5 and 8-7) TOP MIDDLE-RD. MATCH (3r-QF): xx TOP LATE RD. MATCH (SF-F/Jr./Doub.): xx ============================= FIRST VICTORY:Duan Yingying/CHN (def. Duque-Marino/COL) FIRST SEED OUT:#13 Sloane Stephens/USA (1st Rd. - lost to Zhang Shuai; 0-8 since winning U.S. Open) UPSET QUEENS:Ukraine REVELATION LADIES:Estonia NATION OF POOR SOULS:USA (women lose first eight 1st Rd. matches, go 1-9 on Day 1, 3/4 of '17 U.S. Open all-Bannerette semifinalists ousted) LAST QUALIFIER STANDING: In 3rd Rd.: Allertova, Kostyuk, Kumkhum; (LL: Pera) LAST WILD CARD STANDING:Olivia Rogowska/AUS (2nd Rd.) LAST AUSSIE STANDING:Ash Barty (in 3rd Rd.) Ms. OPPORTUNITY: Nominee: Pera IT (TBD): Nominee: Kostyuk ("Teen") COMEBACK PLAYER: xx CRASH & BURN:Sloane Stephens, CoCo Vandeweghe & Venus Williams, USA (3 of 4 '17 U.S. Open semifinalist lose on Day 1) ZOMBIE QUEEN:Caroline Wozniacki/DEN (2nd Rd. - Fett/CRO served up 5-1, 40/15 in 3rd set; 2 MP saved) KIMIKO VETERAN CUP: xx LADY OF THE EVENING: xx DOUBLES STAR: xx JUNIOR BREAKOUT: xx
Not unexpectedly, Elina Svitolina's methodical construction project designed to turn herself into a major champion took another step toward completion on Friday, though one has to seriously wonder whether the Ukrainian's annual "To-Do" list for 2018 originally included an item about "showing the next generation who's (still) boss."
No. 4 seed @ElinaSvitolina dismisses teen Kostyuk 6-2, 6-2°°
That's exactly what the world #4 and most accomplished women's tennis player ever from her nation was faced with on Day 5. Namely, her #541-ranked 15-year old countrywoman/qualifier/3rd Round opponent whose week-long run in Melbourne had already included five match wins, a heralded slam debut and a slew of references to Martina Hingis, as most of Marta Kostyuk's age-related accomplishments in recent days haven't been witnessed since the Swiss Miss was making Sweet Sixteen wish lists in the mid-1990's. But while the precocious '17 AO girls champ has taken the tennis world by storm in Melbourne, finally learning to love tennis more and more along the way, Svitolina has continued to resemble the player whose entire career has been about successfully taking things step by step, moving one rung up the WTA ladder at a time.
As things have worked out, Svitolina's placement in her half of the draw has allowed her to go from the pre-tournament "betting favorite" in the eyes of the Australians who somehow determine such things to one of the few players in her entire section with legitimately highlighted career resume entries. With the 3rd Round beginning on this day, only one former slam winner (Ostapenko) and another former finalist (Wozniacki) -- who might have to play *each other* before facing the Ukrainian -- were anywhere near Svitolina in the draw, and only one of those with slam SF (2) and QF (2) to their credit have ever advanced so far in the AO. The rest of the sixteen in her half of the draw have never produced anything better than a Round of 16 result at a major.
Of course, Svitolina, too, has been unable to make her own slam mark via any sort of leap or bound. Just as she's gradually raised her season-ending ranking since making her pro debut in 2010 -- 498-269-156-40-29-19-14-6 -- she's been unable to make any sort of Latvian Thunder-like push at the slam level. Since reaching the QF at Roland Garros in 2015, she went into today with another QF and three Round of 16's, but nothing more despite climbing as high as #3 in the rankings, winning her last six singles finals (10-2 in her WTA career), posting twenty-two Top 20 wins (fourteen against Top 10ers and five over world #1's), and last year becoming the first woman to win three Premier 5 titles in single season. She had a chance at something huge last spring in Paris, where she led Simona Halep 6-3/5-1 in the QF, twice served for the match and had a MP, only to ultimately implode in a love final set that was over in twenty minutes.
Svitolina has always had an analytical version of a champion's mind, and her season of work with Justine Henin in '16 only served to cement her work-religiously-toward-an-established-goal mindset. But until she can fully put that moment in Paris behind her by reaching the level of accomplishment at a major that just eluded her at RG, the perfectly planned out path to greatness for Svitolina will always be incomplete, preventing her from being a no-brainer addition to the list of truly "elite" players on tour.
Svitolina's Ukrainian tennis records (first woman in the Top 10 and Top 5, the highest-ranked player ever, etc.) are all things that Kostyuk will soon set her sights on (maybe sooner than anyone imagined a week ago, in fact), and if and when she ever follows in those particular footsteps she'll be able to look back and see how much she's learned between then and today, for the teenager was rightly schooled in the basics of big-time tennis this afternoon by her countrywoman. There'll be no hard feelings, though, of course.
Kostyuk opened the match with love break of Svitolina's serve, but the 23-year old quickly settled in after that. She broke back a game later and the lesson officially began. While the #4 seed had all her shots working, including the serve that she made it a goal to improve since last season (always the list-maker), the teen's own second serve bedeviled her throughout (which is just what you'd expect to get with a 15-year old, I guess). She had five double-faults in her first three service games, and sported a 33% 1st serve percentage while dropping the set 6-2. Svitolina jumped out to a 4-1 lead in the 2nd, and Kostyuk's ninth DF of the match -- on MP -- closed out the 6-2/6-2 contest.
The loss ends the record-breaking run of the promising, athletic reigning junior champ with the big shots to dream even bigger. She's just not yet at the level of the player whose own records she may match, or even break, one day.
Q. What did you take from that experience today? MARTA KOSTYUK: Well, a lot. How much you have to pay Svitolina to have one-hour lesson, so I got it for free.
Meanwhile, Svitolina gets another chance at putting on a second week run at a major, having finally broken out of her AO holding pattern after 3rd Round exits in Melbourne in 2014, '15 and '17. After admitting the other day that some previously undisclosed (and unnoticed) malady had almost caused her to pull out of this tournament before it'd even started, we'll have to take it upon ourselves to try to judge her chances of finally breaking through her personal grand slam glass ceiling, while also admitting that it's sometimes difficult to tell what's going on *inside* Svitolina.
As of today, though, her chances for grand success look good. Hmmm, maybe those bookies knew what they were talking about, after all.
=DAY 5 NOTES=
...well, one of the results of so many top names being upset in the opening two rounds, and *two* matches hosting night schedule matches, is that the Friday daytime schedule was absent the usual marquee WTA names you'd generally see at this stage of a major, and which usually drive the live over-the-air television coverage of the event. With Caroline Wozniacki and Alona Ostapenko set to close out the evening on, respectively, Laver and MCA, Day 5 began with, not to sound disrespectful, 3rd Round AO match-ups that sort of resembled what you might get in the 2nd Round in Baku. Or maybe Prague.
Petra Martic and Luksika Kumkhum kicked the day off on the big court at 11 a.m., while Denisa Allertova and Magda Linette occupied the stadium *still* named for the former player whose name we dare not speak (since Tennis Australia apparently has decided to punt the whole issue until a further date, or until -- they maybe hope -- the controversy will blow over and replaced by something that will leave people even more aghast. (Heehee, they must think they're living in the U.S. or something.)
Hardly shockingly, Tennis Channel's coverage went full-on with the Bryan brothers doubles match on Hisense. Fine, then.
Starting things off on MCA was yet another Czech making a slam breakthrough as 24-year old qualifier Allertova jumped on Poland's Linette in the 1st set in a battle of players seeking to reach their maiden career slam Round of 16. She took the set 6-1, then turned around a 0-3 start in the 2nd to get back on serve at 4-4 and go on to claim the victory, 6-2/6-4.
While Thailand's Kumkhum, fresh off her win over Belinda Bencic, was playing in her first career 3rd Round match, Martic was trying to reach her third Round of 16 in the last four majors despite missing nearly a year with a back injury from Wimbledon '16 until spring '17. The Croat returned to action last season and promptly won 29 of her first 35 matches on all levels, a stretch that included two slam qualifying runs in Paris and London that turned into her second and third career slam 4th Round results after she'd not posted a MD slam win since 2013. At Roland Garros, Martic led Svitolina 5-2 in the 3rd set and was up love/30 on the Ukrainian's serve, then served for the match herself, but squandered it all by dropping 20 of the final 23 points in the match.
Against Kumkhum, Martic surged in the closing moments of a pair of sets to get the win, breaking late in the first to lead 4-3, the winning the set 6-3, then recovering from a 40/15 hole in game 11 of the 3rd set to break Kumkhum and then serve out the match to win 6-3/3-6/7-5. The former world #42 (2012), on her 27th birthday, is set to gain over twenty spots (at least) in the rankings and return to (at least) the Top 60 after this AO.
...the match-up between Elise Mertens and Alize Cornet had the sort of drama and full-breathed bellows that one would expect from any match involving the Pastry...
But the story here revolves around the Belgian. While Mertens saw Cornet erase her double-break lead in the 1st set, where 4-1 turned into 4-4, she managed to break back for 6-5 and then serve out the set a game later. After Cornet's between-sets call for a trainer and doctor as she dealt with the Melbourne heat, Mertens went about taking a 5-4 lead and serving for the match. After two DF, including one on MP, and a BP saved with a big wide service winner, the Waffle finally put away MP #4 to win 7-5/6-4.
Mertens' AO debut was delayed a year, as she missed out on Melbourne while winning her maiden tour title in Hobart rather than head off for AO qualifying. A week ago, the Belgian defended that Hobart crown, and picked up a doubles one, as well. Now, in her very first Australian Open, she's into her first career slam Round of 16. I guess we can take it as gospel that Down Under works pretty well for her, huh?
...since I'd like to *maybe* be able to get enough shut-eye to *possibly* see a little of the session-closing matches -- Wozniacki/Bertens and Ostapenko/Kontaveit -- on the show courts in the wee small hours of the morning, I'm going to wrap up the Day 5 post right here. As I post, yet another Ukrainian -- Kateryna Bondarenko -- leads Wimbledon semifinalist Magdalena Rybarikova in one of the remaining two 3rd Rounders in the day session, while the all-vet match-up between Carla Suarez-Navarro and Kaia Kanepi has yet to begin.
...in doubles, today's 2nd Round results have set up a battle of Chan sisters in the coming days, as #1-seeded Latisha (w/ Andrea Sestini-Hlavackova) will meet #14-seeded Angel (Hao-Ching) and her partner, Katarina Srebotnik, in the 3rd Round.
*WOMEN'S SINGLES ROUND OF 16* x vs. x x vs. x x vs. x x vs. x Petra Martic/CRO vs. Elise Mertens/BEL (Q) Denisa Allertova/CZE vs. #4 Elina Svitolina/UKR x vs. x x vs. x
"I think it just shows the mental side of the game and how she was able to kind of draw on her experience...It was just fun to see her kind of slow the game down and, you know, draw on that." -Will Ferrell on Caroline Wozniacki.
*AO "LAST QUALIFIER STANDING" WINNERS* =2006= Olga Savchuk, UKR (3rd Rd.) =2007= Anne Kremer, LUX (all 2nd Rd.) Alla Kudryavtseva, RUS Tamira Paszek, AUT Julia Vakulenko, UKR Renata Voracova, CZE =2008= Marta Domachowska, POL (4th Rd.) =2009= Elena Baltacha, GBR (all 2nd Rd.) Alberta Brianti, ITA Sesil Karatantcheva, KAZ =2010= Yanina Wickmayer, BEL (4th Rd.) =2011= Vesna Manasieva (now Dolonc/SRB), RUS (3rd Rd.) =2012= Nina Bratchikova, RUS (3rd Rd.) =2013= Valeria Savinykh, RUS (both 3rd Rd.) Lesia Tsurenko, UKR =2014= Zarina Diyas, KAZ (3rd Rd.) =2015= Lucie Hradecka, CZE (3rd Rd.) =2016= Zhang Shuai, CHN (QF) =2017= Mona Barthel, GER (both 4th Rd.) Jennifer Brady, USA =2018= Denisa Allertova, CZE (in 4th Rd.)
**RECENT SLAM 3rd Rd.+ "LUCKY LOSER" RESULTS** =AO= 3rd Rd. - Sandra Kleinova, CZE (1997) 3rd Rd. - Bernarda Pera, USA (2018) # =RG= 3rd Rd. - Veronika Martinek, GER (1995) 3rd Rd. - Gloria Pizzichini, ITA (1996) 3rd Rd. - Ons Jabeur, TUN (2017) =WI= 3rd Rd. - Tine Zwaan, NED (1974) =US= 4th Rd. - Maria Jose Gaidano, ARG (1993) 3rd Rd. - Dasha Kasatkina, RUS (2015) -- #-to play 3rd Rd.
*RECENT AUSTRALIAN WOMEN IN AO ROUND OF 16* [since 7-round event in '87] 1987 QF - Elizabeth Smylie 1987 4th Rd. - Janine Tremelling 1987 4th Rd. - Wendy Turnbull 1988 QF - Anne Minter 1989 4th Rd. - Nicole Provis 1990 4th Rd. - Rachel McQuillan 1991 4th Rd. - Rachel McQuillan 1993 4th Rd. - Nicole Provis 2003 4th Rd. - Nicole Pratt 2004 4th Rd. - Alicia Molik 2005 QF - Alicia Molik 2006 4th Rd. - Samantha Stosur 2008 4th Rd. - Casey Dellacqua 2009 QF - Jelena Dokic 2010 4th Rd. - Samantha Stosur 2015 4th Rd. - Casey Dellacqua 2016 4th Rd. - Dasha Gavrilova 2017 4th Rd. - Dasha Gavrilova -- NOTE: Barty to play in 3rd Rd.
TOP QUALIFIER:Marta Kostyuk/UKR (first player born in 2002 in slam MD) TOP EARLY ROUND (1r-2r):#21 Angelique Kerber/GER TOP MIDDLE-ROUND (3r-QF): xx TOP LATE ROUND (SF-F): xx TOP QUALIFYING MATCH:Q1 - Caroline Dolehide/USA def. Conny Perrin/SUI 5-7/6-3/7-6(7) (trailed 5-0 and 6-2 in the deciding TB, saved 5 MP to record first career slam match win) TOP EARLY RD. MATCH (1r-2r):1st Rd. - Andrea Petkovic/GER def. Petra Kvitova/CZE 6-3/4-6/10-8 (Petko up 4-0 in 3rd, 3 MP saved by Kvitova; Kvitova for match at 6-5 and 8-7) TOP MIDDLE-RD. MATCH (3r-QF): xx TOP LATE RD. MATCH (SF-F/Jr./Doub.): xx ============================= FIRST VICTORY:Duan Yingying/CHN (def. Duque-Marino/COL) FIRST SEED OUT:#13 Sloane Stephens/USA (1st Rd. - lost to Zhang Shuai; 0-8 since winning U.S. Open) UPSET QUEENS:Ukraine REVELATION LADIES:Estonia NATION OF POOR SOULS:USA (women lose first eight 1st Rd. matches, go 1-9 on Day 1, 3/4 of '17 U.S. Open all-Bannerette semifinalists ousted) LAST QUALIFIER STANDING:Denisa Allertova/CZE (in 4th Rd.) (LL: Bernarda Pera/USA in 3rd Rd.) LAST WILD CARD STANDING:Olivia Rogowska/AUS (2nd Rd.) LAST AUSSIE STANDING:Ash Barty (in 3rd Rd.) Ms. OPPORTUNITY: Nominee: Pera IT (TBD): Nominee: Kostyuk ("Teen") COMEBACK PLAYER: Nominees: Kerber, Sharapova, Kanepi, A.Radwanska CRASH & BURN:Sloane Stephens, CoCo Vandeweghe & Venus Williams, USA (3 of 4 '17 U.S. Open semifinalist lose on Day 1) ZOMBIE QUEEN:Caroline Wozniacki/DEN (2nd Rd. - Fett/CRO served up 5-1, 40/15 in 3rd set; 2 MP saved) KIMIKO VETERAN CUP: Nominees: Kerber, Sharapova, Hsieh, CSN, K.Bondarenko, Strycova, Safarova LADY OF THE EVENING: Nominees: Barty, Mertens DOUBLES STAR: xx JUNIOR BREAKOUT: xx
