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AO.6 - The Match That Ate Day 6

January 20, 2018, 12:43 am
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Simona Halep may not ultimately win this Australian Open. But, gosh darn it, she'll most definitely leave in her wake a few spray painted "Simona was Here" tags strategically placed all over Melbourne Park. The latest example: on Saturday -- nearly ALL Saturday, in fact -- she and Lauren Davis spent their time coating Rod Laver Arena with a blood-and-sweat (but no tears) masterpiece in The Match That Ate Day 6.



At first glance, especially had the end result been different, this 3rd Round match might have been remembered for the multitude of sins that the world #1 committed against a player ranked seventy-five spots below her on the WTA computer. She failed to get on top of Davis in the 1st set and soon found herself having to stage yet another comeback so soon after being pushed in the 1st Round by Destanee Aiava, and she was often negligent in attacking her opponent's forehand as often as she should and could have (it'd produced most of the multitude of UE's Davis had in the match). Additionally, she squandered multiple break opportunities and chances to serve out the match that would have made the start of her weekend a whole lot less physically brutal, not to mention paring away well over an hour of match time in a contest that lasted nearly four.

But Halep won, and that changes everything, and more than underscores what she did *right*. Faced with an opponent who was giving all her five-foot-two body was able, the world #1 didn't give up, and didn't fold. Before some of her confidence-building moments from the past year, that may not have been the case. She didn't hold herself to an unreasonable standard of excellence and browbeat herself into submission simply because she didn't meet it at *every* moment, and instead scrapped, clawed, held her ground and fought until the final point went in her favor. Sure, she got frustrated, and was even a little bit "lucky," too. But in a knock-down, drag-out contest like this "instant classic" vs. Davis turned out to be, the difference between victory and defeat can be decided by a margin as thin as a single toe nail.

In this case, quite literally.

In a match that started as another challenge from a hard-hitting-with-nothing-to-lose young opponent for Halep, just two rounds after Aiava had pushed her back against the wall and then forced her to fight back from a badly-rolled ankle, Simona weathered the storm of dropping the 1st set by sending things to a 3rd, then take a commanding lead there and seeming to take full control of the action. But that's when the match took on a life of its own, and went on to consume the daytime attention span of Day 6 watchers, leaving more than just Halep and Davis exhausted and shaking their head at what what happening on Laver Arena.

In that 3rd set, Halep had the chance at 3-2 to go up a double-break and put a stranglehold on the proceedings. But Davis battled for the service hold instead. And they were off! Davis broke Halep a game later on her fifth BP, winning an important long rally with a series of defensive scrambles that extended the point until the Romanian finally committed an error. After moments earlier having been on the verge of falling out of contention, the Bannerette was back in it despite having twice as many errors as Halep. As the match headed into its second hour, though, the Romanian got the break to take a 5-4 lead and served for the match. Again, Davis' unending defensive sprints turned long rallies in her favor and she extended the match with a break of her own.

The rest of the match consisted of a "Groundhog Day" series of instances that seemed to have no natural end. Halep would surge ahead, but was unable to close out the match. She served for the win again at 6-5 and 8-7, only to come up short. At other times, Davis would edge ahead, and seemed ready to pull off the biggest win of her career as she'd outrun and at times out-hit the world #1, but Halep would then take a deep breath, set her feet, and hold on, hoping for another chance to win somewhere down the line. Serving to stay alive in the match, Halep held from 6-7, 8-9 (after having failed to convert on four BP chances in the previous game), 9-10 and 10-11.

In game #22, Halep had fallen behind love/40, only to have Davis begin to limp and pull at her feet. At first, it seemed as if she might be cramping just as she'd gone up triple match point. But, actually, she was feeling the pain of losing her toe nail on the second toe of her right foot. Halep saved all three MP to even things at 11-11, and the match was effectively turned in the Romanian's favor, though it was hardly over.

After being treated by a trainer (Halep never returned to the changeover area during the medical timeout, silently staying -- and often staring, seemingly thinking deep thoughts as she chewed on her cheek -- in the back of the AD court, where she'd eventually begin a return game vs. Davis' serve), the Ohio-born Floridian double-faulted to give Halep a 15/40 advantage. But Halep was unable to convert what turned out to be five BP chances in the game, then had to hold serve yet again while down 11-12, as well as 12-13.




But with the pain intensifying for Davis, and Halep refusing to blink, the Bannerette finally began to slow down. Halep went up love/40 on her serve in the 27th game of the set, and got the break. On her fourth opportunity to serve out the match, after falling behind 15/30, she reached her long-awaited first MP, and saw the match end when Davis pulled a shot wide.



The 4-6/6-4/15-13 match went to Halep after three hours and forty-five minutes (2:22 in 3rd set alone), making it the third-longest AO women's match ever. The forty-eight total games ties a mark set in 1996.



"I'm almost dead," Halep joked (sort of) after the match. Oh, but has she ever been so obviously *alive*?



For this AO has given ample evidence of the change that has taken place within Halep over the course of the past season-plus. A career marked by pockets of head-hanging get-me-outta-here exits is now producing more and more moments of grit and guile worthy of the major champion the Romanian wishes to become. She's overcome Aiava and a scary injury. Against Davis, she ran naked along the edge of the Cliffs of Simona and somehow didn't fall over the side. She's already done enough at this AO to make hers a truly heart-pounding, memorable run even if it produces no more highlights, but it remains to be seen whether what she has left in her body for what remains of this slam -- remember, she's not even HALF-way to a potential title, and the opponents will only get tougher from here on -- is enough to even be *able* to make a legitimate championship run.



Of course, wouldn't that fit right in line with the long-way-around aspects of Halep's slam quest? Only she could find herself in a situation where the one thing that has solidified her confidence -- finally grabbing the #1 ranking -- may have made things tougher on her in her first major as the top-ranked player. A case could be made that Halep would have been "better off" had she lost her #1 ranking to Caroline Wozniacki after Week 1, as even if she's able to muster all her forces again (and for multiple rounds) as this slam progresses, she's still got quite a few big-name opponents lurking around nearly every corner in the top half. While hardly an open-and-shut case, after the trials and tribulations she's already gone through in her first three matches in Melbourne, Halep would probably be better positioned for continued success in the "lighter-on-heavy-hitters" bottom half. Or not, I guess. Who can tell anymore, right?

Either way, while it's still relevant, it's time for the familiar refrain...



Si-mo-na! Si-mo-na!

Not TOO loudly, though... Ms. Halep needs her rest now more than ever. As long as there's also time for some chocolate, of course.






=DAY 6 NOTES=
...not surprisingly, the daytime's other singles matches sort of got pushed to the margins during the Halep/Davis marathon.

Early on, Madison Keys continued her clean run through the opening week, dispatching Romanian Ana Bogdan 6-3/6-4. She's into the Round of 16 in her third straight appearance in Melbourne, though not her third consecutive AO, as she missed last year's event with a wrist injury. She reached the semifinals in 2015.



Karolina Pliskova won the all-Czech Maiden battle with Lucie Safarova, prevailing 7-6(6)/7-5. She's reached the Round of 16 at five of the last six majors. Meanwhile, Caroline Garcia finally put down Aliaksandra Sasnovich 6-3/5-7/6-2 to reach her maiden AO 4th Round. The Pastry has reached the Round of 16 at three of the last four slams.



Late in the day, Barbora Strycova made it THREE Czech Maidens in the Round of 16, more than any other nation (no other has more than one), with a 6-2/6-2 win over lucky loser Bernarda Pera. So, Maria Jose Gaidano's honor of being the most recent LL to reach a slam 4th Round ('93 U.S.) remains in place.

But the biggest "boom" that was heard around the grounds following the Halep/Davis earthquake was the dismantling of the last remaining Aussie in the women's draw, as Naomi Osaka took down Ash Barty 6-4/6-2 in comprehensive fashion to reach her first career slam Round of 16 in just her first major since hiring Sascha Bajin as coach. As noted before the season, their pairing might just be the most lightly-discussed (or, as far as ESPN is concerned, NEVER discussed), potentially huge, and surely most intriguing storyline of the season. If "Big Sascha" can help focus and streamline Osaka's talent, she could be this year's version of Ostapenko under the right circumstances. Needless to say, this match is a very, very good sign.




...in doubles -- take a deep breath, because it's a doozy to come to grips with -- Kiki Mladenovic won ANOTHER match. And, no, I'm not acting like a White House Communications Director and just making stuff up, either. With Timea Babos by her side, the Pastry advanced to the WD Round of 16 with a 3-6/6-3/6-4 win over the Spanish team of ParraSantonja/Arruabarrena.

...the night schedule will feature what will be the last possible women's match-up in Melbourne of previous slam winners as Angelique Kerber and Maria Sharapova face off on Laver in the Russian's latest marquee first week match at a slam.



Aga Radwanska and Hsieh Su-wei will play even later, in the second match up on MCA. So, I'll come back on Saturday with the usual Lists-a-Palooza information, as well as (I would think) some comments about some of the (very) late results.


...UPDATE FROM NIGHT 5: Another Baltic Baller was born, at the expense of the previously most recent of the same...






...NOTE ON DAY 6: Kathy Rinaldi was watching. I'm just sayin'.



...LIKE ON DAY 6: On second thought... KING/KOALA in 2020?




...and, finally...the junior draw has been made and some 1st Round matches have been played. While *the* Simona managed to avoid a loss today, the *other* Simona -- as in Swiss #3 seed Waltert -- didn't as she was knocked off by Japanese qualifier Himeno Sakatsume. Also losing was U.S. Open girls finalist Coco Gauff, to Italy's Elisabetta Cocciaretto.

=SF=
#1 Wang Xinyu/CHN d. #12 Elysia Bolton/USA
#7 Alexa Noel/USA d. #13 Daniela Vismane/LAT
=FINAL=
#7 Alexa Noel/USA d. #1 Wang Xinyu/CHN

...if Noel (or Bolton, etc.) would make it a "Bannerette Slam" over the past year, with four straight junior girls singles champs hailing from the States. If the AO final is another all-U.S. affair, I'm not even sure *what* you'd call it (Super-Duper Slam?) since it'd mean that four straight slams have featured a Bannerette-vs.-Bannerette face-off for the title on the final weekend (after such a thing hadn't happened at all since 1992).

**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

Taiwan's Liang En-shuo (the AO #2 seed) just won the warm-up Traralgon G1 event, defeating Wang Xiyu (the #9 AO seed, not to be confused with #1-seeded Wang Xinyu, who was the youngest player not named Marta to compete in the AO women's MD) in the final.





*WOMEN'S SINGLES ROUND OF 16*
#1 Simona Halep/ROU vs. Naomi Osaka/JPN
#20 Barbora Strycova/CZE vs. #6 Karolina Pliskova/CZE
x vs. x
#17 Madison Keys/USA vs. #8 Caroline Garcia/FRA
Petra Martic/CRO vs. Elise Mertens/BEL
(Q) Denisa Allertova/CZE vs. #4 Elina Svitolina/UKR
#32 Anett Kontaveit/EST vs. Carla Suarez-Navarro/ESP
#19 Magdalena Rybarikova/SVK vs. #2 Caroline Wozniacki/DEN
























*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)
=2018=
AO: Madison Keys (in 4th 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): Nominee: Keys
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): Nominee: 3rd Rd. - #1 Halep d. Davis 4-6/6-4/15-13 (3:45; 3 MP saved from triple MP down; served out on fourth try in the 2:22 3rd set)
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 (3rd Rd.)
Ms. OPPORTUNITY: xx
IT (TBD): Nominee: Kostyuk, Kontaveit, Osaka
COMEBACK PLAYER: Nominees: Kerber, Sharapova, 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, Strycova
LADY OF THE EVENING: Nominees: Barty, Mertens
DOUBLES STAR: xx
JUNIOR BREAKOUT: xx





All for Day 6. Lists-and-more tomorrow.
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AO 6.5 - Lists-a-Palooza

January 20, 2018, 9:14 am
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More lists than reasons I can think of to never break down and try Vegemite even one more time. "Acquired taste," my calling bush birds.

Anyway...


=NIGHT 6 NOTES=
...before the Lists-a-Palooza round-up, one must ask, "Did anyone catch the plates on the truck that ran over Maria Sharapova on Night 6?" I hear it was of German make. Sturdy, efficient and showing none the worse for wear. A 2016 model, maybe? Or at least it sure looked that way.



Already riding a seven-match win streak (or eleven, if you wish), and quite possibly starting to think about rolling out another in just Melbourne alone, Angelique Kerber jumped on the Russian in their 3rd Round meeting on Laver, breaking her serve and then going about standing on the baseline and timing her groundstrokes to whack with full intensity every screaming shot that Sharapova sent back at her. Maria hadn't played Kerber since 2015, *before* the German's career-altering '16 campaign. Angie was good then, but nothing like this. So, at least Sharapova now knows what she missed two seasons ago. Maybe it wasn't such a poorly-timed "vacation," after all? Just a passing thought.

Committing just two unforced errors, Kerber took the 1st set 6-1, then went about trying to do the same in the 2nd. She led 2-0 before Sharapova finally found her range and made something of a set of it all. She got back to 2-2, and forced Kerber to fight off a break point to hold for 4-3. But that was as far as things progressed. Kerber broke for 5-3 a game later, then served out the match.

Then she stepped out of her invisible time machine and joined the rest of us back here in 2018.



The loss from Sharapova makes this AO just the third slam in the last seventy without a Hordette in the Round of 16, a run that began with the 2000 U.S. Open. This is only the second time it's happened (along w/ the "Radwanskian Massacre" Wimbledon of 2013) with Sharapova in the draw, and the first time at all in Melbourne since 2001.

...later, because this AO just hasn't yet had enough upsets, Hsieh Su-Wei took down Aga Radwanska 6-2/7-5. Thus, the 32-year old Taiwanese vet reaches her second career slam Round of 16, but her first since a similar AO run in 2008 as a qualifier.








*WOMEN'S SINGLES ROUND OF 16*
#1 Simona Halep/ROU vs. Naomi Osaka/JPN
#20 Barbora Strycova/CZE vs. #6 Karolina Pliskova/CZE
Hsieh Su-Wei/TPE vs. #21 Angelique Kerber/GER
#17 Madison Keys/USA vs. #8 Caroline Garcia/FRA
Petra Martic/CRO vs. Elise Mertens/BEL
(Q) Denisa Allertova/CZE vs. #4 Elina Svitolina/UKR
#32 Anett Kontaveit/EST vs. Carla Suarez-Navarro/ESP
#19 Magdalena Rybarikova/SVK vs. #2 Caroline Wozniacki/DEN





*2018 AUSTRALIAN OPEN WOMEN'S FINAL 16*
[by ranking]
#1 - Simona Halep
#2 - Caroline Wozniacki
#4 - Elina Svitolina
#6 - Karolina Pliskova
#8 - Caroline Garcia
#16 - Angelique Kerber
#20 - Madison Keys
#21 - Magdalena Rybarikova
#24 - Barbora Strycova
#33 - Anett Kontaveit
#37 - Elise Mertens
#39 - Carla Suarez-Navarro
#72 - Naomi Osaka
#81 - Petra Martic
#88 - Hsieh Su-wei
#130 - Denisa Allertova
[by age]
32...Hsieh Su-wei
31...Barbora Strycova
30...Angelique Kerber
29...Carla Suarez-Navarro
29...Magdalena Rybarikova
27...Caroline Wozniacki
27...Petra Martic
26...Simona Halep
25...Karolina Pliskova
24...Denisa Allertova
24...Caroline Garcia
23...Elina Svitolina
22...Madison Keys
22...Elise Mertens
22...Anett Kontaveit
20...Naomi Osaka
[by nation]
3...CZE (Allertova,Ka.Pliskova,Strycova)
1...BEL (Mertens)
1...CRO (Martic)
1...DEN (Wozniacki)
1...ESP (Suarez-Navarro)
1...FRA (Garcia)
1...GER (Kerber)
1...EST (Kontaveit)
1...JPN (Osaka)
1...ROU (Halep)
1...SVK (Rybarikova)
1...TPE (Hsieh)
1...UKR (Svitolina)
1...USA (Keys)
[by career slam Round-of-16's]
20 - Caroline Wozniacki
17 - Angelique Kerber
14 - Carla Suarez-Navarro
12 - Simona Halep
9 - Madison Keys
6 - Elina Svitolina
5 - Karolina Pliskova
4 - Petra Martic
4 - Barbora Strycova
3 - Caroline Garcia
2 - Hsieh Su-wei
2 - Anett Kontaveit
2 - Magdalena Rybarikova
1 - Denisa Allertova
1 - Elise Mertens
1 - Naomi Osaka
[w/ consecutive slam Round of 16's]
4...Elina Svitolina
2...Madison Keys
2...Karolina Pliskova
2...Carla Suarez-Navarro
[by career AO Round of 16's]
6 - Caroline Wozniacki
5 - Angelique Kerber
3 - Simona Halep
3 - Madison Keys
3 - Barbora Strycova
3 - Carla Suarez-Navarro
2 - Hsieh Su-wei
2 - Karolina Pliskova
1 - Denisa Allertova
1 - Caroline Garcia
1 - Anett Kontaveit
1 - Petra Martic
1 - Elise Mertens
1 - Naom Osaka
1 - Magdalena Rybarikova
1 - Elina Svitolina
[w/ consecutive AO Round of 16's]
3 - Angelique Kerber
3 - Barbora Strycova
2 - Karolina Pliskova
[3] - Madison Keys = 3 straight, non-consecutive AO appearances (DNP 2017)
[AO Rd. of 16 - unseeded]
Denisa Allertova, CZE (Q)
Hsieh Su-wei, TPE
Petra Martic, CRO
Elise Mertens, BEL
Naomi Osaka, JPN
Carla Suarez-Navarro, ESP
[AO Rd of 16 - by region]
10 - Western Europe/Scandinavia (BEL-CRO-CZE-DEN-ESP-FRA-GER-SVK)
3 - Eastern Europe/Russia (EST-ROU-UKR)
2 - Asia/Oceania (JPN-TPE)
1 - North America/Atlantic (USA)
0 - Africa/Middle East (none)
0 - South America (none)
[WTA career slam Round of 16's - active]
55...Serena Williams
50...Venus Williams
37...Maria Sharapova
32...Svetlana Kuznetsova
27...Aga Radwanska
23...Victoria Azarenka
22...Jelena Jankovic
21...Patty Schnyder
20...CAROLINE WOZNIACKI
18...Francesca Schiavone
16...ANGELIQUE KERBER, Petra Kvitova, Vera Zvonareva
14...Ekaterina Makarova, CARLA SUAREZ-NAVARRO
12...SIMONA HALEP, Samantha Stosur
10...Marion Bartoli, Garbine Muguruza
9...MADISON KEYS
8...Dominika Cibulkova, Sabine Lisicki, Lucie Safarova...
8...Sloane Stephens
7...Sara Errani, Kaia Kanepi, Peng Shuai...
7...Roberta Vinci
6...Genie Bouchard, Yaroslava Shvedova, ELINA SVITOLINA
5...Julia Goerges, Johanna Konta, Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova...
5...Andrea Petkovic, Tsvetana Pironkova, KAROLINA PLISKOVA...
5...CoCo Vandeweghe, Yanina Wickmayer, (Zheng Jie)
4...Timea Bacsinszky, Alize Cornet, PETRA MARTIC...
4...Tamira Paszek, BARBORA STRYCOVA, Elena Vesnina
3...Belinda Bencic, Elena Bovina, Eleni Daniilidou...
3...Casey Dellacqua, CAROLINE GARCIA, Mirjana Lucic-Baroni...
3...Virginie Razzano, Anastasija Sevastova, Katerina Srebotnik
2...Kiki Bertens, Jennifer Brady, Sorana Cirstea...
2...Zarina Diyas, Kirsten Flipkens, Dasha Gavrilova...
2...Camila Giorgi, Anna-Lena Groenefeld, HSIEH SU-WEI...
2...Alisa Kleybanova, Ana Konjuh, ANETT KONTAVEIT...
2...Varvara Lepchenko, Bethanie Mattek-Sands, Kristina Mladenovic...
2...Monica Niculescu, Alona Ostapenko, Aravane Rezai...
2...Laura Robson, MAGDALENA RYBARIKOVA
1...DENISA ALLERTOVA, Mona Barthel, Annika Beck...
1...Irina-Camelia Begu, Alona Bondarenko, Kateryna Bondarenko...
1...Madison Brengle, Veronica Cepede Royg, Petra Cetkovska...
1...Miskai Doi, Anna-Lena Friedsam, Margarita Gasparyan...
1...Olga Govortsova, (Jamie Hampton), Andrea Hlavackova...
1...Bojana Jovanovski, Sesil Karatantcheva, Dasha Kasatkina...
1...Michaella Krajicek, Aleksandra Krunic, Alla Kudryavtseva...
1...ELISE MERTENS, Sania Mirza, Andreea Mitu...
1...NAOMI OSAKA, Pauline Parmentier, Kveta Peschke...
1...Monica Puig, Yulia Putintseva, Alison Riske...
1...Shelby Rogers, Arantxa Rus, Tereza Smitkova...
1...Alexandra Stevenson, Anna Tatishvili, Ajla Tomljanovic...
1...Lesia Tsurenko, Alison Van Uytvanck, Aleksandra Wozniak...
1...Zhang Shuai
[WTA slam Round of 16's since 2010 - active]
23...Serena Williams
20...Maria Sharapova
19...Aga Radwanska
18...Victoria Azarenka
16...ANGELIQUE KERBER, CAROLINE WOZNIACKI
15...Venus Williams
14...Svetlana Kuznetsova, Petra Kvitova, Ekaterina Makarova
12...SIMONA HALEP, CARLA SUAREZ-NAVARRO
10...Jelena Jankovic, Garbine Muguruza, Samantha Stosur
9...MADISON KEYS, Sloane Stephens
8...Francesca Schiavone
7...Sara Errani, Sabine Lisicki, Peng Shuai...
7...Lucie Safarova, Roberta Vinci
6...Genie Bouchard, Dominika Cibulkova, Kaia Kanepi...
6...Yaroslava Shvedova, ELINA SVITOLINA, Vera Zvonareva
5...Marion Bartoli, Julia Goerges, Johanna Konta...
5...Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, Andrea Petkovic, Tsvetana Pironkova...
5...KAROLINA PLISKOVA, CoCo Vandeweghe
4...Timea Bacsinszky, PETRA MARTIC, BARBORA STRYCOVA...
4...Yanina Wickmayer
3...Belinda Bencic, Alize Cornet, CAROLINE GARCIA...
3...Anastasija Sevastova
2...Irina-Camelia Begu, Kiki Bertens, Jennifer Brady...
2...Casey Dellacqua, Zarina Diyas, Kirsten Flipkens...
2...Dasha Gavrilova, Camila Giorgi, Ana Konjuh...
2...ANETT KONTAVEIT, Varvara Lepchenko, Mirjana Lucic-Baroni...
2...Kristina Mladenovic, Monica Niculescu, Alona Ostapenko...
2...Tamira Paszek, Laura Robson, MAGDALENA RYBARIKOVA...
2...Elena Vesnina, (Zheng Jie)
1...DENISA ALLERTOVA, Mona Barthel, Annika Beck...
1...Alona Bondarenko, Madison Brengle, Veronica Cepede Royg...
1...Petra Cetkovska, Sorana Cirstea, Misaki Doi...
1...Anna-Lena Friedsam, Margarita Gasparyan, Olga Govortsova...
1...(Jamie Hampton), Andrea Hlavackova, HSIEH SU-WEI...
1...Bojana Jovanovski, Dasha Kasatkina, Aleksandra Krunic...
1...Bethanie Mattek-Sands. ELISE MERTENS, Andreea Mitu...
1...Pauline Parmentier, Monica Puig, Yulia Putintseva...
1...Alison Riske, Shelby Rogers, Arantxa Rus...
1...Tereza Smitkova, Anna Tatishvili, Ajla Tomljanovic...
1...Lesia Tsurenko, Alison Van Uytvanck, Zhang Shuai


Whew!









All for Night 6. More tomorrow.
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↧

AO.7 - The Unusual Suspects

January 21, 2018, 12:07 am
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And, once again, the 2018 Australian Open's wheels spins to the side of the draw where opportunities abound. Where *someone* will ultimately emerge to play for her maiden slam crown next week, quite possibly in what is her first career major final.

The opportunities are so abundant that I've yet to even go with an initial nominee list for this slam's "Ms. Opportunity" award. There are just too many possibilities to sort out, and some natural selection is needed to pare down the contenders to a more manageable lot. On Sunday, the survival of the fittest in the bottom half of the draw took yet another important step.

In the opening match of the day, unseeded veteran Carla Suarez-Navarro faced off with #32-seeded relative newcomer Anett Kontaveit, who'd enlisted her power to prevail over her fellow Baltic twentysomething (Alona Ostapenko, who also dealing with a leg injury) in the previous round. Traditionally, CSN has been a player who can never be discounted, but also one rarely considered a *true* threat in the majors even though she's had pretty good success in slams over the balance of her career. She reached the QF (as a qualifier) in her slam debut at Roland Garros in 2008, then posted another Final 8 result in just her fourth major MD in what was her debut appearance in Melbourne the following season. Over the past decade, she'd put up three additional slam QF results, but never advanced beyond that point. The 29-year old Spaniard's career has always seemed to result in her walking up to the line of what would be a HUGE result, but never quite getting over that hump. Such a pattern was seen on the regular tour, as well, as she lost her first five singles finals from 2009-13 before finally winning her first in 2014 (she's gone 1-3 since), then she followed up her most successful slam campaign in '16 (4th Rd.+ for the first time at all four) by finishing the '17 season outside the Top 20 for the first time since 2012.

The 22-year old Kontaveit entered this season as one of the NextGen would-be stars poised to make a big leap. Seeded in this AO for the first time ever at a major, the Estonian was one of four players last season to reach finals on three different surfaces (the others, Ostapenko, Wozniacki and Goerges all finished in the Top 15, while Kontaveit was #34). In the early stages of today's Round of 16 match, she showed why she's a player to watch, too, only to falter when things mattered the most.

Kontaveit broke for a 3-2 lead in the 1st on her fourth BP in a 10-minute game, saved a BP a game later to lead 4-2, then held from double BP down to lead 5-3 en route to a 6-4 win. In the 2nd, though, she showed no such expertise in the clutch when her maiden slam QF was within reach. Still, she led 4-1, with a double-break advantage, only to see her earlier aggression wane and her error total climb as CSN reeled off five straight games to even the match. Kontaveit managed to carve out another opportunity in the 3rd, breaking the Spaniard for 5-4 and serving for the match. But, again, she played a bad game as Suarez-Navarro mostly simply played steady shots (that one-handed backhand is always reliable and a joy to watch) and allowed her to err. CSN got the break, backed it up with a love hold for 6-5, then forced Kontaveit to hold to stay alive again two games later. Finally, a long Kontaveit forehand on CSN's third MP completed the comeback, as Suarez-Navarro won 4-6/6-4/8-6 to reach her sixth career slam QF.



Of note, and maybe emblematic of CSN's career, this is her third slam QF as either a qualifier or unseeded player despite having those four consecutive seasons in the Top 20 from 2013-16.



=DAY 7 NOTES=
...if a women's match scheduled in the day session could have been labeled as the "marquee" match-up to take place under the sun -- though, to be honest, we're probably a couple of rounds away from something that would rightfully be described as such, it was the one featuring Caroline Wozniacki and Magdalena Rybarikova. Unlike any of the other contests in the bottom half of the draw, this one had players with at least one sterling slam result on their resume. Former #1 (current #2) Wozniacki is a two-time slam finalist, while Rybarikova was a surprise semifinalist at Wimbledon last summer.

Oh, if only it'd lived up to it's admittedly limited billing.

The Slovak *did* manage to get out the gates quickly, posting an early break. But after the Dane battled to get the break back, their fortunes took decidedly opposite routes. After winning a back-and-forth battle at the net, Wozniacki went up love/40 on Rybarikova's serve in game #6. A double-fault handed her the break for a 4-2 lead. And that was pretty much all she wrote. Rybarikova might have been described as either "off her game" or possibly tired after back-to-back three-setters in the Melbourne summer weather against veterans Kirsten Flipkens and Kateryna Bondarenko. But Wozniacki, re-invigorated after surviving a 5-1, 15/40 hole vs. Jana Fett in the 2nd Round, was neither of those things. Having been fortunate to escape the opening days of this event, she more than any player in the bottom half knows the opportunity that has now been presented her. Maintaining her defensive prowess, but mixing in good serving and some controlled aggression that allows her to have a more first-hand say in her own fate, Wozniacki never allowed Rybarikova to get a foothold in this match after her initially quick start. Often, she had to work to even win a single point (Caro even pulled off a tweener, though Rybarikova put it away with a simple volley winner). After Wozniacki took the 1st set at 6-3, she swept the first eight points of the 2nd en route to a love set victory to close out the Slovak in straights, 6-3/6-0. Into the AO quarterfinals for the first time since 2012, Wozniacki will face Suarez-Navarro (not the big-hitting, though questionable under pressure, Kontaveit or, more importantly, Ostapenko, who's gone 4-0 vs. the Dane over the last seventeen months).



Hmmm. Opportunity, meet destiny?

...in the final 4th Round match of the day schedule, a battle of unseeded players featured Elise Mertens (winner of two singles and two doubles titles in January the last three years, the two-time defending Hobart singles champ, and in her first slam Round of 16 in her AO debut) and Petra Martic (back from a '16 back injury that cost her nearly a year before she rode a pair of qualifying runs into 4th Rounds at RG and SW19 last season) as they looked to advance to their first career slam quarterfinal.

In both sets contested between the two, Belgium's Mertens jumped ahead, only to then be forced to hold off her Croatian opponent down the stretch. In the 1st, she led 4-0 (and nearly 5-0) before Martic rebounded to get things back on serve and into a TB after saving a SP on her serve down 5-6. Mertens ultimately claimed the breaker 7-5, then went up a break at 3-2 in the 2nd. After taking a medical timeout, Martic returned to the court and broke to level things at 4-4. Mertens broke to serve for the match, but failed to convert two MP and was broken on Martic's fourth BP of the game. Mertens immediately broke back for 6-5, then took a 40/love lead and served out the win on her third MP, 7-6(5)/7-5.



...the final Round of 16 match in the bottom half will be the last match up on Laver in the night session, as Elina Svitolina seeks her third career major QF (but first outside of Paris) against 4th Round newcomer Denisa Allertova.

...there was another Top 4 seed upset in the girls singles on Day 7. After #3 Simona Waltert (SUI) was ousted yesterday, '17 U.S. Open girls semifinalist Maria Lourdes Carle (ARG) was taken out by Bannerette Dalayna Hewitt (who's barely 17 years old and six-foot-two, by the way) in the 1st Round today.


Meanwhile, #2-seeded Traralgon champ Liang En-shuo (TPE) escaped the upset bid of wild card Aussie Olivia Gadecka, winning a 3rd set TB to advance.

...in women's doubles, already with big wins over the Dashas and Barty/Dellacqua, Jennifer Brady & back-with-a-vengeance Vania King cruised into the QF today with a 6-4/7-6(5) win over #13-seeded Nicole Melichar & Kveta Peschke.



In mixed doubles, we moved a little bit closer to a SECOND all-Chan sisters meeting at this AO. The two have already set up a Round of 16 match against one another in the women's doubles, and today Latisha's win with Jamie Murray, along with Angel's with Michael Venus, means they're one round away from a second clash in the MX quarterfinals.

...on the ITF circuit, Sunday's $25K challenger final in Orlando, Florida will feature Ukraine's Anhelina Kalinina's attempt to win a second title in two weeks. The 20-year old, a '14 U.S. Open girls finalist who lost in the women's qualifying at Roland Garros and the U.S. Open last season, won the $25K Daytona Beach title last week. She'll face Austrian Julia Grabher for the crown.


...LIKE ON DAY 7: Flight booked...



...LIKE ON DAY 7: B-day for L-Rob...



Robson recently talked about her escape without harm from the site of the concert shooting in Las Vegas last October.

...WHAT A DIFFERENCE A YEAR MAKES ON DAY 7: Cont'd...



...and, finally, traveling with Petko...







*WOMEN'S SINGLES ROUND OF 16*
#1 Simona Halep/ROU vs. Naomi Osaka/JPN
#20 Barbora Strycova/CZE vs. #6 Karolina Pliskova/CZE
Hsieh Su-wei/TPE vs. #21 Angelique Kerber/GER
#17 Madison Keys/USA vs. #8 Caroline Garcia/FRA
Elise Mertens/BEL def. Petra Martic/CRO
(Q) Denisa Allertova/CZE vs. #4 Elina Svitolina/UKR
Carla Suarez-Navarro/ESP def. #32 Anett Kontaveit/EST
#2 Caroline Wozniacki/DEN def. #19 Magdalena Rybarikova/SVK

*WOMEN'S DOUBLES ROUND OF 16*
#1 L.Chan/Sestini-Hlavackova (TPE/CZE) vs. #14 H.Chan/Srebotnik (TPE/SLO)
Golubic/Stojanovic (SUI/SRB) vs. #5 Babos/Mladenovic (HUN/FRA)
#4 Safarova/Strycova (CZE/CZE) def. Cirstea/Haddad Maia (ROU/BRA)
#8 S.Hsieh/Peng (TPE/CHN) def. #12 Atawo/Groenefeld (USA/GER)
#10 Begu/Niculescu (ROU/ROU) def. N.Kichenok/An.Rodionova (UKR/AUS)
Brady/King (USA/USA) def. #13 Melichar/Peschke (USA/CZE)
#6 Dabrowski/Y.Xu (CAN/CHN) vs. #11 Aoyama/Z.Yang (JPN/CHN)
#16 Krejcikova/Siniakova (CZE/CZE) vs. #2 Makarova/Vesnina (RUS/RUS)

















**WTA "CAREER QF SLAM" - active**
[with slam at which completed]
Azarenka - 2012 US (28th)
Bartoli - 2012 US (39th)
Cibulkova - 2014 AO (26th)
Halep - 2015 US (22nd)
Kerber - 2016 AO (33rd)
Kuznetsova - 2006 RG (16th)
Kvitova - 2015 US (30th)
Pavlyuchenkova - 2017 AO (37th)
Schiavone - 2011 AO (42nd)
Sharapova - 2005 US (12th)
S.Williams - 2001 RG (12th)
V.Williams - 1998 WI (6th)
Zvonareva - 2010 US (31st)





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): Nominee: Keys
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): Nominee: 3rd Rd. - #1 Halep d. Davis 4-6/6-4/15-13 (3:45; 3 MP saved from triple MP down; served out on fourth try in the 2:22 3rd set)
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 - 3rd Rd.)
LAST WILD CARD STANDING:Olivia Rogowska/AUS (2nd Rd.)
LAST AUSSIE STANDING:Ash Barty (3rd Rd.)
Ms. OPPORTUNITY: xx
IT (TBD): Nominee: Kostyuk, Osaka, Mertens
COMEBACK PLAYER: Nominees: Kerber, Wozniacki, King
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: Hsieh, Kerber, CSN, Strycova
LADY OF THE EVENING: Nominees: Mertens, Kerber, Wozniacki
DOUBLES STAR: xx
JUNIOR BREAKOUT: xx





All for Day 7. More tomorrow.
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AO.8 - Freedom! '18

January 22, 2018, 12:24 am
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Over the past eight days, this Australian Open has established something of a reputation. At *this* slam, great, head-spinning matches are seemingly born in the most indiscriminate corners. While we have sometimes expected great things and instead gotten a block of proverbial coal in our stockings in some highly valued sections of the draw (Kerber/Sharapova, Keys/Garcia), we've conversely been treated to some of the most memorable moments in other more moderately appraised areas (Halep/Davis, Wozniacki/Fett) that many onlookers might have strolled by without a second glance if they weren't careful.

Today, we stumbled upon another of *those* matches.



2016 AO champ Angelique Kerber has spent the opening weeks of 2018 finally escaping the quicksand and slow-motion demise that she experienced over the course of the '17 season, perhaps reaching the zenith of "Angie 3.0" in the 3rd Round in Melbourne with her thumping destruction of Maria Sharapova. Hsieh Su-wei, two years the German's senior at age 32, reached her first slam Round of 16 in a decade in Melbourne with back-to-back career highlights in which she flummoxed two-time slam winner Garbine Muguruza, who could never find an answer to her designed-to-frustrate brand of ball, and former slam finalist Aga Radwanska, who found out that expert anticipation and angled, unconventional wizardry can sometimes come from the *other* side of the net in one of her matches. One expected Kerber, undefeated so far this season and showing no signs of the inability to get on a roll that plagued her a season ago, to find a better way to handle the Taiwanese vet.

She did, eventually, once Hsieh had used up what remained of her physical reserves and was no longer able to twist the former #1 into a soft pretzel with her varied series of drop shots, slip-sliding forehand slices, hooks, flat change-of-direction winners down the line, angled brain-twisters, curling hand-cuffers, and, of course, her more "normal" corner-to-corner groundstrokes that served to leave Kerber perpetually out of position for most of two full sets on Monday, all while Hsieh's great shot anticipation never appeared to force *her* to have to actually chase balls down, as she was always there waiting, with every option and shot within arm's reach. The tactics bewitched, bothered and bewildered Kerber almost to the point of being on the brink of defeat.

Almost.



While she'd quickly outgrow the inherent tension of the biggest match of her career, Hsieh started quite slowly in the match. Her own errors contributed mightily to Kerber's early 3-1 advantage. But as soon as she got into the habit of keeping her off-speed shots within the lines, they had the intended effect of thwarting Kerber's brilliance as a ball machine-like whacking machine (last seen vs. a certain Russian) with the ability to park herself on the baseline, standing up to the most powerful of shots and returning them on the rebound with just as much (or more) sting as they'd arrived. With little pace to work with, Kerber couldn't use it against Hsieh. The dynamic often resulted in the German running down balls in the corners and putting back defensive crosscourt shots that Hsieh stepped in on and cut off with nary a hint of hurry, sending flat two-handed forehands (or two-handed backhands) down the line (or behind Angie) for an uncontested winner while Kerber was seen two or three steps away, trying in vain to catch up (that is, if she was able to get off the mark to make any attempt at all).



Hsieh soon got back on serve and notched holds to edge ahead, forcing Kerber to do the same to stay even. An ace and two service winners did the trick to knot the score at 4-4, but two games later Kerber found herself having to do it again to stay alive in the set. Down love/30, she used a forehand winner and drop shot to even the game score, then saved a set point with a forehand down the line. But on Hsieh's second SP, the Taiwanese vet got the full benefit of a net cord, as her ball barely made its way over onto Kerber's side of the court to allow her to claim the opening set at 6-4. For the 1st, she had twenty winners to just nine for the former champ.




In the 2nd, Kerber's frustration and exasperation only grew. At 2-2, Hsieh saved a BP and held. Kerber got the elusive break two games later to lead 4-3, then went up 30/15 on her own serve, only to commit three consecutive errors (one a badly missed overhead) to hand the break back. While Kerber's head-shaking, sarcastic thumbs-up motions and what-the-heck-is-happening expressions were by now a common sight, she nonetheless battled on. A few unforced errors by Hsieh opened the door at 5-5, and on BP Kerber eschewed any sort of crosscourt shot and instead fired a forehand down the line for a winner to get the break and serve for the 2nd set at 6-5. After not long before having seemingly been holding onto her chances in the match by her fingertips, Kerber held to force a 3rd.



It was in the final set that Hsieh finally hit the physical wall, just as Kerber was hitting her stride.

The German broke to start the 3rd, only to give back the advantage a game later. But what turned out to be Hsieh's last stand was next to come. In game #3, a missed mid-rally line call prevented Hsieh from taking a 40/love lead on serve, and since she didn't challenge the call she led only 30/15 after going on to lose the point. Kerber would get the break, then proceed to run away from her opponent after having spent so much time having been made to run to all corners -- sunlit and otherwise -- for most of the afternoon.

As Hsieh's error totals began to climb, she finally started to show the noticeable effort that she'd made seem so casual before. She began to struggle to get to some balls, and often delivered tired looking shots when she did (barely) reach them. Up 3-1, Kerber's backhand at Hsieh's feet at the net was too hot to handle and the German broke for 4-1. She had two MP at 5-1, but failed to get the break and was made to serve out the comeback win, ending things on MP #3 for a 4-6/7-5/6-2 victory and the continuation of her peerless '18 run, which now stands at 9-0 (13-0 overall).



Hsieh, after a long career of doubles success, as well as occasional flashes of singles accomplishment, will now exit Melbourne (though she's still alive in doubles) having left her mark on this AO as the latest veteran to find a personal fountain of youth Down Under. Zhang Shuai, Mirjana Lucic-Baroni and others... you now have some good company.



This win makes Kerber 3-0 in 2018 after dropping the 1st set. She was 3-22 in such matches in 2017, and 10-17 in 2016.

Fortified by both her dazzling '16 campaign as well as the deflating one of '17, Kerber is now, simultaneously, a different version of both those players from the last two seasons. She's now a more experienced, less weary (and wary) former champion who knows what she's capable of accomplishing, but also strengthened by the fact that she's already proven this season that she's not about to be defeated by simply being unable to live up to the expectations that her own accomplishments placed on her shoulders.



An argument could be made that the combination might make her a more dangerous player than ever, as she's not just riding an emotional and tactical wave, and is able to play with a more clear-minded and mentally unhampered approach. At the moment, Kerber may be experiencing a brand of new-found, hard-earned freedom that she's never before known.

What she does with that, both in Melbourne and beyond, should be fascinating.




=DAY 8 NOTES=
...Madison Keys and Caroline Garcia both came into 2018 having finally hit their stride in the latter stages of last season. Both got off to slow starts due to lingering injuries -- Garcia's back ailment led to the whole LOL mess, while Keys' two wrist surgeries kept her out of the '17 AO and turned her season into a stop-and-start affair until the summer. But Keys returned to North America and won in Stanford, then reached the U.S. Open final. Garcia staged a sudden breakthrough fall, becoming the first to sweep the Wuhan and Beijing titles, qualifying for the WTA Finals and finishing in the Top 10. Both had false starts in Brisbane a few weeks ago, with Keys falling in three sets to Jo Konta in her season debut and Garcia retiring from only match against Alize Cornet.

Garcia had a bit more difficulty (winner 8-6 deciding set vs. Marketa Vondrousova, and another three-setters vs. Aliaksandra Sasnovich) getting to the Round of 16 stage in Melbourne than Keys (no sets and just fourteen total games -- and five of those in one tight set vs. Wang Qiang), but when the Pastry broke the Bannerettes' serve to open the match it looked as if it was going to be a very even contest. But after Garcia failed to grab an opportunity to hold and back up the break, Keys got her foot in the door in the match and pretty soon had completely taken it over. She assumed the lead with break for 4-2, then served out the set at 6-3. Powering through Garcia, Keys raced to a double-break lead in the 2nd and finished off the French woman 6-3/6-2 to reach her second straight slam semifinal, and her first in Melbourne since 2015.



...the final women's Round of 16 match of the day session promised to be a test for Simona Halep, as much as a gauge of how she's physically recovered from an ankle injury *and* the nearly four-hour marathon win over Lauren Davis as it was for how she might handle the oft-erratic but always potentially lethal shots of Naomi Osaka.

What happened was the evidence that the 20-year old from Japan, while she has the raw material to work with (Sascha Bajin, your assignment is...), it still must be polished in order to truly shine. She's just not there yet.

With Halep needing a short match to help her continued recovery efforts, she got just that when Osaka failed to take advantage of the opportunities the world #1 gave her. Osaka was 0-for-5 on BP opportunities in the ever-important 1st set, failing on a handful of them in game #6 as Halep held for 3-3. In the immediate aftermath of the squandered chance(s), Osaka dropped her own serve a game later, then did so again as the Romanian closed out the set, amid a hail of Osaka errors, at 6-3.

Osaka finally got her first break in the opening game of the 2nd set, only to see it be a short-lived lead. Halep broke back in game #2, and pulled away with another break two games later. With Osaka serving to stay in the match at 5-2, Halep sealed the "two days after" victory with a big smile and clenched fist after whacking a second serve forehand return winner to close things out at 6-3/6-2.



...the all-Czech Maiden battle between Karolina Pliskova and Barbora Strycova will close out the night session on Laver.

...in the first of what might have been two doubles match-ups between the Chan sisters at this slam, #1-seeded Latisha (w/ Andrea Sestini-Hlavackova) defeated Angel (w/ Katarina Srebotnik) 6-3/6-2 to reach the QF. Also advancing were the Russian #2 seeds, Ekaterina Makarova & Elena Vesnina, as they continued their quest to become the first duo to win all four slams, the WTAF and Olympic Gold. They defeated Czechs Katerina Siniakova & Barbora Krejcikova. Gaby Dabrowski & Xu Yifan and Timea Babos & Kristina Mladenovic also advanced.

Six of the Top 8 seeds have reached the QF, along with #10 duo. The only unseeded pair is Jennifer Brady & Vania King.

In mixed doubles, defending champs Abigail Spears & Juan Sebastian Cabal came back from a set down to defeat Kveta Peschke & Henri Kontinen, 3-6/6-3 [10-8]. But "Chan-vs.-Chan II" died on the vine when #1-seeded Latisha & Jamie Murray lost to the all-Aussie pair of Storm Sanders & Marc Polmans, 7-6(8)/6-4. Thus, it'll be up to Angel to carry forth the family name in the mixed. She and Michael Venus play their Round of 16 match tomorrow.

Meanwhile, Larsson/Middelkoop also eliminated the #2-seeded pair, Dellacqua/Peers.

...Ukraine's Anhelina Kalinina decided to skip the trip to Melbourne and any attempt to qualify for the Australian Open. Her gamble paid off, as she maximized her ranking points potential over the past two weeks. On Sunday in Orlando, the 20-year old won her second straight ITF title of the season, taking the $25K challenger title with a 6-2/3-6/7-5 win over Austria's Julia Grabher. She won a $25K in Daytona Beach last week.



...in Costa Rica, 16-year old Maria Camila Osorio Serrano (COL) took the title at the junior G1 Coffee Bowl with a 6-3/5-7/6-3 win in the final over Bannerette Lea Ma.



In the Czech Republic, Hordette Maria Timofeeva defeated Luxembourg's Eleonora Molinaro 2-6/6-3/6-3 to claim the G1 RPM Junior Open in Prague.



...LIKE ON DAY 8:



...LIKE ON DAY 8: So she's still got that goin' for her, which is nice.



...and, finally, Czech teammates being Czech doubles mates...






*WOMEN'S SINGLES ROUND OF 16*
#1 Simona Halep/ROU def. Naomi Osaka/JPN
#20 Barbora Strycova/CZE vs. #6 Karolina Pliskova/CZE
#21 Angelique Kerber/GER def. Hsieh Su-wei/TPE
#17 Madison Keys/USA def. #8 Caroline Garcia/FRA
Elise Mertens/BEL def. Petra Martic/CRO
#4 Elina Svitolina/UKR def. (Q) Denisa Allertova/CZE
Carla Suarez-Navarro/ESP def. #32 Anett Kontaveit/EST
#2 Caroline Wozniacki/DEN def. #19 Magdalena Rybarikova/SVK

*WOMEN'S DOUBLES QF*
#1 L.Chan/Sestini-Hlavackova (TPE/CZE) vs. #5 Babos/Mladenovic (HUN/FRA)
#4 Safarova/Strycova (CZE/CZE) vs. #8 S.Hsieh/Peng (TPE/CHN)
#10 Begu/Niculescu (ROU/ROU) vs. Brady/King (USA/USA)
#6 Dabrowski/Y.Xu (CAN/CHN) vs. #2 Makarova/Vesnina (RUS/RUS)

*MIXED DOUBLES ROUND OF 16*
(WC) Sanders/Polmans (AUS/AUS) def. #1 L.Chan/J.Murray (TPE/GBR)
Martinez-Sanchez/Demoliner (ESP/BRA) vs. #7 A.Chan/Venus (TPE/NZL)
Spears/Cabal (USA/COL) def. #4 Peschke/Kontinen (CZE/FIN)
King/Skugor (USA/CRO) vs. #5 Babos/Bopanna (HUN/IND)
#6 Sestini-Hlavackova/Roger-Vasselin (CZE/FRA) vs N.Kichenok/Granollers (UKR/ESP)
(WC) Stosur/Groth (AUS/AUS) vs. #3 Makarova/Soares (RUS/BRA)
#8 Dabrowski/Pavic (CAN/CRO) vs. Schuurs/Rojer (NED/NED)
Larsson/Middlekoop (SWE/NED) def. #2 Dellacqua/Peers (AUS/AUS)

*GIRLS SINGLES ROUND OF 16*
x vs. x
#10 Lulu Sun/SUI vs. #5 Naho Sato/JPN
x vs. x
x vs. x
Elisabetta Cocciaretto/ITA vs. (Q) Wong Hong Yi Cody/HKG
#13 Daniela Vismane/LAT vs. Daria Frayman/RUS
#7 Alexa Noel/USA vs. #9 Wang Xiyu/CHN
x vs. x

*WC SINGLES QF*
#1 Yui Kamiji/JPN vs. Marjolein Buis/NED
Lucy Shuker/GBR vs. Sabine Ellerbrock/GER
Kgothatso Montjane/RSA vs. Aniek van Koot/NED
(WC) Katharina Kruger/GER vs. #2 Diede de Groot/NED

*WC DOUBLES SF*
#1 Buis/Yamiji (NED/JPN) vs. Montjane/Shuker (RSA/GBR)
Ellerbrock/Kruger (GER/GER) vs. #2 de Groot/van Koot (NED/NED)




















**AO "MIDDLE-ROUND TOP PLAYER" WINNERS**
2007 Serena Williams, USA *
2008 Maria Sharapova, RUS *
2009 Elena Dementieva, RUS
2010 Serena Williams, USA *
2011 Li Na, CHN
2012 Maria Sharapova, RUS
2013 Maria Sharapova, RUS
2014 Li Na, CHN *
2015 Maria Sharapova, RUS
2016 Serena Williams, USA
2017 Serena Williams, USA *
2018 Madison Keys, USA
--
* - won title

**AO "KIMIKO CUP FOR VETERAN ACHIEVEMENT" WINNERS**
2015 Venus Williams/USA and Martina Hingis/SUI
2016 Angelique Kerber, GER
2017 Venus Williams/USA & Serena Williams/USA
2018 Hsieh Su-wei, TPE

**AO "LADY OF THE EVENING" WINNERS**
2011 Andrea Petkovic, GER
2012 Victoria Azarenka, BLR (W)
2013 Laura Robson, GBR
2014 Li Na, CHN (W)
2015 Genie Bouchard, CAN
2016 "The Dasha Show" (Gavrilova)
2017 Karolina Pliskova, CZE
2018 Elise Mertens, BEL

*UNSEEDED/WC/Q in SLAM QF IN 32-SEED DRAW*
[began w/ 2001 Wimbledon]
2001 US - Bedanova
2002 AO - Ad.Serra-Zanetti
2002 RG - Pierce,C.Fernandez,Suarez
2002 WI - Likhovtseva
2002 US - Bovina
2003 AO - Shaughnessy,Ruano-Pascual
2003 RG - Pierce
2004 WI - Sprem
2004 US - Asagoe
2005 RG - Karatantcheva
2006 AO - Hingis(wc)
2006 WI - Bremond(q)
2007 AO - S.Williams[W],Safarova
2007 US - Szavay
2008 RG - Kanepi,Suarez-Navarro(q)
2008 WI - Zheng(wc),Tanasugarn
2009 AO - Dokic(wc),Suarez-Navarro
2009 RG - Sharapova,Cirstea
2009 WI - Lisicki,Schiavone
2009 US - Wickmayer,K.Bondarenko,Oudin,Clijsters(wc)[W]
2010 AO - J.Zheng,Kirilenko,Henin(wc)[RU]
2010 RG - Shvedova
2010 WI - Kvitova,Kanepi(q),Pironkova
2010 US - Cibulkova
2011 WI - Lisicki(wc),Paszek
2011 US - Kerber
2012 AO - Makarova,Errani
2012 RG - Shvedova(q)
2012 WI - Paszek
2013 AO - Kuznetsova
2013 RG - Kuznetsova
2013 WI - Kanepi
2013 US - Hantuchova,Pennetta
2014 RG - Muguruza
2014 WI - Zahlavova-Strycova
2014 US - Bencic,Peng
2015 AO - Keys
2015 RG - Van Uytvanck
2015 WI - Vandeweghe
2015 US - Mladenovic,Vinci[RU]
2016 AO - Konta,Sh.Zhang(q)
2016 RG - Bertens,Pironkova,Putintseva,Rogers
2016 WI - Shvedova,Vesnina
2016 US - Konjuh,Sevastova,Wozniacki
2017 AO - Lucic-Baroni,Vandeweghe
2017 RG - Ostapenko[W]
2017 WI - Rybarikova
2017 US - Kanepi(q),Stephens[W]
2018 AO - Mertens,Suarez-Navarro
--
[W]=won title; [RU]=reached final; [wc]=wild card; [q]=qualifier

*ACTIVE PLAYERS WITH EXACTLY ONE SLAM QF IN CAREER*
Belinda Bencic, SUI
Kiki Bertens, NED
Alona Bondarenko, UKR
Elena Bovina, RUS
Sorana Cirstea, ROU
Kirsten Flipkens, BEL
Caroline Garcia, FRA
Anna-Lena Groenefeld, GER
Ana Konjuh, CRO
Michaella Krajicek, NED
Elise Mertens, BEL
Peng Shuai, CHN
Yulia Putintseva, KAZ
Shelby Rogers, USA
Magdalena Rybarikova, SVK
Alexandra Stevenson, USA
Barbora Strycova, CZE [to play 4th Rd.]
Alison Van Uytvanck, BEL
Elena Vesnina, RUS
Yanina Wickmayer, BEL
Zhang Shuai, CHN

*2018 AO OPEN FINAL 8*
[by career slam QF]
10 - Simona Halep
10 - Caroline Wozniacki
8 - Angelique Kerber
6 - Carla Suarez-Navarro
4 - Madison Keys
3 - Elina Svitolina
1 - Elise Mertens
TO PLAY: Ka.Pliskova (4) vs. Strycova (1)
[by career AO QF]
5 - Angelique Kerber
3 - Simona Halep
3 - Carla Suarez-Navarro
3 - Caroline Wozniacki
2 - Madison Keys
1 - Elise Mertens
1 - Elina Svitolina
TO PLAY: Ka.Pliskova (1) vs. Strycova (0)
[w/ consecutive slam QF]
2 - Madison Keys
-
NOTE: Ka.Pliskova reached '17 U.S. Open QF
[w/ consecutive AO QF]
none
-
NOTE: Ka.Pliskova reached '17 AO Open QF
[WTA career slam QF - active]
47...Serena Williams, USA
39...Venus Williams, USA
24...Maria Sharapova, RUS
16...Victoria Azarenka, BLR
16...Svetlana Kuznetsova, RUS
12...Aga Radwanska, POL
10...SIMONA HALEP, ROU
10...Petra Kvitova, CZE
10...CAROLINE WOZNIACKI, DEN
8...Jelena Jankovic, SRB
8...ANGELIQUE KERBER, GER
7...Dominika Cibulkova, SVK
7...Sara Errani, ITA
7...Francesca Schiavone, ITA
7...Patty Schnyder, SUI
7...Samantha Stosur, AUS
6...Marion Bartoli, FRA
6...Kaia Kanepi, EST
6...Ekaterina Makarova, RUS
6...Garbine Muguruza, ESP
6...CARLA SUAREZ-NAVARRO, ESP
6...Vera Zvonareva, RUS
5...Sabine Lisicki, GER
4...Timea Bacsinszky, SUI
4...Genie Bouchard, CAN
4...MADISON KEYS, USA
4...Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, RUS
4...Andrea Petkovic, GER
4...Karolina Pliskova, CZE [to play]
4...CoCo Vandeweghe, USA
4...Roberta Vinci, ITA
3...Johanna Konta, GBR
3...Tamira Paszek, AUT
3...Tsvetana Pironkova, BUL
3...Lucie Safarova, CZE
3...Yaroslava Shvedova, KAZ
3...Sloane Stephens, USA
3...ELINA SVITOLINA, UKR
2...Mirjana Lucic-Baroni, CRO
2...Kristina Mladenovic, FRA
2...Alona Ostapenko, LAT
2...Anastasija Sevastova, LAT
2...(Jie Zheng, CHN)
1...Belinda Bencic, SUI
1...Kiki Bertens, NED
1...Alona Bondarenko, UKR
1...Elena Bovina, RUS
1...Sorana Cirstea, ROU
1...Kirsten Flipkens, BEL
1...Caroline Garcia, FRA
1...Anna-Lena Groenefeld, GER
1...Ana Konjuh, CRO
1...Michaella Krajicek, NED
1...ELISE MERTENS, BEL
1...Peng Shuai, CHN
1...Yulia Putintseva, KAZ
1...Shelby Rogers, USA
1...Magdalena Rybarikova, SVK
1...Alexandra Stevenson, USA
1...Barbora Strycova, CZE [to play]
1...Alison Van Uytvanck, BEL
1...Elena Vesnina, RUS
1...Yanina Wickmayer, BEL
1...Zhang Shuai, CHN
[WTA slam QF in 2010's - active]
19...Serena Williams, USA
14...Victoria Azarenka, BLR
11...Maria Sharapova, RUS
10...SIMONA HALEP, ROU
10...Petra Kvitova, CZE
9...Aga Radwanska, POL
9...Venus Williams, USA
9...CAROLINE WOZNIACKI, DEN
8...ANGELIQUE KERBER, GER
7...Sara Errani, ITA
6...Dominika Cibulkova, SVK
6...Ekaterina Makarova, RUS
6...Garbine Muguruza, ESP
6...Samantha Stosur, AUS
5...Kaia Kanepi, EST
5...Svetlana Kuznetsova, RUS
5...CARLA SUAREZ-NAVARRO, ESP
4...Timea Bacsinszky, SUI
4...Marion Bartoli, FRA
4...Genie Bouchard, CAN
4...MADISON KEYS, USA
4...Sabine Lisicki, GER
4...Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, RUS
4...Andrea Petkovic, GER
4...Karolina Pliskova, CZE [to play]
4...Francesca Schiavone, ITA
4...CoCo Vandeweghe, USA
4...Roberta Vinci, ITA
4...Vera Zvonareva, RUS
3...Johanna Konta, GBR
3...Tsvetana Pironkova, BUL
3...Yaroslava Shvedova, KAZ
3...Sloane Stephens, USA
3...ELINA SVITOLINA, UKR
2...Jelena Jankovic, SRB
2...Kristina Mladenovic, FRA
2...Alona Ostapenko, LAT
2...Tamira Paszek, AUT
2...Lucie Safarova, CZE
2...Anastasija Sevastova, LAT
1...Belinda Bencic, SUI
1...Kiki Bertens, NED
1...Kirsten Flipkens, BEL
1...Caroline Garcia, FRA
1...Ana Konjuh, SRB
1...Mirjana Lucic-Baroni, CRO
1...ELISE MERTENS, BEL
1...Peng Shuai, CHN
1...Yulia Putintseva, KAZ
1...Shelby Rogers, USA
1...Magdalena Rybarikova, SVK
1...Barbora Strycova, CZE [to play]
1...Alison Van Uytvanck, BEL
1...Elena Vesnina, RUS
1...Zhang Shuai, CHN
1...(Zheng Jie, CHN)

**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)
--
NOTE: Halep needs AO SF for all four (31st slam)

**SLAM MX TITLES - active*
5...Katarina Srebotnik, SLO
3...Sania Mirza, IND
3...Samantha Stosur, AUS
2...Victoria Azarenka, BLR
2...Anna-Lena Groenefeld, GER
2...Bethanie Mattek-Sands, USA
2...Kristina Mladenovic, FRA
2...Serena Williams, USA
2...Venus Williams, USA
2...Vera Zvonareva, RUS
1...Elena Bovina, RUS
1...Gaby Dabrowski, CAN
1...Casey Dellacqua, AUS
1...Andrea Sestini-Hlavackova, CZE
1...Lucie Hradecka, CZE
1...Jelena Jankovic, SRB
1...Ekaterina Makarova, RU
1...Laura Siegemund, GER
1...Abigail Spears, USA
1...Elena Vesnina, RUS
1...Heather Watson, GBR




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):#17 Madison Keys/USA
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):3rd Rd. - #1 Simona Halep/ROU def. Lauren Davis/USA 4-6/6-4/15-13 (3:45; 3 MP saved from triple MP down; served out on fourth try in the 2:22 3rd set)
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 - 3rd Rd.)
LAST WILD CARD STANDING:Olivia Rogowska/AUS (2nd Rd.)
LAST AUSSIE STANDING:Ash Barty (3rd Rd.)
Ms. OPPORTUNITY: xx
IT (TBD): Nominee: Kostyuk, (jr.)
COMEBACK PLAYER: Nominees: Kerber, Wozniacki, King
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:Hsieh Su-wei/TPE
LADY OF THE EVENING:Elise Mertens/BEL (def. Gavrilova in 2nd Rd. in AO nighttime debut)
DOUBLES STAR: xx
JUNIOR BREAKOUT: xx





All for Day 8. More tomorrow.
↧

AO.9 - A Waffle and a Bagel

January 22, 2018, 11:50 pm
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In a match to decide the first woman to advance to the semifinals of this Australian Open, world #4 Elina Svitolina was thoroughly outplayed by unseeded Belgian Elise Mertens, who proved that a young and inexperienced player in her maiden slam quarterfinal needn't be named Alona to perform without fear of repercussion on one of the tennis world's grandest stages.



But, make no mistake, while this particular match was decidedly out of her hands almost from the outset, the Ukrainian now officially has "a slam QF problem."

In an odd twist, this match-up was something of an old-school Waffle "Justine vs. Kim" battle by proxy. Mertens' idol was Hall of Fame Belgian Kim Clijsters, who has served as something of a mentor to the 22-year old and, judging from the Mertens' post-match reveal of some of the messages she's received, has been more stressed by her younger countrywoman's AO than Elise has been herself. Meanwhile, Svitolina undertook a coach/pupil stint in 2016 with another Hall of Fame Belgian, Justine Henin, and her work with La Petit Taureau that year surely seemed to pay immediate dividends, especially when it came to her professional attitude regarding how to focus her energies on improving key aspects of her game.

While Svitolina was playing in her third career slam QF, though her first at the AO, Mertens has made her debut appearance in Melbourne one to remember. It was perhaps highlighted prior to today by her win over Dasha Gavrilova in front a partisan Aussie crowd on Laver last week in a nighttime introduction that finally took place one year after the Belgian's run to her maiden tour singles title in Hobart had prevented her from entering the AO qualifying rounds in '17. Now ranked in the Top 40, she didn't need to worry about such things as she defended her Hobart title in the season's second week.

With such a vast difference in experience (this is just Mertens' fifth overall slam MD appearance), one might have expected Svitolina (22 slams) to be more relaxed in the moment. But it would have been difficult for the Ukrainian to have ever seemed more at ease than Mertens did on this day. Not only did she outplay the woman who was the betting favorite to emerge as champion coming into this AO, but Mertens rendered one of tour's best in-match problem solvers seemingly incapable of concocting the antidote to the Belgian's sometimes overwhelming run of success. While Mertens played the majority of the match stationed on the baseline, just behind it or, even better, just inside the white line (and moving ever closer to the net), Svitolina was (too) comfortable with playing well *behind* the baseline, sometimes going in and out of the shadow line on the end of the court opposite the surface "MELBOURNE" sign, and rarely taking the chance to move forward even when she had an opening to do so. It all served to allow the Belgian to dictate the flow of the match, while Svitolina seemed helpless -- and hopeless -- to stop it.

Right away, Mertens jumped out to a break lead at 2-1. Showing that she'd gameplanned for her big day, she stood her ground around the baseline, keeping Svitolina at bay by playing with the more aggression of the two (hitting balls inside the baseline at a rate more than three times higher than the Ukrainian). She went up a double break at 5-2 with a backhand winner down the line. Svitolina got one break back, but after falling behind 15/30 while serving for the set at 5-4, the Belgian fired an ace. Two points later, Svitolina's sprayed forehand sailed well off court and Mertens claimed the set 6-4.

Seasoned Svitolinites kept waiting for Svitolina to try to change things up, be more aggressive, move into the net...something, anything, to take Mertens out of her by now well-established patterns. It may have been that nothing would have effectively done the deed, but a true effort to try never seemed to come. Mertens broke serve on her on fourth BP of game #1 in the 2nd set, securing the game by venturing to the net and putting away an overhead.

With the more pressure that Mertens put on Svitolina's game in the 2nd, the bigger the gap on the scoreboard grew. She went up a double break at 3-0, then held from 30/30 in game #4 by continuing to get on top of nearly every Svitolina shot. The Belgian controlled the flow and direction of two rallies that went in her favor to turn the tight game into a 4-0 lead. Barely hanging on, Svitolina squandered a 30/love lead a game later and went down a triple-break when Mertens fired a a backhand winner down the line. Serving to reach her first career slam semifinal, making her the first from her nation to do so since Kirsten Flipkens in 2013, Mertens didn't blink. Instead, Svitolina did. The Ukrainian flew a high swing volley to go down MP. The Waffle put it away with a clean winner to finish off a 6-4/6-0 win.



Thus, the third slam QF for the Ukrainian results in Svitolina still seeking her maiden major SF berth. Maybe more troubling, though, is how she's lost those matches. While often a virtual picture of focus and problem-solving on the regular tour, Svitolina has been anything but in the three biggest matches of her career. She lost 3 & 2 to Ana Ivanovic in Paris three seasons ago, but it was an understandable result in her first slam QF. But last year at Roland Garros she led Simona Halep 6-3/5-1, twice served for the match and held a MP in a 2nd set TB, only to then see the match end with a bagel set in the 3rd. Today, against the same sort of slam QF newcomer she herself was in 2015, Svitolina was out-hit, out-maneuvered and, really, out-thought (both before and during the match, which is a bit of a stunner) by Mertens and once again saw her semifinal quest end with the resounding thud of a love set.

Has Svitolina's step-by-step progression to the top of the game found its legitimate stumbling block, something that winning big non-slam titles and facing off with highly-ranked players (22 Top 10 wins, 14 Top 5 and five #1's) have proven *not* to be. If it's to be merely an obstacle to be overcome Svitolina's going to need to see a breakthrough on this front by the end of '18, lest it become a full-fledged albatross hovering over her shoulder at every major she plays come 2019. After the match, Svitolina admitted to a lingering hip injury that hampered her movement. But, really, the admission only made her gameday tactics in this QF match even more perplexing, as a decided question about her ability to cover the court *should* have led to a more aggressive approach to keep the points shorter. Maybe Svitolina should have just said nothing, as learning the truth that she'd merely hinted at last week only made her lack of a winning plan of action today seem even more problematic.



Meanwhile, Mertens (as Svitolina would have also been had she won) now makes it *six* consecutive Australian Opens with a first-time slam semifinaliast, as she adds her name to the list that has included Sloane Stephens, Genie Bouchard, Madison Keys, Johanna Konta and CoCo Vandeweghe since 2013. She joins Clijsters, Henin, Flipkens and Yanina Wickmayer as slam semifinalist Belgians.

But is her run in Melbourne finished? Will it end one round short of the final?

Well, it should be noted that Mertens played *both* her potential semifinalist opponents -- Caroline Wozniacki and Carla Suarez-Navarro -- last year in Bastad, defeating the Spaniard and losing in three to the Dane. Her no-bothers-no-worries presence on the other side of the net, should she face the latter, might present Wozniacki with her first opponent capable of and willing to pressure her with aggression and power.




Every year the AO seems to carve out an unexpected breakthrough storyline that lasts nearly the full two weeks of the tournament. Well, with this result Mertens just cast herself in the role of *this* year's surprise star.





=DAY 9 NOTES=
...Day 9's other QF between Wozniacki and Suarez-Navarro won't take place until well into the night, so I likely won't be fully addressing that one here. But here's a future shot from one of the drinking games that'll be played somewhere during the action, with everyone taking a gulp every time ESPN makes a reference to David Lee and/or his mysterious powers of influence when it comes to the Dane's rediscovered tennis standing:


...the women's doubles semis were set with the results of today's quarterfinals. Top-seeded Latisha Chan & Andrea Hlavackova fell in a 3rd set tie-break to Timea Babos & Kristina Mladenovic.



Meanwhile, #2-seeded Makarova/Vesnina won a 3rd set TB over Dabrowski/Xu, the all-Swarmette duo of Begu/Niculescu took out Bannerettes King & Brady, and defending champ Lucie Safarova (w/ Barbora Strycova filling in for Bethanie Mattek-Sands) lost to Hsieh Su-wei (she's still aliiiiiive!!) & Peng Shuai.

Still alive in both the WD and MX draws: Timea Babos and Ekaterina Makarova

...in junior action, the chances for a fourth straight all-Bannerette slam girls final remain alive, as three U.S. juniors (more than any other nation) have reached the Round of 16. #7 Alexa Noel remains in the bottom half of the draw, while #12 Elysia Bolton and unseeded Dalayna Hewitt (6' 2") are in the top half.

=GIRLS FINAL 16 BY NATION=
3 - USA (Bolton, Hewitt, Noel)
2 - CHN (Wang Xinyu, Wang Xiyu)
2 - RUS (Frayman, Rakhimova)
1 - AUS (Marshall)
1 - FRA (Burel)
1 - HKG (Wong)
1 - ITA (Cocciaretto)
1 - JPN (Sato)
1 - LAT (Vismane)
1 - SUI (Sun)
1 - THA (Sawangkaew)
1 - TPE (Liang)


...HISTORICAL NOTE ON DAY 9: The Kamiji/de Groot, or de Groot/Kamiji (I guess we'll know soon), era is officially set to begin in Melbourne.



Jiske Griffioen announced her retirement late in 2017.



...LIKE ON DAY 9:



..."Hmmmm..." ON DAY 9: Anyone else wondering if Pam Shriver is hankering to interview Caroline Wozniacki if she wins tonight, and remind her that, in a surprise, she'll next be playing a Belgian named "MERT-ens?"

...LIKE ON DAY 9: ATP... welcome to NextGen slam tennis. Finally. A semifinalist named Edmund, and another named either Chung or Sandgren? we've been waiting for you guys to catch up with the Most Interesting Tour for far too long.

...WONDERING ON DAY 9: Whether any of the burgeoning crop of children produced by pro tennis playing mothers or fathers will ever go all-in and name a few something like Ace, Deuce, Smash, Slice or Volley?

Or maybe, in the spirit of Tennys Sandgren, a player can get around putting such pressure-at-birth on their offspring by saying it's actually a family name. I mean, there has to be someone named "Racquette"somewhere on some far-off branch of a family tree, right? Hmmm... sounds a bit like a future Pastry.

...and, finally, there's actually a WTA 125 Series event going on on the other side of the world in Newport Beach, California. The field includes the likes of Francesca Schiavone and Vicky, Duval, who delivered yet another punch to the gut of Misaki Doi (who's now seen Angie Kerber come full circle over the two years since the Japanese woman held MP against her in the 1st Round of the 2016 AO, only to lose and see the German win the title six matches later) with a 2 & 1 1st Round win.



*WOMEN'S SINGLES QF*
#1 Simona Halep/ROU vs. #6 Karolina Pliskova/CZE
#21 Angelique Kerber/GER vs. #17 Madison Keys/USA
Elise Mertens/BEL def. #4 Elina Svitolina/UKR
Carla Suarez-Navarro/ESP vs. #2 Caroline Wozniacki/DEN

*WOMEN'S DOUBLES SF*
#5 Babos/Mladenovic (HUN/FRA) vs. #8 S.Hsieh/Peng (TPE/CHN)
#10 Begu/Niculescu (ROU/ROU) vs. #2 Makarova/Vesnina (RUS/RUS)

*MIXED DOUBLES ROUND OF 16*
(WC) Sanders/Polmans (AUS/AUS) def. #1 L.Chan/J.Murray (TPE/GBR)
Martinez-Sanchez/Demoliner (ESP/BRA) def. #7 A.Chan/Venus (TPE/NZL)
Spears/Cabal (USA/COL) def. #4 Peschke/Kontinen (CZE/FIN)
#5 Babos/Bopanna (HUN/IND) def. King/Skugor (USA/CRO)
#6 Sestini-Hlavackova/Roger-Vasselin (CZE/FRA) vs. N.Kichenok/Granollers (UKR/ESP)
#3 Makarova/Soares (RUS/BRA) def. (WC) Stosur/Groth (AUS/AUS)
#8 Dabrowski/Pavic (CAN/CRO) vs. Schuurs/Rojer (NED/NED)
Larsson/Middlekoop (SWE/NED) def. #2 Dellacqua/Peers (AUS/AUS)

*GIRLS SINGLES ROUND OF 16*
#1 Wang Xinyu/CHN vs. Mananchaya Sawangkaew/THA
#10 Lulu Sun/SUI vs. #5 Naho Sato/JPN
Dalayna Hewitt/USA vs. (WC) Amber Marshall/AUS
#12 Elysia Bolton/USA vs. Clara Burel/FRA
Elisabetta Cocciaretto/ITA vs. (Q) Wong Hong Yi Cody/HKG
#13 Daniela Vismane/LAT vs. Daria Frayman/RUS
#7 Alexa Noel/USA vs. #9 Wang Xiyu/CHN
#16 Kamilla Rakhimova/RUS vs. #2 Liang En-shuo/TPE

*GIRLS DOUBLES QF*
#1 Liang En-shuo/Wang Xinyu (TPE/CHN) vs. x
#3 Naito/Sato (JPN/JPN) vs. (WC) Da Silva Fick/Popovic (AUS/AUS)
#7 V.Apisah/Sun (PNG/SUI) vs. Bencheikh/Kawamura (FRA/JPN)
x vs. #2 Wang Xiyu/Walters (CHN/SUI)

*WC SINGLES QF*
#1 Yui Kamiji/JPN vs. Marjolein Buis/NED
Lucy Shuker/GBR vs. Sabine Ellerbrock/GER
Kgothatso Montjane/RSA vs. Aniek van Koot/NED
(WC) Katharina Kruger/GER vs. #2 Diede de Groot/NED

*WC DOUBLES SF*
#1 Buis/Yamiji (NED/JPN) vs. Montjane/Shuker (RSA/GBR)
Ellerbrock/Kruger (GER/GER) vs. #2 de Groot/van Koot (NED/NED)
















*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: -
=2018=
AO: Elise Mertens/BEL
-
NOTE: Suarez-Navarro to play QF

*ACTIVE PLAYERS WITH EXACTLY ONE SLAM SF*
Kiki Bertens, NED
Kirsten Flipkens, BEL
ELISE MERTENS, BEL
Alona Ostapenko, LAT
Peng Shuai, CHN
Andrea Petkovic, GER
Tsvetana Pironkova, BUL
Magdalena Rybarikova, SVK
Patty Schnyder, SUI
Elena Vesnina, RUS
Roberta Vinci, ITA
Yanina Wickmayer, BEL
--
To Play: Carla Suarez-Navarro (0 SF)

*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
Unseeded - 2018 Elise Mertens, BEL
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
#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
--
To Play: Suarez-Navarro (Un), Keys (#17), Kerber (#21)

*AO WOMEN'S DOUBLES CHAMPIONS - since 2008*
2008 Alona Bondarenko / Kateryna Bondarenko
2009 Serena Williams / Venus Williams
2010 Serena Williams / Venus Williams
2011 Gisela Dulko / Flavia Pennetta
2012 Svetlana Kuznetsova / Vera Zvonareva
2013 Sara Errani / Roberta Vinci
2014 Sara Errani / Roberta Vinci
2015 Bethanie Mattek-Sands / Lucie Safarova
2016 Martina Hingis / Sania Mirza
2017 Bethanie Mattek-Sands / Lucie Safarova
2018 ?

*AO MIXED DOUBLES CHAMPIONS - since 2011*
2011 Katarina Srebotnik & Daniel Nestor
2012 Bethanie Mattek-Sands & Horia Tecau
2013 Jarmila Gajdosova & Matthew Ebden
2014 Kristina Mladenovic & Daniel Nestor
2015 Martina Hingis & Leander Paes
2016 Elena Vesnina & Bruno Soares
2017 Abigail Spears & Juan Sebastian Cabal
2018 ?




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):#17 Madison Keys/USA
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):3rd Rd. - #1 Simona Halep/ROU def. Lauren Davis/USA 4-6/6-4/15-13 (3:45; 3 MP saved from triple MP down; served out on fourth try in the 2:22 3rd set)
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 - 3rd Rd.)
LAST WILD CARD STANDING:Olivia Rogowska/AUS (2nd Rd.)
LAST AUSSIE STANDING:Ash Barty (3rd Rd.)
Ms. OPPORTUNITY: xx
IT (TBD): Nominee: Kostyuk, (jr.)
COMEBACK PLAYER: Nominees: Kerber, Wozniacki, King
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:Hsieh Su-wei/TPE
LADY OF THE EVENING:Elise Mertens/BEL (def. Gavrilova in 2nd Rd. in AO nighttime debut)
DOUBLES STAR: xx
JUNIOR BREAKOUT: xx





All for Day 9. More tomorrow.
↧
↧

AO.10 - Undefeated, Untied and Ready to Rumble

January 24, 2018, 1:03 am
$
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We're down to four... and guess who's still standing.



Well, it's Wednesday, so it was time for the top half of the women's draw to once again rear its collective head. While the bottom half has been shedding top seeds (well, all those not named Caroline, at least) like a good Tennys story gone bad, the rest of the draw has seen fit for some of the most noteworthy contenders to actually survive until today's quarterfinals. Though the bottom half's final four included just one player who'd reached #1, played in a slam semi and advanced to a major final, and no former champions, the top's foursome included the current #1, two former #1's and, in all, four players who've combined to reach seven slam finals and claim two major titles.

But while the opposing sides of the draw have evolved in very different ways, one trend *has* been nearly universal at this AO -- the oddly high number of multiple occasions in which contests of little drama have been born out of matches in which "big name" players have faced off, while the most dramatic and thrilling battles have come when the opposing players have separated by quite a few rankings points, not to mention a rather significant "reputation gap."

Even with such a seemingly loaded group of quarterfinalists on the schedule, Day 10 was unable to break free of this pattern.

Today's opening QF pitted 2016 Australian Open champ Angelique Kerber versus 2017 U.S. Open finalist Madison Keys. The German had a 6-1 head-to-head advantage over her U.S. counterpart, but they'd proven capable of producing a great match. Namely the 2015 Charleston final, in which Keys led 4-1 in the 3rd set only to falter down the stretch. At the end of that hard-fought battle, both players had a difficult time getting to their feet. Today, though, we got nothing like that in Melbourne.



Kerber came into Wednesday sporting an undefeated record in '18, while Keys hadn't lost a set at this AO and led the field in 1st Serve win percentage. We saw yet again the Kerber who has rebounded with remarkable verve from her disappointing '17 campaign, but the Keys who'd been present in the first nine days of this slam was nowhere to be found. From the outset, she just wasn't comfortable. Part of that was due to Kerber herself (probably giddy at having some power to play with on the other side of the net, washing clean any lingering memory of Hsieh Su-wei) preventing the Bannerette's top level game from emerging, as occurred when she ran over Maria Sharapova in the 3rd Round. But it was also because Keys had no answer to the German's onslaught, and only made things worse with her own mistakes.

Slow right out of the gate, Keys fell behind on serve love/40 in the very first game. She got things back to deuce, but was broken on Kerber's fourth break point. The German saved two break points a game later and held for 2-0, and it was never *really* close again. Kerber got another break from 30/love down in game #3, and held at love with an ace for 4-0. Keys managed to get on the board, but Kerber reached double set point with a backhand passing shot, then took the 1st set at 6-1 on a forehand error from Keys. Over in a speedy twenty-two minutes, it was the first set Keys lost all tournament, and she'd littered the scorecard to an awful degree: winning just 41% of 1st serves, going 0-for-2 on BP chances, 0-for-5 at the net, firing eleven unforced errors in 42 points, and barely winning half (15 to 27) the total points that Kerber collected through the first seven games.

The 2nd set was only better for Keys because its running time went seven minutes beyond the previous one, though maybe that made it *worse* since she had to suffer just a little bit longer. Kerber broke serve for a 2-0 lead as Keys' error total grew. At 3-0, the German lobbed over her to earn the first point of game #4 because, hey -- why not? -- she hadn't done *that* yet. Keys held for 3-1 and finally broke the German a game later, but then missed a swing volley long and found herself down BP again in game #6. Kerber converted to lead 4-2, then held for 5-2 with a beautiful overhead winner fired from the corner in the AD side of the court. Another lob over Keys got Kerber to love/40 up in the next game, and Keys' netted forehand finally put her out of her misery, 6-1/6-2.

The match clock was still nine minutes away from hitting the one-hour mark.



With the win, Kerber re-enters the Top 10 and runs her official 2018 winning streak to ten matches (or 14, if you so choose). Not only that, but she's two wins away from a third major title.



It seems almost trite and simplistic to just say of Angie, "She's back." With all her collective experiences good and bad, mixed together into a new recipe, one is tempted to instead say, "She's back, and better than she was before."

By the time #1 Simona Halep, a two-time Roland Garros finalist, was ready to go up against former #1 and '16 U.S. Open runner-up Karolina Pliskova, everyone had once again tricked themselves into thinking that *this* big-name match-up actually *would* live up to its advanced billing.

Umm, no.

Unlike Keys, at least Pliskova actually got off to a good start in the contest. Despite being on the wrong end of a 5-1 head-to-head record with Halep, the Czech was taking it to the Romanian in the opening games. Hitting out and dictating points, she secured a hold in a long first game, then broke Halep and consolidated the lead with another hold for 3-0. In the fourth game of the set, though, Halep did what she's done this entire tournament -- find a way through some struggles and come out on the other end with her chin up, and far better off in head and heart than she'd been before the start of any problems she might have encountered. She twice double-faulted on GP, but finally found her groove within the game, pushing Pliskova to the edges of the court with angled groundstrokes, then taking advantage of the Czech's lack of agility by stepping in and directing a shot either behind her or into the now-open area of the court. Halep held for 3-1 on GP #4, and quickly began to seize full control of the match.

Reaching 15/40 on Pliskova's serve, Halep broke for 3-2. In game #7, on break point, she directed a running backhand down the line, off the tape, and on the line near the corner as Pliskova could only watch in horror. In the first point of the next game, it was the Czech who saw a shot bounce off the net cord... only Halep scrambled to get to it and put away a winner. The Romanian held for 5-3, went up love/40 on Pliskova's serve in next game, then saw the Czech double-fault on SP and hand Halep a sixth consecutive game, as well as a 6-3 set.

As the 2nd set began, Pliskova, again unlike Keys in the previous match (and Elina Svitolina yesterday, for that matter), at least *tried* to change things up. The Czech attempted, mostly to no avail, to move toward the net, and even hit a drop shot. Ultimately, none of it mattered, but give her points for trying *something*. Halep still held for a 1-0 lead, then went up a break a game later. Her winning streak hit nine games before Pliskova erased the "0" next to her name on the scoreboard. This was peak Halep: confident, error-free, not contemplating her navel while just playing good defense and taking her opportunities to move forward with aggression to end rallies. It all turned out to look pretty routine, which is just what Halep was seeking after having injury (rolled ankle in the 1st Round) and death-defying Cliffs of Simona drama (down triple MP in the 3rd Rd.) taking up most of her time in Melbourne through the opening rounds.

With Pliskova serving to stay in the match at 5-2 down, a forehand error handed Halep a MP. Seconds later, the Romanian was celebrating a 6-3/6-2 win and her maiden AO semifinal berth (though, as she noted in her post-match interview, she *did* reach the semis as a junior in 2008 -- and that counts in *her* book).



Thus, we'll now have a semifinal match-up of players who are a combined 20-0 (or 24-0) in 2018. Surely, *this* one will buck the trend and produce something as great as the names on the scoreboard, right? Uh, right?

Hmmm. Well, at least we're now assured of *either* Simona or Angie in the final of this tournament, and that'll make up for whatever happens tomorrow, which unfortunately will include having to watch one of them lose and come up just short of getting the chance to play for a title after all their effort.



=DAY 10 NOTES=
...in women's doubles, the final has been set.

Timea Babos & Kristina Mladenovic defeated Hsieh Su-wei & Peng Shuai in a 6-4/6-2 semi. It's the second slam final for the duo, having reached the Wimbledon championship match in 2014 (they fell to the Career Doubles Slam-achieving duo of Errani/Vinci...which is noteworthy considering who they'll be playing in the final THIS time). Mladenovic's other slam WD finals came with Caroline Garcia in 2016 (winning RG, losing the U.S. Open), while she's 2-2 in mixed slam finals. Babos is a combined 0-3 in slam finals, with all of them coming at SW19 ('14 WD w/ Kiki, '15 MX w/ Peya, and '16 WD w/ Shvedova).



Babos/Mladenovic will face off with Ekaterina Makarova & Elena Vesnina, who handled the Romanian duo of Irina-Camelia Begu & Monica Niculescu 6-4/6-3. The Russians will now get the chance to not only complete a Career Doubles Slam, but also become the first duo ever to claim all four majors, the WTA Finals and Olympic Gold.

*CAREER DOUBLES SLAMS - DUOS*
Martina Navratilova/Pam Shriver
Gigi Fernandez/Natasha Zvereva
Serena Williams/Venus Williams
Margaret Court/Judy Tegart Dalton
Kathy Jordan/Anne Smith
Sara Errani/Roberta Vinci
[4 slams+Olympic Gold]
Serena Williams/Venus Williams
[4 slams+Olympic Gold+WTAF]
none

...in the juniors, the growing influence of Asian tennis is showing in the girls singles. Of the eight quarterfinalists, four hail from nations in the Asia/Pacific region, including the #1 (Wang Xinyu/CHN) and #2 (Liang En-shuo/TPE) seeds. Both will play other girls from Asia in the QF, as Wang Xinyu will face #5 Naho Sato (Japan), while Liang will get #9 Wang Xiyu (CHN).

The chances for a fourth straight Bannerette slam champion now rest solely on the broad shoulders of six-foot-two 17-year old Dalayna Hewitt. The big-hitting Hewitt defeated the final Aussie left in the draw, wild card Amber Marshall, but saw fellow U.S. players #12 Elysia Bolton (lost to Clara Burel/FRA) and #7 Alexa Noel (lost to #9 Wang) fail to advance on Day 10.

...the wheelchair competition has begun in Melbourne, and the opening round produced no surprises as #1 Yui Kamiji and #2 Diede de Groot remain on course for a possible second straight slam final match-up.



...in Newport Beach, Anna Karolina Schmiedlova has posted a 1st Round victory over Francesca Schiavone in the WTA 125 Series being held there this week. She'll next face Nicole Gibbs. Yep... Schmiedy vs. Gibbsy.


...LIKE ON DAY 10: In Rinaldi We Trust: Year 2



...IN CASE YOU WERE WONDERING... ON DAY 10: The last time the women's #1 and #2 ranked players met to decide a slam title was 2015, when #1 Serena Williams defeated #2 Maria Sharapova in the Australian Open final.

...LIKE ON DAY 10:



...LIKE ON DAY 10: And the winner in the men's alt.-QF...



As it's turned out, all the men's tour needed was the NEXT NextGen to finally come of age to finally get some new, future-is-bright blood in the final stages of a major. Chung's even got a signature look with the glasses. After so many years of the men's tour, aside from the guys at the very top (and the occasion Delpo run), being so freakin' boring, a result like this is a *must* for the future with those aforementioned top players all either nearing their natural end, out with an injury or coming back from one. Hopefully, Chung is here to stay, and his run will be joined soon by similar results from the likes Shapovalov and, eventually, Zverev.




..."Well..." ON DAY 10: At least Keys' lack of a "Plan B" vs. Kerber wasn't followed up by the post-match announcement of an injury. So there's that.

...and, finally... while the U.S. Open has "New York Groove," the Australian Open has it's calling bush birds, Vegemite and, yes, "Waltzing Matilda."

Since having it ring around inside my skull for weeks while watching CBC's "Matilda"-heavy Canadian coverage of the Sydney Olympics back in 2000, it has always been a personal favorite, as well as a once-in-a-while bane of my existence. Depending on the proximity of the "initiating" incident of the hearing of the song which sets off the entire process that doesn't end until the lyrics finally exit the main room of my mind after a few days.

Once again, here it is. The animated video with on-screen lyrics helps tell the story (a sheep-stealing Aussie commits suicide rather than be taken by the law?)...


while the Slim Dusty performances always remind me of my first exposure to the song all those years ago.


Sigh. And now my hankering begins once again for a tucker bag. Until it ends. And then comes back again next January. Darn that jolly swagman.



*WOMEN'S SINGLES SF*
#1 Simona Halep/ROU vs. #21 Angelique Kerber/GER
Elise Mertens/BEL vs. #2 Caroline Wozniacki/DEN

*WOMEN'S DOUBLES FINAL*
#5 Babos/Mladenovic (HUN/FRA) vs. #2 Makarova/Vesnina (RUS/RUS)

*MIXED DOUBLES QF*
(WC) Sanders/Polmans (AUS/AUS) vs. Martinez-Sanchez/Demoliner (ESP/BRA)
Spears/Cabal (USA/COL) vs. #5 Babos/Bopanna (HUN/IND)
#6 Sestini-Hlavackova/Roger-Vasselin (CZE/FRA) vs. #3 Makarova/Soares (RUS/BRA)
#8 Dabrowski/Pavic (CAN/CRO) vs. Larsson/Middlekoop (SWE/NED)

*GIRLS SINGLES QF*
#1 Wang Xinyu/CHN vs. #5 Naho Sato/JPN
Dalayna Hewitt/USA vs. Clara Burel/FRA
Elisabetta Cocciaretto/ITA vs. #13 Daniela Vismane/LAT
#9 Wang Xiyu/CHN vs. #2 Liang En-shuo/TPE

*GIRLS DOUBLES SF*
#1 Liang En-shuo/Wang Xinyu (TPE/CHN) vs. #3 Naito/Sato (JPN/JPN)
#7 V.Apisah/Sun (PNG/SUI) vs. #2 Wang Xiyu/Walters (CHN/SUI)

*WC SINGLES QF*
#1 Yui Kamiji/JPN def. Marjolein Buis/NED
Sabine Ellerbrock/GER def. Lucy Shuker/GBR
Aniek van Koot/NED def. Kgothatso Montjane/RSA
#2 Diede de Groot/NED def. (WC) Katharina Kruger/GER

*WC DOUBLES SF*
#1 Buis/Yamiji (NED/JPN) vs. Montjane/Shuker (RSA/GBR)
Ellerbrock/Kruger (GER/GER) vs. #2 de Groot/van Koot (NED/NED)


























*CAREER SLAM SF - active*
34 - Serena Williams (29-5)
23 - Venus Williams (16-7)
20 - Maria Sharapova (10-10)
7 - Victoria Azarenka (4-3)
7 - CAROLINE WOZNIACKI (2-4)
6 - ANGELIQUE KERBER (3-2)
6 - Jelena Jankovic (1-5)
5 - Svetlana Kuznetsova (4-1)
5 - SIMONA HALEP (2-2)
5 - Petra Kvitova (2-3)
5 - Samantha Stosur (2-3)
5 - Aga Radwanska (1-4)
4 - Vera Zvonareva (2-2)
3 - Garbine Muguruza (3-0)
3 - Marion Bartoli (2-1)
3 - Gene Bouchard (1-2)
3 - Sara Errani (1-2)
2 - Francesca Schiavone (2-0)
2 - Dominika Cibulkova (1-1)
2 - Madison Keys (1-1)
2 - Sabine Lisicki (1-1)
2 - Karolina Pliskova (1-1)
2 - Lucie Safarova (1-1)
2 - Sloane Stephens (1-1)
2 - Timea Bacsinszky (0-2)
2 - Johanna Konta (0-2)
2 - Mirjana Lucic-Baroni (0-2)
2 - Ekaterina Makarova (0-2)
2 - CoCo Vandeweghe (0-2)
2 - (Zheng Jie 0-2)
=1-0=
Alona Ostapenko
=0-0=
ELISE MERTENS
=0-1=
Kiki Bertens, Kirsten Flipkens, Peng Shuai, Andrea Petkovic, Tsvetana Pironkova, Magdalena Rybarikova, Patty Schnyder, Elena Vesnina, Roberta Vinci, Yanina Wickmayer

*SLAM SF - since 2010*
17 - Serena Williams (15-2)
10 - Maria Sharapova (6-4)
7 - Victoria Azarenka (4-3)
6 - Li Na (retired) (4-2)
6 - ANGELIQUE KERBER (3-2)
6 - CAROLINE WOZNIACKI (1-4)
5 - SIMONA HALEP (2-2)
5 - Venus Williams (2-3)
5 - Petra Kvitova (2-3)
5 - Aga Radwanska (1-4)
4 - Samantha Stosur (2-2)
3 - Garbine Muguruza (3-0)
3 - Kim Clijsters (retired) (2-1)
3 - Vera Zvonareva (2-1)
3 - Genie Bouchard (1-2)
3 - Sara Errani (1-2)
2 - Francesca Schiavone (2-0)
2 - Marion Bartoli (1-1)
2 - Sabine Lisicki (1-1)
2 - Flavia Pennetta (retired) (1-1)
2 - Karolina Pliskova (1-1)
2 - Madison Keys (1-1)
2 - Lucie Safarova (1-1)
2 - Sloane Stephens (1-1)
2 - Timea Bacsinszky (0-2)
2 - Johanna Konta (0-2)
2 - Ekaterina Makarova (0-2)
2 - CoCo Vandeweghe (0-2)
=1-0=
Dominika Cibulkova, Justine Henin (retired), Alona Ostapenko
=0-0=
ELISE MERTENS
=0-1=
Kiki Bertens, Elena Dementieva (retired), Kirsten Flipkens, Ana Ivanovic (retired), Jelena Jankovic, Mirjana Lucic-Baroni, Peng Shuai, Andrea Petkovic, Tsvetana Pironkova, Magdalena Rybarikova, Elena Vesnina, Roberta Vinci, (Zheng Jie)

**WTA "CAREER SF SLAM" - active**
[with slam at which completed]
Victoria Azarenka - 2013 RG (30th)
Simona Halep - 2018 AO (31st)
Maria Sharapova - 2007 RG (18th)
Serena Williams - 2003 AO (18th)
Venus Williams - 2001 AO (15th)
Vera Zvonareva - 2010 US (31st)

*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
Unseeded - 2018 Elise Mertens, BEL
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
#21 - 2018 Angelique Kerber, GER
#20 - 2014 Dominika Cibulkova, SVK (RU)
#19 - 2005 Nathalie Dechy, FRA
#16 - 2010 Li Na, CHN
#13 - 2017 Venus Williams, USA
#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

*2015-18 WTA SF*
24 - SIMONA HALEP, ROU [9/6/7/2]
24 - ANGELQUE KERBER, GER [8/11/3/2]
23 - Karolina Pliskova, CZE [8/6/8/1]
21 - CAROLINE WOZNIACKI, DEN [7/4/8/2]
20 - Elina Svitolina, UKR [6/7/6/1]
19 - Aga Radwanska, POL [8/9/2/0]
16 - Serena Williams, USA [9/6/1/0]
15 - Garbine Muguruza, ESP [5/3/7/0]

*AO "COMEBACK PLAYER" WINNERS*
2007 Serena Williams, USA
2008 Zi Yan & Zheng Jie, CHN
2009 Jelena Dokic, AUS
2010 Justine Henin, BEL
2011 Agnieszka Radwanska, POL
2012 Maria Sharapova, RUS
2013 Svetlana Kuznetsova, RUS
2014 Ana Ivanovic, SRB
2015 Victoria Azarenka, BLR
2016 Andrea Hlavackova & Lucie Hradecka, CZE/CZE
2017 Mirjana Lucic-Baroni, CRO
2018 Angelique Kerber, GER

*AUSTRALIAN OPEN GIRLS DOUBLES CHAMPS - since 2010*
2010 Jana Cepelova / Chantal Skamlova, SVK/SVK
2011 An-Sophie Mestach / Demi Schuurs, BEL/NED
2012 Gabby Andrews / Taylor Townsend, USA/USA
2013 Ana Konjuh / Carol Zhao, CRO/CAN
2014 Anhelina Kalinina / Elizaveta Kulichkova, UKR/RUS
2015 Miriam Kolodziejova / Marketa Vondrousova, CZE/CZE
2016 Anna Kalinskaya / Tereza Mihalikova, RUS/SVK
2017 Bianca Andreescu / Carson Branstine, CAN/USA
2018 ?

*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
2018 ?
[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
2018 ?

*WHEELCHAIR SLAM SINGLES TITLES*
[AO-RG-WI-US...Masters+Paralympics]
25 - Esther Vergeer, NED [9-6-0-10]...[14+4]
5 - Yui Kamiji, JPN [1-2-0-2]...[1+0]*
4 - Jiske Griffioen, NED [2-1-1-0]...[3+1]
3 - Monique Kalkman, NED [0-0-0-3]...[2+1]
2 - Daniela Di Toro, AUS [0-0-0-2]...[0+0]
2 - Sabine Ellerbrock, GER [1-1-0-0]...[0+0]*
2 - Maaike Smit, NED [0-0-0-2]...[1+1]
2 - Chantal Vandierendonck, NED [0-0-0-2]...[1+0]
2 - Aniek van Koot, NED [1-0-0-1]...[1+0]*
ALSO ACTIVE:
1 - Diede de Groot, NED [0-0-1-0]...[1+0]*
1 - Jordanne Whiley, GBR [0-0-0-1]...[0+0]*
1 - Marjolein Buis, NED [0-1-0-0]...[0+0]*

*WHEELCHAIR SLAM DOUBLES TITLES*
[AO-RG-WI-US...Masters+Paralympics]
21 - Esther Vergeer, NED [7-5-3-6]...[10+3]
14 - Jiske Griffioen, NED [5-3-2-4]...[7+1]
10 - Aniek van Koot, NED [3-3-2-2]...[3+1]*
11 - Yui Kamiji, JPN [3-3-4-1]...[2+0]*
9 - Jordanne Whiley, GBR [2-2-4-1]...[2+0]*
7 - Sharon Walraven, NED [2-1-2-2]...[2+1]
5 - Korie Homan, NED [1-1-1-2]...[1+1]
4 - Marjolein Buis, NED [1-2-0-1]...[1+1]*
3 - Maaike Smit, NED [2-1-0-0]...[4+2]
2 - Florence Gravellier, FRA [2-0-0-0]...[0+0]
ALSO ACTIVE:
1 - Diede de Groot, NED [0-0-0-1]...[2+0]*




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):#17 Madison Keys/USA
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):3rd Rd. - #1 Simona Halep/ROU def. Lauren Davis/USA 4-6/6-4/15-13 (3:45; 3 MP saved from triple MP down; served out on fourth try in the 2:22 3rd set)
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 - 3rd Rd.)
LAST WILD CARD STANDING:Olivia Rogowska/AUS (2nd Rd.)
LAST AUSSIE STANDING:Ash Barty (3rd Rd.)
Ms. OPPORTUNITY: Nominees: Wozniacki, Halep, Babos/Mladenovic
IT (TBD): Nominee: Kostyuk ("Teen"), Hewitt ("Junior Bannerette"), de Groot ("WC")
COMEBACK PLAYER:Angelique Kerber/GER
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:Hsieh Su-wei/TPE
LADY OF THE EVENING:Elise Mertens/BEL (def. Gavrilova in 2nd Rd. in AO nighttime debut)
DOUBLES STAR: xx
JUNIOR BREAKOUT: Nominee: Hewitt





All for Day 10. More tomorrow.
↧

AO.11 - Melbourne is Made for Second Third Chances

January 25, 2018, 1:30 am
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By the grace of the Cliffs of Simona, Melbourne was made for second third chances. Today's women's semifinals had similar endings...




But, oh, the journey getting to each conclusion was much different.

In the first semifinal of the day, Elise Mertens was looking to follow in the footsteps of Alona Ostapenko and emerge as something of a direct descendant of Latvian Thunder ("Belgian Rumble?") on the slam stage, playing without fear as she challenges for -- and maybe even wins -- a major after having dealt with very little career trial and error in the effort. Just over a year ago, the 22-year old Waffle had to qualify just to reach the Hobart maid draw, and was involved in a somewhat comical "race to retirement" with Sachia Vickery in their 2nd Round match in the event as both tried to beat the other out the door so that she could enter AO qualifying in Melbourne. Vickery retired first (one game into the "match," after both had called for trainers), while Mertens went on to win the maiden singles title that she successfully defended just a few weeks ago right before heading off to make her belated AO debut.

Meanwhile, Caroline Wozniacki has seen and done it all. Well, everything except for win a major, as she's spent more time at #1 (67 weeks) and won more singles titles (27) than any other woman without ever having been crowned a slam champion. Over the past year, the Dane has worked to improve her forehand, serve and, as it would naturally go hand-in-hand, her in-match aggression. It's led to her claiming her biggest career title at last year's WTA Finals and a rise back to #2 in the rankings. But the pink elephant in the room was still there.

For much of the match, things went just as so many other big match-ups have at this AO. In other words, it was a lopsided affair. Mertens was a whisper of the player she'd been in recent rounds, while Wozniacki continued the wave of aggression and precision she's ridden since finding herself down 5-1 and 2 MP in the 3rd set vs. Jana Fett in the 2nd Round. She broke for a 3-1 lead, then went up 40/love on serve a game later. After being forced to save a BP, she finally held on her fifth GP with an ace. The Belgian staved off a SP in game #8, but Wozniacki easily served out the set at 6-3 one game later.

The Dane again jumped on top in the 2nd, breaking serve on a Mertens backhand error to lead 3-2. But Mertens managed to hold on, not giving Wozniacki another break and hoping for an opportunity to get back into the match. She'd done it while erasing a 5-0 set deficit against Dasha Gavrilova early in the tournament and, at this point, it was somewhat noteworthy to remember that Ostapenko had trailed Halep in last year's RG final by a set and 3-0, then was down 3-1 in the 3rd, before staging her big run. Though Wozniacki had lost just one point on serve in the 2nd set as she stepped to the baseline to serve out the match at 5-4, remarkably, Mertens *did* get that chance.

Up 30/love, Wozniacki missed a forehand down the line that would have given her triple MP. The moment completely shifted the momentum of the set. A double-fault made it 30/30, and Mertens' forehand pass got her a BP chance. Another Wozniacki DF made it 5-5. Suddenly, the Dane was backing off her shots, while Mertens was the one aggressively moving forward. The Belgian would reel off ten straight points and hold three SP of her own on Wozniacki's serve in game #12. But the Dane bring things back together in the nick of time, coming back from 15/40 down to hold on her third GP to force a TB.

With Wozniacki having pulled the set back from the edge, she pulled ahead in the breaker. Opening with a mini-break she jumped to a 3-0 lead and never dropped a point on serve, winning 7-2 to close out the 6-3/7-6(2) match to advance to her third career slam final, where she can finally silence a career's worth of whispers and shouts wrapped in negativity about what she *hasn't* yet accomplished rather than what she has.




The second semifinal pitted a pair of players undefeated in 2018. Combined, they were 24-0, with world #1 Simona Halep coming into the day at 10-0 and '16 AO champ Angelique Kerber at 10-0 (+ 4-0 in the Hopman Cup). Both had danced with the devil in the pale moon light at this slam, with Halep rolling her ankle early and saving three MP three rounds ago, while Kerber battled tooth and rusty nail to take down Hsieh Su-wei in the Round of 16.

It was a match-up to look forward to. One in which Kerber could move closer to recapturing her '16 glory right back where it all began, and where Halep could reach out and touch the moment that would finally end her career-long quest for ultimate slam success.

The pre-match assessment of this one was that it would be close. It'd eventually get there, but it was anything but that through the first five games.

Kerber was noticeably nervous in the 1st set, or at least slow to ignite. Halep jumped on the opportunity, running down and hitting everything while the German was, quite frankly, playing plainly awful. She committed six errors in the first eleven points, and lost nineteen of the first twenty-two as Halep raced to a 4-0 lead and led love/40 in game #5. She got the break to lead 5-0. But back-to-back DF to start game #6 caused a sudden change of fortune. Kerber's game finally found its footing, as she took the stand-on-the-baseline-and-whack-balls-back stance she had in previous rounds while routing the likes of Maria Sharapova and Madison Keys. She ran off a string of seven straight points and broke Halep at love in consecutive service games to close to 5-3. But Halep wasn't going to crumble. She steadied herself as Kerber served to try to make things even tighter, going up love/40 and finally securing the set at 6-3 on her second SP.



After going 3-22 after losing the 1st set in her disappointing "year after" campaign in '17, Kerber had won in all three such situations this season, including in her Round of 16 comeback win over Hsieh.

Halep had the chance to pull away from Kerber in the 2nd, but the German stubbornly prevented it from happening. The Romanian broke for 3-1 by winning a long, defensive-oriented rally. She held a GP for a 4-1 lead, but Kerber got the break to get back on serve. As Halep's irritation level grew, Kerber was firing herself up, holding for 3-3 to level the set.



Halep held at love to stay ahead 4-3, but failed to put away a pair of BP chances (one on a Kerber shot that clipped the baseline) that again might have given her a big enough lead to separate for good on the scoreboard. Kerber then raced to a drop shot and put away a winner to hold for 4-4. A game later, after fighting back from love/30 to hold GP, Halep dropped serve again, allowing Kerber to serve out the set at 6-4 and force things to a 3rd set.

And that was where we finally got the big match drama we've been waiting for.

Kerber took the lead for the first time in the match by breaking Halep to start the set, winning the first (this one had great defense on both sides, a drop shot and a lob, just for starters) of what would be many long rallies that seemed to take up the entire court in the 3rd. The loss of the game visibly angered Halep, who would find herself perturbed often throughout the set but, as has been the case this entire tournament, it didn't serve as a prelude to a stretch during which she might loss concentration or be accused of giving up. Instead, as she did vs. Destanee Aiava and Lauren Davis and all her other opponents in Melbourne, she settled down and went back to fighting. She broke back a game later, but once again flirted with squandering a lead in a big match.

Up love/30 on Kerber's serve in game #4, she missed on a a crosscourt shot and saw back-to-back forehand errors allow the German to hold for 2-2. She held from love/30 for a 4-3 lead soon after, and strung together seven straight points to lead love/40 a game later. Kerber flied a replay to a short court return of serve and Halep broke to go up 5-3 and serve for the match.

At 30/30, Kerber took a high bouncing ball and fired a forehand winner down to line to get a BP chance, which she won on a 26-shot rally when she crouched low and fired a backhand winner. Tired from the effort, the German went down to her knees after the shot, but she had the break to close to 5-4. A game later, a successful Halep line challenge gave her two MP at 15/40, but Kerber saved the first with a backhand winner, while Halep missed on a backhand on the second. Kerber held on her third GP to level the set at 5-5, then broke Halep to lead 6-5. At that point, she was 7-for-7 on BP chances.




After seeing Davis hold triple MP against her last week, Halep saw Kerber get to double MP in game #12. But the Romanian once again found a way to survive, saving her fourth and fifth MP of this AO, then winning yet another wild rally to break for 6-6.



After serving from behind in the Davis match that ultimately ended with a 15-13 final set score, Halep was serving first here. Going up 40/15, she fired an ace to hold for 7-6, then 8-7. With Kerber the more exhausted of the two, even after the crazy adventure that Halep had endured through her previous five matches, the Romanian was the more aggressive of the two down the stretch. She took a love/30 lead in game #16, only to fire two shots long on consecutive points. Twenty seven minutes after she'd held her two previous MP, Halep pounded a backhand crosscourt and Kerber's reply went long to give her MP #3. Kerber saved it, but a forehand down the line gave the Romanian a fourth attempt. Kerber's long shot put the final nail into the coffin lid of this one as Halep, in full Swarmette Warrior mode yet again, survived with a 6-3/4-6/9-7 victory to join Wozniacki as a three-time slam finalist. She fired 50 winners in the match.



Afterward, noting how she's not given up on a single point this whole event, Halep admitted that she's proud of herself. As she should be.



With all the crazy happenings and upsets that have occurred at this AO, it's somehow both oddly and ironically fitting that the final will pit the world #1 vs. the world #2 in a slam final -- and for the first time anywhere on tour -- since the 2015 AO championship match between Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova. The winner will not only lift her maiden slam title, but will also be the #1-ranked player in the world on Monday.

Once Kerber had saved multiple MP in today's match, it was assured that the champion of this tournament would be crowned after being down MP in Melbourne. Wozniacki has faced two MP, while Halep has now faced a total of five in *two* different matches. If Halep wins, she'll have saved more MP en route to a slam title than any woman ever, as well as becoming the first to have done so after being down MP in multiple matches during the tournament.

No one said this stuff was easy, and both Wozniacki and Halep can more than attest to that. Over the past two weeks, this Australian Open has witnessed both women willfully triumph in their moments of truth.

One of them will do it one more time two days from now.



=DAY 11 NOTES=
...in mixed doubles, a day after defending champs Abigail Spears & Juan Sebastian Cabal lost to Timea Babos & Rohan Bopanna, the full semifinal field was set. Of the four duos, two contain players who'll face off in the women's doubles final, as well. Babos and Ekaterina Makarova (today w/ Bruno Soares she saved 3 MP in the semis) are still alive in both draws.



...the U.S. run of junior girls slam winners officially came to an end on Day 11, as the last Bannerette standing, Dalayna Hewitt, fell to unseeded Pastry Clara Burel. Another unseeded teen, Italy's Elisabetta Cocciaretto (on her 17th birthday) reached the semis with a win over #13 Daniela Vismane of Latvia, while #1 Wang Xinyu (CHN) and #2 Liang En-shuo (TPE) also won to reach the final four.




Wang & Liang are alive as a doubles duo, as well, reaching the girls final today along with Papua New Guinea's Violet Apisah & Switzerland's Lulu Sun.

...the budding wheelchair rivalry of #1 Yui Kamiji and #2 Diede de Groot is now set for two match-ups in Melbourne after both advanced to singles and doubles finals today. Kamiji defeated Sabine Ellerbrock 3 & 2, while de Groot took out Aniek van Koot 2 & 3 and they will now play each other in their second straight slam singles final. Kamiji defeated de Groot in last year's U.S. Open decider.

In doubles, #1 Kamiji & Marjolein Buis and #2 de Groot/van Koot reached the final with straights sets wins.




...LIKE ON DAY 11:



...NOT WASTING ANY TIME ON DAY 11:




..."UMMM, YEAH..." ON DAY 11:



...NEWS ON DAY 11:




I wonder what Kiki will say?

...and, finally...




Hmmm, if only there was a sentiment you'd think people could have learned as early as in elementary school that might alleviate problems such as this. A simple standard that could be applied to many things that have a negative impact on society. Ummm, Gibbsy...



Exactly.

I suppose if sense and sensibility were as rampant as they *should* be certain people wouldn't get into messes by pushing conspiracy theories and racist and/or homophobic views in the first place, would they? Not to mention getting upset when people -- rather than being "unfair" to poor little them -- simply call them on their own hateful words and actions, no matter how much one professes how "Christian" they supposedly are.

I'm just sayin'.

Of course, certain people take their personal cues from their nation's so-called leaders, so...



*WOMEN'S SINGLES FINAL*
#1 Simona Halep/ROU vs. #2 Caroline Wozniacki/DEN

*WOMEN'S DOUBLES FINAL*
#5 Babos/Mladenovic (HUN/FRA) vs. #2 Makarova/Vesnina (RUS/RUS)

*MIXED DOUBLES SF*
Martinez-Sanchez/Demoliner (ESP/BRA) vs. #5 Babos/Bopanna (HUN/IND)
#3 Makarova/Soares (RUS/BRA) vs. #8 Dabrowski/Pavic (CAN/CRO)

*GIRLS SINGLES SF*
#1 Wang Xinyu/CHN vs. Clara Burel/FRA
Elisabetta Cocciaretto/ITA vs. #2 Liang En-shuo/TPE

*GIRLS DOUBLES FINAL*
#1 Liang En-shuo/Wang Xinyu (TPE/CHN) vs. #7 V.Apisah/Sun (PNG/SUI)

*WC SINGLES FINAL*
#1 Yui Kamiji/JPN vs. #2 Diede de Groot/NED

*WC DOUBLES SF*
#1 Buis/Yamiji (NED/JPN) def. Montjane/Shuker (RSA/GBR)
#2 de Groot/van Koot (NED/NED) def. Ellerbrock/Kruger (GER/GER)
















*CAREER SLAM FINALS - ACTIVE*
29...Serena Williams (23-6)
16...Venus Williams (7-9)
10...Maria Sharapova (5-5)
4...Svetlana Kuznetsova (2-2)
4...Victoria Azarenka (2-2)
3...Angelique Kerber (2-1)
3...Garbine Muguruza (2-1)
3...SIMONA HALEP (0-2)
3...CAROLINE WOZNIACKI (0-2)

*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...SIMONA HALEP (0-0)
1...CAROLINE WOZNIACKI (0-0)
1...Dominika Cibulkova (0-1)

*WTA FINALS - 2015-18*
15 - SIMONA HALEP, ROU (8-6)
15 - Angelique Kerber, GER (8-7)
15 - CAROLINE WOZNIACKI, DEN (5-9)
13 - Karolina Pliskova, CZE (6-7)
11 - Serena Williams, USA (8-3)
10 - Elina Svitolina, UKR (8-2)
8 - Petra Kvitova, CZE (6-2)
8 - Aga Radwanska, POL (6-2)
8 - Venus Williams, USA (4-4)
8 - Dominika Cibulkova, SVK (4-4)

**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
2018 Australian Open - Simona Halep or Caroline Wozniacki
--
NOTE: 6 first-timers in last ten slams

**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
2018 Simona Halep or Caroline Wozniacki

**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: Halep in first slam as #1 seed at '18 AO

**MOST SLAMS BEFORE FIRST TITLE**
49 - Flavia Pennetta (2015 U.S. Open)
47 - Marion Bartoli (2013 Wimbledon)
45 - Jana Novotna (1998 Wimbledon)
Caroline Wozniacki (43rd slam)
39 - Francesca Schiavone (2010 Roland Garros)
34 - Samantha Stosur (2011 U.S. Open)
33 - Angelique Kerber (2016 Australian Open)
31 - Amelie Mauresmo (2006 Australian Open)
Simona Halep (31st slam)
29 - Jennifer Capriati (2001 Australian Open)
28 - Kerry Melville-Reid (1978 Australian Open)
26 - Lindsay Davenport (1998 U.S. Open)
25 - Victoria Azarenka (2012 Australian Open)
23 - Sloane Stephens (2017 U.S. Open)
22 - Kim Clijsters (2005 U.S. Open)

*#1 vs. #2 SLAM/OLYMPIC FINALS SINCE 2001*
2002 Wimbledon - #2 Serena Williams def. #1 Venus Williams
2002 U.S. Oopen - #1 Serena Williams def. #2 Venus Williams
2003 Australian Open - #1 Serena Williams def. #2 Venus Williams
2004 Australian Open - #1 Justine Henin-H. def. #2 Kim Clijsters
[2004 Athens Olympics Gold - #1 Justine Henin-H. def. #2 Amelie Mauresmo]
2013 Roland Garros - #1 Serena Williams def. #2 Maria Sharapova
2013 U.S. Open - #1 Serena Williams def. #2 Victoria Azarenka
2015 Australian Open - #1 Serena Williams def. #2 Maria Sharapova
2018 Australian Open - #1 Halep vs. #2 Wozniacki

**WON SLAM TITLE AFTER SAVING MATCH POINT - list from Tennis28.com**
[Open era]
1986 U.S. Open - Martina Navratilova (3 vs. Graf in SF)
1991 Aust.Open - Monica Seles (1 vs. MJ.Fernandez in SF)
2002 Aust.Open - Jennifer Capriati (4 vs. Hingis in Final)
2003 Aust.Open - Serena Williams (2 vs Clijsters in SF)
2004 R.Garros - Anastasia Myskina (1 vs. Kuznetsova in 4th)
2005 Aust.Open - Serena Williams (3 vs. Sharapova in SF)
2005 R.Garros - Justine Henin-H. (2 vs. Kuznetsova in 4th)
2005 Wimbledon - Venus Williams (1 vs. Davenport in Final)
2009 Wimbledon - Serena Williams (1 vs. Dementieva in SF)
2014 Aust.Open - Li Na (1 vs. Safarova in 3rd)
2016 Aust.Open - Angelique Kerber (1 vs. Doi in 1st)
2018 Aust.Open - Halep (3 vs. Davis/2 vs. Kerber) or Wozniacki (2 vs. Fett)
[pre-Open era]
1923 Aust.Open - Margaret Molesworth (1 vs. Sylvia Lance SF)
1935 Wimbledon - Helen Wills Moody (1 vs. Helen Jacobs F)
1946 R.Garros - Margaret Osbourne (2 vs. Pauline Betz F)
1956 Aust.Open - Mary Carter (1 vs. Thelma Long F)
1962 R.Garros - Margaret Smith (Court) (1 vs. Lesley Turner F)

*CAREER "SUPER SLAM"*
[4 slams+Olympic Gold+YEC]
WS: Steffi Graf, Serena Williams
MS: Andre Agassi
WD: Gigi Fernandez, Pam Shriver
MD: Bob Bryan/Mike Bryan, Daniel Nestor, Todd Woodbridge/Mark Woodforde
WCS (w): none
WCD (w): Esther Vergeer/Korie Homan, Aniek van Koot/Jiske Griffioen, Sharon Walraven
WCS (m): none
WCD (m): Stephane Houdet, Michael Jeremiasz, Shingo Kunieda, Nicolas Peifer




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):#17 Madison Keys/USA
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):3rd Rd. - #1 Simona Halep/ROU def. Lauren Davis/USA 4-6/6-4/15-13 (3:45; 3 MP saved from triple MP down; served out on fourth try in the 2:22 3rd set)
TOP LATE RD. MATCH (SF-F/Jr./Doub.): Nominee: SF - #1 Halep d. #21 Kerber 6-3/4-6/9-7 (saved 2 MP after served for match and had 2 MP of own; on MP #4)
=============================
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 - 3rd Rd.)
LAST WILD CARD STANDING:Olivia Rogowska/AUS (2nd Rd.)
LAST AUSSIE STANDING:Ash Barty (3rd Rd.)
Ms. OPPORTUNITY: Nominees: Wozniacki, Halep, Babos/Mladenovic
IT (TBD): Nominee: Kostyuk ("Teen"), de Groot ("WC"), de Groot vs. Kamiji ("WC rivalry"), Wang/Wang/Liang ("Asian Juniors")
COMEBACK PLAYER:Angelique Kerber/GER
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:Hsieh Su-wei/TPE
LADY OF THE EVENING:Elise Mertens/BEL (def. Gavrilova in 2nd Rd. in AO nighttime debut)
DOUBLES STAR: Nominees: Babos, Makarova, Makarova/Vesnina
JUNIOR BREAKOUT: Nominees: Wang Xinyu and Wang Xiyu, Cocciaretto, Liang





All for Day 11. More tomorrow.

↧

AO.12 - The Day Before the Day

January 25, 2018, 11:27 pm
$
0
0
Rest up.

Because.It.Is.Coming.Soon.







=DAY 12 NOTES=
...in the women's doubles final, Ekaterina Makarova & Elena Vesnina were seeking to become the seventh women's duo to finish a Career Doubles Slam, the second to pull off a Career Golden Doubles Slam (slams+Olympic Gold) and the first (Pam Shriver and Gigi Fernandez did it individually) to complete a "Super Slam" (slams+Olympic Gold+WTAF).

But it wasn't meant to be.

The Hordettes were outplayed by Timea Babos & and an in-form Kristina Mladenovic, who'd previously been on the wrong end of doubles history when they lost in the '14 Wimbledon final to Sara Errani & Roberta Vinci as the Italians completed *their* Career Doubles Slam. History didn't repeat itself, as the Russians fell 6-4/6-3. It's Babos' first career slam title, and Mladenovic's fourth (two MX, and another WD w/ Caroline Garcia at RG two years ago).




Whether this result will lead Mladenovic back to any sort of singles success -- she's lost *fifteen* consecutive matches -- remains to be seen. The defense of her '17 Saint Petersburg title takes place next week.

Both Makarova and Babos are scheduled to return later on Night 12 to play in the Mixed SF, and could very well face off in another final this weekend. The next potential Career Doubles Slam attempt could come at Wimbledon later this summer, as Bethanie Mattek-Sands (who might make make her return in Fed Cup play in February, and if not then then likely in March) & Lucie Safarova need only a SW19 crown to have collected all four majors. And to do it at the AELTC one year after Mattek-Sands' horrible injury there? Well, that would be pretty good stuff, eh?

...in the junior singles semis, the possibility existed for a final that pitted the #1 and #2 seeds, as well as the first Chinese *and* first Taiwanese girls to reach a slam singles final.

#1-seed Wang Xinyu of China, heavily taped in various places all over her body, had a hard time dealing with her mounting injuries after the 1st set, and began to pile up errors. Burel won 2-6/6-1/6-0 and will now attempt to become the first French girl to win a singles slam since Mladenovic in 2009, and the first to do so in Melbourne since Virginie Razzano in 1999.




In the other semi, #2-seeded Liang "Call Me Simona" En-shuo, who saved MP in her 1st Round match with Aussie wild card Olivia Gadecki, saved two more while staging a comeback to defeat unseeded Italian Elisabetta Cocciaretto, 4-6/6-3/7-6(5). Cocciaretto served for the match at 5-4 and 6-5, reaching MP in both games before the 17-year old got a pair of breaks of serve, then won the deciding TB to become the first girl presenting Taiwan to reach a slam singles final.



Liang won the Traralgon warm-up title heading into the AO, and has now reached the finals in both singles and doubles in Melbourne. Liang and Wang Xinyu are set to team up in the girls doubles final later on Day 12.

...in the wheelchair doubles final, the first of two title-deciding match-ups between #1 Yui Kamiji and #2 Diede de Groot took place, with Kamiji & Marjolein Buis winning 6-4/6-0 over de Groot & Aniek van Koot. It's Kamiji's twelfth career doubles title at the four slams (including four of the last five AO, two with Buis and two with Jordanne Whiley) and seventeenth slam crown overall.

With former #1 Jiske Griffioen's retirement official last fall, the door is now open for a career-long rivalry between Kamiji and de Groot. So far, the more experienced 23-year old from Japan has gotten the best of the 21-year old Dutch. They met in last year's Wimbledon doubles and U.S. Open singles finals, with Kamiji getting the wins in both. Now with a 3-0 mark against de Groot it slam finals, Kamiji will meet her in a fourth final in the singles championship this weekend.


...LIKE/DISLIKE/IT'S-YOUR-FIGHT-LEAVE-US-OUT-OF-IT-BECAUSE-WE-HAVE-ENOUGH-ISSUES-OF-OUR-OWN-TO-FIGHT-ABOUT ON DAY 12:

January 26... when the rest of world learns a bit more about Australian history, and realizes all the messy complications that that entails.



...LIKE ON DAY 12: Angie... still Angie-rific.



...TATIANA GOLOVIN UPDATE ON DAY 12:



...AND THE OUTCOME ON DAY 12...: ...of the Gibbsy vs. Schmiedy battle is:




...SLOANE, CURRENTLY, ON DAY 12:



...TIMING IS EVERYTHING ON DAY 12: Or not. I mean, *why not* stop updating the #1 specifically-dedicated Twitter location for Wheelchair Tennis news right in the middle of the first slam of the year? Seems logical, right?



...and, finally... the Hall of Fame doors will soon open for another Czech in Newport. And it's one of the more underrated ones, too.



Here's what I wrote back in October in my and Galileo West's "Backspin Court of Appeals" post revolving around the best women's players never ranked #1...

" Sukova doesn't qualify for this list, having never won a slam singles title, but she may be the most overlooked player of her era, and I wanted to at least talk about her a little (until or if, you know, there's a Court of Appeals edition dealing with the best slam-less players ever, as she'd slot in there somewhere behind Elena Dementieva). If she had won a major, she'd have sneaky "alternate Hall of Fame" credentials, if she doesn't already. In an era filled with other Czech-born superstars, Sukova was seemingly always playing the role of second fiddle. Sukova reached four slam finals, losing out to Evert (twice), Navratilova and Graf. She posted fifteen QF+ slam results over a 21-appearance stretch from 1984-90, and sustained her relevance over a long period. Her first slam final came in 1984 in just her tenth slam MD, and her fourth and final came nine years later at the '93 U.S. Open (slam #44). She also came "this close" to winning a WTA Championships title, falling to Navratilova in three in 1985. While she usually came up just short of a career-defining slam moment, Sukova *did* end two of the most noteworthy streaks of her era. She brought to a close Navratilova's 74-match winning streak at the '84 Australian Open, ending Navratilova's hopes for a Grand Slam season (Martina had won six straight slams, and was looking for a seventh to sweep the '84 majors, as the AO then closed out the season in December). Three seasons later, Sukova ended Navratilova's 69-match grass court win streak at Eastbourne, defeating both Martina and Chris Evert to win the title. The Czech won 69 tour-level doubles titles (9 slams), five mixed crowns, and four Fed Cups. A #1-ranked player in doubles, she climbed as high as #4 in singles. "

This is a very satisfying development. Jana would be happy about it, too, I suspect. Now when will Conchita get *her* due?...

"Martinez is an easy name to drag into this discussion, even if only to give her her due. For her overall career, she should be a Hall of Famer, but to this point the doors have yet to open to her in Newport. It's easy to get lost in what Martinez wasn't and didn't do in an era that included the likes of Graf, Seles and countrywoman Sanchez, but what she did was quite impressive. Not really known as an "all-surface player," the Spaniard nonetheless reached slam finals on three surfaces, losing in Melbourne and Paris, but taking down Martina Navratilova (in her last slam final) at Wimbledon in one of more remarkable match-long barrage of passing shots you're ever likely to see. A five-time Fed Cup champ, Martinez had nine slam SF-or-better results in one fourteen-slam stretch in the middle of what was a very long career during which she played in 56 of 57 majors from 1991 to 2005, including eighteen consecutive appearances at Roland Garros. With singles titles over a seventeen-year span (first in 1988, last in 2005), Martinez made twelve straight season-ending championship fields, picked up 33 career singles titles (16th on the all-time list, w/ all fifteen ahead of her being either enshrined Hall of Famers, or sure-to-be-one-day active players -- Serena/Venus/Sharapova, along with four more HOFers directly following her on the title list) in 55 finals, winning nine Tier I titles (def. Sabatini, Graf, Navratilova, Sanchez, Hingis and Mauresmo -- five different players who reached #1 -- in those finals), claiming Rome four times, and picking up three Olympic medals in doubles (only the Williams Sisters and ASV have won more since the sport returned to the games in '88). Climbing as high as #2, she finished in the Top 5 four consecutive years from 1993-96. "




*WOMEN'S SINGLES FINAL*
#1 Simona Halep/ROU vs. #2 Caroline Wozniacki/DEN

*WOMEN'S DOUBLES FINAL*
#5 Babos/Mladenovic (HUN/FRA) def. #2 Makarova/Vesnina (RUS/RUS) 6-4/6-4

*MIXED DOUBLES SF*
Martinez-Sanchez/Demoliner (ESP/BRA) vs. #5 Babos/Bopanna (HUN/IND)
#3 Makarova/Soares (RUS/BRA) vs. #8 Dabrowski/Pavic (CAN/CRO)

*GIRLS SINGLES FINAL*
Clara Burel/FRA vs. #2 Liang En-shuo/TPE

*GIRLS DOUBLES FINAL*
#1 Liang En-shuo/Wang Xinyu (TPE/CHN) vs. #7 V.Apisah/Sun (PNG/SUI)

*WC SINGLES FINAL*
#1 Yui Kamiji/JPN vs. #2 Diede de Groot/NED

*WC DOUBLES FINAL*
#1 Buis/Yamiji (NED/JPN) def. #2 de Groot/van Koot (NED/NED) 6-0/6-4






























*CAREER SLAM FINALS - ACTIVE*
29...Serena Williams (23-6)
15...Venus Williams (7-9)
10..Maria Sharapova (5-5)
4...Svetlana Kuznetsova (2-2)
4...Victoria Azarenka (2-2)
3...Angelique Kerber (2-1)
3...Garbine Muguruza (2-1)
3...SIMONA HALEP (0-2)
3...CAROLINE WOZNIACKI (0-2)
2...Petra Kvitova, CZE (2-0)
2...Marion Bartoli, FRA (1-1)
2...Francesca Schiavone, ITA (1-1)
2...Samantha Stosur, AUS (1-1)
2...Vera Zvonareva, RUS (0-2)
1...Alona Ostapenko, LAT (1-0)
1...Sloane Stephens, USA (1-0)
1...Genie Bouchard, CAN (0-1)
1...Dominika Cibulkova, SVK (0-1)
1...Sara Errani, ITA (0-1)
1...Jelena Jankovic, SRB (0-1)
1...Madison Keys, USA (0-1)
1...Sabine Lisicki, GER (0-1)
1...Karolina Pliskova, CZE (0-1)
1...Agnieszka Radwanska, POL (0-1)
1...Lucie Safarova, CZE (0-1)
1...Roberta Vinci, ITA (0-1)

*SLAM SINGLES FINALS - since 2010*
15 - Serena Williams, USA (12-3)
6 - Maria Sharapova, RUS (2-4)
4 - Victoria Azarenka, BLR (2-2)
4 - Li Na, CHN (2-2)-ret.
3 - Angelique Kerber, GER (2-1)
3 - Garbine Muguruza, ESP (2-1)
3 - SIMONA HALEP, ROU (0-2)
2 - Kim Clijsters, BEL (2-0)-ret.
2 - Petra Kvitova, CZE (2-0)
2 - Francecsa Schiavone, ITA (1-1)
2 - Samantha Stosur, SAUS (1-1)
2 - CAROLINE WOZNIACKI, DEN (0-1)
2 - Venus Williams, USA (0-2)
2 - Vera Zvonareva, RUS (0-2)
1 - Marion Bartoli, FRA (1-0)
1 - Alona Ostapenko, LAT (1-0)
1 - Flavia Pennetta, ITA (1-0)-ret.
1 - Sloane Stephens, USA (1-0)
1 - Genie Bouchard, CAN (0-1)
1 - Dominika Cibulkova, SVK (0-1)
1 - Sara Errani, ITA (0-1)
1 - Justine Henin, BEL (0-1)-ret.
1 - Madison Keys, USA (0-1)
1 - Sabine Lisicki, GER (0-1)
1 - Karolina Pliskova, CZE (0-1)
1 - Aga Radwanska, POL (0-1)
1 - Lucie Safarova, CZE (0-1)
1 - Roberta Vinci, ITA (0-1)

**OLDEST FIRST-TIME SLAM CHAMPS**
33y,6m,6d - Flavia Pennetta, 2015 U.S. Open
29y,347d - Francesca Schiavone, 2010 Roland Garros
29y,9m,3d - Jana Novotna, 1998 Wimbledon
29y,5m,3d - Kerry Melville-Reid, 1977 Australian Open
29y,3m,9d - Li Na, 2011 Roland Garros
28y,9m,5d - Marion Bartoli, 2013 Wimbledon
28y,13d - Angelique Kerber, 2016 Australian
27y,6m,2w - Wozniacki
26y,7m - Amelie Mauresmo (2006 AO)
26y,5m,2w - Samantha Stosur (2011 US)
26y,4m - Halep

*BEST GIRLS/WOMEN'S AO SINGLES RESULTS - OPEN ERA*
[won Girls & Women's titles]
Evonne Goolagong (1970 Jr.; 1974-77 Women's)
Chris O'Neil (1973 Jr.; 1978 Women's)
Victoria Azarenka (2005 Jr.; 2012-13 Women's)
[others]
Lindsay Davenport (1992 Jr. RU; 2000 Women's Champ)
Maria Sharapova (2002 Jr. RU; 2008 Women's Champ)
Caroline Wozniacki (2006 Jr. RU; 2018 FINALIST)

*REACHED #1 WITHOUT HAVING WON A SLAM TITLE*
2003 Kim Clijsters, BEL [won U.S. Open in 2005]
2009 Dinara Safina, RUS [0-3 in slam finals]
2010 Caroline Wozniacki, DEN [0-2 in slam finals]
2008 Jelena Jankovic, SRB [0-2 in slams finals]
2004 Amelie Mauresmo, FRA [won Australian Open in 2006]
2017 Karolina Pliskova, CZE [0-1 in slam finals]
2017 Simona Halep, ROU [0-2 in slam finals]

*CAREER WTA SINGLES TITLES - active*
72 - Serena Williams, USA
49 - Venus Williams, USA
36 - Maria Sharapova, RUS
27 - CAROLINE WOZNIACKI, DEN
20 - Victoria Azarenka, BLR
20 - Petra Kvitova, CZE
20 - Aga Radwanska, POL
17 - Svetlana Kuznetsova, RUS
16 - SIMONA HALEP, ROU

*AO WOMEN'S DOUBLES CHAMPIONS - since 2008*
2008 Alona Bondarenko / Kateryna Bondarenko
2009 Serena Williams / Venus Williams
2010 Serena Williams / Venus Williams
2011 Gisela Dulko / Flavia Pennetta
2012 Svetlana Kuznetsova / Vera Zvonareva
2013 Sara Errani / Roberta Vinci
2014 Sara Errani / Roberta Vinci
2015 Bethanie Mattek-Sands / Lucie Safarova
2016 Martina Hingis / Sania Mirza
2017 Bethanie Mattek-Sands / Lucie Safarova
2018 Timea Babos / Kristina Mladenovic
[recent slams]
2016 AO - Martina Hingis / Sania Mirza
2016 RG - Caroline Garcia / Kristina Mladenovic
2016 WI - Serena Williams / Venus Williams
2016 US - Bethanie Mattek-Sands / Lucie Safarova
2017 AO - Bethanie Mattek-Sands / Lucie Safarova
2017 RG - Bethanie Mattek-Sands / Lucie Safarova
2017 WI - Ekaterina Makarova / Elena Vesnina
2018 US - Latisha Chan / Martina Hingis
2018 AO - Timea Babos / Kristina Mladenovic

*WTA DOUBLES TITLES - 2016-18*
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]
7 - TIMEA BABOS, HUN [0/6/1]
7 - Lucie Safarova, CZE [4/3/0]
6 - Ekaterina Makarova, RUS [3/3/0]
6 - Elena Vesnina, RUS [3/3/0]
5 - KRISTINA MLADENOVIC, FRA [4/0/1]
5 - Angel Chan, TPE [3/2/0]

*AUSTRALIAN OPEN GIRLS FINALS - since 2001*
2001 Jelena Jankovic/SRB d. Sofia Arvidsson/SWE
2002 Barbora Strycova/CZE d. Maria Sharapova/RUS
2003 Barbora Strycova/CZE d. Victoriya Kutuzova/UKR
2004 Shahar Peer/ISR dd. Nicole Vaidisova/CZE
2005 Victoria Azarenka/BLR d. Agnes Szavay/HUN
2006 A.Pavlyuchenkova/RUS d. Caroline Wozniacki/DEN
2007 A.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
2018 Clara Burel/FRA vs. Liang En-shuo/TPE

**RECENT GIRLS SLAM CHAMPIONS**
[2014]
AO: Elizaveta Kulichkova, RUS
RG: Dasha Kasatkina, RUS
WI: Alona Ostapenko, LAT
US: Maria Bouzkova, CZE
[2015]
AO: Tereza Mihalikova, SVK
RG: Paula Badosa, ESP
WI: Sofya Zhuk, RUS
US: Dalma Galfi, HUN
[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
[2018]
AO: ?

*JUNIOR SLAM SINGLES CHAMPIONS*
[TPE]
none
[FRA]
1953 RG - Christine Brunon (pre-Open era)
1954 RG - Beatrice De Chambure (pre-Open era)
1956 RG - Elaine Launey (pre-Open era)
1960 RG - Francois Durr (pre-Open era)
1963 RG - Monique Salfati (pre-Open era)
1964 RG - Nicole Seghers (pre-Open era)
1966 RG - Odile De Roubin (pre-Open era)
1982 WI - Catherine Tanvier
1983 RG - Pascale Paradis
1983 WI - Pascale Paradis
1988 RG - Julie Halard
1995 RG - Anne Cocheteux
1996 RG - Amelie Mauresmo
1996 WI - Amelie Mauresmo
1999 AO - Virginie Razzano
2000 RG - Virginie Razzano
2001 US - Marion Bartoli
2007 RG - Alize Cornet
2009 RG - Kristina Mladenovic

**AO "JUNIOR BREAKOUT" WINNERS**
2007 Madison Brengle, USA
2008 Jessica Moore, AUS & Arantxa Rus, NED
2009 Ksenia Pervak, RUS
2010 Karolina & Kristyna Pliskova, CZE/CZE
2011 Japanese girls
2012 Taylor Townsend, USA
2013 Ana Konjuh, CRO
2014 Elizaveta Kulichkova, RUS
2015 Tereza Mihalikova, SVK
2016 Sara Tomic, AUS
2017 Marta Kostyuk, UKR
2018 Liang En-shuo, TPE

*AO WHEELCHAIR DOUBLES CHAMPIONS*
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
2018 Marjolein Buis/Yui Kamiji, NED/JPN

*CAREER WC MAJOR TITLES - slams/Paralympics/Masters YEC*
[Yui Kamiji]
AO S: 2017 [to play final]
AO D: 2014,15,16,18
RG S: 2014,17
RG D: 2014,17
WI S: [SF-2017]
WI D: 2014,15,16,17
US S: 2014,17
US D: 2014
PA S: [QF-2012]
PA D: [QF-2012]
MA S: 2013
MA D: 2013,14
[Diede de Groot]
AO S: - [to play final]
AO D: [RU-17,18]
RG S: [QF-17]
RG D: [SF-17]
WI S: 2017
WI D: [RU-17]
US S: [RU-17]
US D: 2017
PA S: [SF/4th Place-2016]
PA D: [RU/Silver-2016]
MA S: 2017
MA D: 2016,17

*WHEELCHAIR SLAM DOUBLES TITLES*
[AO-RG-WI-US...Masters+Paralympics]
21 - Esther Vergeer, NED [7-5-3-6]...[10+3]
14 - Jiske Griffioen, NED [5-3-2-4]...[7+1]
12 - YUI KAMIJI, JPN [4-3-4-1]...[2+0]*
10 - Aniek van Koot, NED [3-3-2-2]...[3+1]*
9 - Jordanne Whiley, GBR [2-2-4-1]...[2+0]*
7 - Sharon Walraven, NED [2-1-2-2]...[2+1]
5 - Korie Homan, NED [1-1-1-2]...[1+1]
5 - MARJOLEIN BUIS, NED [2-2-0-1]...[1+1]*
3 - Maaike Smit, NED [2-1-0-0]...[4+2]
2 - Florence Gravellier, FRA [2-0-0-0]...[0+0]




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):#17 Madison Keys/USA
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):3rd Rd. - #1 Simona Halep/ROU def. Lauren Davis/USA 4-6/6-4/15-13 (3:45; 3 MP saved from triple MP down; served out on fourth try in the 2:22 3rd set)
TOP LATE RD. MATCH (SF-F/Jr./Doub.): Nominee: SF - #1 Halep d. #21 Kerber 6-3/4-6/9-7 (saved 2 MP after served for match and had 2 MP of own; on MP #4)
=============================
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 - 3rd Rd.)
LAST WILD CARD STANDING:Olivia Rogowska/AUS (2nd Rd.)
LAST AUSSIE STANDING:Ash Barty (3rd Rd.)
Ms. OPPORTUNITY: Nominees: Wozniacki (2 MP), Halep (5 MP in 2 matches)
IT (??): Nominees: Kostyuk ("Teen"), Burel ("Jr.Pastry")
COMEBACK PLAYER:Angelique Kerber/GER
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:Hsieh Su-wei/TPE
LADY OF THE EVENING:Elise Mertens/BEL (def. Gavrilova in 2nd Rd. in AO nighttime debut)
DOUBLES STAR: Nominees: Babos, Babos/Mladenovic
JUNIOR BREAKOUT:Liang En-shuo/TPE





All for Day 12. More tomorrow.
↧
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The Day of the Dane

January 27, 2018, 8:51 am
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Caroline Wozniacki was right all those years ago when she was questioned about her lack of a slam title, and owning of a game that didn't quite seem up to acquiring one anytime soon. The Dane said, "I've got time." Time to play. Time to recalibrate. Time to perfect, tighten and make sharp any lingering dull edges. After all these years, she's finally gone and done it.



As they say Down Under... good on ya, Caro.



On a humid night in Melbourne, it was a certainty that one of two women -- one the current #1, the other a former and maybe future top-ranked player -- would finally see her career moment of truth come to pass, cleansing her past of a last remaining blemish and bringing to a definitive end an until-now elusive personal quest. Becoming the newly-crowned champion of the Australian Open would effectively close the book on a personal tennis history pockmarked and defined by "coming up short" often enough that the practice had come to define them, dwarfing all their many successes and sentencing them to "asterisk" status rather than being recognized as a player who'd been proven to be something, and someone, worthy of being called "great."

Not that it was going to be easy. In fact, it was always going to be anything but -- their respective histories told us (and them) that, so why should this old-chapter-closing/new-door-opening aspect of their journeys be any different?

While both Wozniacki and Simona Halep had been in slam finals before, it was the Romanian who'd had the opportunity to see what she was missing close-up. So close that she actually though that the prize might be hers. While the Dane lost in straight sets in U.S. Open finals to Kim Clijsters (2009) and Serena Williams ('14), Halep has gone three sets in Paris. Twice. To Maria Sharapova ('14) in a match the Russian declared one of her toughest slams finals, and just last year being on the wrong end of Alona Ostapenko's coming out party despite having held a set and 3-0 lead on the Latvian, then another 3-1 advantage in the 3rd.

In order to change the first line of their career bios, though, both women had to come to realize over the course of time that neither could get *there* from what was, at the time, *here*. Something had to change. Both had to first remedy the one aspect of their games that consistently held them back.

For Wozniacki, it was a lack of willful aggression woven into her fitness & defensive-oriented style, an aspect made even more potent over the last season and a half due to an improved forehand, serve and willingness to move in from behind the baseline and take the initiative rather than wait out an error from her opponent, a tact which had often allowed *their* games to dictate the outcome of the most important points. The situation led to a seemingly endless public dissection (dubbed "Wozniology-101," in these parts) of her aims, distractions and frustrating resistance to do *everything* -- sometimes the *one* thing -- she could do to seize the moment that she'd once insisted she "had time" to figure out how to claim. For Halep, her biggest obstacle was the space between her ears, made a liability because of, until over the last year, a smothering perfectionist trait that made her her own worst enemy, and often led to negative thoughts and her giving up as leads and matches slipped away on the game's biggest stages, rather than accepting her mistakes, regrouping and coming back at her opponent with more heart, guile and desire than she had before. Usually, stuck in development hell, the Romanian found her way to what this space has always referred to (for far too long) as the fabled "Cliffs of Simona," where Halep's grandest slam hopes often went to die simply because she flung herself over the side rather than hold on for dear life and fight, fight, fight.

Both came into 2018 off seasons in which they proved, maybe especially to themselves, that they *were* capable of making the necessary changes that could allow for their slam dreams to come true. Wozniacki, her increased level of aggression enhanced by a season of work with "assistant coach/hitting instructor extraordinaire" Sascha Bajin, led the tour in wins and matches, picked up her biggest career title at the WTA Finals and came into this AO ranked #2 after a combination of lingering injury and a lack of focus (or so it seemed, at least, with her growing off-court stardom and notoriety) had seen her drop as low as #74 late in 2016. Meanwhile, Halep had managed to find the better angels of her true tennis self last season, taking to heart coach Darren Cahill's pleas to always give her all, no matter the frustrations (he briefly walked away from his duties last spring after believing she'd "given up" in an important match in Miami, forcing her to commit to the change or start all over again with someone else). The Cahill gambit worked, as Halep, after much trial and error, found it within herself to finally win a "one match from the #1 ranking" contest and ended the season atop the WTA rankings.

But, still, one demon remained for both. One that could only be slain on site in either Melbourne, Paris, London or New York.

With their AO paths unnaturally littered over the two weeks, both woman had still more tests to pass to even get the opportunity to play for the title. In fact, it was an almost every round occasion. In the 1st Round, Halep badly rolled her ankle against Destanee Aiava, putting in doubt her further participation in the first slam of the season (her first as a #1 seed), though she'd go on to labor another 10+ hours on the court to reach the final. In the 2nd Round, Wozniacki staged a comeback from 5-1, 40/15 down (2 MP) to Jana Fett. In the 3rd Round, Halep battled for 3:45 against Lauren Davis, surviving being triple MP down to win a 15-13 deciding 3rd set. Then, in the semifinals, Halep again had to fight back -- vs. '16 AO champ Angelique Kerber -- after being two MP down to survive once more. Both more than earned their spot in the final. Both were proud of the progress they'd made. But only one would be rewarded with shiny hardware and a soft spot on which their career could finally land, while the other would exit ever closer to glory, but still empty-handed.

Their face-off in the AO final was their seventh meeting (Caro led 4-2), but their first ever meeting in a major, as well as a singles final. With a maiden slam title and the #1 ranking at stake, no less. So, you know... no biggie.

After opening the set with a hold, Wozniacki quickly took a love/30 lead on Halep's serve. She moved forward to put away a forehand to reach double break point, and took a 2-0 lead. The advantage held up for the majority of the set, as the Dane's usual get-to-everything defense was stellar and she remained incredibly tidy on in her new-and-improved service game (she came in having lost serve just once in the previous three rounds), offsetting the awakening of Halep's aggressive forehand and back-to-back love holds from the Romanian after dropping her initial effort.



Wozniacki hadn't faced a BP and had won thirteen of sixteen 1st serve points when she stepped up to serve for the set at 5-2. But with the Romanian portion of the crowd making their presence known, Wozniacki seemed to be irritated by the noise. She proceeded to fail to get back a big Halep forehand and fell behind love/30, and her third consecutive error (after had just six in the first seven games) put her down triple BP. She saved two, one with an ace, but another rally dominated by the Romanian's forehand ended with a Wozniacki error as the set went back on serve at 5-4. Halep fired a pair of aces and once again held at love (she led 12-5 in winners). The tenth game was followed by two more easy holds from both women and things were set to be decided via a tie-break, the first between the two in their head-to-head series.

After the Romanians chanted "Si-mo-na! Si-mo-na! Si-mo-na!" before the TB started, Wozniacki grabbed a quick mini-break lead at 2-0. Halep fired an ace to avoid a deeper hole, but Wozniacki's incredible defense and serving didn't allow her to recover in the short window of the TB as she had in the overall set. The Dane took another 5-2 lead, but this time Halep couldn't reverse the tide, as Wozniacki served out the 1st, taking the breaker at 7-2.

With twenty of the last twenty-four AO women's finals having been won by the player who took the opening set, Wozniacki now found herself in the lead role. But if we've learned anything from watching Halep -- aka "New Simona" -- at this AO it's that she's no longer programmed to consider mentally quitting when the going gets tough. Already physically pushed to the limit on multiple occasions through the first six rounds of play, the Romanian would be so once again as the Extreme Heat policy was in effect on this Melbourne summer evening.

Wozniacki's love hold for 1-1 in the 2nd gave her a 13-point win streak on serve (it'd ultimately reach 16), but it was Halep's eleven-minute hold a game later that proved to be the key game in the set. Saving four break points, Halep finally stayed a step ahead of the Dane on the scoreboard in the 2nd by utilizing a drop shot to convert on her second game point chance. After game #5, Halep called for a trainer, who checked her blood pressure, as the Romanian's 12-plus hours on court at this tournament seemed to finally be catching up with her. But as sea gulls squawked overhead, Halep put her head down and hoped for an opening. And then it arrived just in the nick of time.

Up love/30 on Wozniacki's serve, Halep began grasping at her left thigh (the same leg on which she'd rolled her ankle six matches ago). As occurred near the end of the 1st set, Wozniacki played her only bad game of the set. She'd escaped the moment earlier, but not this time. A forehand error put her down 15/40, then Halep broke with a forehand down the line to take a 5-3 lead and serve for the set. From love/30 and 15/40 down, the Romanian saved back-to-back BP, then failed to put away a set point by misfiring on a shot into an open court behind Wozniacki. After missing out on a second SP chance, and saving a third BP, Halep knotted the match on SP #3 by getting Wozniacki on the run and finally putting a ball just out of her reach up the middle of the court as the Dane scrambled in vain to chase it down. With the 6-3 2nd in hand, after the Romanian saved all seven of the BP she faced in the set, the final went to the 3rd -- the third deciding set situation of this AO for both Halep and Wozniacki.



After both players left the court for ten minutes, as allowed between sets under the Intense Heat policy, viewers immediately searched for clues about whether -- or which of -- the players might emerge more refreshed. Halep, for one, seemed to be searching for one last burst of energy, as her proverbial tank had alreadly seemingly been near empty for at least a week's time. She failed to convert two GP chances in the second game, then pulled a backhand wide and found herself BP down. Wozniacki took advantage of a soft second serve and fired a deep return that Halep hit wide, getting the break to lead 2-0.



Then, Wozniacki suddenly became engaged in a long service game much like Halep's from the 2nd set. Only she wasn't able to lock away the hold. Halep led 15/40, but the Dane saved both BP with big serves. Halep seemed to sense that this might be her last stand, and she managed to fight off two Wozniacki GP (and avoided a third w/ a successful replay challenge), finally converting on her sixth BP of the game with a Wozniacki DF, getting things back on serve at 2-1 at the end of the 12-minute game.

In the aftermath of game #3, Halep immediately fell behind love/40 with a series of tired serves, as Wozniacki broke for a 3-1 lead. But Halep's "SuperGnat" tendencies returned a game later, as she found still more reserves inside her body to put all she could into her ground strokes and carve out love/30 and 15/40 leads, then saw Wozniacki spray a forehand as things went back on serve at 3-2. The Romanian then won a 17-shot rally for 15/15 and fired an ace to lead 40/30 en route to holding for 3-3. Before serving in game #7, Wozniacki put out a call for a trainer to look at her left knee, then saw Halep fire a backhand return down the line to take a love/30 lead. The Dane got to GP, but ended the game with back-to-back forehand errors to drop serve and fall behind 4-3.



Wozniacki came out of the medical time out showing no ill effects of her dropped serve and, in fact, may have gotten the final surge of energy that Halep had previously been seeking out. She went up love/30 on Halep's serve, breaking on her second BP to knot the score at 4-4. It was the sixth break of the set, after the two had combined for just three in the first two. Thus, it would be Wozniacki's hold for 5-4 that proved to be key, as it forced Halep to hold (something she'd done just once in the set). After Halep successfully challenged the chair umpire's incorrect overrule of a long Wozniacki shot on the baseline, the Romanian led 30/15. But she double-faulted away the next point, giving away any momentum she'd gained just moments before. The Dane's brilliant defense kept a rally alive that Halep had appeared about to win on multiple occasions a point later, the Wozniacki fired a winner behind the Romanian to reach match point.



One point away from the greatest, belatedly career-defining win of her tennis lifetime, the Dane was about to be the previously slam-less and star-crossed player who'd bask in the light under the Melbourne stars. Halep netted a backhand to end the match's final rally, and it was over. Finally. All of it (at least for one of them). With a 7-6(2)/3-6/6-4 victory, Wozniacki completed a sweep of the final three games to become the first Danish slam singles champion, and simultaneously remove her name from atop the list of the best players to have never won a major. She's no longer the woman with the most singles titles and the most weeks at #1 who's never won a major title. That's over -- she'll return to #1 for the first time in six years on Monday.

While "New" Simona was the continuing story of the women's competition in Melbourne, "New" Caro was the one who celebrated at its conclusion.



Sweet, Caroline.

Of course, while the Dane floated on air, Halep covered her head in a towel, once again having to mentally pound out an internal deal between her head and heart after coming agonizingly close to ending her career-long slam drought. Again. Halep finished just two points behind Wozniacki (110-108) in the match stats, and more than proved her mettle as a fighter over the course of this AO. Her heart guided her through a thicket of drama, pain, mental fatigue and exhaustion to get this far, only to have the rug pulled out from underneath her feet one more time. While she smiled and put up a brave face, you know how much this latest bit of deja vu had to sting. Meanwhile, seemingly everyone was expressing how much they hurt *for* her. Even Wozniacki offered her apologies to Halep for winning the match, as surely everyone else will for quite some time upon sighting the 26-year old Romanian.

But Simona can't afford to be sad for long. After earning her warrior shield and armor at this slam, she's grown in stature in the eyes of all, title or no title.

It may take a while to fully digest it, but Halep may have seen the seed she planted last season for a future grand slam title run show its first signs of flowering during these past two weeks. Having come so close to slam glory, even closer than she did last year in Paris, Halep should be emboldened by her efforts in Melbourne rather than discouraged by the notion of them having gone for naught. The quicker she realizes that -- and she *will*, if she hasn't already, even if it does come after a lot of rest and maybe a few frustrated tears, shouts and various items tossed about -- the sooner it may be *she* who's lifting a slam championship trophy. If she can gather her forces for another (maybe a bit less drama-filled ongoing) battle, maybe it'll even be the Coupe Suzanne Lenglen just a few months from now.

I've said before that Halep's rocky, sometimes heartbreaking quest for a slam title reminds me most of that of the late, great Jana Novotna. The Czech, too, had to endure a series of near misses before finally, at long last, getting to experience *her* greatest moment. And it was well worth it, made even more meaningful by the pain and hurt so publicly experienced on the road to getting there. That moment for Novotna came in her fourth slam singles final. Halep's next final would be *her* fourth, as well.

I'm just sayin'.



But while Halep will continue to seek out her destiny, after a Melbourne experience that began with a Destanee but didn't change her own, Wozniacki's story has changed forever as she moves forward with a much lighter load on her shoulders and pysche, and the knowledge that she was correct all along. All else is in the past. Poof! Up in smoke. All the questions. All the snickering. Gone! All the eye-rolls and negativism. All the raised eyebrows and questions about whether the Family Wozniacki (well, father Piotr) would ever open its arms and accept an extra set of eyes (well, they did for a while... but Bajin was still gone by the start of '18, having played his role well). Yesterday's laments.

"All" it took was one gloriously grand moment to turn a career that would have been considered an "underachieving" one without a major title into a Hall of Fame-worthy entity in an instant. Why, it's exciting enough -- and so much of a relief -- to make a 27-year old wrap her arms around a shiny stand-in for Daphne Akhurst as if it was the security blanket she'd wanted all along but was afraid to admit she'd ultimately feel incomplete without.



After all these years, Caroline has arrived. Finally, the Dane is great.









=DAY 13 NOTES=
...the girls singles champion, just as would be the case later in the day when the women's final was completed, had to save multiple MP en route to the title. #2-seeded Liang En-shuo saved a MP in the 1st Round, then two more in yesterday's semifinal. Today, the 17-year old defeated Pastry Clara Burel 6-3/6-4 to become the first player representing Taiwan to win a girls singles slam.




In the doubles final, Liang returned to win title #2, teaming with Wang Xinyu (CHN) to defeat Violet Apisah & Lulu Sun (PNG/SUI) 7-6(4)/4-6 [10-5]. While Liang joins Latisha Chan and Wang Shi-ting as girls double slam champs from Taiwan, China's Wang joins countrywoman Sun Shengnan and Ye Quiyu.

...one day after they met in the wheelchair doubles final, #1 Yui Kamiji and #2 Diede de Groot faced off in the singles championship in Melbourne. It was the fourth consecutive slam s/d final in which they've been on opposing sides of the net, perhaps the beginning of a very long stretch of two-headed -- Evert/Navratilova or Federer/Nadal-like -- slam dominance never seen on the WC tour, which was dominated by de Groot's Dutch countrywoman and mentor Esther Vergeer for a decade before her retirement at the end of 2012. Unless another young superstar emerges (most of the other slam contenders -- van Koot, Buis and Ellerbrock -- are veterans), or new mother Jordanne Whiley comes back ever better than she was before, they could be either/or slam champs for the next five years (or longer?).

Heading into today, Kamiji had swept all three slam finals in which she'd met de Groot, taking titles in the Wimbledon doubles, U.S. singles and yesterday's AO doubles.

In the 1st set, with Kamiji serving up a break at 4-3, de Groot got the break back with a series of clean winners from both wings. The Dutch woman played mostly right on the baseline, while her Japanese opponent was well behind her own, often obscured in the shadows of MCA not far from the linespeople and back wall. But Kamiji got things back on serve after saving a set point and served for the 1st at 6-5. Kamiji reached SP when de Groot came into the court on a return, only to see the ball fired behind her and out of reach. She saved the SP with a deep forehand past Kamiji in the shadows, then another when she put away a high bouncing ball at the net. She broke with a forehand winner to force a tie-break.

After Kamiji took a 1-0 mini-break lead by hitting a shot directly back at the right-handed de Groot, who wheeled backwards but couldn't do it fast enough to avoid being eaten up by the ball. She was only able to raise the racket above her head and make contact, losing the point without offering a true swing. The 21-year old did a 360-degree twirl in her chair in frustration. For the rest of the TB, de Groot would take the advantage with a flash of groundstroke power, only to give it right back soon afterward with an error. Rolling across the backcourt, she reached a ball and fired a clean crosscourt winner to get the mini-break back a point later, and then took Kamiji's second service point, as well. She grabbed a 3-1 lead with an angled forehand winner from the center of the baseline, but then double-faulted it back on point #5 and missed a forehand long into an open court at the end of a side-to-side rally to make it 3-3. A crosscourt backhand return winner put her up her 4-3 again, only to see her commit a forehand error moments later. In maybe the key (and surely the best) point of the TB, Kamiji's wide lefty backhand ended a 46-shot rally, leading the assembled crowd to give the pair the loudest, must sustained applause of the match. Once again, a de Groot backhand error a point later erased the lead, but a forehand down the line ended another rally to give her a second SP at 6-5. De Groot then missed on a long forehand. But Kamiji's long return gave de Groot a third SP chance, one which she finally capitalized on with a backhand crosscourt return winner to take the TB at 8-6 to end the 56-minute set. The two evenly split the 84 points of the set, 42-42.

In the 2nd, again, de Groot grabbed the lead, then had to fight off a Kamiji comeback attempt. With a double-break lead at 3-0, de Groot fell behind love/30 in game #4 before ultimately seeing Kamiji's big return into the corner (and de Groot's netted backhand) end a four-deuce game that got back one of the breaks. With her lead cut to 3-2, de Groot double-faulted (her 8th of the match) to make the score 15/15, and things might have gotten a bit nervy. But she stopped the slide, sweeping the remaining points in the game, ending with a clean backhand winner to lead 4-2. In game #7, back-to-back winners down opposing lines put the Dutch woman up 15/40 on Kamiji's serve, and a third fired behind her opponent got the break for 5-2 and a chance to serve for her first Australian Open title.

But de Groot fell behind 15/40, then missed on a backhand when she swing at a ball in the air from the baseline, netting it see her lead slip to 5-3. After leading 30/love, Kamiji's DF and error got de Groot within two points of the title. Rolling to reach one ball outside the doubles alley on her right side, de Groot then caught up with another on the far side of the court one stroke later in the really. But, with Kamiji falling behind in the exchange and only able to float a ball down the middle, de Groot missed an easy forehand, then another down the line a point later, as Kamiji pulled to within 5-4.

Serving for the match a second time, de Groot took control. Up 30/love, she fired a forehand winner to reach triple MP. Kamiji saved a MP with a big forehand crosscourt return, but then missed a backhand return down the line on the second. The error ended the 7-6(6), 6-4 match and de Groot ripped off her visor, threw it to the court and yelled, "Come on!" She out-hit Kamiji 36-19 in winners, overcoming her 23-13 disadvantage in unforced errors, twice as many DF and 56% First Serve percentage.




This is de Groot's second career slam singles title, having won her first at Wimbledon last summer. She's now reached the finals of both singles and doubles at the last three slams, as well as both parts of the year-end Masters events last fall. She's won five of the eight matches (Wimbledon W/L, U.S. L/W, Masters W/W, Australian W/L), losing the other three to Kamiji. With three of the biggest five WC singles titles currently in her column, de Groot very well may rise to #1 for the first time after this slam. If not, she has to be very close to doing so.

Until they meet again... (And they will, too.)

*CAREER WC MAJOR TITLES - slams/Paralympics/Masters YEC*
[Yui Kamiji]
AO S: 2017
AO D: 2014,15,16,18
RG S: 2014,17
RG D: 2014,17
WI S: [SF-2017]
WI D: 2014,15,16,17
US S: 2014,17
US D: 2014
PA S: [QF-2012]
PA D: [QF-2012]
MA S: 2013
MA D: 2013,14
[Diede de Groot]
AO S: 2018
AO D: [RU-17,18]
RG S: [QF-17]
RG D: [SF-17]
WI S: 2017
WI D: [RU-17]
US S: [RU-17]
US D: 2017
PA S: [SF/4th Place-2016]
PA D: [RU/Silver-2016]
MA S: 2017
MA D: 2016,17

...after last night's women's doubles final, participants Timea Babos (w/ Rohan Bopanna) and Ekaterina Makarova (w/ Bruno Soares) both returned to the courts for the mixed semis. Makarova lost for a second time, as Gaby Dabrowski & Mate Pavic advanced to the final. Dabrowski won last year's Roland Garros MX title with Bopanna, and will now go against him in her attempt to claim career mixed crown #2. Babos/Bopanna defeated the duo of Martinez-Sanchez/Demoliner. Babos previously reached a MX slam final in 2015 at Wimbledon with Alexander Peya



If Babos picks up title #2 it will make this the second consecutive slam in which a woman swept both the WD and MX competitions, as Martina Hingis did it as the U.S. Open last summer.

...in the WTA 125 Series event in Newport Beach, California Ajla Tomljanovic has reached the semis and will face former NCAA champ Danielle Collins. The other semi features a pair of qualifiers, former Wimbledon junior champ Sofya Zhuk and Mayo Hibi. The winner will claim the biggest title of her career.



In doubles, Misaki Doi (hmm, shades of Mladenovic?) has been struggling in singles for a while now, but has reached the doubles final with Jil Teichmann.


...LIKE ON DAY 13: Since no one at ESPN is *ever* going to mention his name...



...REALIZATION ON DAY 13: Well, now Jana Fett's name will be known forever, I guess.




Next up for Fett: Saint Petersburg qualifying (Q1 vs. Sesil Karatantcheva).

...LIKE ON DAY 13: AnaIvo, gettin' her star on...



...LIKE ON DAY 13:



Eventually, Jana would have her day, though.

...LIKE ON DAY 13: The Bannerettes didn't win a junior slam this time around, but the baton was passed...





...ACKNOWLEDGMENT ON DAY 13: ESPN was remarkably light on David Lee mentions (well, for them, at least... there were still too many for a network that needn't think people are watching tennis in the wee small hours of the morning because of a former NBA player that many sports fans had barely heard of until recently), so I'll throw a photo in here...



...and, finally, coming soon...

Welcome home momma

A post shared by Serena Williams (@serenawilliams) on









*WOMEN'S SINGLES FINAL*
#2 Caroline Wozniacki/DEN def. #1 Simona Halep/ROU 7-6(2)/3-6/6-4

*WOMEN'S DOUBLES FINAL*
#5 Babos/Mladenovic (HUN/FRA) def. #2 Makarova/Vesnina (RUS/RUS) 6-4/6-4

*MIXED DOUBLES FINAL*
#5 Babos/Bopanna (HUN/IND) vs. #8 Dabrowski/Pavic (CAN/CRO)

*GIRLS SINGLES FINAL*
#2 Liang En-shuo/TPE def. Clara Burel/FRA 6-3/6-4

*GIRLS DOUBLES FINAL*
#1 Liang En-shuo/Wang Xinyu (TPE/CHN) def. #7 V.Apisah/Sun (PNG/SUI) 7-6(4)/4-6 [10-5]

*WC SINGLES FINAL*
#2 Diede de Groot/NED def. #1 Yui Kamiji/JPN 7-6(6)/6-4

*WC DOUBLES FINAL*
#1 Buis/Yamiji (NED/JPN) def. #2 de Groot/van Koot (NED/NED) 6-0/6-4











Let’s walk off the jetleg! ???? #monaco #beach ????

A post shared by Lucie Safarova (@lucie.safarova) on




















**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
2018 AO: Caroline Wozniacki, DEN

*CAREER SLAM FINALS - ACTIVE*
29...Serena Williams (23-6)
16...Venus Williams (7-9)
10..Maria Sharapova (5-5)
4...Svetlana Kuznetsova (2-2)
4...Victoria Azarenka (2-2)
3...Angelique Kerber (2-1)
3...Garbine Muguruza (2-1)
3...CAROLINE WOZNIACKI (1-2)
3...SIMONA HALEP (0-3)

*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...CAROLINE WOZNIACKI (1-0)
1...Dominika Cibulkova (0-1)
1...SIMONA HALEP (0-1)

**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
2018 Australian Open - Caroline Wozniacki, DEN
--
NOTE: 6 first-timers in last ten slams

**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
2018 Caroline Wozniacki, DEN

**WON SLAM TITLE AFTER SAVING MATCH POINT - list from Tennis28.com**
[Open era]
1986 U.S. Open - Martina Navratilova (3 vs. Graf in SF)
1991 Aust.Open - Monica Seles (1 vs. MJ.Fernandez in SF)
2002 Aust.Open - Jennifer Capriati (4 vs. Hingis in Final)
2003 Aust.Open - Serena Williams (2 vs Clijsters in SF)
2004 R.Garros - Anastasia Myskina (1 vs. Kuznetsova in 4th)
2005 Aust.Open - Serena Williams (3 vs. Sharapova in SF)
2005 R.Garros - Justine Henin-H. (2 vs. Kuznetsova in 4th)
2005 Wimbledon - Venus Williams (1 vs. Davenport in Final)
2009 Wimbledon - Serena Williams (1 vs. Dementieva in SF)
2014 Aust.Open - Li Na (1 vs. Safarova in 3rd)
2016 Aust.Open - Angelique Kerber (1 vs. Doi in 1st)
2018 Aust.Open - Caroline Wozniacki (2 vs. Fett in 2nd)
[pre-Open era]
1923 Aust.Open - Margaret Molesworth (1 vs. Sylvia Lance SF)
1935 Wimbledon - Helen Wills Moody (1 vs. Helen Jacobs F)
1946 R.Garros - Margaret Osbourne (2 vs. Pauline Betz F)
1956 Aust.Open - Mary Carter (1 vs. Thelma Long F)
1962 R.Garros - Margaret Smith (Court) (1 vs. Lesley Turner F)
[recent additional slam title run "close calls"]
2007 AO: S.Williams saw Petrova (3rd Rd.) and Peer (QF) serve for the match
2007 WI: V.Williams saw Morigami (3rd Rd.) serve for match, 2 pts. from loss vs. Kudryavtseva (1st)
2009 AO: S.Williams saw Kuznetseva (QF) serve for the match
2010 AO: S.Williams trailed 6-4/4-0 in QF vs. Azarrenka, who served for the match twice
2011 RG: Li trailed Kvitova 3-0 in 3rd (4th Rd.)
2012 US: S.Williams down 5-4 in 3rd w/ Azarenka serving for match (Final)
2013 AO: Azarenka down a break in 3rd vs. Hampton (3rd Rd.)
2013 RG: S.Williams down break in 3rd vs. Kuznetsova (QF)
2015 RG: S.Williams trailed Bacsinszky 6-4/3-2 w/ break (SF), 2-0 in 3rd vs. Safarova (F)
2015 RG: S.Williams trailed Bacsinszky 6-4/3-2 w/ break (SF), 2-0 in 3rd vs. Safarova (F)
2016 WI: S.Williams down break in 3rd vs. McHale (2nd Rd.)
2016 US: Kerber trailed Ka.Pliskova 3-1 in 3rd (Final)
2017 RG: Ostapenko trailed Halep 6-4/3-0 & 3 BP for 4-0 (Final)
2017 US: Stephens trailed Sevastaova 3-1 in 3rd (QF)

*REACHED #1 WITHOUT HAVING WON A SLAM TITLE*
2003 Kim Clijsters, BEL [won U.S. Open in 2005]
2009 Dinara Safina, RUS [0-3 in slam finals]
2010 Caroline Wozniacki, DEN [won Australian Open in 2018]
2008 Jelena Jankovic, SRB [0-2 in slams finals]
2004 Amelie Mauresmo, FRA [won Australian Open in 2006]
2017 Karolina Pliskova, CZE [0-1 in slam finals]
2017 Simona Halep, ROU [0-3 in slam finals]

**MOST SLAMS BEFORE FIRST TITLE**
49 - Flavia Pennetta (2015 U.S. Open)
47 - Marion Bartoli (2013 Wimbledon)
45 - Jana Novotna (1998 Wimbledon)
43 - Caroline Wozniacki (2018 Australian Open)
39 - Francesca Schiavone (2010 Roland Garros)
34 - Samantha Stosur (2011 U.S. Open)
33 - Angelique Kerber (2016 Australian Open)
31 - Amelie Mauresmo (2006 Australian Open)
29 - Jennifer Capriati (2001 Australian Open)
28 - Kerry Melville-Reid (1978 Australian Open)
26 - Lindsay Davenport (1998 U.S. Open)
25 - Victoria Azarenka (2012 Australian Open)
23 - Sloane Stephens (2017 U.S. Open)
22 - Kim Clijsters (2005 U.S. Open)

**OLDEST FIRST-TIME SLAM CHAMPS**
33y,6m,6d - Flavia Pennetta, 2015 U.S. Open
29y,347d - Francesca Schiavone, 2010 Roland Garros
29y,9m,3d - Jana Novotna, 1998 Wimbledon
29y,5m,3d - Kerry Melville-Reid, 1977 Australian Open
29y,3m,9d - Li Na, 2011 Roland Garros
28y,9m,5d - Marion Bartoli, 2013 Wimbledon Open
28y,13d - Angelique Kerber, 2016 Australian Open
27y,6m,2w - Caroline Wozniacki, 2018 Australian Open
26y,7m - Amelie Mauresmo, 2006 Australian Open
26y,5m,2w - Samantha Stosur, 2011 U.S. Open

*BEST GIRLS/WOMEN'S AO SINGLES RESULTS - OPEN ERA*
[won Girls & Women's titles]
Evonne Goolagong (1970 Jr.; 1974-77 Women's)
Chris O'Neil (1973 Jr.; 1978 Women's)
Victoria Azarenka (2005 Jr.; 2012-13 Women's)
[others]
Lindsay Davenport (1992 Jr. RU; 2000 Women's Champ)
Maria Sharapova (2002 Jr. RU; 2008 Women's Champ)
Caroline Wozniacki (2006 Jr. RU; 2018 Women's Champ)

*WOZNIACKI TOP 3 WINS*
=#1=
2017 Toronto QF - Karolina Pliskova
2017 Tokyo SF - Garbine Muguruza
2017 WTA Finals rr - Simona Halep
2018 Australian Open Final - Simona Halep
=#2=
2010 WTA Finals SF - Vera Zvonareva
2014 WTA Finals rr - Maria Sharapova
2017 Eastbourne QF - Simona Halep
=#3=
2009 Charleston SF - Elena Dementieva
2014 WTA Finals rr - Petra Kvitova
2015 Stuttgart SF - Simona Halep
2017 Miami SF - Karolina Pliskova
2017 WTA Finals SF - Karolina Pliskova

*#1 vs. #2 SLAM/OLYMPIC FINALS SINCE 2001*
2002 Wimbledon - #2 S.Williams def. #1 V.Williams
2002 U.S. Oopen - #1 S.Williams def. #2 V.Williams
2003 Australian Open - #1 S.Williams def. #2 V.Williams
2004 Australian Open - #1 Henin-H. def. #2 Clijsters
[2004 Athens Olympics Gold - #1 Henin-H. def. #2 Mauresmo]
2013 Roland Garros - #1 S.Williams def. #2 Sharapova
2013 U.S. Open - #1 S.Williams def. #2 Azarenka
2015 Australian Open - #1 S.Williams def. #2 Sharapova
2018 Australian Open - #2 Wozniacki def. #1 Halep

**AO "Ms. OPPORTUNITY" WINNERS**
2004 Fabiola Zuluaga, COL
2005 Nathalie Dechy, FRA
2006 Martina Hingis, SUI
2007 Serena Williams, USA
2008 Daniela Hantuchova, SVK
2009 Vera Zvonareva, RUS
2010 Zheng Jie, CHN & Li Na, CHN
2011 Li Na, CHN
2012 Sara Errani, ITA
2013 Sloane Stephens, USA
2014 Dominika Cibulkova, SVK
2015 Ekaterina Makarova, RUS
2016 Johanna Konta, GBR
2017 CoCo Vandeweghe, USA
2018 Caroline Wozniacki, DEN

*WTA FINALS - 2015-18*
15 - SIMONA HALEP, ROU (8-7)
15 - Angelique Kerber, GER (8-7)
15 - CAROLINE WOZNIACKI, DEN (6-9)
13 - Karolina Pliskova, CZE (6-7)
11 - Serena Williams, USA (8-3)
10 - Elina Svitolina, UKR (8-2)
8 - Petra Kvitova, CZE (6-2)
8 - Aga Radwanska, POL (6-2)
8 - Venus Williams, USA (4-4)
8 - Dominika Cibulkova, SVK (4-4)

*CAREER WTA SINGLES TITLES - active*
72 - Serena Williams, USA
49 - Venus Williams, USA
36 - Maria Sharapova, RUS
28 - CAROLINE WOZNIACKI, DEN
20 - Victoria Azarenka, BLR
20 - Petra Kvitova, CZE
20 - Aga Radwanska, POL
17 - Svetlana Kuznetsova, RUS
16 - Simona Halep, ROU

*ALL-TIME CONSECUTIVE SEASONS w/ WTA SINGLES TITLE*
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 (streak active at end of '17)
11...CAROLINE WOZNIACKI, 2008-18 (streak active in '18)
11...Evonne Goolagong, 1970-80
11...Virginia Wade, 1968-78

*AUSTRALIAN OPEN GIRLS FINALS - since 2001*
2001 Jelena Jankovic/SRB d. Sofia Arvidsson/SWE
2002 Barbora Strycova/CZE d. Maria Sharapova/RUS
2003 Barbora Strycova/CZE d. Victoriya Kutuzova/UKR
2004 Shahar Peer/ISR dd. Nicole Vaidisova/CZE
2005 Victoria Azarenka/BLR d. Agnes Szavay/HUN
2006 A.Pavlyuchenkova/RUS d. Caroline Wozniacki/DEN
2007 A.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
2018 Liang En-shuo/TPE d. Clara Burel/FRA

**RECENT GIRLS SLAM CHAMPIONS**
[2014]
AO: Elizaveta Kulichkova, RUS
RG: Dasha Kasatkina, RUS
WI: Alona Ostapenko, LAT
US: Maria Bouzkova, CZE
[2015]
AO: Tereza Mihalikova, SVK
RG: Paula Badosa, ESP
WI: Sofya Zhuk, RUS
US: Dalma Galfi, HUN
[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
[2018]
AO: Liang En-shuo, TPE

*JUNIOR SLAM SCHAMPIONS*
[TPE]
1989 RG: Wang Shi-ting [doubles]
2004 AO: Latisha Chan (Yung-Jan) [doubles]
2017 AO: Liang En-shuo
2018 AO: Liang En-shuo [doubles]
[CHN]
2004 AO: Sun Shengnan [doubles]
2014 WI: Ye Qiuyu [doubles]
2018 AO: Wang Xinyu [doubles]

*AO "IT" WINNERS*
2006 Samantha Stosur, AUS
2007 Shahar Peer, ISR
2008 Casey Dellacqua, AUS
2009 Carla Suarez-Navarro, ESP
2010 Maria Kirilenko, RUS
2011 An-Sophie Mestach, BEL (jr.)
2012 Ekaterina Makarova, RUS
2013 [Fortysomething] Kimiko Date-Krumm, JPN
2014 [Teen] Genie Bouchard, CAN
2015 [Madisons] Madison Keys/USA & Madison Brengle/USA
2016 [NextGen Belarusian] Vera Lapko, BLR
2017 [Party] (Ash) "Barty Party"
2018 [Teen] Marta Kostyuk, UKR

*AUSTRALIAN OPEN GIRLS DOUBLES CHAMPS - since 2010*
2010 Jana Cepelova / Chantal Skamlova, SVK/SVK
2011 An-Sophie Mestach / Demi Schuurs, BEL/NED
2012 Gabby Andrews / Taylor Townsend, USA/USA
2013 Ana Konjuh / Carol Zhao, CRO/CAN
2014 Anhelina Kalinina / Elizaveta Kulichkova, UKR/RUS
2015 Miriam Kolodziejova / Marketa Vondrousova, CZE/CZE
2016 Anna Kalinskaya / Tereza Mihalikova, RUS/SVK
2017 Bianca Andreescu / Carson Branstine, CAN/USA
2018 Liang En-shuo / Wang Xinyu, TPE/CHN

*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
2018 Diede de Groot, NED

*WHEELCHAIR SLAM SINGLES TITLES*
[AO-RG-WI-US...Masters+Paralympics]
25 - Esther Vergeer, NED [9-6-0-10]...[14+4]
5 - Yui Kamiji, JPN [1-2-0-2]...[1+0]*
4 - Jiske Griffioen, NED [2-1-1-0]...[3+1]
3 - Monique Kalkman, NED [0-0-0-3]...[2+1]
2 - DIEDE DE GROOT, NED [1-0-1-0]...[1+0]*
2 - Daniela Di Toro, AUS [0-0-0-2]...[0+0]
2 - Sabine Ellerbrock, GER [1-1-0-0]...[0+0]*
2 - Maaike Smit, NED [0-0-0-2]...[1+1]
2 - Chantal Vandierendonck, NED [0-0-0-2]...[1+0]
2 - Aniek van Koot, NED [1-0-0-1]...[1+0]*
ALSO ACTIVE:
1 - Marjolein Buis, NED [0-1-0-0]...[0+0]*
1 - Jordanne Whiley, GBR [0-0-0-1]...[0+0]*

*WC SLAM SINGLES FINALS - post-Vergeer, 2013-18*
9 - YUI KAMIJI, JPN (5-4)
7 - Aniek Van Koot, NED (2-5)
6 - Jiske Griffioen, NED (4-2)-ret.
6 - Sabine Ellerbrock, GER (2-5)
3 - DIEDE DE GROOT, NED (2-1)
1 - Marjolein Buis, NED (1-0)
1 - Jordanne Whiley, GBR (1-0)

**SLAM MX TITLES - active*
5...Katarina Srebotnik, SLO
3...Sania Mirza, IND
3...Samantha Stosur, AUS
2...Victoria Azarenka, BLR
2...Anna-Lena Groenefeld, GER
2...Bethanie Mattek-Sands, USA
2...Kristina Mladenovic, FRA
2...Serena Williams, USA
2...Venus Williams, USA
2...Vera Zvonareva, RUS
1...Elena Bovina, RUS
1...Gaby Dabrowski, CAN [to play final vs. Babos]
1...Casey Dellacqua, AUS
1...Andrea Sestini-Hlavackova, CZE
1...Lucie Hradecka, CZE
1...Jelena Jankovic, SRB
1...Ekaterina Makarova, RUS
1...Laura Siegemund, GER
1...Abigail Spears, USA
1...Elena Vesnina, RUS
1...Heather Watson, GBR





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):#17 Madison Keys/USA
TOP LATE ROUND (SF-F):#2 Caroline Wozniacki/DEN & #1 Simona Halep/ROU
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):3rd Rd. - #1 Simona Halep/ROU def. Lauren Davis/USA 4-6/6-4/15-13 (3:45; 3 MP saved from triple MP down; served out on fourth try in the 2:22 3rd set)
TOP LATE RD. MATCH (SF-F/Jr./Doub.):SF - #1 Simona Halep/ROU d. #21 Angelique Kerber/GER 6-3/4-6/9-7 (saved 2 MP after served for match and had 2 MP of own; on MP #4)
=============================
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 - 3rd Rd.)
LAST WILD CARD STANDING:Olivia Rogowska/AUS (2nd Rd.)
LAST AUSSIE STANDING:Ash Barty (3rd Rd.)
Ms. OPPORTUNITY:Caroline Wozniacki/DEN
IT (Teen):Marta Kostyuk/UKR
COMEBACK PLAYER:Angelique Kerber/GER
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; down break at 4-3 in 3rd set in Final vs. Halep/ROU)
KIMIKO VETERAN CUP:Hsieh Su-wei/TPE
LADY OF THE EVENING:Elise Mertens/BEL (def. Gavrilova in 2nd Rd. in AO nighttime debut)
DOUBLES STAR: Nominees: Babos, Babos/Mladenovic
JUNIOR BREAKOUT:Liang En-shuo/TPE





All for Day 13. January Players-of-the-Month tomorrow.
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January, We Hardly Knew Ye

January 28, 2018, 5:58 pm
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So, here we are, one month into 2018.

January has already produced three players with double-digit winning streaks, a maiden slam title, at least three legitimate contenders for "Match of the Year," and the in-the-clubhouse (and pretty secure about it, if she should say so herself) leader for the biggest in-match comeback of the season. #1 has faced off with #2 for the first time in three seasons, with the two then swapping rankings. And 15-year old made her presence felt in a major.

The Dane is Great. Angie is back. Si-mo-na's warrior side is lit. Heck, even the wheelchair tennis tour has officially started down a potential future to be highlighted by the sport's first true, long-running head-to-head slam rivalry.

And Serena and Vika haven't even played a match that counts yet, while all four of 2017's slam winners have barely been recognized as having been competitively included in the new season through the first month of 2018.

Considering what's still left on the table, 2018 *has* to have only even better things to come from here, right? Which is saying something after the quick, high-level beginning we've just witnessed.

Celebration day today????

A post shared by Caroline Wozniacki (@carowozniacki) on



1. Caroline Wozniacki, DEN
...given time, even the Dane found her way into the "she-needs-to-improve-her-forehand-and-serve-and-be-more-aggressive-if-she's-ever-going-to-win-a-major" camp. The result: the best stretch of quality results of Wozniacki's career, her maiden slam title in Melbourne and a return to the #1 ranking after a six-year absence. Like Misaki Doi (2016) before her, Jana Fett's name (for now, until further notice) becomes a memorable "What If...?" subject in tennis history as the player who held a 5-1, 40/15 lead over the Dane in the AO 2nd Round, only to see her squandered lead morph into Wozniacki's moment of destiny. On a side note, and somewhat lost in the shuffle, Caro's win over then-#1 Simona Halep in the final means she's posted four #1 wins since last fall (after having previously had none in her career) and seven Top 3 victories over the last two seasons (her other career five came between 2009-15)
===============================================
2. Simona Halep, ROU
...has a player *ever* given so much, or come so close, finding a way to fight and survive until the very bitter end... yet still come away with nothing to show for it, *and* got knocked from her #1-ranking position? While Halep's eleven-match winning streak to start the season, highlighted by her ankle-rolling-and-heart-in-throat start and eventual five-MP-saving-in-two-different-matches journey to the final in Melbourne has left her in the position of being the latest hard-luck, star-crossed Fan Favorite without a slam title, she's now earned the ultimate respect of her peers and backing of anyone who enjoys seeing a good story get the grand ending it deserves. Halep won her first event (Shenzhen) as the world #1, and only went down when the forces of seven kingdoms (plus or minus a couple of flying dragons) converged as one against her -- or at least it seemed that way -- in her first slam as the top seed. As the new #2, she now has another battle to fight. She should be up to it. To be continued in Paris...


===============================================
3. Angelique Kerber, GER
...after a season of discontent, Angie is back. The '16 #1 ended last season outside the Top 20 and without a title in over a year. One month into 2018, she's combined her know-how from two years ago with the that's-over-now sense of survival from her disappointing '17 to create a sense of freedom that allowed her to win her first fourteen matches of the year (10 WTA, 4 Hopman Cup), claim the Sydney title and reach the AO semis, coming within two MP attempts vs. Halep of playing in another slam final and maybe *she* being the toast of the sport (along with that Federling guy) all over again. Oh, well. Just like Caro a while back, Kerber has time. She's got the rest of the year to give everyone a sense of deja vu.


===============================================
4. Elise Mertens, BEL
...what a difference a year makes. Last January, Mertens was playing in Hobart qualifying, then having to decide if she wanted to retire due to "injury" so that she could try to qualify for her maiden AO main draw. She stayed in Hobart, won her first tour title and missed the '17 AO, but finished the season in the Top 40. She returned Down Under in '18, defended her Hobart crown, took the doubles, too, and finally made her Melbourne debut a memorable one... knocking off two seeds (Gavrilova and Svitolina) and advancing to her first slam semifinal by showing a fearless just streak this side of Latvian Thunder. She finally felt the pressure of the big stage in the semifinals, but she's now a Top 20 player with seemingly even bigger things in her future.


===============================================
5. Diede de Groot/NED and Yui Kamiji/JPN
...buckle up, because this could be epic. With the retirement of Jiske Griffion, 21-year old de Groot and 23-year old Kamiji are now the dominant #1 and #2 -- or it is #2 and #1? -- players on the WC tour. They've met in back-to-back slam singles finals, splitting them, and in the last four s/d slam championship matches (Kamiji 3-1). de Groot has played in six straight slam s/d finals, and swept both titles in 2017's season-ending Masters events. Kamiji has won more slam singles titles (5) and been in more finals (9) than any other player since the 2012 retirement of Esther Vergeer, and by the end of '17 should be able to say she's won more total slam crowns, as well (with 17, she's one behind Griffioen, with Vergeer's astounding 46 atop the all-time list). She could become the first woman to complete the FULL set of eight slam s/d titles in her career with a singles win at Wimbledon. Well, unless de Groot successfully defends her title at SW19 this summer and, come 2019 (or '20) makes her OWN run at becoming the first to do it.

I wish the AO highlights of the final contained, you know, a few more actual points. But it's worth a look just to see de Groot's emotional response to converting MP. (If you have access to ESPN's online catalog of replays, you might want to check out the 46-shot rally between the two at 4-4 in the 1st set TB.) De Groot, especially, is an exciting player to watch. She can seemingly hit any shot -- forehand or backhand -- for a winner, though her style *does* lead to quite a few errors, as well (hmmm, sounds like a thumbnail sketch description of about a third, or more, of the WTA tour, huh?)

===============================================

6. Elina Svitolina, UKR: had a great start (Brisbane champ), but went down badly again in a major (QF to Mertens, 6-4/6-0, fighting a hip injury).
7. Julia Goerges, GER: extended her season-closing '17 winning streak to 15, handed Wozniacki her only '18 loss in the Auckland final, but lost in the AO 2nd Round
8. Timea Babos/Kristina Mladenovic, HUH/FRA: Kiki is in the throes of a 15-match singles losing streak, but found success by rekindling her old doubles partnership with Babos, picking up the AO crown and denying Makarova/Vesnina a Career Slam
9. Belinda Bencic, SUI: the queen of the '18 exhibitions (winning the Hopman Cup and Kooyong), Bencic won the big 1st Rounder in Melbourne over Venus, but then barely posted in the 2nd
10. Demi Schuurs, NED: won Week 1 & 2 doubles titles with th 'ertens Gang -- as in Bertens AND Mertens
11. Marta Kostyuk, UKR: the 15-year old, the '17 AO Jr. champ, qualified and became the first player born in 2002 to play in a slam MD, then gave reason to bring up Martina Hingis' 1996 exploits (and those of Lucic in '97, and Sesil in '05) by advancing into the 3rd Round in Melbourne
12. Liang En-shuo, TPE: after winning the Traralgon Grade 1 tune-up event, Liang became the first girl representing Taiwan to win a junior singles slam title (saving MP in the 1st Rd. and SF), Liang doubles up by sweeping the doubles, too



RISERS: Aliaksandra Sasnovich/BLR and Karolina Pliskova/CZE
SURPRISES: Sachia Vickery/USA and Bernarda Pera/USA
VETERANS: Hsieh Su-wei/TPE and Mihaela Buzarnescu/ROU
COMEBACKS: Carla Suarez-Navarro/ESP and Ajla Tomljanovic/CRO-AUS
FRESH FACES: Ash Barty/AUS and Naomi Osaka/JPN
JUNIOR STARS: Wang Xinyu/CHN and Clara Burel/FRA
DOUBLES: Gaby Dabrowski/CAN
ITF: Anhelina Kalinina/UKR
DOWN: Sloane Stephens/USA and Kristina Mladenovic/FRA (singles)
MOST IMPROVED: Jana Fett/CRO and Denisa Allertova/CZE

1. Australian Open SF - Simona Halep def. Angelique Kerber
...6-3/4-6/9-7. Two warriors, brought to their knees by the never-say-die competitiveness of the other. Halep served at 5-3 in the 3rd set, but Kerber saved two MP. Then it was Simona's turn, saving two Kerber MP. Nearly half an hour after she'd had a chance to finish off the match the first time around, Halep won on her fourth MP of the day to reach her third career slam final. She had 50 winners in the match, and admitted to being proud of herself for persevering beyond reason for about the millionth time at this AO.
===============================================
2. Australian Open 3rd Rd. - Simona Halep def. Lauren Davis
...4-6/6-2/15-13. In 3:45, the third-longest AO women's match ever (tied for the most ever in total games), Halep wins her Warrior masterpiece against a game Davis in a battle that, quite literally, was decided by a toenail. In the 2:22 3rd set, Halep faced triple MP at love/40, escaping with a combination of her own guile and Davis' toenail coming off at just about the WORST MOMENT EVER ("Atta boy!," said the ball that rolled under Ana Konjuh's feet, from it's current home at the end of a dangling string in a garage outside London). On her fourth attempt to serve out the match, Halep finally prevailed. Afterward, she said, "I'm almost dead."
===============================================
3. Australian Open 4th Rd. - Angelique Kerber def. Hsieh Su-wei
...4-6/7-5/6-2. Faced with an opponent in Hsieh who twisted the former #1 into a soft pretzel with her varied series of drop shots, slip-sliding forehand slices, hooks, flat change-of-direction winners down the line, angled brain-twisters, curling hand-cuffers, and, of course, her more "normal" corner-to-corner groundstrokes that served to leave her perpetually out of position for most of two full sets, Kerber was bewitched, bothered and bewildered almost to the point of being on the brink of defeat. Almost. As a tiring Hsieh hit the physical wall in the 3rd, Kerber finally hit *her* stride and pulled away.
===============================================
4. Australian Open 1st Rd. - Andrea Petkovic def. Petra Kvitova
...6-3/4-6/10-8. Petkovic led 4-0 in the 3rd set, 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, down MP at 8-9, Kvitova DF'd to end the match. Ouch.
===============================================
5. 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 took to turn Angie around. Why couldn't the Tennis Gods have just told us that *last* year?
===============================================
6. Australian Open 4th Rd. - Elise Mertens def. Petra Martic
...7-6(5)/7-5. Mertens' path to the semis was paved by her early round night session win over Dasha Gavrilova (in which she won a set after trailing 5-0), and her big-hitting victory over Martic. Up 4-0 in the 1st, the Belgian saw the Croat (in her third slam Round of 16 in the past year) knot the score at 4-4. After failing to convert a SP at 6-5, Mertens won the TB, then took break leads at 3-2 and 5-4 (w/ 2 MP), only to be broken to get things back on serve. Finally, she broke back and won on MP #3.
===============================================
7. Tennis Australian Jr. W.C. Playoff Final - Jaimee Fourlis def. Destanee Aiava
...6-7(4)/7-6(1)/7-5. The Aussie teens battled for nearly three and a half hours to earn a spot in this year's AO main draw. Aiava went on to get *her* berth by winning TA's regular WC Playoff event, then pushed Halep to the edge of destruction (and the edge of her foot, as well, as she badly rolled her ankle in her hard-fought 7-6(5)/6-1 win in which the teen had two SP in the 1st).
===============================================
8. Australian Open 2nd Rd. - Caroline Garcia def. Marketa Vondrousova
...6-7(3)/6-2/8-6. Though her banner season-closing finish is now a few months old, Garcia is still officially on the leading edge of a wonderful run of confidence-building (and rankings-climbing) results. Czech teen Marketa Vondrousova forced the Pastry to work overtime here, staging a rally from 4-1 down to steal the opening set in a tie-break, only to see Garcia 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 the 2:29 contest.
===============================================

1. Australian Open 2nd Rd. - Caroline Wozniacki def. Jana Fett
...3-6/6-2/7-5. The escape that made her eventual title run possible. Early on, 2014 AO girls finalist Fett (in just her second career slam MD match) controlled the flow and direction of the match, dictating play with her power, and serving big while Wozniacki was seemingly forgetting about her new, more forward, aggressive style of play. The Dane's 2nd set moment of truth presented her with the chance to show that *could* diagnose her difficulties and change course. In the aftermath of dropping the 1st, she began to move forward and take balls earlier, knotting the match. 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 once-again-off-message Wozniacki into more producing more errors. The frustrated Dane's fifth double-fault of the match broke her 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 started missing them. Her deep groundstrokes started landing shorter in the court, and Wozniacki began to take advantage, allowing her experience advantage to take hold. With the Croat starting to resemble the big stage newcomer she was, Wozniacki knew what she needed to do: 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. Refusing to miss, Wozniacki saw the match come right back to her, and served out the win to produce a result that turned out to be THE biggest of the entire women's competition.
===============================================
2. Australian Open 1st Rd. - Zhang Shuai def. Sloane Stephens
...2-6/7-6(2)/6-2. Even while riding a seven match losing streak since defeating Madison Keys in the U.S. 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 the win, making Stephens the First Seed Out of Melbourne and dropping her to 0-8 since picking up that eye-popping big check last September.
===============================================
3. Australian Open 4th Rd. - Carla Suarez-Navarro def Anett Kontaveit
...4-6/6-4/8-6. Seeded for the first time (#32) at a major, Kontaveit showed why she's a player to watch, only to falter when things mattered the most. With her maiden QF within reach, she led 6-4/4-1, with a double-break advantage, only to see the aggression she'd used to take the lead wane and her error total climb as CSN reeled off five straight games to even the match. Kontaveit managed to carve out another opportunity in the 3rd, breaking the Spaniard for 5-4 and serving for the match. But, again, she played a bad game as Suarez-Navarro mostly simply played steady shots (that one-handed backhand is always reliable and a joy to watch) and allowed her to err. CSN got the break, backed it up with a love hold for 6-5, then forced Kontaveit to hold to stay alive again two games later. Finally, a long Kontaveit forehand on CSN's third MP completed the comeback, sending her to her sixth career slam QF.
===============================================
4. 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.
===============================================
5. 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.
===============================================


1. Australian Open 2nd Rd. - Bernarda Pera def. Johanna Konta
...6-4/7-5. 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. Meanwhile, lucky loser 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, becoming the first LL to reach the 3rd Round in Melbourne since 1997.
===============================================
2. Australian Open Q1 - Marta Kostyuk def. Arina Rodionova 4-6/6-3/6-3
Australian Open 1st Rd. - Marta Kostyuk def. Peng Shuai 6-2/6-2
... Kostyuk's AO ride began with a victory over veteran Aussie Rodionova, who got *her* first career slam MD wins at Wimbledon and the U.S. Open last year, only to fall in her hometown to the 15-year old, who'd gotten a Q-round WC due to winning the '17 AO Girls title. After winning two more three-setters to reach the MD, Kostyuk knocked off a seed, #25 Peng, and advanced all the way to the Round of 16, where she lost to countrywoman Elina Svitolina.
===============================================
3. Auckland QF - Sachia Vickery def. Aga Radwanska 6-2/6-2
Australian Open 3rd Rd. - Hsieh Su-wei def. Aga Radwanska 6-2/7-5
...2018 is supposed to be different for Aga, right. Well, it hasn't looked all that different, so far. She even lost an "all-magician" battle to Hsieh, which is just, well, wrong on some Radwanskian level, you know? Outside the Top 30, Radwanska has now reached the Round of 16 just once in the last five majors.
===============================================


On to February, which will have a lot to live up to.



=DAY 14 NOTES=
...the mixed doubles champs were crowned on Sunday, as Gaby Dabrowski & Mate Pavic (who also won the men's doubles, *and* a pair of titles the first two weeks of the season, with Oliver Marach... so, it's good to be him at the moment) defeated Timea Babos (who was going for a WD/MX sweep of her own) & Rohan Bopanna, 2-6/6-4 [11-9].




Canadian Dabrowski has now won a pair of mixed titles, having claimed the Roland Garros crown in '17 with, of all people, Bopanna.

...in the biggest ITF challenger of the week, Spain's Georgina Garcia Perez defeated Arantxa Rus 2 & 0 in Andrezieux-Boutheon, France to claim her tenth career title.



Last year's NCAA women's #1 Francesca Di Lorenzo, 20, defeated last year's junior #1 Whitney Osuigwe, 15, in a 6-2/1-6/6-4 final to claim the $25K Wesley Chapel event in Florida. It matches the former Ohio State Buckeye's previous biggest career title (Winnipeg '16), and is her third overall.



...the WTA 125 Series event in Daytona Beach, two-time (2014 &'16) NCAA champion Danielle Collins claimed the biggest title of her pro career with a 2-6/6-4/6-3 over '15 Wimbledon girls champ Sofya Zhuk.



Misaki Doi & Jil Teichmann took the doubles.

..."Oh, okay..." ON DAY 14:




If she'd won I was going to compare her run to Justine Henin's at the '03 U.S. Open (def. Clijsters and Capriati on the final weekend), or maybe the Athens Olympics (when she has that bad virus). Would have been fairly apt, I think.

...LIKE ON DAY 14: (snicker)



...LIKE ON DAY 14:



Hmmm, so is the Federling guy a threat to Court's total of 24 slams, too?

...PERSONAL PROGRESS ON DAY 14?:



...THOUGHT ON DAY 14: I think we should take Wozniacki's lead and always refer to the women's AO singles trophy as "Daphne."



...LIKE ON DAY 14: Coming soon...

When u forget to grow up

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...COMING EVEN SOONER ON DAY 14: Like, uh, sometime in the next week (if she's lucky)...



...THOUGHT ON DAY 14: Goolagong's old Fila outfit here would be a look good for some of today's players. (Hint, hint.)



...OF NOTE ON DAY 14: For what it's worth, the effort *can* be made, at least. I suppose.



...REMEMBRANCE ON DAY 14:I was in gym class, eyeing the little TV in the coaches' room off to the side of the basketball court. They were just showing the open ocean as they searched for signs of debris.






...and, finally...


SAINT PETERSBURG, RUSSIA (Premier/Hard Indoor)
=WS FINALS=
2003 (ITF) Evgenia Linetskaya d. Tatsiana Uvarova
2004 (ITF) Anastasia Yakimova def. Emma Laine
2005 (ITF) Ekaterina Bychkova def. Emma Laine
2006 (ITF) Alberta Brianti def. Alla Kudryavtseva
2007 NOT HELD
2008 (ITF) Magdalena Rybarikova def. Anna Lapushchenkova
2009-14 NOT HELD
2015 (ITF) Alona Ostapenko def. Patricia Maria Tig
2016 Roberta Vinci def. Belinda Bencic
2017 Kristina Mladenovic def. Yulia Putintseva
=WD FINALS=
2003 (ITF) Fattakhetdinova/Fokina def. Bulykina/Yaryshka
2004 (ITF) Goloviznina/Kulikovskaya def. Kustova/Tartarkova
2005 (ITF) Bratchikova/Makarova def. Kosminskaya/Kudryavtseva
2006 (ITF) Pavlyuchenkova/Solonitskaya def. Beygelzimer/Kudryavtseva
2007 NOT HELD
2008 (ITF) Frankova/Pavlyuchenkova def. Bratchikova/Davydova
2009-14 NOT HELD
2015 (ITF) Golubic/Sasnovich def. Foretz/Vrljic
2016 Hingis/Mirza def. Dushevina/Krejcikova
2017 Ostapenko/Rosolska def. Jurak/Knoll
=======================================
'18 TOP SEEDS
WS: #1 Wozniacki, #2 Ostapenko
WD: #1 Dabrowski/Xu Yifan, #2 Atawo/Groenefeld

...well, now we'll see whether or not Kiki's doubles title run in Melbourne will immediately tranfer over to her singles. She's the defending Saint Petersburg champ, and after a 1st Round bye she'll face either Cibulkova or Cirstea. Hmm. Her section includes Vekic, Siniakova, Makarova and Pavlyuchenkova. Hmmm. She could face Wozniacki (who *is* playing, apparently) in the semis. Hmmmm.

In bottom the half, Goerges, Garcia (oh my), Bacsinszky (welcome back!), Kvitova, Vesnina, Zvonareva (yes!) and Ostapenko (didn't Kiki once disparage her online, too? Not that that makes her unique.) will battle it out. If Mladenovic manages to defend, or even reach the final, it will be a MAJOR accomplishment with this draw, assuming everyone is ready, willing and able to play so soon after a slam.



TAIPEI CITY, TAIWAN (Int'l/Hard Indoor)
=WS FINALS=
2016 Venus Williams def. Misaki Doi
2017 Elina Svitolia def. Peng Shuai
=WD FINALS=
2016 Chan/Chan def. Hozumi/Kato
2017 Chan/Chan def. Hradecka/Siniakova
=======================================
'18 TOP SEEDS
WS: #1 Peng Shuai, #2 Zhang Shuai
WD: #1 Babos/A.Chan, #2 Kato/Ninomiya

...Bouchard will attempt to end her singles slide in the 1st Round vs. Zhu Lin (a win might get her #1-seed/'17 finalist Peng in Round 2). Sabine Lisicki returns to action for the first time in 2018, and could face Sam Stosur in the 2nd Round.

In doubles, Angel Chan will team with AO champ Babos in her attempt to defend the title she's won the last two years with her sister Latisha (yeah, I'm still getting used to using those names, but the more you do it...).



*WOMEN'S SINGLES FINAL*
#2 Caroline Wozniacki/DEN def. #1 Simona Halep/ROU 7-6(2)/3-6/6-4

*WOMEN'S DOUBLES FINAL*
#5 Babos/Mladenovic (HUN/FRA) def. #2 Makarova/Vesnina (RUS/RUS) 6-4/6-4

*MIXED DOUBLES FINAL*
#8 Dabrowski/Pavic (CAN/CRO) def. #5 Babos/Bopanna (HUN/IND) 2-6/6-4 [11-9]

*GIRLS SINGLES FINAL*
#2 Liang En-shuo/TPE def. Clara Burel/FRA 6-3/6-4

*GIRLS DOUBLES FINAL*
#1 Liang En-shuo/Wang Xinyu (TPE/CHN) def. #7 V.Apisah/Sun (PNG/SUI) 7-6(4)/4-6 [10-5]

*WC SINGLES FINAL*
#2 Diede de Groot/NED def. #1 Yui Kamiji/JPN 7-6(6)/6-4

*WC DOUBLES FINAL*
#1 Buis/Yamiji (NED/JPN) def. #2 de Groot/van Koot (NED/NED) 6-0/6-4







And with those seven words...



Sunday 😅

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No belly whacker ??????? #dashadiving

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**AO "DOUBLES STAR" WINNERS**
2006 Yan Zi & Zheng Jie, CHN/CHN
2007 Liezel Huber, USA
2008 Alona & Kateryna Bondarenko, UKR/UKR
2009 Sania Mirza, IND
2010 Cara Black, ZIM
2011 Gisela Dulko & Flavia Pennetta, ARG/ITA
2012 Bethanie Mattek-Sands, USA
2013 Jarmila Gajdosova, AUS
2014 Kristina Mladenovic, FRA
2015 Bethanie Mattek-Sands & Lucie Safarova, USA/CZE
2016 Martina Hingis & Sania Mirza, SUI/IND
2017 Abigail Spears, USA
2018 Timea Babos & Kristina Mladenovic, HUN/FRA

**AO MIXED DOUBLES CHAMPIONS - since 2011**
2011 Katarina Srebotnik & Daniel Nestor
2012 Bethanie Mattek-Sands & Horia Tecau
2013 Jarmila Gajdosova & Matthew Ebden
2014 Kristina Mladenovic & Daniel Nestor
2015 Martina Hingis & Leander Paes
2016 Elena Vesnina & Bruno Soares
2017 Abigail Spears & Juan Sebastian Cabal
2018 Gaby Dabrowski & Mate Pavic

**SLAM MX TITLES - active*
5...Katarina Srebotnik, SLO
3...Sania Mirza, IND
3...Samantha Stosur, AUS
2...Victoria Azarenka, BLR
2...GABY DABROWSKI, CAN
2...Anna-Lena Groenefeld, GER
2...Bethanie Mattek-Sands, USA
2...Kristina Mladenovic, FRA
2...Serena Williams, USA
2...Venus Williams, USA
2...Vera Zvonareva, RUS
1...Elena Bovina, RUS
1...Casey Dellacqua, AUS
1...Andrea Sestini-Hlavackova, CZE
1...Lucie Hradecka, CZE
1...Jelena Jankovic, SRB
1...Ekaterina Makarova, RUS
1...Laura Siegemund, GER
1...Abigail Spears, USA
1...Elena Vesnina, RUS
1...Heather Watson, GBR





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):#17 Madison Keys/USA
TOP LATE ROUND (SF-F):#2 Caroline Wozniacki/DEN & #1 Simona Halep/ROU
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):3rd Rd. - #1 Simona Halep/ROU def. Lauren Davis/USA 4-6/6-4/15-13 (3:45; 3 MP saved from triple MP down; served out on fourth try in the 2:22 3rd set)
TOP LATE RD. MATCH (SF-F/Jr./Doub.):SF - #1 Simona Halep/ROU d. #21 Angelique Kerber/GER 6-3/4-6/9-7 (saved 2 MP after served for match and had 2 MP of own; on MP #4)
=============================
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 - 3rd Rd.)
LAST WILD CARD STANDING:Olivia Rogowska/AUS (2nd Rd.)
LAST AUSSIE STANDING:Ash Barty (3rd Rd.)
Ms. OPPORTUNITY:Caroline Wozniacki/DEN
IT (Teen):Marta Kostyuk/UKR
COMEBACK PLAYER:Angelique Kerber/GER
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; down break at 4-3 in 3rd set in Final vs. Halep/ROU)
KIMIKO VETERAN CUP:Hsieh Su-wei/TPE
LADY OF THE EVENING:Elise Mertens/BEL (def. Gavrilova in 2nd Rd. in AO nighttime debut)
DOUBLES STAR:Timea Babos & Kristina Mladenovic, HUN/FRA
JUNIOR BREAKOUT:Liang En-shuo/TPE





All for Day 14. All for this AO. All for now.
↧

Wk.5- SuperPetra Conquers All

February 4, 2018, 5:47 pm
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"You don't tug on Superman's cape
You don't spit into the wind
You don't pull the mask off that old Lone Ranger
And, sometimes, you just don't mess around with SuperPetra."



Showing lethal form in Saint Petersburg (or was it "Saint Petrasburg?"), Petra Kvitova put forth the sort of sustained level of performance that has sometimes left former slam champions and Hall of Famers with jaws dropped, singing her praises and declaring her the next, great, dominant figure in women's tennis.



Kvitova played five matches en route to her 21st career tour title, leaving the likes of Elena Vesnina (2 games), Alona Ostapenko (2) and defending champ Kristina Mladenovic (3) gasping in her wake, Irina-Camelia Begu (who won a 6-1 set between 3 & 1 losses) feeling pretty good about herself and, maybe, only Julia Goerges (vanquished "just" 5-7/6-4/6-2 in the SF) feeling as if she may have had even a slight chance to alter the Czech's inevitable march toward lifting the championship trophy. Kvitova dropped seventeen games in four matches, with thirteen addition being surrendered to Goerges alone in a fifth. Otherwise, her path was a fairly uncluttered stroll, easily her best week since her return from hand and finger injuries sustained in a home invasion in December 2016.

Of course, this is also the same Kvitova whose last match before heading to Saint Petersburg was a marathon 1st Round loss in Melbourne to Andrea Petkovic (who lost in qualifying in Russia to soon-to-retire Roberta Vinci) which ended with a 10-8 3rd set that finally went in the German's favor when Kvitova double-faulted on MP. But that match took place in outdoors in the Australian summer heat, while this week's event was in a controlled indoor climate. Indoor Petra has always been a force to reckon with, though injuries, illness and lack of match play have served to somewhat dull that particular edge the last couple of seasons (which included a 0-3 indoor mark in Fed Cup play in '16). Still, she's the tour's active career match win leader indoors, and eight of her twenty-eight career tour finals have come in event under a roof, including three of her last four.



So, January gave us Caro, Simona and Angie, raising the bar to clear ever higher for future months in 2018... and now month #2 immediately responds with Petra.

Bravo, February. Bravo.



*WEEK 5 CHAMPIONS*
SAINT PETERSBURG, RUS (Premier/Hard Indoor)
S: Petra Kvitova/CZE def. Kristina Mladenovic/FRA 6-1/6-2
D: Timea Bacsinszky/Vera Zvonareva (SUI/RUS) d. Alla Kudryavtseva/Katarina Srebotnik (RUS/SLO) 2-6/6-1 [10-3]
TAIPEI CITY, TPE (Int'l/Hard Indoor)
S: Timea Babos/HUN def. Kateryna Kozlova/UKR 7-5/6-1
D: Duan Yingying/Wang Yafan (CHN/CHN) d. Nao Hibino/Oksana Kalashnikova (JPN/GEO) 7-6(4)/7-6(5)


PLAYER OF THE WEEK:Petra Kvitova/CZE
...Petra wasn't messin' around in Russia, as she colluded with the Tennis Gods to obstruct any sort of personal justice that the likes of several of her younger opponents (and a couple her senior) may have been hoping to attain. Call her what you will. Good Petra, Lethal Petra, Scary Petra... take your pick, or make up your own. It's all good.


===============================================
RISERS:Timea Babos/HUN and Dasha Kasatkina/RUS
...while her AO title-winning teammate Kiki Mladenovic garnered more attention all week in Saint Petersburg, it was Babos (also a MX finalist in Melbourne) who was the AO WD champ leaving Week 5 with a singles title in Taipei City. The Hungarian's third career singles title run included wins over Arina Rodionova, Dalila Jakupovic, Magda Linette, Wang Yafan and Kateryna Kozlova in the final. Babos dropped just one set all week (2nd Rd. to qualifier Jakupovic), and also reached the WD semis as the #1 seed with defending champion Angel Chan (who'd won the title the last two years w/ sister Latisha). Babos has gone a combined 17-2 in singles, doubles and mixed since following up her win over CoCo Vandeweghe in the AO 1st Round with a loss to Carla Suarez-Navarro.



For a bit, Kasatkina's history of superior tour-level results on Russian soil -- a RU, two SF and a QF in singles, plus a doubles W and RU from 2015-17 -- looked as if it would produce a rare lemon smashed against a brick wall in the form of teenager Viktoria Kuzmova. The teen Slovak was dominating the Hordette in their 1st Round match, only to begin to lose her grip late in the 2nd set and then see Kasatkina's blend of defense and opportunistic offense snatch the victory from her grasp. She followed up with wins over Alize Cornet and a (finally tiring) Caroline Wozniacki for her second career #1 victory (w/ Kerber' 17). Kasatkina led defending champ Mladenovic by a set and a break in the semis, only to see the Pastry rise up and take control of the match and return to the final. The semifinal result still isn't enough to finally allow Kasatkina to break into the Top 20, though, as she's 120 points out and, with Kvitova's title on Sunday, Dasha will actually slip back one spot on Monday to #24.


===============================================
SURPRISES:Wang Yafan/CHN and Kateryna Kozlova/UKR
...#152 Wang, in the Taipei City draw with a protected ranking (she missed the first five months of '17), shined in both singles and doubles. Wins over Risa Ozaki, Pauline Parmentier and Genie Bouchard put the 23-year old into her third career WTA semi ('14 Guangzhou, '17 Nanchang). In doubles, Wang and Duan Yingying didn't drop a set on their way to the title, experiencing both extremes of straight sets wins in the semis (love & love over Chang/Chuang) and final (7-6/7-6 over Hibino/Kalashnikova). It's Wang's third tour-level WD title (she won two with Liang Chen in '15) in her fifth final, with all coming in Asia (Shenzhen, Kuala Lumpur-2, Zhuhai & Taipei City).

Kozlova, 23, became the fourth different Ukrainian (K.Bondarenko, Svitolina & Tsurenko) to reach a tour final over the past year, advancing to her maiden tour-level championship match in Taipei City with wins over #2-seeded Zhang Shuai, Duan Yingying, Yulia Putintseva and Sabine Lisicki. She fell in straights to Timea Babos. Kozlova has now posted her two best career singles results since summer, also winning a WTA 125 Series title in Dalian in September. She'll jump twenty spots to a new career high of #65 this week.


===============================================


VETERANS:Julia Goerges/GER and Roberta Vinci/ITA
...her role as semifinal victim who found herself in the unfortunate path of the Petra Express in the semis aside, Goerges had another good week. Saint Petersburg wins over Maria Sakkari, Roberta Vinci and Magdalena Rybarikova ran her record to 18-1 going back to last fall before she was ultimately ousted in three sets by the eventual champion Czech. But what Kvitova taketh away, she also giveth... as Petra's win over Mladenovic in the final allowed Goerges to climb over the Pastry and into the Top 10 for the first time. She's the eighth German woman to do so, and the first since Angie Kerber made her debut in 2012. With Kerber also there after her AO semi run, it'll be the first time in twenty-one years that *two* Germans have been ranked in the Top 10 (Graf & Huber) at the same time.



Meanwhile, as Vinci makes her way closer to her announced retirement event in Rome this spring, the 34-year old (ranked #147) made a stop in Saint Petersburg, where she'd been crowned the champion in the event's maiden outing as a tour-level event in 2016. Entered in the qualifying, Vinci reached the MD with victories over Heather Watson, Danka Kovinic and Andrea Petkovic, then added a 1st Round win over Tereza Martincova before falling 7-5/6-0 to Goerges. If this result is a good omen for her final stretch of events, Vinci may yet have a few good moments left to show us before she exits through the out door.



===============================================
COMEBACKS:Kristina Mladenovic/FRA, Sabine Lisicki/GER and Rebecca Marino/CAN
...while Mladenovic wasn't able to follow up her AO doubles title with a rebound week that included a successful defense of her only WTA singles title, she surely rediscovered the form and confidence that totally abandoned her on the massive 15-match losing streak that started last summer and didn't end until she posted a 2nd Round win in Saint Petersburg over Dominika Cibulkova. Following that win, in true Kiki style, she declared herself cured and patted herself on the back for never being bothered by outside negativity, while failing to recognize the reason for such reactions against her was her *own* nastiness and negativity toward others. Needless to say, I was shocked by the development... shocked, I say.



To her credit on the court, Mladenovic only got better as the week progressed, taking out Katerina Siniakova and keeping Dasha Kasatkina at bay (being especially impressive by upping her aggression in tight 3rd set moments vs. the Russian) while returning to the singles final riding a nine-match winning streak in the event. As long as the beatdown she suffered at the hands of a peerless Petra Kvitova (it's not as if she was the only player to be ambushed by the Czech) doesn't shake her confidence yet again, Mladenovic can likely consider her "blue period" over as she heads into the spring. Of note, after *rising* into the Top 10 after losing her fifteenth straight match in Australia, the Pastry will now slip back to #13 after finally righting the ship. Ah, 2018.




In Taipei City, Lisicki made a surprisingly sharp return to action following a late '17 knee injury. This was the second straight year in which the oft-injured German's season kicked off late, having missed the opening five and half months of last season with a bad shoulder. In 2017, she opened with a QF run in Mallorca, but never reached a tour-level semi all season (and only played in any singles SF in the WTA 125 event in Limoges in November). Lisicki quickly knocked down that door last week, but only after staging a comeback from 5-1 (and double MP) down in the 3rd in the 1st Round against #360 Zhang Yuxuan. After a win over Nao Hibino, she once again battled back from a set down to defeat Monica Niculescu. Lisicki fell in the semis to Kateryna Kozlova, but has reason to be thrilled by this initial result. She'll jump seventy-two spots to #174 on Monday.



And, in some very nice news, Canada's Marino returned in fine form from a five-year absence brought on by depression. The 27-year old announced her intention to return last October, but saw administrative regulations delay her comeback by three months. Finally, last week, in her first tournament of any kind since playing a tour-level event in Memphis in 2013, she hit the court in a $15K in Antalya, Turkey. Marino made her way through qualifying, ultimately winning seven matches without dropping a set, including a 6-3/6-3 win in the final over Romanian Christine Ene to claim her sixth career ITF crown, her first since 2012. A Top 40 player in 2011, Marino reached a WTA singles final that season, finished as runner-up to Magdalena Rybarikova in an event in Memphis that February.


===============================================
FRESH FACES:Elena Rybakina/RUS, Anastasia Potapova/RUS and Viktoria Kuzmova/SVK
...even while it was the site of a slew of successful comebacks, Saint Petersburg also hosted some early signature moments in the careers of several teens.

18-year old Russian Rybakina -- last year's #3-ranked junior behind #1 Whitney Osuigwe ('17 RG champion) and #2 Marta Kostyuk ('17 AO), and ahead of Claire Liu ('17 Wimbledon), Liang En-shuo ('18 AO) and Amanda Anisimova ('17 U.S.) -- shined the brighest in front of the home fans. After making her way through qualifying, she posted her first career WTA MD victory over the returning Timea Bacsinszky, then staged multiple comebacks (down a set and a break twice, and facing a MP) in pulling the upset of Caroline Garcia to record her first Top 10 win in just her second official outing on tour. She lost to Julia Goerges in the QF, but only after jumping to a 3-0 lead in the 1st set before the veteran took control and won twelve of the final fifteen games. She jumps from #450 to #268 on Monday.



16-year old Hordette Potapova, the '16 Wimbledon girls champ, used her wild card into the MD to great benefit, knocking off German vet Tatjana Maria to notch her first career tour-level MD victory. She fell in short order a round later to Caroline Wozniacki. Still, Potapova will move up thirty-one spots this week and break into the Top 200 for the first time.



Meanwhile, 19-year old Slovak Kuzmova (Backspin's "Name You'll Know..." pick for '18, of course) powered her way through qualifying, putting up wins over Dayana Yastremska (the '16 Wimbledon Jr. RU months before Kuzmova was the same at the U.S. Open that summer) and #2-seeded Ekaterina Alexandrova, then was out-hitting Dasha Kasatkina at every turn in the first third of their 1st Round encounter. The world #122, coming off an AO qualifying run, led by a set and and break at 4-3 in the 2nd before feeling her nerves and having too many errors creep into her game. Kasatkina settled, played some spectacular defense, and waited out the youngster, winning in three sets. Kuzmova will tick up one spot on Monday to a new career high of #121.


===============================================
DOWN:Caroline Garcia/FRA and Alona Ostapenko/LAT
...in a week in which her countrywoman, former doubles partner and one-time civil acquaintance fed off of her recent doubles success in Melbourne, Garcia failed to do the same following her own Round of 16 AO result. In her lone Saint Petersburg match, the Pastry had multiple opportunities to put away young Hordette Elena Rybakina (#450) only to fall to teenager in the 2nd Round. Garcia twice held a set-and-a-break lead, served for the match at 6-4/5-4, led 3-0 and 4-1 in the 2nd set TB and held a MP against the Russian, and then found herself in the unenviable position, down MP, of having to argue with the chair umpire over her refusal to replay the final point in which her swing and netted forehand was likely interfered with by an incorrect linesperson's call (the ball was called out close enough to Garcia's swing to make it questionable, and the umpire corrected the call to "in," which was backed up by replay, and awarded the youngster the point), therefore forcing Rybakina to awkwardly wait at the net for the dust to settle before she could shake hands following the first Top 10 win of her career.



Meanwhile, Ostapenko's slow start carried over another week, as she struggled for a set against veteran Vera Zvonareva before pulling away, then was wiped out by Great Petra love & 2 in the QF. It's hardly time for panic on the Latvian Thunder front, though, as she took a bit of time to get fully engaged a season ago, as well. In 2017, she started 5-3, which a retirement loss in her opening match and a 1st Round exit in Saint Petersburg. She ultimately ended the year on a 26-9 run that began with her Roland Garros title. In 2018, she's 3-4, not including that exhibition "win" over Serena Williams.
===============================================
ITF PLAYERS:Madison Brengle/USA and Marta Kostyuk/UKR
...Brengle claimed the first $100 ITF challenger of the season, winning the Midland, Michigan event to pick up the biggest title of her career. Going the entire week without dropping a set, Brengle posted wins over Jil Teichmann, Julia Boserup, Evgeniya Rodina, #1-seeded Mihaela Buzarnescu and Jamie Loeb in the final. Loeb had already upset the #2 (Jen Brady) and #4 (Sonya Kenin) seeds, and had been looking to add another over #3-seed Brengle She'd been 7-1 in pro finals before losing on Sunday. Brengle, 27, started 2018 at 1-3, with losses to the likes of Wozniacki, Nara and Konta in tour-level events. But she's proven over the last three seasons that she can spark with a great result when she's on her game, which she was happy to say she was his past week. Her 2015-17 highlights included three Top 10 wins over Serena Williams (she's the last player to defeat her, in fact, in January '17) and Petra Kvitova (twice), as well as an appearance in a tour-level final in Hobart in '15.



Meanwhile, Kostyuk is still ripping it up Down Under. Already with a history of success in Australia (one year after being Backspin's AO "Junior Breakout" winner with her title run, she was the "Q-Player of the Week" and "It Teen" this January en route to reaching the 3rd Round as a 15-year old), last week she wandered (by air) 229 miles over the Bass Strait from Melbourne, Victoria to Burnie, Tasmania, where she picked up her second -- and biggest -- career pro title, taking the $60K challenger with a 6-4/6-3 win in the final over Viktorija Golubic.


===============================================

GABRIELLA PRICE (l) and MARIA GABRIELA RIVERA CORADO (r)

JUNIOR STAR:Gabriella Price/USA
...touted as a "future great" since she was a pre-teen -- and compared favorably to the likes of Jennifer Capriati, no less -- the now 14-year old Price picked up her first career Grade 1 junior title at the Mundial Juvenil event in Ecuador, a follow up to her semifinal result at the Grade 1 in Barranquilla, Colombia a week ago. The #9 seed, Price didn't drop a set in her five matches, defeating the #5 (3rd Rd.) and #3 (Guam's Maria Gabriela Rivera Corado in a 7-6(5)/6-4 final) seeds en route to the title, which will lift her from #148 into the Top 100 in the girls rankings.


===============================================
DOUBLES:Timea Bacsinszky/Vera Zvonareva (SUI/RUS)
...no one could have rightly expected the weeks of Bacsinszky (back after a six-month absence due to what was apparently a *career*-threatening hand injury) and Zvonareva (just inside the Top 200 after her return to the tour after getting married and having a child) to end with a doubles title, but 2018 is proving to be like that.



Their appearances in singles had been highlights of the early rounds, as Bacsinszky's long-awaited return ended after just one match (a lost to Elena Rybakina) while Zvonareva's (a 1st Round win over a retiring/ill Kiki Bertens, then a tighter-than-expected straight sets loss to Alona Ostapenko) was on the surprising side of the ledger. But their extended stay proved to be the *real* show, as the pair won a 10-8 TB over Kalinskaya/Lapko in the QF, upset #1-seeded Dabrowski/Xu in the semis, and then won another deciding TB in the final over Kudryavtseva/Srebotnik by a 10-3 score. Bacsinszky's last doubles title came in 2014, though she'd since won Silver in the Rio Olympics with Martina Hingis, as well as reached the Biel final with the Swiss Miss last year. Zvonareva, back from her two-year break and now able to celebrate her title close to home with her daughter Evelyn, last picked up a WD title with Svetlana Kuznetsova at the Australian Open in 2012. Her singles results will allow her to jump twenty-eight spots in rankings to #169 on Monday.



===============================================


Slam Champions: After the Glory...

Episode 1: Diede the Great & Grandma



After her AO title, de Groot is just 135 points behind #1 Yui Kamiji

Episode 2: You Can Take the Canadian Out of Canada, but...






1. Saint Petersburg 2nd Rd. - Elena Rybakina def. Caroline Garcia
...4-6/7-6(6)/7-6(5). The Garcia 2.0 that we saw in the closing weeks of 2017 wasn't in evidence here, as the Pasty twice led by a set and a break, failed to serve out the match at 5-4 in the 2nd, couldn't convert a MP and dropped a TB she led 3-0 and 4-1 as the #450-ranked teenager forced a 3rd set and won it in another TB to notch her first career Top 10 win. Finally, Garcia failed to convince the umpire to replay her lost MP, during which she fired a forehand into the net at approximately the same time (give or take) that a linesperson shouted an incorrect line call.
===============================================
2. Taipei City 1st Rd. - Sabine Lisicki def. Zhang Yuxuan
...6-3/1-6/7-6(3). Sure, it was #246 vs. #360, but it was Lisicki's first match back from her latest injury (knee), and she had to battle back from 5-1 down, and double MP, in the 3rd set to get the win en route to what turned out to be a season-opening semifinal result. 2018.


===============================================
3. Taipei City 2nd Rd. - Magda Linette def. Johanna Larsson
...6-1/6-7(4)/7-6(3). In 3:08, Linette and Larsson shared a total of nine MP, with Linette finally winning on her fifth. She'd led 4-1, twice served for the win and held four MP in the 2nd only to see Larsson force a TB and win it, then Linette staged her own comeback from 5-3 down and saved four Larsson MP in the 3rd to force another TB, where *she* finally won it.
===============================================


4. Saint Petersburg 1st Rd. - Dasha Kasatkina def. Viktoria Kuzmova
...1-6/6-4/6-1. Kuzmova out-hit Kasatkina while building a 6-1/4-3 with a break lead, but the #122-ranked Slovak stumbled near the finish and Kasatkina's less powerful, but more consistent game rose to the occasion to get the win. And...
===============================================
5. Saint Petersburg QF - Dasha Kasatkina def. Caroline Wozniacki
...7-6(2)/6-3. After putting up a fight in the 1st, and threatening to get back on serve after having fallen behind 5-2 in the 2nd (hey, she did it at 5-1 down vs. Fett in Melbourne), Wozniacki's three-week run of perfection finally ran out of steam. Kasatkina is now tied with Maria Sharapova for the most #1 wins (of 7) posted by Russians since the start of the 2012 season.


===============================================
6. Saint Petersburg SF - Kristina Mladenovic def. Dasha Kasatkina
...3-6/6-3/6-2. The Russian opened the week by falling behind a set and a break to Kuzmova and winning, and she ended it by taking a set and a break lead and losing to Mladenovic. The Pastry's strong and aggressive play in the clutch down the stretch prevented Kasatkina from taking advantage of the opportunities she *did* have to get back on serve.
===============================================
7. Saint Petersburg Final - Petra Kvitova def. Kristina Mladenovic
...6-1/6-2. In 1:05, with thirty winners in fifteen games, Kvitova treated the defending champion like an overmatched hitting partner.


===============================================
8. Taipei City Final - Timea Babos def. Kateryna Kozlova
...7-5/6-1. Before this loss by Kozlova, Ukrainians had won in their last eight appearances in WTA singles finals since the start of 2017.


===============================================
9. Taipei City 1st Rd. - Genie Bouchard def. Zhu Lin 1-6/7-5 2-0 ret.
Taipei City 2nd Rd. - Genie Bouchard def. Ana Bogdan 7-5/7-5
Taipei City QF - Wang Yafan def. Genie Bouchard 6-4/6-0
...the week that was for Bouchard. She finally notched her first back-to-back wins since her Madrid QF run last May, but then was easily bounced by the world #152. Of course, she had other things to get attention for... err, I mean do this weekend. So...



CANADIAN RANKINGS UPDATE: #116 Bouchard, #123 Abanda, #138 Zhao, #173 Andreescu

Tick-tock. Tick-tock.
===============================================
10. Saint Petersburg 1st Rd. - Anastasia Potapova def. Tatjana Maria 6-2/6-4
Saint Petersburg 1st Rd. - Elena Rybakina def. Timea Bacsinszky 6-4/6-3
...the next Revolution begins, with two Hordettes getting their maiden MD wins on home soil.
===============================================
11. Saint Petersburg Q1 - Oceane Dodin def. Bojana Jovanovski
...6-4/6-3. BoJo makes her return... and in Saint Petersburg, RUSSIA, not Florida. Progress.
===============================================
12. Saint Petersburg Q1 - Jana Cepelova def. Sara Errani
...7-6(8)/2-6/6-3. While Vinci qualified and won a 1st Round match...
===============================================
13. Saint Petersburg Q2 - Deborah Chiesa def. Jana Fett
...6-2/2-6/6-4. Fett got a "match after" win in qualifying, but then fell to the world #185. I know the match is easy, but that's 184 places below Wozniacki.
===============================================
14. Saint Petersburg 2nd Rd. - Katerina Siniakova def. Ekaterina Makarova
...7-6(7)/7-5. The Czech saved SP in the 1st, then rallied from 4-1 down in the 2nd.
===============================================
15. $60K Burnie Final - Vania King/Laura Robson def. Momoko Kobori/Chihiro Muramatsu
...7-6(3)/6-1. After defeating #1-seeded Krejcikova/Stojanovic in the semis, King and Robson take the crown. It's the first title for the returning-from-ankle-surgery King since 2016.


===============================================
HM- Taipei City 1st Rd. - Nao Hibino def. Samantha Stosur
...7-6(6)/6-2. Fighting to stay in the Top 50, Stosur is off to a 1-4 start in 2018. Since her Strasbourg title run in May, she's gone 7-10 while missing time last summer (including Wimbledon and the U.S. Open) with a hand injury.
===============================================


Update...




1. First Photo of the 2037 Wimbledon Champion?


===============================================


The world according to Petko...







Hmmm, maybe the WTA should consider separate "Top Performance" and "Player of the Month" honors in months with include majors. Otherwise, something just doesn't *feel* right.






























**WTA TITLES - 2016-18**
7 - Elina Svitolina, UKR [1/5/1]
5 - Caroline Wozniacki, DEN [2/2/1]
5 - Simona Halep, ROU [3/1/1]
5 - Karolina Pliskova, CZE [2/3/0]
4 - Angelique Kerber, GER [3/0/1]
4 - PETRA KVITOVA, CZE [2/1/1]
4 - Caroline Garcia, FRA [2/2/0]
4 - Dominika Cibulkova, SVK [4/0/0]
4 - Sloane Stephens, USA [3/1/0]

**WTA FINALS - 2015-18**
15 - 5/3/5/2 - Simona Halep (8-7)
15 - 5/8/1/1 - Angelique Kerber (8-7)
15 - 3/2/8/2 - Caroline Wozniacki (6-9)
13 - 6/4/3/0 - Karolina Pliskova (6-7)
11 - 5/5/1/0 - Serena Williams (8-3)
10 - 1/3/5/1 - Elina Svitolina (8-2)
9 - 4/3/1/1 - PETRA KVITOVA (7-2)
8 - 4/3/1/0 - Aga Radwanska (6-2)
8 - 3/2/3/0 - Venus Williams (4-4)
8 - 0/7/1/0 - Dominika Cibulkova (4-4)
8 - 1/2/3/1 - KRISTINA MLADENOVIC (1-7)

**CONSECUTIVE YEARS w/ WTA SINGLES TITLE - current**
[extended in '18]
11 years - Serena Williams (2007-17)
11 years - Caroline Wozniacki (2008-18)
8 years - Petra Kvitova (2011-17)
6 years - Simona Halep (2013-18)
6 years - Elina Svitolina (2013-18)
5 years - Karolina Pliskova (2013-17)
4 years - Garbine Muguruza (2014-17)

**2018 DEFEATED DEFENDING CHAMPION, WON TITLE**
Shenzhen: Simona Halep, ROU (F-Siniakova)
Brisbane: Elina Svitolina, UKR (SF-Ka.Pliskova)
SAINT PETERSBURG: PETRA KVITOVA, CZE (F-Mladenovic)

**2018 LOW-RANKED SEMIFINALISTS**
#246 SABINE LISICKI/GER (TAIPEI CITY)
#152 WANG YAFAN/CHN (TAIPEI CITY)
#122 Sachia Vickery/USA (Auckland)
#103 Hsieh Su-Wei/TPE (Auckland)
#100 Camila Giorgi/ITA (Sydney)

**BEST 2018 Q/LL/PR/WC RESULTS**
[in final]
Brisbane - Aliaksandra Sasnovich, BLR (23, #88, Q) = L
SAINT PETERSBURG - PETRA KVITOVA, CZE (#29, WC) = W
[lost in SF]
Auckland - Sachia Vickery, USA (#122, Q)
Sydney - Camila Giorgi, ITA (#100, Q)
Hobart - Heather Watson, GBR (#74, Q)
TAIPEI CITY - WANG YAFAN, CHN (#152, PR)
TAIPEI CITY - SABINE LISICKI, GER (#246, PR)
[WTA 125]
Newport Beach - Danielle Collins, USA (#162, WC) = W
Newport Beach - Sofya Zhuk, RUS (#180, Q) = RU
Newport Beach - Mayo Hibi, JPN (#232, Q) = SF

**WTA TOP 10 DEBUTS - 2016-18**
2016 [4] Bencic,Vinci,Keys,Konta
2017 [5] Svitolina,Ostapenko,Garcia,Mladenovic,Vandeweghe
2018 [1] GOERGES

**GERMAN TOP 10er BY DEBUT YEAR**
1981 Syvlia Hanika
1981 Bettina Bunge
1984 Claudia Kohde-Kilsch
1985 Steff Graf
1992 Anke Huber
2011 Andrea Petkovic
2012 Angelique Kerber
2018 JULIA GOERGES

**#1 WINS BY RUSSIANS - since 2012**
2012: #2 Maria Sharapova d. Azarenka (Stuttgart F)
2012: #2 Maria Sharapova d. Azarenka (WTA SF)
2016: #19 Svetlana Kuznetsova d. S.Williams (Miami 4r)
2017: #26 DASHA KASATKINA d. Kerber (Sydney 2r)
2017: #16 Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova d. Kerber (Monterrey F)
2017: #40 Ekaterina Makarova d. Kerber (Roland Garros 1r)
2018: #23 DASHA KASATKINA d. Wozniacki (St.Petersburg SF)

**LONGEST SPAN BETWEEN #1 RANKINGS**
6 yr - CAROLINE WOZNIACKI (Jan.2012-Jan.2018, 312 wks)
5 yr,1m - Serena Williams (Aug.2003-Sep.2008, 265 wks)
4 yr,11m - Kim Clijsters (Mar.2006-Feb.2011, 256 wks)
4 yr - Maria Sharapova (Jun.2008-Jun.2012, 208 wks)
3 yr - Chris Evert (Jun.1982-Jun.1985, 156 wks)
2 yr,9m - Lindsay Davenport (Jan.2002-Oct.2004, 144 wks)

**2018 DEFEATED #1 WD SEED, WON TITLE**
Shenzhen: Begu/Halep (F-Krejcikova/Siniakova)
Auckland: Errani/Schoofs (F-Hozumi/Kato)
Sydney: Dabrowski/Xu (F-L.Chan/S.-Hlavackova)
SAINT PETERSBURGH: BACSINSZKY/ZVONAREVA (SF-Babos/A.Chan)

**2018 GRADE 1/A JUNIOR CHAMPS**
Coffee Bowl: Maria Camila Osorio Serrano/COL
Copa Barranquilla: Maria Camila Osorio Serrano/COL
Traralgon: Liang En-shou/TPE
Prague: Maria Timofeeva/RUS
Australian Open: Liang En-shuo/TPE
Mundial Juvenil: Gabriella Price/USA
Ascuncion Bowl: [February]
Banana Bowl: [February]
Yeltsin Cup: [February]

**CAREER FED CUP s/d WINS - U.S.**
57...Chris Evert
52...Billie Jean King
34...Rosie Casals
33...Lindsay Davenport
31...Martina Navratilova
23...Gigi Fernandez
23...Kathy Jordan
23...VENUS WILLIAMS
--
ALSO: S.Williams (16), Vandeweghe (12)




The opening round of Fed Cup competition in 2018 arrives next weekend. I'll be back later this week with my preview and picks.





And, finally...

Nine slam singles titles... and Elena Dementieva. (Sorry, that was too easy to pass up.)




All for now.
↧

Fed Cup I Preview: Let the Games Begin

February 7, 2018, 10:38 pm
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Well, it's time to unwrap our first helping of Fed Cup-related treats in 2018.



Hmmm, let's see. For our first course, the top items on the menu include Act One of Year II of "In Rinaldi We Trust" (with a little Williams zest), as well as the return of the Czech Maidens. Also on deck, the Belarusians are tasked with proving that 2017 was no Cinderella run, but actually an "opening act." At the same time, Pastries will face off with Waffles, while Captaina Myskina will once again try to compete without any of Russia's biggest-named Hordettes. The Spanish welcome a new Captain, the Simona-less Romanians look to swarm the Canadians (again, but this time without you-know-who) and the Aussies attempt to overcome their longtime home woes on the hoped-for safe haven that is the grass of Canberra.

Of course, we can't promise anything as wondrous as this...



But, hey, it's Fed Cup. You never know what might happen.



Let's take a closer look...





*WORLD GROUP 1st Round*

Germany at Belarus (Minsk, BLR - HCI)
BLR: Sasnovich,Sabalenka,Lapko,Marozava (Capt: Eduard Dubrou)
GER: Maria,Lottner,Friedsam,Groenefeld (Capt: Jens Gerlach)
...one year after their maiden run to a Fed Cup final began in Minsk with a win over the Dutch (2016's Cinderella squad), Team BLR returns home as the decided favorites against a (mostly) veteran German "B"-team (w/ a first-year captain) that will likely have a difficult weekend inside the belly of the Belarusian beast. Can Aliaksandra Sasnovich, Aryna Sabalenka & Co. do it again in 2018? A possible semifinal match-up with a fully-loaded Czech team notwithstanding, few squads have an equally dedicated one-two punch on this side of the '18 draw. The never-say-die Sasnovich (14-8 FC singles) was 5-1 in FC play last year, while the excitable Sabalenka went 1-1 in all three ties in Minsk (and pushed big-named opponents in her losses). It'd be a surprise to see either lose this weekend. The most experienced player on the German side (Anna-Lena Groenefeld) is there for doubles duty, while the only other roster member with a singles win in FC play is Tatjana Maria (4-3), who's coming off being upset last week by Russian youngster Anastasia Potapova in Saint Petersburg.
PICK:BLR def. GER 4-0
...this could have been a wild tie if the German team included at least one of its Top 10 talents (Kerber & Goerges), but it'll likely be an all-weekend, Belarusian-themed parade in Minsk. If Belarus could somehow return to another final in a rematch with the U.S. (which *is* possible with the Bannerettes on the other side of the draw), it'd be held this time around on U.S. soil, meaning Vika Azarenka (no matter where her custody battle stands come the fall) would likely be cleared to join the effort. That possibility is still a long way off, but the first step toward it begins here.



Switzerland at Czech Republic (Prague, CZE - HCI)
CZE: Kvitova,Ka.Pliskova,Strycova,Safarova (Capt: Petr Pala)
SUI: Bacsinszky,Bencic,Golubic,Teichmann (Capt: Heinz Gunthardt)
...they're baaaaack. Or at least it would seem that way, with the Czech "A"-team gathering together in Prague after (mostly) taking '17 off following three straight title runs (and five in six years) in FC play. Petra Kvitova, once again playing under a roof, blasted through the competition last week in Saint Petersburg, and will be called upon to re-assume her old leadership role this weekend. Of note (or maybe not), Kvitova (26-10) is riding a hard-to-believe four-match FC losing streak (one in '15, and 0-3 in '16), but the other three members of the Czech team -- Ka.Pliskova (9-3), Strycova (9-7) and Safarova (13-11) -- have taken their turns in pressure roles during the Czech dynasty, and should have her back if she stumbles. Timea Bacsinszky (20-16) has returned from a six-month absence due to a hand injury, losing her opening match last week to Elena Rybakina but then rebounding to win a doubles title. Belinda Bencic (7-2) came into '18 as the hottest player in the game, but hasn't played since she lost her 2nd Round match in Melbourne after taking out Venus Williams in the 1st. Viktoriya Golubic defeated both Pliskova and Strycova in what was ultimately a lost tie vs. the Czechs in 2016, and could once again find herself in a do-or-die Day 2 match this time around should Bacsinszky's singles form be wanting. That 3-2 semifinal defeat, which gave CZE a 6-1 head-to-head edge in FC play over Swizterland, may have been the Swiss women's best chance at a title season, as they were Belarus' SF upset victim a year ago when the Czechs took a step back. If they'd found themselves in a rematch with BLR in the top half's other QF match-up, the Swiss might have been able to find a way back to the semis. Doing the same against this Czech squad, though, is quite another, far more difficult task.
PICK:CZE def. SUI 3-1
...based on Kvitova's SuperPetra form in Saint Petrasburg, the stacked roster and home court advantage things don't look good for the Swiss. But Bencic and Golubic have proven to be great underdog FC performers in the past, so making the (rusty?) Czech team work and forcing a deciding doubles match (where *anything* could happen) isn't out of the question. Even in their dominant FC campaigns, it should be noted, the Czechs were forced to go to the doubles seven times in fifteen ties during their five title-winning seasons since 2011 (including the final four in 2015-16). But after a year out of the FC title chase, one expects the Maidens to show up ready to wipe the court with *someone*. The Swiss just happened to draw the short straw (or, in this case, the chocolate egg with the ripped-open wrapper).

At least they had some fun during the week, though...




Belgium at France (La Roch-sur-yon, FRA - HCI)
FRA: Mladenovic,Parmentier,Hesse,Burel (Capt: Yannick Noah)
BEL: Mertens,Flipkens,Van Uytvanck,Bonaventure (Capt: Dominique Monami)
...two years ago, the French FC team rode a wave of emotion all the way to the final. Now, for the second straight year, it's without former Captain Amelie Mauresmo and the player who lit the '16 path with gutsy wins (Caroline Garcia). The FFT's play-or-else threats have failed to gather in such young talent as Oceane Dodin, and the Pastries now find themselves fighting an uphill battle to return to contention. Facing suspension for missing multiple drug tests, even Alize Cornet is on the sidelines for this one (not that she's ever really contributed much good to past French FC efforts). The good news for the French is that they have a home tie, and Kiki Mladenovic's final run in Saint Petersburg finally ended a personal losing streak that reached fifteen matches. Her head-to-head battle with Belgium's Elise Mertens (in both singles and, maybe, doubles) will likely determine which nation advances to the semis. AO semifinalist Mertens, already a singles and doubles title winner in '18, may need to contribute to three wins in order for the Waffles' seven-tie win streak to continue. She's 3-0 in singles in her FC career, and the Belgians are in the World Group for the first time since 2012. Veteran Kirsten Flipkens (12-19 singles, 1-9 doubles), though, could turn out to the be the key to a winning weekend. If she can get a singles win to either clinch the tie or send it to the doubles, where she'd likely be called upon to join Bertens vs. Mladenovic and Pauline Parmentier, she might be MVP-worthy. She's already provided Mertens with some assistance in recent months...

PICK:FRA def. BEL 3-2 BEL def. FRA 3-2
...I've gone back and forth on this pick, with only the tie going to the doubles being a consistent theme. Can Mertens take out Mladenovic on French soil, and if she can't can Flipkens (or Van Uytvanck) step in to get a singles win to make up for it? For the French, though, it would seem to all be on Mladenovic's shoulders. Kiki will surely feed off the crowd and *try* to put the team on her back. She very well may do it, too. But that fact remains that she has a 6-6 career FC mark in singles, including going 5-4 the last two years (with losses to Giorgi, Bertens, Bacsinszky and, in a 16-14 3rd set, Ka.Pliskova), though she teamed brilliantly with former RG title-winning partner Garcia in doubles during the glorious '16 run. Without Mauresmo, this isn't really a "team" so much as a group with one large personality trying to prove that she *can* drag Team FRA to a win all by herself (she couldn't vs. SUI last year, but did vs. a depleted ESP team to keep France in the WG). Her loss in the Saint Petersburg final left Mladenovic with a 1-7 career record in singles finals, and maybe just enough lingering doubt to allow Mertens a shot to get the win in their head-to-head despite the home court advantage. Still, I kind of look at this one as a coin-flipper. Momentum could shift it either way, at any time. It's likely the only World Group tie immune to a possible blow-out final score.



Netherland at United States (Asheville, NC, USA - HCI)
USA: V.Williams,S.Williams,Vandeweghe,Davis (Capt: Kathy Rinaldi)
NED: Hogenkamp,Rus,Kerkhove,Schuurs (Capt: Paul Haarhuis)
...Captain Rinaldi was Fed Cup's official "Ms. Opportunity" in 2017, stepping into the shoes of the wayward former stewardship of Mary Joe Fernandez and dotting every "i" and crossing every "t" while immediately establishing an esprit de corps amongst a tight-knit group that included CoCo Vandeweghe, who set a FC record with an 8-0 mark in live matches as the team took advantage of a Czech "A"-team less field and battled to the U.S.'s first title since 2000. In Year 2 of "In Rinaldi We Trust," the Bannerettes have called in the reinforcements with Olympic eligibility there for the taking for 2020. Venus (19-2 career) and Serena Williams (making her official, post-pregnancy return in her first match since the '17 AO) are on board, with Vandeweghe assuming (one assumes) a complementary role coming off her recent illness. With the Dutch squad missing Kiki Bertens, this feels like a mismatch, even with the U.S. team sporting a combined 2-6 record in 2018, with only Lauren Davis having notched a win this season. *Her* last match was the marathon loss to Simona Halep in Melbourne in which she held triple MP, enough to convince the always-watching Rinaldi to tap her for inclusion in this tie. The Netherlands' 2016 semifinal run was one of the more spirited surprises in FC history, but pulling off the upset here would surely give it a run for its money.
PICK:USA def. NED 4-0
...it's hard to imagine Rinaldi *not* upping her record as Captain to 4-0, not with this squad. The Dutch haven't faced the Bannerettes since 1998 (before either Sister had won *any* of their combined thirty slams singles crowns), and might wish they don't see them before 2038 when it's all over.

Captain Rinaldi... preparing for Fed Cup 2030?






*WORLD GROUP II*

Russia at Slovakia (Bratislava, SVK - HCI)
SVK: Rybarikova,Cepelova,Kuzmova,AK.Schmiedlova (Capt: Matej Liptak)
RUS: Vikhlyantseva,Kalinskaya,Potapova,Kudermetova (Capt: Anastasia Myskina)
...Myskina has to be wondering what she's done to deserve fielding such inexperienced rosters in recent years, and not even with the same players each time out that she could mold into something of a solid, consistent unit, either. Of course, for all she did as a player in Fed Cup, many of the Czarina/Captaina Myskina's moves in recent years in the heat of battle have been questionable enough to make even the likes of MJF shudder. So maybe playing with one hand tied behind her back is just what she deserves? (Just a wild Tennis God-related theory.) The good news/bad news for Myskina is that she won't be tempted to continue to try to play mentor by overusing her unreliable namesake (Pavlyuchenkova) this time around, though she might wish she had the option. The entire Russian roster has combined for one FC singles victory (by Vikhlyantseva). Recent Slovak squads, as with the Russians, have been remarkably fluid. Wimbledon semifinalist Rybarikova heads the team this time, as Slovakia seeks to knock off the Hordettes for the first time. Russia leads the all-time series 3-0, including a rare win from 0-2 down in 2013.
PICK:SVK def. RUS 4-1
...at this point, it's difficult to believe that just a few years ago the Russians hadn't fallen down to the WG II level for eighteen years Now they seem destined to never leave. One wonders if SVK's FC future might include a healthy dose of teenager Viktoria Kuzmova, who makes her debut this weekend. She may not get into the action in Bratislava, but she's fresh off a Q-run in Saint Petersburg and a near upset of another Hordette, Dasha Kasatkina, and Captain Liptak should make it a priority to get the big-hitter's feet wet in a tie in which they're favored.


Ukraine at Australia (Canberra, AUS - Grass)
AUS: Barty,Gavrilova,Aiava,Dellacqua (Capt: Alicia Molik)
UKR: Kostyuk,L.Kichenok,N.Kichenok,Lopatetskaya (Capt: Mikhail Filima)
...could it be that the Aussies have finally stumbled into a Fed Cup *advantage* on Australian soil? Often, home isn't where the heart is for Team Australia come FC time, but staging a tie on grass with the likes of former Wimbledon girls champ Ash Barty heading the roster (and her doubles partner waiting in the wings, if needed) is likely as good as it's going to get. Facing a team of inexperienced Ukrainians -- not including the likes of a Svitolina or Tsurenko, who defeated the Aussies 3-1 last February, no less -- helps, too. All seems good for the home team, unless 15-year old Marta Kostyuk (in the *lead* spot for Ukraine) continues her recent Down Under run that has already included an AO Q-run and 3rd Round result, then a challenger tournament win last weekend.

PICK:AUS def. UKR 4-1
...Dasha Lopatetskaya, at 14, is actually the *youngest* player on the UKR roster, as well as the entire FC competition this weekend, so Kostyuk's sudden push into such a "leadership" role is even more eyebrow-raising. The thought on the "1" in the scoreline is that Kostyuk will get a dead rubber win (in doubles, or maybe singles vs. fellow teen Aiava?) to notch her maiden FC win.


Canada at Romania (Cluj-Napoca, ROU - HCI)
ROU:Halep,Begu,Cirstea,Bogdan,Olaru (Capt: Florin Segarceanu)
CAN: Zhao,Andreescu,Sebov,Dabrowski (Capt: Silvain Bruneau)
...ah, they meet again. Of course, the third FC meeting between Romania and Canada won't come equipped with the sort of dramatic/comedic sideshow that Genie Bouchard helped instigate in 2015, when she made headlines by stating her disinclination to shake hands with her opponents, then saw Alexandra Dulgheru (also absent this weekend) mock the notion with a series of "let's-shake...psych!" non-handshakes with her teammates after defeating the Canadian in Montreal. A few years ago, the Romanians seemed destined to contend for a Fed Cup crown. They came oh-so-close, pushing the Czechs to the deciding doubles in the 1st Round two years ago. Now, with a loaded roster (even w/o Monica Niculescu and, in a late withdrawal, Simona Halep) in front of a partisan (as if there is any other kind) Romanian crowd, this could be the first step toward one final run with this generation of Swarmettes. One interesting aspect of this tie is the presence of Bianca Andreescu. The 17-year old, of Romanian descent, may be the most promising of all the young Canadians. A year ago, she went a combined 7-1 in FC play (5-1 singles, 2-0 doubles...with her only loss a near-upset of Yulia Putintseva in a three-setter). The player she said was her favorite a few years ago? Why, Halep, of course. She now won't face her for the first time this weekend, but she'll surely want to impress her idol.

PICK:ROU def. CAN 4-1
...this week's ruling finally officially made it so that former FC Captain Ilie Nastase won't be holding any official posts until after 2020 following his classless display during the entire week (and even during play) on site (until he was ushered off, that is) at last spring's tie vs. Great Britain. Even without Halep, the Romanians should roll, but Andreescu might just make things interesting in one, of not both, of her singles matches.


Spain at Italy (Chieti, ITA - RCI)
ITA: Errani,Paolini,Chiesa,Cocciaretto (Capt: Tathiana Garbin)
ESP: Suarez-Navarro,Arruabarrena,Garcia Perez,Martinez Sanchez (Capt: Anabel Medina-Garrigues)
...how much longer will the last traces of Italy's Fed Cup glory days (come on, The FC Quartet of Pennetta, Schiavone, Errani & Vinci *would* be a worthy HOF combo entry, right?) linger? With Vinci set to retire in the spring, Schiavone likely not long for the tour, Errani decidedly on the back side of her career, and Camila Giorgi possibly *never* set to play for her nation again in FC play, once Italy totally slips out of the picture it may be a full generation before it returns. Having lost three of four ties over the past two years, the fall, which the Italians have managing to fight off a bit longer than expected, could finally officially come in 2018. Hosting a Garbi-less, but still dangerous, Spanish team could have the Italians fighting to avoid relegation from WG II come the spring. A win over Taiwan in 2017 prevented the dreaded moment from coming last year, but it likely only delayed the inevitable.
PICK:ESP def. ITA 3-2
...new Spanish Captain Medina-Garrigues (she was 7-1 in her singles career vs. ITA Captain Tathiana Garbin, for what it's worth) might have a "little engine that could" on her hands. CSN still has gas left in the tank, Arruabarrena is a good FC team player and recent junior champ Rebeka Masarova recently announced her change of allegiance from Switzerland to Spain. Based on the success of her brief coaching stint with Alona Ostapenko in '17, AMG showed some signs of maybe having a little bit of Amelie Mauresmo-esque whispering qualities about her. If she could get a win here, then get Muguruza back on board for a spring tie, Spain could be set up for a legitimate shot at FC title contention in 2019-20 after what has now grown into a ten-year final drought.




Zone play has been going on at various sites the last few days, so I can't really preview anything there. But I can still make picks! They may not turn out to be good ones, but I can still MAKE them.

*ZONE PLAY*
Americas I (Asuncion, Paraguay - RCO)
PAR,CHI,COL vs. ARG,BRA,GUA,VEN
PROMOTIONAL PLAYOFF PICK (1 advances):PAR def. ARG
...Beatriz Haddad Maia could successfully put Brazil on her back, but the host Paraguayan team has a one-two punch of Veronica Cepede Royg *and* Montserrat Gonzalez. Possible Team to Watch: Chile?


Asia/Oceania I (New Delhi, India - HCO)
CHN,HKG,IND,KAZ vs. JPN,KOR,THA,TPE
PROMOTIONAL PLAYOFF PICK (1 advances):KAZ def. JPN
...though it's never all that smart to expect much from the Kazakhs, is it? Possible Team to Watch: Thailand


Asia/Oceania II (Isa Town, Bahrain - HCO)
LBN,NZL,UZB vs. IRI,MAS,OMA,PAC.OCEANIA
KGZ,PHI,SGP vs. BRN,INA,PAK,SRI
PROMOTIONAL PLAYOFF PICKS (2 advance):
UZB def. Pacific Oceania, PHI def. INA
...Possible Team to Watch: New Zealand, which included Week 5 ITF challenger title-winner Erin Routliffe, a former Canadian and two-time NCAA doubles champion with the University of Alabama.


Europe/Africa I (Tallinn, Estonia - HCI)
BUL,GEO,SRB vs. AUT,LAT,POL,TUR
EST,GBR,POR vs. CRO,HUN,SLO,SWE
...we've already seen a stunner in round robin play, as Cagla Buyukakcay upset Alona Ostapenko, but Anastasija Sevastova stopped the bleeding with a singles win, and they combined to take the doubles for a 2-1 win over Turkey. So I don't have to change my original pick.

PROMOTIONAL PLAYOFF PICKS (2 advance):
LAT def. SRB, GBR def. SWE
...Possible Team to Watch: the host Estonians, led by Anett Kontaveit. Meanwhile, the Brits won the pre-tie team photo contest.




Of course, I'll have a full wrap-up of the entire Fed Cup event in the regular weekly post following all the weekend action, as well as the full "Fed Cup Captain Threat Level Chart."


**FED CUP FINALS**
1963 United States def. Australia 2-1
1964 Australia def. United States 2-1
1965 Australia def. United States 2-1
1966 United States def. West Germany 3-0
1967 United States def. Great Britain 2-0
1968 Australia def. Netherlands 3-0
1969 United States def. Australia 2-1
1970 Australia def. West Germany 3-0
1971 Australia def. Great Britain 3-0
1972 South Africa def. Great Britain 2-1
1973 Australia def. South Africa 3-0
1974 Australia def. United States 2-1
1975 Czechoslovakia def. Australia 3-0
1976 United States def. Australia 2-1
1977 United States def. Australia 2-1
1978 United States def. Australia 2-1
1979 United States def. Australia 3-0
1980 United States def. Australia 3-0
1981 United States def. Great Britain 3-0
1982 United States def. West Germany 3-0
1983 Czechoslovakia def. West Germany 2-1
1984 Czechoslovakia def. Australia 2-1
1985 Czechoslovakia def. United States 2-1
1986 United States def. Czechoslovakia 3-0
1987 West Germany def. United States 2-1
1988 Czechoslovakia def. USSR 2-1
1989 United States def. Spain 3-0
1990 United States def. USSR 2-1
1991 Spain def. United States 2-1
1992 Germany def. Spain 2-1
1993 Spain def. Australia 3-0
1994 Spain def. United States 3-0
1995 Spain def. United States 3-2
1996 United States def. Spain 5-0
1997 France def. Netherlands 4-1
1998 Spain def. Switzerland 3-2
1999 United States def. Russia 4-1
2000 United States def. Spain 5-0
2001 Belgium def. Russia 2-1
2002 Slovak Republic def. Spain 3-1
2003 France def. United States 4-1
2004 Russia def. France 3-2
2005 Russia def. France 3-2
2006 Italy def. Belgium 3-2
2007 Russia def. Italy 4-0
2008 Russia def. Spain 4-0
2009 Italy def. United States 4-0
2010 Italy def. United States 3-1
2011 Czech Republic def. Russia 3-2
2012 Czech Republic def. Serbia 3-1
2013 Italy def. Russia 4-0
2014 Czech Republic def. Germany 3-1
2015 Czech Republic def. Russia 3-2
2016 Czech Republic def. France 3-2
2017 United States def. Belarus 3-2

**FED CUP TITLES**
18 - United States
10 - Czech Republic/Czechoslovakia
7 - Australia
5 - Spain
4 - Italy
4 - Russia
2 - France
2 - West Germany/Germany
1 - Belgium
1 - Slovakia
1 - South Africa

**BACKSPIN "FED CUP PLAYER OF THE YEAR" WINNERS**
2005 Elena Dementieva, RUS
2006 Francesca Schiavone, ITA
2007 Svetlana Kuznetsova, RUS
2008 Svetlana Kuznetsova, RUS
2009 Flavia Pennetta, ITA
2010 Flavia Pennetta, ITA
2011 Petra Kvitova, CZE
2012 Petra Kvitova, CZE
2013 Roberta Vinci, ITA
2014 Petra Kvitova, CZE
2015 Karolina Pliskova, CZE
2016 Caroline Garcia, FRA*
2017 CoCo Vandeweghe, USA
--
*-non-championship team member

**BACKSPIN - FED CUP FINALS MVPs**
2005 Elena Dementieva, RUS
2006 Francesca Schiavone, ITA
2007 Svetlana Kuznetsova, RUS
2008 Svetlana Kuznetsova, RUS
2009 Flavia Pennetta, ITA
2010 Flavia Pennetta, ITA
2011 Petra Kvitova, CZE
2012 Lucie Safarova, CZE
2013 Roberta Vinci, ITA
2014 Petra Kvitova, CZE
2015 Karolina Pliskova, CZE
2016 Barbora Strycova, CZE
2017 CoCo Vandeweghe, USA


All for now.
↧

Wk.6- Our Fed Cup Runneth Over

February 12, 2018, 12:25 am
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The time has arrived to sort through the highs, lows, resurrections, market corrections and general Czech Maiden-like happenings of the first Fed Cup week of the year.



(As well as at least three "In Rinaldi We Trust" mentions before things are over, as the quota must be filled.)

A quick rundown of some stand-outs from 2018's first batch of Fed Cup results:

*A "BACKSPIN DOZEN" OF THINGS THAT WERE GOOD*
1. The Czech Reboot
========================================
2. In Rinaldi We Trust: Year 2, Chapter 1 - "So far, so good."
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3. Latvians Living on the Edge
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4. Aussies, Escaping By the Skin of Their Vegemite-stained Teeth
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5. Venus
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6. Petra
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7. Kiki (for now)
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8. Japanese teamwork: all for one, and one for all
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9. Never going in against the Italians when Fed Cup death is on the line (ask AMG)
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10. Slovaks vs. History (Kuzmova for the win!)
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11. German ingenuity (and Jens Gerlach's good fortune)
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12. The growing Cult of Sabalenka (even in defeat)
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13. Anastasia Myskina, one of the best Saturday FC Captains around
========================================

*SEVEN THAT WEREN'T*
1. Anastasia Myskina, the worst Sunday FC Captain around
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2. Belarus: The Year After
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3. Better Call Bencic... a time machine
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4. Dasha, Dasha, Dasha
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5. Lara Arruabarrena's weekend
========================================
6.Alize Cornet Pauline Parmentier in French Fed Cup singles
========================================
7. Kazakhstan, China... stop me if you've heard this before
========================================


Captain Jens Gerlach (GER) = welcome to Thunderdome
Captain Kathy Rinaldi (USA) = "All right, now things get serious."
Captain Petr Pala (CZE) = (Casually brushes the dust off his jacket and stands up straight once again.)
Captain Toshihisa Tsuchihashi (JPN) = teamwork is the best work...but having Naomi would be nice, too
Captain Yannick Noah (FRA) = "I just stand back, cross my fingers, and watch her go."
Captain Matej Liptak (SVK) = "Yeeeeeeaaaaaaahhhhhh!!!!!"
Captain Tathiana Garbin (ITA) = "You're not an Italian unless you refuse to die."
Captain Ramon Delgado (PAR) = Home is Where the Heart Is
Captain Alicia Molik (AUS) = "Whew!"
Captain Anne Keothavong (GBR) = "If I don't hear the word "Zone" -- or "Ilie" -- again, I'd be fine with that. Thankfully, I might not have to for a while."
Captain Florin Segarceanu (ROU) = Winning Without Insulting Your Opponents
Captain Mikhail Filima (UKR) = "Haha. You thought I was crazy to play a 15-year old in the #1 spot, didn't you? It almost worked."
Captain Tatjana Jecmenica (SRB) = "I may have found a brand new Bracelet!"
Captain Andis Juska (LAT) = "I really thought this was going to be a little easier than *that*."
Captain Gilles De Gouy (POC) = overseeing the ultimate group effort, and with another Tere-Apisah waiting in the wings
Captain Deddy Tedjamukti (INA) = "Hey, we didn't used to be so anonymous. Have you heard of Yayuk Basuki?"
Captain Heinz Gunthardt (SUI) = "Smile and the world smiles with you, and you don't have to win. Plus, we were playing the Czechs, so c'mon, you know?"
Captain Anabel Medina Garrigues (ESP) = "Dear Garbi..."
Captain Daniel Heryanta Dewandaka (SGP) = "I Dream of Stephanie (Tan)."
Captain Gabor Juhasz (HUN) = "To: Timea ...please call me."
Captain Fernando Roese (BRA) = can someone clone Beatriz, please?
Captain Marcelo Gomez (ARG) = so close, and yet so far. But at least Paula is back.
Captain Dominique Monami (BEL) = "I really thought we might have this. No, I really did. Stop laughing, Kiki."
Captain Paul Haarhuis (NED) = the worm has not only turned, but it may have died
Captain Eduard Dubrou (BLR) = "Sigh. I guess we knew it was our time."
Captain Sylvain Bruneau (CAN) = "No, Genie... you wouldn't have made a difference. Trust me. Now go play yet another exhibition."
Captain Dias Doskarayev (KAZ) = (rolls eyes and walks away)
Captain Shao-Xuan Zeng (CHN) = (silence, with a slightly downturned corner of the mouth)
Captain Iroda Tulyaganova (UZB) = (throws up hands)
Captain Anastasia Myskina (RUS) = "Any Anastasia will do." (apparently) "Hello? Is anyone there? Mary Joe?"



*WEEK 6*

=WG 1st Round=
Germany def. Belarus (H) 3-2
Czech Republic (H) def. Switzerland 3-1
France (H) def. Belgium 3-2
United States (H) def. Netherland 3-1
=World Group II=
Slovakia (H) def. Russia 4-1
Australia (H) def Ukraine 3-2
Romania (H) def. Canada 3-1
Italy (H) def. Spain 3-2
=Zone Promotion Finals=
[Europe/Africa I]: Latvia def. Serbia 2-1
[Europe/Africa I]: Great Britain def. Hungary 2-0
[Americas I]: Paraguay def. Brazil 2-0
[Asia/Oceania I]: Japan def. Kazakhstan 2-1
[Asia/Oceania II]: Indonesia def. Uzbekistan 2-0
[Asia/Oceania II]: Pacific Oceania def. Singapore 2-1


[World Group 1st Round]

Germany def. Belarus 3-2
[Minsk, BLR / HCI]
...the "year after" is quite different, isn't it? The Dutch were Fed Cup's Cinderella story in 2016, until they were upset in the 1st Round in 2017 by the "new" Cinderellas, the Belarusians. BLR managed to go one step further than NED, reaching the final. Playing at home for a fourth straight tie, the Belarusians were the decided favorites this weekend against a German "B" team that didn't include the likes of Angelique Kerber, Julia Goerges, Andrea Petkovic or Sabine Lisicki. So, done and done, right? Ha. You're forgetting that this is Fed Cup. As it turned out, Germany had other ideas about the whole thing, as new Captain Jens Gerlach must have cut some sort of deal with the Tennis Gods.



[MVP]
Anna-Lena Groenefeld/Tatjana Maria (GER)
...with both of Germany's singles players (Maria and Antonia Lottner) going 1-1, the doubles duo of Groenefeld & Maria, playing in her first FC tie since 2011, were called upon to finish off the sole visiting team upset in either WG I or II this weekend. Joined by ALG, present in her twenty-first tie for Germany since 2004, they engaged in a pitched battle with Aryna Sabalenka & Lidsiya Marozava, saving a BP in the final game and finally clinching the tie (and maybe the return of Kerber & Co. in the spring) on their fourth MP in a 6-7(4)/7-5/6-4 victory. Sunday proved to be quite the day for Maria, as *she* (not Serena Williams) proved to be the "mother with the most" in Week 6's FC action, recovering from a tie-opening three-set loss at the hands of Sabalenka to take out Vera Lapko (in her FC singles debut) with a 3rd set bagel to ensure the contest would, at worst, go to the doubles.


===============================================
[RISER]
Aryna Sabalenka/BLR
...Sabalenka, who went 1-1 in all three of Belarus' 2017 ties, tried with all her might to save the day, throwing everything she had at the Germans in an attempt to have Aliaksandra Sasnovich's back and carry the team the victory. After a pair of three-set wins over Tatjana Maria and Antonia Lottner, she *did* prove that she could go 2-0 in FC singles play over a weekend, but pulling off another three-setter in the deciding doubles proved to be too much to hope for.



===============================================
[FRESH FACE]
Antonia Lottner/GER
...the 21-year old's FC debut proved to be a memorable one, as Lottner took out the Fed Cup Heart Award winner -- and a little bit of the Belarusian team's heart, as well - with a 7-5/6-4 upset victory over Aliaksandra Sasnovich in Match #2. The world #149 returned a day later and made Sabalenka work for three sets to extend the tie before she had to then regroup and play the deciding doubles. With Lottner providing some depth, should all the moons and stars align come April, the Czech Republic vs. Germany semifinal very well could prove to be one for the ages.


===============================================
[DOWN]
Aliaksandra Sasnovich/BLR
...while Sabalenka was the flash and fire of the Belarusian FC effort in '17, Sasnovich was its uncommon heart and soul. It was her never-give-up spirit that carried the club to an unlikely berth in the final, and when she fell by the wayside at the hands of singles newcomer Lottner it was surely a bad omen for the prospects of the entire team effort. In one match, Sasnovich has already equaled her total number of singles losses in six outings during the entire BLR run of a season ago.
===============================================


Match #2 - Antonia Lottner/GER def. Aliaksandra Sasnovich/BLR
...7-5/6-4. What Sasnovich did to so many top players a year ago, Lottner did to *her* in Minsk. Sasnovich never returned, and the Belarusian team was never quite the same, no matter how hard Sabalenka tried to right the squad's course by shear force of will.
===============================================


Although the weekend didn't go quite a planned, it's never a bad time for a little Sasnovich charm...






Czech Republic def. Switzerland 3-1
[Prague, CZE / HCI]
...after what amounted to a sabbatical year in '17, the Maidens returned in nearly full force (though Karolina Pliskova's late subtraction from the list of available singles participants, even with all she brings, really barely put a dent in the Czech forces) with an eye on reclaiming the mantle they held in five of the previous six seasons. As long as most (or some) of this weekend's roster returns in the spring, it's a decent bet that the dynasty will continue.



[MVP]
Petra Kvitova/CZE
...welcome back (again), Petra. Playing in her first FC tie since 2016, Kvitova ended her (surprising) four-match Fed Cup losing streak with a three-set win over Czech-Whisperer Viktorija Golubic, then smashed Belinda Bencic on Sunday to clinch the Maidens' tenth straight home tie win and tenth consecutive apperance in the semifinals. Kvitova is now 28-10 in FC singles.


===============================================
[DOWN]
Belinda Bencic/SUI
...how quickly things change. Remember how Bencic ended 2017 on a 28-3 run, and came into '18 on a 15-match winning streak? How about when she went 3-1 in Perth, then knocked off Venus Williams in the 1st Round of the Australian Open? Well, beginning with her loss in straight sets to Luksika Kumkhum in the AO 2nd Round, she's since failed to even win a single set. She's gone six up and six down vs. Kumkhum, then this weekend vs. Strycova and Kvitova, both by 2 & 4 scores, as her two defeats officially did in the Swiss in Prague before Timea Bacsinszky & Timea Bacsinszky scored a dead rubber doubles win to remove the zero from the scoreboard (but even *that* took a 10-8 3rd set TB to get done).
===============================================
Match #1 - Petra Kvitova/CZE def. Viktorja Golubic/SUI
...6-2/1-6/6-3. It's hardly surprising, is it, that Golubic -- who defeated both Pliskova and Strycova in a tie vs. CZE two years ago -- would briefly put an end to SuperPetra's recent rampage through the sport? In the 3rd, the Swiss even climbed out of a 0-3 hole to knot the set at 3-3. But, still, Petra does *not* reside in the "Golubic Zone," she just visits it. Golubic DF'd on BP in game #8, and it was all over a game later.
===============================================



France def. Belgium 3-2
[La Roch-sur-yon, FRA / HCI]
...as far as true drama is concerned, this may have been the most uneventful all-live, five-match FC World Group tie in memory. All four singles matches were decided in straight sets, with only one of the eight sets even legitimately having the chance to flip either way. In the end, Kiki Mladenovic, continuing to feed off her AO doubles title run and return to the Saint Petersburg singles final, was the only player in World Group I play (Ash Barty did it for AUS in WG II) to have a hand in three live victories in the Pastries' 3-2 win over Belgium.


[MVP]
Kristina Mladenovic/FRA
...after her 2 & 4 win over Kirsten Flipkens to knot the tie at 1-1 through Saturday's action, Mladenovic, in typical Kiki-on-top fashion, said, "Pressure is an obstacle I don't fear at all." It was going to be oh so easy to make that comment haunt her, especially so soon after her 15-match losing streak, Saint Petersburg loss to fall to 1-7 in finals in her WTA career, and her not-nearly-as-good-as-you'd-expect 7-6 career FC singles record following this win... but then she went out and dominated on Sunday and carried the Pastries back to the semis, getting the key 6-4/6-4 win over Elise Mertens to take a 2-1 lead in the tie, coming back from 3-0 down in the 2nd to close out the Waffle in straights. So, for now, she's back on steady ground.


===============================================
[RISER]
Alison Van Uytvanck/BEL
...subbed by Captain Dominique Monami for Flipkens in Match #4 on Sunday, Van Uytvanck proved her worth with an easy win over Pauline Parmentier to force the deciding doubles. She's now gone 10-1 in her last eleven FC singles outings, a run which has included wins over Alona Ostapenko, Heather Watson, Tsvetana Pironkova. Maybe she should have played Match #2, as well?
===============================================
[DOWN]
Pauline Parmentier/FRA
...hey, someone had to play the role of "Alize Cornet" with the original not able to take part in the festivities herself, right? Parmentier notched just three games vs. Mertens in Match #1, then only four against Van Uytvanck in Match #4, as the Waffle forced things to the doubles. Of course, thanks to Mladenovic, it didn't even matter. LOL.


===============================================
Match #5 - Hesse/Mladenovic (FRA) def. Flipkens/Mertens (BEL)
...6-4/2-6/6-2. Once again, as was the case last February, Kiki was able to essentially hoist the entire Pastry team onto her broad shoulders and carry it to victory. But, even with a venue and surface advantage, unless she gets some real help in April it won't likely be this open-and-shut against the U.S. in the semifinals. As remarkable as it seems (and is, when you think about it), Flipkens is now 1-10 in her Fed Cup doubles career. Mladenovic in 10-2.
===============================================




United States def. Netherlands 3-1
[Ashville, NC USA / HCI]
...Chapter 2 of the "In Rinaldi We Trust" era of U.S. Fed Cup tennis took place in North Carolina, with predictable results. Of course, this time the Bannerettes brought in the reinforcements.



[MVP]
Venus Williams/USA
...Venus notched career FC wins #24 and #25 (sixth in U.S. history) in Asheville, defeating Arantxa Rus in what was the 1000th official singles match in her legendary career, and then clinching Kathy Rinaldi's fourth consecutive tie win with a 7-5/6-2 victory over Richel Hogenkamp. Whether this is both the first *and* last tie Venus plays under Rinaldi remains to be seen, but it should be noted that Williams was part of the selection committee that ultimately chose Rinaldi to replace the lacking stewardship of Mary Joe Fernandez. The difference in the two versions of the U.S. squad is stark, both on the scoreboard and in the togetherness of the rosters. That said, Rinaldi will face a whole new test come the spring, as she figures out a roster that will be able to compete with the Mladenovic-led Pastries in France on what will likely be a clay court surface. But, as always... In Rinaldi We Trust.

===============================================
[RISER]
Richel Hogenkamp/NED
...while the Kiki Bertens-less Dutch didn't post a win until the dead doubles rubber, Hogenkamp put up a good showing for herself. She pushed Vandeweghe to the edge, in more ways than one, and even gave Venus difficulty in a 7-5 1st set when Williams was seeking to close out the tie. That she didn't manage to get a set off her likely allowed the crowd-pleasing Serena/Venus doubles return that wrapped up the FC weekend.
===============================================
Match #2 - CoCo Vandeweghe/USA def. Richel Hogenkamp/NED
...4-6/7-6(6)/6-3. Hogenkamp had Vandeweghe, seeking her thirteenth consecutive FC win in her first outing since her early loss in Melbourne, on the ropes. After blowing a 4-2 lead in the 1st with a bushel of DF's, Vandeweghe fell behind 6-4/2-0, leading to, well, you know.



The deficit increased to 3-1 before she turned things around. After failing to serve out the 2nd at 5-4, she won the TB 8-6 with a match-leveling ace, and then finally found her form in the 3rd. Still, the Belgian out-pointed her 111-110 in the match. But it's just another experience in Vandeweghe's long and winding FC journey, which now includes having the Williams Sisters cheer her on from the sidelines. "I was a junior hitter, a bench partner and then a player. I've worked my way up and to have them behind you, it gives you goosebumps," she said.


Match #4 - Kerkhove/Schuurs (NED) def. Williams/Williams (USA)
...6-2/6-3. Sure, it was a dead rubber. But Serena, albeit in a bit lesser form than we'll likely see down the line, is officially back... and Kerkhove & Schuurs added their names to the select list of players to have beaten Serena in Fed Cup play. The others: Errani/Pennetta in doubles in '15. And that's it. Only Sara Errani (2015) and Anastasiya Yakimova (2012) have taken *sets* off her in singles.


===============================================






[WORLD GROUP II]

Slovakia def. Russia 4-1
[Bratislava, SVK / HCI]
...In many ways, Russia's tie with Slovakia can be summed up with this...



A tie that didn't seem as if it'd have much drama suddenly had quite a bit of it on Day 1, only to see the threat of the Russian bear Hordettes suddenly peter out and the Slovaks escape with a rather deceptive-on-the-scoreboard 4-1 win, their first ever against Russia in Fed Cup competition. And, as usual, a questionable call -- whether it *truly* made a difference at all -- from Captain Anastasia Myskina leaves one's eyebrow decided raised.

[MVP]
Magdalena Rybarikova/SVK
...she only played one match, but it was a doozy. With SVK already down 1-0 against a Hordette team that arrived in Bratislava with a combined total of one FC singles win in their careers, the prospect of having to stage a comeback from 0-2 down (it *can* happen, as Russia did it vs. Slovakia in 2013) looked very real. Anna Kalinskaya, in her FC singles debut, led the match 7-5/3-1, only to see Rybarikova run off five straight games to force a 3rd set, where the Russian took a break lead at 4-3. At that point, Rybarikova's medical timeout took her off court for treatment on a back injury, while Kalinskaya stayed on court for a leg massage. When the Slovak veteran returned, the momentum permanently swung in her favor. She broke for 4-4, held from love/30 down, and then broke the teenager again to steal the match, save the day, and set the tone for the sort of effort it was going to take to win this tie. The 2:22 match was Rybarikova's first FC singles win since 2008.

===============================================
[FRESH FACE]
Viktoria Kuzmova/SVK
...finally, Backspin's 2018 "Name You'll Know..." honoree gets a signature win. Of course, it took a bit of sweating to get there. Kuzmova may very well be the future of SVK Fed Cup, so it was nice to see her get her chance. But after losing 4 & 2 to Natalia Vikhlyantseva in Match #1, then falling down a set vs. 16-year old Potapova in Match #4, things didn't look particularly good. But the 19-year old pulled her big game together and staged a comeback against Myskina's "substitute Anastasia," making her first FC victory a truly historic one, as it ended the nation's winless streak vs. the Hordettes and gave her her first "remember when..." moment. Her match-ending forehand put-away was downright epic.


===============================================
[DOWN]
Captain Anastasia Myskina/RUS
...the Captaina wasn't supposed to even have a team that would seriously contend in this tie, no matter that the Slovaks had never beaten Russia is three previous attempts. So why does it feel like the Hordettes squandered another one? Myskina's Day 1 choices almost worked to perfection, as Natalia Vikhlyantseva handled a debuting Kuzmova in straight sets, then 18-year old Anna Kalinskaya (in her FC singles debut) nearly took down Rybarikova in Match #2. It was only later when things got a little fishy, as they always seem to with Myskina. After Vikhlyantseva fell to Jana Cepelova, in for the physically compromised Rybarikova, to open Sunday's play, the former Czarina once again turned to Anastasia. Only this, without her favorite Pavlyuchenkova around to choose, she went with 16-year old Anastasia POTAPOVA, in her debut FC match, with Russia's survival in the tie on the line rather than go back to Kalinskaya. Once again, Myskina's gamble failed to pay off. Unlike with the unreliable Pavlyuchenkova, the Wimbledon junior champ, who just posted her first career WTA MD win a week ago, put up a good fight against Kuzmova. Potapova took the 1st set, but ultimately fell in three.
===============================================


Match #3 - Jana Cepelova/SVK def. Natalia Vikhlyantseva/RUS
...6-4/6-4. While Rybarikova's win over Kalinskaya, and even Kuzmova's over Potapova, will be the matches most remembered from this tie, save a spot for Cepelova's momentum-gathering victory over Vikhlyantseva to open Day 2. Cepelova was the unsung hero of this tie, as her win to give Slovakia a 2-1 lead simultaneously gave Rybarikova's comeback victory staying power *and* allowed Kuzmova a bit of wiggle room one match later. It also put extra pressure on the head of the even more inexperienced Potapova in that match, and maybe led a desperate Myskina down yet another wayward, MJF-like path in choosing to go with the FC newbie in the first place. A week after feeling the pressure in her come-from-ahead loss to Dasha Kasatkina in Saint Petersburg, those slight difference may have ultimately played a small part in Kuzmova's comeback, tie-clinching win. If so, a nod should go to Jana, no stranger herself to fighting through adversity.
===============================================



Australia def. Ukraine 3-2
[Canberra, AUS / Grass]
...the Aussies, hosting the first FC tie held on grass since 2009, were facing a seemingly overmatched Ukrainian team *without* the likes of Elina Svitolina and Lesia Tsurenko. It's a good thing, too. Otherwise, surely all the old (recent) Australian Fed Cup nightmares would have been resurrected once more. Even as it was, after a woeful weekend from Dasha Gavrilova (who, in an additional feat of strength, even managed to delete her delightful Instagram account while trying to fix a bug, and *then* started to wonder how to get it back), the Aussies had to essentially rely on a single player to pull the team away from the edge, taking things all the way to the deciding doubles before they could breathe easy. Thankfully, they had Ash. Ash Barty, that is.

[MVP]
Ash Barty/AUS
...if the Aussies were looking for a hero in Canberra, Barty easily stepped into the void. After exorcising a few Aussie FC demons with a three-set win over Lyudmyla Kichenok to kick things off, she put to rest (for now) any of Marta Kostyuk's 15-year old dreams by erasing the teenager's upset win over Dasha Gavrilova with a straight sets victory to open Day 2 to secure (at least) that the tie would head to the doubles, where she and Casey Dellacqua could take things in their capable hands. Another Gavrilova loss forced that hand, but it's hard to imagine anyone (maybe even Ukraine's Kichenok twins, their opponents) truly thought such a notion was something that the duo hadn't been looking forward to all along. Barty is now a combined 9-2 (4-1/5-1) in her Fed Cup career.


===============================================
[FRESH FACE]
Marta Kostyuk/UKR
...the 15-year old, on an ongoing Australian field trip that included an AO qualifying run and 3rd Round result followed up by a challenger title, added another Down Under memory as she made her FC debut in the #1 singles slot. Naturally, after being leery of the grass court surface, she defeated Dasha Gavrilova (who lists grass as her *favorite* surface) 7-6(3)/6-3 in her first match, out-hitting the Aussie 20-10 in winners in a match in which they combined for sixteen DF (Kostyuk-9, Gavrilova-7). Wise beyond her years, Kostyuk said what a would-be big-time champion *should* say about it all, refusing to read any fantasy elements into her success. "A fairytale is more like it happened once and you don’t know when it will happen again, so it’s just another great tournament for me," the said. She came back down to earth on Day 2, falling to Barty, a former Wimbledon junior champ herself, 2 & 3. Not that that will really matter in the long run, which looks rosier all the time for this one.


===============================================
[DOWN]
Dasha Gavrilova/AUS
...on the bright side, Gavrilova's 0-2 weekend didn't cost Australia what looked to be a gift-wrapped tie victory. But she's going to need to string together a few victories to fully wash away losing, at home, to a 15-year old (no matter how promising) in her FC debut on *Dasha's* favorite surface, and then turning around a day later and falling to Nadiia Kichenok, who hadn't played a competitive singles match in a year.
===============================================
[DOUBLES]
Ash Barty & Casey Dellacqua (AUS)
...quite possibly no team this weekend had a better "lifesaver" than Barty/Dellacqua. Even with all of Gavrilova's troubles in Canberra, the belief was always that *two* singles wins was all that was going to be necessary to defeat Ukraine. Not because the Kichenoks were a non-factor, but because it was hard to imagine Barty/Dellacqua losing under such circumstances on this surface, in this venue, on this sort of occasion. When the tie *did* depend on the four-time slam finalists (once at every major, though still maddeningly without a win), things were wrapped up 3 & 4 in sixty-five minutes and all the previous worries were quickly forgotten. They're now 5-1 in FC competition, with five straight wins (the only loss was their FC debut as a duo in 2013, vs. Hlavackova/Hradecka, when Barty was all of 16). On top of all that, this was a nice 33rd birthday present for Casey. The crowd even sang "Happy Birthday" for her.


===============================================


Match #3 - Ash Barty/AUS def. Marta Kostyuk/UKR 6-2/6-3
Match #4 - Nadiia Kichenok/UKR def. Dasha Gavrilova 4-6/6-2/6-3
Match #5 - Barty/Dellacqua (AUS) def. L.Kichenok/N.Kichenok (UKR) 6-3/6-4
...just your typical Aussie Fed Cup day of reckoning. Fist-clenching success, then near-despair... only this time the story had a surprise twist ending that left everyone smiling on their way home.
===============================================



Romania def. Canada 3-2
[Cluj-Napoca, ROU / HCI]
...in the first post-Nastase (for now, at least) tie, the Romanians started back down the road toward Fed Cup title contention after being so close to taking out the Czechs (something many have said in recent years, but never actually accomplished with a "chosen" Maiden roster since before 2011) two years ago. Fielding a "B+" team, one of several the Romanians said last week that they could form from the nation's talent pool, the Swarmettes experienced barely a blip in taking down Canada.


[MVP]
Irina-Camelia Begu/ROU
...with Simona Halep's pull-out with a lingering ankle injury after her Swarmette Warrior duty in Melbourne, Begu assumed the #1 mantle and carried the day. After taking a little extra time to get a win over Bianca Andreescu in Match #2, she came back on Sunday to clinch the win with a 2 & 4 victory over Katherine Sebov.


===============================================
[FRESH FACE]
Bianca Andreescu/CAN
...it wasn't the weekend of her dreams (a win, or two, a match vs. Simona) that the 17-year old (a combined 7-1 in FC play in '17) may have hoped for, but the Best Canadian Hope put up a good showing against Begu, briefly quieting the partisan crowd by taking a TB to force a 3rd set and fighting through injury to the end.


===============================================
Match #2 - Irina-Camelia Begu/ROU def. Bianca Andreescu/CAN
...6-3/6-7(4)/6-2. Andreescu didn't get on the court for a second match, but she *did* manage to post the "close loss" that seemed to be her destiny here as the Canadian, with Romanian heritage, played in front of a Romanian crowd with her tennis idol, Simona Halep, watching nearby.


===============================================




Italy def. Spain 3-2
[Chieti, ITA / RCI]
...let it be said. YET AGAIN. You should never, ever count out the Italians. Even when they seem on the verge of irrelevance. Even when they rightly *should* be on the verge of irrelevance. At this point, with Sara Errani hanging on, and a long-awaited NextGen finally starting to stir (21-year Deborah Chiesa emerged this weekend, weeks after Elisabetta Cocciaretto's AO girls semifinal run, and appeared in the dead rubber doubles match on Sunday), maybe Captain Tathiana Garbin (who got a win over new ESP Captain Anabel Medina Garrigues, who she last defeated -- in her only win over her -- in singles almost seventeen years ago) *won't* be just be a temporary placeholder until one of the retired-or-soon-to-be-so Quartet members takes over the reigns a short time down the road.


[MVP]
Sara Errani/ITA
...as the unquestioned leader of the Italian Fed Cup squad, (nearly) Last Quartet Member Standing Errani showed the youngsters what it means to fight like an Italian. After destroying Lara Arruabarrena on Saturday to even the tie, the veteran outlasted Carla Suarez-Navarro 6-3/3-6/6-3 in Sunday's opening match to put Team Italia within a single win of overall victory. Apparently, the NextGen was paying attention, since...
===============================================
[FRESH FACE]
Deborah Chiesa/ITA
...the 21-year old, a two-time ITF champ in '17 currently ranked #179, made her Fed Cup debut a memorable one, clinching Italy's return to the WG Playoffs with a three-set, two and a half hour win over Arruabarrena in which she overcame a 4-1 3rd set deficit, saved MP in the deciding TB and won it 9-7 on her second MP.


===============================================
[DOWN]
Lara Arruabarrena/ESP
...a case can be made that no player had a worse FC weekend (Dasha, put your hand down) than Arruabarrena. When she made her FC debut three seasons ago, the Spaniard's second singles match was an impressively-gained 9-7 3rd set victory over Argentina's Paula Ormaechea. Since then, though, Arruabarrena has gone 0-4 in singles, including a two-match sweep this weekend in Italy. Needing to post just one victory over two days to take things to the doubles, she lost 1 & 1 to Errani on Saturday. Though that was *the* worst singles scoreline of the twenty-nine World Group I and II singles matches contested over the weekend, that her opponent was a Fed Cup stalwart such as Errani lessened the disappointment. But a day later, with Spain trailing 2-1, Arruabarrena fell to the debuting Chiesa, as well. Scrambling after dropping the 1st set to lead 4-1 in the 3rd, she seemed set to carry her weight. Then it all fell apart. Things went to a TB, where Chiesa held a MP at 6-5, only to see Arruabarrena save it to hold her own MP at 7-6. It'd be the last lead she'd lose. Chiesa converted on her second MP at 8-7. In the end, Arruabarrena's performance failed to measure up to the respectable bar she'd set a year ago, when she went 0-2 vs. the Czechs, but at least pushed the likes of the more experienced Pliskova (4 & 5) and Strycova (4 & 4) before going down.
===============================================
Match #4 - Deborah Chiesa/ITA def. Lara Arruabarrena/ESP
...6-4/2-6/7-6(7). This tie seemed destined to go to the deciding doubles, but then Chiesa earned her Italian Fed Cup merit badge by taking on "the world" and winning, closing out the 2:28 match to move the Italians -- amazingly, yet again, even with something of a skeletal team -- within one victorious tie of returning to the World Group in 2019.
===============================================




[EUROPE/AFRICA I ZONE - Tallinn, Estonia / HCI]
...in the zone that featured the most "big name" stars, the two nations that were expected to prevail did just that. Oh, but their paths were *quite* different.

=Promotional Playoffs=

Great Britain def. Hungary 2-0
=Promotional Playoff=

Latvia def. Serbia 2-1
[MVP's]
Johanna Konta/GBR & Alona Ostapenko/Anastasija Sevastova (LAT)
...in her first FC outing since being on the end of Ilie Nastase's offensive attacks during last spring's tie with Romania, Konta grabbed the leadership role on the British team and didn't blink. In what was an 8-0 week for the Brits, Konta breezed when she should have -- dropping one game to Maria Joao Koehler -- and held firm when she needed to -- winning 4 & 2 sets after dropping the 1st in a TB in the key RR match-up with Anett Kontaveit and the host Estonian squad -- before defeating Fanni Stollar (who'd put up a spotless record in Pool play) 3 & 1 to clinch the PP win over Hungary in the Promotional Playoff.



Playing with a true "one-two" punch for the first time, Latvia seemed to have it made. As it turned out, the nation's FC squad needed *both* Alona Ostapenko and Anastasija Sevastova to get by, as twice in three ties they had to join forces to win a deciding doubles match to make up for an upset loss suffered by both woman earlier in the day. Ostapenko was the first to stumble, falling to Turkey's Cagla Buyukakcay in the the first round robin tie of the week. Ostapenko & Sevastova then won the doubles 6-1/6-1 over Aksu/Ozgen to pull out the 2-1 victory. After advancing to the Promotional Playoff, it happened again. This time it was Sevastova's loss to Serbian junior Olga Danilovic in the opening PP match that forced Ostapenko into action, first with a 2 & 1 singles win over Dejana Radanovic, then (w/ Sevastova by her side) with a 1 & 2 doubles win over Danilovic/Marinkovic to secure a spot in this spring's WG II Playoffs. Both players' FC duty goes back further than one would likely realize. Sevastova initially played for her country in 2005, but this week's action was her first since 2010; while Ostapenko was called upon early in her career as a 15-year old in 2013. With thirteen singles wins each, they're tied for the most ever by a Latvian in FC competition.

===============================================
[RISER]
Heather Watson/GBR
...while she did so in Konta's shadow, Watson also went undefeated for Team GBR in Tallinn. She had a bit more difficulty doing so, going 3-0 but twice in three ties dropping more games than Konta, though she was playing the lower-ranked opponent, including being forced to three sets by Hungarian teen Dalma Galfi (the "forgotten" member of Backspin's "Name You'll Know..." club heading into 2017) in the PP's opening match. Still, her efforts prevented doubles specialist Anna Smith (no longer w/ the now retired Jocelyn Rae) and 21-year old Katie Boulter from ever having to do anything other than cheer from their seats on the sideline. Watson is an impressive 28-9 (20-7 and 8-2) in her 30 career FC ties.
===============================================
[SURPRISES]
Cagla Buyukakcay/TUR and Dejana Radanovic/SRB
...Buyukakcay has racked up a series of "first player from Turkey to..." honors the last couple of seasons, though her results have somewhat leveled off over the last year or so. That changed when she opened up round robin play with a 6-2/3-6/6-3 win over Alona Ostapenko, the first Top 10 win of her career. She added an additional singles victory over Barbara Haas, as well as one in doubles, to increase her career FC record to 37-28 (24-15 singles). Hardly surprisingly, Buyukakcay is Turkey's career leader in singles and overall FC match wins. Pemra Ozgen leads in doubles wins (21) and total ties (50). Buyukakcay stands at 13 and 45, respectively, in those categories.

Radanovic, 21, went 2-0 in RR play in her FC singles debut week (she'd lost a doubles rubber in '17), defeating Viktoriya Tomova (BUL) before falling to a scrambling-to-stay-alive Latvian Thunder in the PP's Match #2. The 21-year old won four ITF challenger titles in 2017.
===============================================
[JUNIOR STAR]
Olga Danilovic/SRB
...with Aleksanda Krunic not present in Tallinn, and Ivana Jorovic never seeing the court, it was 17-year old Danilovic who pulled heavy duty, playing in six of Serbia's nine total matches. For the most part, she was a better-than-could-have-been-expected weapon for the Bracelettes. Though she was 0-3 in doubles in her FC debut, she went 3-0 in singles, including RR wins over Isabella Shinikova (3rd set TB), Sofia Shapatava (3 & 0) and, in the PP, Anastasija Sevastova. Danilovic's stunning 2 & 4 victory over Sevastova, ranked 289 spots higher than her at #15, is now officially her career zenith. Of course, she's just getting started. As a junior, she's ranked as high as #9 (her current spot), reached last year's U.S. Open singles QF, and has picked up three junior doubles slam crowns ('16 RG, '17 WI & U.S.).

===============================================
Europe/Africa I Pool A Round Robin Match #2 - Cagla Buyukakcay/TUR def. Alona Ostapenko/LAT
...6-2/3-6/6-3. No matter what happened by the end of the weekend, the most significant result in Tallinn was still the one that occurred on Wednesday.


===============================================



[ASIA/OCEANIA I ZONE - New Delhi, India / HCO]
...in a rematch of last February's A/O Promotional Playoff, a 2-1 victory by Kazakhstan, Japan got a measure of revenge in a total team effort. While winning eleven of twelve matches in four ties spread across the week, each of the four team members had a hand in a least three victories. In the 2-1 win over the Kazakhs in the PP, all four players participated in live matches.

=Promotional Playoff=

Japan def. Kazakhstan 2-1
[MVP]
Miyu Kato/Makoto Ninomiya (JPN)
...in the first Fed Cup tie for both 23-year olds, Kato & Ninomiya went undefeated (3-0) in round robin play, then were thrust into the pressure situation of contesting the deciding doubles in the Promotional Playoff vs. Kazakhstan. They took out the pair of Zarina Diyas & Yulia Putintseva, who'd both played singles earlier in the day, in a 6-4/7-5 match.


===============================================
[RISERS]
Kurumi Nara/JPN, Nao Hibino/JPN & Japan's FC future
...while the doubles team finished off Japan's week, the singles stars got the nation into winning position. 26-year old Nara went 3-0, defeating Diyas to open the PP, while 23-year old Hibino was 3-1, notching a win over Luksika Kumkhum in round robin play before falling to Putintseva in the PP in Japan's only defeat in twelve matches. Kato, too, contributed a singles victory. Meanwhile, the nation's (even younger) top-ranked player (20-year old Naomi Osaka) sat out this tie, while a handful of other Top 200 players -- Risa Ozaki (23), Misaki Doi (26), Eri Hozumi (23) and Mayo Hibi (21) -- also weren't on the roster. Few teams have as many moveable parts to play with as does Captain Toshihisa Tsuchihashi, allowing for success such as this even while not having to depend too heavily on any single player.
===============================================
[SURPRISE]
Ankita Raina/IND
...the highest-ranked singles player in India (#253), Raina's was her nation's tennis star of the week. The 25-year old posted wins over #81 Yulia Putintseva (KAZ's only loss in RR play) and #120 Zhu Lin while compiling a 4-0 singles record. Her only losses came in doubles, inclduing a deciding doubles match (w/ Prarthana Tombare) vs. the Kazakhs. India's 2-0 sweep of Taiwan in the Relegation Playoff secured the nation's spot the A/O I zone.


===============================================
[FRESH FACE]
Karman Kaur Thandi/IND
...the 19-year old, likely the future of the Indian FC team, posted her first two-week week representing her nation in Fed Cup play. She posted wins over Eudice Chong and Lee Pei-chi in Robin and in the relegation playoff.


===============================================
[DOWN]
China
...China had a better-than-usual FC roster that included the likes of Wang Yafan and Zhu Lin. Still, the nation lost out on taking Pool 1 due to a 3-0 loss to Kazakhstan.
===============================================
Asia/Oceania I Pool A Round Robin Match #2 - Ankita Raina/IND def. Yulia Putintseva/KAZ
...6-3/1-6/6-4. Fed Cup is often shunted aside and ignored, but for the vast majority of the players involved on all levels of the competition it provides some of the most memorable moments of their entire career. Raina's win over Putintseva had such a moment, notching the biggest win over her career, in her nation's longest-ever FC match (2:53), in front of a home crowd that included her mother.


Asia/Oceania I Promotional Playoff Match #1 - Kumumi Nara/JPN def. Zarina Diyas/KAZ 7-5/6-4
Asia/Oceania I Promotional Playoff Match #3 - Miyu Kato/Makoto Ninomiya (JPN) def. Zarina Diyas/Yulia Putintseva (KAZ) 6-4/7-5
...after going a combined 5-0 without losing a set during the week, Diyas has a hand in both close losses in the PP, yet again leaving Kazakhstan with a taste of disappointment for another year. It's the only consistent thing about the nation's once-promising Fed Cup prospects.
===============================================



[AMERICAS I ZONE - Asuncion, Paraguay / RCO]
...the Americas I zone play included a slew of do-or-die moments for the nations leading the charge in the mini-comeback from the continent that has played out over the last season or so, with Brazil and Argentina facing off for a berth in the Promotional Playoff, and then Brazil going up against Paraguay in the Saturday PP tie delayed for hours by rain, and then ultimately decided in a 3:20 singles match between South America's top two ranked players, #59 Beatriz Haddad Maia and #84 Veronica Cepede Royg.

=Promotional Playoff=

Paraguay def. Brazil 2-0
[MVP]
Veronica Cepede Roug/PAR
...VCR suffered the only singles loss by a Paraguayan player (vs. Daniela Seguel in pool play) in front of the home crowd, but she took down the biggest fish in the proverbial pond in an instant classic in the Promotional Playoff vs. Brazil. Her teaming with Montserrat Gonzalez to win a deciding doubles match over Guarachi/Seguel provided the victory that advanced Paraguay into the Promotional Playoff. There, after Gonzalez opened the tie with a singles win, Cepede Royg and Haddad Maia saw their match suspended with the Brazilian leading 4-3 in the 1st set. Hours later, after day had turned into night, Haddad took a late break lead in the 3rd, only to see VCR break back and force a deciding TB (with a rule change, the long, drawn out final sets in FC play are now history). The Paraguayan held triple MP at 6-3, only to see Haddad save all three and hold three MP of her own. The Brazilian DF'd on #3 up 9-8, leading to VCR finally securing the win and clinching the tie victory on MP #4 to take the breaker 11-9, ending a match that lasted 3:20 between the lines, but much longer when you factor in the rain delay.

===============================================
[RISER]
Beatriz Haddad Maia/BRA
...Haddad was tasked with putting the entire Brazilian team on her shoulders in Asuncion, and she nearly pulled it off. She had a hand in recording five of Brazil's seven round robin match wins (3-0 singles, 2-0 doubles), including a three-set deciding doubles victory with Luisa Stefani over Maria Irigoyen/Catalina Pella in the Pool play-ending 2-1 win over Argentina that decided a berth in the Promotional Playoff. In the PP, Haddad had to defeat Cepede Royg to force another deciding doubles clash in a match delayed for hours after a rain stoppage seven games into the 1st set. After saving triple MP, Haddad had three MP of her own. But after double-faulting up 9-8 in the 3rd set TB, the Brazilian didn't win another point.
===============================================
[FRESH FACE]
Montserrat Gonzalez/PAR
...Asuncion-born Gonzalez went 3-0 in singles (and 3-0 in doubles w/ VCR, including a tie-deciding win over Chile to get Paraguay into the PP) during the week for the promoted Paraguayan team, including a 1 & 3 win over Nathaly Kurata in the opening match of the PP vs. Brazil. The 23-year old is now a combined 38-15 in her FC career (19-12/19-3).
===============================================
[COMEBACK]
Paula Ormaechea/ARG
...having completed her comeback from January '17 wrist surgery, Ormaechea played FC for Argentina for the first time since 2015. She did all that she could in the ultimately unsuccessful attempt to escape Pool play, going 3-0 in singles in round robin play (then adding a fourth win in the 3rd/4th place tie victory over Colombia).

???????? seguimossss #FedCup #VamosArgentina

A post shared by Paula Ormaechea (@paulaormaechea) on


===============================================
[JUNIOR STAR]
Emiliana Arango/COL
...the 17-year old recorded a round robin win over Chile's Alexa Guarachi, and lost by a respectable 4 & 3 score to Montserrat Gonzalez.

#fedcup2018

A post shared by Emiliana Arango (@emiarango) on


===============================================
Americas I Promotional Playoff Match #2 - Veronica Cepede Royg/PAR def. Beatriz Haddad Maia/BRA
...6-7(2)/7-5/7-6(9). Who knows what drama may have played out if the old play-it-out 3rd set rule had been around for this one. As it was, it still took 3:20, with Haddad staving off triple MP, then VCR saving three of her own before finally closing out the Brazilians.


Americas I Pool B Round Robin Match #3 - Haddad Maia/Stefani (BRA) def. Irigoyen/Pella (ARG)
...6-1/3-6/6-2. Irigoyen had teamed with Stephanie Mariel Petit for a pair of round robin wins earlier in the week, but with a spot in the PP on the line Captain Marcelo Gomez went with Pella, who was coming off a three-set loss to Haddad in Match #2, but had paired with Irigoyen in a deciding doubles win over Brazil in 2016. Ultimately, the rolling of the dice didn't pay off for the Argentines... but the extra court time for Haddad may have helped the Paraguayans prevail in the PP a day later.
===============================================



[ASIA/OCEANIA II ZONE - Isa Town, Bahrain / HCO]
...in the island nation of Bahrain, situated between Qatar and Saudi Arabia, a collection of NCAA players ultimately battled to the finish, with one of the winning nations (Pacific Oceania) consisting of a combination of teammates hailing from Papua New Guinea, Western Samoa and the Northern Mariana Islands, captained by a Tahiti native. Ah, Fed Cup zone play.

=Promotional Playoff=

Indonesia def. Uzbekistan 2-0
=Promotional Playoff=

Pacific Oceania def. Singapore 2-1
[MVP's]
Abigail Tere-Apisah/PNG and Beatrice Gumulya/INA
...in recent months, former Georgia State player Tere-Apisah, 25, nearly became the first player from Papua New Guinea to compete in a slam MD, only to lose in the Asia/Pacific Australian Open Wild Card tournament final to teenager Wang Xinyu last December. Over the past week, she led the combined Pacific Oceania team to an Asia/Oceania II Promotional Playoff win over Singapore, defeating Stefanie Tan (ex-TCU) in three sets to force a deciding doubles match, and then teaming with Samoa's Steffi Carruthers there for a 6-1/6-1 victory. Tere-Apisah is the aunt of Violet, who reached the girls doubles final at last month's AO, and the sister of Marcia, who played tennis with her at Georgia State.



27-year old Gumulya (#914), formerly of Clemson University, went 4-0 in Indonesia's journey to the A/O II PP victory, a week highlighted by a 4-6/7-5/7-5 win over Uzbekistan's Sabina Sharipova to clinch in match #2 what was a shutout win (3-0) in the tie.


===============================================
[SURPRISE]
Stephanie Tan/SGP
...the 27-year old former TCU star lost in three sets to Tere-Apisah while attempting to close out the PP tite for Singapore, then lost again the deciding doubles. But her week was still quite good, and included victories over Ksenia Palkina and Katharina Lehnert.

And, of course, when in Bahrain...

?????? ????

A post shared by Stefanie Tan (@stefanietan_) on


===============================================
[COMEBACK]
Indonesia
...good Fed Cup weeks have been few and far between for Indonesia the last couple of decades. But, as noted earlier, the nation *did* play in the FC quarterfinals back in 1991, and put up a pretty good fight against a Spanish team that included Arantxa Sanchez Vicario and Conchita Martinez.
===============================================
[FRESH FACE]
Aldila Sutjiadi/INA
...the 22-year old (#926), a player for the University of Kentucky, went 4-0 in singles play, and notched a winner over veteran Akgul Amanmuradova in Indonesia's successful PP effort against the favored Uzbekistan squad. Sutjiadi is now 9-0 in FC singles for her career, as well as 4-1 in doubles.


===============================================
[DOUBLES]
Abigail Tere-Apisah/Steffi Carruthers (PNG/SAM)
...aka Steffi Faasusivaitele Hearthington Carruthers, that is. The first Samoan woman in pro tennis, she won two ITF doubles titles in 2015, making her also the first to do so from the nations that make up the Pacific Oceania team. The 24-year old's teaming with Tere-Apisah to win the WG II Promotional Playoff deciding doubles matches over Singapore surely adds another highlight to her career resume.
===============================================
Asia/Oceania II Promotional Playoff Match #2 - Abigail Tere-Apisah/PNG def. Stefanie Tan/SGP
2-6/6-2/6-4. So close. A win from Tan would have clinched the PP win for Singapore.
===============================================




**FED CUP TITLES**
18 - United States
10 - Czech Republic/Czechoslovakia
7 - Australia
5 - Spain
4 - Italy
4 - Russia
2 - France
2 - West Germany/Germany
1 - Belgium
1 - Slovakia
1 - South Africa
[Finals since 2010]
5...Czech Republic (5-0)
3...Russia (0-3)
2...Italy (2-0)
2...United States (1-1)
1...Belarus (0-1)
1...France (0-1)
1...Germany (0-1)
1...Serbia (0-1)



=2018 Semifinals (April)=
United States at France
Czech Republic at Germany
=World Group I Playoff Teams (April)=
Australia
Belarus
Belgium
Italy
Netherlands
Romania
Slovakia
Switzerland
=World Group II Playoff Teams (April)=
Canada
Great Britain
Japan
Latvia
Paraguay
Russia
Spain
Ukraine



ITF PLAYER:Rebecca Marino/CAN
...after five years away, Marino's return to action has gone rather swimmingly so far. With her second of back-to-back $15K titles in Antalya, the Canadian improved to 12-0 with a 6-1/6-4 victory in the final over Nina Stadler. Now with seven career challenger titles, she hasn't lost in a final for almost eight years. ;)



$25K Grenoble Final - Fiona Ferro def. Eleonora Molinaro
...6-4/6-7(5)/7-6(3). Another of the Pastries not in France to provide assistance to Mladenovic, 20-year old Ferro picked up her first career pro singles title in her fifth final run. 17-year old Molinaro from Luxembourg had been 12-0 in ITF action in '18 (and 4-1 in juniors).


Meanwhile, in Gibbsy Land...






































DOHA, QATAR (Premier/Hard Outdoor)
=WS FINALS=
2001 Martina Hingis d. Sandrine Testud
2002 Monica Seles d. Tamarine Tanasugarn
2003 Anastasia Myskina d. Elena Likhovtseva
2004 Anastasia Myskina d. Svetlana Kuznetsova
2005 Maria Sharapova def. Alicia Molik
2006 Nadia Petrova d. Amelie Mauresmo
2007 Justine Henin d. Svetlana Kuznetsova
2008 Maria Sharapova d. Vera Zvonareva
2009-10 NOT HELD
2011 Vera Zvonareva d. Caroline Wozniacki
2012 Victoria Azarenka d. Samantha Stosur
2013 Victoria Azarenka d. Serena Williams
2014 Simona Halep d. Angelique Kerber
2015 Lucie Safarova d. Victoria Azarenka
2016 Carla Suarez-Navarro d. Alona Ostapenko
2017 Karolina Pliskova d. Caroline Wozniacki
=WD FINALS=
2001 Testud/Vinci d. Boogert/Oremans
2002 Husarova/Sanchez Vicario d. Fusai/Vis
2003 Lee/Prakusya d. Vento-Kabchi/Widjaja
2004 Kuznetsova/Likhovtseva d. Husarova/C.Martinez
2005 Schiavone/Molik d. Black/Huber
2006 Hantuchova/Sugiyama d. Li Ting/Sun Tiantian
2007 Hingis/Kirilenko d. Szavay/Uhlirova
2008 Peschke/Stubbs d. Black/Huber
2009-10 NOT HELD
2011 Peschke/Srebotnik d. Huber/Petrova
2012 Huber/Raymond d. Kops-Jones/Spears
2013 Errani/Vinci d. Petrova/Srebotnik
2014 Hsieh/Peng d. Peschke/Srebotnik
2015 Kops-Jones/Spears d. Hsieh/Mirza
2016 Chan/Chan d. Errani/Suarez-Navarro
2017 Spears/Srebotnik d. Savchuk/Shvedova
=======================================
'18 TOP SEEDS
WS: #1 Wozniacki, #2 Halep
WD: #1 Makarova/Vesnina, #2 L.Chan/Sestini Hlavackova

...a packed draw. with nine of the Top 10, thirteen of the Top 15 (only #8 Venus and #12 Sloane aren't in Qatar). We could see Wozniacki/Sharapova in the 3rd Round, with Kerber vs. the winner. Svitolina/Kvitova (3rd) vs. Goerges/Ostapenko winner, too. And that's just in the top half. Garcia/Mladenovic (3rd) vs. Mertens/Muguruza, Ka.Pliskova/Keys (3rd) vs. Halep is hanging around, as well. Once again, the #1 ranking is a stake. I was going to do picks this week, but I had second thoughts when I realized that so many contenders were moving over *after* also playing Fed Cup. So I'll wait to do predictions for Dubai next week. I will take on the doubles, though.

=SF=
#4 Babos/Mladenovic d. #1 Makarova/Vesnina
#3 Safarova/Strycova d. Krejcikova/Siniakova
=FINAL=
#4 Babos/Mladenovic d. #3 Safarova/Strycova


All for now.
↧
↧

Wk.7- Oh! Petra!

February 18, 2018, 7:22 pm
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Hey, who doesn't like a good revival? Especially if it just might turn out to be *more* fulfilling than the original production.



In Doha, the WTA's transformation into the Petra Tour continued for a *third* boffo week. Of course, we've seen similar versions of this award-winning show before. Petra Kvitova has run roughshod for rounds and weeks on end in the past, firing aces and thudding winners and often leading nearly every available Hall of Famer to arrive to see her in person (usually in London) in order to play homage and gather at the feet of the would-be new leader. They've been wonderful, Petra-affirming moments. Only, eventually, something always went awry.

In seasons past, right when many have expected to see her rise, the asthma-suffering Kvitova has proceeded to go down hard, and sometimes have a tough time getting back up. At some point, she would, and then the same cycle would begin anew. The first occasion happened when she won her maiden Wimbledon title in 2011, then three years later when she reached slam final #2 on the AELTC lawns in 2014. Alas, she's yet to reach a third major final. In fact, she's only gone as far as a slam QF twice in the nearly four years that have passed since she became a multiple slam title winner.

With her current run of near-greatness, might that change -- big time -- in 2018?

With Kvitova probably the most well-liked player on tour, one would be hard-pressed to find a soul who'd ever wish ill will or even truly root against all good things happening for her. That was the case before her home invasion scare in December 2016, and it's surely the case today. But, the question remains. Will this revival, too, be a lavishly-praised short-lived celebration of all things being possible, or something a bit closer to a permanent fixture? Or, at least something nicely, and satisfyingly, positioned somewhere between the two?

If the Czech's health and fitness, which usually go hand-in-hand, can be maintained -- and that has, and likely remains, a bigger "if" than most would wish -- maybe the "Petra era," or one where it *always* seems possible, that so many first envisioned seven (!) years ago very well could come to pass in 2018. We've certainly seen the early signs of what such a reality might be like. And much of the tour would have good reason to shudder, Petra-fied, at the thought, wouldn't they?



No matter what is to come, it's great to be able to enjoy it, and see Kvitova enjoying it, too.

It's a rare occasion when we collectively both realize what we had and nearly lost, as we did when Kvitova's career (or worse) nearly tragically ended fourteen months ago, and *then* get the opportunity to truly immerse ourselves in the experience all over again. Let alone having the revival possess the possibility of being an even *more* enjoyable ride than the original run, as glorious as it felt, could have ever hoped to be in its more innocent form. But, where Kvitova is concerned, we did, and now we are, and we still very well could. It doesn't get much better than that, does it? We -- and she -- know more now than we did before, and that makes it something of a crime to *not* appreciate today, and yesterday and, you know, the last three weeks.

Oh, Petra.



*WEEK 7 CHAMPIONS*
DOHA, QATAR (Premier 5/Hard Outdoor)
S: Petra Kvitova/CZE def. Garbine Muguruza/ESP 3-6/6-3/6-4
D: Gaby Dabrowski/Alona Ostapenko (CAN/LAT) d. Andreja Klepac/Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez (SLO/ESP) 6-3/6-3


PLAYER OF THE WEEK:Petra Kvitova/CZE
...Kvitova's reign of good-natured, but still oh-so-lethal, dominance continued in Doha. While it often occurred under a bit more harried circumstances than in Saint Petersburg and Prague, where she rarely left any doubt about her conquests, it may have been a more lasting type of accomplishment. While on the edge of seeing exhaustion just around the corner, Kvitova had to battle nearly all week. After a quick 1st Round win over Cagla Buyukakcay (she wasn't ranked high enough to get a bye and didn't get much post-Fed cup rest), she lost the 1st set and had to win in three over Aga Radwanska. She handled #3 Elina Svitolina 4 & 5, then got a bit of a break when #10 Julia Goerges retired in the 2nd set. But the biggest fights were yet to come. #1 Caroline Wozniacki twice served for the match in the 2nd set of their semifinal, but Kvitova took the 2nd and won in three to record her fifth career #1 win (two have been over the Dane). In the final, she again had to come back from a set down vs. #4 Garbine Muguruza, constantly staving off BP chances -- any of which may have led to her doom in the match -- in the 2nd and 3rd sets en route to claiming her 22nd career title.



Kvitova's four Top 10 wins this week give her a total of six (with wins over #6 Alona Ostapenko and then-#10 Mladenovic in Russia) such victories during her 13-match winning streak. After knocking Mladenovic out of the Top 10 two weeks ago, her win in the Doha final will next knock out Goerges (0-2 vs. Petra during this run) on Monday as Kvitova bypasses a return to the Top 20 and jumps from #21 to #10.
===============================================
RISERS:Garbine Muguruza/ESP and Simona Halep/ROU
...Muguruza had a "Remember me?" sort of week in Doha. She posted wins over Duan Yingying, Sorana Cirstea and Caroline Garcia (winning 11 of 15 games to close out a 3-6/6-1/6-4 victory) before getting a walkover into the final when Halep withdrew with a foot injury. That she didn't ultimately win the title, as she failed to put away a series of BP chances in the 2nd and 3rd sets as Kvitova claimed the lasting headlines, sort of holds the line of the majority of her career. Like the Czech, both have won a pair of slam titles, but only Muguruza has held the #1 ranking. She has an odd standing amongst the all-time WTA #1's. She's won fewer career titles (5) than any of the twenty-four other women to be ranked #1, but six of those (Wozniacki, Safina, Jankovic, Halep, Ivanovic and Pliskova) have failed to win as many majors as she has, and four with many more weeks at #1 (between 51 -- Azarenka -- and 22 -- Austin -- weeks in total at the top) have only won the *same* number of slams as Muguruza, who is likely a good bet to salt away at least one more before she's finished. So that Garbi declared this week, her first since bringing aboard Conchita Martinez as a team member (sort of like what happened last summer at SW19 when the former Wimbledon champ stepped in for an absent Sam Sumyk), a big success as her objective was to get matches and (one expects) prepare for the even *bigger* events a few months from now, is hardly a surprise. Mugu often lurks in the shadows, sometimes playing great and sometimes not, only to emerge in oft-dominant fashion to claim *the* biggest titles on the schedule.



Halep's sudden pull-out following her QF win over CiCi Bellis was a bit of a surprise. Not because we didn't know she was still dragging an injury from Melbourne (in this case, a second one not related to that ankle roll in the early rounds), considering she'd since talked about still playing with pain, but because she'd looked so good all week. Wins over Ekaterina Makarova (3 & love), Anastasija Sevastova (4 & 3) and Bellis (love & 4) had her and others eyeing a possible return to the #1 ranking immediately after Doha, rather than stepping away to rest the injury until at least Indian Wells. Perhaps that's why Halep spoke with an annoyed, frustrated tone when she answered questions about her continuing predicament. Still, with her game so dependent on her feet (with which she's often had injury issues), and with the clay court season (with perhaps her best slam chance in '18) not far off, the Swarmette Queen *must* be secure below the knees if she's to maximize her upcoming spring schedule. So it was must-do decision. At 14-1 on the season (not counting the walkover), Halep is just 45 points behind #1 Wozniacki, and with the Dane deciding not to defend her Dubai final points in Week 8 the Romanian will still (at least temporarily) reclaim the #1 ranking on February 26.



===============================================
SURPRISE:Mihaela Buzarenscu/ROU
...the 29-year old Swarmette who earned her Ph.D. while she waited out an injury layoff and questioned whether she'd return to the sport, continues to shine in good health and form. In Doha, Dr.Buzanescu knocked off Lesia Tsurenko, then posted her first career Top 10 victory with a win over Alona Ostapenko before falling to Julia Goerges in the 3rd Round. Since starting 2017 at #540, she's won seven ITF titles and reached two more challenger finals, as well as her first on the WTA tour (Week 2 in Hobart), made her tour and slam debut (in the same match at Flushing Meadows, then, reached a semi in her second in Linz last fall)... and will begin the coming week at a new career-high of #39.



===============================================
VETERANS:Caroline Wozniacki/DEN and Julia Goerges/GER
...though she held onto the #1 ranking (for now) with her semifinal result -- with wins over Carina Witthoeft, Monica Niculescu, and in three sets over Angelique Kerber -- combined with Halep's final four withdrawal, Wozniacki's week will likely be remembered as the one in which her twelve-match semifinal winning streak came to an end at the hands of Kvitova, though the Dane *did* twice serve for the match against the Czech. Wozniacki is the only player to reach tour finals in Doha and Dubai in the same season on two occasions, doing so in 2011 (Dubai W, Doha RU) and again last year (Doha RU, Dubai RU).

Meanwhile, Goerges had another good week (she's 12-3 in '18, and 21-3 since late last season) in Doha, surrounding a victory over Buzarnescu with a virtual "test-run" against the Czech Fed Cup squad should she join Germany's semifinal effort vs. the Maidens this spring. She notched wins over both Lucie Safarova and Barbora Strycova, only to fall to Kvitova due to her early 2nd set retirement with a hip injury. She stated afterward that she'd been playing with the injury all week, and joked with Kvitova at the net that the Czech made it worse by running her all over the court en route to her SECOND win over the German during Petra's current win streak. Naturally, Kvitova's claiming of the title on Sunday *also* pushes Goerges out of the Top 10 in the new rankings. But, hey, what can you do when Petra is intent on a revival?
===============================================
COMEBACK:Angelique Kerber/GER
...with her two-win QF run in Doha, Kerber improved her 2018 record to 12-3 (not counting her four-win Hopman Cup effort). The German didn't win her twelfth match a season ago until the round before she fell to Venus Williams in the Miami QF. After a straight sets victory over Sam Stosur, Kerber came back from a set down to defeat Johanna Konta, pushing her record this season after dropping the opening set to 4-1 after going 3-22 in such circumstances during her disappointing '17 campaign. She had an opportunity to add another win to the total in the QF vs. Caroline Wozniacki (or even avoid it altogether, as she *did* serve for the 1st serve). Kerber broke the Dane to open the 3rd and was up 40/love in game #2 only to see the world #1 rally and get the win. Still ranked #9, Kerber is in the third spot behind Wozniacki and Halep in the 2018 Points Race.


===============================================
FRESH FACES:CiCi Bellis/USA and Anna Blinkova/RUS
...a year ago in Dubai, Bellis recorded her first Top 10 win with a victory over then-#6 Aga Radwanska. Last week she returned to the Middle East in Doha and got her first career Top FIVE win, taking out #5 Karolina Pliskova (the defending champ) in straight sets in a 3rd Round match that followed a successful Q-run and earlier wins over Dasha Kasatkina (2nd set ret.) and Madison Keys (coming back from dropping the 1st set and winning a love 3rd in windy conditions). The (still only) 18-year old ultimately fell in the QF to Simona Halep in two sets, but put enough pressure on the Romanian that she felt additional pain in her injured foot to pulled out of the tournament after the match. Bellis is up to #41 this week, not far off her career-high of #35.



Meanwhile, 19-year old Blinkova served notice to the currently reigning Hordette generation. The Russian qualified in Doha with wins over Jana Fett and countrywoman Ekaterina Alexadrova, then defeated another Hordette in Elena Vesnina in the 1st Round. An upset over Kristina Mladenovic (her first Top 20 win) followed before a tight 7-6(3)/7-5 3rd Round loss to another Pastry, Caroline Garcia. Blinkova, who has opened Week 8 with a Q1 win over #1-seed Denisa Allertova (AO 4th Rd.) in Budapest, will climb thirty-eight spots to #126 on Monday, just twelve spots behind her career-high of #114.


===============================================
DOWN:Latisha Chan/Andrea Sestini-Hlavackova (TPE/CZE)
...sometimes good individual parts don't always fit together perfectly. While Chan and new partner Hlavackova haven't performed poorly -- though their 2nd Round loss on in Doha to Fed Cup stars Kato & Ninomiya is their worst result in four '18 outings -- the duo's track record so far doesn't show a great deal of promise when it comes to Chan holding onto the #1 ranking she earned while teaming with Martina Hingis last season, and which she finally took over sole possession of from her now-retired partner heading into Week 7 (as the Swiss Miss has continued to allow her results to be accounted for in the rankings... make of that what you will, I suppose). They've gone a combined 8-4 so far, with SF-RU-QF results prior to their early loss last week. A season ago, Chan was 53-7 with Hingis, winning nine titles (and reaching another final) in sixteen events together, with their longest title-less periods being just a pair of two-event stretches (Doha/Dubai and Wimbledon/Toronto). Chan also won a title with her sister Hao-Ching ("Angel"). Latisha hasn't won a tour-level doubles title with anyone other than Hingis or her sibling since 2010, and through two months of the new season as the world #1 that's *still* the case. At some point, with Chan/Hlavackova the #5-ranked duo in the '18 Points Race, the #1 doubles ranking may be "open for business" in a come-one-come-all scenario if Chan doesn't begin to hold onto her collected ranking points. First to challenge could be the "next-up" duo of Makarova/Vesnina, though they will be trying to defend a title in Dubai this week, and also won Wimbledon last summer, and don't pair on a week-in, week-out basis on tour. For the record, Chan's early exit in Doha will allow Hingis to *again* re-claim a portion of the top WD ranking, as they'll be co-#1's yet again in the new rankings.
===============================================
ITF PLAYER:Rebecca Marino/CAN
...well, once could get used to this, huh? After a five year absence, Marino returned to action three weeks ago. She still hasn't lost. For the third straight week in Antalya, Turkey the Canadian claimed a $15K challenger crown. While her 30-set streak was ended by #1-seeded Ekaterine Gorgodze in the semifinals, Marino improved to 17-0 with wins over the #8, #4 and #7 (Italy's Gaia Sanesi in a 6-2/6-1 final) seeds during the week. Marino has now won 34 of 35 sets during the stretch, and will see her ranking rise to just outside the Top 625.
===============================================
JUNIOR STAR:Maria Camila Osorio Serrano/COL
...the 16-year old, #6-ranked girl didn't compete in Melbourne, but she's been dominating the other junior competition in 2018. In Paraguay's Asuncion Bowl, the #1-seeded Colombian claimed her third consecutive Grade 1 title (after runs at the Coffee Bowl and Barranquilla events in January), extending her winning streak to sixteen matches with victories over the #4 (Hailey Baptiste) and #9 (Katie Volynets) seeds, then Argentina's Ana Geller (the girls #150, and sister of '17 Wimbledon & U.S. Open boys singles finalist Axel) in the 15-year old's first career Grade 1 final.


===============================================
DOUBLES:Gaby Dabrowski & Alona Ostapenko (CAN/LAT)
...while Dabrowski has already had a banner '18 season in doubles, winning Sydney with Xu Yifan and the AO Mixed Doubles with Mate Pavic (who started *his* season a combined 22-0 in MD/MX before losing in a final this weekend), Ostapenko has used doubles to fill in some of the blanks of his (so far) inconsistent singles performance this season. A week after combining with Anastastija Sevastova to win a pair of deciding doubles matches to lift their country into this spring's WG II Playoffs, Latvian Thunder fell in the 2nd Round in Doha singles, but combined with Dabrowski to get the time on court that her earlier loss caused her to missed out on (always a good thing when a player is a semi-slow out of the gate as Ostapenko has been in '18 after a hectic offseason). The pair lost a set in their opening match against Melichar/Peschke, winning a 10-8 TB to advance, then swept through the field the rest of the way en route to the title. #3-seeds Safarova/Strycova retired just three games into the 1st set, then Dabrowski/Ostapenko handled K.Bondarenko/Krunic, Krejcikova/Siniakova and Klepac/Martinez Sanchez (who'd won three straight 3rd set TB to get to the final) without losing more than seven total games in any match. Their first title as a pair, it's the seventh of Dabrowski career and Ostapenko's third (in three finals). The 25-year old Dabrowski will now become the fourth Canadian woman to reach the WTA Top 10 in singles or doubles, joining Genie Bouchard (#5 WS), Carling Bassett-Seguso (#8 WS), and Jill Hetherington (#6 WD) when she debuts at #8 on Monday.


===============================================


Once again, it was time for the felines to roam free in Doha...





1. Doha Final - Petra Kvitova def. Garbine Muguruza
...3-6/6-3/6-4. In their first meeting in a final, Kvitova staged vs. the Spaniard what was her last of many comebacks during the week. Muguruza raced to a 5-0 lead in the 1st while the Czech was trying to find her serve, as she fired at just a 48% clip (vs. 75% for Garbi) in the set. While she continuously faced danger on serve for the rest of the match, she *always* found a way to prevail. She saved BP and held for 2-1 and 3-2 leads in the 2nd, broke to go up 4-2, then saved BP again in game #7 en route to evening the match with a 6-3 set win. Kvitova improved her serve percentage to 68% in the 2nd, and out-hit Muguruza 16-4 in winners. In the 3rd, it was a similar story. The Czech saved BP for a hold for 2-2, broke Muguruza a game later, then saved BP again in game #6 on her way to finally putting the Spaniard away to pick up her 13th straight victory. She's now 4-1 vs. Muguruza.


===============================================


2. Doha SF - Petra Kvitova def. Caroline Wozniacki
...3-6/7-6(3)/7-5. The Czech and the Dane tangled for 2:35, trading off attempts in the 2nd and 3rd sets to serve out the match. First, Wozniacki served up 6-3/5-4 (a love break), then 6-5, in the 2nd. Kvitova won a TB to force a 3rd set, where she held from 15/30 (even w/ two DF, of the eleven she had on the day) for 4-4, broke a game later, and served for the match at 5-4. She was broken by the Dane, but then broke back a game later and finally served out the match. The win, Kvitova's 12th straight, ended Wozniacki's 12-match semifinal unbeaten streak (it's the first time she failed in an attempt to reach a final since the 2016 U.S. Open vs. Kerber), and improved her head-to-head lead over the Dane to 8-5, with four consecutive wins and a 7-3 mark on hard courts.


===============================================
3. Doha QF - Caroline Wozniacki def. Angelique Kerber
...7-6(4)/1-6/6-3. Wozniacki, on the court when #2 Halep announced she was pulling out of the semifinal she'd just advanced to, retained her #1 ranking for Week 8 while winning a rare match over Kerber in which the German dropped the opening set (she'd been 4-1 in '18, having held MP in her one previous loss vs. Halep in the AO semis), denying her opponent's multiple opportunities to turn the match in her favor. Kerber served for the 1st set, and later served up 1-0, 40/love in the 3rd, only to drop serve. Serving at 3-4, the German was broken again after leading 30/love and reaching GP.
===============================================
4. Doha 1st Rd. - Monica Niculescu def. Maria Sharapova
...4-6/6-4/6-3. The Romanian's frustrating (to her opponents) game ultimately broke the Russian, who committed 52 unforced errors (to 17 for Niculescu), DF'd eleven times, and then withdrew from Dubai with an apparent forearm injury (the same malady that she struggled with for months after her return to action last season).


===============================================
5. Doha 3rd Rd. - Caroline Wozniacki def. Monica Niculescu
...7-5/6-1. Wozniacki complained to the umpire about Niculescu's grunts during her follow-through swings, accusing her of doing it to intentionally interfere with her own play. Needless to say, the Romanian didn't particularly take too kindly to the notion.


===============================================
6. Doha 2nd Rd. - Caroline Garcia def. Dominika Cibulkova 6-3/6-7(3)/6-0
Doha 2nd Rd. - Anna Blinkova def. Kristina Mladenovic 6-3/6-3
...we got a (semi) dust-up between Wozniacki and Niculescu, but the potential sideshow of the first Garcia/Mladenovic meeting since, well, you know, didn't materialize in Doha. One round away from facing each other, Garcia won 24 of the final 28 points to down Cibulkova, but Mladenovic became the first Top 20 victim of Blinkova.


===============================================
7. Doha 2nd Rd. - Simona Halep def. Ekaterina Makarova 6-3/6-0
Doha 3rd Rd. - Simona Halep def. Anastasija Sevastova 6-4/6-3
Doha QF - Simona Halep def. CiCi Bellis 6-0/6-4
...no wonder Halep was frustrated by having to pull out with her lingering foot injury. Even while pushing things and playing with pain, she'd been in fine form all week, including a thorough take down of Makarova, her "Simona 1.0" nemesis. The Russian frustrated and made the Romanian look for an "escape hatch" from a 6-4/6-0 QF defeat at the Australian Open three seasons ago, then further complicated her psyche in a tight three-setter in Dubai a few months later.
===============================================


8. Doha 2nd Rd. - Mihaela Buzarnescu def. Alona Ostapenko 6-1/6-3
Doha Final - Gaby Dabrowski/Alona Ostapenko def. Andreja Klepac/Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez 6-3/6-3
...for the second week in a row, Ostapenko is registered by an opponent as their first career Top 10 victim. For the second week in a row, though, she rebounded by putting up some impressive doubles results.


===============================================
9. Doha 1st Rd. - CiCi Bellis def. Dasha Kasatkina
...7-5/4-1 ret. The Russian again failed to gather any positive momentum for her '18 season. Kasatkina opened with back-to-back losses and a 2nd Round exit in Melbourne, but then found her footing with a SF run in Saint Petersburg that included a win over #1 Wozniacki. But she slipped right back down the rabbit hole in Qatar, falling early in the match and then later retiring with a shoulder/nick injury.


===============================================
10. $25K Perth Final - Irina Khromacheva def. Katy Dunne
...6-2/6-3. After a week playing the role of The Smiter of Aussies on Australian soil -- she defeated Olivia Tjandramulia, Ellen Perez, Jamiee Fourlis and Maddison Inglis -- the Russian defeated a Brit for variety, claiming her sixteen ITF crown (16-4 in finals) with her ninth straight victory (from 2015-18) in a final.


===============================================
HM- Dubai Q1 - Bernarda Pera def. Marketa Vondrousova
...0-6/6-3/6-0. In her first outing since her LL-to-3rd Round run in Melbourne (which included a win over Konta), Pera immediately produced another eyebrow-raising scoreline. It was even more in (AO) character when you consider she trailed the Czech 6-0/2-0, and faced BP for 3-0. Though her run ended a round later with a straight sets loss to Sara Errani.
===============================================


Did someone say something about an Italian who refuses to give up?



And Karolina found a game that just isn't for her...




1. Doha 1st Rd. - AGA RADWANSKA def. Mona Barthel
...3-6/6-3/7-5. It's not as if we just met an umpire named Marija. But, in Doha, Cicak finally proved she isn't necessarily infallible. She called an incorrect score, and Aga only realized it after the game was "over" a few points later. It all got straightened out...



But, Marija (I'm just sayin')...

===============================================


Don't look now, but...
























**WTA TITLES - 2016-18**
7 - Elina Svitolina, UKR [1/5/1]
5 - PETRA KVITOVA, CZE [2/1/2]
5 - Caroline Wozniacki, DEN [2/2/1]
5 - Simona Halep, ROU [3/1/1]
5 - Karolina Pliskova, CZE [2/3/0]
4 - Angelique Kerber, GER [3/0/1]
4 - Caroline Garcia, FRA [2/2/0]
4 - Dominika Cibulkova, SVK [4/0/0]
4 - Sloane Stephens, USA [3/1/0]

**WTA FINALS - 2015-18**
15 - 5/3/5/2 - Simona Halep (8-7)
15 - 5/8/1/1 - Angelique Kerber (8-7)
15 - 3/2/8/2 - Caroline Wozniacki (6-9)
13 - 6/4/3/0 - Karolina Pliskova (6-7)
11 - 5/5/1/0 - Serena Williams (8-3)
10 - 4/3/1/2 - PETRA KVITOVA (8-2)
10 - 1/3/5/1 - Elina Svitolina (8-2)

**DEFEATED #1 SEED, WON TITLE**
Auckland: Julia Goerges, GER (F-Wozniacki)
Australian Open: Caroline Wozniacki, DEN (F-Halep)
DOHA: PETRA KVITOVA, CZE (SF-WOZNIACKI)

**DOHA & DUBAI... (since 2001)**
[reached finals at both]
2001 Martina Hingis = Doha W, Dubai W
2004 Svetlana Kuznetsova = Dubai RU, Doha RU
2007 Justine Henin = Dubai W, Doha W
2009 Venus Williams = Dubai W, Doha Chsp RU
2011 Caroline Wozniacki = Dubai W, Doha RU
2017 Caroline Wozniacki = Doha RU, Dubai RU
--
NOTE: 2008 two Doha events (Feb/Oct); 2009-10 Doha only as Oct. WTA Chsp.

**2018 WTA SF**
3 - CAROLINE WOZNIACKI, DEN (2-1)
3 - SIMONA HALEP, ROU (2-0+L)
2 - Julia Goerges, GER (1-1)
2 - Angelique Kerber, GER (1-1)
2 - PETRA KVITOVA, CZE (2-0)
2 - Elise Mertens, BEL (1-1)

**2018 LONG WINNING STREAKS**
13 - PETRA KVITOVA (February-CURRENT)
11 - Simona Halep (January) - ended by Wozniacki
10 - Elise Mertens (January) - ended by Wozniacki
10 - Angelique Kerber (January) - ended by Halep

**KVITOVA WINS OVER #1**
2009 def. Dinara Safina (U.S. Open 3rd)
2011 def. Caroline Wozniacki (WTA Chsp. rr)
2015 def. Serena Williams (Madrid SF)
2016 def. Angelique Kerber (Wuhan 3rd)
2017 def. Caroline Wozniacki (Dohan SF)
[active leaders]
16 - Serena Williams, USA
15 - Venus Williams, USA
7 - Svetlana Kuznetsova, RUS
7 - Maria Sharapova, RUS
5 - PETRA KVITOVA, CZE
5 - Elina Svitolina, UKR
4 - Dominika Cibulkova, SVK
4 - Garbine Muguruza, ESP
4 - Caroline Wozniacki, DEN

**CAREER WTA SINGLES TITLES - ACTIVE**
[w/ last season w/ title]
72...Serena Williams (2017)
49...Venus Williams (2016)
36...Maria Sharapova (2017)
28...Caroline Wozniacki (2018)
22...PETRA KVITOVA (2018)
20...Victoria Azarenka (2016)
20...Aga Radwanska (2016)
17...Svetlana Kuznetsova (2016)
16...Simona Halep (2018)
15...Jelena Jankovic (2015)
12...Vera Zvonareva (2011)
11...Angelique Kerber (2018)
11...Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (2017)
11...Patty Schnyder (2008)
10...Elina Svitolina (2018)
10...Roberta Vinci (2016)
9...Sara Errani (2016)
9...Karolina Pliskova (2017)
9...Samantha Stosur (2017)
8...Marion Bartoli (2013)
8...Dominika Cibulkova (2016)
8...Francesca Schiavone (2017)
7...Lucie Safarova (2016)
6...Andrea Petkovic (2015)

**2018 WTA DOUBLES FINALS**
2...GABY DABROWSKI, CAN (2-0 + 1-0 MX)
2...Demi Schuurs, NED (2-0)
2...ANDREJA KLEPAC, SLO (0-2)
2...MARIA JOSE MARTINEZ SANCHEZ, ESP (0-2)

**2018 GRADE 1/A/SLAM JUNIOR CHAMPS**
Coffee Bowl: Maria Camila Osorio Serrano/COL
Copa Barranquilla: Maria Camila Osorio Serrano/COL
Traralgon: Liang En-shou/TPE
Prague: Maria Timofeeva/RUS
Australian Open: Liang En-shuo/TPE
Mundial Juvenil: Gabriella Price/USA
Asuncion Bowl: Maria Camila Osorio Serrano/COL
Banana Bowl: [February]
Yeltsin Cup: [February]


Naturally, there was no actual tennis news involving a certain Canadian. But...




Though she's still looking for her first win since the U.S. Open, five years after she preceded Bouchard's own '14 AO semifinal run, it was Sloane following in footsteps this time around...








DUBAI, UAE (Premier/Hard)
=WS FINALS=
2001 Martina Hingis def. Nathalie Tauziat
2002 Amelie Mauresmo def. Sandrine Testud
2003 Justine Henin-Hardenne def. Monica Seles
2004 Justine Henin-Hardenne def. Svetlana Kuznetsova
2005 Lindsay Davenport def. Jelena Jankovic
2006 Justine Henin-Hardenne def. Maria Sharapova
2007 Justine Henin def. Amelie Mauresmo
2008 Elena Dementieva def. Svetlana Kuznetsova
2009 Venus Williams def. Virginie Razzano
2010 Venus Williams def. Victoria Azarenka
2011 Caroline Wozniacki def. Svetlana Kuznetsova
2012 Aga Radwanska def. Julia Goerges
2013 Petra Kvitova def. Sara Errani
2014 Venus Williams def. Alize Cornet
2015 Simona Halep def. Karolina Pliskova
2016 Sara Errani def. Barbora Strycova
2017 Elina Svitolina def. Caroline Wozniacki
=WD FINALS=
2001 Basuki/Vis d. Svensson/Habsudova
2002 Rittner/Vento-Kabchi d. Testud/Vinci
2003 Kuznetsova/Navratilova d. C.Black/Likhovtseva
2004 Husarova/C.Martínez d. Kuznetsova/Likhovtseva
2005 Ruano Pascual/Suarez d. Kuznetsova/Molik
2006 Peschke/Schiavone d. Kuznetsova/Petrova
2007 C.Black/Huber d. Kuznetsova/Molik
2008 C.Black/Huber d. Zheng Jie/Yan Zi
2009 C.Black/Huber d. Kirilenko/A.Radwanska
2010 Llagostera Vives/Martínez Sanchez d. Peschke/Srebotnik
2011 Huber/Martínez Sanchez d. Peschke/Srebotnik
2012 Huber/Raymond d. Mirza/Vesnina
2013 Mattek-Sands/Mirza d. Petrova/Srebotnik
2014 Kudryavtseva/An.Rodionova d. Kops-Jones/Spears
2015 Babos/Mladenovic d. Muguruza/Suarez Navarro
2016 Chuang Chia-jung/Jurak d. Garcia/Mladenovic
2017 Makarova/Vesnina d. Hlavackova/Peng Shuai
=======================================
'18 TOP SEEDS
WS: #1 Svitolina, #2 Muguruza
WD: #1 Makarova/Vesnina, #2 L.Chan/S.-Hlavackova

...the draw took a hit with the withdrawals of Halep, Goerges and Keys. Meanwhile, Kvitova is (as of now) still in this draw, but one has to wonder if she'll be up to another full week of action. If she plays, she could face Mladenovic in the 2nd Round, and then Svitolina for a second straight week in the QF. In bottom half, Muguruza/Garcia, too, could cross paths again in a second straight QF.

=SF=
#6 Kerber d. #1 Svitolina
#5 Garcia d. #7 Konta
=FINAL=
#6 Kerber d. #5 Garcia



BUDAPEST, HUNGARY (Int'l/Hard)
=WS FINALS=
1993 Zina Garrison def. Sabine Appelmans
1994–1995 - Not Held
1996 Ruxandra Dragomir def. Melanie Schnell
1997 Amanda Coetzer def. Sabine Appelmans
1998 Virginia Ruano Pascual def. Silvia Farina Elia
1999 Sarah Pitkowski def. Cristina Torrens Valero
2000 Tathiana Garbin def. Kristie Boogert
2001 Magdalena Maleeva def. Anne Kremer
2002 Martina Müller def. Myriam Casanova
2003 Magui Serna def. Alicia Molik
2004 Jelena Jankovic def. Martina Sucha
2005 Anna Smashnova def. Catalina Castano
2006 Anna Smashnova def. Lourdes Dominguez
2007 Gisela Dulko def. Sorana Cîrstea
2008 Alize Cornet def. Andreja Klepac
2009 Agnes Szavay def. Patty Schnyder
2010 Agnes Szavay def. Patty Schnyder
2011 Roberta Vinci def. Irina-Camelia Begu
2012 Sara Errani def. Elena Vesnina
2013 Simona Halep def. Yvonne Meusburger
2014–2015 - Not Held
2016 - $100K event
2017 Timea Babos def. Lucie Safarova
=WD FINALS=
1993 Gorrochategui/Vis d. Cecchini/Tarabini
1994–1995 - Not Held
1996 Adams/Graham d. Bobkova/Melicharova
1997 Coetzer/Fusai d. Martincova/Wagner
1998 Ruano Pascual/Suarez d. C.Cristea/Montalvo
1999 Kulikovskaya/Nacuk d. Montalvo/Ruano Pascual
2000 Bacheva/Torrens Valero d. Kostanic Tosic/Nacuk
2001 Husarova/Garbin d. Gubacsi/Zaric
2002 Loit/Barclay-Reitz d. Bovina/Gubacsi
2003 Mandula/Tatarkova d. Martinez Granados/Perebiynis
2004 Mandula/Schett d. Szavay/Nemeth
2005 Loit/Srebotnik d. Dominguez Lino/Marrero
2006 Husarova/Krajicek d. Hradecka/Voracova
2007 Szavay/Uhlírova d. Muller/G.Navratilova
2008 Cornet/Husarova d. Henke/Olaru
2009 Kleybanova/Niculescu d. A.Bondarenko/K.Bondarenko
2010 Bacsinszky/Garbin d. S.Cirstea/Medina Garrigues
2011 Medina Garrigues/Rosolska d. Grandin/Uhlirova
2012 Husarova/Rybarikova d. Birnerova/Krajicek
2013 Hlavackova/Hradecka d. Bratchikova/Tatishvili
2014–2015 - Not Held
2016 - $100K event
2017 S.Hsieh/Kalashnikova d. Ar.Rodionova/Voskoboeva
=======================================
'18 TOP SEEDS
WS: #1 Rybarikova, #2 Cibulkova
WD: #1 Flipkens/Larsson, #2 A.Smith/Voracova



Of course, what does it matter. They're going to get all of us, anyway.




All for now???
↧

Wk.8- Just Do It.

February 25, 2018, 7:07 pm
$
0
0
Once more, it's Eli.



At this point, what more can we say about Elina Svitolina? Her defense-to-offense gameplans have proven to have legs, allowing her to rack up titles, finals and top-level wins at a rate as impressive as (more so, really) any other woman on tour since she truly became a *player* in every aspect of the tour's upper echelon during the 2015 season (or 2016, when she got her first two #1 wins). She's a winner (11-2 in career finals), a thinker (honing her problem solving skills during a brief coaching stint with Justine Henin, and never forgetting the lessons learned) and either first or second (or maybe third, depending on your inclination) on nearly every list of the "next" player to stage a major coup d'etat.

But, even with all the precision, grace and calm under pressure that she displays on an abnormally routine basis during the week-in, week-out grind of the long WTA season, Svitolina is still *almost* known as much for her big stage (and seemingly so uncharacteristic, based on the vast store of knowledge accumulated about her elsewhere) collapses at the slams. Her biggest to date: failing to close out Simona Halep in last year's Roland Garros QF despite dominating the Romanian in the 1st set with masterful play, and leading 6-3/5-1, twice serving for the match, and holding a MP in the 2nd set TB. Even worse, rather than steeling herself for a tight 3rd, she fell away and lost the deciding set at love in a mere twenty minutes, beat a hasty retreat into the locker room, then saw Halep go on to squander her own lead in the final vs. a hungry Alona Ostapenko, who waltzed away with the maiden slam title that *both* women still find missing from their resumes some nine months later.


So, while it's time to officially debut the 2018 version of "Elina's To-Do List" (she was pretty efficient when it came to the '17 edition), no matter how many boxes get checked off over the remaining months of this season, it's the "unofficial" checkmark that can only be placed in the space between the Ukrainian's ears on the biggest stages of the sport that will *truly* make a difference when the year is over. Svitolina has progressed, step by step, along the course of her career at an almost untypically measured pace, with her results never getting ahead of her ability to handle them in a professional way. It's likely a great thing for the *whole* of her career, but at some point the biggest boxes will have to be checked. Based on her past results, 2018 may not be where *the* biggest accomplishment that a player can achieve is pulled in by the Ukrainian. She's still a few intermediate steps short of fully building that final bridge, and a leap over a few steps "to the end" would be uncharacteristic for her. 2019 may turn out to be "her turn."

Unless...

Oh, but wouldn't it be nice if, for once, Svitolina could make the BIG leap all at once, once and for all, rather than gradually getting there, inch by inch, round by round, slam by slam, finally making "The Eli Story" a no-asterisks-necessary, the-waiting-game-is-over, freedom-loving zone?

Of course, not everyone can be Ostapenko, can they? In many ways, that's probably a good thing... though also unfortunate. The Most Interesting Tour in the World wouldn't be as interesting if every player's path was traversed in exactly the same fashion. I mean, so many already *dress* the same on the court. We need a *little* variety.



*WEEK 8 CHAMPIONS*
DUBAI, UAE (Premier/Hard Outdoor)
S: Elina Svitolina/UKR def. Dasha Kasatkina/RUS 6-4/6-0
D: Angel Chan/Yang Zhaoxuan (TPE/CHN) d. Hsieh Su-Wei/Peng Shuai (TPE/CHN) 4-6/6-2 [10-6]
BUDAPEST, HUNGARY (Int'l/Hard Indoor)
S: Alison Van Uytvanck/BEL def. Dominika Cibulkova/SVK 6-3/3-6/7-5
D: Georgina Garcia Perez/Fanny Stollar (ESP/HUN) d. Kirsten Flipkens/Johanna Larsson (BEL/SWE) 4-6/6-4 [10-3]


PLAYER OF THE WEEK:Elina Svitolina/UKR
...lest we forget in this Month of Petra that Svitolina actually wins more often and at a more ferocious clip than any other player on the WTA tour, the most successful player in Ukrainian tennis history reminded us of that fact this week in Dubai. While she only slightly lags behind Simona Halep when it comes to *slam* frustration, when the subject is consistently putting up superior results on the "regular season" stops along the WTA schedule, she proved yet again that she's got *that* stuff down to a very precise science. Pulling of the second successful title defense of her career, having won back-to-back titles in Baku for her first tour career wins in 2013-14, the 23-year old lost just one set (2nd Rd. vs. LL Wang Qiang) on her way to claiming her second '18 title, the eleventh of her career (she's 11-2 in finals, now having won *seven* in a row) and eighth in just the last three seasons (three more than any other player over the span). Additional wins over Naomi Osaka, Angelique Kerber (again, as she's now 7-5 vs. the German, but has won the last five) and Dasha Kasatkina in the final allows Svitolina to add her name to a short list that includes only her one-time coach Justine Henin (3 titles) and Venus Williams (2) as the only multiple singles title winners at the event.


===============================================
RISERS:Dasha Kasatkina/RUS and Naomi Osaka/JPN
...Kasatkina's pre-spring fling continued in Dubai, as the Russian held to form and furiously battled back from the brink of defeat (twice) to reach her third career tour final and climb (finally!) into the Top 20 for the first time in her career, but ultimately showed that while she often wins big, her style of play sometimes makes it difficult to win all the time. After opening with a win over Aga Radwanska, Kasatkina saved two MP and defeated Johanna Konta, took down her "tennis mama" Elena Vesnina (the two shared Dasha's first tour title in doubles in Moscow in '15), then saved three more MP against Garbine Muguruza in the semis to become, at 20, the youngest tour singles finalist so far this year. In the end, though, likely worn down from so much match play, she couldn't offer a great defense against the fresher, better, more advanced, version of herself (Elina Svitolina) that she met in the final, losing 4 & love to close out a very long week. Over the past month, after getting off to a 1-3 start, she's gone 7-3. This is the third straight season in which Kasatkina has posted some eye-opening results in the season's first quarter. In '16, she reached the Saint Petersburg SF, Indian Wells QF and Charleston QF, then last year got into the Doha QF (w/ a defeat of Kerber) and won her first singles title in Charleston. While it raises questions in its current form when it comes to her eventually having the sort of Top 10 potential she flashed when she first bounded onto the scene a few years ago (Fear the Kasatkina!), the Russian's defensive-minded, momentum-driven style *has* lifted her into the Top 20 (at #20) after being trapped in rankings purgatory for nearly two full years, during which she only spent two weeks outside the Top 40, usually finding herself "trapped" between #20-29 since her I.W. QF run in March '16, never slumping too badly for *too* long but never rising high enough to garner top tournament or slam seeding positions that might allow her early-round experiences to be less, umm, time-consuming.



Meanwhile, some early signs of progress in Osaka's pairing with new coach Sascha Bajin appeared in Dubai, as the 20-year old from Japan took a wild card into the tournament and reached the QF after notching straight sets wins over Kristina Mladenovic and Anett Kontaveit. She ultimately went out at the hands of eventual champ Svitolina, but will rise to #44 on Monday, just four spots off her career-best ranking of #40. A little dose of consistency, which should really be the one and only *baseline* (the measurement kind, not the tennis kind) goal for '18 under Big Sascha, and Osaka could be flirting with the Top 25/30 (or better, with one big result) come summertime, enough to possibly be seeded at a slam by the end of '18. Last season, Osaka opened 15-6, then went 4-8, then 6-1, then 2-6. So far, she's 8-4 this season. So let's see how this goes.


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SURPRISES:Alison Van Uytvanck/BEL and Georgina Garcia Perez/Fanny Stollar, ESP/HUN
...last September, Van Uytvanck claimed her maiden tour title in Quebec City by defeating Timea Babos in the final nine months after undergoing wrist surgery. Last week in Budapest, she won her second by taking the title at a tournament that Babos won last year. The 23-year old became the second '18 tour champion (after Elise Mertens) to hail from Belgium, as the Waffle essentially ran over the field -- losing just 5 games to Oceane Dodin, 1 to Mihaela Buzarnescu, 6 to Zhang Shuai and 6 to Viktoria Kuzmova -- en route to her second career tour final. She took the title with a 6-3/3-6/7-5 win over top-seeded Dominika Cibulkova. The season's first WTA singles champion to claim a crown while ranked outside the Top 50 (#80), Van Uytvanck will now join the Top 50 (right at #50) in the new rankings, not far off her career high of #41.



In the Budapest doubles, Garcia Perez and Stollar both became maiden tour titles winners in their first appearances in a WTA final. The pair lost just one set all week, the opener in the final vs. #1-seeded Flipkens/Larsson. They ultimately claimed a 10-3 3rd set TB, picking up their second overall title together, having previous combined in yet another event in Hungary (a $25K challenger) in 2016. Additionally over the past year, 25-year old GGP has picked up her biggest singles title (a $60K in January in which she def. Jana Cepelova and Arantxa Rus), as well as three $25K challenger wins, and been a finalist in two more. She also made her tour-level MD debut in Budapest after qualifying with wins over Naomi Broady and Patty Schnyder (losing to Aleksandra Krunic in the 1st Rd.). 19-year old Stollar is the youngest player to win a tour-level title through 2018's first two months.


===============================================
VETERAN:Angelique Kerber/GER
...while Kerber's week ended with what would have to be considered her worst result of the season, a straight sets semifinal loss in Dubai to Elina Svitolina (her fifth straight defeat at the hands of the Ukrainian, including three when she was ranked #1), she still collected her fourth straight QF+ result of 2018 (W-SF-QF-SF). The last time she strung together a quartet of such results was the summer of 2016 in Montreal (SF), the Olympics (RU), Cincinnati (RU) and the U.S. Open (W). Her wins over Barbora Strycova, Sara Errani and Karolina Pliskova give Kerber a 15-3 mark on the season, tied with Caroline Wozniacki for the most match wins n '18, and behind only the trio of Svitolina, Simona Halep and Petra Kvitova as far as overall season win percentage.
===============================================
COMEBACKS:Dominika Cibulkova/SVK and Mona Barthel/GER
...Cibulkova has struggled with injury and motivation since her amazing late 2016 run that culminated in her career-highlight title in the WTA Finals. Last week in Budapest, after being installed as the #1 seed after countrywoman Magdalena Rybarikova withdrew from the tournament, the 28-year old raced through the draw without losing a set, defeating Fanny Stollar, Kirsten Flipkens and Johanna Larsson (incidentally, all three would go on to reach the WD final), then Mona Barthel to reach just her second final (w/ New Haven last summer) since her big week in Singapore. In a battle in the final, she eventually fell to Alison Van Uytvanck in a 7-5 3rd set. After posting just four QF-or-better results in the seventeen tournaments that followed her WTAF win, Cibulkova has now had four in her last ten, a stretch that began with the final run in New Haven six months ago.



Before she fell to Cibulkova in the semifinals, Barthel had had quite the week. Her best, in fact, since she picked up career title #4 by fully extending a qualifying run until the final weekend last May in Prague for her first singles win since 2014. Since ending 2017 at #48, the 27-year old German had fallen to #74 through 2018's first seven weeks, starting 1-5 after having already ended last season on a 1-9 skid (and gone 2-12 starting with a 2nd Round loss in Eastbourne last summer). In Budapest, she posted wins over Kateryna Kozlova, defending champ Timea Babos and Ysaline Bonaventure.


===============================================
FRESH FACES:Viktoria Kuzmova/SVK and Sofya Zhuk/RUS
...19-year old Kuzmova is proving to be a quick learner, as well as a resilient competitor. The big-hitting Slovak nearly (shoulda, really) upset Dasha Kasatkina in Saint Petersburg in Week 5 and, much like occurred with Alona Ostapenko when she came oh-so-close to knocking off Karolina Pliskova in the AO and was seemingly all the better for it, has proceeded to pull off a series of career highlights in the weeks since. She immediately followed up with a career highlight weekend in Fed Cup in which she rebounded from a Day 1 loss to stage a comeback from a set down to make first career FC win an historic one by clinching Slovakia's first ever victory over the Russians. In Budapest, she was the tough luck loser of a two and a half hour qualifying match to Ysaline Bonaventure (she'd go on to reach the QF) which included 34 aces (15 from Kuzmova), but then soon after became a lucky loser who ran off MD wins over Sorana Cirstea, Sabine Lisicki and Petra Martic in straight sets to reach her first tour-level semifinal. The first LL to reach a WTA semi since 2015, Kuzmova finally came up short against Alison Van Uytvanck, but will climb from #121 to a new career high of #109 on Monday.



Zhuk, 18, strung together qualifying wins over Alexandra Dulgheru, Camila Giorgi (the Italian retired w/ a set lead) and Wang Qiang (who'd get the only set off Svitolina as a lucky loser) to reach the Dubai MD. She lost in her 1st Round match-up with veteran Carla Suarez-Navarro, but the '15 Wimbledon junior champ will set another career high by climbing to #135. The Hordette is 11-4 in '18 on all levels, including a run to a WTA 125 Series final in January.
===============================================
DOWN:Karolina Pliskova/CZE
...with so many top players getting off to lightning-fast starts in 2018, the currently glowing dust makes it easy to overlook the fact that Pliskova is not one of them. Since her huge summer-of-2016 run included a U.S. Open final berth and contributed to the Czech reaching the #1 ranking last July, the big wins have been fewer and farther in between for her. Last week in Dubai, she rallied from a set down to defeat Carla Suarez-Navarro, but then lost 4 & 3 to Angelique Kerber, dropping her to a respectable -- but hardly scintillating -- 8-4 on the season. It was a fitting defeat, considering her win over the German in the Cincinnati final two seasons ago signaled a significant upward turn in Pliskova's career. Since then, though, she's gone 0-3 vs. the German, including a loss to her last fall in Tokyo in the closing stages of what was a mostly-forgettable '17 campaign for Kerber. By the end of the '16 season, Pliskova seemed set to join the ranks of first-time slam champions. But the five slams that followed have seen three women win their maiden major titles, while Pliskova has reached just one SF (oddly enough, on clay at Roland Garros, where she'd previously gone just 2-5) and appeared in three (again, respectable, but far from noteworthy) QF. What's happened? After showing great improvement in her on-court movement (still not spectacular, but good enough) in '16, the progress doesn't seem to have continued. Meanwhile, her serve has failed to be the weapon it once was, as well. She still produces good ace totals (though she's significantly behind top acer Julia Goerges in '18 after leading the tour in recent seasons), but they don't often come in the same sort of clutch moments that fueled her '16 success. Pliskova, after gaining momentum and confidence with her Fed Cup heroics, has had far less a presence in the nation's last four ties, as well, and was a late week singles scratch in this season's opening FC weekend earlier this month. Maybe Pliskova is simply lying in wait, though. Though she began last season 15-1 with a pair of title rus, and stood at an overall 23-4 by the end of the North American spring hard court swing, she also had later brief spikes in success on the grass (5-1, though with another early SW19 exit) and during summer hard courts (9-3). Maybe a slow build, rather than a fast sprint that eventually levels off, will play in her favor this time around.

Hi everyone ????? Last days and weeks weren't exactly as I imagined ?? But looking for excuses is not my way. I believe that if I keep working hard the results will come again. I have a great team around me, which I believe in. And thanks everyone for your support, which comes in useful even now when not everything goes as it should.?? I'm going to work hard now and I'm looking forward to the forthcoming tournaments in Indian Wells and Miami ????? Ahoj všichni ????? poslední dny a týdny nebyly úplne podle mých predstav.?? Ale nemám ve zvyku hledat výmluvy. Verím, že když budu tvrde pracovat, výsledky se zase dostaví.?? Mám kolem sebe skvelý tým, kterému verím. A díky všem za podporu, která se hodí i ted, kdy ne všechno jde tak jak má. ?? Jdu makat a teším se na turnaje v Indian Wells a Miami ?????

A post shared by Karolina Pliskova (@karolinapliskova) on


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ITF PLAYERS:Gabriella Taylor/GBR and Iga Swiatek/POL
...19-year old Brit Taylor improved to 12-1 in '18 with a title run in the $25K challenger in Perth, picking up her fifth career ITF crown (second this season) with a 6-2/7-5 win over Myrtille Georges in the final. The world #240 has claimed all twelve of her victories via straight set wins, and also ended her '17 calendar year with another title run at a $25K in India that wrapped up just a day before Christmas Eve.



At Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt it was 16-year old Pole Swiatek, back from a seven-month injury break, improving to 4-0 in career singles challenger finals with a 3 & 1 victory over Waffle Britt Geukens in the final. Swiatek, ranked #725, defeated #2-seeded Nuria Parrizas-Diaz in the 1st Round, then the #8 seed in the quarterfinals.


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JUNIOR STARS:Maria Camila Osorio Serrano/COL and Lenka Stara/SVK
...once more, the 16-year old Colombian has claimed a Grade 1 title in 2018. Osorio Serrano's win in the Banana Bowl in Brazil is her *fourth* such title run this season as she ran her junior level winning streak to twenty-three consecutive matches dating back to last season's late-year Masters tournament. Osorio Serrano finished things off with a win in the final over Bannerette Alexa Noel by a 6-3/6-4 score, ending a week with saw her win a pair of three-setters en route to the title. She'd been forced to three sets just three times in her previous eighteen wins in her streak.



Meanwhile, at the week's other Grade 1 event, it was yet another Slovak who shined in Week 8 in the Yeltsin Cup at Kazan, Russia. 17-year old Lenka Stara, the #105-ranked girl, knocked off four seeds -- including the top two -- en route to her biggest career title in her first Grade 1 final appearance. After defeating Polina Kudermetova, younger sister of recent Russian Fed Cup roster member Veronika, in the semis, Stara defeated Hordette Kamilla Rakhimova 6-4/3-6/6-1 in front of the #1-seed's home crowd. Rakhimova was last of five Russians that Stara defeated in consecutive rounds en route to claiming the crown.


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DOUBLES:Angel Chan/Yang Zhaoxuan, TPE/CHN
...while her sister Latisha sits atop the doubles rankings, the only member of the Chan family to have been crowned a WTA champion through 2018's first two months is Angel. Chan and Yang joined forces to claim their maiden win together in Dubai, the first title won by Angel without her sister by her side since 2015 (w/ Anabel Medina-Garrigues). A pair of victories via 3rd set TB's (1st Rd. vs. Doha finalists Klepac/Martinez Sanchez and in the final over #4-seeded Hsieh/Peng) surrounded a walkover from #3 Safarova/Strycova (Lucie came down w/ an illness, and considering her past history let's hope that's taken care of as quickly as possible) allowed Chan to win career title #14 and Yang #3 (and her biggest). The Chan sisters have played more matches *against* each other (1, at the AO) since their most recent pairing last October (a title run in Hong Kong), and they narrowly missed another match-up in Dubai as Latisha & Andrea Sestini-Hlavackova fell in the 2nd Round to Rosolska/Spears, one round ahead of what would have been a SF with a Chan on both sides of the net. So far in '18, Angel has gone 8-3, while Latisha is 9-5 w/ Hlavackova, including a 1-3 mark in their last four.


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This week, Backspin Academy's on-campus Sugarpova Cineplex announced the final showing of our longest (unnecessarily) running flick...


After dragging out the lawsuit filed by Genie Bouchard due to her post-match locker room fall and concussion after a U.S. Open night match in 2015 (!!), the USTA finally got it's day in court... and the organization got exactly what it deserved.Bouchard testified, and the jury wasted little time in ruling (of course) in her favor, deeming that the USTA was "75%" at fault for the accident. A settlement was reached soon afterward, ending one of the most bass-ackwards legal situations in sport in recent memory, as a national tennis organization attempted to drag a player's name through the mud in a vindictive, blame-the-victim fashion that raised serious questions about the legal minds paid to offer opinions about the many possible options that were originally at hand (and continued to be for nearly three years). The USTA *never* should have gone down the road of dragging Bouchard into court for an incident that occurred on tournament grounds, even if *some* blame for certain things that occurred that night may have been considered "cloudy." It always felt like a breach of trust when it came to the organization's relationship with the two pro tours, and that never changed at any step along the way, even as Bouchard's off-court demeanor regarding unrelated issues has often made her appear immature and in possession of questionable judgment since the incident occurred.

As things have played out, as the organization's many wrong-headed decisions of sometimes-incompetence have surfaced in recent years, how the USTA managed to make the *right* decision to hire Kathy Rinaldi to replace Mary Joe Fernandez as Fed Cup Captain has to go down as one of the biggest miracles in recorded history... though maybe the likes of Venus Williams and Chanda Rubin, who were on the nominating committee, elevated the level of decision-making ability in the room enough to prevent another stupid mistake.

Any reasonable person could see that that the USTA should bear most of the responsibility in the Bouchard case, and was insane to have sought to blame a player for doing what she would normally do after a match, no matter the hour or state of the locker room facilities at the time. To attempt to advance the narrative that it was up to the player to know to be wary under such circumstances was, is and will always be more than a bit disgusting. Bouchard didn't make the schedule, and it's up to the tournament machinery to make sure the premises are safe when it's safely assumed that players will be there. Period. Thankfully, after *way* too long, this is finally over.



This is one victory for Bouchard that *all* should be grateful she attained, no matter any differences of opinion with her elsewhere. But, of course, I live in nation where the person in the highest office in land thinks schools should double as the set for a real-life "Die Hard" movie, so whatta I know?



Anyway, in the end, it all set the stage for what had to be a far better birthday than many recent celebrations have been...






1. Dubai 2nd Rd. - Dasha Kasatkina def. Johanna Konta
...4-6/7-6(6)/6-2. Over the course of three hours, Kasatkina and Konta tested each other. The Brit won most of the early battles, staving off nine straight BP chances in the first two sets before the Russian finally broke her late in the 2nd. Kasatkina saved two MP, won an 8-6 TB to force a 3rd set, and eventually pulled away as her defense and Konta's UE total (63 to Dasha's 34) ultimately turned things in the Hordette's favor. Kasatkina converted just four of fourteen BP chances on the day, but it was enough to extend what turned out to be an epic week of survival. Still without another semifinal berth since her final four run at Wimbledon last summer, Konta essentially admitted to the pressure of following up such a career-changing home soil result, and accepted the support of those who have stuck with her as she's attempted to find her way through it all and come out on the other side all the better for the experience.


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2. Dubai SF - Dasha Kasatkina def. Garbine Muguruza
...3-6/7-6(11)/6-1. After going 3:00 vs. Konta, Kasatkina went "just 2:30" in this one, staging another comeback win despite being down a break twice in the 2nd set. Four straight breaks of serve led into the start of the TB, where the Russian started with a DF before then winning a 38-shot rally and saving three MP, including one with a successful replay challenge. She took the breaker 13-11 to force a 3rd. After failing to close out the win, Muguruza then "drifted" toward the finish, dropping serve to open the set, committing too many errors and ultimately notching just a single game in the deciding stanza.


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3. Budapest 2nd Rd. - Zhang Shuai def. Jana Cepelova
...2-6/7-6(4)/6-3. Cepelova got off to a quick start as she dominated the first set and a half, winning the final four games to close out the 1st, then going up a break in the 2nd, holding two MP. But Zhang got things to a TB, where she went up 4-0 and forced a 3rd set. There, she broke the Slovak's serve three times, finishing off the second of her first back-to-back victories this season. She lost a round later to eventual champion Alison Van Uytvanck, while Cepelova's week was enough to lift her back into the Top 100 in the new rankings.
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4. Dubai Q3 - Sara Errani def. Aryna Sabalenka 6-2/1-6/7-6(4)
Budapest Q1 - Roberta Vinci def. Anna Kalinskaya 3-6/6-4/7-6(3)
...this could very well be the last time one week will contain a pair of wins from MP down by two of the original members of the Italian Quartet. Errani impressively staged a comeback from 4-1 and 5-3 down in the 3rd vs. Sabalenka, who served for the match and held a MP at 5-4. Errani would go on to get a MD win over Lesia Tsurenko before losing to Angelique Kerber, as she continues to try to recoup the points she lost due to last year's suspension. She'll be up eighteen spots to #125 this week.



In Budapest, aside from celebrating her 35th birthday courtside with a big honking "candle" (that *has* to be a fire hazard) topped cake, Vinci saved a MP at 5-4 in the 3rd vs. Kalinskaya, winning and then reaching the MD with a 2:30 Q2 victory over Vera Lapko. While Errani topped one Belarusian, Vinci then lost to other, falling to Aliaksandra Sasnovich in the 1st Round. She'll be ranked #149 this week as she edges closer to her springtime retirement farewell.
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5. Dubai 1st Rd. - Ekaterina Makarova def. Anastasija Sevastova
...3-6/7-6(9)/6-3. Makarova saved a pair of MP vs. the Latvian, rallying from 6-3/5-3 down to win and knock Sevastova out of the Top 20.
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6. Budapest Final - Alison Van Uytvanck def. Dominika Cibulkova
...6-3/3-6/7-5. Both women were vying to become the first this season to win a tour-level singles title without dropping a set. Neither did, but at least the Belgian got the trophy.
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6. Dubai Final - Elina Svitolina def. Dasha Kasatkina
...6-4/6-0. Even with this loss, Kasatkina is 5-4 in her last nine matches vs. Top 5 players.



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7. Dubai Q1 - Lesia Tsurenko def. Duan Yingying
...5-7/7-5/6-4. Svitolina won the title, but her Ukrainian countrywoman saved three MP and overcame a 7-5/5-2 deficit (after blowing a 5-2 1st set lead) vs. Duan. So at least there was that.
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8. Dubai QF - Garbine Muguruza def. Caroline Garcia
...7-5/6-2. For the second time in two weeks in the Middle East, it was Garbi over Garcia. The Spaniard also authored an impressively quick (Mugu-ese for "straight-sets") elimination of CiCi Bellis, and had Kasatkina on the ropes in the semis. Another step toward Paris, or London, or maybe even New York.


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9. Dubai 2nd Rd. - Elena Vesnina def. Alona Ostapenko 6-1/7-6(6)
Dubai 1st Rd. - Nicole Melichar/Kveta Peschke def. Alona Ostapenko/Anastasija Sevastova 6-2/6-3
...Vesnina's first Top 10 win of the year, as Ostapenko is on the wrong end of a "first Top 10..." result for the third week in a row. This time, though, her doubles success didn't act as a Plan "B."
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10. Dubai SF - Elina Svitolina def. Angelique Kerber
...6-3/6-3. Svitolina's 23rd Top 10 win since 2014.
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11. $15K Antalya QF - Nina Potocnik def. Rebecca Marino
...7-5/6-4. After notching a win over the #2 seed (Cristina Dinu), the Canadian's winning streak finally ends at nineteen.
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12. $25K Altenkirchen QF - Harriet Dart def. Mandy Minella
...1-6/6-1/6-4. In just her second tournament back from having a baby, Minella reached the QF.


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HM- $25K Rancho Santa Fe Final - Asia Muhammad def. Kurumi Nara
...6-4/2-6/7-6. Saving MP was all the rage in Week 8.


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1. Dubai 1st Rd. - Dasha Kasatkina def. AGA RADWANSKA
...7-5/6-4. Even The Rad fears the Kasatkina. The Russian, 2-0 vs. Aga, is immune to the malevolence.
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2. Dubai QF - Angelique Kerber def. KAROLINA PLISKOVA
...6-4/6-3. Maybe next time.
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3. Dubai 1st Rd. - NAOMI OSAKA def. Kristina Mladenovic
...6-2/6-2. I'm not sure what the ESPNers would have said had this match aired on the network, but they most definitely would *not* have noticed Sascha Bajin cheering on Osaka from the sidelines after this one.


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HM- $15K Solarino Final - MICHAELLA KRAJICEK def. Monika Kilnarova
...6-3/6-2. The 29-year old wins her first title since July '16, improving to 17-2 (3-0 WTA/14-2 ITF) in career singles finals.


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Apparently, the ESPNers took over Caro's Twitter feed...





















**WTA TITLES - 2016-18**
8 - ELINA SVITOLINA, UKR [1/5/2]
5 - Petra Kvitova, CZE [2/1/2]
5 - Caroline Wozniacki, DEN [2/2/1]
5 - Simona Halep, ROU [3/1/1]
5 - Karolina Pliskova, CZE [2/3/0]

**2018 #1 SEED WON TITLE**
Shenzhen - Simona Halep, ROU (F def. Siniakova)
Dubai - ELINA SVITOLINA, UKR (F def. Kasatkina)

**2018 WIN LEADERS**
15-3...Caroline Wozniacki, DEN (.833)
15-3...ANGELIQUE KERBER, GER (.833)
14-1...Simona Halep, ROU (.933)
14-2...Petra Kvitova, CZE (.875)
14-2...ELINA SVITOLINA, UKR (.875)
12-3...Julia Goerges, GER (.800)
11-4...Elise Mertens, BEL (.733)

**2018 DEFENDED SINGLES TITLES**
Hobart - Elise Mertens, BEL (F def. Buzarnescu)
Dubai - ELINA SVITOLINA, UKR (F def. Kasatkina)

**DEFEATED #1 SEED, WON TITLE**
Auckland: Julia Goerges, GER (F-Wozniacki)
Australian Open: Caroline Wozniacki, DEN (F-Halep)
Doha: Petra Kvitova, CZE (SF-Wozniacki)
BUDAPEST: ALISON VAN UYTVANCK, BEL (F-Cibulkova)

**2018 TITLES w/o LOSING A SET**
[singles]
none
[doubles]
Sydney - Gaby Dabrowski/Xu Yifan, CAN/CHN
Taipei City - Duan Yingying/Wang Yafan, CHN/CHN
BUDAPEST - GEORGINA GARCIA PEREZ/FANNY STOLLAR, ESP/HUN

**2018 LOW-RANKED SEMIFINALISTS**
#246 Sabine Lisicki/GER (Taipei City)
#152 Wang Yafan/CHN (Taipei City)
#122 Sachia Vickery/USA (Auckland)
#121 VIKTORIA KUZMOVA/SVK (BUDAPEST)
#103 Hsieh Su-Wei/TPE (Auckland)
#100 Camila Giorgi/ITA (Sydney)
--
NOTE: none reached final

**2015-18 SEMIFINALS**
25 - Simona Halep [9/6/7/3]
25 - ANGELIQUE KERBER [8/11/3/3]
23 - Karolina Pliskova [8/6/8/1]
22 - Caroline Wozniacki [7/4/8/3]
21 - ELINA SVITOLINA [6/7/6/2]
19 - Aga Radwanska [8/9/2/0]
17 - GARBINE MUGURUZA [5/3/7/2]
16 - Serena Williams [9/6/1/0]

**LUCKY LOSER SF+ RESULTS SINCE 2008**
2008 Quebec City - Angela Haynes, USA
2008 Tokyo - Jarmila Gajdosova, SVK
2012 Fes - Mathilde Johansson, FRA
2012 Stanford - CoCo Vandeweghe, USA (RU)
2012 Linz - Irina-Camelia Begu, ROU
2013 Brisbane - Lesia Tsurenko, UKR
2013 Paris - Kiki Bertens, NED
2015 Acapulco - Sesil Karatantcheva, KAZ
2015 New Haven - Lesia Tsurenko, UKR
2015 Quebec City - Naomi Broady, GBR
2018 BUDAPEST - VIKTORIA KUZMOVA, SVK

**MOST 2016-18 WD TITLES**
14 - Latisha Chan (3/11/0), Martina Hingis (5/9 ret.)
10 - Andrea Hlavackova (4/6/0)
9 - Bethanie Mattek-Sands (5/4/0), Sania Mirza (8/1/0)
8 - Kiki Bertens (3/4/1), Johanna Larsson (4/4/0)
7 - Timea Babos (0/6/1), Lucie Safarova (4/3/0)
6 - ANGEL CHAN (3/2/1), Ekaterina Makarova (3/3/0), Elena Vesnina (3/3/0)
5 - Gaby Dabrowski (1/2/2), Kristina Mladenovic (4/0/1)

**FIRST-TIME WTA WD CHAMPIONS**
[2017]
Monique Adamczak, AUS
Dominika Cibulkova, SVK
Duan Yingying, CHN
Nao Hibino, JPN
Dalila Jakupovic, SLO
Jiang Xinyu, CHN
Lesley Kerkhove, NED
Quirine Lemoine, NED
Lidziya Marozava, BLR
Nicole Melichar, USA
Alona Ostapenko, LAT
Nadia Podoroska, ARG
Arantxa Rus, NED
Storm Sanders, AUS
Anna Smith, GBR
Tang Qianhui, CHN
[2018]
GEORGINA GARCIA PEREZ, ESP
Simona Halep, ROU
Bibiane Schoofs, NED
FANNY STOLLAR, HUN

**2018 GRADE 1/A/SLAM JUNIOR CHAMPS**
Coffee Bowl: Maria Camila Osorio Serrano/COL
Copa Barranquilla: Maria Camila Osorio Serrano/COL
Traralgon: Liang En-shou/TPE
Prague: Maria Timofeeva/RUS
Australian Open: Liang En-shuo/TPE
Mundial Juvenil: Gabriella Price/USA
Asuncion Bowl: Maria Camila Osorio Serrano/COL
Banana Bowl: Maria Camila Osorio Serrano/COL
Yeltsin Cup: Lenka Stara/SVK

**"QUEEN OF MEXICO" WINNERS**
2015 Timea Bacsinszky, SUI (won Acap/Mont singles)
2016 Anabel Medina-Garrigues/Arantxa Parra-Santonja, ESP (won Acap/Mont WD)
2017 Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, RUS (4-time Mont.WS)
2018 ?
[2nd place]
2015 Caroline Garcia, FRA (RU Acap/Mont singles)
2016 Sloane Stephens, USA (Acap) & Heather Watson, GBR (Mont)
2017 Lesia Tsurenko, UKR (Acapulco WS)
2018 ?


Patty's new ball machine...it takes up less space, but needs more tender loving care.




Almost there...







ACAPULCO, MEXICO (Int'l/Hard)
=WS FINALS=
2001 Amanda Coetzer def. Elena Dementieva
2002 Katarina Srebotnik def. Paola Suarez
2003 Amanda Coetzer def. Mariana Diaz Oliva
2004 Iveta Benesova def. Flavia Pennetta
2005 Flavia Pennetta def. Ludmila Cervanova
2006 Anna-Lena Groenefeld def. Flavia Pennetta
2007 Emilie Loit def. Flavia Pennetta
2008 Flavia Pennetta def. Alize Cornet
2009 Venus Williams def. Flavia Pennetta
2010 Venus Williams def. Polona Hercog
2011 Gisela Dulko def. Arantxa Parra Santonja
2012 Sara Errani def. Flavia Pennetta
2013 Sara Errani def. Carla Suarez Navarro
2014 Dominika Cibulkova def. Christina McHale
2015 Timea Bacsinszky def. Caroline Garcia
2016 Sloane Stephens def. Dominika Cibulkova
2017 Lesia Tsurenko def. Kristina Mladenovic
=WD FINALS=
2001 Martinez Sanchez/Medina Garrigues d. Ruano Pascual/Suarez
2002 Ruano Pascual/Suarez d. Krizan/Srebotnik
2003 Loit/Svensson d. Mandula/Wartusch
2004 McShea/Sequera d. Blahotova/G.Navratilova
2005 Jidkova/Perebiynis d. Andres Rodriguez/Martinez Granados
2006 Groenefeld/Shaughnessy d. Asagoe/Loit
2007 Dominguez Lino/Parra Santonja d. Loit/Pratt
2008 Llagostera Vives/Martinez Sanchez d. Benesova/Cetkovska
2009 Llagostera Vives/Martinez Sanchez d. Dominguez Lino/Parra Santonja
2010 Hercog/Zahlavova-Strycova d. Errani/Vinci
2011 Koryttseva/Olaru d. Dominguez Lino/Parra Santonja
2012 Errani/Vinci d. Dominguez Lino/Parra Santonja
2013 Dominguez Lino/Parra Santonja d. Castano/Duque Marino
2014 Mladenovic/Voskoboeva d. Cetkovska/Melzer (Benesova)
2015 Arruabarrena/Torro Flor d. Hlavackova/Hradecka
2016 Medina Garrigues/Parra Santonja d. Bertens/Larsson
2017 Jurak/An.Rodionova d. Duque Marino/Cepede Royg
=======================================
'18 TOP SEEDS
WS: #1 Stephens, #2 Mladenovic
WD: #1 A.Smith/Voracova, #2 Adamczak/Dzalamidze

...Stephens finally makes her post-AO return, still seeking her first singles victory since winning the U.S. Open last September. She'll get Pauline Parmentier in the 1st Round, so if she doesn't get it there the "LOL" is on her, I guess.



INDIAN WELLS, CALIFORNIA USA (WTA 125/Hard)
=WS FINALS=
-new event-
=WD FINALS=
-new event-
=======================================
'18 TOP SEEDS
WS: #1 Linette, #2 Lepchenko

...still seeking her first '18 win (0-3), Francesca Schiavone faces off with Yanina Wickmayer in the 1st Round.


And, finally...




All for now.
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Wk.9- Sombrerenko!

March 4, 2018, 1:19 pm
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If you're a tennis player and you have a tendency to get a craving for sombreros every March, then you're in luck. Especially if your name is Lesia Tsurenko.



Elina Svitolina may be the highest-ranked Ukrainian, and the one with the most career titles. But does she have a sombrero? Nope. Meanwhile, Lesia has TWO.

=2017=


And that's *something*. I'm just sayin'.

Of course, Lesia could just let Eli borrow one, I suppose. All for one, and one for all, right?



*WEEK 9 CHAMPIONS*
ACAPULCO, MEXICO (Int'l/Hard Outdoor)
S: Lesia Tsurenko/UKR def. Stefanie Voegele/SUI 5-7/7-6(2)/6-2
D: Tatjana Maria/Heather Watson (GER/GBR) d. Kaitlyn Christian/Sabrina Santamaria (USA/USA) 7-5/2-6 [10-2]
INDIAN WELLS, CALIFORNIA USA (WTA 125/Hard Outdoor)
S: Sara Errani/ITA def. Kateyrna Bondarenko/UKR 6-4/6-2
D: Taylor Townsend/Yanina Wickmayer (USA/BEL) d. Jennifer Brady/Vania King (USA/uSA) 6-4/6-4


PLAYER OF THE WEEK:Lesia Tsurenko/UKR
...no one has been better in Acapulco the last two years than Tsurenko. A year ago, she lost just nineteen games en route to the title, the fewest dropped by any singles champion on tour in 2017. One year later, the 28-year old Ukrainian has lost just one set in her ten 2017-18 matches at the event, though her second straight title was a bit more difficult than the first. She'd already lost nineteen total games heading into the final this year, and she was forced to wrap up her most recent run with in come-from-behind fashion vs. Stefanie Voegele, as she recovered from a 7-5/4-2 deficit, getting as close as three points away from defeat before rallying to win in three. Earlier in the week, Tsurenko got wins over Lauren Davis, Arina Rodionova, #2-seeded Kristina Mladenovic and #3 Dasha Gavrilova. Now tied with four other women -- Amanda Coetzer (2001/03), Flavia Pennetta (2001/03), Venus Williams (2008/10) and Sara Errani (2012-13) -- with multiple Acapulco titles, Tsurenko extended her personal season streak with a title to four, having won a single crown every season since claiming her maiden win in Istanbul in 2015.


===============================================
RISERS:Veronica Cepede Royg/PAR and Danielle Collins/USA
...the highest-ranked South American woman not named Haddad Maia (though VCR *did* beat the Brazilian in a dramatic Fed Cup match in February), Cepede Royg became the first player from the continent to reach a WTA singles QF in 2018 with her final eight run in Acapulco. She posted upset wins over Belinda Bencic and Irina-Camelia Begu, then lost in three to Dasha Gavrilova. It's just VCR's second (w/ Seoul in Sept.) tour-level multiple MD win week on tour since her Round of 16 result last year at Roland Garros.



Two-time NCAA champ Collins, 24, once again showed her improving fortunes in the season's second WTA 125 Series event. After winning the first in Newport Beach in January, the former U-Va. star reached the QF in Indian Wells with wins over Vera Zvonareva and #1-seed Magda Linette, the latter victory being Collins' second career Top 100 victory. She lost to Sara Errani in the QF, but earned a MD wild card into the big Indian Wells event that stars in Week 10.


===============================================
SURPRISE:Renata Zarazua/MEX
...it's always nice when a local player can produce a career-best result on home soil, and in Acapulco that player was Zarazua. The 20-year old from Mexico, ranked #253, was granted a wild card into the MD and made the most of the opportunity, upsetting Kristyna Pliskova in the 1st Round to record not only her first career MD tour-level win, but also her maiden Top 100 victory. As it should be, she's up to a new career high of #231.


===============================================
VETERANS:Sara Errani/ITA and Kateryna Bondarenko/UKR
...putting the "Tortellini Incident" farther and farther away in her rear-view window, Errani claimed her biggest title since she won the most prestigious of her career two years ago in Dubai, taking the crown at the WTA 125 Series event at Indian Wells. The 30-year old, suspended two months last August for a February drug test that included a prohibited substance (annulling all her results from mid-February to early June of last year), entered the week ranked #125, meaning she had to go through qualifying to reach the MD. She did it with wins over Danielle Lao and Claire Liu, then coasted (never losing more than six games in any of her five MD matches, after having been forced to three sets by Liu in the final Q-round) to the title with wins over four Bannerettes (Jennifer Brady, Kristie Ahn, Danielle Collins and Amanda Anisimova) and a Ukrainian (Kateryna Bondarenko, 6-4/6-2 in the final). It's the best result of an ongoing comeback run for the second highest-ranked (for now, at least, as she'll now be just behind Francesca Schiavone) of the remaining Italian Quartet. She won a $60K challenger in October, reached a $100K semi in December (losing to Belinda Bencic), went 2-0 in leading Team Italia to a Fed Cup WG II win, and qualified in Dubai (def. Aryna Sabalenka to reach the MD, then Lesia Tsurenko in the 1st Rd.) last month. Errani will climb back into the Top 100 on Monday at #93.



Errani's I.W. opponent, 31-year old Bondarenko (#84), rebounded from a slow stretch that ironically kicked off with one of her better career moments -- a tour-level title in Tashkent last September (her first WTA crown in nine years). Before this past week, she'd gone just 2-5 in MD matches since taking that title, but wins over Evgeniya Rodina, Richel Hogenkamp, Yanina Wickmayer and Alja Tomljanovic finally put her back on a straighter path. One of three Ukrainians (Svitolina/Tsurenko) with tour-level singles titles over the past year, Bondarenko will now become the fourth (after Kozlova) currently ranked in the Top 75.
===============================================
COMEBACKS:Stefanie Voegele/SUI and Ajla Tomljanovic/AUS
...27-year old Swiss Voegele produced her best tour-level result in Acapulco since missing time (all of February-July '17) with a wrist injury last season, reaching her first career WTA singles final with wins over Tatjana Maria, Maria Sakkari, #1-seeded Sloane Stephens and Rebecca Peterson. Coming in ranked #183, after having been as high as #42 back in 2013, Voegele is the lowest ranked finalist on tour in '18, and she came within three points of becoming the second-lowest ranked champion (after #233 Marketa Vondrousova in Biel last year) since 2012. She led defending champ Lesia Tsurenko 7-5/4-2 in the final, but lost control of the match late in the 2nd set, losing a TB and then giving the Ukrainian back her break lead after having gotten the final set back on serve with a break for 3-2 one game earlier. Even with the loss, Voegele, who before Acapulco hadn't posted a MD tour-level win this season, will make a huge leap up the rankings on Monday, climbing fifty-seven spots to #126.



Meanwhile, at Indian Wells, Tomljanovic's comeback from February 2016 shoulder surgery continued as she reached her second WTA 125 Series semifinal of the season. After outlasting Andrea Petkovic in three sets, then seeing Varvara Lepchenko retire, the (now officially an) Aussie took out Viktorija Golubic before losing to Kateryna Bondarenko. The 24-year old, finally physically able to string together events (she's retired or lost via walkover five times since returning from her injury a year ago in Acapulco), has gone 19-8 since late October, a stretch which previously included an additional pair of QF in $80K and WTA 125 events, and final appearances in a $100K and another $80K. Tomljanovic was a Top 50 player as recently as 2015, after having reached the Roland Garros Round of 16 in 2014. She'll inch up from #96 to #91 on Monday.


===============================================


FRESH FACES:Rebecca Peterson/SWE and Amanda Anisimova/USA
...22-year old Peterson has been lurking for a while now, looking for an opportunity to take her shot at becoming the highest-ranked Swede on tour (at #139, she entered Week 9 sixty-four spots behind top-ranked Johanna Larsson at #75 -- the next highest Swede is Cornelia Lister, down at #440). She made her slam MD debut at last year's U.S. Open, and has gone 10-3 in ITF challenger finals in her career. After reaching the Acapulco MD as a qualifier, Peterson reached her first career tour-level SF by recording the first two Top 40 wins of her career over Alize Cornet (1st Rd.) and Zhang Shuai (QF), with a win over Olympic Gold Medalist Monica Puig sandwiched in between. She lost to Stefanie Voegele, but will climb to #119 on Monday, matching her previous career high from May 2016.

And just so that everyone knows, it's "R-e-b-e-c-c-a."



Meanwhile, 16-year old Anisimova put up another big pro result at the WTA 125 Series event in Indian Wells. The '17 U.S. Open girls champ (and '16 RG finalist) won her maiden pro title at a $60K challenger in Sacramento last summer. Last week, she made her way through qualifying, then knocked off Naomi Broady and countrywoman Nicole Gibbs and Caroline Dolehide in the MD to reach the semis. She failed to reach the biggest final of her career, falling in the semis to 30-year old Sara Errani, but will jump twenty-seven spots in the new rankings, cracking the Top 150 for the first time at #148.

The teenager's week has other fringe benefits, too...


===============================================
DOWN:Belinda Bencic/SUI and Krystyna Pliskova/CZE
...remember when Bencic was on a tear, on her way back to the Top 20 (or better), everyone's dark horse for a second week run at the Australian Open and the Comeback Player of the Year frontrunner? Yeah, that's no longer the case. After returning from injury last fall, the fresh Swiss was one of the big stories of the closing weeks of '17 and the early stages of this season, going 29-3 from September forward, winning her sixteenth straight match (not including her 3-1 stint in Perth at the Hopman Cup, which she won with that Roger Federling guy) in Melbourne with a victory in that big 1st Rounder vs. Venus Williams. Thing is, she hasn't won since. In Acapulco, she fell to Veronica Cepede Royg in three sets in the 1st Round, her fourth straight defeat (after losses in straights to Luksika Kumkhum, Barbora Strycova and Petra Kvitova). She'll enter next week just inside the Top 70, barely ahead of the likes of Laura Siegemund, who hasn't even played a match since last May.

Meanwhile, Pliskova now has very her own crazy tale that can begin with, "One time, I went down to Mexico..."



After spending a little time with local favorite Renata Zarazua during the Acapulco draw ceremony, the Czech proceeded to have a series of on-court nightmares involving the top-ranked (#253) Mexican player. First, she lost to her in the 1st Round of singles, as Zarazua notched her first career WTA MD win and first victory over a Top 100 player. Then, after entering the doubles MD (w/ Stefanie Voegele) as an alternate team, she lost in the 1st Round yet again to Zarazua (w/ countrywoman Ana Sofia Sanchez) in a 10-8 3rd set TB. After opening '18 with wins over Alona Ostapenko and Ana Bogdan, Pliskova has now gone 1-5 in her last six singles outings. She ended '17, after climbing as high as #35 last summer, on a 2-6 skid. She's now down to #76.
===============================================
ITF PLAYER:Andreea Amalia Rosca/ROU
...in the $15K at Hammamet, Tunisia, 18-year old Swarmette Rosca tied Rebecca Marino for the 2018 circuit lead by picking up her third challenger title of the season. The #4 seed defeated Anastasia Grymalska 6-2/6-2 to take the crown, improving her 2018 record to 21-2. She's reached the final in four of her five events this season on the ITF level, after winning two of her final three tournaments in '17. The Romanian has gone 34-3 in her last eight events, and is 40-5 since mid-November. After being ranked #919 at the official end of last season (November 6), she'll be at a career high of #445 on Monday.


===============================================


JUNIOR STARS:Leylah Annie Fernandez/CAN and Simona Waltert/SUI
...seven years after countrywoman Genie Bouchard claimed the same title in 2011, 15-year old Fernandez became the most recent Canadian girl to win the Grade A Campeonato Internacional Juvenil de Tenis de Porto Alegre crown in Brazil. The junior #84 had never before advanced deeper than the semis of a Grade A or I event, but came into the week having posted a series of good results in recent months. Fernandez won back-to-back Grade 2 titles in November, and reached the QF of the G1 Asuncion Bowl just last month. Last week, she notched wins over Alexa Noel (in the 2nd Round, def. the Bannerette for the second time in three weeks) and Gabriella Price (QF), then followed up by taking down Georgia's Ana Makatsaria, who'd claimed the event's biggest scalp by upsetting Maria Camila Osorio Serrano, and Clara Tauson in a 6-3/7-6(4) final, finishing off the Dane in a 2nd set TB after having twice failed to serve out the match.

In Macon, France, 17-year old Waltert (Jr. #12) claimed the all-Swiss $15K challenger title with a 6-1/3-6/6-3 win over Tess Sugnaux to win her first pro singles title. A '17 Wimbledon girls semifinalist, Waltert's clay title run came after two previous ITF finals (on clay and hard courts) last season. The Swiss defeated #4-seeded Manon Arcangioli, as well as Latvian junior Daniela Vismane (SF), en route to the crown.
===============================================
DOUBLES:Tatjana Maria/Heather Watson (GER/GBR)
...teaming for the first time, Maria & Watson won the title in Acapulco, winning three of four matches via 3rd set TB, including in the final vs. first-time WTA finalists Kaitlyn Christian & Sabrina Santamaria. Their only "easy" match came against the only seeded duo they faced, a 4 & 1 win over #4-seeded Arruabarrena/Parra Santonja. It''s Maria's third tour WD title, and Watson's fourth.



The championship match featured the WTA final debut of former NCAA doubles champions (at USC) Christian & Santamaria, who'd previously combined to win three ITF challenger titles. For her part, it's not the first time Christian has garnered attention of late. She was the subject of an October New York Times profile, as well as appearing in the "Battle of the Sexes" movie as the body double for Emma Stone (as Billie Jean King), and is also credited as portraying '77 Australian Open champ Kerry Melville in the film.

Emma Stone (l) and Kaitlyn Christian (r) as Billie Jean King
===============================================


Sure, it's a decade (or two, or three) late, but...



...it's the USTA. You take good things wherever you can find them.


1. Acapulco Final - Lesia Tsurenko def. Stefanie Voegele
...5-7/7-6(2)/6-2. Having won sixteen straight sets (and led 5-0 when her opponent retired in another) over a two-year span in Acapulco, Tsurenko dropped the opening set in the '18 final vs. first-time tour finalist Voegele, hitting nine DF in the set (and four in a row to close it out, handing the set to the Swiss). She eventually trailed 7-5/4-2, but broke Voegele and soon served for the 2nd set at 5-4, only to see her opponent get back on serve and eventually get within three points of the title. But the Ukrainian took a 7-2 2nd set TB, then took a 3-1 lead in the 3rd. Again, Voegele broke to get back on serve in game #5, but Tsurenko turned it on late to successfully defend her title.


===============================================
2. Acapulco 1st Rd. - Sloane Stephens def. Pauline Parmentier
...6-4/6-0. Hey, it only took almost six months, but Sloane finally notched her first match win since claiming the U.S. Open, ending her eight match losing streak with an impressive closing out of the Pastry. In fact, she liked it so much she came back later in the day in doubles with Monica Puig and beat Parmentier again, starting with another bagel set and winning a 6-0/2-6 [11-9] 1st Round decision.

Acapulco 2nd Rd. - Sloane Stephens def. Arantxa Rus
...5-7/7-6(6)/6-0. One round after polishing off her winning touch, Stephens had to prove that she still wanted it enough to fight for it. She did, overcoming Rus serving for the match at 5-4 in the 2nd, then saving a MP down 6-5 in the TB before ending a second straight match with a love set win.



Acapulco QF - Stefanie Voegele def. Sloane Stephens
6-4/5-7/6-2. Unfortunately for Stephens, whether it be the fatigue from her first build-up of matches for her in quite a while, or simply the career-long mastery the Swiss has maintained over her, Sloane fell a round later to Stefanie Voegele. Voegele is now 4-1 vs. Stephens, and three of her four career Top 15 wins have come against her. It was her first Top 20 win since a 2013 match in which, naturally, she also defeated Stephens.
===============================================
3. Acapulco QF - Dasha Gavrilova def. Veronica Cepede Royg
...4-6/6-4/6-2. The Aussie ultimately went out to Tsurenko in the semis, but on her way there she perfected the art of "winning ugly." She racked up twelve DF while defeating Renata Zarazua in the 2nd Round, then had nine more against VCR here.
===============================================
4. Acapulco 1st Rd. - Monica Puig def. Dayana Yastremska
...2-6/6-4/5-0 ret. Timing is everything, and sometimes it feels like the only thing. Like when Yastremska retired here with an ankle injury, down MP and really only needing to let Puig fire an uncontested ace to end things, rather than crossing past the net post to shake hands. But what can ya do?


===============================================
5. Acapulco 2nd Rd. - Kristina Mladenovic def. Beatriz Haddad Maia 3-6/6-3/7-5
Acapulco QF - Lesia Tsurenko def. Kristina Mladenovic 6-2/6-2
...Mladenovic managed to win a tough one against the Brazilian, despite failing to close out the match serving up 5-4, 40/love and holding triple MP. She won the final two games to get the victory, then got just four total off Tsurenko a round later. Even with her ultra-slow start to '18, the Pastry's two wins in Mexico allow her to head to the California desert sporting a winning record for the season at 8-7.
===============================================
6. Acapulco Q1 - Amandine Hesse def. Dalina Jakupovic
...6-2/2-6/7-6(2). Down 4-1 in the 3rd, then 6-5, 40/love, Hesse scrambled to win her opening qualifying match. She'd go on to reach the MD, where she'd fall in straights to Kiki Mladenovic, her Fed Cup teammate and partner in the deciding doubles match victory that defeated Belgium a couple of weekends ago.
===============================================
7. Indian Wells 125 1st Rd. - Andrea Petkovic/Francesca Schiavone def. Ajla Tomljanovic/Vera Zvonareva 6-4/3-6 [10-5]
Indian Wells 125 1st Rd. - Ajla Tomljanovic def. Andrea Petkovic 4-6/7-5/6-4
...Petko and Tomljanovic were likely tired of each other pretty early this past week, as they combined to experience fifty-one games (+15 TB points) and 3:34 of court time as opponents in a pair of 1st Rounders.
===============================================
8. $25K Sao Paulo Final - Tara Moore/Conny Perrin def. Hsu Chieh-yu/Marcela Zacarias
...6-4/3-6 [13-11]. After losing five straight ITF doubles finals as a duo, as well as a tour-level one in Rio, engaged couple Moore & Perrin picked up their second challenger crown (w/ an $80K challenger in Albuquerque last September) with a title run in Brazil.


===============================================
9. Indian Wells 125 Final - Taylor Townsend/Yanina Wickmayer def. Jennifer Brady/Vania King
...6-4/6-4. Townsend & Wickmayer knocked off three of the top four seeded duos (#2 Krejcikova/Lapko, #3 Brady/King & #4 Duan/Wang) en route to the I.W. 125 title. It's Townsend's biggest title, and a nice follow-up for Wickmayer to her singles/doubles sweep at the $25K challenger in Surprise, Arizona last month. That previous run came precisely nine years after the former U.S. Open semifinalist, who slipped out of the Top 100 at the end of '17, last won the event back in 2009 as a teenager.


===============================================
10. Campeonato Internacional Juvenil de Tenis de Porto Alegre QF - Ana Makatsaria def. Maria Camila Osrio Serrano
...7-6(5)/6-4.Down goes Osorio Serrano! Down goes Osorio Serrano! The 17-year old from Georgia (the jr. #70, and #12 seed) ended the top-seeded Colombian's perfect 24-0 '18 junior mark (and 26-match jr. winning streak), denying her the chance to follow up her 4-for-4 Grade 1 title run this season with another in a Grade A event. Makatsaria lost a round later to 15-year old Canadian Leylah Annie Fernandez.
===============================================
HM- $15K Sharm El Sheikh Final - Berfu Cengiz def. Yuliya Hatouka
...6-3/4-6/6-3. Perhaps jockeying for position to be the next in line when it comes to a series of "the next player from Turkey to..." accomplishments, 18-year old Cengiz picked up her third career ITF title with a victory in the final Belarus' Hatouka. She defeated Iga Swiatek in three sets in the semis. Cengiz is currently sixth-ranked Turk, just outside the Top 500, and the youngest from her nation with a tour singles ranking.

15k???????? #chuckyisback ??

A post shared by Berfu Cengiz (@berfu_cengiz) on


===============================================


Name Game... hmmm, no "Petra?" Boo-hiss!



The Tweener Game... not Naomi's forte.




1. Acapulco 1st Rd. - Renata Zarazua def. KRISTYNA PLISKOVA 6-3/6-4
Acapulco 1st Rd. - Ana Sofia Sanchez/Renata Zarazua def. Kristyna Pliskova/Stefanie Voegele 4-6/6-4 [10-8]
...and Renata had been so nice to Kristyna at the draw ceremony, too.
===============================================
2. Indian Wells WTA 125 Final - Sara Errani/ITA def. KATERYNA BONDARENKO/UKR
...6-4/6-2. Errani is the 18th player to have won both a WTA tour-level *and* WTA 125 Series singles title in her career.
===============================================

























Sigh... and she was supposed to be by Bethanie Mattek-Sands' side when she made her return in the desert, too.




And Alona says, "And I'd be trolled by a few thousand social media miscreants, and Kiki."


















**2018 DEFENDED SINGLES TITLES**
Hobart - Elise Mertens, BEL (F def. Buzarnescu)
Dubai - Elina Svitolina, UKR (F def. Kasatkina)
ACAPULCO - LESIA TSURENKO, UKR (F def. Voegele)

**CURRENT LONG SEASONS-WITH-A-TITLE STREAKS*
11 years - Caroline Wozniacki (2008-18)
8 years - Petra Kvitova (2011-18)
6 years - Elina Svitolina (2013-18)
6 years - Simona Halep (2013-18)
4 years - LESIA TSURENKO (2015-18)
[w/o 2018 title]
11 years - Serena Williams (2007-17)
5 years - Karolina Pliskova (2013-17)
4 years - Garbine Muguruza (2014-17)
3 years - Irina-Camelia Begu (2015-17)
3 years - Sloane Stephens (2015-17)

**2018 FIRST-TIME WTA FINALISTS**
Hobart - Mihaela Buzarnescu, ROU (#57, 29)
Taipei City - Kateryna Kozlova, UKR (#85, 23)
Acapulco - STEFANIE VOEGELE, SUI (#183, 27)

**2018 LOW-RANKED WTA SEMIFINALISTS**
#246 Sabine Lisicki/GER (Taipei City)
#183 STEFANIE VOEGELE/SUI (ACAPULCO) [RU]
#152 Wang Yafan/CHN (Taipei City)
#139 REBECCA PETERSON/SWE (ACAPULCO)
#122 Sachia Vickery/USA (Auckland)
#121 Viktoria Kuzmova/SVK (Budapest)
#103 Hsieh Su-Wei/TPE (Auckland)
#100 Camila Giorgi/ITA (Sydney)
[WTA 125]
#232 Mayo Hibi/JPN (Newport Beach)
#180 Sofya Zhuk/RUS (Newport Beach) [RU]
#175 AMANDA ANISIMOVA/USA (INDIAN WELLS)
#162 Danielle Collins/USA (Newport Beach) [W]
#125 SARA ERRANI/ITA (INDIAN WELLS) [W]
#107 Ajla Tomljanovic/CRO-AUS (Newport Beach)

**2018 WEEKS AT #1**
[1Q]
1/1: Simona Halep
1/8: Simona Halep
1/15: Simona Halep
1/22: Simona Halep
1/29: Caroline Wozniacki
2/5: Caroline Wozniacki
2/12: Caroline Wozniacki
2/19: Caroline Wozniacki
2/26: Simona Halep
3/5: Simona Halep
3/12: Simona Halep
3/19: -
3/26: -
4/2: -

**2018 ITF TITLES**
3...Rebecca Marino, CAN
3...ANDREEA AMALIA ROSCA, ROU
2...Anhelina Kalinina, UKR
2...Gabriella Taylor, GBR

**INDIAN WELLS & MIAMI...**
[reached IW-Miami Finals]
1991 Monica Seles (L-W)
1994 Steffi Graf (W-W)
1996 Steffi Graf (W-W)
1999 Serena Williams (W-L)
2000 Lindsay Davenport (W-L)
2000 Martina Hingis (L-W)
2005 Kim Clijsters (W-W)
2006 Maria Sharapova (W-L)
2012 Maria Sharapova (L-L)
2013 Maria Sharapova (W-L)
2016 Victoria Azarenka (W-W)
[reached AO-IW-Miami Finals]
1991 Monica Seles (W-L-W)
1994 Steffi Graf (W-W-W)
2000 Lindsay Davenport (W-W-L)
2000 Martina Hingis (L-L-W)
2012 Maria Sharapova (L-L-L)












INDIAN WELLS, CALIFORNIA USA (Premier Mandatory/Hard)
=WS FINALS=
1989 Manuela Maleeva d. Jenny Byrne
1990 Martina Navratilova d. Helena Sukova
1991 Martina Navratilova d. Monica Seles
1992 Monica Seles d. Conchita Martinez
1993 Mary Joe Fernandez d. Amanda Coetzer
1994 Steffi Graf d. Amanda Coetzer
1995 Mary Joe Fernandez d Natasha Zvereva
1996 Steffi Graf d Conchita Martinez
1997 Lindsay Davenport d. Irina Spirlea
1998 Martina Hingis d. Lindsay Davenport
1999 Serena Williams d. Steffi Graf
2000 Lindsay Davenport d. Martina Hingis
2001 Serena Williams d. Kim Clijsters
2002 Daniela Hantuchova d. Martina Hingis
2003 Kim Clijsters d. Lindsay Davenport
2004 Justine Henin d. Lindsay Davenport
2005 Kim Clijsters d. Lindsay Davenport
2006 Maria Sharapova d. Elena Dementieva
2007 Daniela Hantuchova d. Svetlana Kuznetsova
2008 Ana Ivanovic d. Svetlana Kuznetsova
2009 Vera Zvonareva d. Ana Ivanovic
2010 Jelena Jankovic d. Caroline Wozniacki
2011 Caroline Wozniacki d. Marion Bartoli
2012 Victoria Azarenka d. Maria Sharapova
2013 Maria Sharapova d. Caroline Wozniacki
2014 Flavia Pennetta d. Aga Radwanska
2015 Simona Halep d. Jelena Jankovic
2016 Victoria Azarenka d. Serena Williams
2017 Elena Vesnina d. Svetlana Kuznetsova
=WD FINALS=
1989 Mandlikova/Pam Shriver d. Fairbank/Rush-Magers
1990 Novotna/Sukova d. G.Fernandez/Navratilova
1991 FINAL RAINED OUT
1992 Kohde-Kilsch/Rehe d. Hetherington/Rinaldi
1993 Stubbs/Sukova d. Grossman/Hy
1994 Davenport/Raymond d. Bollegraf/Sukova
1995 Davenport/Raymond d. Savchenko Neiland/A.Sanchez
1996 Rubin/Schultz-McCarthy d. Halard/Tauziat
1997 Davenport/Zvereva d. Raymond/Tauziat
1998 Davenport/Zvereva d. Fusai/Tauziat
1999 Hingis/Kournikova d. MJ.Fernandez/Novotna
2000 Davenport/Morariu d. Kournikova/Zvereva
2001 Arendt/Sugiyama d. Ruano Pascual/Suarez
2002 Raymond/Stubbs d. Dementieva/Husarova
2003 Davenport/Raymond d. Clijsters/Sugiyama
2004 Ruano Pascual/Suarez d. Kuznetsova/Likhovtseva
2005 Ruano Pascual/Suarez d. Petrova/Shaughnessy
2006 Raymond/Stosur d. Ruano Pascual/Shaughnessy
2007 Raymond/Stosur d. Chan/Chan
2008 Safina/Vesnina d. Yan/Zheng
2009 Azarenka/Zvonareva d. Dulko/Peer
2010 Peschke/Srebotnik d. Petrova/Stosur
2011 Mirza/Vesnina d. Mattek-Sands/Shaughnessy
2012 Huber/Raymond d. Mirza/Vesnina
2013 Makarova/Vesnina d. Petrova/Srebotnik
2014 Hsieh/Peng d. C.Black/Mirza
2015 Hingis/Mirza d. Makarova/Vesnina
2016 Mattek-Sands/Vandeweghe d. Goerges/Ka.Pliskova
2017 L.Chan/Hingis d. Hradecka/Siniakova
=======================================
'18 TOP SEEDS
WS: #1 Halep, #2 Wozniacki
WD: #1 Makarova/Vesnina, #2 Chan/Chan

...the draw for the desert will be coming shortly, as MD play won't begin until mid-week. Not only will Serena and Vika make *their* returns...



But so will another...




And, finally, a heartfelt goodbye to the little goldfinch who lost his life outside Backspin HQ this week. Poor thing was blown head-first into a tree by a sudden gust of wind and, well, that was all he/she wrote. RIP. (Of course, he was buried under some loose dirt and leaves and given a 21-ace salute.)


Back later with Indian Wells picks. Also, here are the Backspin Awards for the past month.

All for now.
↧

A Month of Rising Cream, and Curdled Milk

March 4, 2018, 1:20 pm
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It's a given that every month on the tennis tour will see "the cream of the crop" rise to the top...



But the Tennis Gods have made it so that when that happens, an equal amount of talent on the opposite end of the success spectrum must therefore "curdle."It's just the way things are on the WTA tour.

Sell Art Online

Of course, come a month (or two) from now, the cream may have become curdled, and the previously curdled milk may miraculously repair itself and rise to the top. *That's* just the way things are on the Most Interesting Tour in the World, too. So, embrace the madness.

Now, about what's happened since the end of the Australian Open...


1. Petra Kvitova, CZE
...the Czech's reign of feel-good, good-natured, "Pojd!"-laced, dominance (through thick and thin, as things got progressively more difficult as the month wore on) continued in Saint Petersburg, Prague and Doha. Through it all, she's gone 13-0, notched six Top 10 wins (three over the Top 4), returned to the Top 10 herself *and* knocked two players (Mladenovic and Goerges) out of the Top 10 by beating them.


===============================================
2. Elina Svitolina, UKR
...even while she's still looking forlornly through the slam glass, Svitolina surely knows how to win on the "regular" tour. She picked up her second title of the season in Dubai, defending her title and improved her season record to 14-2. She's the only player currently ranked in the Top 5 to have never reached #1, as well as the only to have never reached a slam final.
===============================================
3. Dasha Kasatkina, RUS
...the Russian put on another pre-spring fling over the past month, going 7-3 (after a 1-3 start to '18) and for the third straight year posting eye-opening results in the season's opening months. She reached the Saint Petersburg semis and Dubai final (after saving 5 MP) while posting wins over the likes of Wozniacki, Muguruza, Konta and Radwanska.
===============================================
4. German Fed Cup Team
...Playing at home for a fourth straight tie, defending Fed Cup finalist Belarus was the decided favorite against a German "B" team that didn't include the likes of Angelique Kerber, Julia Goerges or Andrea Petkovic (or even Sabine Lisicki). But Germany, in new Captain Jens Gerlach's first tie in the position, transformed into 2018's 1st Round Cinderellas, defeating 2017's version, who'd knocked off 2016's originals (the Dutch) *last* February. Riding wins from Tatjana Maria (in her first tie since 2011), Antonia Lottner (def. '17 BLR star Aliaksandra Sasnovich in her debut debut FC match) and a clinching doubles victory from Maria & longtime stalwart Anna-Lena Groenefeld for a 3-2 win, overcoming a come-on-everyone-get-on-my-back-and-I'll-try-to-carry-us-all-over-the-finish-line performance from (almost) Wonder Woman Aryna Sabalenka.


===============================================
5. Garbine Muguruza, ESP
...still working her way into the new season, Muguruza made significant progress this past month. After starting the year 2-3, she reached the Doha final and Dubai semis, post a 5-2 record. She went 2-0 vs. Caroline Garcia, and in her two losses when three sets to Kvitova and held 3 MP vs. Kasatkina.
===============================================
HM- Simona Halep, ROU
...still nursing injuries (an ankle, as well as a separate foot ailment) from her Swarmette Warrior AO final run, Halep still managed to show dominant form in Doha en route to reaching the semifinals before pulling out of the event due to continued (and increasing) pain. Standing at 14-1 on the season, Halep enters the spring U.S. hard court swing having regained the top ranking that she briefly lost after falling to Caroline Wozniacki in the Australian Open final.


===============================================

[FED CUP]
1. Kristina Mladenovic, FRA: putting the Pastry Fed Cup team on her back, Mladenovic ended her 15-match losing streak by going 2-0 in singles vs. Belgium (def. AO semifinalist Elise Mertens in the key match-up) and teaming with Amandine Hesse to win the deciding doubles and return France to this spring's semifinals
2. Ash Barty, AUS: Barty was one of the two (w/ Mladenovic) women to have a hand in all three live points in a 3-2 victory, leading Australia to a WG II win over an upstart Ukrainian team led by a 15-year old. She and Casey Dellacqua took the deciding doubles to clinch.
3. Petra Kvitova, CZE: Kvitova returned to Fed Cup play in the 1st Round tie against Switzerland, having lost four straight FC matches in 2015-16. Coming off her Saint Petersburg title run, she went 2-0 on an indoor hard court, powering the Czech Maidens to a tenth straight semifinal appearance.
4. Alona Ostapenko/Anastasija Sevastova, LAT: both lost singles matches, but twice teamed in a "make-up" efforts in deciding doubles matches, including a win over Serbia in the Europe/Africa I zone Promotional Playoff
5. Anna-Lena Groenefeld/Tatjana Maria, GER: playing with a "B"-team vs. '17 FC finalist Belarus, the Germans pulled the upset in Minsk, finishing off with ALG/Maria winning a tight deciding doubles in the 3rd set of 2:29 match, converting on their fourth MP
HM- Venus Williams, USA: back for another FC go-around, Venus won two matches (and played her 1000th "official" career match) to lead the 2017 FC champion Bannerettes back to the semis

[DOUBLES]
1. Gaby Dabrowski, CAN: the AO Mixed champion entered the doubles Top 10 with her second '18 WD title, teaming with Alona Ostapenko to win in Doha

2. Alona Ostapenko, LAT: while Latvian Thunder hasn't been all that loud so far this season, she's often rebounded in doubles. After an early singles exit in Doha, she teamed with Dabrowski to take the title. A week earlier, she'd joined with Sevastova to help Team Latvia recover from upset singles losses from *both* countrywomen.
3. Timea Bacsinszky/Vera Zvonareva, SUI/RUS: the high points (so far) of both vets' comebacks has been their unexpected title run as a duo in Saint Petersburg

[JUNIORS]
1. Maria Camila Osorio Serrano, COL: the Colombian picked her third and fourth 2018 Grade 1 titles over the past month, and put together a season-opening junior-level winning streak of 24 matches (26 straight dating back to '17)
2. Leylah Annie Fernandez/CAN: the Canadian (jr. #84) made a big leap by claiming the Grade A event Porto Alegre, Brazil. The 15-year old knocked off the likes of Bannerettes Alexa Noel and Gabriella Price en route to the final, where she defeated Dane Clara Tauson in straight sets.
3. Lenka Stara, SVK: the Slovak claimed her first career Grade 1 title at the Yeltsin Cup, knocking off five straight Hordettes on their home soil to take the crown
4. Olga Danilovic, SRB: the 17-year old went 3-0 (def. Sevastova, Shapatava & Shinikova) in Fed Cup play, nearly leading the Serbian FC Bracelettes to a promotion out of Europe/Africa I (losing a deciding doubles match vs. Latvia in the Promotional Playoff)
5. Gabriella Price, USA: the 14-year old grabbed her first career Grade 1 title in Ecuador, taking the title without losing a set

[ITF]
1. Rebecca Marino, CAN: the Canadian returned from a five-year sabbatical and ran off 19 straight wins, winning three straight challenger titles in Antalya, Turkey
2. Andreea Amalia Rosca, ROU: after winning a pair of December challengers, the 18-year old Swarmette has grabbed three more in 2018, begining the season on a 21-2 tear. She's 40-5 since mid-November, and has improved her ranking by over 450 spots in the last four months.
3. Gabriella Taylor, GBR: the British teen claimed a pair of $25K crowns in Australia
4. Madison Brengle, USA: Brengle hasn't gotten off to a quick start on the WTA tour in '18, but she picked up the season's first $100K title in Midland, dropping just sixteen total games in six wins en route to the crown
5. Marta Kostyuk, UKR: aside from all the other things she's done in the season's opening weeks, the 15-year also picked up a career-best $60K challenger win in Burnie, Australia immediately after her surprise AO run



RISERS: Timea Babos/HUN, Alison Van Uytvanck/BEL and Naomi Osaka/JPN
SURPRISES: Georgina Garcia Perez/Fanny Stollar (ESP/HUN), Kateryna Kozlova/UKR and Wang Yafan/CHN
VETERANS: Julia Goerges/GER, Angelique Kerber/GER and Lesia Tsurenko/UKR
COMEBACKS: Kristina Mladenovic/FRA, Sara Errani/ITA and Sabine Lisicki/GER
FRESH FACES: CiCi Bellis/USA, Elena Rybakina/RUS and Anna Blinkova/RUS
JUNIOR STARS: Clara Tauson/DEN, Alexa Noel/USA and Ana Geller/ARG
DOUBLES: Angel Chan/Yang Zhaoxuan (TPE/CHN) and Tatjana Maria/Heather Watson (GER/GBR)
ITF: Kaitlyn Christian/Sabrina Santamaria (USA/USA), Yanina Wickmayer/BEL and Tamara Zidansek/SLO
DOWN: Belinda Bencic/SUI, Latisha Chan/Andrea Sestini-Hlavackova (TPE/CZE) and Alona Ostapenko/LAT (singles)
MOST IMPROVED: Viktoria Kuzmova/SVK, Veronica Cepede Royg/PAR and Magda Linette/POL

[FED CUP]
RISERS: Veronica Cepede Royg/PAR and Aryna Sabalenka/BLR
SURPRISES: Deborah Chiesa/ITA, Ankita Raina/IND and Abigail Tere-Apisah/PNG
VETERANS: Tatjana Maria/GER and Johanna Konta/GBR
COMEBACKS: Sara Errani/ITA and Magdalena Rybarikova/SVK
FRESH FACES: Antonia Lottner/GER and Marta Kostyuk/UKR
JUNIOR STARS: Olga Danilovic/SRB and Emiliana Arango/ECU
DOUBLES: Miyu Kato/Makoto Ninomiya (JPN) and Lesley Kerkhove/Demi Schuurs (NED)
DOWN: Lara Arruabarrena/ESP, Dasha Gavrilova/AUS & Aliaksanda Sasnovich/BLR
MOST IMPROVED: Viktoria Kuzmova/SVK and Richel Hogenkamp/NED


1. THE MONTH OF PETRA: Kvitova wins 13 straight matches, leading the Czechs back to the Fed Cup semis and claiming titles in Saint Petersburg and Doha, resurrecting the gasps of awe and possibilities of a "Petra era" first experienced during her SW19 runs in 2011 and '14.
===============================================
2. AT LONG LAST, IT'S KIKI: Despite riding a 15-match losing streak, and heading an inexperienced and (mostly) inconsequential group of additional Pastries, Kristina Mladenovic has a hand in all three of France's points in 3-2 Fed Cup 1st Round victory over Belgium.


===============================================
3. ELI DOES IT AGAIN: Elina Svitolina defends her Dubai title, dropping just one set and defeating Angelique Kerber (SF) and Dasha Kasatkina (F) as she improved her career record in finals to 11-2
===============================================
4. HOLDING OUT FOR A HERO: Ash Barty fills the Aussie Fed Cup tennis vacuum, exorcising a few Australian FC demons on home soil by having a hand in all three points in a 3-2 WG II win over Ukraine. She's now a combined 9-2 (4-1/5-1) in her FC career.
===============================================
5. THE FIELD (save for one) FEARS THE KASATKINA: Dasha Kasatkina saves five MP over two matches -- 2 vs. Konta in the 2nd Rd., 3 vs. Muguruza in the SF -- to reach her third career tour final, making her the youngest '18 WTA singles finalist (at 20), and (finally) crack the Top 20 for the first time in her career.
===============================================
HM- THE (NEW) QUEEN OF MEXICO?: A year after dropping no sets and just 19 games en route to the title, Lesia Tsurenko won ten of eleven sets while successfully defending her Acapulco crown. The 28-year old Ukrainian knocked off the #2 (Mladenovic) and #3 (Gavrilova) seeds, then overcame a 7-5/4-2 deficit vs. Stefanie Voegele in the final.


===============================================


1. Dubai 2nd Rd. - Dasha Kasatkina def. Johanna Konta
...4-6/7-6(6)/6-2. Over the course of three hours, Kasatkina and Konta tested each other. The Brit won most of the early battles, staving off nine straight BP chances in the first two sets before the Russian finally broke her late in the 2nd. Kasatkina saved two MP, won an 8-6 TB to force a 3rd set, and eventually pulled away as her defense and Konta's UE total (63 to Dasha's 34) ultimately turned things in the Hordette's favor. Kasatkina converted just four of fourteen BP chances on the day, but it was enough to extend what turned out to be an epic week of survival, as she would go on to save 3 MP vs. Garbine Muguruza in the semis and reach the final.
===============================================
2. Doha Final - Petra Kvitova def. Garbine Muguruza
...3-6/6-3/6-4. In their first meeting in a final, Kvitova staged vs. the Spaniard what was her last of many comebacks during the week. Muguruza raced to a 5-0 lead in the 1st while the Czech was trying to find her serve, as she fired at just a 48% clip (vs. 75% for Garbi) in the set. While she continuously faced danger on serve for the rest of the match, she *always* found a way to prevail. She saved BP and held for 2-1 and 3-2 leads in the 2nd, broke to go up 4-2, then saved BP again in game #7 en route to evening the match with a 6-3 set win. Kvitova improved her serve percentage to 68% in the 2nd, and out-hit Muguruza 16-4 in winners. In the 3rd, it was a similar story. The Czech saved BP for a hold for 2-2, broke Muguruza a game later, then saved BP again in game #6 on her way to finally putting the Spaniard away to pick up her second straight title and 13th straight victory.

===============================================
3. Doha SF - Petra Kvitova def. Caroline Wozniacki
...3-6/7-6(3)/7-5. The Czech and the Dane tangled for 2:35, trading off attempts in the 2nd and 3rd sets to serve out the match. First, Wozniacki served up 6-3/5-4 (suffering a love break), then 6-5, in the 2nd. Kvitova won a TB to force a 3rd set, where she held from 15/30 (even w/ two DF, of the eleven she had on the day) for 4-4, broke a game later, and served for the match at 5-4. She was broken by the Dane, but then broke back a game later and finally served out the match. The win ended Wozniacki's 12-match semifinal unbeaten streak (it's the first time she failed in an attempt to reach a final since the 2016 U.S. Open vs. Kerber).
===============================================
4. Doha QF - Caroline Wozniacki def. Angelique Kerber
...7-6(4)/1-6/6-3. Wozniacki won a rare match over Kerber in which the German dropped the opening set (she'd been 4-1 in '18, having held MP in her one previous loss vs. Halep in the AO semis), denying her opponent's multiple opportunities to turn the match in her favor. Kerber served for the 1st set, and later served up 1-0, 40/love in the 3rd, only to drop serve. Serving at 3-4, the German was broken again after leading 30/love and reaching GP.
===============================================
5. Fed Cup Americas I Promotional Playoff Match #2 - Veronica Cepede Royg/PAR def. Beatriz Haddad Maia/BRA
...6-7(2)/7-5/7-6(9). Cepede Royg and Haddad Maia saw their match suspended with the Brazilian leading 4-3 in the 1st set. Hours later, after day had turned into night, Haddad took a late break lead in the 3rd, only to see VCR break back and force a deciding TB (with a rule change, the long, drawn out final sets in FC play are now history because, you know, who wants drama?). The Paraguayan held triple MP at 6-3, only to see Haddad save all three and hold three MP of her own. The Brazilian DF'd on #3 up 9-8, leading to VCR finally securing the win and clinching the tie victory on MP #4 to take the breaker 11-9, ending a match that lasted 3:20 between the lines, but much longer when you factor in the rain delay.


===============================================
6t. Fed Cup World Group II Match #2 - Magdalena Rybarikova/SVK def. Anna Kalinskaya/RUS 5-7/6-3/6-4
...Rybarikova only played one match on FC weekend, but it was a doozy. With SVK already down 1-0 against a Hordette team that arrived in Bratislava with a combined total of one FC singles win in their careers, the prospect of having to stage a comeback from 0-2 down looked very real. Kalinskaya, in her FC singles debut, led the match 7-5/3-1, only to see Rybarikova run off five straight games to force a 3rd set, where the Russian took a break lead at 4-3. At that point, Rybarikova's medical timeout took her off court for treatment on a back injury, while Kalinskaya stayed on court for a leg massage. When the Slovak veteran returned, the momentum permanently swung in her favor. She broke for 4-4, held from love/30 down, and then broke the teenager again to steal the match, save the day, and set the tone for the sort of effort it was going to take to win this tie. The 2:22 match was Rybarikova's first FC singles win since 2008. On Sunday, Viktoria Kuzmova's first career FC win clinched Slovakia's first ever win over Russia.

Fed Cup World Group II Match #4 - Viktoria Kuzmova/SVK def. Anastasia Potapova/RUS 3-6/6-3/6-4
...of course, it took a bit of sweating to get there. Kuzmova may very well be the future of SVK Fed Cup, but after losing 4 & 2 to Natalia Vikhlyantseva in Match #1, then falling down a set vs. 16-year old Potapova in Match #4, things weren't looking particularly good for her in her debut FC singles weekend. But the 19-year old pulled her big game together and staged a comeback against Russian Captain Myskina's "substitute Anastasia," making her first FC victory a truly historic one, ending her nation's winless streak vs. the Hordettes with an epic forehand put-away.


===============================================
8. Fed Cup 1st Round Match #5 - Anna-Lena Groenefeld/Tatjana Maria (GER) def. Aryna Sabalenka/Lidziya Marozava
...6-7(4)/7-5/6-4. Teaming for the first time since 2011, ALG/Maria finished off Germany's upset of Belarus in Minsk by taking the deciding doubles, saving a BP in the final game and finally winning on MP #4. Germany's reward? The Czechs in the semifinals.
===============================================
HM- Taipei City 2nd Rd. - Magda Linette def. Johanna Larsson
...6-1/6-7(4)/7-6(3). In 3:08, Linette and Larsson shared a total of nine MP, with Linette finally winning on her fifth. She'd led 4-1, twice served for the win and held four MP in the 2nd only to see Larsson force a TB and win it, then Linette staged her own comeback from 5-3 down and saved four Larsson MP in the 3rd to force another TB, where *she* finally won.
===============================================


1. Dubai SF - Dasha Kasatkina def. Garbine Muguruza
...3-6/7-6(11)/6-1. After going 3:00 (and saving 2 MP) vs. Johanna Konta earlier in the week, Kasatkina went "just 2:30" in this one, staging another comeback win despite being down a break twice in the 2nd set. Four straight breaks of serve led into the start of the TB, where the Russian started with a DF before then winning a 38-shot rally and saving three MP, including one with a successful replay challenge. She took the breaker 13-11 to force a 3rd. After failing to close out the win, Muguruza then "drifted" toward the finish, dropping serve to open the set, committing too many errors and ultimately notching just a single game in the deciding stanza.
===============================================
2. Taipei City 1st Rd. - Sabine Lisicki def. Zhang Yuxuan
...6-3/1-6/7-6(3). Sure, it was #246 vs. #360, but it was Lisicki's first match back from her latest injury (knee), and she had to battle back from 5-1 down, and double MP, in the 3rd set to get the win en route to what turned out to be a season-opening semifinal result.
===============================================
3. Acapulco 2nd Rd. - Sloane Stephens def. Arantxa Rus
...5-7/7-6(6)/6-0. One round after polishing off her winning touch with her first win (after going 0-8) since her U.S. Open triumph, Stephens had to prove that she still wanted it enough to fight for it. She did, overcoming Rus serving for the match at 5-4 in the 2nd, then saving a MP down 6-5 in the TB.
===============================================
4. Acapulco Final - Lesia Tsurenko def. Stefanie Voegele
...5-7/7-6(2)/6-2. Having won sixteen straight sets (and led 5-0 when her opponent retired in another) over a two-year span in Acapulco, Tsurenko dropped the opening set in the '18 final vs. first-time tour finalist Voegele, and trailed 7-5/4-2. She broke the Swiss and served for the 2nd set at 5-4, only to see her opponent get back on serve and eventually get within three points of the title. But the Ukrainian took a 7-2 2nd set TB, then took a 3-1 lead in the 3rd. Again, Voegele broke to get back on serve in game #5, but Tsurenko turned it on late to successfull defend her title.
===============================================
5. Fed Cup 1st Round Match #2 - CoCo Vandeweghe/USA def. Richel Hogenkamp/NED
...4-6/7-6(6)/6-3. Hogenkamp had Vandeweghe, seeking her thirteenth consecutive FC win in her first outing since her early loss in Melbourne, on the ropes. After blowing a 4-2 lead in the 1st with a bushel of DF, Vandeweghe fell behind 6-4/2-0, leading to, well, you know.

The deficit increased to 3-1 before she turned things around. After failing to serve out the 2nd at 5-4, she won the TB 8-6 with a match-leveling ace, and then finally found her form in the 3rd. Still, the Belgian out-pointed her 111-110 in the match. But it's just another experience in Vandeweghe's long and winding FC journey, which now includes having the Williams Sisters cheer her on from the sidelines. "I was a junior hitter, a bench partner and then a player. I've worked my way up and to have them behind you, it gives you goosebumps," she said.
===============================================
6. Budapest 2nd Rd. - Zhang Shuai def. Jana Cepelova
...2-6/7-6(4)/6-3. Cepelova got off to a quick start as she dominated the first set and a half, winning the final four games to close out the 1st, then going up a break in the 2nd, holding two MP. But Zhang got things to a TB, where she went up 4-0 and forced a 3rd set. There, she broke the Slovak's serve three times, finishing off the second of her first back-to-back victories this season.
===============================================
7t. Dubai Q3 - Sara Errani def. Aryna Sabalenka 6-2/1-6/7-6(4)
Budapest Q1 - Roberta Vinci def. Anna Kalinskaya 3-6/6-4/7-6(3)
...this could very well be the last time we see two original members of the Italian Quartet come back from MP down to win in the same week. Errani impressively staged a comeback from 4-1 and 5-3 down in the 3rd vs. Sabalenka, who served for the match and held a MP at 5-4. In Budapest, aside from celebrating her 35th birthday courtside with a big honking "candle"-topped cake, Vinci saved a MP at 5-4 in the 3rd vs. Kalinskaya, winning and then reaching the MD with a 2:30 Q2 victory over Vera Lapko. While Errani topped one Belarusian, Vinci then lost to the other, falling to Aliaksandra Sasnovich in the 1st Round.
===============================================


1. Saint Petersburg 2nd Rd. - Elena Rybakina def. Caroline Garcia
...4-6/7-6(6)/7-6(5). The Garcia 2.0 that we saw in the closing weeks of 2017 wasn't in evidence here, as the Pasty twice led by a set and a break, failed to serve out the match at 5-4 in the 2nd, couldn't convert a MP and dropped a TB she led 3-0 and 4-1 as the #450-ranked Russian teen forced a 3rd set and won it in another TB to notch her first career Top 10 win.


===============================================
2. Fed Cup 1st Rd. Match #2 - Antonia Lottner/GER def. Aliaksandra Sasnovich/BLR 7-5/6-4
...what Sasnovich did to so many top players a season ago while leading a Cinderella Belarus squad to the '17 final, FC debutante Lottner did to *her* in Minsk in the Belarusian's '18 FC opener. Sasnovich never returned on the weekend, and Belarus was never quite the same, no matter how hard Aryna Sabalenka tried to right the squad's course by shear force of will. Germany won the deciding doubles, as the nation's "B"-team completed the biggest upset of this year's FC 1st Round, defeating Belarus 3-2.
===============================================
3. Fed Cup WG II Match #4 - Deborah Chiesa/ITA def. Lara Arruabarrena/ESP
...6-4/2-6/7-6(7). This tie seemed destined to go to the deciding doubles, but then Chiesa earned her Italian Fed Cup merit badge by taking on "the world" and winning, closing out this 2:28 match to move the Italians -- amazingly, yet again, even with something of a skeletal team -- within one victorious tie of returning to the World Group in 2019.
===============================================
4. Fed Cup Europe/Africa I Pool A Round Robin Match #2 - Cagla Buyukakcay/TUR def. Alona Ostapenko/LAT
...6-2/3-6/6-3. No matter what happened by the end of the weekend, as Latvian scrambled to win a Promotional Playoff and advance to the WG Playoffs, the most significant result in Tallinn was this one. Buyukakcay has racked up a series of "first player from Turkey to..." honors the last couple of seasons, though her results have somewhat leveled off over the last year or so. That changed when she opened up round robin play with a 6-2/3-6/6-3 win over the reigning Roland Garris champ, recording the first Top 10 win of her career.
===============================================
5. Doha 2nd Rd. - Mihaela Buzarnescu def. Alona Ostapenko
...6-1/6-3.days after Fed Cup, Ostapenko was registered by an opponent as their first career Top 10 victim for the second week in a row.
===============================================
6t. Acapulco 1st Rd. - Renata Zarazua def. Kristyna Pliskova 6-3/6-4.
Acapulco 1st Rd. - Ana Sofia Sanchez/Renata Zarazua def. Kristyna Pliskova/Stefanie Voegele 4-6/6-4 [10-8]
...the 20-year old Mexican (#253) notches her first WTA MD win and her maiden career Top 100 victory over Pliskova in front of a home crowd, then returned later in the day (w/ Ana Sofia Sanchez) and, not showing much hospitality, beat her in doubles, too. "...and don't come back, either."


===============================================
8. Fed Cup World Group II - Marta Kostyuk/UKR def. Dasha Gavrilova/AUS
...7-6(3)/6-3. Gavrilova's "favorite" surface is grass. 15-year old Kostyuk (the '17 AO Jr. champ) admitted her leeriness of it during the week. Yet, in her FC debut, the Ukrainian, fresh off a breakout AO performance and ITF title run in Australia, hit double the number of winners (20-10) as Dasha, adding yet another wonderful experience to Australian memory wall.
===============================================
9t. Saint Petersburg 1st Rd. - Anastasia Potapova def. Tatjana Maria 6-2/6-4
Saint Petersburg 1st Rd. - Elena Rybakina def. Timea Bacsinszky 6-4/6-3
...the next Revolution begins, with two Hordettes getting their maiden MD wins on home soil.
===============================================
HM- Fed Cup Asia/Oceania I Pool A Round Robin Match #2 - Ankita Raina/IND def. Yulia Putintseva/KAZ
...6-3/1-6/6-4. Fed Cup is often shunted aside and ignored, but for the vast majority of the players involved on all levels of the competition it provides some of the most memorable moments of their entire career. Raina's win over Putintseva was such a moment, as she notched the biggest win over her career in her nation's longest-ever FC match (2:53), in front of a home crowd that included her mother.

===============================================


And, now, on to the spring... no matter what Mother Nature says.



And where Genie Bouchard can perfect the next phase of her attack vs. the USTA...




All for now.
↧
↧

Pell Mell and Anything Goes in Indian Wells?

March 5, 2018, 9:04 pm
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Hmmm, but what does it mean for Indian Wells?






















**INDIAN WELLS SINGLES FINALS**
1989 Manuela Maleeva d. Jenny Byrne
1990 Martina Navratilova d. Helena Sukova
1991 Martina Navratilova d. Monica Seles
1992 Monica Seles d. Conchita Martinez
1993 Mary Joe Fernandez d. Amanda Coetzer
1994 Steffi Graf d. Amanda Coetzer
1995 Mary Joe Fernandez d Natasha Zvereva
1996 Steffi Graf d Conchita Martinez
1997 Lindsay Davenport d. Irina Spirlea
1998 Martina Hingis d. Lindsay Davenport
1999 Serena Williams d. Steffi Graf
2000 Lindsay Davenport d. Martina Hingis
2001 Serena Williams d. Kim Clijsters
2002 Daniela Hantuchova d. Martina Hingis
2003 Kim Clijsters d. Lindsay Davenport
2004 Justine Henin d. Lindsay Davenport
2005 Kim Clijsters d. Lindsay Davenport
2006 Maria Sharapova d. Elena Dementieva
2007 Daniela Hantuchova d. Svetlana Kuznetsova
2008 Ana Ivanovic d. Svetlana Kuznetsova
2009 Vera Zvonareva d. Ana Ivanovic
2010 Jelena Jankovic d. Caroline Wozniacki
2011 Caroline Wozniacki d. Marion Bartoli
2012 Victoria Azarenka d. Maria Sharapova
2013 Maria Sharapova d. Caroline Wozniacki
2014 Flavia Pennetta d. Aga Radwanska
2015 Simona Halep d. Jelena Jankovic
2016 Victoria Azarenka d. Serena Williams
2017 Elena Vesnina d. Svetlana Kuznetsova

**INDIAN WELLS DOUBLES FINALS**
1989 Mandlikova/Pam Shriver d. Fairbank/Rush-Magers
1990 Novotna/Sukova d. G.Fernandez/Navratilova
1991 FINAL RAINED OUT
1992 Kohde-Kilsch/Rehe d. Hetherington/Rinaldi
1993 Stubbs/Sukova d. Grossman/Hy
1994 Davenport/Raymond d. Bollegraf/Sukova
1995 Davenport/Raymond d. Savchenko Neiland/A.Sanchez
1996 Rubin/Schultz-McCarthy d. Halard/Tauziat
1997 Davenport/Zvereva d. Raymond/Tauziat
1998 Davenport/Zvereva d. Fusai/Tauziat
1999 Hingis/Kournikova d. MJ.Fernandez/Novotna
2000 Davenport/Morariu d. Kournikova/Zvereva
2001 Arendt/Sugiyama d. Ruano Pascual/Suarez
2002 Raymond/Stubbs d. Dementieva/Husarova
2003 Davenport/Raymond d. Clijsters/Sugiyama
2004 Ruano Pascual/Suarez d. Kuznetsova/Likhovtseva
2005 Ruano Pascual/Suarez d. Petrova/Shaughnessy
2006 Raymond/Stosur d. Ruano Pascual/Shaughnessy
2007 Raymond/Stosur d. Chan/Chan
2008 Safina/Vesnina d. Yan/Zheng
2009 Azarenka/Zvonareva d. Dulko/Peer
2010 Peschke/Srebotnik d. Petrova/Stosur
2011 Mirza/Vesnina d. Mattek-Sands/Shaughnessy
2012 Huber/Raymond d. Mirza/Vesnina
2013 Makarova/Vesnina d. Petrova/Srebotnik
2014 Hsieh/Peng d. C.Black/Mirza
2015 Hingis/Mirza d. Makarova/Vesnina
2016 Mattek-Sands/Vandeweghe d. Goerges/Ka.Pliskova
2017 L.Chan/Hingis d. Hradecka/Siniakova

**MOST INDIAN WELLS WS FINALS**
6...Lindsay Davenport (2-4)
3...Kim Clijsters (2-1)
3...Steffi Graf (2-1)
3...Maria Sharapova (2-1) *
3...Serena Williams (2-1) *
3...Martina Hingis (1-2)
3...Caroline Wozniacki (1-2) *
3...Svetlana Kuznetsova (0-3) *
2...Martina Navratilova (2-0)
2...Victoria Azarenka (2-0) *
2...Mary Joe Fernandez (2-0)
2...Daniela Hantuchova (2-0)
2...Ana Ivanovic (1-1)
2...Jelena Jankovic (1-1) *
2...Monica Seles (1-1)
2...Amanda Coetzer (0-2)
2...Conchita Martinez (0-2)
--
* - active

**SERENA/VIKA/MARIA IN MAIN DRAW w/o WINNING TITLE**
[since January 2012, when Azarenka first #1]
2012 Miami (Champion: Radwanska)
2013 Wimbledon (Bartoli)
2014 Australian Open (Li)
2014 Wimbledon (Kvitova)
2014 Montreal (Radwanska)
2015 Indian Wells (Halep)
2015 Madrid (Kvitova)
2016 Australian Open (Kerber)

**INDIAN WELLS-MIAMI...**
[reached IW-Miami Finals]
1991 Monica Seles (L-W)
1994 Steffi Graf (W-W)
1996 Steffi Graf (W-W)
1999 Serena Williams (W-L)
2000 Lindsay Davenport (W-L)
2000 Martina Hingis (L-W)
2005 Kim Clijsters (W-W)
2006 Maria Sharapova (W-L)
2012 Maria Sharapova (L-L)
2013 Maria Sharapova (W-L)
2016 Victoria Azarenka (W-W)
[reached AO-IW-Miami Finals]
1991 Monica Seles (W-L-W)
1994 Steffi Graf (W-W-W)
2000 Lindsay Davenport (W-W-L)
2000 Martina Hingis (L-L-W)
2012 Maria Sharapova (L-L-L)






Sure, Garbine won the Best Dressed award BEFORE the tournament, but what about the trophy that'll be handed out in a little under two weeks...?







INDIAN WELLS, CALIFORNIA USA (Premier Mandatory/Hard)
'18 TOP SEEDS
WS: #1 Halep, #2 Wozniacki
WD: #1 Makarova/Vesnina, #2 Chan/Chan
=======================================
...so many various parts of the old band (Serena, Vika, Sveta, etc.) all seem to be getting back together in the desert, but will those returns (and a few others) *only* be first week stories?

Serena opens her season vs. Zarina Diyas, but could meet Venus in the 3rd Round. Vika gets Heather Watson (with Sloane Stephens waiting in the wings in the 2nd), while Sveta's post-bye match will be vs. the Sabalenka/Lepchenko winner. Also, Maria Sharapova will face Naomi Osaka in the 1st, and would meet Aga Radwanska (oh, the possibilities...) one round later, then maybe Garbine Muguruza. Meanwhile, defending champion Elena Vesnina's potential 2nd Rounder vs. giant-killing-loving CiCi Bellis could be a doozy.

But what about week two?

Well, while Indian Wells has traditionally been a haven for the "well-to-do" of the WTA tour -- 20 of 29 singles champions have won slam crowns, and five of the nine who haven't have reached slam finals, with two having been ranked #1 -- last year's version was one of the rare breaks with tournament history. Vesnina's surprise title run made her only the fourth I.W. champ -- with Manuela Maleeva ('89) and Daniela Hantuchova ('02/'07) -- without at least a slam singles final appearance on her resume (though she *did* reach the semis at SW19 in '16).

Of course, the Russian "paid" for her rule-breaking. Since her Indian Wells triumph, she's has gone just 18-25. Her opponent in the final last year -- Svetlana Kuznetsova -- has won two more matches over the same span (20-12), and she hasn't even played a competitive match since early October.

Hmmm, of course, over the past month, whenever she's been in action, the entire tennis establishment has bowed down in tribute to a certain Czech. Though she's never won a title in the desert, or even reached a semifinal there (her best results have been QF runs in '13 and '16), in her absence, the love for all things Petra was palpable... as well as tangible.




Arriving in California on a 13-match, three-city, two title-winning peerless streak, Kvitova is the #9 seed, positioned in the Muguruza/Pliskova quarter of the draw, on the #1-seeded Simona Halep's side of the big board. She's on the opposite side of the action from the likes of Serena, Vika, Maria, Caro, Venus, Elina and even defending champ Elena. So, while there will likely be drama in Petra's half of the field, *many* eyes will be focused elsewhere. At least for a while.

Will it produce yet another environment that will allow the likes of Super Petra to maintain her peak(ing) form? While climbing back into the group herself, Kvitova's already taken down six Top 10ers during her 13-match run. Could consecutive 4th Rd-QF-SF face-offs with Pliskova/Muguruza/Halep set the stage for a true love-fest on the final weekend of play?

Well, here's *one* version of how things might go...


=ROUND OF 16=
#1 Halep d. #14 Mladenovic
#11 Konta d. #6 Ostapenko
#3 Muguruza d. #16 Barty
#9 Kvitova d. #5 Ka.Pliskova

Has Halep's foot gotten enough rest? We could find out early, as she might face Cibulkova in the 3rd Round, then Mladenovic (the '17 semifinalist might get Mertens in the 3rd, after defeating her in Fed Cup last month) in the Round of 16. Is this where Konta (just 6-5 in non-FC matches) or Ostapenko (3-6 on tour) finally begin to find their form (or might the returning Kuznetsova immediately hit her stride and beat out both of them?)? Muguruza has been busy around L.A. in recent days, but *did* reach the QF a year ago and has posted good results in recent weeks. Kvitova has won 24 straight matches vs. fellow Czech Maidens (and is 45-8 against her countrywomen in her pro career).

#8 V.Williams d. #12 Goerges
#4 Svitolina d. #15 Keys
#10 Kerber d. #7 Garcia
#2 Wozniacki d. (WC) Azarenka

Goerges is coming off a hip injury that caused her to miss Dubai, while Venus is playing Indian Wells for a third straight year for the first time since 1996-98. It's high time Svitolina put up a deep run in (at least) one of the Sunshine Double events. The Ukrainian has a gradual approach to things, so after 1st/2nd Round exits in 2013-14, then 4th/3rd/4th the last three years in the desert, it should work out to a QF/SF result this time around, right? Kerber has cooled off *just a little* since her sterling start to '18, but while she's 0-3 this year vs. the Halep/Wozniacki/Svitolina trio, she's 15-0 (19-0 w/ Hopman) against everyone else. She can't face any of those three until at least the QF. Wozniacki reached three I.W. finals between 2010-13 (winning once), and was a combined 8-2 there (QF) and Miami (RU) in '17.

=QF=
#1 Halep d. #11 Konta
#9 Kvitova d. #3 Muguruza
#8 V.Williams d. #4 Svitolina
#2 Wozniacki d. #10 Kerber

...Halep is 2-2 vs. Konta on hard courts, losing to her in Miami last year (in fact, it was *the* match that sparked The Ultimatum from coach Darren Cahill), then defeating the Brit last summer in Cincinnati. Kvitova, who has played in I.W. just once in the past three years, leads the career series vs. Muguruza 4-1, with four straight wins. Svitolina has won her last two matches vs. a Williams. Wozniacki and Kerber first met on a tennis court fourteen years ago, in a junior event in Luxembourg in 2004 (Caro won in three sets). Six of their last ten matches (of 14 as pros -- Kerber leads 8-6) have gone the distance

=SF=
#9 Kvitova d. #1 Halep
#2 Wozniacki d. #8 V.Williams

...of course, with these semifinals, we *could* have a "do-over" of the AO final.

=FINAL=
#9 Kvitova d. #2 Wozniacki

...the story sort of writes itself, so you almost have to go with it.




=DOUBLES CHAMPIONS=
...the doubles draw isn't out yet. But, ummm, maybe Dabrowski/Xu? They won in Miami in 2017.


At any rate...



So, expect the unexpected?


All for now.
↧

To Be Swell and Dare Not Dwell in Indian Wells

March 11, 2018, 12:02 am
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Hmmm, timing?

Sort of like trying to do a "mid-tournament" Indian Wells update at the close of the 2nd Round, only to see it start to rain in the California desert and the next-to-last scheduled match to be completed suddenly stopped, and the final late night contest become, at best, a "late, late night" one... and then both ultimately get shoved onto the *Sunday* slate?

Yeah, like that. Grrr.

But, hey, did you hear that Tiger Woods is back?





Of course, Serena Williams, back after a 404-day absence -- which included motherhood, a(nother) brush with death, and a wedding -- will take a bit of time to round into shape. But her Indian Wells wins over Zarina Diyas and Kiki Bertens did little to dissuade anyone from the notion that it's just a matter of *when* and not *if* it will happen during the 2018 season. A serving of strawberries, cream and slam #24 would surprise no one. Well, that is, unless she manages to hit stride even earlier in Pa-... nah, we can't act as if Serena is a superhero, no matter how much she often resembles one.



Next up for Serena: naturally, a meeting with Venus on Monday.
===============================================


Of all the returning-to-action stars at this event, none looked as immediately ready to go as Victoria Azarenka. But that's for good reason, as her custody fight for 15-month old Leo has been the thing keeping her off court rather than injury, recovery or rehab. As she's shown in her social media posts (in between pics and vids of her growing son), she's been on the practice court quite often. In her first match since last Wimbledon, she was aggressive and downed Heather Watson (the last person she defeated, in last summer's SW19 3rd Rd.) in straight sets. Aside from one long-winded hold late in the 2nd, it was quite a impressive debut for a player who hasn't played a match in nearly seven months. Azarenka has also joined up with countrywoman Aryna Sabalenka to form a fairly-intense doubles duo in Indian Wells. They've already knocked off Sloane Stephens & Genie Bouchard.

Vika was supposed to face Stephens again in the final scheduled 2nd Round singles match on Saturday night, set to start after the match with that Roger Federling guy had concluded. But, naturally, it started to rain in the desert mid-way through the 2nd set of the men's match and pushed everything even *deeper* into the night. Especially on the *East* coast. Especially on a night when the clocks are moved one hour *ahead* and 2 a.m. is suddenly 3 a.m., and so on. And then, at just before 1 a.m., which would soon be 3 a.m. at Backspin HQ in another hour, the match was finally pushed back to Sunday (along with the still-to-finish Kerber/Makarova match, with the Hordette up a set).

So...



Hence, this is *almost* a complete 1st and 2nd Round update, I guess.
===============================================
With the tour schedule winding back around to the U.S., Bannerettes used the occasion to roll out some of their best results. It started with teenager Ashley Kratzer knocking off #1-seeded Kateryna Kozlova in qualifying, and has continued with big wins from Jen Brady (def. Mihaela Buzarnescu), Amanda Anisimova (def Anastasia Palvyuchenkova), Caroline Dolehide (def. Dominika Cibulkova), Danielle Collins (def. Madison Keys) and, in a "Friday Night Special," Sachia Vickery's upset of #3 Garbine Muguruza.



In Vickery's first event as a Top 100 player, she got the biggest win of her career, becoming the second straight Muguruza opponent to come from behind to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat against the Spaniard. In Dubai, Muguruza twice held a break lead vs. Dasha Kasatkina in the 2nd set and had three MP in the TB, only to lose it 13-11 and then "wander off" while the Russian ran away with the 3rd. Against Vickery, she led by a set and 3-0, and had six points for a 4-0 lead, but she failed to convert any, and saw Vickery storm back and level the match. Back-to-back DF in game #4 of the 3rd handed Vickery a 3-1 lead, and she never looked back. Muguruza, as per usual, seemed, umm, something less than interested in Sam Sumyk's coaching advice during a changeover visit late in the match. The guidance of Conchita Martinez, added to the Mugu team but still not the "#1" coach, always seems to level and bring out the best in Muguruza, while the Sumyk-Garbi dynamic always appears to be ultra-tense and problematic. One wonders what the hold-up might be for the "flip" to officially occur.

Of course, Muguruza seems to use the bulk of her schedule as a tune-up for the slams, where she far more often resembles the sometimes-spectacular player we all know she *can* be when properly motivated. So, I guess as long as her major results are where she wants them, the cover-your-eyes moments everywhere else are "tolerable."Until they no longer are.
===============================================
Needless to say, my interest in Naomi Osaka's fortunes were significantly piqued a few months back when she brought aboard the suddenly-free Sascha Bajin as coach. As I said in the Prediction Blowout, "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 its 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 has continued to be one of the most lightly-discussed, but possibly most intriguing storylines of the season. It only became more so during the first week in Indian Wells.



One of the key advances necessary for Osaka's career to take an upturn was always her ability to be more consistent, which is surely tied into her not allowing negativity to slip into her thought process. If Bajin, after years of working with the likes of Serena, Vika and Caroline Wozniacki, has used that experience to find a way to manage to help begin a changing of that process with Osaka it could be a *huge* deal, and there certainly seems to already be something different about her. Her quick leads in both sets over Sharapova were impressive, but what was even more so was how she held on and claimed both after the Russian had twice leveled things at 4-4. Even Osaka noted how in the past she'd likely has been unable to halt either slide. She's blown so many leads in the past, keeping her from some large wins, so this development would be big step.



Osaka finds herself in a section of the draw where she will next meet Vickery, with the victor facing the winner of Vandeweghe/Sakkari for a spot in the quarterfinals. Of note, maybe, Osaka defeated CoCo at the U.S. Open in 2015 in their only previous meeting.


===============================================
Meanwhile, Sharapova's loss (her third in a row, something which has hasn't happened since 2003, to drop her to 5-4 on the season, after she'd finished '17 on a 10-3 run) was accompanied by a coaching change, as she parted ways with Sven Groeneveld, who'd been with her for four years, and stayed around during her suspension. On Tennis Channel, Lindsay Davenport theorized that the move sounded to her like something a player might do if, after a hard stretch, she'd decided to "give it one more go" with a new coach before ultimately then having to make a decision to walk away from the sport if things don't turn around. She could very well be correct, if only because the Russian's main issue since her return has been her ability to stay *on* the court more than the notion that she couldn't climb back up the rankings. Almost a year since her first comeback match, she's still positioned outside the Top 40. The more she's been able to play, the better she's looked, and she even won a title last fall. But due to a series of injuries (often with her forearm) she hasn't been able to consistently string together tournaments, let alone victories. Her ability to regain the skills to finish off the sort of comeback that *didn't* happen this week vs. Osaka aren't really questioned. But she can't do it if she can't stay on the court.



If former coach Michael Joyce (2004-11) was free, the split with Groeneveld would surely make one wonder if a "let's-get-the-old(er)-band-back-together" might be in order. But Joyce joined the Johanna Konta camp last December. Although, considering the Brit has compiled just a 6-6 mark in '18 in WTA tour matches, including her 2nd Round I.W. loss to Marketa Vondrousova, maybe that situation *doesn't* have as long a lifespan as one might think. Of course, that's not to say that an occasional case of "coach pilfering" doesn't happen on the WTA tour, as it surely has... with one of the more recent, headline-grabbing ones coming when Sam Sumyk suddenly left the Azarenka camp for the Genie Bouchard team back in 2015.

Of course, that didn't work out all that well. For either of them. And while the Canadian *did* finally win her case vs. the USTA last month, she still hasn't gotten off her downward spiral *on* the court. She lost in the 1st Round in the desert to Sachia Vickery 6-3/6-4, and the New York Times has reported that her fast slide down the rankings is making it difficult for her to hold on to sponsors, as well.



Meanwhile, another former Sharapova coach, Thomas Hogstedt (2011-13), was last seen with Ekaterina Makarova. I *suppose* he's still with her. But, you know, as far as WTA coaching carousel goes, it's an almost hourly chore trying to keep things straight.

Oh, in case you were wondering, that '03 losing streak, which was actually *four* overall defeats by the then 16-year old, looked like this:

Australian Open: lost to Klara Koukalova 6-4/7-6(6)
$75K Midland: lost to Shenay Perry 6-4/6-3
Indian Wells: lost to Samantha Reeves 6-3/1-6/6-0
Miami: lost to Els Callens 7-6(3)/6-1

Three months later she won Wimbledon at age 17.
===============================================
On the ITF circuit in Week 10, Marta Kostyuk's remarkable 1st Quarter has been on once again in the $60K challenger in Zhuhai, China, although this time the ending didn't go according to script. The 15-year old Ukrainian, after reaching the final without losing a set (def. Ula Radwanska in the 1st Rd., then Anna Karolina Schmiedlova in the semis, lost to Waffle Maryna Zanevska in a 6-2/6-4 final, falling to 17-3 overall in 2018. The teen's season had already included a qualifier-to-3rd Round Australian Open run, $60K challenger title and her Fed Cup debut.

Brit Gabriella Taylor picked up her third challenger title of '18, winning the $25K Mildura title with a 6-0/6-3 win in the final over Pastry Sherazad Reix, extending her winning streak to ten matches and improving her season record to 17-1 (22-1 dating back to her final 2017 calendar year event back in December). She's won four of her last five ITF events. Taylor also claimed the doubles title, taking it with Katy Dunne. Taylor defeated Dunne in the semis en route to her singles crown. Also in Mildura...



Hey, JD.

Meanwhile, in her first event since publicly acknowledging her relationship with new Budapest champ Alyson Van Uytvanck, Waffle Greet Minnen (#1090, though she was as high as #263 in '16 before playing in just seven events in '17) picked up her fourth career ITF singles title. She defeated the #2, #7, #4 and #3 seeds in succession, including Bannerette Quinn Gleason in a 2-6/6-2/6-4 final. Van Uytvanck lost to Yulia Putintseva in three sets in the 1st Round in Indian Wells.



===============================================
As far as the juniors, China's Zheng Qinwen picked up her first career Grade 1 title in Nonthaburi, Thailand. The 15-year old defeated Japan's Yuki Naito 6-3/3-6/7-5. Zheng, who'd previously reached a G1 final in Germany last June, will now become the latest girl from China to climb into the junior Top 15, joining Wang Xinyu (#3) and Wang Xiyu (#7) on Monday as the impact of the "Li Na Generation" is likely only beginning to be felt.
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Rebecca Marino wasn't in Indian Wells this week, but so what? This is a very good piece about her from Tennis Channel...



It actually coincides quite well with Pam Shriver's post this week of some artwork from her daughter...


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Has Alona Ostapenko finally found her jumping-on point for the 2018 season? Latvian Thunder opened her Indian Wells schedule by winning a three-setter over Belinda Bencic. With Johanna Konta ousted in her section, the quartet of Ostapenko, Petra Martic and Marketa Vondrousova/Aryna Sabalenka will produce a quarterfinalist.

I'm liking the red-and-black adidas outfit, too.



And the Fila color schemes debuting this week are nice.



But that opinion may change after I've seen about twenty other players wearing the exact same thing over the next few weeks.
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Defending Indian Wells champ Elena Vesnina got her mural! And it at least somewhat resembles her -- I think the mouth makes it so -- which is never a given where those murals are concerned. I mean, who can forget the Chris Evert mural that looked like Steffi Graf?




And Elena, after losing the 1st set, won her opening match against CiCi Bellis, too, which was a necessary (but, honestly, not expected) development.

Here's the unveiling of the "Steffi Evert" (or "Chrissie Graf") mural...

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1. Indian Wells 2nd Rd. - Petra Kvitova def. Yulia Putintseva
...6-7(4)/7-6(3)/6-4. There she goes again. Kvitova's 14th straight win was a doozy. She trailed Putintseva 4-2 in the 3rd, and won despite 18 (!!) DF, and 78 UE's to go along with her 66 winners. Of course, the WTA saw fit to announce that the (official) 3:17 running time of this one made it the "longest WTA main draw match of the year." Come on, it's bad enough that they refuse to take note of Fed Cup matches when discussing the season's "longest match," but now they're trying to needlessly confuse people even more by differentiating such a "listing" from one that includes slam matches, too. It's a completely pointless act to call this the "longest WTA MD match" while ignoring the 3:45 marathon that occurred in the Australian Open between Simona Halep and Lauren Davis.


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2. Indian Wells 2nd Rd. - Sachia Vickery def. Garbine Muguruza
...2-6/7-5/6-1. Oh, Garbi. Oh, Sachia!


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3. Indian Wells 1st Rd. - Victoria Azarenka def. Heather Watson
...6-4/6-2. Game #7 of the 2nd set was an 18-minute, dozen-deuce hold from Vika.
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4. Indian Wells 1st Rd. - Belinda Bencic def. Timea Babos 1-6/6-1/7-6(4)
Indian Wells 2nd Rd. - Alona Ostapenko def. Belinda Bencic 6-4/3-6/6-1
...after saving a MP at 5-4 in the 3rd vs. Babos, Bencic wins in 2:23 to record her first victory since defeating Venus in the AO 1st Round. But then Ostapenko showed once again that the Swiss' late 2017 run in WTA 125 & challenger events doesn't necessarily mean she's *back* quite yet.
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5. Indian Wells Q1 - Ashley Kratzer def. Kateryna Kozlova
...6-4/6-1. The 19-year old, the '17 USTA national champ, takes out the #1 Q-seed. After losing the first four games of the match, she won eleven of the next twelve.
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6. Indian Wells Q2 - Monica Niculescu def. Roberta Vinci
...6-0/6-4."Alien (forehand slice) vs. Predator (backhand slice)."


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7. Indian Wells 1st Rd. - Aliaksandra Sasnovich def. Magda Linette
...5-7/7-6(2)/7-6(4). The Belarusian trailed 5-2 in the 3rd, then 2-0 in the deciding TB, before winning in 2:58.
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8. Indian Wells 1st Rd. - Sofya Zhuk def. Alize Cornet
...7-5/6-4. The 2015 Wimbledon junior champ notches her first WTA MD win (and, no, that doesn't mean she *also* won a previous slam MD match). She followed up with another win over Magdalena Rybarikova.


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HM- Indian Wells 2nd Rd. - Aryna Sabalenka def. Svetlana Kuznetsova
...6-4/6-3. 2017 I.W. finalist Sveta, in her first match of the season, exits early. With the result, she'll give up the #1 Russian ranking to Dasha Kasatkina.
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It's never not a good time to remember Bud Collins...



Bethanie is almost back... and it looks like we'll be seeing *twice* as much of her in Miami.






1. Indian Wells 1st Rd. - SERENA WILLIAMS def. Zarina Diyas
...7-5/6-3. Sorry, Zarina. It had to be *someone* who drew the short straw.


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2. Indian Wells 1st Rd. - NAOMI OSAKA def. Maria Sharapova
...6-4/6-4. With this one, Osaka added Sharapova's name to a list of '18 victims that already included Mladenovic, Barty, Kontaveit, Siniakova and Vesnina. Also, make a mental note about this win...
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3. Indian Wells 2nd Rd. - NAOMI OSAKA def. AGA RADWANSKA
...6-3/6-2. But also remember that *this* beat-down is how Osaka followed up her big 1st Round win. By the way, Aga, though she did win two matches in each of her first three events in '18, has now lost three straight for the first time in three years In 2015, it was Venus-Sveta-Maria who took her out. This time it's been Petra-DashaK-Naomi doing the deed.
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HM- Indian Wells 2nd Rd. - KAROLINA PLISKOVA def. Irina-Camelia Begu
...7-6(4)/6-1. Hours after Simona Halep had taken out Kristyna, Karolina fell behind 5-1 in the 1st to another Romanian. Begu twice served for the set, holding a 40/15 lead at one point. Then Pliskova turned it into a Fed Cup match.
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The editing job on this video of Wimbledon role models is genius...



"Four Billboards Outside Indian Wells, California"...




















NOTE: When this happened, Amanda Anisimova was still three and a half years away from being born.








I'll have an additional special Backspin post on Sunday -- one that I've talked about doing for a while now, and finally got things together to do this week.

All for now.
↧

To HOF, or Not to HOF, That is the Question

March 12, 2018, 12:00 am
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What makes someone a "Hall of Famer?" Winning too many big titles to keep count, or contributing something perhaps a bit less tangible to the tennis landscape? Dominance, or consistency? Adoration, lionization or a respected reputation garnered from a career marked by competitiveness and success, or some notion created when all such things are mixed together to produce the public image of an individual, some who might even reach so high a status that they may be recognized by simply uttering their first name alone?

While some individuals might be more easily acknowledged before others as "worthy" of inclusion within the hallowed halls of the International Tennis Hall of Fame in Newport, Rhode Island, is someone whose virtues must be listed and argued in favor of in order for the value of their admittance amongst the sport's "all-time greats" to be more readily accepted somehow *less* of a Hall of Famer than their aforementioned past counterparts and current peers? It's the sort of notion that has fueled arguments for years, regarding various sports and institutions.

But I'm not going to debate all that. I'm simply here to attempt to list, in some semblance of order, the women who are currently waiting in line to take their turn in the spotlight -- for some a fait accompli, for others long overdue -- in Newport, and therefore be remembered for decades thereafter, waiting to be discovered (or rediscovered) by current and/or future generations for all that they accomplished.


I've talked about compiling something of a "HOF Waiting/Most-Likely-to-Be-Invited List" for a while now, and I've finally put one together. In truth, Helena Sukova's inclusion in 2018's list in inductees spurred the completion of the task, as I'd jumped aboard her bandwagon as an overlooked former player worthy of Newport attention in last year's "Backspin Court of Appeals" post, and when she was announced as part of the latest HOF class I had a "Yeah-I-THOUGHT-so-but-why-did-it-take-so-LONG?" feeling that made some sort of a running "check list" necessary just to police Newport and see if the Powers That Be were wrongfully looking overlooking anyone ELSE bound to slip through the historical cracks -- be they long since retired, only recently gone, or even still toiling on the tennis tour -- and perhaps destined to never be given their well-earned due.

Now, I had to confine the list to (mostly, with one large exception -- in importance, as well as actual numbers of individuals) somewhat recent times. For the most part, players who at least played into the 1980s and with whom I had some passing acquaintance with their careers in something close to 'real time." Otherwise, it'd be like trying to argue who was the "greatest player ever" when I really didn't have much first-hand knowledge or memory or some of the individuals involved in the discussion other than some grainy film clips and accounts of the day. Of course, no one ever does *that*... well, wait. Of course they do.

But this is just a (fairly) reasoned listing of all (or most, as I'm sure I missed a few other potential contenders) the women who should (or might) be on the HOF voters minds'. Now, or at some point down the line. To date, more than 250 people have been inducted as official members of the Hall.

Here's a rundown of individuals who'll soon join them. Or maybe not.


GREEN - active player
ORANGE - retired 5-10 years (eligible for HOF)
RED - retired less than 5 years (weren't eligible for '18 class)
BLUE - more than 10 years past retirement
PURPLE - group entry/special class

Serena Williams - Do I really need to list the reasons? All right... 23 slams. End of discussion.
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Venus Williams - Before Serena, there was Venus. Actually, there might be Venus after Serena, too, come to think of it.
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Esther Vergeer (retired 2013) - the Dutch great won't be the first wheelchair tennis athlete in the HOF, but she'll be the greatest. She's maybe the most dominant athlete in any sport, anywhere, anytime. Ever. Vergeer should be eligible for next year's class, and it'll be an enshrinement crime if she's not immediately chosen in her first ballot year. She won 470 straight singles matches to end her career, was ranked #1 from 1999 until her 2013 retirement, claimed 21 slam singles crowns (and they didn't have a Wimbledon singles competition when she played) and 17 more in doubles, as well as 23 Masters titles (14 & 9) and seven Paralympic (4 & 3) Gold medals.


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Maria Sharapova - her Career Slam sealed the deal. The only question is whether she might be inducted in the same year as Serena, thereby forcing the opposing fandoms to decide to either forge a weekend truce, or fight one final battle to the death.
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Caroline Wozniacki - Tennis magazine's current "Top Players of the Open Era" rankings listed Wozniacki one spot *behind* Angelique Kerber. Ummm, no. With all due respect to the German, even before Melbourne, at best, it would have been an either/or proposition for that order to exist, but *after* the Dane's Australian Open title it's a little bit ridiculous when you compare their overall careers, where the edge definitely goes to the Dane (w/ two and half times more singles titles, and twice as many weeks at #1). While, in my opinion, Kerber is a "most likely" (w/ TWO slams), but still somewhat borderline, HOF entrant, every other statistic greatly lines up in the Dane's column. But this isn't a Caro-vs.-Angie argument, it's about *whether* the HOF will beckon. For Wozniacki, it now most definitely will.
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Li Na (retired 2014) - she only won nine tour singles titles, but two of them were slams and she was the first Asian champion at a major. Another Chinese player may ultimately rank higher than her (she reached #2), but none will have the impact she has, does and will have on the future landscape of the women's game. The "Li Na Generation(s)" will be a thing for a long time to come.
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SUAREZ (l) and RUANO PASCUAL (r)

Virginia Ruano Pascual/Paola Suarez (retired 2012/2010) - quite honestly, I'd forgotten just how much this duo had accomplished before gathering up info for this list. Now that I have it, I must ask why are they not *yet* enshrined? In 2010, the doubles duo of Gigi Fernandez/Natasha Zvereva were inducted into the HOF as a combo entry after going 14-4 in slam finals together. Suarez & VRP reached fourteen major finals, winning eight. Individually, Suarez won 44 doubles titles, as well as Olympic Bronze, while Ruano Pascual won 43 (plus two additional slams w/ Anabel Medina Garrigues), a mixed major and a pair of Olympic Silvers. Both reached #1 in doubles.
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Conchita Martinez (retired 2006) - any question about whether Martinez would one day be a HOFer ended when Sukova was selected for induction. If Sukova *is* a long-overlooked Hall of Famer, then Martinez is even *more* overdue.
It's easy to get lost in what Martinez wasn't and didn't do in an era that included the likes of Graf, Seles and countrywoman Sanchez, but what she did was quite impressive. The Spaniard reached slam singles finals on three surfaces, taking down Martina Navratilova (in her last slam final) at Wimbledon in one of more remarkable match-long barrage of passing shots you're ever likely to see. A five-time Fed Cup champ, Martinez had nine slam SF-or-better results in one fourteen-slam stretch in the middle of what was a very long career during which she played in 56 of 57 majors from 1991 to 2005, including eighteen consecutive appearances at Roland Garros. With singles titles over a seventeen-year span (first in 1988, last in 2005), Martinez made twelve straight season-ending championship fields, picked up 33 career singles titles (16th on the all-time list, w/ all fifteen ahead of her being either enshrined Hall of Famers, or sure-to-be-one-day active players -- Serena/Venus/Sharapova, along with four more HOFers directly following her on the title list) in 55 finals, winning nine Tier I titles (def. Sabatini, Graf, Navratilova, Sanchez, Hingis and Mauresmo -- five different players who reached #1 -- in those finals), picking up three Olympic medals in doubles (only the Williams Sisters and ASV have won more since the sport returned to the Games in '88), climbing as high as #2, she finished in the Top 5 four consecutive years from 1993-96. Seriously, Newport, get this done.
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Lisa Raymond (retired 2015) - a former NCAA champion, Raymond reached #1 in doubles (winning 79 titles, six slams, four WTAF and five mixed majors) and #15 in singles, too, reaching two slam QF before eventually becoming a doubles specialist. Her 137 weeks as WD #1 are fourth all time behind Navratilova, Huber and Black.
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Cara Black (retired 2015) and Liezel Huber (retired 2017) - I'll list Black and Huber separately, as the rough public comments that accompanied the break-up of their doubles partnership might preclude the notion of only seeing one in connection with the other. Though they *did* accomplish much together, there's enough to allow both women to stand on their own. Black was #1 for 163 weeks (3rd all-time) to Huber's 199 (2nd), but she won 60 titles to Huber's 53. A former junior champ (2 girls singles/3 girls doubles slams), Black won a tour-level singles title early in her career, and went on to win five slam doubles (4 w/ Huber, 1 w/ Stubbs) and five mixed slams (she's one of four women with a Career Mixed Slam in the Open era). Huber, too, won an additional slam title (w/ Raymond), two mixed majors, and was a contributing member to her adopted nation's (U.S.) Fed Cup efforts. Together, they added two WTAF titles, with Black winning another with Sania Mirza while Huber claimed one with Raymond. The only thing that might delay Huber's enshrinement might be that she wasn't particularly the most well-liked competitor amongst her peers. But should that matter?

HUBER (l) and BLACK (r)
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Svetlana Kuznetsova - a two-time slam winner (and four-time finalist), Sveta was a Fed Cup stalwart during Russia's glory years of dominance who climbed as high as #2 in singles. A dual threat, she's added sixteen doubles titles, including two slams, to her seventeen singles crowns. Beloved by all, she's also the queen of historically long matches, having played in the longest women's singles matches in both slam *and* Fed Cup history. Even if her versatility didn't put her over the top, her FC history would.


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Victoria Azarenka - is she a given? Possibly, but her injury history and long layoffs, barring a significant late career "second act" over the next few seasons, often leave something of a lingering whiff of "lost opportunity" on her career. Still, at her height, she was one of the few (of two, or maybe three, along with Venus and Henin) who were able to realistically threaten notions of Serena's on-court dominance over them (though she's still lost far most often than she won vs. Williams), won two slams (and reached two more finals), spent 51 weeks at #1, won a pair of mixed majors, and two Olympic medals (mixed Gold, singles Bronze). That should be enough. Unlike, say, someone like Garbine Muguruza, Azarenka has enough "extra" on her career resume that the highlights don't *only* consist of her major title runs.
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Rennae Stubbs (retired 2011) - still relevant as a commentator, the Aussie was a doubles #1, won 60 titles, including four slams (3 w/ Raymond, 1 w/ Black) and two mixed majors
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Sania Mirza - she may be something close to a "borderline" case, but she's been a huge star in India, and was the first woman from the country to reach doubles #1. Her 41 titles are a good mark in her column, along with three mixed crowns. But that she didn't win her first doubles slam until 2015 (a decade into her career), during her brief-but-phenomenally-successful run with Martina Hingis, is a bit of an eyebrow-raiser, though. "Santina" won three majors in a span of just seven months. That Hingis found great success with Latisha Chan in her remaining post-Mirza time on tour, but Mirza has yet to do the same with another partner, is something of a demerit, as well. Still, she should make it to Newport eventually.
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Jiske Griffioen (retired 2017) - the best wheelchair player (so far, but likely not for long) in the post-Vergeer years, the recently retired Dutch woman fell just one major title short (U.S. singles) of becoming the first WC player to win all eight slam titles. Still, she won four slam singles and fourteen doubles crowns (six w/ Vergeer), two Masters titles (+7 WD, five w/ Vergeer) and Paralympic Golds in both disciplines.
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Petra Kvitova - she's never been #1, and her biggest success has come at just one of the majors. Yeah, but she's a MULTI-slam winner, has been ranked #2, has picked up 22 singles titles (and counting), Olympic Bronze and was the beastly heart and dominant soul of FIVE (with maybe more to come) Czech Republic Fed Cup championship squads. Plus, she's now the author of a courageous comeback story, and everybody loves 'em some Petra. She's in, but another big title or two would be nice.
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Yui Kamiji - the Japanese wheelchair #1 could soon become the first to win all eight WC slam titles, as she only needs a Wimbledon singles crown. She'd better get it soon, or else the even younger Diede de Groot might beat her to it. At 23, Kamiji has claimed five slam singles and eleven doubles crowns, as well as one and two titles, respectively, in the season-ending Wheelchair Masters events.
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Bethanie Mattek-Sands - BMS, while she's had some singles success, has made her mark as a doubles star despite a career filled with injuries. She's reached #1 and won 26 titles, including five slams. She's claimed a pair of mixed majors, as well as Olympic Gold in the discipline. Her final big "get" may be to complete a Career Doubles Slam with Lucie Safarova with a missing-piece title run at SW19.
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Samantha Stosur - with so many memories of Stosur centering around things she *hasn't* done, it's easy to forget that she's in a select group. Since she had so much doubles success before hitting her stride as a late-blooming singles player, the Aussie is one of just four women in her generation who have won slam titles in singles, doubles and mixed. The others are named Williams, Williams and Hingis. Even as a two-time slam runner-up, and a champion at the U.S. Open in 2011 (def. Serena), Stosur's HOF case is made on her versatility. She's added 24 doubles titles (w/ 2 slams and 2 WTAF) to her nine in singles, reaching doubles #1 to her singles #4, and picked up three mixed slams, as well.
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Wendy Turnbull (retired 1989) - one of the more underrated players of her era, the Aussie played into the late 1980's, though most of her biggest results came a decade earlier. Turnbull ranked as high as #3 in singles and #5 in doubles, reaching three slam singles finals and winning four slam doubles crowns, coming just an AO title short (she reached two finals) of a Career Doubles Slam, and claiming an Olympic Bronze. Ten singles titles and nearly 500 match wins, along with 55 in doubles and over 650 wins, as well as five mixed slams (Her only miss? Again, the AO.), puts her slightly below the likes of the soon-to-be-enshrined Sukova. Sukova played her last match nine years *after* Turnbull, though, and *still* took twenty years to get in. The Aussie passed that number nearly a decade ago. So, she may forever exist in the "overlooked" category, I suspect.

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Angelique Kerber - a Top 10er since 2012, Kerber has put together a career in which she's reached #1, won a pair of slams (def. Serena in one), reached another major final and took Silver at the Olympics. But pretty much *all* of her best results came in a single season. The German *may* well be a HOFer one day, but would she be even under consideration without 2016? The question makes it worth wondering whether that means she's actually *not* a Hall of Famer, after all. A few more big wins could top off her campaign, though.
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Sara Errani/Roberta Vinci - Beginning with a Roland Garros win in 2012, over a two and a half year stretch they combined to win five slam titles, finishing off a Career Doubles Slam at Wimbledon in 2014. It might be enough to make them a "conventional" HOF choice at some point. But I prefer the more "unconventional" option to get them a spot in Newport. (See below.)
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Katarina Srebotnik - the Slovenian won four singles titles early in her career, but has since evolved into a doubles specialist. She's won 37 titles (10 w/ Kveta Peschke), including one slam ('11 Wimbledon w/ Peschke). Her calling card, though, could be her five mixed titles. If she could win at Wimbledon she'd complete a Career Mixed Slam, and she might have a legitimate case.

PESCHKE (l) and SREBOTNIK (r)
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Ekaterina Makarova/Elena Vesnina - the masters of the big events, the Russians have grabbed three slams and only need a title at the Australian Open to become the first duo to win all four majors, the WTAF and Olympic Gold as a pair. With much of the doubles landscape in flux, they could rise to #1 for the first time in 2018. As a bonus, both have reached slam singles semis.
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Mary Joe Fernandez (retired 2000) - MJF, as a player (not FC Captain), made the most out of what she had. In singles, she topped out at #4, reached three slam finals and three additional semis, and won Olympic Bronze. She won 19 doubles titles, including two slams (and had another RU) and two Olympic Golds.
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Dinara Safina (retired 2014) - the second Russian (after Sharapova) to reach WTA #1, Safina may go down as one of the few #1's not inducted in Newport. Half of the only sister/brother (Marat) duo to both reach singles #1, Dinara won twelve singles titles, Olympic Silver (in the '08 Russian medal sweep) and reached three slam finals. She's an interesting case, but she's known more for her cover-your-eyes performances in those finals (she won sixteen games -- combined), and likely always will be.
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Vera Zvonareva - another Russian, but one without a #1 ranking or slam singles title. Zvonareva *did* reach #2, though, won the '08 Olympic Bronze, two doubles and two singles slams, as well as a pair of Fed Cups. If she'd only won one of her two slam finals...
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Elena Dementieva (retired 2010) - she retired as the mostly-agreed-upon "best player without a slam title." Bedeviled by service problems most of her career, Dementieva's groundstrokes were still enough to get to her #3 and into a a pair of slam finals. She won Olympic Silver in '00, then eight years later came back and won Gold before stunning the tour with her sudden retirement announcement at the year-end championships two years later.

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Virginia Ruzici (retired 1987) - the first and only (for now) Romanian woman with a slam singles title ('78 RG, when she also won the WD). A Roland Garros finalist two years later in '80, as well, Ruzici won twelve singles titles.
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"The Original 9" - [from Wikipedia] "The Virginia Slims Circuit was a tennis tour consisting of a group of originally nine female professional players. Formed in 1970, the (tour) eventually became the basis for the later WTA Tour. The players, dubbed the Original 9, rebelled against the United States Lawn Tennis Association (USLTA) due to the wide inequality between the amount of prize money paid to male tennis players and to female tennis players." Of the group -- Billie Jean King, Rosie Casals, Nancy Richey, Judy Dalton, Kerry Melville Reid, Julie Heldman, Peaches Bartkowicz, Kristy Pigeon and Valerie Ziegenfuss -- only King and Richey are enshrined in Newport for their career accomplishments. Why aren't they ALL? Come now, it's long past high time that the GROUP of women were listed as members of the Hall of Fame. Seriously, how has this managed to NOT happen? The HOF inducts non-playing individuals in a "Contributor" category. Well, if the non-enshrined aren't *that* then what are they? Especially with current developments around the world, the time is right for this to happen as quickly as possible.

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The Italian Fed Cup Team ("The Italian Quartet") - while Errani/Vinci might have merit as a doubles duo entrant, they're really part of a quartet of Italians who redefined women's tennis in their nation. Not only did the foursome win three Fed Cup titles (2009-10, '13) as a solid, consistent team, but they've all reached similar heights as singles players. Flavia Pennetta and Francescia Schiavone both won slam titles, while Schiavone, Errani (2) and Vinci all reached additional slam finals. To think that a single generation would produce such a group in a nation without much past success to speak of in women's tennis, maybe even more so than the Henin/Clijsters boomlet in Belgium, is surely one of the more unexpected happenings in recent tennis memory. None may make it to the Hall on their own, but as a group they're a force to be reckoned with for all times. And, really, they're sort of inseparable, right? You can't really talk about one without mentioning the other three. One day, they should storm into Newport, four astride, arm-in-arm-in-arm-in-arm, and claim the town as their own.

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Garbine Muguruza - it *shouldn't* be a question, should it? Not with TWO slams, a #1 ranking, and a rare ability to take down Williams Sisters in majors. But the Venezuelan-born Spaniard doesn't really complete too many missions anywhere OTHER than at the majors. Two of her five career titles (and 3 of 9 finals) have come in slams. Yeah, she's beaten both Serena and Venus to win them. But, still. Garbi really needs to "clutter" up her career resume a bit more to avoid being the "biggest-winning underachiever" in history.
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Simona Halep - she's become the first Romanian woman to reach #1, but she still needs a slam. Win that and we'll start the discussion there.
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Elina Svitolina - pretty much "the first Ukrainian..." to do just about everything at this point. But she's got work to do. Thankfully, she's got time to do it.
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Diede de Groot - the "next one," de Groot, armed with an ability to fire clean groundstrokes winners from all over the court, has been mentored by Vergeer and seems set to follow in her countrywoman's footsteps. At 21, she's won AO and Wimbledon singles titles, U.S. Open doubles, Masters crowns in both disciplines and might just beat Kamiji (possibly set to join her in the first real ongoing, Martina-vs.-Chrissie like, slam stage rivalry in WC tennis history) to become the first player to win all eight slam crowns. She uses "DiedetheGreat" as her Twitter handle. And, one day, she just might be.


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Manuela Maleeva (retired 1994) - the most successful of the trio of Maleeva sisters. She never reached a slam final, but advanced to two major semis and eight QF, reached #3, won 19 titles, and an Olympic Bronze. She nearly reached the Top 10 in doubles (#11), and won a mixed slam.
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Ana Ivanovic (retired 2016) - personally, AnaIvo never felt like a HOF contender to me, even with a #1 ranking and slam win. If she gets in, it'll be a case of popularity winning out over sensibility.
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Zina Garrison (retired 1997) - before Venus, Serena, Sloane Stephens and Madison Keys, Garrison became the first African-American in 32 years (Althea Gibson '58) in reach a slam final when she played Martina Navratilova for the Wimbledon title in 1990. She lost, of course, but ultimately reached three additional slam semis, ranked as high as #4, won fourteen singles titles, three mixed slams, and two Olympic medals (WD Gold and WS Bronze).
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Ai Sugiyama (retired 2009) - she won three slam WD (3/4 of a Career Doubles Slam, needing only the AO, where she reached a final). A mixed slam winner, Sugiyama won 38 doubles titles and was a Top 10 singles player.
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Aga Radwanska - with Wozniacki's AO win, Radwanska may go down as the best player in her generation without a slam. She *has* reached a slam final (Wimbledon '12) and won the WTAF ('15), but she'll likely forever be haunted by her '13 Wimbledon semifinal loss (9-7 3rd set) to Sabine Lisicki.

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Jelena Jankovic - reached #1, played in a slam final, and provided too much entertainment to categorize. But JJ's not a Hall of Famer. The walls couldn't contain her, anyway.
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Daniela Hantuchova (retired 2017) - despite some big singles wins (two Indian Wells) and a Top 5 ranking, Hantuchova never quite lived up to her early billing. Still, she won seven singles, nine doubles (even with a 0-3 record in slam WD finals) and a Fed Cup crown (2002). Her calling card is her Career Mixed Slam, which she actually completed twelve years before her 2017 retirement. Well past the time most players her age and with her abilities might have become a doubles specialist, Hantuchova continued to focus on her singles to diminishing results in her final years. She *did* manage to lure Martina Hingis out of retirement in 2013, but their doubles partnership was short-lived, and then Hingis went to put together a SECOND HOF-worthy career after having *already* been inducted in Newport. If Hantuchova had continued on with her own "second career" in doubles, she might have put together a resume worthy of enshrinement when she was finished, but she never went down that path.


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Kimiko Date (retired 2017) - does longevity count? Date, after a 12-year retirement returned to action in 2008 and ultimately played until age 46. In her first go-around, she rose as high as #4 and reached three slam semis.
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Anastasia Myskina (retired 2007) - she'll always be the FIRST Russian slam winner, as well as a former world #2. An underrated achiever, she was a consistent slam performer (5 QF) and led Russia to two Fed Cup titles as a player before later becoming the team's Captain in recent years. The less said about that stint, the better.
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Nadia Petrova (retired 2017, last played in '14) - a good all-around talent, but one who never posted the big singles result that might have changed her career. She had two slam SF, six QF, and an ill-timed ankle injury in 2006 that may have thwarted what would have been her best chance to win a major (she was ranked #3 at the time, winning 15 straight matches during the spring, including a victory over Justine Henin, and was generally considered one of the RG favorites that year). Still, she won 13 singles and 24 doubles titles,including a pair of season-ending championship doubles crowns and an Olympic Bronze medal. Oh, Nadia.

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Marion Bartoli - a two-time slam finalist, Bartoli reached her career zenith with a Wimbledon title run in '13. She's set to begin her comeback from a five-year retirement in Miami later this month.
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Dominika Cibulkova - admirable, but not HOF-worthy. A slam finalist and surprise WTAF winner, the odds are that the best moments of her career have already happened.
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Karolina Pliskova - she's reached #1 and been a Fed Cup cog, but she's not really in the discussion. She'd have to make a huge, extended singles surge to change that.
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Czech Fed Cup Team - even with five titles (and counting), the Maidens can't be tapped for potential HOF enshrinement as handily as the Italians. They're just too deep and diverse a lot.
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So, there you have it. Hopefully, I didn't miss anyone. And, with luck, the Hall of Fame will ultimately be able to say the same.





All for now.
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